CHAPTER (VII)

Down at the station Amanda sat on the other side of the interrogation table, shaking. She was alone in the room, staring at her reflection in the viewing glass on the wall. 

The door opened and McKenzie walked in with a blue file in hand. He silently stared at her for long. To intimidate her. And it worked.

He opened the file and she hid her hands under the table to conceal the shaking.

"Amanda Hall, eighteen years of age, Boyle heights high, final year. Two siblings, mom working as a marine biologist and dad's a journalist. No criminal record." He read to her. "Amanda you seem like a smart girl." He said looking at her. From her darting eyes, he could tell she was scared. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. It's completely up to you."

She swallowed hard. She knew she was positive she had done nothing wrong and she hadn't.

"I didn't do anything to Nate. I wasn't even at that damn party." She told him. His face dropped. "Please believe me." She added.

The detective leaned back on his chair. "You tried that line with the police chief and now he is pissed you took him for a fool. That won't work with me Amanda!" The guy meant business.

He threw a few questions to her which she answered and he told her she was lying. He presented her photos of Nate and her taken at the party. She agreed it was her but insisted she doesn't recall any of it.

He was about to throw her another question when Amanda's mom walked in.

Mother and daughter hugged. "Heyy," she drawled to her. "Everything is going to be ok. I'm here now." She soothed her then turned to the detective with venomous eyes. "What do you think you are doing interrogating my daughter? She hasn't done anything!"

McKenzie calmly closed the file and stood. "I believe you are Amanda's mother?" He paused. "We have substantial evidence linking your daughter to Nate Connor's disappearance. I would suggest you get yourself an attorney." He said and walked to the door but turned before he took his exit. "And a damn good one."

****

Jada had gone to get her daughter a cup of coffee. She came and found a man clad in a black suit holding a briefcase talking to Amanda.

"Excuse me who are you?" Jada had asked him.

He offered his hand but Jada didn't take it. He introduced himself as a lawyer sent to represent Amanda.

"Melanie's dad sent him." Amanda added.

"We really appreciate but my other daughter is an attorney and is on her way." Jada told him.

"I understand that and I don't doubt she can do her job well. Mister Vaugh has tasked me with ensuring that Amanda doesn't see the inside of cell and that is what I intend on doing. Besides, two heads are better than one, I'm sure with your daughter and I representing Amanda, we have better chances of exonerating Amanda."

Jada agreed and they got to work. "Amanda why don't you tell me your side of the story." He requested her.

Halfway through, Amanda's sister arrived. Jada introduced the stranger, Dorian.

His phone vibrated, "I have to take this," he said and excused himself.

He came back two minutes later and spoke in a low tone. "That was my contact inside the LAPD, things aren't looking so good. He said they've got solid evidence."

Jada exhaled deeply and took Amanda's hand, "Honey it's just us, we have nothing against you. We want to help you so just be honest with us, whatever it is, just tell us, we'll take care of it."

"I don't-" Amanda was speaking but her sister, Breanna, cut in.

"Goddamn it Amanda!" She bit out. She was one to lose her temper in an instant. "You have no idea what you are being charged with! So for the love of God tell us what happened!"

"Brea I'm not faking any of this. I more than anyone else want Nate to be found, and if there was anything I could do to help bring him back I would do it." She said.

A few minutes later, they were inside the interrogation room. Detective McKenzie had a brown bag in front of him.

"We were able to track Nate's pick-up truck some two miles away from Nicole's house where he was last seen with you." McKenzie said looking at her. "We didn't find him inside the truck but we found quite a lot."

He removed a clear evidence bag from the brown bag. Inside the evidence bag was Amanda's phone, her purse and her denim jacket.

She didn't dispute them being hers.

After minutes if questioning, Dorian asked for a break. McKenzie gave it to them and went to his office.

He had requested that the blood found inside Nate's car be examined and the report was in. He went through the file and the shock on his face was very evident.

"Everything ok over there?" His partner Detective McLough asked looking at him from the opposite end of their shared office. 

"This is strange." McKenzie muttered. "Remember the bullet we picked on the tarmac at the scene?"

"What about it?"

"The blood in the bullet matches the one we sampled from Nate Connor's car." He told him and there was an astonished look on McLough's face.

"What the hell are we dealing with?" McLough wondered, leaning back on his chair.