Relic by Steven Whibley

Author:Steven Whibley [Whibley, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steven Whibley Publishing
Published: 2018-06-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Detective Peters led us down a narrow hallway and through another door that opened into a large room humming with activity. A few dozen desks filled the area, and police officers moved between them like marching ants. The detective herded us to an empty workstation, pulled two empty chairs from neighboring desks, and told us to sit. She typed some stuff into her computer, then turned back to us and stared, unblinking, for what seemed like several minutes.

“Tell me about this robbery,” she said finally.

Lisa spoke first and kept to the script we’d worked out. “We heard two guys talking outside the museum. They said they were going to break into the place tonight.”

The officer remained stone-faced. “There were two of them?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, doing my best to sound confident.

“And all three of you heard them?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the three of us said together.

“And they said they’d be breaking into the museum?”

We nodded.

She turned to Colin. “What did they look like?”

“Oh, we didn’t see them,” Lisa said, answering for him. “They were behind some bushes.”

“But we heard them,” I added quickly. “Clear as a bell. There was no mistaking what they said. Plus, they sounded dangerous.”

“They sounded dangerous?”

I swallowed. That part wasn’t part of the plan, and I could see the muscles in Lisa’s face clench. She was worried, no doubt, that I’d gone off script. I hadn’t intended to say that, but the detective didn’t seem as interested as I’d imagined. The last thing I wanted was for Detective Peters to think we were lying or had heard wrong. She eyed me with obvious suspicion.

“They sounded dangerous to me. You know, hushed tones, all serious.”

“Hushed tones?” she asked. “But you said, just a second ago, that they were speaking clear as a bell.”

Lisa’s whole body stiffened, and Colin shifted uncomfortably on his chair. I felt beads of sweat form on my forehead. It was time for me to shut up or I was going to ruin everything. “I’m not sure what I mean,” I said. “We did hear them clearly and maybe it was just the way they spoke that sounded dangerous.”

She turned to Colin. “Tell me how you knew there were two of them?”

“Um, well, we heard two voices,” Colin said.

“But you didn’t see them at all?” Her expression remained the same, but I could hear in her tone she wasn’t buying it.

“The bushes were really thick,” Lisa offered.

The officer drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look, you three seem like good kids. I know you might think it’s funny to play a prank.” Her eyes met mine. “Maybe get some revenge on a museum for kicking you out?”

“W—What?” I asked.

She raised her brows. “Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you from the paper, Mr. Curse? You’ve been in it a few times, you know. Plus, I’m not about to forget a story about the boy who took down a monk.”

“We’re not lying,” Colin said, raising his hand like he was swearing on a stack of Bibles.

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