Nothing But the Truth Book 1 [Sample/Coming to Amazon till further notice]

Chapter Four: [Edited]

Chapter Four

Izza's funeral was held on a Saturday in the month of September.  Izza died over a week ago. It is now the first week of September.  Izza was missed terribly by her parents, the Millers.  Mrs. Miller was crying the entire time.  I was standing in front of the coffin while Izza was being lowered into the ground.  Jacob was standing next to me. This was the first funeral we had attended since our parents had died. I had a flashback of how we used to be a happy family. Jacob and I were raised by good parents who always loved and cared for us.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller reminded me a lot of Jacob and myself when we buried our parents except I was the one crying the entire time. I had just started college and was beginning to live my life my own way.  In seconds my life was turned upside down never to completely recover. Suddenly,  I came back to the present time and began to hold Jacob's hand really tight.

Izza was murdered, dumped into the river in the woods,  as though she were nothing more than trash. Izza's body was floating in the water. Izza didn't deserve to die that way.  No one does. I still can't believe she is gone.  And, I knew that if it was hard for me, it must be ten times harder for Jacob to accept.  What's more, being the one who found her body, he must be mortified.  I didn't know how to help him except to be there for him whenever he showed signs of having a hard time dealing with it.

I had known Izza for a long time. She was always supportive of Jacob. Everyone left the grave site together and met again at the Millers  home where the reception took place. I was standing in front of Miller's picture collection on the wall.  They all looked so happy, like the perfect family.  Now a very important family member is gone, never to return again.  Izza's big sister, Mariana, who was only a few years older than Izza,  walked up to me and told me how Izza had always wanted to be a doctor. I took a deep breath and sighed. 

Jacob came looking for me. "Ryan?!" Jacob shouted. I took a deep breath and sighed. Jacob knocked loudly on the bathroom door. "I'll be out in a few minutes, Jake," I said. "Are you okay?" he asked.''I am fine, Jake. I'll meet you downstairs, okay?" I answered nicely back to my brother.  Jacob sighed,  moving away from the bathroom.  I felt like I needed to let out a gigantic cry, as I was leaning over the bathroom sink. I couldn't believe that Izza was found dead, by my own brother!  I was trying to not let it affect me too much, but I just needed to cry. I covered my mouth to muffle the sound.  A moment later, I found myself walking out of the bathroom and downstairs.  Jacob was sitting on the couch in the living room. David was sitting next to Jacob.  I walked up to Jacob and asked him how he was handling the whole situation. Jacob sheepishly smiled at me. I gave him a look that said I understood and smiled at him warmly.

Mrs. Miller heard a knock on the door.  I saw her walk up to the door and open it . "Can I help you?" Mrs. Miller asked, wondering. There were two detectives standing in front of the door, Detective Sailor, and his partner, Detective Evans.  They were wondering if Jacob was there at the reception. Mrs. Miller pointed to me and Jacob. Detective Sailor took out a pair of handcuffs.  Everyone inside the house saw what was happening.
"Jacob Morgan, please turn around and put your hands behind your back," said Detective Sailor.

             
"What?" I asked, in confusion.  I just looked at Jacob.

     
"Please, put your hands behind your back, Mr. Morgan," Detective Sailor said.

       
"I gruffly asked, "Why?  I just couldn't believe what was happening.

      
"Please Ryan, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be," Detective Sailor said.

      
"Ryan," Jacob said , wondering what was happening.  Jacob began to tremble in fear.

    
"What is going on?" I asked.

Jacob was getting all worked up and very frustrated.  Detective Sailor  grabbed Jacob roughly and crossed his arms and hands together behind his back.

"Jacob Morgan, you're under arrest for the murder of Izza Miller. You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to an attorney.  If you can't afford one, an attorney will be appointed for you by a court of law.  Do you understand your rights?"  Detective Sailor  marched Jacob out of the Millers' house and into a waiting police car.  I was speechless!  How could Jacob be accused of killing Izza?  I followed Detective Sailor in my car as my little brother was being taken to the police station.

It took a while to register in my mind  that my little brother had just been arrested for murder.  I was glad my parents weren't here to see it.  Jacob was immediately brought into the interrogation room.  He didn't want to speak until I was in the room with him. I explained to Detectives Sailor and Detective Evans that I was going to ask permission from the court to represent Jacob as a private attorney and that he was underage and I was his legal representative.

In the interrogation room, I sat next to Jacob. Jacob seemed nervous. I was trying to keep him calm. Detective Sailor came inside the room with his partner.  I was making sure that Jacob did not answer any questions without me.

"Jacob, do you know why you're here?" Detective Sailor asked.

Jacob shrugged.

     
"You are here because you committed a crime," Detective Sailor said.

"What makes you think my brother is a suspect?" I asked. Detective Sailor sighed, sitting down in his chair, "I think Jacob can tell you why," Detective Sailor explained.  I just looked at Jacob.  Jacob was looking down, terrified.

"There was a knife located at the scene," said Detective Sailor, "and the DNA shows Jacob's fingerprints were a match to the fingerprints on the murder weapon."  He pulled out the knife from the evidence bag.

     
"Can you explain to me what happened, Jacob?"

    
I was shocked as I had been unaware that the murder weapon had been found.  I just looked at Jacob.  He didn't say anything.

  
"Jacob?" I asked, softly.

      
"I don't know, I don't know," Jacob said in frustration.

Detective Sailor  looked at Jacob in a strange way as though he knew Jacob had some kind of learning disability or an emotional problem.

"Jake, it's okay, just answer the detective's questions," I said. Jacob sighed, looked at me and said, "I didn't kill Izza."

"Is there something wrong with him?," Detective Sailor asked rudely. "Jacob is autistic,  if that's what you mean.  He reacts differently than most people to stressful situations. "I was doing my best to keep Jacob calm.

Detective Evans, on the other hand, was being polite to Jacob. He was explaining to Jacob nicely that they just wanted to ask some questions. He explained, "It's like taking a test.  You know how a test asks questions and you answer them correctly?" Jacob shook his head, yes. I just smiled at him, realizing how much I loved my autistic brother.

Detective Evans said, smiling a little.  Just answer my questions honestly.  "Okay," Jacob said. I sighed, and then stroked Jacobs' hair. "Okay, that's good," Detective Evans said as I continued to support Jacob.