The Disadvantages of Making a New Friend

chapter 7

Kate

28thNovember, 2018; evening

"Reuben Gray, the twenty one year old man arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of Mackenzie Fanning, eighteen, has been released without charge. Gray, who was Fanning's secret admirer, was detained yesterday, but was released this morning because police say there is insufficient evidence to charge him." Also the news is saying now that the rumor of Reuben's parents meeting via drugs was just a baseless rumor. And also, Reuben went to rehab, but not for drug addiction; for his immense addiction to the internet.

"Tabloids," Dad says. "They'd write anything that people want to read." "What lies has he told, dad? That police believed him after finding Mac's blood on his watch?" I ask. "Reuben told a story. He said on that day, he was walking through this street. While he was passing Mac's house, he saw her cutting some hard paper with a pair of sharp huge scissors. He just said hello and Mac tried to reply and look at him and cutting the paper all at the same time. Thus the scissors slipped her hand and she cut herself a bit. It was a tiny cut but it bleed; so Reuben went to help her. This is how he got her blood on his watch." Dad says. "It's not a strong story, dad. Why the police would fall for such bullshit?" "Well, at first, they hadn't. But then they searched Mac's room and found those hard papers. Also they've found the scissors which has Mac's blood. And of course, it matched Reuben's description. And also, Mac had a tiny cut on her hand which doctors told was very recent."

And....they've found a witness. Mrs. Halt, who lives in Minnesota, but often visits his son's family living next street. The murderer might be a blond guy.

Mrs. Halt 29thNovember, 2018, morning

The murder happened like ten days ago, when I was in my son's house. Then they found the body. They asked me if I saw that girl. And they showed me a photo of a pretty young girl and I felt like I've never seen this face before. I don't live here, that's why I don't know most of the people here. So, of course I said no. The girl was all over the news. But I never liked watching or reading news. They just make me feel bad about the world. I'm already 70, and my days are numbered. I don't want to spend them watching the demons inside people and what they make them do. So I never saw the photo of the dead body, well; until today. But then I got interested in the story and when I saw that photo, I recognized the shoes. A few years back, I used to work as a stylist. These shoes are made by some Japanese brand and are very uncommon in America. Then I remembered that I saw those shoes that evening. She was with somebody. It was a lanky blond boy of about five feet and nine inches tall. "Did you identify him when they showed you a photo of Ian?" the girl named Kate asks me. She's a friend of that murdered girl, she said. "No," I say. "It wasn't him." That boy was blond, but not this type of blond. This Ian kid has platinum blond hair. But that murderer had it strawberry blond. And that police hag asked me, "Are you sure? It was evening, besides you're old, you might have not seen it that clear." What was she trying to say? I'm barely seventy. And she treated me like a 90 year old. I could bet that I had a better sight than her. They told that that Ian kid was six feet one, and then I became surer of it. I've worked with plenty of male models and actors, a six feet one and a five feet nine guy were never the same. The difference was visible. And how dare she is to call me old!