Cry Me A River | Book Two/Season Two

14

"So, this kid's the real killer?" Noah asks the three of us as we stand in Stiles' room.

"Yeah." Stiles answers, sitting at his desk in front of the yearbook that has Matt's face circled in red pen.

"No." Noah responds, his voice stern.

"Yes!" Stiles raises his voice, leaning back in his chair.

"No." Noah repeats as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Dad, come on." Stiles starts, rising from his chair. "Everybody knows that the police look for ways to connect victims in a murder, okay? So, all you have to do is, like, look through their transcripts and figure out which class they all had in common."

"Yeah, except for the fact that the rave promoter, Kara, wasn't in Harris's class." Noah points out, shaking his finger in the air.

"All right, okay, you're right, sorry." Stiles raises his hands in defeat. "Then I guess they dropped the charges against him?"

"No, you know what? They're not dropping the charges. But that doesn't prove anything." Noah tells us.  Stiles opens his mouth to speak but quickly shuts it, looking at his dad frustratedly. "Scott, Alara, do you two believe this?"

"Mr. Stilinski...it's really hard to explain how we know this, but you just gotta trust us." I reply, leaning on Stiles' desk.

"We know it's Matt." Scott adds, standing behind me.

"Yeah, he took Harris's car, okay? Look, he knew that if a cop found tire marks at one of the murders, and that if enough of the victims were in Harris's class, that they'd arrest him." Stiles explains, trying to get his dad to listen.

"All right, fine. I'll allow the remote possibility but give me a motive." Noah says, flinging his hands around in the air as he speaks.

I look to Stiles, waiting for him to answer. When there is none, Noah continues.

"I mean, why would this kid want most of the two-thousand-six swim team and its coach dead?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Stiles asks, throwing is hands up. "Our swim team sucks! They haven't won in, like, six years..." He trails off while looking back at Scott and me before continuing. "Okay, we don't have a motive yet."

"Neither does Harris." I add, causing Noah to glare at me for supporting his son's 'conspiracy' that just so happens to be real.

"What do you want me to do?" Noah asks defeatedly.

"We need to look at the evidence." Scott says from behind me, leaning around my shoulder.

"Yeah, that would be in the station, where I no longer work." He reminds us, causing my mood to sadden for a moment.

"Trust me, they'll let you in." Says Stiles, nearly pleading with his dad.

"Trust you?" Noah questions, pointing to Stiles.

Stiles looks back at me before saying, "Trust Alara?"

"Trust Alara? I walked in on you two doing God knows what in broad day light!" He raises his voice, and I try to hide my embarrassment.

"Uh...then, Scott? Trust Scott." Stiles suggests.

Noah points his fingers at the three of us accusingly before speaking.

"Scott, I trust."

-

It's quiet when we enter the station, the only noticeable sound being the door opening and shutting behind us.