Unexpected Visitor

I spoke to Cara while we were closing the other night and finally got an explanation for why my alibi for Eddie’s fire isn’t the greatest. And Molly was right to be worried; it really isn’t as strong of an alibi as I thought it was.

“Cara, did you talk to the police?” I asked casually.

“Yeah, you mentioned they were going to stop by and talk to me.”

“What did you tell them?” I asked wiping down the bar with a soapy washcloth.

“Nothing, really. I just said that you were working that night and that you were here the whole time.”

“Huh.” I said stopping my cleaning to look at her.

“Why, what’s up?”

“Nothing. Did they ask you anything else?”

“They just asked me to account for you for the entire shift and I told them that you were out here serving drinks except for the hour and a half you were in the stock room taking inventory…”

I winced. So THAT is what Detective Geordi is using as ammunition against me.

“Did I do something wrong?” Cara asked.

“No.” I said smiling, “No.”

I went home after cleaning up but couldn’t fall asleep. Murphy laid on my tummy and purred but I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours.

The next day, I was exhausted but I couldn’t turn off my mind. There was a knock at my door and I almost screamed when I saw who it was.

“Hello, detective.” I said letting Detective Geordi in, "So glad you decided to get in touch with me."

“I was out of town for a funeral.What’s all this?” He said throwing the folders I’d left for him on my kitchen table and completely ignoring my "I'm sorry for your loss".

“I think someone is trying to frame me.” I said.

I offered a chair to Detective Geordi and some coffee, which he accepted. I sat across from him at the kitchen table and went through each folder and how they all connected to me, where I got all the information from, and Adam’s contact information.

“Something serious is going on and I’m scared. I think someone is trying to frame me.” I said at the end of my long spiel.

Detective Geordi just looked at the folders as if he was deep in thought. He collected them together and then pulled out small notebook.

“What was this Adam guy’s phone number?” He asked.

I recited it again.

“What should I do?” I asked him.

“I want you to call me if you have any more information or if you notice anything weird going on. Day or night, okay?”

“O-okay.” I said. For the first time, Detective Geordi looked concerned which made me even more scared.

“Should my roommate and I stay in a hotel or something until you figure out what’s going on?” I asked him as I walked him to my door.

“Let me look into something first, okay? I’ll call you at the end of the day and tell you what I think you should do based on what I find.”

“Thank you.” I said as he left.

Just then I felt my phone vibrate. It was Zoey.

“Hey!” She said when I answered, “Do you have plans for any Halloween parties this year? The magazine is throwing a HUGE party and I think you’d love to go! There will be lots of single models!”

“I don’t have any plans.” I said, “And a party sounds like fun. Do I have to buy a costume?”

“Of course! We could go shopping later today?”

“Um. How about tomorrow. Or next weekend?”

“Next weekend works. Molly can come to the party, too, but I doubt she needs to buy a costume. She’s a costume designer.” Zoey laughed.

I told Zoey I’d call her later to set up a time to meet for shopping and then went to take a shower. When I got done, I noticed that I had a missed call from Amber.

I called her back.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked her.

“Hey, Faith! I just wanted to call and see if you were busy today. I wanted to go see a movie and thought you might want to come with me?”

“Oh. I’d love t-” I remembered the promise I’d made to Adam to spend less time with Amber and had to come up with an excuse on the fly, “Um, actually, I just remembered I have a doctor’s appointment today, so maybe we could do a rain check?”

“Oh, are you sure? We could go tomorrow, instead.”

“Uh, this is really embarrassing but I’m not really sure I can afford to go see a movie right now.”

“What?”

“Um, well, with all the lawyer fees I’ve had to pay over the past few weeks, I just really need to watch my budget.”

“Faith, are you…are you avoiding hanging out with me?” Amber asked with confusion.

“What!? No! Of course not!” I lied, “I just have a lot going on right now.”

“Well, okay. Maybe we can go see a movie once your next paycheck comes in…”

“Definitely!” I said trying to sound enthusiastic.

We hung up and I went about my day. I had the apartment all to myself because Molly was at an out-of-town audition and I planned to give myself a home spa day.

But then there was a knock on the door and everything changed.