Maybe, but I can’t help but wonder ... why was there a blanket covering him then? I saw him lying on the ground this morning when I peeked in, it looked like he was sleeping and that blanket was most certainly over his body. If he fell, how would the blanket get there?
My stomach twists, but I say nothing.
I know all of these people, none of them would hurt Taj.
They wouldn’t.
Could it have been someone else? Was it one of the guys? I don’t understand.
“We’re goin’ to the main house; the police are goin’ to question all of you. Don’t leave until they have.”
Slowly, we all go back to the main house. Emily goes in first, being the oldest and the one in charge. She’s only in there for about twenty minutes when she comes out, eyes glassy, and they call in Nathan. One by one, they get through us, when it’s my turn, I stand and walk into the bedroom where they’re using a desk to conduct the questioning. We’ll have to go to the station, of that I’m sure, but for now I guess they’re just trying to figure out what happened.
I sit down and the officer asking the questions introduces himself as Steve.
“Where were you last night?”
I tell him all my movements last night and inform him I went back to my room where Rhett helped patch up my knee. He leans around the desk and looks at my knee, then proceeds to ask me exactly how I got said injury. I tell him the truth, because it is the truth, I fell. He then asks about my movements this morning.
“I went and checked on them early, maybe six am. Grace, Maria, Nathan, and Rick were all sleeping in the tent. I peered into the barn and saw Taj lying on the ground, I thought he was asleep.”
Steve narrows his eyes. “Is it normal for Taj to sleep with blood coming out of his head?”
I want to slap him, because he’s being a dick, but instead I look away nervously. I’m not great on a good day with law enforcement and my nerves, now being questioned about the death of a friend, I have no doubt I look guilty as hell, even though I’m not. “He had a blanket covering him.”
Steve jots that down. “Did you move the blanket?”
“No, I didn’t go in there.”
“Did you see anything, anything that might indicate someone had been in there and hurt Taj?”
“No, everyone was asleep.”
“You said you woke during the night and checked if your roommates were home. Were they?”
I swallow.
I have had this on my mind for the entire interview, how I was going to answer this question. If I lie, then someone might get away with having murdered Taj, but if I tell the truth and that person is innocent, they could get put away for something they didn’t do because it looks bad. That person is my best friend.
But she wasn’t in her bed when I woke up.
She wasn’t in the cabin.
There is a period of time during the night where she wasn’t at the tent, and she wasn’t in the cabin. She said she was drunk and it took a while to get back, but could she be lying? I’ve known Kara a long time, and as far as I know, she wouldn’t hurt a fly, but what if it was an accident? What if they got into a fight? The two of them are known to squabble, and the fact that they’re both up for first chair makes me feel even more uneasy.
“No,” I say softly, hating myself, hating that I’m telling on my best friend. “Kara wasn’t in her bed.”
“Kara is your friend?”
“Yes, my best friend. She was there when I woke in the morning.”
“What time was that?”
“Around five.”
“But she wasn’t there during the evening when you woke up?”
I shake my head.
“Would there be any reason Kara would want to hurt Taj?”
“No, she is the kindest person I know, the two of them don’t see eye to eye but ...”
“How so?” he interrupts.
“It’s just they’re both going for first chair, and Emily is the one to decide, I know how much it means to both of them but it’s not something she wants bad enough to hurt another person over.”
“Perhaps she didn’t hurt him intentionally ...”
“She would have called for help, she’s not a monster,” I argue pointlessly.
Steve nods, and then asks a few more questions before telling me we’re done for now.
For now.
God.
Did I just put my best friend in the hotseat?
I hope I did the right thing.
Sometimes the truth ... it feels so much worse than a lie.
11
“You all will stay here, continue as normal. At this stage, it looks like an accidental fall but until they’ve looked into it further, we won’t know. They want us all in the same place if they need to ask further questions. Taj’s family has been notified. For now, you can go back to your rooms until we know what will happen,” Rhett tells us all after the police have gone.