I woke up to a missed call from the police department. Rather than listen to the voicemail, I decide to step outside and give them a call. I ask for a Deputy Mitchel, an individual whom they apparently have no recollection of, and instead, they put Lieutenant Marcus on the line.

“Yeah, Mister Hayes?”

“Any news?” I ask.

“I’m gonna need you to come in and answer some further questions…”

What? 

I feel my heart sink. I had been dreading this phone call. I peer stealthily into the bedroom window where Laura is sleeping. She is still zonked out, cradling Lilly in her arms. I look at the time on my phone: 7:23 am. 

“I’m at my parents’ house.” I cleared my throat. “It’s down near Phoenix, but I can try to be there around nine-thirty.”

“Good. Good.” He hangs up the phone abruptly before I can ask him the real question pressing on my mind: Am I still considered a suspect?

I leave a note for Laura, and prepare a travel mug of black coffee before slipping away quietly. 

On the drive north I make a few work calls to inform my employees that I will be out for the rest of the week. The timing of everything could not be worse. The deadline for the home build is closing in, with another build set to begin in just a month from now. I obviously have no control over the situation, and that feeling is hard to grapple with.

I clench the steering wheel with sticky palms, my anxiety growing proportionally out of control as I near the police department. 

My phone rings suddenly, catching me off guard. 

It’s Paula.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” Her voice is smooth, like sweet, creamy butter.

I pull into the parking lot of the station, feeling compelled to ask her the question that’s been taunting my mind since yesterday. 

“Has Laura spoken with you?”

There is silence on the other end. Her breath falls, creating a blast of static energy. 

“What is it, Anthony? Is someone on to us?”

“Can you just tell me if she’s spoken to you recently?”

“No, but if you’re worried about her finding out, I can deal with it.”

She’ll deal with it? 

I prepare to hang up the phone, but not before realizing I’m unaware of her reason for calling. 

She cuts me off before I can ask, however. “Where is Adrian? He hasn’t been at school the last couple of days?”

I had assumed Laura would notify the school of the situation.

“He’s sick,” I lied, not wanting to get into the details.

She laughs mischievously. “Is that what you’re calling it?!”

The phone beeps three times to signal she has hung up. I am left feeling incredibly confused, but with no time to question anything.

“Hayes…” Lieutenant Marcus announces. As soon as I’ve made my way through the station’s security doors, he is literally standing there waiting for me, a clipboard in hand, and a fake smile plastered across his face. He swings an arm up on my shoulder and squeezes it firmly. “Can I get you some coffee?”

I shake my head. “Just had some. Where’s the restroom?”

After doing my business and splashing cold water on my face, I take deep steady breaths to calm my nerves. It’s just a few more questions. I’m not sure why I’m feeling so incredibly nervous and out of place.

He leads me to a small room, with a desk and two chairs. I look for an observation window, but there isn’t one. Instead, there appears to be a small video camera mounted in the top left-hand corner of the room, the red pin prick of light signaling that it’s recording. 

Lieutenant Marcus goes over my rights, and has me repeat several phrases back to him about honesty. I suddenly wonder if I should remain silent, but it’s too late. I’ve mentally prepared myself for the oncoming suspicions, or so I thought…

“Have you seen or heard from Candace Larsen since her disappearance on the night of August seventeenth, two thousand, twenty-four?” 

I pause to think for a moment, which suddenly feels like a downright stupid thing to do, considering. “No, I have not seen or heard from her since that night.”

He caresses his goatee, seeming completely unconvinced by my delayed response. I realize that my nerves are getting the best of me.

“Are you aware of an intimate relationship between Miss Larsen and another man?”

“Nope.” I couldn’t think of any way this could be possible, given that she is a stay-at-home mom with an almost one-year-old.

“Mister Hayes, I need you to be honest with me. Is there any way Miss Larsen could be seeing another man on an intimate level?”

I take in a deep breath and exhale dramatically. “I mean, I suppose it is possible. Yes.”

Lieutenant Marcus shifts in his seat, then leans in closer to me. I want so badly to know what he knows.

“Do you have any enemies, Mister Hayes?”

That question — I knew it was coming, too. I don’t know how to answer it. I sit and twiddle my thumbs for what feels like two whole minutes. The lieutenant is growing impatient with me. I shrug my shoulders and grin slightly before answering. 

