Okay, this is how it breaks down: the detectives, the victim, plot, and all the obscure references to the people you've never heard of-mine; regular characters, the city, and all that other crap-not mine. All that crap belongs to the company...or something like that. So, let's get going.
It
really was a small room. Conroy could barely stand sitting in this
tiny room. It was supposed to intimidate the suspect, but it always
made Conroy nervous. It had been an hour, and Mustang's story
hadn't changed. Conroy was getting sick of this fast, and he was
close to snapping.
Just when he was about to break, Garza stepped
in. "That will be all for now, Mr. Mustang." He looked to Conroy,
who led Mustang back to holding.
A quick check said that it was
Foust's turn in the room. Hawkeye had been the first suspect
questioned that day. She had remained impassive and obstinate, and
they (Garza) had decided to hold their little 'ace in the hole'
for another time. He hated that woman, he hated her so much. He
almost hoped she had done it.
Foust's round of questioning
turned up nothing, which is when they pulled the trump card. "We
checked the emergency line down at the department for the call
record." Foust looked blank. Obviously, that had not meant much to
him. He was getting there, though. "We checked the log and found
something interesting. Where did you say you were that night?"
"I
spent the whole day and night in my apartment. I was
asleep."
"Really? Well, we have a police operator and a call
record that say different. They say one James Foust called in an
emergency. Should I quote? 'Oh, God, she's been shot. Send
someone now, Arika's been shot. She's bleeding, oh God, she needs
help, please, God, send a doctor. She's dying.' Does that sound
familiar?" That was it! He was starting to squirm. It wouldn't be
long before he cracked.
Snap, crackle, pop. "Fine," he
shouted. "Fine, d'ya wanna know what happened? I'll tell ya! I
woke up around ten. I went for a walk, passed the park. Imagine my
surprise when my ex-girlfriend walked past with some pretty boy,
going the same way. They were out ahead of me, so there wasn't much
I could do. I just kept going. They turned down every street I needed
to be on. They turned into an alley, started dancing. I needed to
know she was happy, can you understand that? We dated for over a
year, dammit! Did your file tell you that? I needed to know she was
happy. I heard a shot-"
'Wait," Conroy stopped him. "You
heard the shot?"
"Yeah."
No one had heard the shot up to
now. Mustang hadn't heard it, and no one else had been in the
vicinity. 'Oh, this is a good break!' Conroy thought to himself
with a smile. "Where did the shot come from?"
"Weirdest
thing, it really was. I heard it, but it came from above me. I looked
up, and all I saw was the side of a building. I thought I saw a
window close, but it could have been my imagination."
"Why
didn't you bring this to us earlier?"
"I didn't want to be
a suspect."
"You were already a suspect."
He paused to
think for a minute. "D'ya know, I never looked at it that
way."
Conroy sighed. 'What an idiot,' he thought. "Thank
you for telling us this, you've been very helpful."
Garza, who
had until now been very quiet, came forward. "One more thing. What
level do you think the window was on?"
"From what I could
tell," Foust started. Then he paused, thoughtful. He closed his
eyes for a moment. "Fourth floor."
Garza smiled that creepy
smile of his. "Thank you, Mr. Foust. That will be all."
Conroy
led him back to holding, then came back to the tiny interrogation
room to speak to Garza. "What d'you think?" Conroy
asked.
"Well, I think I know who did it. Just to be sure though,
bring me file 724-E."
"You mean…."
"I do mean. Bring
me the file."
Garza and Conroy walked into the holding area. "I think you'll all be happy to know we've solved the case. Well, not all of you." Garza smiled and stepped up to the cell. "We know who, but we don't know why. Maybe you can fill us in," he said, turning to the murderer.
Dun Dun Dun! Not much as far as cliff hangers go, but I do my best. I'll fill everyone in on the perp and motive in the next edition of…Requiem for an Alchemist!
