Detective Michael Crawley walked into the precinct that morning with his bag slung carelessly around his shoulder, wrapped around his body, and holding a steaming Starbucks cup of coffee.
“Good morning, Robin.” He greeted his slightly new partner as she stared at him in annoyance, while tapping her foot impatiently in front of his office. “Are those kids still here?”
She nodded. He sighed at her silent treatment, and turned to look at her as he opened the door to his office. “Fine, I’m sorry I’m late.” He stretched the cup of coffee towards her. “Peace offering.”
She raised one perfectly coiffed brow and accepted the coffee with clear suspicion written on her very beautiful face. “Thank you.”
He grunted his response. “Please bring the first one in. The sooner we crack this case, the faster my leave can begin.”
He dropped his things on his desk, grabbed a recorder, jotter and pen, and made his way out of his office to the interrogation room. Thankfully, Robin was already there with a scared-looking young girl. Poor child! He thought. He shook his head, he had to see her for what she was- a murder suspect.
“Thank you, Robin.” He gently dismissed his partner, who was going to listen in on the interrogation from the one-way glass separating the room from the outer office.
He cleared his throat and opened the file in front of him. It had all the girl’s details, at least the ones available to the government. Her name read ‘Shirley Mason’, a senior at West High. He pressed the start button on the recorder and stared straight into the trembling girl’s eyes.
“Why are we being held here? I know how the law works and it is illegal to arrest someone without proof.” Her trembling disappeared, reinforcing the steel in her eyes as she stared at the Detective.
Mike smiled at her, betraying none of the irritation that spiked in his guts. “You and your friends were trespassing on private property. I mean, there’s a large sign warning people off right around the estate. Mrs Maxfield wants to press charges.”
Shirley scoffed, not believing her ears. “That old hag should be grateful people actually considered her creepy estate fun enough for a little adventure.”
Mike wasn’t one for stereotypes, but staring at the girl, with a hard glint in her eyes, her obviously fake blonde hair, and the cheerleading uniform she donned, it was easy to see that she was a high school queen bee. “You asked a question and I answered. Now I want you to answer mine.”
“I want my lawyer.” Her gaze was defiant.
“And you shall have one as soon as your parents provide one. Until then, you need to answer my questions as honestly as you can. Do you understand me?”
She nodded, her body losing all the fight she seemed to have initially.
“Good! Now tell me what happened yesterday evening. And don’t leave a single detail out.”
Shirley stared at the brooding detective, as the memories of the previous day came rushing back to her.
***
Shirley huffed in tiredness, as she managed to catch up with her friend, and that was saying something seeing as she was an athlete with great resistance.
“Manny, why do we have to sneak in here? Widow Maxfield prohibits all unauthorized entry and you know it.” Shirley tried to speak some sense into Manuel, their group leader.
Being a jock and the captain of the school’s hockey team, Manuel ‘Manny’ was used to getting his own way most of the time, and that evening was no exception. He had suggested to their clique that afternoon at the school’s cafeteria that he wanted them to try out an adventure in the Closed-off Maxfield estate. To make sneaking in easier, he had split the group into two. He and Shirley would take the Eastern wall, while Jerry and Mirinda would take the Western wall, and they would all congregate at the pond, near the entrance to the famous Maxfield maze; home to the fabled Maxfield ghost.
“What widow Maxfield doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Now hurry up and stop dawdling. Mirinda and Jerry must be waiting for us already.” He dismissed her concerns while urging her to move faster and silently.
Within minutes, they reached the pond. Shirley scowled as she saw Jerry and Mirinda whispering so closely with each other, their faces a mere inch from kissing. She had always had a crush on Jerry for as long as she could remember, but he wouldn’t even say a few sentences to her in private, unless they were with the rest of the crew. Yet, here he was, enjoying a tryst with Mirinda, the exotic mixed-race girl.
With a twisted sense of satisfaction, she watched as they broke apart when they noticed they were no longer alone.
“Manny, this is a bad idea. People stay away from this estate for a reason. Widow Maxfield locked the grounds away from trespassers for a reason.” Jerry stood up and approached Manny, trying to make him see reason.
Manny laughed, but it had no joy or mirth. Just scorn. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of that old midwife’s tale about the ghost of Mr Maxfield haunting the grounds.”
None of his companions answered, each one choosing to look at the ground instead. Manny huffed and passed flashlights from his backpack to each of them. “We’ll each take different directions in the maze. Be careful not to get lost. Let’s meet back here in ten minutes. You’ll see there’s nothing to fear.”
Mirinda shook her head but she took the flashlight nonetheless. “I don’t like this Manny. Something feels off around here.”
Manny rolled his eyes. “Perhaps it’s the juju in your African blood.”
Mirinda gasped, and Jerry looked downright murderous. Shirley forgot her initial jealousy of Mirinda and was offended on her friend’s behalf. “Manny that’s racist and rude.”
Manny gave a halfhearted apology and each of them eventually ventured into the maze. Although the sun hadn’t set, the maze was ominously dark and chilly. Shirley flashed her torch against the shrubs that made up the hedges of the maze, frightening herself into believing something was following her. After a few minutes of mindless wandering, Shirley started making her way back to the entrance of the maze when she heard the scream. It was Manny’s.
She dropped her flashlight in reflex as she burst into a run as fast as her legs could carry her. She came out of her path the same moment Mirinda came out of hers, with eyes blazing with fear. They raced towards Jerry, his back was to them, and they saw a bloodied knife dropping from his grip. He turned towards them, making way for them to see the crumpled bundle that lay beneath his feet.
Manny stared up at the girls with his green eyes, lifeless. Blood seeped out from numerous stab wounds on his body. Shirley bit back a sob by placing her hands over her mouth.
She turned to look at a blood-stained Jerry. “Oh, Jerry what did you do?”
Jerry shook his head with all the strength he could muster. “I swear, it wasn’t me.”
***
Mike looked at a now sobbing Shirley. He pushed the box of tissues towards her, she picked one with a murmured thank you and started wiping her tears with new found vigor.
“Do you think Jeremiah Stanton murdered Manuel Lopez?” He asked her bluntly.
She shook her head softly, but not with uncertainty. “That’s the thing. I know the evidence points towards him, but Jerry would never hurt a fly.”
“So, who do you think would hurt a fly?” He saw the uncertainty on her face. “It’s alright, this is between you and I.”
“Well, Mirinda was genuinely offended when he insulted her. And Mirinda can be very brazen whenever she feels oppressed, but I swear I saw no shock on her face.”
Mike seemed to think about something for a while before he finally nodded. “That’ll be all for now Miss Mason. Thank you for your time.”
***
Mirinda Brown drew her hoodie closer to her as she shivered involuntarily. She wasn’t cold, on the contrary, the interrogation room was somehow warm. But the piercing gaze of the Detective pretending to be nice rattled her. If she told him what she saw, would anyone believe her?
She was so lost in her reverie that she shook when Mike called out her name firmly. “Miss Brown, are you listening to me?”
She shook her head meekly. “I’m sorry, I got carried away for a moment.”
“That’s alright. Mirinda- may I call you Mirinda?”
She nodded, not returning his smile.
“So, Mirinda. For your own good, I want you to tell me all you remember about yesterday evening. Don’t leave a single detail out please.”
Mirinda looked at him and wondered if he would think she was crazy.
