Boris Yeltsin: Thanks for reviewing. And, I liked them too, but I just didn't have the brain to get them going again, so I deleted them. But, this one should definitely make up for it.

MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN

CHAPTER 2: INVESTIGATE, INTERROGATE AND CONFESSIONS

Elizabeth's body had been moved out of the house and taken to the coroner's office. Sharpay and Troy were currently at Troy's parents' house because the police and investigators were at their house. Sharpay was still shaken up, but was doing her best to keep herself calm and together, for Logan. She was sitting on the couch right now, with Troy's three-year-old sister in her lap, while Troy was helping Jack cook lunch.

Looking down at Sarah, she smile and ran her hand through her soft red hair. "Are you tired, Sare Bear?" she asked.

"No," Sarah said.

"You yawned."

"I'm not tired."

"Well, how about after lunch, me and you can cuddle together?"

"Okay."

"You wanna get down and play Lego's with Lolo?"

"Yeah."

Sharpay let Sarah get down, and she let out a small sigh, running her hand through her hair. She stayed silent and watched Sarah and Logan play together. Tears filled her eyes and they fell silently as she stared at the kids, wishing that both of them were hers, playing together.

"Jules?" Troy asked.

Sharpay looked at Troy and stared at him. That's when she saw Detective Barnett at his side. She let out a slightly annoyed sigh and she stood up from the couch. "Logan, keep an eye on her," she said.

"Okay," Logan responded.

Sharpay followed Troy and Detective Barnett into the kitchen and she sat at the kitchen table, next to Lisa.

"Mrs. Bolton, the coroner found apple in Elizabeth's intestines. It wasn't digested yet; did you maybe give her an apple before bedtime?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No. When we got home she was asleep, so Troy just carried her into her bedroom."

"Got home from where?"

"The Christmas party at East High."

"What did she eat there?"

"Just a few bites of a banana, but she threw it up."

"Are you sure all of it came up?"

"Yeah. She puked for ten minutes straight and the last couple of minutes were just water. That's why we came home."

"Was she running a fever?"

"No. When Troy was putting Lizzie into bed, I was getting Logan tucked in, and then we both went to bed and I woke up and found the ransom note."

"Mrs. Bolton, you seem to be fairly calm about this, whereas you were a complete disaster at your own home."

Sharpay's expression hardened and she sent daggers with the glare she was giving Detective Barnett. "Excuse me?" she said, harshly. "At my own home, I woke up to find my six-year-old daughter missing. At my own home, I found a ransom note that threatened to behead my six-year-old daughter. At my own home, I saw the body of my dead six-year-old daughter lying in the floor with so many bruises on her body she looked like she'd been used as a punching bag!" Sharpay shouted, standing up.

"Mommy?" Logan asked from the doorway.

Sharpay, along with everyone else, turned her head to look at him. "What, Baby?"

Logan pointed to the TV in the living room, which at the moment had a picture of Elizabeth on the screen. "Lizzie's dead."

"I want every television in this house unhooked," Lisa said.

"Lise, don't you think you're taking this out of control?" Jack asked.

"Out of control? Jack, our grandson saw his little sister on the news and found out she was murdered."

"He's not o—"

"He is our grandson. He has been since Sharpay gave birth to him. You and Troy go around and unhook the TV sets. Now," she said before making her way into the living room.

Lisa stopped in the doorway when she saw Sharpay lying on the couch, leaning over the edge of it, vomiting into the small trashcan they kept near the inn table. She walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling Sharpay's hair away from around her neck and she ran her hand over her back to soothe her.

Sharpay gagged a bit and coughed, spitting the excess vomit into the trashcan. She had tears running down her face and she sniffed, letting out a small groan as she laid on her back.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Lisa asked.

"I'm fine, Mom; thanks…" Sharpay said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. All this drama's just got my stomach upset. I'm sure once I get over the shock of it all, I'll be fine."

"Well, I think you should make a doctor's appointment. I'll drive you over."

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Sharpay Juliet Bolton, don't contradict me. You're not fine; there's something going on with you."

"My daughter was murdered in my own house and I didn't know about it until hours after it happened!" Sharpay said, in an attempted shout that was covered by a raspy voice as tears started sliding down her cheeks again.

"You're throwing up, Sharpay."

"I'm pregnant!"

Lisa looked at Sharpay for a few seconds and she smiled lightly. "Honey, that's great."