“Sure.” My tone is rather smug, and I’m not sure I intended for it to be. “I’ve broken some hearts in the past–”

He cuts me off. “Have you broken someone’s heart recently?” His expression is solemn and focused. He is eager to hear my response.

I shake my head, still grinning with nervousness. “I…you know…that I couldn’t tell you.”

“Ughhhh.” Lieutenant is flustered now. I think maybe he was onto something, or maybe he thinks he is onto something. I’m not giving him the correct answers, apparently.

“Mister Hayes, have you had an affair recently that could be relevant to this case?”

How should I know? 

I ponder the handfuls of women I have slept with in the past year alone, and like a ton of bricks, thoughts of McKenzie flood my mind. I dare not mention McKenzie. Revealing that account would incriminate me for sure, considering she’s probably young enough to be my daughter.. 

I gulp audibly, fighting back my nervous energy. I look up at the camera once again, and then back down at lieutenant Marcus, who is narrowing his eyes at me.

“Mister Hayes, you do want us to find your girlfriend and mother of your child?”

I nod my head slowly.

“Please, for God’s sake, help us out now by answering these simple questions.” Lieutenant sits back in his chair, arms folded. “Now, I’m going to assume that there is someone out there who feels wronged by you. Does that sound plausible, Mister Hayes?”

I nod my head again.

“And we’re gonna get to the bottom of this, d’ya hear me?”

I stare into his eyes, dark and menacing. He must take me for a selfish asshole.

“Mister Hayes, where were you on that night of August seventeenth, two thousand, twenty-four? I need a full account of everything you can remember, and for the record, let me remind you again that this conversation is being recorded.”

Fortunately, I can remember what happened that night because I was with Laura, but somehow, divulging this information didn’t seem like the best idea, considering she is my ex. Lord knows, I should have been home with Candace, after all, and maybe this entire scenario wouldn’t have played out in the first place.

“I was with my ex,” I say begrudgingly, before shifting my focus towards the lieutenant.

“Go on…” he presses.

“Laura, my ex—she was having a hard time. She had fallen in front of her apartment and injured her wrist. I went to the store to pick up some bandage wrap for her…“

“What time was this?”

“Uh…I guess it was about six something…”

“And you were with her when this happened?”

I realize how odd this story must sound. “Yes. Yes, I was with her.”

He narrows his eyes again. “Keep going, Mister Hayes.”

“I returned to her apartment with the bandage, and ended up hanging out with her until I got a call from Candace around ten o’clock—“

“Hold on a minute, you got a call from Candace that night?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I need you to give me as much information about that call as possible.”

I think back, carefully. “She was in distress when she called. She asked me to come over to the house and help her. It was hard to make out what she was saying, though. Her voice kept breaking up, but I could tell she was in danger.”

Lieutenant Marcus lifts his clipboard up to his chest and begins to jot down some notes while I speak.

Feeling defensive, I retort, “I already spoke to the cops about all of this!”

He stops writing and looks up at me, his facial expression growing all the more irritated. “Just keep going, Mister Hayes…”

“Well, so I went over there in my truck. The house was dark, and I saw the smashed front door so I pulled out my gun before heading inside to check things out.”

Lieutenant looks most interested now.

“I made my way upstairs and found my kids, both unharmed, but no sign of Candace. My son mentioned something about a ‘bad man’ taking her away. That’s when I called the cops.”

He rubs his goatee again while studying my face. He is not convinced.

“Mister Hayes, could you tell me anything about that blood on the front door?”

“It is blood, then?” I had forgotten about the blood.

He sits back, waiting for me to answer the question. He’s not buying anything I’ve told him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about the blood.”

“Mister Hayes, the sample came back positive with a DNA match.” 

My eyes grow wide, and I perk up, gripping the bottom of my seat with both hands.

“The blood belongs to a–Miss McKenzie Moore.”

I gasp audibly. It’s not possible.

“So you are familiar with McKenzie?”

I nod my head, wondering just how much of my familiarity with her I should disclose.

“Do tell, Mister Hayes. Just what is your relationship to Miss McKenzie Moore?”

I can’t believe this is happening. 

I sit back in my chair, almost slouching, my ridiculous and nervous grin returning once again, uninvited.

“You see, Mister Marcus—“

“That’s Lieutenant Marcus!”

Shit.

“You see, Lieutenant – McKenzie is our babysitter, but I’m having a hard time understanding how her blood came to be splattered across my front door.”

