Marc pulled up to their apartment complex in his police cruiser.  The same one they’ve seen sitting outside at night.

“Jasper put that down.  Give it to Marc and he can scan for fingerprints.”  Martha was nervous. If there were sex photos in there, Martha didn’t want Jasper to see them.  She was in enough trouble with him already. Thankfully, Jasper dropped the envelope on the counter immediately, like it suddenly burst into flames.  Brick started barking somewhere at the new vehicle in the parking lot.

Marc walked up the path and into the building.  Marth watched him through the window. He walked across the street.  As soon as he stepped on to the curb, that white truck seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and pass along the street.  Marc didn’t turn around. Vehicles pass on that street all the time, no need to notice every one of them.

“Jasper! That truck just passed by here again!  They know we’ve found Richard.”

“How is that possible?  We just came from his house.  Did Marc see it?”

“No,”  Martha said. “He never turned around.”  Martha was so confused. She tried to think if she saw the truck at all while they were at Richard’s.  If it was in the distance somewhere watching them uncover the horrific scene.

They opened the door for Marc just as Teegan was coming down the stairs.  He looked at his parents in confusion. Tears started to form in his eyes, but still, he didn’t say a word.  

“Teegan it’s OK.”  Martha tried comforting her son.  She walked over and gave him a big hug.  He broke down into her chest and his tears came and wouldn’t stop.  “Teegan, Marc is here to help our family. He knows what we are going through and he wants to make sure that we are safe.  He is our friend.”

Suddenly, Teegan broke his silence.  “Mom, I am scared. I miss Carter. I don’t know who would want him to be dead.  Everyone knew about his gluten thing, why would anyone want to kill him? He was the best kid in town.  I want him back.”

Martha thought that Carter’s death was an accident.  Teegan seemed to think that someone murdered him. Teegan was a smart kid, but Martha wondered how much he knew.  How much he overheard all the adults talking in the house. He did spend a lot of time in his room, but was he really eavesdropping in the hallway?

“Teegan,”  Martha said in a soothing voice.  “Carter is not coming back and you know that.  But you still have me and your dad. We are here for you.  You don’t have to hide your feelings. This is a hard time for you, for all of us.  We understand and we are here to listen.”

Teegan kept crying into his mom’s body.  Martha didn’t care that her shirt was sopping wet.  All she cared about was Teegan was finally starting to talk to them and express his feelings.  She was going to be there for him no matter what.

Once Teegan calmed down a little, Martha told him, “Now your father and I have to discuss a few things with Officer Marc.  Can you go back up to your room? Play video games or read a book?”

“OK, mom,”  Teegan sniffled. “Can I sleep in your room tonight?”  There was a three inch pull out mattress under Martha and Jasper’s bed.  They kept it there in case one of the boys were sick and they needed to be watched during the night.

“Yes you can.  I will pull out the mattress for you later.  I love you.”

“I love you too, mom.  I love you, dad.”

Jasper went and hugged Teegan.  He whispered something in his ear that Martha couldn’t hear.  Then Teegan headed upstairs, and Martha heard him close the door.

“Shall we get started?”  Marc asked them.

Martha grabbed the lemonade from the counter and headed to the dining table.  Marc sat down and gladly took a glass of lemonade. He then pulled out a tape recorder and notepad from his pocket.  He took a sip from his glass.

“My name is Officer Marc Wittler, here interviewing Martha and Jasper Critch on the murder of Richard Garbel.”
“Wait a minute, murder?”  Martha asked. “Who would want to murder principal Garbel?”

“That’s what I am here to try and find out.  And since you two were the ones to find him, that makes you suspects.”  Marc acted like a completely different person. When he was here the last time he was nice, kind, and understanding of their situation.  Now he was accusing them of murdering Richard?

“You think we murdered Richard?  No no no no,” Martha started babbling again.  “Richard is an old friend of ours. He wasn’t answering our messages and his secretary told us that he didn’t show up to his conference that he was suppose to attend.  Of course we got worried and went to check on him. I work with him and he is nice to us. Why would you think that we are involved in a crime against one of our good friends?”

“I never said that you murdered Richard.  You were witnesses at the crime scene. I need you to tell me everything you know about Richard and why you think anyone would murder him.  Mr. Critch I am going to start with you. We found shopping bags from the hardware store where you are employed. Can you remember anyone who had purchased wood and screws in the last week?”

