Chapter 28

"First, we'd like to thank you for working with us."

The older male shakes Khristina's hand and she smiles, sitting down in a small chair.

"My brother Alexei says that when I shake hands with an adult it means they see me as smart! Do you see me as smart?"

The man turns to his younger partner and the two chuckle, before turning back to Khristina.

"Yes, we do. Now, the first question I'd like to ask you is if you ever saw Alexei and Mr. Brookstone around each other? Like were they talking with each other or singing or anything?"

She nods.

"Yep! They were playing golf along with Mr. Kazimir!"

The old man turns to his partner, who raises a brow.

"Mr. Kazimir? Who's Mr. Kazimir?"

"He's a tall man with red eyes and white hair taking care of me while my brothers are away at school! If you see him, you'll probably think he's a prince from another country!" Khristina explains with a warm smile.

"Good to know." the older detective replies, as the younger male writes Kazimir's name down. "Anyway, when Mr. Brookstone walked off the golf course, where did he go?"

"He interrupted me from watching my show, gave me a piece of trash, and then went to the bathroom." the little girl replies, swinging her legs.

The older male nods, writing down a few notes.

"Okay, what was the piece of trash?"

Khristina frowns.

"I don't know. I gave it to Alexei and he and Mr. Kazimir's jaw dropped, but they never told me what it was. Alexei got mad and went into the bathroom to throw it away I think."

The man nods.

"After Alexei walked out of the restroom, did you see him acting weird in any way?"

The little girl shakes her head.

"No, 'cause I went back to watching my cartoon on his phone. But Alexei did tell me that Mr. Brookstone told him that he had an emergency and had to leave."

The old detective sighs.

"Alright, well that's about all we have to ask you. For your cooperation, here's a lollipop."

Khristina smiles and quickly takes the candy, before frowning and giving it back to the older man.

"Nope! Alexei told me not to take stuff from strangers, so I have to go now! Bye bye!"

She runs out of the room and the two men turn to each other, shrugging.

-- 3:30 P.M. --

Sitting down on the school's bench, Kazimir takes out his phone, scrolling through social media.

"Nothing good as usual." he says, followed by a groan.

"Kazimir Cizetto?"

The young man looks up from his mindless scrolling to see an old man standing in front of him.

"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you with something?"

He watches as the man takes out his identification.

"I'm a detective from the Claiza City Police Department. You're listed as a person of interest in the murder of Roger Brookstone. Don't worry, you're not a full suspect, but I do need to ask you a few questions back at the station."

Kazimir sighs.

"Yeah, but I'm picking up a kid that I'm currently watching while her brothers are off at college."

The older detective nods.

"Yes, I know. Khristina-Bella La'rine is her name and we've already made arrangements for her brother Andréy to pick her up since he lives closer."

Putting his phone in his pocket, the young man stands up.

"Well, I guess you're free to interrogate me then."

The two head back to the station and into a small room, where the older man gives Kazimir a bottle of water and he scowls at it.

"I need your full and honest story of how you came into contact with Roger Brookstone. One lie and that'll be proof for us to put you under suspicion for the murder of Roger Brookstone."

Kazimir shakes his head.

"I want a lawyer. I know it makes me look guilty, but it's for the best since I could be set up by this department."

The older detective sighs.

"Alright. We can get you one. However, I'd like to know about your friend, Alexei La'rine. How'd you come in contact with him?"

Kazimir raises a brow.

"This is important, why? Nevermind that, just get me a lawyer. I'm not saying anything until I get a lawyer."

The man blinks a couple of times at Kazimir's demanding, before nodding.

"Right. I'll lead you out."

--- Saturday; 6:17 P.M. ---

"The old bastard wants to see you now."

Alexei La'rine looks up from his watch and gets up from the chair outside of the interrogation room.

"You sure you don't want to ask for a lawyer?" Kazimir asks, sitting down. "That man might try to convince you that you don't need one, so just be careful."

Alexei shakes his head.

"Mr. Cizetto, I hope to end this as quickly as possible. I already have multiple situations interfering with my academic life and I really don't have the time to prolong any of this."

He smiles, looking down at his watch once more.

"We'll be fine. I promise."

