Chapter 9

By Sunday evening, I was back home. As I walked into my house, I let out a sigh. As much as I'd enjoyed being around other people and being able to talk for the first time in years, it was good to be home. My house was my space, even if it was a small space. It was where I could comfortably be myself.

I had just tossed my things on my bed and changed into a tank top and pajama bottom, planning on vegging out in front of the TV, when there was a heavy knock on my front door. With an annoyed groan, I walked over to the door and opened it to see who was on the other side. I was so irritated and tired I didn't even bother to check the security camera first or to ask who it was.

I just want to relax. I thought as I stared expectantly at the man on the other side of the door.

"Andy Darwin?"

I nodded my head, giving the man in front of me a confused look. I wouldn't admit it, but I was a little scared by the fact that there was a stranger at my door, especially since he knew my name. Mentally, I called myself stupid for just opening the door without making sure he wasn't Azrael or one of his colleagues, not that I would know it was either without them telling me.

"I'm detective Ashton Ortega," the man said, flashing a badge.

I was even more confused now. Why was there a detective at my door? What did he want from me? From my experience, anyone working with the police showing up at your door at night was not a good thing.

I was an orphan. I had no family left in the world, so I could easily rule out him coming to tell me a loved one was injured or dead. I kept to myself, so there was no way he was coming to say that something had happened to a friend or that one was worried about me because I'd gone off-grid for just over 72 hours. That was a lie, though. I did have one friend, Mrs. Gordon. But, there had been no holiday that weekend, so the elderly woman had no reason to call the cops to look for me.

I stepped aside and motioned for the detective to come in if he wanted to. He nodded his head and thanked me as he walked in. I closed the door behind him and led the way into the kitchen, pointing to the coffee pot and giving him a questioning look as I did so.

"No, thank you. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

I nodded my head and then poured myself a cup of coffee before sitting at the table and giving the detective my undivided attention.

"Where were you Friday afternoon?"

I shook my head and signed 'out.' It wasn't a lie; Charon had picked me up sometime late Friday morning. I couldn't be sure of the exact time, but I knew it was before noon.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't understand sign language. If you need an interpreter, we can go downtown, and there's one at the station."

I hesitated a moment. Was this some sort of trick? Should I go with the detective? Was he a real detective? When had I gotten so paranoid? I gave him a small nod and quickly finished off my coffee. Grabbing a jacket and my phone, I slipped on my sneakers and followed the detective out of the house and to his car.