Liz was in the interrogation room now, seated in the metal chair, head hung slightly, Stillman sitting directly across from her while Vera hovered nearby.
"Liz" began Stillman "we need you to tell us about the night of Parker's murder".
"I already told you, I wasn't at the school when it happened" she said, "I went home as soon as the final bell rang".
"We know that's true," he said "but we also know that you're keeping something from us".
"I don't understand," she said.
"You knew that Parker was the Fairmount shooter," said Nick "you being his friend, you didn't turn him in. But the thing about secrets Liz is this, they do eventually come out". She said nothing, hands kneading on the table
"Calvin overheard you guys arguing," said Stillman "and then Adam found out as well".
"Must have pissed him off to know end to find he had been done over by someone like Parker" said Vera "but as great a guy Adam is, smarts isn't exactly his forte".
"You are the only one who knew about Parker's secret" said Stillman "the only one who could have told Adam-"
"I never said anything to that bastard!" she snapped, "I would never, ever do something like that to Parker!"
"Under normal circumstances, no" said Vera "but this was different. Here was the guy who had raped you, coming to you for information, probably demanding that you tell him what you knew".
"I have seen a lot of rape victims Liz," said Stillman "and I know that most of them could never come to face their rapist without a steady conscious" Liz went quite again, head lowering.
"We know it was not your fault" continued Stillman "and we know you would never sell Parker out like that. But unless you tell us what happened that night, we cannot connect Adam or Matt to the murder, and everything we have been saying would all just be circumstantial". She was still quiet.
"Please Liz" he said.
A tear rolled down her cheek, her hand reaching up to clear it away "the day I went back to the school…after the rape" she began "I saw him in the hallway, laughing with his friends. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, had my mom take me home".
She paused, taking a deep breath "and when the judge had the case dismissed, he hi-fived his lawyer and winked at me when he exited the courtroom. After that I kept as far away from him as I could, went into counseling, tried to put the whole thing behind me. I was good for a while…until that night"
She lifted her head up, looking directly into Stillman's eyes "he came to my house that night, demanding answers. And when I wouldn't tell him" she flashed back to her sixteen year old self "it was like the night of the rape all over again".
Liz scribbled down the math solution onto her paper, the doorbell's ring breaking her away from her homework trance. Placing her pencil down, she got up and began to trek down the hall.
"Coming!" she called, the ringing becoming even more frantic, as if a bird was chirping frantically, until it eventually stopped and turned to pounding.
"I'm coming!" she yelled, quickening her pace, wondering who the hell could be making such a racket.
She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it "what on earth is your problem man-" she stopped her sentence, mind suddenly going numb, stomach doing a sickening flip, vision wavering as she saw Adam Baker standing at her door.
He smiled "hello Liz" he said.
Liz gripped the door and tried to shut it as fast as she could but Adam was faster. Barreling the door open, he grabbed her by the neck, fingers digging deep into her skin, pushing her back until she was slammed against the wall. She desperately dug and kicked at him, breathing becoming tighter, but he overpowered her, pressing his entire body against her.
He took a deep whiff of her neck "you smell good" he said, "Just like I remember".
She freed one of her hands, trying to feebly bang at his head but he grabbed it as she came down, pinning it to the wall "now come on" he said "no need to be rude".
Liz spat at him, glob of spit landing on his cheek, which followed with him sucker punching her to the cheek, stars twinkling in front of her, hand thrusting her head back so she was looking at him right in the face.
"That was just mean" he said in harsh tone "do that again and I'll break your pretty little neck". He leaned forward, pressing his face against hers.
"Listen bitch" he said, "All I need is one thing from you. A simple answer from a question I have. Tell me truthfully and I'll walk out that door and you will never see me again, understand?"
Liz's eyes started to water "understand!" he yelled, Liz giving a small whimper of fear before she nodded her head.
"Good" he said, a devious smile on his face "now listen carefully. I know that your friend Parker has something to do with the Fairmount shooter. You being his best friend in all, I would think he would have told you something about him".
She felt her heart beat raise to a fever pitch, sweat running down her forehead "tell me who it is" he continued.
She shook her head, Adam slamming her head against the wall "tell me who it is!" he yelled, Liz shaking her head rapidly.
"No? No!" he yelled, throwing her to the ground. She clutched her neck, breathing in deeply, but then she felt his hand in her hair, tugging so hard she felt the hair being pulled out from its roots.
"Tell me who it is, right fucking now!" he yelled, Liz now starting to bawl her eyes out, body paralyzed with fear.
"You stupid whore!" he yelled, hand grabbing her shirt, yanking it right off her "I'll teach you!"
"No!" she yelled, clawing at his hands, only to receive another swift punch to the face.