The young law student walks into the interrogation room, giving the detective a soft smile and handshake.

"Alexei La'rine, correct?" the old man asks.

"Correct." Alexei replies.

The older man smiles.

"Well, Mr. La'rine. I need you to start from the very beginning of how you came to meeting with Roger Brookstone until his murder."

Alexei nods.

"Well, Mr. Cizetto and I actually went down to the police station at around 10 to 11-ish P.M. on Saturday night. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why so late, but Mr. Cizetto just came from a party before heading over to the Claiza City Special Forces Department to introduce me to one of his co-workers, who is currently working on my parents' murder case. Afterwards, we met with Mr. Brookstone

to discuss the corruption in this city. Mr. Brookstone specifically told us to meet him at the Oak Pikes golf course at 2:00 P.M. the next day."

The young man looks down at his watch and nods.

"After getting pizza on Saturday at around noon, Khristina, Mr. Cizetto, and I went over to the golf course where we met with Mr. Brookstone at the entrance."

The old man looks up from writing down notes and stops him.

"I know I said I'd like for you to explain your whole story, but I'd like to just continue to ask you a few questions from here."

Alexei nods.

"That's fine."

"Okay. When you arrived on the golf course with Mr. Brookstone, what did you all discuss?" the older male asks.

"We went over the corruption of this city being tied to the Claiza City Police Department."

The old man smirks and looks down at his notebook.

"Security footage from the golf course shows Roger walking into the restroom a short while after you hit a hole-in-one. A couple minutes later, you appear on the camera and drag what seems to be a black trash bag out of the restroom. Care to explain?"

Alexei shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to view this footage."

The old man raises a brow.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"Sir, not many people know this, but one of the rights a person has while being in Claiza City's police custody states that he is allowed to go over any type of evidence he is suspected to be tied with; including photo and video footage." Alexei replies, frowning. "Look, we both know a lawyer will do nothing but extend this case, which is going to be tiring for the both of us, but I won't hesitate to ask for one if I feel the need."

The older detective sighs and nods, before turning his laptop around and pressing on a five-minute video.

Alexei nods and looks up at the older man as he fails to see himself enter any part of the footage.

"Well, I'm extremely disappointed with you, sir. Mr. Brookstone can be seen clear as day entering the restroom and not exiting, but I can't be seen entering or exiting anywhere in that footage. May I ask why you lied?"

The old man shrugs.

"It's not really a case of lying, son. Just misinterpretation."

Alexei's brows furrow and he tilts his head, slightly lowering it.

"Misinterpretation that could've tainted my future and placed me in prison. Now, I asked you why'd you lie to me. Answer my fucking question before I request for a damn lawyer."

The detective nods.

"We just thought we saw you enter that part of the footage after watching the whole thing."

"Where? As a ghost? Stop with the games, you didn't see me anywhere. You just tried to get me to admit to something I didn't do. Hell, Mr. Cizetto's lawyer says the autopsy stated Mr. Brookstone didn't even die by bullet wounds, but by poison. Besides, how do we know that another Claiza City resident didn't poison and shoot him afterwards? How do I know that you all aren't trying to set Mr. Cizetto and I up for failure because we're trying to help with this city's corruption? You people are suspected for that, after all."

The old man shakes his head out of frustration.

"Your younger sister, Khristina, claims Roger gave her a gift. Can you confirm this?"

"It was a condom with a hole poked in the middle. He asked Khristina to follow him into the bathroom and she never did." Alexei replies, sighing. "Here's some advice; out of everyone to interrogate, I'd recommend starting with your own police department. Otherwise, you all may not have a good look in the future."

The detective raises a brow.

"I'll make a note of that. Now, can you explain to me why Khristina said you got mad and went into the restroom to get rid of it?"

Alexei nods.

"I'm assuming she left this part out, but I threw it away once I arrived back home. Yes, I was extremely livid about the whole thing, but I'm not one to make a scene at either a public or private facility, sir."

"Well, it that's all I have to ask of you for now." the older male says, writing down Alexei's words. "Our most qualified team of investigators will review you and Kazimir's statements, before getting back to you two sometime tomorrow morning. For now, I'll see you both out."