Pieces Of Heaven (Heaven & Hell #2)(40)

       
        

"Assault with a weapon," Anthony says, and his father chimes in.

"He beat up a kid at school and had a knife in his backpack."

We both nod at him. "Have you ever done drugs, Anthony?" I ask him.

He looks at both his parents.

"It's going to be a lot worse if you lie to us than tell the truth."

He looks down at his hands. "I do weed occasionally. I did 'molly' last year, but I didn't like it."

"Can you tell us how you knew you were high?" Jackson asks.

"Yeah, I was sitting next to this girl Anna. We just met and we were checking out each other's 'snap stories,'" he says and right away I'm lost.

"Snap stories, what is that?" I ask him, and Jackson cuts in.

"I know what it is. What else happened?"

"Nooootttthing really. Farrrrah said she would be mmmmaaking this huge zombie mix. I sssttutter now. She got started mixing the alcohol but was missing something, so Zack and Trevor went to get the stuff. But she added other stuff in it, so we just started drinking it." He looks down at his hands that have started to shake.

"Who added the stuff to the punch?" I ask.

"Not sure. I wasn't really paying attention. There were about ten or so around it, so it could have been anyone really."

"When did you realize something was off?" Jackson asks.

"After Anna took two sips or maybe thrrreee. She started looking around like she was paranoid. She said something was in her head. I laughed at her, thinking she was a lightweight, so I continued drinking her drink till it was like I wasn't there anymore."

Jackson and I look at each other, each of us trying to piece together the puzzle.

There had to have been someone to slip something in the punch. Someone who had access to it, someone who was slick and sly.

"Okay, I think we are good for now. If we have any other questions we will give you a call," Jackson says, getting up and shaking hands with his father and mother while I do the same.

Walking out of the hospital, we don't say anything till we get in the car. "So we have a bunch of kids getting together for a party and someone slips some drugs in the punch. Nothing we haven't heard before except it's a new drug," I say, looking at him.

"It could have been a test to see how they react to it before bringing it on the streets. It could be just to fuck with them, or it could just be a fucking shit thing gone wrong," Jackson says, starting up the car.

"We need to go to Farah's house and ask her more questions on the 'guest list.'" Jackson guides the car that way. 

Once we pull in and walk to the door ringing the doorbell, I look around the neighborhood. It's the typically white picket fence area. High-end as they say.

The door opens and Maci, Farah's mom, is the one greeting us. She stands there dressed in her haute glam clothes. "Oh, fuck, are you guys ever going to stop coming by?" she asks.

"I'm sorry to disturb you again, but we would like a word with Farah. Is she in?" Jackson says calmly.

"She better be. She's grounded for life." She moves away from the door, allowing us to walk in. I take in the house. It's back to normal, nothing out of place. "Farah, get your butt down here."

We wait a couple of seconds before a young girl comes down, same age as Lori, or at least I think so. "Hey, Farah, I'm Detective Moro. This is Detective Fletcher," I introduce myself to her.

"I know you. You were the one who ran in here for Lori." She rolls her eyes. "Girl is so fucking dramatic." She crosses her arms over her chest. "No one even cared she was here except Trevor, who treated her like glass. I mean, she spoke to the girls, but the minute a guy went near her she would start panicking," she continues, but I stop her.

"So you decided it was a good idea to serve underage kids alcohol. That would make you the cool kid?" I ask her.

"It wasn't even my idea." She looks at her mom. "I swear, I have no idea."

"So you weren't the one who got the recipe online?" I say while she pales. "You weren't the one who started pouring the mixture into the bowl?"

She licks her lips.

"You weren't the one who sent two kids to the store to buy more alcohol?" I finally say.

"But I didn't want to," she whines.

"But you did." I point out. "Who else had access to the bowl while you were pouring?" I ask.

"I have no idea. I didn't pay attention. There was a bunch of us," she says.

"So did you hand out the cups? Who handed out all the cups?" Jackson asks.