"Fucking whore!" he yelled "god damn slut!"
She felt him yank down her skirt, his pants starting to unbuckle, everything from that night starting to flood back into her.
Terror stricken, she began to yell "its Parker! Its Parker!"
Adam stopped, breathing heavily "what did you say?"
Liz took a deep breath "its P-Parker, h-he's the shooter, its him".
Adam didn't move for a moment, face changing from shock to anger "that little bastard" he said.
He got off of Liz, pulling his unbuckled pants up and heading for the door, but not before he turned around to face her, still lying on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You tell anyone, anyone about this" he said "I will kill you. You hear me? I will kill you". Grabbing the door, he slammed it behind him, Liz curling up in a ball, tears streaming down her face, to grief stricken to move.
"I-I'm sorry," she said in between sobs "I-I'm so s-sorry".
Another tear began to trickle down Liz's cheek "there were days, you know" she said "days when I would tell myself it was time I finally told the truth. To finally walk down to the station and tell the police what happened, close Parker's case once for all. But every time I did, I could never walk through the front doors. I would stand there for hours, never moving from my spot, until finally when the streetlights would come on I would head back home".
She looked up "its my fault Parker is dead" she said "and I know whatever I say won't change the outcome…but at least now, I can make things right".
Stillman leaned over to Vera "tell Lily and Scotty" Nick nodded, getting up from his seat and walking out the door.
"I Balance" said Liz.
"I'm sorry?" asked Stillman.
"That was the message Parker left at the shootings, I balance," she said "it was meant to represent his zodiac sign, Libra. In mythology, the Greek goddess of justice Themis was the one who carried the scales of justice. When a person died, his soul was weighed on the scales, where a golden feather was dropped on the opposing side. If a person had a good soul, then it would rise and the person would go to heaven. If it was a bad soul, then the feather would rise and the person would be sent to Hades to face eternal damnation. Parker used the shootings as a way for the person to be judged, to see if they were truly a good person deep down inside".
"And for Adam, that wasn't the case" said Stillman.
She nodded in agreement "no…it wasn't".
Walking back into the room, Lily saw Adam and Matt already seated, Scotty close by, ready for her. Adam had his arms crossed, a very agitated look on his face, while Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Are we about done here?" asked Adam "I need to be getting home soon".
"Yep, we're about done" said Lily "all that's left now is to fill in the missing piece of the puzzle" she threw down the folder she was holding, contents open so everyone could see.
"What is this?" asked Adam.
"Well that is a picture of you Adam" she said "taken from a security camera at your school. It shows you talking to Calvin, something you failed to mention to us when interviewed you".
"Not important" he said.
"Oh but it is Adam" said Scotty "cause Calvin says that told you information about the Fairmount shooter, something that could point you to his identity".
"Which is understandable" said Lily "after all, this was the guy who shot you down, for no apparent reason what so ever. If that would have happened to me, I would have looked for revenge myself".
"Calvin pointed you in the right direction" said Scotty "Parker knew something about the shooter. Hell, he might have even known his identity. But you were smart, you knew that no matter what you did, Parker wasn't going to tell you a damn thing".
"So you went to the only other person who might have known" said Lily, "you went to Liz Hartford, Parker's best friend, the girl you raped, the perfect candidate for you to get information".
"That is a lie," he snapped "whatever that bitch told you is a lie. I never raped her and I didn't go see her that night. Me and Matt went straight home after practice".
"Its true" said Matt.
"And as for this photo, it hardly seems plausible" he said "I can barely make out that blob you call me".
"So let me get this straight," said Lily "both Calvin and Liz were lying to us, possible to save there own skins and everything we have been saying is completely blown out of proportion and our whole case is flawed".
"Exactly" said Adam.
"Well I hate to burst your bubble Adam," said Lily, staring him right in the face "but Calvin and Liz weren't lying and we aren't blowing this out of proportion. You see, we have all the evidence in the world to prove you killed Parker that night".
"What evidence?" he said "the testimony of some lowlife and a crappy, blown up surveillance tape?"
"Well, not exactly" she said, taking out a sheet from under the photo "see I was just handed this just a few minutes ago. It's from the crime lab. Now I'm not sure if either of you two took forensics in high school but a fingerprint, if left undisturbed, can last for years on a surface. See we found the murder weapon, a hunting knife to be exact, stuffed at the bottom of Parker's discarded backpack and hidden in one of the schools boiler room. When we got it, we had it sent down for identification and this is the results".
"To put it simple" said Scotty "your fingerprints were found on that knife Adam". Adam's mouth gapped slightly, arms slacking a bit.