“Mister Hayes…” He looks most unimpressed with everything I have to say. “We already interviewed Miss Moore, and we know you two have had an affair.”

I fall instantly into a state of shock and panic. A flash of heat makes its way down my spine, ending abruptly at the tips of my toes. “Uh…okay. Well, I don’t think you need to ask me any more questions about her then.”

He shakes his head, chuckling hoarsely under his breath. I guess I won’t be escaping the topic that easily.

“When was the last time you and Miss Moore ‘hooked up,’ so to speak?”

I can’t remember exactly. “It was just the one time,” I say. “Maybe a week ago?”

“A week ago?” A quick blast of air evades his nostrils. “How old is Miss McKenzie Moore, Mister Hayes?”

I shake my head. My eyes are becoming frightened beads of protest. Surely he can sense my fear. “I really don’t know, Lieutenant. I swear!”

“She’s sixteen years old, Mister Hayes…that’s sixteen years of age.”

I slump back in my chair, feeling completely defeated, the fear and guilt stabbing my heart all at once. “I had no clue.”

“Mister Hayes, she is claiming you forced yourself upon her—“

“WHAT?!” 

This is unbelievable.

“Apparently she was menstruating when you decided to rape her…”

“RAPE?!”

He sneers at me, like I’m just some sick bastard. “And that blood on the door? One can only speculate how it made it to that front door o’ yours.” The corner of his mouth is curling into a snarl.

I am livid with rage at his point and completely incapable of hiding it. These are sick twisted lies. Surely it’s all a set-up.

“What the fuck does this have to do with my girlfriend going missing?! Huh? Can you fucking tell me why any of this shit is relevant?!”

He is poker-faced and completely serious when he says, “Now, Mister Hayes, I need you to tell me whether any of this is relevant. You have an impending statutory rape charge you’re now facing, and your girlfriend is missing. You go ahead and tell me how all of this is connected, because I have a feeling you know. Certainly you know more than you’re letting on.”

I can’t think.

I can’t speak.

I sit for five whole minutes with my chest heaving. Beads of sweat drip aggressively down my forehead. I can’t believe what is happening.

Finally, I open my mouth. Lieutenant Marcus is waiting patiently, his pen tapping obnoxiously against the clipboard.  

“Lieutenant, I swear on my life, I did not rape that girl. I didn’t even know she was that young. Matter of fact, she tried to come on to me, and we didn’t even have sex!”

The look of suspicion returns to his face. “Mister Hayes, then how do you explain her blood on your front door?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know…” That part is a sick mystery.

“Can I bring you that coffee now?” Lieutenant stands and gestures towards the door. I can’t look at him. He leaves me in the room, staring at the black desk in front of my face. My body is a sweaty heap of nerves.

It feels like an eternity before he returns with a cup of steaming black coffee in a styrofoam cup that he places in front of me without saying a word. I stare at it, but refuse to take a sip. My throat feels dry and sticky, but I can’t acknowledge anything right now, besides how incredibly fucked I am.

Lieutenant Marcus adjusts his belt before sitting back down and scooting his chair closer. “You may want to consider hiring an attorney,” he says, “And for that matter, you may want to let your ex know. Laura — is that her name? You may want to inform her that this ride is about to get rather bumpy.”

I looked up at the Lieutenant. “Can I speak with her?”

“You can go home now, Mister Hayes. We’re not gonna keep you here–”

I sigh with relief.

“—Home to wherever it was you were staying, that is. Your home is still off-limits for now. I checked your record, though. You’re clean as a whistle, and we don’t have enough evidence to detain you, just yet.”

I stagger to my feet, and thank him.

“Now, don’t go thanking me just yet, Mister Hayes. Your initial hearing is set about three weeks from now. They will tell you what you need to know up at the front desk, but you have a pretty severe charge positioned against you. Like I said, I suggest you get a criminal defense attorney at once. You have a good day, now.”

A good day?

I nod my head, and the door buzzes and clicks, signaling that it’s okay for me to exit. 

“Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any more information that you would like to share.” He tips his hat at me, one eye narrowing as he waits and watches me close the door and walk out.

I am completely mortified. And with no answers regarding Candace’s whereabouts, I am feeling wrongfully accused of being somehow responsible for her disappearance. The tables seem to have turned. 

I guess this is the part where I play the poor unlucky bastard having to prove my innocence.