"Is it? Really? I mean, the whole reason Troy and I tried for another baby was to make Lizzie a big sister, and now it's completely shot because she's dead."

Lisa couldn't help but feel bad for Sharpay. She knew how much Elizabeth was cherished. She was a very special little girl. "She's still a big sister. She's just in spirit now."

"It's not the same…"

"I know…"

Sharpay let out a rack of sobs and she ran her hand through her hair. She didn't want her baby girl to be gone. She saw her with her own eyes. Hands stiff above her head. Skin ice cold and lips purple. Face ashen instead of glowing. The only thing that she was glad about was that she and Troy aren't the ones that found her dead. That would have been horrible on the both of them. She couldn't help but think about how awful and scared Chad was, finding his niece laying on the floor all tied up with a rope around her neck. The thought of it made Sharpay's stomach churn.

Leaning over the edge of the couch, Sharpay started vomiting yet again and heard footsteps walking into the room, but she wasn't concerned about who was entering.

"How long has she been throwing up?" Troy asked.

"I'm not sure. I walked in, in the middle of the first time, this is the second I've witnessed," Lisa said.

"I'll take it from here, Mom; you go keep Logan and Sarah occupied."

As Sharpay coughed the remaining vomit from her throat, she felt Lisa and Troy switch places. She felt Troy's firm hand on her thigh.

"You alright, Babe?" Troy asked.

Sharpay nodded and lay back on the couch again. She ran her hands over her face lightly and she sniffled, looking at Troy. "I love Mom and everything, but does she have to be so damn ignorant?"

Troy laughed and he nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. It's her job as a mother to care about her kids, and we've been her kids since we were born."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Julia called. Said she and Vance were about an hour away from us."

"Great… Another drama queen. It's like God doesn't think one Sharpay is enough, he has to bring in the ultimate bitch."

"Jules, that's not true."

"It is. I'd rather have our friends here."

Troy was about to answer until he heard a knock at the door. "Stay here," he said, leaving the room.

Sharpay laughed a little. "Where am I gonna go?" she asked herself.

A few seconds later, a rather familiar—and slightly annoying—English accent sounded in the room.

"Sharpay, I'm so sorry; I heard about Elizabeth on the news and I couldn't get ahold of you to see how you were doing," Tiara said, with a noticeable hint of tears in her voice.

Sharpay sat up and scooted back, to rest against the arm of the couch. Tiara Gold never felt sympathy for her. "Don't worry about it, Tiara; I'm doing fine. We're all shocked and we're devastated, but we've been keeping it together the best we can," she said, sharing a hug with the younger girl.

"It doesn't seem right, the media putting her on the news. She was just a little girl; they don't have to spread the details."

"It's their job. If it helps catch her killer, then I want everything out in the open."

The only things Sharpay will not tolerate being released to the media are the pictures taken at the crime scene of Elizabeth and the autopsy photos. Those are private, confidential pictures that should stay hidden deep down in a file somewhere.

"But, still," Tiara said. "They've never made such a big deal out of something like this."

"Not since Columbine," Troy said.

"Virginia Tech," Sharpay corrected him. "Columbine is just remembered most."

"What does that have anything to do with Elizabeth?" Tiara asked.

"Nothing really, just that a little girl's murder was upstaged by two massacres."

"Sharpay, Chad is here," Lisa said from the doorway.

"I'll go," Troy said.

"No. He wants to talk to Sharpay."

Sharpay and Troy exchanged the same confused look, but Sharpay got up from the couch and ran her hand through her hair as she made her way into the foyer. She walked over to Chad and tears filled her eyes when she saw that he was crying. She looked at him for a few seconds before both of them wrapped their arms around one another.

"Shar, I'm so sorry…" Chad said.

Sharpay shook her head. "This wasn't your fault. Whoever did this is going to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives. That alone is punishment enough, but something has to be done… What if this person is a serial killer? He'll do it to other little girls…"

"I saw Zeke earlier…"

Sharpay looked at Chad, pulling away from the embrace a bit so she could look at him. "Okay?"

"Shar, he had a rope burn on his hand. It was really similar to the one on Liz's neck."

"…What?" she whispered. "Y…you think Zeke had something to do with this?"

"I'm just telling you what I saw, Shar; I'm not trying to wrongly accuse him, but I think you should take it to the police."

"Detective Barnett is here. She's questioning Dad."

"Your parents are here?"

