The Interrogation

Sineas could hardly believe his eyes. The Luciferian smirk on the inspector's face made him feel like a real criminal.

Aunt Janice said, 'Can you fetch these two gentlemen some water to drink?' She did not look up however.

Sineas took his sweet time, first having his staring contest with the inspector. The deputy's eyes were hidden from him.

Sineas finally walked back into the kitchen and came back carrying two cups of cold water. He handed the two their water then sat down on Aunt Janice's left side. Deputy James was facing Sineas and Inspector Charles was facing Aunt Janice. The fact that the two officers were in higher seats than him and his aunt made him feel vulnerable to a large extent.

The inspector picked his hat from the floor beside him and placed it on top of his knee. He said, 'Alright. Now that most of the family is here, I'm going to go ahead and tell you the rules of this talk before we begin. Rule number one…' he raised his index, 'No one speaks unless spoken to. Rule number two…' another finger, 'No raising of voices: there is no need to turn this into a circus. And finally, rule number three…We are in charge. And I'm sure the first thing that ran through your mind, Sineas, is if we have a warrant. The answer is no, we do not. We could leave and get that warrant but when we get it, boy, I promise we won't be as kind and polite as we are now.'

Sineas looked at his aunt. He had never seen her look so helpless before. So defeated. She was mindlessly rubbing her knees, her face still turned to the floor. He turned back to the inspector. He shrugged in approval.

'Good,' said the inspector rather merrily, 'I think it's high time we started, deputy.'

James nodded, looking seriously at Sineas. His hat was in his lap.

Inspector Charles began, 'Three people died. Three people! Justin Foyer, Brittany Bale and your good-ol' doctor; Doctor Darren Jacob.'

Sineas looked at his aunt again.

She only looked at him sideways but her facial expression made it clear that she was just as equally shocked as he was.

'I'm sure you weren't aware of that,' the inspector said grinning at them both. 'My deputy and I had decided to keep it under wraps for a while. The poor man was killed the same way the first two were. Now, what irks me about these victims is that Justin Foyer and Brittany Bale were both from your school, Sineas.'

So? Sineas thought.

'You're probably thinking what that has got do with anything, aren't you? Well, remember the last chat we had at your school, when Miss Sherman was there? We confirmed that you and Justin had a fight, or he bullied you or whatever…the fact is; he gave you a good hiding. Now, I think that's a very strong motive for wanting revenge especially if he humiliated you in front of the entire school…in front of your girlfriend. Okay…let's take a look at Miss Bale. We made a call to six of your Biology classmates and they told us that you and Miss Bale got into a little altercation. Alright…' he shrugged and leaned back in his chair, '…Right now you're thinking, "This doesn't prove anything at all, Inspector Charles", and you're absolutely right. Except…' he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, 'The same day you had that physical showdown with Justin is the same day he disappeared. The same day you had that altercation with Miss Bale is the same day she was last heard from. Now, I don't know how you choose to look at this, Sineas, but it doesn't sound only like coincidence. It's convenience.'

Sineas averted his eyes.

'Very well then. Can you verify where you were on the third of this month? On Tuesday?'

He shrugged, his face still turned away. 'In bed.'

'Okay, and what about Friday, three days later?'

He shrugged yet again. 'Like I said, Charles; Tuesday is a school night. I was in bed by nine.'

'Friday, Sineas.'

'We were watching a movie,' said Aunt Janice. She did not change her timid posture however.

The inspector looked at them both. His eyebrows came together. He said, 'Fine. Here is what we're going to do. I want you to whisper the name of the movie you watched on that Friday night in Deputy James' right ear and Janice, you whisper it in my left.'

The two immediately did as instructed. It only took two seconds then they retreated back into the couch.

Inspector Charles and his deputy looked at each other.

'Is it Crane Warship?'

James nodded slowly.

The inspector chortled at them both. 'That's probably the movie you watch more frequently so I won't buy it. Anyway, shall we continue?'

They did not answer.

The inspector continued, 'Now that we have linked you to the murders of Justin and your teacher, Sineas, only one remains; Doctor Jacob. We ran through all the files of his patients and we stumbled upon your mother's. Which is obvious, I know, since he has been her doctor for the past ten-eleven years. Doctor Jacob's Peugeot was found lodged into a tree at the side of Duncan Road which is a short distance from our police station and this was the day after your mother escaped from Breechwood Asylum. If that doesn't sound like revenge then I don't know what it sounds like.' He leaned back in his chair again. He licked his lips. 'The floor is yours, Sineas.'