11 – Ciara
“ W e’d like to ask you a few questions about the night of Alyssa’s murder.”
Sitting across from the two detectives, I stare blankly, not letting a single part of my face show anything I’m feeling. I knew this was coming because I was the one who found her, but I also know there is no evidence showing it was me or that I even knew her, so I just need to keep calm, answer their questions, and get the hell out of here.
“Okay,” I say, my voice monotone.
“Did you know Alyssa?”
A woman named Rochelle asks this question—she’s a blond woman, younger, maybe thirties, and she has kind blue eyes. I’m glad it’s not just men, because right now, I don’t need to feel intimidated by a bunch of cops who have a theory in their head and want things to go their way. I did nothing, and I’m not going to allow them to claim I did.
“No.”
“Can you over the events of the night so we can get a better understanding of what happened?” she asks, offering a smile.
The man beside her just stares at me with his dull brown eyes, no doubt trying to intimidate me.
Won’t work, buddy.
“I already told you what happened. I went for a shower and as I was about to undress, I noticed blood on the wall and some coming from beneath the cubicle, so I leaned down, and that’s when I saw her.”
Those eyes flash through my mind again and my chest tightens. I don’t like how this feels; it’s fucking gut-wrenching. I don’t want to see her face for the rest of my life, yet somehow, I feel as though I will. I never got the chance to talk to her friend last time I was here. By the time Paulie and I got to her room, she had already gone home.
I hope she comes back, because I want to get to the bottom of what went on.
I’m not about to tell the cops that, though.
“You saw nobody else when you were coming in?”
I shake my head. “It was quiet. Not a single person around.”
“Why did you decide to have a shower so late?”
“Because I always shower late.” I take in a breath for calm. “I don’t love the idea of sharing, so I wait until everyone is done.”
“You were later than usual that night, no?”
I grit my teeth. “Yes.”
“Can you tell me why that was?”
“I went to my parents house and had dinner with them.”
The man, whose name is Greg, cuts in, “Why didn’t you shower there?”
Stay calm, Ciara.
“Because I didn’t have any of my things. I went for dinner.”
“You run with a biker club, do you not?”
Oh, he wants to go down that road.
Of course he does, it’s easier to blame the girl who is with a biker club than it is to do an actual damn investigation to work this out.
“That has nothing to do with this, or what we’re talking about,” I say, my voice low and clipped.
“Can you just answer, please?” Rochelle asks, her voice careful.
“Yes, my partner is a member of a motorcycle club.”
“Then I’m sure you’re aware that they delve into illegal business,” Greg points out.
“I’m not here to discuss that. I will tell you that they have no reason to come on campus and kill an innocent girl. You’re way off track.”
I’m getting short, and I know I should stop, but this dick is frustrating me.
“They might if she did something to hurt you.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
Clearly this man has never experienced the club, because if he did, he’d know they’re not about finding girls and killing them for revenge.
“I don’t know her,” I say, my voice pointed. “Even if I did and she did something, they aren’t those kinds of people. They don’t kill innocent people, especially young girls.”
Greg snorts.
Rochelle takes over after shooting him a look. That’s right, put him in his damned place.
“That’s all for now, we’d appreciate if you could make yourself available for any further questioning.”
I nod.
Then, I get the hell out of there.
I know they’re clutching at straws because they don’t know who did it, and I’m the best option because I was the one who found her. I left nothing at the scene, even I’m smart enough to have not touched a single thing when I found her. I got the hell out of there so there isn’t a single ounce of my DNA on anything.
Heading back to campus, I see the sun is slowly setting on the horizon.
It’s my first night back, and I really didn’t want to come. Addison and Serenity are rotating with the kids until Spike gets back on track, and I felt awful leaving them. Addison wasn’t giving me a choice, but I fought her on it for a good while. She was right in the end—this is important, and I can’t bail out now, even if every part of me wants to.
Reaching my room, I exhale as I unlock the door and push it open.
I gasp when I step inside and see that on the wall, painted in bright red, is the word murderer .
Stumbling back, I grip my chest as I try to process what the hell I’m looking at. Someone came in here and spray painted my wall. My throat is tight as I frantically try to figure out what the hell to do. How did someone get into my room? Okay, it’s not hard to access a room once you’re in the dorm, because they’re only flimsy locks, but still.
It must be another student.
Turning and rushing out of the room, I go out to the front entrance to locate the security guard that gets around during the night. He clearly doesn’t do a good job because somehow a girl got murdered on campus and he had no idea about it. Not to mention the times I’ve snuck Spike in. Still, he’s the only person I can go to right now, that can contact someone to help me out.
When I find him, sitting and staring at his phone, I tell him what has happened.
Staring at me, almost bored, he exhales and calls through to student services.
