what lies beneath

Chapter One

Standing a few blocks from the Cafe where I asked my first girl out and made countless memories with my father. It's funny... I proposed to my girlfriend here. Despite the fact that we had some squabbles, which couples do not. The sexual assault that my fiance Mandy endured at the hands of her boss caused the most friction in our relationship. When she confided in me, I admired her even more because she was brave, and I even told her my own secret. The sexual assault devastated her, and I couldn't do anything because I didn't want the heat. I tried to persuade her to quit, but in a town like this, it was difficult to avoid anyone. Everyone knows everyone....so I know what quitting means to Mandy, which is staying at home and letting me pick up the bills. According to Mandy, this entails me spending money that has been tainted with the blood of others. That was one flaw in Mandy's fairytale of me, but we got through it. I lied to her about having stopped killing people for a living and telling her I now do menial labor.

As I walked towards the coffee shop, I was still thinking about our friendship. Mandy was stunning as usual, standing at the entrance to the coffee shop with a pleasant smile pasted on her face. Only I am aware of how frail she can be. I haven't seen her in two days. I stood in front of her, and I'm sure if anyone could see my face, I'd be wearing a stupid grin, but I couldn't stop myself. That was my girl, my joy, right there.

"Caleb...?" She called out my name in an unusual manner, with a terrified expression on her face. As if I was going to do something bad to her. It's a given that my profession isn't ideal, but I've never been physically abusive with Mandy.
When I reached out my arms to caress her face, she flinched. She couldn't keep her gaze on me; it darted all over the place. She kept looking around, as if asking for assistance, but no one was there except for people going about their daily business. "Mandy, are you okay?" has that jerk assaulted her again? I was thinking to myself. I usually kept a low profile here and did my business outside of town, but boy... he was pushing my buttons.
She shook her head "Nothing I... I am good. When did you get back?" That was odd. She didn't seem overjoyed to see me, as I expected. I wasn't expecting such a lukewarm welcome after we hadn't seen each other in two days.

"Not Quite long. I've just arrived in town and I miss my baby. Didn't you think about me?" I tried being a cutie, which always worked like a charm to relieve tension. Right now, it didn't work, she just waved me off, "your usual, right?" I just nodded. Well... Mandy would tell me whatever was wrong with her in her own time. When she called a few hours ago. She seemed concerned about something and inquired as to when I would be in town. I needed to get things done quickly on my end so I could get back to her earlier. Just as we were about to enter the coffee shop, I heard people yelling, "don't move, your hands in the air!" I remained calm, knowing it couldn't be me. I've always taken precautions. I looked over at Mandy to see if she was okay and to reassure her.
Mandy covered her face with her hands, her eyes glistened with tears, and she continued to mutter "I'm sorry... "I'm sorry," someone nudges my shoulder, "you've finally arrived, our main suspect." "I thought to myself, had my past had finally caught up with me. When I looked around, I noticed that the street had suddenly become crowded with Cops, and I turned to peer through the Cafe entrance, where I noticed that a section of the Cafe counter was cordoned off by yellow crime scene duct tapes, with dried blood splattered on the counter. . I was so preoccupied with Mandy that I hadn't noticed my surroundings, that it wasn't particularly busy today, or even asked her why she wasn't working her shift today. As they led me to the police car, I thought to himself, "This was the sloppiest I'd ever been in ten years of my career." I was sitting in the back of the police car as they read my rights to me.
As the car began to move, Mandy became hysterical, yelling that she had called a lawyer to bail him out.
"What am I being arrested?"
"murder..." he said, turning back slightly to gauge my reaction before turning to face me. "You're one sneaky fucker. I never thought you had it in you "Wilson, a middle-aged officer, stated. I couldn't tell if he was excited from his tone that something interesting happened in this our boring town or whether it was just plain Old judgment seeping out.

I was still trying to process everything, and I knew it wasn't the job I had gone out of town for. It appeared to be whatever those yellow things were in the coffee shop... So, who was murdered, and why do they think it was me? Mixing with the cops right now would be a mistake. I'm in a pickle because I can't provide an alibi. This is a fucking mess.

