by David Thompson

 

            “Spencer Bailey, Let’s get right to the point shall we?  Are you aware of how serious this crime is?”

Spencer stared at the cold metal table in the Berkeley police station while the detective spoke to him. He looked at the mirror that was behind the yelling detective. He knew there were more watching, seeing what kind of reactions he would give, telltale facial expressions indicating which other people might be involved, just like in the movies. A young looking man, late twenties, blonde hair, with blue eyes and a medium build sat down, crossed his legs and spoke.

“Mr. Bailey. Can I call you Mr. Bailey?”

“Spencer’s fine.”

The detective took a deep breath, put on his glasses and opened a manila folder.

“Mr. Bailey, your two best friends are missing, and everything so far points to you.”

“What?”

“Describe your relationship with them?”

He struggled with the question in to which he had no answer. He took a deep breath as he tried to remember every single detail. Their relationship had so many twists and turns that it made even the closest of friends confused.

“Well, I met Sam when we were a part of Varsity Basketball team together. That was sophomore year.  He was the captain. We both wanted it, but I guess he wanted it more, so he had everyone following him. He was kind of the player of our school even hooking up with the photo…”

The detective sprung to attention.

“Photo? Photo what?”

“Nothing, it’s not important.”

“Mr. Bailey, you are seventeen. You’ve got everything to live for. Anything that can help my team find your friends will only make both of our lives easier. This is thirty years in prison we are talking about. If you got something to say, I recommend you say it now! In the eyes of the legal system you’re not a child anymore.”

Spencer took a deep breath, looked around and confessed everything he knew.

 “The photo teacher okay. Sam used to brag in the locker room about the extra “attention” that Ms. Sylvia gave him. Sylvia Jones is her full name if that helps.”

“Did Erica know about this?”

“Of course she knew, didn’t mean she had to believe it though.”

“Thank you. Mr. Bailey.”

The detective got up. Before Spencer could say anything the detective opened the door and walked out. He left Spencer in the sterile room for a couple minutes before leading his parents back to get him. He made his way to his desk too make a call to his partner.

“Hey Mike, I need a favor.”

“What else is new?”

The detective cracked a smile.

“I need you to check up on a person at the high school. Her name is Sylvia Jones. Oh and figure out everything you know about three kids. Spencer Bailey, Sam Thomas, and Erica Hills.”

“I got your back. I’ll get that in a couple of hours for you.”

“Thanks.”

A few hours later, a call came in to the detectives phone. Mike was calling.

            “Give me something good Mike?”

            “D, have you heard of this thing called Myspace?”

            “Yeah. But what does that have to do with anything?”

            “Well, Sam has a Myspace page with a hit list section.”

The detective looked at a picture of Sam.

            “He doesn’t look like a murderer. But who knows these days.”

            “You’re right about that, it’s a sex hit list. This kid has one kind of track record, Staci, Lucy, Lashonda, Sheila, Stephanie, Anna, Hillary, Megan.  But one name sticks out. Sylvia Jones. Sam wrote, Ms. Sylvia, Taught me a couple of things, but not in the classroom lol.”

            “Wow, thanks Mike. I think it’s time to call in this Ms. Jones.”

            The sixth period bell rung at Berkeley High School. The halls were filled with large clumps of stubborn kids that wouldn’t move. The detective made his way through the crowds of stalled teenagers to see Ms. Sylvia. He finally made it too H-104. She was in the dark room.

            “Ms. Sylvia?”

            “Yes.”

            “I’m a detective with the Berkeley Police Department investigating the disappearance of Sam Thomas and Erica Hills.”

            “Oh yeah. That’s so terrible. I never expected it too happen at Berkeley High.”

            “When was the last time you saw them?”

            “It was at the homecoming game I believe. I had to take pictures of him and Erica for the schools display case. It’s right outside.”

            “When was the last time you talked to Sam?”

            “The same time.”

            “Really? I had one of my colleague’s run Sam’s phone records your number came up. Wanna explain that?”

             The detective pulled out the manila folder, and opened it. Sylvia paused.

            “Oh. Yeah, Sam wanted copies of the pictures.”

            The detective put his hand on the doorknob. He pointed at Ms. Sylvia.

            “Sure. one more question. Uh, do you know Spencer Bailey?”

            “Yeah. Spencer, he’s a great student. He’s so in love with Erica, but she didn’t want him.”

            “Really? How do you know that?”

            “When you sit in a room with thirty kids. You start to notice some things.”

            “Thanks.”

