Missing

Chapter 11

Carmen
Ever since the police informed us of this, my mom started forcing me to stay home. I understood but I still hated putting the investigation on hold. It felt wrong after I was starting to really get somewhere. But as she also pointed out, it was the police's job and she trusted that they would find the body. It made me sick referring to Andrea as "the body" but we both kind of knew that this had to be about her.
Tony
Three days later
Gomez called me and asked me to actually go into the station for a change. My dad kept a stern expression as he drove me and didn't say a word the entire time. He waited while I went with Gomez to talk. He slid the bag with the red lipstick across the table.
"We tested the DNA on the lipstick tube. The fingerprints belong to Andrea Bishop."
Shit.
"Oh. I didn't know that. There were several guests that wore lipstick."
He seemed unfazed by this. In fact, he seemed ten times more serious than he did in the beginning.
"How did it end up inside the couch?"
"I don't know. It could've fallen out of her pocket. She had a big coat on."
"She kept her coat on while she was sitting on the couch?" He asked in disbelief.
"No. She had it beside her on the cushion. The lipstick could've rolled out. I'm just guessing because again, I didn't know that it was there."
"Antonio, was this the only time that she had the lipstick at your parents' house?"
I gulped. Andrea always had that thing on her, whether it was in her purse or in her pocket.
"No. She always had it with her, so she would've had it at the house."
"Is it possible that she lost it any of the previous times that she was visiting you?"
"No. She wore it even after that. She had to have lost it at the party."
"That's what I don't understand. If she liked to carry this lipstick around, wouldn't she have noticed that it was gone?"
"She might not have noticed it when she left. I haven't seen her since she left the house that night. Otherwise, I would've given it to her."
"You don't think she noticed? If she had it in her pocket like you suggested, it's possible that she put her hands in her pockets and came up empty. Don't you agree?"
I shrugged.
"Yes, it's possible. She didn't reach out to me about it."
He sighed loudly.
"Okay."
"Is that all?"
"No. I had further questions about the Uber that you ordered for Andrea."
"Yes?"
"I understand that the address that you provided the Uber driver, Scott Evans, was 1911 Cherry Avenue. Beatrice Bishop's address is 108 Terry Street."
"Yes, sir."
"Why did you knowingly provide Scott with the incorrect address?"
"Beatrice was at work. I didn't think it was fair for her to go home to an empty trailer. Our mutual friend Claudia lives at that address."
"Are you referring to Claudia Warner?"
"Yes."
"We've spoken to the Warner family via phone. According to Claudia's mother, Deborah Warner, they are staying at her parents' house for a month to take care of them. Claudia is currently staying with her aunt, Heather Warner so she can keep going to school. They weren't home when Andrea arrived."
"I didn't know that."
"Claudia never told you that she was staying with her aunt?"
"No. I assumed that they were still at home."
I could tell that he was starting to lose his patience with me.
"Had you spoken to Claudia before she went to live with her aunt?"
"Not really. She was more of Andrea's friend than mine. We mainly knew each other through her."
"Yet you were willing to let Andrea stay at Claudia's parents' house without consulting any of them."
"They were friends. I didn't think that Claudia would have an issue."
"You expected them to accept her into the house without any questions about why she was there?"
"Yes. If a friend asked if they could stay with me, I would want to help. My parents would probably understand."
"Andrea didn't ask to stay with them. You sent her to the house in an Uber instead of her mother's trailer. It's as if you knew that the house would be empty. I want to know why."
My palms have never been this sweaty. He was really grilling my ass.
"I didn't know that it would be empty." 
"Oh, come on, Antonio!" He yelled.
I gasped and leaned back in my chair. This is the first time that I heard him yell since the investigation began.
"I know that you're lying. I want to know why you ordered Scott to take Andrea to Claudia's parents' house," he demanded.
I felt tears forming in my eyes. He was onto me and I had a feeling that he wasn't going to let me go without an explanation.