"And it only gets better" said Lily "we also contacted your father Adam, showed him a picture of the knife, which he claimed look exactly like a similar knife he used to own. One he thought he had lost back in 91".
"Could have been any one of his knives," he said.
"But wait, there's more" said Scotty "there was one thing that did bug us. Again, this coming from Calvin, he was in charge of locking up the school before he left. So even if someone could have gotten in, it would be a bit of a problem".
"Then it hit us" said Lily "the principal of the school, he must have a set of keys on him and…well, I think you can figure the rest out".
"This…this…" tried Adam, fumbling over his words.
"I bet it made you angry" said Lily "that someone like you, the big bad football star, with money in his pocket and a dad who could let him get away with anything, the big man on campus, taken down by the high school outcast".
"Your wrong" said Adam, "you are wrong!"
"Not we're not Adam!" said Lily, "you took the knife and your fathers keys and you went back to that school to kill Parker, to make him pay for what he did to you! And let me tell you what," for this she stared right into his face "your dad cannot help you this time". Adam sat their dumbfounded, face going white, eyes bugging out, looking as if he might have a fit.
"And don't think your getting out of this either Matt" said Scotty.
"W-what?" he stuttered.
"You were with Adam that night" said Scotty "we know because your fingerprints were found on the knife as well". Matt swallowed hard.
"So here's the deal boys," said Lily "you two are going to jail, one way or another. The only thing left to solve is who gets charged with murder and who gets accomplice to murder".
Silence descended on the room. Both Adam and Matt in their teenage years, both with their football jerseys on, faces sullen and withdrawn.
"We went to Adam's house," said Matt, back in his present self "after we had gone to Liz's"
"What are you doing?!" snapped Adam.
"He told me to keep the car running" he continued "and when he got back, he told me to drive to the school".
"Shut up Matt" said Adam.
"We got in through one of the side entrances" said Matt.
"Shut up Matt!" said Adam.
"you shut up" said Matt "its no use at this point".
"I swear god Matt, if you-" said Adam
"what are you going to do Adam, huh?" he asked "tell me, what are you going to do?" Adam clenched his jaw, eyes burning with hate.
"keep going Matt" said Lily.
He turned to her "he was just leaving the building when he spotted him" said Matt "I thought…I thought we were just going to, you know, rough him up a bit. But then…it turned ugly…"
Parker shut the art room door as he left, checking the door to see if it had locked. The school was dark and quite now, most everyone having gone home by now. Walking down the hall and into the main part of the building, he headed down the front entrance steps and extended his hand for the door, only to find out it was locked.
He huffed in frustration "you got to be shitting me" he said, turning back around "hey Calvin! I'm still in here!" he walked back up the steps, looking up and down the dark entrance hall, dropping his backpack by his feet.
"Calvin!" he yelled "Calvin!" Just then, something stirred from the shadows and Adam and Matt materialized from the gloom.
"Oh, its you" said Parker in a disgusted voice, directing it to Adam specifically "what the hell are you two still doing here?"
"I can ask you the same question," said Adam "not trying to shoot another student, are ya?"
Parker gave him a quizzical look "yeah that's exactly what I'm doing" he said "think you might have hit your head to hard while doing your little floor exercises".
"Always one for the jokes, huh?" said Adam "well listen here you little freak, I'm not joking around. I know you're the Fairmount shooter".
Parker laughed "oh really?"
"really" said Adam "came right from little Lizzie's mouth".
"You keep her out of this" said Parker.
"Too late Westby" he said, "you already did when you fired that first bullet".
Parker gave another small laugh "I should have just killed ya".
"So you admit it then" said Adam.
"I just did," he said, "what are you going to do about it? Tell daddy? Call the police on me? You going to turn me in?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," said Adam, reaching behind to his back pocket "but not before I get my revenge" he then pulled out one of his father's hunting knives, its polished blade glinting in the moonlight.
Matt's face became pale "A-Adam" he said, "What are you doing?"
"Its all right Matt" he said, taking a step forward "everything's all right".
Parker raised his right eyebrow "what are you going to do Adam?" he said "going to stab me with the knife?"
"No" said Adam "I'm not going to just stab you with the knife. I'm going to do something a lot worse then that. I'm going to…what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, defile you with this knife".
"Adam please" said Matt "lets not do this. We should just call the cops and let them deal with Westby!"
"Be quite Matt" he said.
"Come on man, he's not worth it" he said.
"Oh for gods sake Matt, grow some fucking balls already" said Adam "He shot you as well. Don't tell me you wouldn't do it either? Don't tell me you want revenge as well?"
"Not like this" he said "not like this".
"Your such a fucking weakling" Adam spat.
"No" said Parker "you're the weakling".
"What did you say?" asked Adam, turning back to him.