The detective walked away stunned. Spencer forgot to include that detail in his interrogation. He was stuck and didn’t know where too go. He started to walk down the long hallway. In a display case, he saw the portraits of Sam, Erica and Spencer that Ms. Sylvia took. He would soon see this again at the end. His cell phone started to ring. It was Mike.

“Hey. We found the girl on the side of a road. She was barely alive. It looks like a hit and run.”

“Did you find anything else?”

 “We found some taillights and a pair of bloody shoes around her. But that’s about it.”

“Thank God. Where is she?”

“She’s at Alta bates hospital on Ashby.”

The detective left the school, hopped in his shiny black Ford Crown Victoria police car and sped off. It took him a couple of minutes to get to the hospital. Erica had just gotten out of surgery to repair her broken legs, which made her paralyzed temporary from the waste down. According to her mother she also had amnesia.

“Erica? How are you? I’m a detective from Berkeley Police and I’m here to ask you a few questions okay? I know it’s a hard time right now but it’s beneficial to the investigation.”

“Okay.” She said in her weak voice.

“When was the last time you saw Sam?”

“I don’t remember.”

She busted out in tears.

“Do you remember that night at all?”

“Yeah, I remember the screaming fans and number thirty-two of the opposing team.”

Erica’s realized that she had made a mistake. The detective looked at her with his sharp blue eyes.

What the hell? Am I losing it or didn’t she just say that she had amnesia.

“She saw Sam before the basketball game. In his car.” Interrupted her mother.

“Do you know where his car is?”

“It’s probably in the school parking lot.” Her mother said.

The detective called Mike. He needed a team to start looking for Sam’s car. Erica’s mother described it as a seventies van with only a couple windows, and it was red with sparkles.

            “Mike. We got a car.”

            “Ok. I’ll get Will and Sarah to check it out. Where is it?”

            “Berkeley High teachers parking lot.”   

            Mike was in his office when the call came in. He happened to catch Will and Sarah walking by.

            “Will, Sarah. Come here for a second.”

            “What up Boss?” Will said. Sarah rolled her eyes.

            “You heard about that case of the missing kids right?”

            “Yeah.”

            “You’re on it.”

Mike threw a manila folder at Will.

            “Thanks.” Will said.

Will and Sarah took a ride down to the parking lot. It was filled with silver and blue Priuses with a dash of other modeled vehicles. One vehicle stood out. A 1970’s van with a burnt orange color.

            “Think this is it?”

            “If that was supposed to be sarcasm. You need help.”

            Sarah scoffed.

            “I’ll take fingerprints.” Sarah said.

            “I’ll check the inside.”

            Will opened the tailgate door to find the average. Two seats, a pink cell phone and a sleeping bag that was covering something. It was covered in blood.

            “Oh shit.”

            “What’s wrong?” Sarah said

            “I think I found Sam.”

                        Will pulled back the sleeping bag. He found nothing. There was no body.

                        “Never mind. No body.”

                        “Thank god.” Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

                        “Damn. Let’s get to work.”

                        Sarah went back to the outside while Will pulled out a black light and searched for any kind of bodily fluids. But he found something else. It was crabs.

                        “We know a lot of things about Sam. He enjoyed basketball and sex.”

                        “I found a cell phone and a memory card.” Sarah said.

                        “I don’t think the Varsity basketball captain would have a pink cell phone.”

                        Will opened the cell phone. Only to find Erica's best friends name. “Sheila baby!”

                        “You got your camera, Will?”

                        “Yeah. Why?”

                        “Give it too me.”

                        Will handed over the camera. Sarah put the card in only reveal a tape.

                        No one better see this. A voice screamed from the video.

                        “You think that’s Sam?”

                        “I don’t know.”

                        This is going on Youtube and your Myspace. You cheating bastard. You gave me crabs. Another voice said.

                        “You think that’s Erica?”

                        “Naw. From what detective said she doesn’t sound like that.”

                        “What is Erica’s best friend’s cell phone and memory card doing in her boyfriends car?” Will asked.

                        “You found crabs right?” Sarah said sarcastically.

                        Will and Sarah’s head clicked together. They figured out what had happened and made a call to the detective. Meanwhile, the detective had called Spencer back to the police station.

            “Hello Spencer, we meet again.”

            “You wanna tell me what happened to Sam in his car?”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Cut the crap Spencer! People on my team found a bloody sleeping bag in his car. What the hell is that!”

            Spencer’s voice broke. He started to cry.

            “I don’t know.”

