Sheriff Weyland did not consider me a particularly impressive witness. I could tell by the slight crease that appeared between her eyebrows as I spoke, the subtle twitch of her lips when she wanted me to stop talking in circles. I couldn’t help myself though; I didn't think I'd had an unusually sheltered life, but I’d never been interviewed by the police before. I was finding the experience to be a little daunting.

“So yeah, after I hung up with the 911 operator I walked down to the corner there and by the time I looked back the light was gone.”

“And why did you walk to the corner?” the Sheriff asked, her pen poised above her notebook.

“Because I didn’t want the criminals to come out and see me as a witness to their crimes and take me hostage.”

“Hmm,” she said, the little brow-crease deepening as her pen scratched across the page.

“Do you think it’s the same guys who robbed Allen’s antique shop?” I asked.

“I really can’t speculate,” she replied. “Did you observe anything else that might be relevant?”

I bit my lip, unsure if I should disclose what I’d felt. She narrowed her gaze at me, and I suddenly felt like a schoolboy whose teacher had caught him with incomplete homework.

“That’s all I saw,” I said, truthfully. “But… I don’t know, it was probably just the heat, but I thought I felt, like… a vibration, I guess?”

“As though the earth was shaking?” she asked. Her expression was neutral but attentive, and I felt encouraged that she wasn’t about to laugh me off. I shook my head.

“More like air waves. You know when it’s really hot and you can see the air kind of shimmer? It was sort of like that, but a feeling. I’m not sure how else to describe it, it was weird. But I felt that first, and then I looked around and saw the light.”

Sheriff Weyland was silent for a long moment as her pen moved furiously. Finally she looked back at me.

“Anything else?” she asked. I shook my head and she nodded. “That should be all for now; I’ll contact you if I have any additional questions. I appreciate your time. Do you have a way home?”

“My friend is coming to pick me up,” I said, and she nodded again. I watched as she walked back towards the bookstore, now officially cordoned off as a crime scene, pulling out her phone and making a call.

It was only a few minutes before I heard feet pounding on the pavement, and I turned just in time to brace myself for the weight of Rose crashing against me.

“Are you OK?” she asked, squeezing me tightly.

“I was,” I gasped, wriggling out of her grip. “Seriously, I’m fine. I didn’t even really see anything, just some weird light and then I called the cops and that was it.”

“Harper, there’s police tape up. That seems like something.”

“The Sheriff wouldn’t tell me anything, but while I was waiting to give my statement I overheard one of the other guys say it was definitely a break in and it’s pretty smashed up in there. But I didn’t see the thief. Or, I guess I only saw their flashlight.” I frowned glumly. Rose looked unconvinced.

“Still, Harp, you were like, right there. What if they'd come out and seen you?”

“Then I could have been taken hostage! That’s exactly what I told Sheriff Weyland and she looked at me like I was ridiculous.”

“Literally every single cop show has taught us that you were in mortal peril,” Rose agreed with a shudder. “You know what though, I can’t even joke about this. We are going home, and locking the doors, and then we’re going to eat like a gallon of ice cream.”

“I should be in mortal peril more often,” I said with a grin that died on my lips as Rose glared at me. “I’m sorry,” I said, hugging her around the shoulders. “I think it’s, like, nervous energy. I won’t joke anymore. Let’s go home.”

“Agreed,” Rose said as she steered me down the block; she’d parked a safe distance from the flashing emergency vehicles.

As she pulled out onto the road, steering us towards the safety of home, I let my head fall against the passenger window. I didn’t think I’d really been in much danger, but I could tell that my adrenaline had spiked as I felt myself crashing now. I took a deep breath, holding it for a few beats before releasing, trying to help the relaxation process along. 

In the side mirror I watched the flashing police lights dim as we put more distance between us and the events of the night. Just as Rose flicked on her blinker for our street, a shadow flashed across the crime scene. It materialized in my vision into a black truck for just a moment, before Rose turned us off the main street and all I could see behind us was the dark.