Chapter Sixteen

After the fire was put out and the ambulance arrived, taking Spinner to the hospital, the other seven kids were escorted to the police station where questions were going to be asked and their parents would meet them afterwards.

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Ellie sat at the table waiting for the policeman to come in for questioning.

The door opened and a tall, broad, black man came in and took a seat.

"Hello, Miss Nash. I'm Officer Woodridge and I'll be asking you questions about what happened today at detention."

Ellie nodded.

"Did you witness the murder of a Mr. Gregory Burnish, the Saturday janitor?"

Ellie shook her head, "Not exactly. My boyfriend and I were sitting in a classroom and talking. We heard a gunshot and looked out the window. Mr. Burnish was lying outside on the floor, dead."

"Did you see the murderer?"

Ellie nodded, "A quick glimpse. When he took my friend, Emma."

"Did you see his face?"

Ellie shook her head, "No."

"Do you know who he was?"

Ellie nodded and gulped, "Rick Murray's father."

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Sean paced around the room waiting for the policeman to come in the room.

The door swung open and a brawny man walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Cameron. Nice to see you again."

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Manny sat at the table, crying. The policewoman entered the room and took a seat across from her.

"Hello Ms. Santos. Mr. Mason was your boyfriend?" the officer asked.

Manny nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"I have some good news. Mr. Mason only has a minor concussion, a broken rib, and a sprained wrist. He was lucky he landed in a tree before hitting the ground. If the tree hadn't been there, he'd be dead." The officer said.

Manny smiled a bit, "You can thank Emma for that tree. She planted it in eighth grade as part of an environmental protest."

"Mr. Mason can thank Emma for his life." The officer smiled a little.

Manny nodded, her eyes distant.

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Marco sat at the table waiting for the policeman to enter.

"Hello Mr. Del Rossi. I'm Officer Yurn. I'll be asking you questions about the fire."

"All I know is that there was a man and he took my friend, Emma. Then he tied her to a chair and lit the school on fire." Marco said, staring down at the table.

"Do you know who this man was?"

Marco nodded, "Rick Murray's father."

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JT sat at the table playing with a bouncy ball that the secretary gave him thinking he had ADD. He smiled remembering the look on her pudgy face when Emma corrected her.

The officer entered holding a spool of fishing line. JT recognized it as the string they used to get Emma's attention.

"This was found in Sean Cameron's pocket. He said it was yours. Is that true?" the officer asked.

JT nodded, "Yeah. I do magic tricks. It was for the one where you attach a dollar bill to the string and pull. It's actually quite amusing if-"

"I don't care!" the officer bellowed. Then he said more calmly, "We believe that this string was used to strangle and kill Gregory Burnish. Now, we have reason to believe that Mr. Cameron killed Mr. Burnish. But he's blaming this all on you."

"What?" JT asked, "How is he blaming this on me?"

"He said it was your string." The officer explained.

"It is my string." JT clarified.

"So you did kill Mr. Burnish?" the officer asked.

"No! Burnish was shot by the same guy that took my friend, Emma, and burned down the school."

"How, exactly, did the fire start?"

"Well, the guy, Mr. Murray, he took out a match-"

"Wait. You knew the man who started the fire?" the officer asked in a voice that made him sound like a child.

"Yeah. A few years ago this guy, Rick, came to school with a gun. He shot Jimmy Brooks in the back, Sean in the arm, and himself. He died. His father was in the school today with a gun. He took Emma and lit the school on fire, trying to kill us all, but we got out." JT explained.

"How are you so calm talking about all this?"

"When I was little, my parents died. I moved in with my grandmother. It all hurt so much that I just learned to laugh it all off."

"Son, you need a counselor."

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Jay rested his head on his arms while the policeman tried to get his attention.

"Son…son."

Jay groaned.

"I'm Officer Franklin. Will you please tell me what happened today?"

Jay groaned again, then looked up, "Some crazy dude came to school with a gun a few years back. His dad came in to the school today with a gun. Took Emma. Tried to kill us all by burning down the school."

"Who is Emma to you?" Officer Franklin asked.

"She's my girlfriend. Well, not my girlfriend, really. Not yet, anyway. She will be soon. But not yet. I hope it's soon though." Jay rambled.

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Emma sat at the table, nervously playing with her hands. Then she moved to the hem of her shirt. And then her hair.

Finally the policewoman entered, "Hi Emma. I'm Officer Truly. You've had a hard day, haven't you?"

Emma nodded wearily, "Mhm."

Officer Truly smiled, "Well, I only have a few questions to ask you and then you can head home, alright?"

Emma nodded.

"What happened today?" Officer Truly asked.

"There was a gunshot. Then my friend, Sean, came down into the classroom from the air vent. He said he had everyone else up there and we needed to go with him to be safe. I was about to go up when Rick's dad came in and took me with him. He took me into the cafeteria. Then he lit the school on fire. Then Jay came to 'rescue' me. And here I am." Emma looked up.

"Did Mr. Murray say anything to you in the cafeteria?" Officer Truly jotted something down in her notebook.

Emma nodded, "He told me that I killed his son and now he was going to kill me. I've never killed anyone before so I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't know who he was until later when Jay pulled the mask off of his face." Emma stood up, tears streaming down her face. She screamed, "I didn't kill Rick! I swear!"

And then she broke down into a mass of sobs and shakes.