            “Yes you do. You know what I think happened. I think you killed him to get to Erica. You didn’t think I knew about your love for her did you? You wanted Erica to lean on you when her boyfriend died didn’t you!”

            “No…”

            Spencer shook.

            “Yeah you did and then you put him in the sleeping bag and drove him to the teachers parking lot and left him there didn’t you!”

            “No!”

            “Then tell me what happened!”

            “It was Sheila… and me. I got tired of him treating her like his boxing bag. He slept with every SINGLE girl at that high school and lied to her when she asked him if he loved her. Me and Sheila came up with the plan to get him before the basketball game started and tie him up to make him confess for giving people crabs. Sheila used a schools camera. But things went wrong when he got loose. He chased after us to get the memory card but Sheila put in her mouth. He threw the camera at her and hit her in the head. Which made her spit it out in the parking lot. She pushed him into a pole and he hit his head. All this blood started to gush out.

Spencer was crying. All his emotions came out. He couldn’t eat or sleep because the guilt was eating away at him.

“We wrapped his body in the sleeping bag and put him in the van. Sheila drove him away.”

“Where’s the body Spencer!”

“I don’t know.”

“Where’s the BODY.”

“The last time I saw him was when we put him in the van. You gotta believe me.”

Back at a lab. Mike, Sarah and Will were analyzing the sleeping bag. Will pointed out that crabs carried both of the sex partners DNA. They were also doing voice comparisons on the cell phone and the video they found. Will and Sarah guessed wrong. It wasn’t Erica on the tape. It was Sheila.

“I got the crabs.” Will said.

“I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

“Ha ha”

Days pass and the investigation went cold. Will decides to call in Ms. Sylvia for some more questioning. He took her too the same room that Spencer had sat in a couple months ago.

 

“Ms. Sylvia? I’m Will from the Berkeley Crime Lab. I have a couple of questions for you.”

“Okay.”

“I spent days in a lab. I found out that you lied to us. Ms. Sylvia.”

“I never lied to you.”

“The thing you didn’t know about Sam. He had crabs and uh, you have them too.”

“What!”

“Then tell me how we found your fingerprints on the door handles of his car.”

“I…”

“That’s what I thought. Excuse me.”

Will left the room to have a conference with the other detectives behind the mirror. 

“I don’t think she did it. Something in me just doesn’t think she did.” said Sarah.

The other detectives looked at her like she was crazy.

“What! How can you think that.” Said the detective.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. Will reentered the room to say,

“You can go now Ms. Sylvia. Don’t go far.”

“I won’t. I’ll be at my studio.” Ms. Sylvia struck a smile and walked away.

“I might be there to check up on you. Hope you don’t mind.” Will whispered.

Will headed back, behind the mirror.

“She did it! There is no doubt in my mind that Ms. Sylvia Jones did it.” Said Will

“It’s not sitting right with me. I’m going to check up on Erica at the hospital.” Said the detective.

The detective made it too the hospital just before visiting hours were over. Erica’s parents were coming back from the cafeteria.

“Hello. I’m the detective that questioned your daughter earlier.”

“Oh yes. Yes I remember you.” Said Erica’s mother.

“I just wanted to ask her some more questions. Is that alright.”

“Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll give you your privacy.”

“Thanks.”

The detective walked into the hospital room with the EKG machine beeping away.

            “Hey Erica, do you remember me?”

            “Yeah, you’re the detective that’s investigating the murder of my boyfriend.”

            The detective thought, Selective amnesia is a bitch.

            “Do you remember what happened the last night you saw your boyfriend?’

            “No I don’t.”

            “I think you do Erica, I think you do. Let me give you a recap. You and Sam were in his car laying on a sleeping bag having sex. When you found Sheila’s cell phone. You then accused Sam of cheating on you, but you already knew that right? Then when he actually told you what happened. You bashed his head into the side of the van causing an extentional amount of blood. When you realized what you had done. You wrapped his body in the sleeping bag and drove to a deserted place and then got rid of him didn’t you.”

            Erica started to weep uncontrollably. In her tears she confessed.

            “Do you know how much SHIT, Sam has put me through?”

            The detective stood there. Showing no complete sign of emotion.

            “You were going to let your friend take the blame. Was it enough shit to deserve to die?” the detective said smoothly walking out of the hospital room door.

            The next day at school when the news broke out about who killed Sam. Loud groups of teens watched as the administration tore down the portrait of Erica. But as soon as the portrait was gone. The loud hallway suddenly turned silent.