All That Matters: A Duskwood Fanfic

7: Alan

"I'm alone." I answered honestly; even though something about the way he emphasized the word alone told me that he wasn't really asking me a question. He was telling me something. And that something had to do with the FBI that surely were on the other side of the mirror. But why?

One part of me wanted to believe that Alan was a good guy, and somehow, for some unexplainable reason he was on my side: but I'd been a serious suspect in Hannah's disappearance for weeks.

"Why?" He sat back, pen laying across the notepad abandoned. Eyes peering at me, raking and taking in my expression, my body language. Devouring each and every possible clue about my behavior he could. Figuring people out was a big part of police work, that much I knew.

I shrugged. "They don't know I'm here." And I didn't want them to. If I was arrested, there was nothing they could do about it. I decided to answer the question I knew was coming before he even asked it. "Why worry them? Haven't they been through enough?"

Start with the truth; at least as much of the truth as I could. There were things I would never reveal, but I'm sure my friends had given him quite a few details. No point in being caught in an obvious lie.

"What have they been through, Charlee?" Alan took a sip of his coffee before picking up the abandoned pen and leaning forward.

The better question would have been what haven't they been through. At least it would have been much easier to answer. They'd been terrorized, assaulted, betrayed. They had to run and hide, shot someone and so, so much more. I scoffed instead of answering, indicating that I needed a more specific question. I knew better than to get too specific with the police, especially without a lawyer present.

If anyone knew that I hadn't brought a lawyer to this interrogation they'd probably smack me upside the head, but if I'd lawyered up, they stamp me with the word guilty without a second thought. It was a habit of the police, even if getting a lawyer was the smartest thing anyone could do in a situation like this. I had a lawyer on standby if I felt I needed it. I hoped I wouldn't.

"Okay. Why don't we start with how you got involved with this crowd." He pulled a piece of paper out, glancing at it before continuing. "You're not from around here and according to your phone records we have been unable to find any contact with any of them until after Hannah's disappearance."

My face remained impassive, although inside I was squirming. How had they managed to get my phone records this fast? They hadn't even known my last name until I walked in the door, much less had enough time to get a court order for my phone records. I let my eyes flicker towards the mirror before focusing on Alan.

We went back and forth for over an hour. Him asking me a question, and me responding with the vaguest, yet truthful answer I could muster. By his reactions I could tell he'd already learned most of this from the others. Maybe I hadn't really needed to come here and answer his questions. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Tell me about the hacker." Alan's voice was authoritative, but his eyes gleamed an apology. I had told him over text that I wouldn't talk about Jake, but this time I would.

"Did-" I cleared my throat as the words stuck in my throat. "Did you find him?" I pulled at the hem of my shirt willing tears to my eyes. I bit my lip and sucked in a gulp of air. "Did you?"

He cleared his throat before glancing towards the mirror again, he kept doing that. Over and over throughout the entire interview. He didn't like the FBI being there any more than I did. Alan was playing a game, a part in the interview. It was like we had an unspoken agreement to put on a show.

"I'll be honest with you Charlee, since so far, you've been pretty honest with me. We haven't found him, as the news has been reporting non-stop the fire in the mine caused quite a bit of damage to the infrastructure, a lot of the tunnels caved in, and the smoke made it impossible for us to thoroughly search it."

I let the tears that had been clinging to my eyelashes cascade down my face, wiping them away furiously as I wrapped my arms around myself and sobbed silently. I let my chin fall towards my chest, hiding my face as my shoulders shook slightly with each fake sob. Alan said nothing as I cried making me believe that my performance was at least somewhat convincing.

"Please Alan, please find him." I begged, looking up at Alan's eyes through my blurred vision. "Please save him." 

******************************************************************************

I will be updating at least once a week! 

Hope you all like the new cover, simple but I like it. 

XOXO