The Blame Game

Three

"You're...y-you're joking, right?" I stuttered to the officer as he aggressively pulled my hands behind my back and placed handcuffs on my wrists.

"You have the right to remain silent," the officer stated after a moment of silence. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney..."

I stopped listening. Well, I basically was ignoring him the whole time. This was just preposterous. How could I have killed her? I didn't know anything about her. I didn't own weapons that could murder someone. I didn't have the guts to even consider something so irrational.

I looked over my shoulder at Campbell. "Cam, help me," I pleaded.

He stayed silent, staring at me. My heart dropped. He was just letting people do this? He wasn't even going to attempt to stick up for me? Didn't he realize what was going on? Didn't he care?

"It's time to go," the second officer told me. The man dragged me out of my house. The other slammed the door shut, but I was able to catch a glimpse of Cam's guilty and shocked face.

How could he do this to me?

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

I stayed silent during the ride to the police station.

They made me follow them into an interrogation room about an hour after we got inside. Before that, they just had me sit in a chair outside of some office. I felt good to get up and move my legs. But being interrogated because I was the prime suspect in a murder case was not worth waking my shaky legs back up.

Across from me was a man and a woman. They told me they were detectives from the homicide devision of the department.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"Miss Mattlyn," the man started, "you may not want to start talking without a lawyer—"

"I don't need a freaking lawyer!" I snapped. "This is just insane, okay? I didn't kill Kasey! I don't even know her!"

"Kasey's body was just recently found, but she was killed last night by what the forensics team could tell," the woman informed me. "The last place she was seen was at Campbell Griffin's house, and her body was found in that area."

"Well, have you interrogated Cam? He saw me leave, and he was the last one to see her."

"Yes," the woman retorted. "And he has witnesses who have testified that he never left his house that night after following you out when you left his house. Miss Mattlyn, complaints were filed last night by neighbors, saying there was yelling and threats. Some of his neighbors were able to recognize your voice."

I cursed at myself in my head, then mentally cursed out his neighbors that had see me multiple times and knew what I looked and sounded like.

I sighed. "Okay, I admit I got into an argument with Kasey—"

"So you're admitting that you were there? And that there was a heated disagreement between you and the victim?"

Didn't I just say that? Y'all deaf or something?

"Yes, but—"

"But what?" the woman questioned. "You get into an argument with a girl, then she happens to be killed soon after?"

"So because I argued with someone, that means I decided to kill them?" I questioned.

"Maybe. Miss Mattlyn, do you have any idea how this looks?"

I sighed.

"Please, just give me a chance to explain," I begged.

"Okay, fine," the man agreed. "Can you tell us about the disagreement between you and Miss Harrison?"