"You think that giving me a few knife wounds is going to make you more of a man," said Parker "but it won't". Adam's eyes darkened.
"You can stab me, beat me, turn me in to the police and have me rot in prison" he continued "but at least I'll have the comfort of knowing I'm not some low life ass bag like you. Who gets off on shoving his dick into defenseless girls half his size and acting like some whiny little bitch when someone finally has the sense to stand up to you. You don't deserve a second chance. Your just a piece of shit".
Adam let out a cry of fury, one arm reaching out to grab Parker by the shoulder, while the other he used to thrust the knife right into his chest. Over and over he stabbed him in the chest, Adam bellowing like a mad man, Parker's blood seeping from his body, while Matt watched in horror nearby.
Stabbing Parker for a fifth time, Adam looked him straight in the eyes, his face chalk white "what do you have to say now?" he said in a ragged voice.
Parker's lips twitched into a weak smile "see ya in hell" he croaked. That's when Adam pulled the knife out for the last time and slashed Parker's throat.
Eyes rolling back, he wavered slightly before falling backwards, tumbling down the entrance steps all the way to the bottom. Adam looked down to see Parker's dead body splayed like a mannequin, body lit up by the moonlight.
Still breathing heavily, he turned to Matt, standing stock still, face in complete shock.
"Here" Adam said, thrusting the knife to Matt "get rid of this".
"W-what?" he asked.
"Get rid of it Matt!" yelled Adam "if the police find that, we are done for! Now do as I say and meet me out front in ten minutes". Matt looked at him horrified, the blood stained knife gingerly held in his hands.
"Ten minutes" said Adam "or I'm leaving without you" and he walked off, leaving Matt standing there.
Trying to pull himself together, he finally noticed Parker's discarded backpack. Reaching down, he pulled open the top and stuffed the knife at the very bottom, zipping it up and slinging it over his back before taking off down the hall.
Running a short distance, he quickly opened the door to the boiler room, running all the way to the very back where he took the backpack and hid it behind one of the boilers.
Pausing for a moment, he uttered a silent prayer "please forgive me" and then he was gone.
("One" by U2)
Adam stood in front of a blank wall, the flash of the camera going off as his mug shot was taken. When the first flash went off, he had turned into his teenage self, his handsome face angry and sullen, another flash turning him back to his present self. When Matt's turn came, his expression was that of sadness and remorse. As Adam passed him, he too flashed back, where he was now that pudgy kid. Turning away from his former friend, he walked to the wall and turned to face the camera, the flash going off and his current self now stood, a tear falling from the corner of his eye.
Calvin stood outside the police department, absently kicking at the pavement as he waited for the bus, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Elise. She stared at him with a concerned look, his one of suspicion. As a person walked by, they changed back into their former selves, when they were the high school bullies, the ones that all the kids feared or the adults saw as low lives who would never go anywhere in life, but this time their faces didn't show any anger. Elise's sour face now kindly and Calvin's tough guy exterior no longer present. Flashing back to their present selves, she indicated for him to come with her. Without hesitating, he followed her down the street.
Liz stood over Parker's grave, a bushel of flowers held in her hands. Kneeling down she gently placed the bouquet across the small patch of earth, one hand gently resting on the curve of the tombstone. She was young again now, face at ease and a smile on her lips, no longer torn apart by that horrible night. Raising herself up she changed back to her present self, hand digging in her pocket so she could pull out her cell phone.
As Lydia directed the men on the stage, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw it was a text from Liz. Flipping it open she saw the message was very short, consisting of only three words. It's finally over. Now sixteen again, hair a normal color and still as optimistic as ever, she closed the phone and held it to her heart, a large smile appearing on her face. Turning back to the stage, she flashed back to her current self and continued directing her play.
Back in the file room, Jeffries carried Parker's case file in his arms while behind him Vera held the Fairmount shooter case, both of the boxes with the word closed written on their lids in black marker. Stopping at one of the racks, they found a couple of empty slots and slid the two boxes into place.
Outside in the main room, Scotty was finishing up some last paperwork when he spotted Mariah. She saw him too, waving for him to come talk to her, a pleading look etched on her face. He looked down for a moment, clearly debating on whether or not he should go and talk to her. Lifting his head back up, he gave a heavy sigh and began to walk to her.
At Parker's house, Lily was handing his backpack back to his mom, who took the tattered thing in her arms, a look of serenity on her face. Giving a silent thanks to the detective, she gently closed the door.
As Lily turned around, she saw Parker, his arms gently resting over the chain link fence. He was smiling at her, a small, confident smile, one that told her she had done her job and that his was finally over. Raising himself up, he gave her a small wink before turning towards the street, slowly vanishing from sight.