KILLED

Chapter Two

My mother stays with me as the men climb the steps of the tree house, the detectives holding their guns out and pointed at the ground as they enter the one-room structure.
"This is a lot to take in", she says after a minute of silence. "You have no idea how- how much this...." She trails off, her gaze dropping to the footprints on the snow.
My eyes follow hers, and I take in new information.
A slightly larger footprint than my own, pointed towards the tree house window. The open tree house window.
My mind flashes back to when I found Sara's body, and my mind's eye catches something I didn't see in real time.
Someone ran away from the window. Someone wearing a dark hoodie and black jeans.
"Tess? Tess?"
My eyelids snap open and I realize I'm on my knees in the snow, my finger lightly touching the edge of the print.
"Tess. Tess!", my mom sounds frantic, and she shakes my shoulders. "Tess!"
Footsteps pound down the stairs again, and I quickly stand up and hold out my hand to stop Tyler Roberts from stepping on the snow.
"Don't. I remember something. I saw the guy. It's his footprint."
"Good. There is some information we can gather from this."
The detectives join us a second later, putting their weapons away.
"What's going on?", asks McCormick, his blue eyes narrowed and ready for anything.
"Tess here gave us some new information. Great job, kiddo", Tyler says, snapping pictures with the camera around his neck. "You have supersight or something?"
"Just eyes like a hawk, and a memory that never forgets", Mom says, her arm around my shoulders.
"Size 9 in men's, 2.3 inches in width, 10.4 inches in length", he says, scribbling the information on a notepad he pulls out of his pocket.
"You're like me", I speak up. "You see everything, don't you."
The man looks up from his writing and gives me a knowing smile.
"That obvious?"
"You didn't use a ruler. And you'd have to have a photographic memory to remember the sizes of shoes, unless you take the time to actually memorize that", I explain quietly.  "Which is a waste of time, unless you work in a shoe store or something."
"Correct. I found that I was better suited in this department than shoe selling." His eyes twinkle for a moment and he gets up.
"Now, I'm going to run through the murder, and then you can help me with how you found your friend. Sara's her name ,correct?"
"Yes. Her name's on the inside tag of her coat."
"Figured. Anyway, she arrives at the tree house, runs up the steps and opens the door, slamming it shut and holding it closed with her weight.
"Murderer is stronger and smashes through, quickly stabbing her in the abdomen before pulling out the rope and hanging her. I'm guessing that she was dead for at least a minute when you came."
"She called me five minutes before and she was out of breath", I recall. "She said she messed up really badly, but when I asked her about it, she hung up on me."
"We're having someone come and retrieve your friend's body", Detective Patrick breaks in. "We'll know more once a full autopsy has been made. But we should probably go and inform her parents. The house nearby?"
While my mother gives him directions, the forensic analyst gestures me over to him and says quietly, "Any idea on what Sara messed up on?"
"No. She's good. She would never mess up", my voice cracks and I say, "I mean, she was. She was always so kind and helpful. I don't understand any of this."
"Well, when I find something, or you think of anything, give me a call." He pulls a small card out of his pocket and hands it to me, which I tuck safely away in my pocket.
"Thank you, Mr. Roberts."
The man laughs and says, "Call me Tyler, kiddo. That's my name."
"Okay. Please call me, no matter what you find."
He raises an eyebrow. "How old are you, kiddo?"
"15 and a half."
"A little young to be informed and understand."
"I'll understand", I say. "I'm not ready to grieve yet."
Christmas day wasn't supposed to be like this, I think, staring over at the footprints in the snow. I have to make sure Sara didn't die in vain.
»»»»----------»
My phone rings at 3:27pm the next day, and I pick it up immediately.
"Hello?"
"Hey, kiddo", Tyler's voice says through the device. "You still want to hear what I found?"
"Yes, I do", I answer, dropping my book onto my desk and sitting up straight. "Please tell me what you found."
"You said Sara would never mess up", he says. "But she did, kiddo. She messed up bad."
"What do you mean?"
"She was on drugs, Tess. Marijuana, Cocaine, and Rohypnol. Has she been acting strange lately?"
I think for a moment, then smack myself on the forehead.
"Yes", I whisper. "Yes, sometimes. She- she said it was because her dad was getting drunk all the time since her mom left."
"Left where, exactly?"
"I don't know." My voice cracks as I speak, but my notebook is already open, my pen moving across the page, taking notes.
"Anyway, I found a card inside her coat pocket, and a number on her phone without any name going with it. Think you can help?"
"Sure. What's the number?"
"222-438. Sound familiar?"
"No", I say, scribbling down the number. "Would it be a bad idea to call it?"
"WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!", Tyler yells into the phone.
"A little. And you could track the call."
"Sam and Ren are out telling Sara's father that she's, um, no longer-"
"Tyler, it's okay. I'm still not grieving", I interrupt. "Just say the the word. Dead. Sara's dead."
"Alright. I'm on my way, right now. Do not call that goddamn number, you hear? I'm on my way. I'm getting in the car right now. Stay on the phone. Stay on the phone."
"Just get here fast." I hang up and flip the notebook closed, biting my lip.
I hope I know what I'm doing.