"No one. People just came and got their own."

"Who brought the cups?" I ask.

"No one. We had them in the pantry. It was high, so I had one of the guys get them."

"Who, who got you the cups?"

"Trevor. He was one of the tallest ones, so he got them down for me. He then dropped them all in the punch and we had to rinse them off. That's why he said he would go get more for us."

I look over at Jackson. This is the second time that his name has come up. We need to talk to Trevor, sooner rather than later.

"Is there anything else you can think of?" Jackson asks while I look around. No one sees it, but my eye catches a small plastic bag stuck under one of the kitchen chairs. Going to it, I pick it up and see that it's a small baggie. "Get me a napkin," I ask Maci, who runs to the other side to come back with one. I pick it up with the napkin and see that small white residue is stuck inside. "I assume you don't know anything about this."

Maci's face turns white, and Farah just shakes her head no. "Do you have a ziplock bag?"

She gets me a small bag where I put the other plastic bag in it.

"Okay, ladies, we will be in touch," Jackson says, and we walk out of the house.

"Who is this fucking kid Trevor?" he asks once we get in the car.

"No clue. They met at Lori's counseling from what I understand. Fuck, you probably heard more about him than I did," I tell Jackson.

"I met him once when he came to pick up Lori, but didn't stay long. He made sure to take care of her, opening her door for her and everything."



       
         
       
        

"I'm going to ask Marissa about him tonight. I know he hangs around there often."

By the time we make it back to the precinct and do the paperwork for the plastic bag it is well over eight p.m. I know that Marissa has to work tomorrow, so I call her before she falls asleep. She answers on the first ring.

"Hey, what's up?" she asks. I hear covers being ruffled in the background.

"Not much, just finishing up at work. I should be about another hour. Did you eat?"

"I did. I made chicken steak, not like Phyllis, but passable. I set a plate aside for you on the stove if you want."

"Oh, you cooked for me. Look at that."

"No, I cooked for me and Lori and Trevor. I just made extra for you," she says with a laugh.

"Is Trevor still there?" I ask her, sitting up.

"I have no idea. He usually just takes off after they finish their show. Those two have watched every single series available on Netflix of any type of reality show. When I came upstairs they were watching Toddlers and Tiaras," she says with a yawn.

"Okay, baby, go to sleep. I'll try not to wake you when I get home," I tell her, but I'll be waking her with my mouth.

"Hmmm, okay," she says. "Be safe."

I hang up and type Trevor's name in the system, same thing as this morning. I know Chris is working on getting his record unsealed. It's a waiting game.

I pull up to the house two hours later. It's almost ten, and the house is dark. I make my way up the front stairs, hoping the front door was left open. When I turn the knob, I'm lucky to find it unlocked. The house is dark, but there is a small light coming from the kitchen.

I walk in, seeing that the television is off and there are some pillows left there. I try to walk slowly as to not wake anyone. The light from the kitchen looks like it's moving.

Walking into the kitchen, I see that Trevor is playing with the door. His phone flashlight is the only light in the room. I clear my throat for him to know I'm there, and he drops his phone and turns around.

I open the kitchen light to see him fumbling to get his phone. "Can I help you with anything?" I ask him.

His face goes pale. "Um, no, I'm just locking up for Lori. She was tired and went upstairs, so I was making sure it was locked."

I nod at him. "Thanks for looking out for my girls," I tell him with a smile. The way he's walking and fidgeting, I know he's hiding something.

"No problem. I'll let myself out and text Lori that you locked up for me," he says, walking away from me. Picking up his hat from the couch, he waves at me before storming out. I walk to the window, watching him walk to his car which he parked five houses away. Weird since there is no one parked in front of their house. 

When he drives away, I take a picture of his plate and send it to Chris, asking him to get me the owner's name and address.

When I get to the back door, I check the lock to see it is locked but not closed all the way. Pushing the door shut, I warm up my food, eating it standing up in the kitchen, playing the day's events over in my head.