I Rize by S.T. Anthony Read Free Book Online Page A

hand. The place seemed even busier than before. Phones rang constantly. Piles of papers were scrambled all over desks and covering the floor. People scattered everywhere, consumed by their jobs. He looked up at a television screen and always hated seeing the same high school picture of Adny shown on the news for the last few days. The situation weighed even more heavily on his heart each time a news reporter mentioned her name. Usually, local news stations didn’t linger on about stories regarding suicides and suicide attempts of young teenagers because it could potentially cause copy-cat suicides to occur. Adny’s story was constantly played on numerous news stations.
    A slight crack in Detective Miller’s office door allowed him to see the detective’s signal to come in. Inside, he stood for a moment, taking in the scenery. He watched Detective Miller lean back in his chair tapping his fingers against the old, rusted desk. Pictures of his family were plastered on the wall. Hundreds of different types of books lined the cracking bookshelf.
    Junior looked on the desk and saw a card in an upright position. He couldn’t help but smile, when he read it out loud. Hapy Faters Day.
    Detective Miller’s grin widened as he picked up the card to show where a heart was drawn. “My four year old made it for me.”
    Junior placed the laptop on the desk to change the detective’s focus. “Detective, do you have time to talk now?”
    “When you gave me those names, I contacted their parents, and they should be coming in a few minutes. Only person I couldn’t get in touch with was Terri.”
    Junior shook his head, not surprised. “She can be stubborn at times.”
    The phone rang. Detective Miller picked it up and placed his hand over the speaker, indicating to Junior that the suspects were ready to be questioned. Before Junior could respond, he took his hand off the speaker and finished the conversation. Not many words were exchanged. The detective motioned for Junior to follow him out.
    Shandi walked into the police station with her mom and lawyer. Madison walked in by herself. They were each taken to separate rooms. Junior stood outside of the office as the girls walked by, looking into their deceitful eyes, hoping they would say something. Shandi kept her head down. Madison’s half smile made him feel like the entire situation was one big joke to her.
     
    D etective Miller started with Shandi. He placed the recording device on the table.
    “Can you state your name for me?”
    Shandi looked over at her lawyer first and then at the detective before responding. “I’ve never done this before, sir.”
    “Listen, Shandi Downey. That is your name, right? This is how it works. I ask you questions, and you answer them. It’s simple. Do not make this process more complicated.”
    Similar to when Detective Miller interrogated Mickey, Junior knew his intentions were to make her confess to his demands. Detective Miller harnessed the ability to place fear in even the toughest people.
    “Did you know Adny Storm?”
    Her eyes darted back and forth at the detective’s water bottle. “Yeah, I guess.”
    The detective took another giant gulp causing Shandi to bite her dehydrated, cracked lips even more. “How did you meet her?”
    “Her stepsister, Terri, introduced us.” She paused, looking down at the table. “We all became good friends after a while.”
    In Junior’s mind, Shandi’s body language and delayed speech exposed her true nature. He knew the detective worked in the police department long enough to know when someone was lying.
    “If she was so happy around you, why did she attempt suicide?”
    While rocking back and forth in her seat, Shandi kept rubbing the back of her ear. “I … don’t know …”
    “It is difficult for you to look me in my eyes, but I bet it wasn’t so difficult for you when you were stripping Adny of her right to happiness. You got a kick out of it, did you not?”
    Shandi’s lawyer eyed