Within twenty minutes, the head of the department is in my room with me, staring at the wall. She’s a nice lady, kind but firm, and I can see the utter disgust in her eyes as she stares at the word that has been sprayed onto the clean painted wall. She’s not happy about it, and, well, neither am I.
“I’m so sorry, Ciara,” she tells me. “I’ll get you another room for the night and have this one cleaned up. We’ll change the locks, and I’ll be making a statement tomorrow. If I catch whoever did this, they will be immediately expelled.”
Nodding, I take a shaky breath. “I didn’t even know Alyssa. Now everyone thinks I murdered her. All I can see her is empty expression in my mind. I’d never hurt someone ...”
Squeezing my shoulder, she smiles at me. “I know that. If I had any doubt, you wouldn’t be here. Alyssa was ... troubled. She was from the very first moment she started here. I had more than one incident with her and other students.”
Interesting .
“Do you think one of them hurt her?”
She shrugs. “I honestly don’t want to accuse anyone of anything, but she had a lot of enemies around here. She could be ... mean. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t always like that, but there was certainly a trail of drama following her.”
I keep that in mind.
“Come on, let’s get you into another room.”
She helps me with my things and gets me into a room that is empty tonight. Once she’s gone, I stand in the dark silence, wondering if this is even worth it. Should I just be done with this dream and go home to be the mother and partner I’m meant to be? Maybe this quest is causing more trouble than it’s worth.
I just don’t know anymore.
“IS IT TRUE?”
Paulie finds me the next morning on my way to class. After a fitful sleep, I got up early and went for a walk. It seemed to help calm my nerves.
“What?” I question, walking toward the main building.
“That someone spray painted your wall?”
I whip my head around and stare at him. “Who told you that?”
“Everyone is talking about it.”
Of course they are.
“It’s true.”
He gasps, pressing a hand to his mouth. “Do you know who it was?”
I shake my head. “No, but don’t worry, I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
“You know I’ve got your back,” he nods, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “We’ll figure this out. If anyone says a single word to you today, you tell me, and I’ll have their god damned head.”
I smile. “I have no doubt. Don’t worry about me, though. I can handle a few gossiping students. I just need to go to my locker and swap books; I’ll catch you after class?”
He nods, and we go our separate ways.
I reach my small locker and undo it, having grabbed the wrong book last week. As I open it, a piece of paper flitters out and lands on the ground. Frowning, I lean down and pick it up. Maybe one of my notes fell out. I open it, not thinking too much about it, until I see the words scrawled across the page.
She didn’t deserve to die. You did.
What the hell?
A cold shiver runs up my spine as I stare at the words, over and over I read them, as if that will change what I’m seeing.
Who the hell is doing this?
Why would anyone want me to die? I don’t understand. Is this just an angry friend who thinks I did it. That makes sense. I need to speak to Alyssa’s friend, sooner rather than later. Whoever is doing this needs to back off. I don’t need it right now. Taking the note, I tuck it into my pocket, swap my books over, and then head to Pete’s class.
The same as last week, he looks at me now with a weary scrunch of his nose.
What an absolute dick.
At least he’s leaving me alone.
I find it hard to concentrate through his class, and when it’s time to head to Gerard’s class, my brain is a foggy mess. I’m trying to figure out who left that note and if it’s something I should be concerned about. Do I take it to the head of department? I don’t even know what to do. It’s most likely a prank, some stupid dumb college kids thinking they’re absolutely hilarious.
“Morning,” I say when I walk into Gerard’s class early, like always.
“How are you, Ciara?”
I pause, then shrug. “I’m okay, I guess.”
“I heard about your wall being spray painted. That’s terrible. Do you know who did it?”
I shake my head. “No, but whoever it is seems to have it in their head that I killed Alyssa when obviously I didn’t.”
“They’re probably just trying to shake you up, don’t take it to heart.”
“I’m trying not to.”
He offers a smile, but it does little to comfort me. I find my seat, get through the class, and then hunt down Paulie. I want to talk to Alyssa’s friend, and I’m tired of waiting. There is a solid chance she won’t be back to school for a bit, so I need to contact her. I considered doing it over Facebook, but I don’t think she’ll answer me so I’m hoping Paulie has another option.
He smiles when I finally find him. “Hey, girl.”
“Do you think you can get Halo to talk to you.”
Alyssa’s best friend’s name is Halo, which I think is super cool. She seems like a nice enough girl, judging by all the social media stalking I did before I came to Paulie.
“She isn’t even here.” Paulie frowns.
“I know, but I want her to meet me. I know she won’t talk to me if she thinks I actually killed her friend, but I am running out of time. I found this in my locker.”
I hand him the note. He reads it, and his eyes widen. “Damn. Okay, well, I actually have a class with her, so I’ll message her and ask her for some notes. I talk to her here and there.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to bombard her?”
Paulie waves a hand. “I think we’re out of options.”
He’s right.
I think we are.