Post by GalaxiaD on Sept 8, 2011 13:36:21 GMT -5
Chapter 14: Interrogation
The officer that cuffed me back at the Mom and Pop store grabbed me out of the car once we reached the police department. I didn't struggle. Resisting would've only made things worse, and given all the blood that was spilled back at the store, things were starting off pretty badly as it was. The police department was surprisingly full of officers. They must have recruited more since the murders had started, because Sunny Falls would have little need for so many officers otherwise. This entire situation had turned this once small, peaceful town upside down.
I was led into a dark room, with only a faint glimmer of light illuminating the table before us. The officer ordered me to sit down, which I did without hesitation. The sooner I get out of this, the better, I thought. I figured that I'd just have to answer some questions, and then I'd be released. I was in for a rude awakening.
"My name is Officer Buchanan," the officer said, as he took his seat on the other side of the table. At that moment, I wondered if Kyle was being interrogated as well. He likely was, given that we had been escorted to the same police department, but I didn't see him come in. Nevertheless, Officer Buchanan cleared his throat and then spoke once more.
"Now, I don't want to have to fear the worst here, but what we saw back on Elm Street was more than convincing," he said. "So, I'm gonna ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer them with the utmost honesty. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I replied. But deep down, I knew I couldn't tell him the truth. He'd never believe me. What sane person would? I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Shortly after your and Kyle Policastro's arrest, we sent in a group of forensic scientists to examine the entire store, from top to bottom," Buchanan continued. "What they found was very, very disturbing. In the back room, what we assume was storage, we found the bodies of Giovanni and Maria Salvati, the owners of the store. They had been disemboweled, with blood and other internal organs covering the floor in front of them. On top of that, the area with the main counter was covered in blood as well, with the counter shattered and collapsed upon itself, as if someone had crashed on it."
"So, what does all that have to do with me?" I asked. Buchanan shot me a dirty look.
"I ask the questions, Mr. Fawcett," he said. "And I certainly don't appreciate such a smug remark. You have very serious charges pressed against you."
"Wait... you think I killed those two?!" I exclaimed.
"What did I just get done telling you?" Buchanan said. "I ask the questions, not you. That being said, the questioning is about to start, so I want you cool, calm, and collected before we begin. As it stands, you're innocent until proven guilty... even if the evidence is overly damning at this point." All I wanted was to go off on Buchanan for being such an arrogant prick, but I knew that wasn't going to get me anywhere. I took a deep breath and waited for the first question.
"Did you or did you not break into the Salvatis' store?" asked Buchanan.
"Yes... I did," I replied.
"Were you or were you not in possession of firearms upon breaking into the store?" he asked.
"...I was," I replied.
"Were the Salvatis present upon your breaking and entering?" he asked.
"No," I replied.
"You're absolutely sure about that, Mr. Fawcett?" he asked. "Remember, I want nothing but the truth from you. Lying will only increase your sentence should you be jailed." The thought alone made me shutter. Jail was the last place I wanted to end up in, especially for a crime I didn't commit.
"Yeah... I'm sure," I said. A suspicious look overtook Buchanan's eye, but he continued the questioning.
"Did you and Mr. Policastro act alone?" he asked.
"Yes," I lied. I didn't want to get Xavier and Coty tangled up in this mess, even if I had to lie to do it.
"Did you break into the store with the intention of injuring or killing anyone within?" he asked.
"Not someone. Something," I blurted out. Why did I say that? I knew from the start that he wouldn't believe me, and yet I was going down the very path I swore myself off of.
"Something, Mr. Fawcett?" Buchanan asked suspiciously. "Like what?" It was too late to make up something now; I made my bed, and now it was time to sleep in it.
"Look, just hear me out," I began. "I'm not the man you're looking for. In fact, you're not looking for a man at all. You're looking for a dog, no, a beast, with a large, toothy grin." Buchanan looked at me like I was crazy. Just as I suspected he would.
"A 'beast', Mr. Fawcett?" he asked. "Are you serious right now?"
"I'm dead serious," I continued. "Its name is Smilex, and it's already killed nine people in Sunny Falls, including two of my best friends, and that's just what has been reported on the news. I'm sure it's killed more, many more, and it will not stop until everyone in this town is dead. You have to believe me. I've seen the beast with my own eyes, and Kyle has, too. Yes, we broke into the Salvatis' store, and yes, we carried firearms into the building with us, but it's only because we were hunting this thing down. We had to be the ones to kill it, because no one else was aware of its existence or even suspected that such a thing could exist. But it's real, very real, and if we get locked up, there will be absolutely no one to stop it, and then-"
"That's quite enough, Mr. Fawcett," Buchanan snapped. He was clearly annoyed with my story, and wasn't going to have any more of it. He began to write things down on his clipboard. I'm not sure what he was writing down or why, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good.
"May I be perfectly honest with you, Mr. Fawcett?" he asked rhetorically. "I think you may be mentally insane." I blinked twice in disbelief. Did I hear that correctly? Me? Insane?
"N-No," I stuttered, as I shook my head. "No, you're wrong. I'm not insane."
"Mr. Fawcett, you're proposing that a paranormal creature of some sort is terrorizing Sunny Falls," Buchanan continued. "I think you and I both know that such a theory is not even plausible."
"It's more than just 'plausible'!" I snapped. "It's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! I swear to God it is!"
"If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that, I'd be a very rich man, Mr. Fawcett," Buchanan said. "But the fact of the matter is: you have no evidence with which to back that up. All we have to go on here at the force is those two dead bodies, a shitload of blood, and you and Mr. Policastro, caught at the scene of the crime, with guns in hand. Now, I'm not saying that you've been proven entirely guilty just yet, but based on what we've put together, we fear that releasing you back into the community as a free man is too risky. Mr. Fawcett, I'm sending you to an insane asylum."
"What?!" I shouted, as I jumped out of my seat. "You can't do that! I'm not insane, God dammit! You've gotta believe me!" Buchanan stood up out of his seat and stretched a hand out to keep his distance.
"Mr. Fawcett, you will sit back down immediately," he ordered. "We will update you regularly on the situation while you're there, but there's no way out of it. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
"Fuck you!" I shouted. "You can't send me there! Smilex will kill us all if you do!"
"Mr. Fawcett, I will not warn you again," Buchanan said firmly, as he grasped his taser. "Last chance; take your seat, or I'll have to resort to force in order to subdue you."
"Kiss my ass!" I shouted. With that, Buchanan grabbed my arm, pulled me over the table, and drove his taser into my back. Every muscle in my body painfully and involuntarily convulsed as the voltage from the taser surged through me. I was beginning to black out, but not before Buchanan withdrew his taser and slammed me up against the wall, my gaze meeting his.
"You've... killed us... all..." I muttered, before my head tilted to the left and my eyes closed.
Have things taken a turn for the worse? Will Fawcett truly be sent to the looney bin? Find out in the next exciting chapter of "Smile"!