Jasper looked at Marc dumbfounded.  “I haven’t been working. My son just died and I am taking time off of work.  In any case, I wouldn’t remember. I see so many faces during my work week that they all start to look the same to me, do you know what I mean?”  Jasper chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood. Marc was not amused.

“Martha, you had a certain, umm, relation to Richard.  Would you know of anyone that would be considered an enemy to Richard because of your, umm, situation?”  Marc continued with the interview, ignoring Jasper’s response. What was this? Just because they found Richard’s body, out of concern for his safety, now the police think that they were involved with the crime?

“Richard was a single man.  He wasn’t married and he didn’t have a girlfriend.  I had an affair with him, but I broke it off almost a week ago.  I don’t know of anyone that would have even known about it.”

“Obviously someone knows.  The note on the mirror was telling someone, I am assuming you, to ‘stay away.’  I think there is some sort of jealousy going on here.” At that moment, Marc turned to Jasper with cold eyes. “Are you jealous of Martha’s affair with Richard, Jasper?”

“Richard is a very good friend of mine.  The affair is our personal business and Martha and I were going to work on it.  I would never murder anyone out of jealousy. We’ve had some marital problems, but I am a sane man and I am willing to work through it with my wife.  Martha and I both agree that we are being threatened by an outside source. I thought we discussed this a couple of days ago. The truck, the man standing across the street, the photos that popped up out of nowhere.  Someone is watching us and somebody wants to hurt us.” Jasper was getting furious. Martha knew he didn’t hold his temper well, but she hoped he would in front of Marc.

“That white truck just happens to be my old truck.  I sold it to a junkyard about two years back. We are looking in to whoever purchased it as we speak.  We are searching the scene for fingerprints and evidence. We are testing the flour to see if it is connected to Carter.  We are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this. I am not accusing you two of murder. I am here to find out about Richard and try to get other suspects involved.  You two are in a rough spot, being the people to have found a murder victim. I suggest you lay low for the time being. There will still be an officer here at night protecting you.”  At that point, Marc got up and left. He didn’t say goodbye, he didn’t say thank you, he didn’t even look at them when he walked out of the door.

“That interview was bull shit!”  Jasper’s temper had exploded. “He thinks I killed Richard.  Did you hear him? He thinks I killed Richard because I was jealous of the affair.  I can’t believe this!”

“Well, did you kill him or not?”  Martha spoke too soon. She spoke without thinking.

“Are you serious?  You think I killed him too?  I can’t believe you, Martha!”

“How do you explain the Milton bags in his house?”

“Anybody could have purchased those items!  You think I killed Carter too with the flour over there too?  Do you really think I was that upset with you that I killed our son?  Are you insane?” Jasper grabbed his jacket and left. Martha heard the van start and she saw it pull out of the driveway.  As it pulled away, she saw someone standing across the street. They were wearing a hat and sunglasses so she couldn’t see who it was.  The person was staring right at Martha through the window. Martha was in tears and didn’t care anymore. Jasper was gone, she was pregnant, and she didn’t know who to turn to for help.  Maybe it was time to confess with Anne. No, she was already nosey enough, she didn’t need to know all of Martha’s business.

Martha watched the person. They finally started walking down the street.  Martha slowly got closer to the window to see where it was going. She saw the white truck parked at the end of the street, about three blocks away.  The person got into the white truck and drove away. She heard the overly loud engine rumble down the street. She stared out the window longer, hoping that Jasper would come back soon.  She knew he wouldn’t. She assumed their marriage was over. Why did she accuse him of murdering Richard? They were supposed to be a team and she turned against him.

She went upstairs and told Teegan that she was running down to Anne’s apartment to talk.  She decided to tell Anne everything that was going on. She was Martha’s closest friend, and if Jasper was going to leave her, she had no one else to turn to.  

“Mom, wait.”  Teegan opened up his door and looked at his mom with tears in his eyes.

“What is it Teegan?  Are you still sad about Carter?”  Martha grabbed Teegan into a bear hug.  Even with Jasper gone, she had to be strong for her son.

“Is it true about Mr. Garbel?”  Teegan’s voice was shaking. At that moment, Martha knew that Teegan knew more that he should.  “Dad didn’t kill him did he?”