My nose wrinkled before I could stop it and Alex laughed. "Don't worry, it's all good."
Trying to chuckle with him was hard work. Now that people were finding out the truth about me, I felt like all my acting skills were disappearing. It was not cool. I couldn't lose my touch now. Not when things were about to get really dangerous.
My knees buckled and I slumped into the chair.
"Here." Alex removed a cup from the holder and placed it in front of me. "I wasn't sure if you were a coffee drinker, so I got you a hot chocolate. I can swap if you want though."
"No, this is good." I dragged it towards me and took off the lid, the chocolatey smell hitting me instantly. Three marshmallows too. Score. I pushed one into the liquid with my finger, then sucked off the gooey sweetness. "Thank you."
"I also grabbed you guys a couple of bear claws." He slid the bag towards me then leaned forward with a wink as Zach wiped up the spill on the table. "I know this guy can barely microwave a frozen dinner. I figured you'd be hungry."
Zach gave him a sarcastic smile look then flicked the dishcloth at him. It landed splat on his face making them both break into laughter. My next few minutes was spent watching Zach and Alex throw that disgusting rag at each other and tussle in the kitchen.
Man, some families were weird...although it did remind me a little of my dad and his uncle.
My dad.
The bemused smile fled my lips as I turned from the scuffling and pictured my dad. I never usually let myself do it. Every time his blue eyes wafted into my mind, I shunted them aside. If I played with the image it brought forth a tidal wave of memories. Sweet moments were always dumped on by the final picture of his body lying limp on a bloody kitchen floor.
I sniffed, pulling my back straight and reaching for the bear claw. The guys returned to the table and I handed one to Zach. After taking a couple of bites, he gave me a quick look and pulled the file from the edge of the table, flicking it open.
Alex's playful blues grew dark as he pulled the pages towards him. Sitting on the top was the large image of William Tenner. My eyes were transfixed on his pale, green eyes as Alex softly asked, "So this is him?"
The boulder in my throat was impossible to speak past, so I just nodded.
"You're sure?"
I met Alex's gaze and gave him a firm nod. "I'm sure." My eyes flittered back to the picture, my face bunching tight.
Alex cleared his throat and flipped the image over. "I know this must be really hard for you. I'm guessing you've tried to block the memories from your mind."
Unable to look up for fear of showing my tears, I sniffed and gave a short nod.
"But you're gonna have to recall everything that happened that night. We need your memories so that we can get a full picture, okay?"
His gentle voice was soothing. I let it wash over me and tried to still my frazzled heart.
"So, why don't I just ask you a few questions and we'll go from there."
"Okay." My voice was so tiny.
"I'm gonna record it, alright?"
I froze as he pulled out what looked like an iPod and set it up to record. He pressed the red circle on the screen and sat back. "It's June 26th, I'm talking with Lucy Tate about the night her parents were murdered."
"Wait." I sat forward. "Please delete that. I don't want...don't use my name." My hand slid towards the recording device, looking for the off button.
"Lucy." Alex's warm fingers stopped me. "You're the key witness. We have to use your name."
"I'm also the prime suspect and the key target of William Tenner. If this gets into the wrong hands, he'll kill me. It's better that he doesn't hear the name."
"Sweetie, from what Zach told me on the phone this morning, he already knows you're alive."
"I know, I just don't want to be linked to you...or Zach."
Zach moved so he could rest his hand on my shoulder. His fingers kneaded the tight muscles before sliding down my back.
"None of this will surface until the day we bring him down. I know finding out he's FBI somehow makes this more terrifying, but you don't need to be afraid. I'm the only one with access to this recording device. You're safe. And what you give me today can be used as evidence to bring this guy down. We need you, Lucy. We need you to be brave."
My mouth dried up like the salt flats, but for some reason my head bobbed.
"Okay, so let's start with the night of your parents' murders." Alex swallowed, his eyes filling with sympathy. "What time did it happen?"
I squeezed my eyes shut. Other than admitting the truth to Zach and Marlin, this was the first time I'd ever had to talk about that night in detail. I wasn't even sure if I could remember it all, but as I opened that wretched door and finally let the memories seep into my brain, the images returned with a clarity that sucked the air from my lungs.
I pulled in a sharp breath and opened my eyes.