"No, no; Troy's parents. Mine will be here soon."

"You should let her know."

Sharpay nodded and she took Chad's hand in hers, leading him to the kitchen, where Detective Barnett and Jack were. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Chad found out something," she said.

Detective Barnett and Jack turned their heads towards Sharpay and Chad. "What is it?" Detective Barnett asked.

"Well, I don't know if it's anything… But, I saw a buddy of mine earlier today and he had a rope burn similar to the one on Elizabeth's neck," Chad said.

"You're sure it was similar?"

"I'm the one that found her lying on the floor; yes, I'm sure. I'm positive."

"What's your friend's name?"

"Zeke Baylor."

"Baylor?" Detective Barnett questioned, looking at Sharpay. "Isn't that your son's last name?"

"Yes; Zeke is his father," Sharpay said.

"Is there any way you can get him down to the police station?"

"Isn't that your job? Busting the pervert that did this to my daughter? Why can't you just get one of your men to catch him off guard and take him in for questioning?"

"That's enough, Shar; go in the living room," Jack said.

"Actually, I'd like her to stay; I want to question Logan," Detective Barnett said.

"No," Sharpay said. "Nuh uh, he's a little boy; I'm not making him go through this."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bolton; it's regulation that I question everyone that knows your family."

"Well, Logan is out of the questionnaire, so get the idea out of your head."

"Sharpay, they can't go on with further investigations if Logan doesn't answer questions. It's necessary," Jack said.

Sharpay sighed and she shook her head. "Whatever."

"Logan, Detective Barnett is going to ask you some questions, okay? You have to answer her and you have to tell her the truth," Sharpay said.

"Is it 'cause of Lizzie?" Logan asked.

"Yeah."

"Logan, when was the last time you saw Elizabeth?" Detective Barnett asked.

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"Lizzie," Sharpay said, looking at Detective Barnett. "He only knows her as Lizzie."

"I'm sorry, Logan; when was the last time you saw Lizzie?" Detective Barnett repeated.

"Last night," Logan said.

"Where were you?"

"At home."

"What were you doing?"

"I went downstairs to get a drink of water."

"What about Lizzie?"

"She was sitting at the table."

"What was she doing at the table?"

Logan kicked his feet lightly in the chair he was sitting in and he laid his head on Sharpay's arm.

"Logan, you have to answer her," Sharpay said.

"What was Lizzie doing at the table, Logan?" Detective Barnett asked.

"She was sleeping," Logan said.

"Why was she sleeping?"

"I don't know."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"My dad said to get a drink and go back to bed. He said he'd take Lizzie back to her room."

"Your dad? …Honey, are you talking about Zeke?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah. He was there last night. He got me a water bottle and then told me to go back to bed."

"Did you go back to bed?" Detective Barnett asked.

"No."

"What did you do?"

"I walked upstairs and I looked out the little hole in the floor to see what he was doing."

"What was he doing?"

"He picked her up and walked to the basement with her."

"And what did you do after that?"

"I went to bed."

"Do you know why he went to the basement with her?"

Logan shook his head. "No…"

"Oh my god…" Sharpay whispered. "Chad was right… It was Zeke…"

"Can I lay down? I don't feel good," Logan said.

"Yeah, Honey; go in the living room."

Sharpay watched Logan walk out of the kitchen and she sighed, staying silent for a few seconds. "…I don't feel that well either… Excuse me," she said, standing up.

"Go on, Sweetheart; we'll still be here when you get back out," Lisa said.

Detective Barnett watched Sharpay leave and she let out a small breath, looking at Lisa, Jack, Chad, and Troy. "Is she alright? I understand this is upsetting, but she's taken quite a few trips to the bathroom."

"She's pregnant," Lisa said. "She's been throwing up all day. I'm sure this hasn't helped settle her stomach."

Detective Barnett was just about to say something, when her cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"She's pregnant?" Troy asked.

"That's what she told me," Lisa said. "When I was in the living room and she was getting sick. I told her she needed to make a doctor's appointment and I'd take her and she told me she was pregnant."

"Oh…"

"She didn't tell you?"

"No…"

"Oh… Well, I'm sure she was going to. She's just upset about all of this, Honey; give her some time, okay?"

Troy nodded just as Detective Barnett walked back into the kitchen. "I have great news," she said.

"What's that?" Troy asked.

"Zeke Baylor just confessed to killing Elizabeth."