I stared at the officer Wilson, who didn't know him the goody two shoes, who went out of his way to help the needy but can quickly turn your foe if he thinks you're a bad egg in the society.
"I'm sure you got the wrong guy, officer," I just felt the need to say.
"We'll see about that young man," officer Lucas replied, despite the fact that no one knows him well. He didn't grow up in this town; work brought him here. He was so quiet, barely saying anything, that the talk in town was about how he wooed Lizzy, who was very outgoing and loud. That I'm so curious about how they get along. I chuckle to myself at the fact I was thinking about something else instead of trying to solve my problem.
The two officers turned to look at me with a glare on their faces. I'd better be careful, because this could be used against me. This thought quickly brought me to my senses. I avoided eye contact with the cops by staring out the window.
We arrived at the police station in record time, and I was led to the interrogation room. Lucas, the officer who had been quiet, entered with a file in his hand. He sat down in front of me, as if to gauge every reaction I had.
" Why were you out of town for two days?"
"Normally, I go out of town to do menial jobs with a friend who owns a construction company," I explained. I tried to be vague because I hadn't informed my friend Steve that I was out of town and that he should cover for me. I'm not sure why, out of all days, I messed up my routine.
Steve was always supposed to be my alibi when I was on the job, but I usually greased his palms with cash. I'm taking a risk here by relying on our years of partnership, but I'd be foolish to bet everything on it.
Officer Lucas leaned in close and asked, in a low but commanding tone that made you think he was an old friend, "is there anything you'd like to get off your chest?"

I understand what's going on here. Officer Lucas is playing the role of the good cop. I stared at him for a long time before responding with an emphatic "no."
Officer Lucas leaned back and nodded, then walked out of the room with his file in hand.

Officer Wilson walked in after countless hours of letting me stew.
"How you doing, son?Me and your father had high hopes for you," he said as he sat down and stared at me, taking a deep breath, "even with your mother's drug problem and all, but here we are.""
He showed off a gun and a knife in a separate transparent plastic zip lock bag and asked, "Do you recognize this?"
"Yes, that's what I gave my fiance to protect herself with."
" So Is it yours?"
"Yes, it's mine, but I gave it to my fiance."
Officer Wilson just kept nodding his head.
" How would you describe your relationship with Mandy?"
At this point, I was really irritated "How is this related to the case at hand?"
"Please just humour me." Officer Wilson shrugged.
"we have our disagreements, which couple doesn't have their highs and lows, but we are good."

Officer Wilson hummed quietly to himself "What about her boss...Greg?" I was irritated by this line of questioning and nearly screamed,
"Why are you asking me about her boss? I have no personal relationship with him "I said it with as much contempt as I could muster.
"Son, take a deep breath and relax. We're heading somewhere. Where were you two nights ago..." he leaned in, "...to be more specific, between 9:00 to 10:00?"
"I went to see Mandy at the coffee shop. Mandy served me a cup of Americano. While she was cleaning."
"So you admit there was a time in the Cafe when you and Mandy weren't together?"
"Yeah," I said
"but when did you leave the Cafe?"
"3:00 in the morning because I had fallen asleep, you can ask Mandy," he answered calmly.
"Throughout your visit to the cafe, you didn't see Greg?"
"no."

Wilson hummed again, tapping his fingers on his lips. "However, Mandy tells a different story."
He then proceeded to tell me a story that seemed fabricated to me. About how Greg had attempted to assault Mandy the night I went to see her and I became enraged and shot him, then stabbed him again for good measure. I was so perplexed that I asked to speak with Mandy. In my mind, I assumed Mandy would tell them the truth.
I believed she was the only one who can clear this mess, but I was informed that Mandy was not permitted to see me because I was abusive.
What the hell is going on? I thought to myself.

"You must come clean and tell, son. We have you, your fingerprints on the weapons, and your admission to being present at crime scene where the murder occurred." He stood up and said, "I'd give you time to think about this and come clean."