In his entire life, Carter had never felt more sad, angry, and shocked at the same time. The instant that he saw Freeman’s dead body, he was a completely different person.585Please respect copyright.PENANAqEGS9RwubM
He didn’t scream, which would’ve been the normal reaction. But instead, he just stared blankly for a second. Freeman, one of the only two friends that he ever had, the only person who was able to stand up for him as a child, was dead.
Carter’s eyes began to feel wet. He had not cried in years. Years. On this night, he had every reason to cry.
Memories of Freeman instantly began to race through Carter’s mind. It was as if Freeman’s life was flashing before the eyes of somebody else. He saw the day the two of them met, the day that Freeman stood up for him in the hallway, the day that he was best man at Freeman’s wedding…
…the last conversation he had with him before his death.
As tears began to run down Carter’s face, somebody in the room spoke. Carter’s mind was so filled with emotion and memories that he did not make out who the voice belonged to. The voice could have belonged to anybody. It said: “Carter…”
At that moment, the rage in Carter took over his entire body. He ran up the wooden staircase and slammed the door to the basement shut. He then sprinted back down the stairs and stood in front of the suspects. He was trying to block any access out of the basement.
“WHO DID THIS?!” he screamed. “WHO KILLED HIM?! I WANT TO KNOW RIGHT NOW!!”
Nobody in the basement said a word. They were all shocked.
Carter would not let anybody leave the basement until he found out who killed Freeman. He wanted to make sure that nobody left. He would make sure that nobody left.
Carter ran back up the staircase and opened the basement door.
“ELLIOTT!!” he screamed through the door.
Elliott came running down the hall. He looked so terrified that he looked ready to pass out.
“What happened?” Elliott asked. “Is everyone okay?”
Carter waited about a minute before he spoke.
“Freeman is dead.”
Elliott just stared blankly at Carter for a second.
“Wh…WHAT?!”
“Freeman is dead,” Carter repeated. “Somebody shot him with a gun.”
Elliott now looked even more ready to pass out. .585Please respect copyright.PENANA4Wz5arKe4h
“Oh no,” he said.
Carter nodded.
“Who…who did it?” Elliott stammered.
“I don’t know exactly,” Carter said. “But I know for certain that it was somebody that came with you to the basement.”
“Oh no,” Elliott said again.
There was a long silence. Carter knew exactly what Elliott was thinking. Memories of Freeman were most likely flashing in his head.
Finally, Elliott spoke: “We have to call the police.”
Carter shook his head. “No.”
Elliot looked shocked. “What?”
“I don’t want the police to find out who killed Freeman,” Carter said. “I don’t want them running one of their long, stupid investigations. Not Freeman. I want to find out who killed him myself. Tonight.”
“How?” Elliott asked.
“I just will.”
“What?”
“Lock the door.”
“WHAT?!”
“Lock the basement door.”
“Why?”
Carter rubbed his face.
“Nobody is leaving this basement until I find out who killed Freeman,” he said. “I am going to stay with them in here and find out. When I close the door, I want you to lock it.”
Another pause. Elliott had an awkward look on his face.
“Okay,” he said. “But that will mean that the suspect’s families will have to go home without them. And so will your wife.”
“So be it,” Carter said.
After this, he closed the door. He didn’t walk down the staircase until he heard the door lock.
Carter then walked up to the group of six in the basement, all who looked terrified.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Carter said. “Who killed Freeman?”
“I don’t know,” Stewart said.
“I have no idea,” Anderson said. “But I swear to God it wasn’t me.”
“I…I don’t know,” Howard said.
“I didn’t see the shooter,” Sullivan said. “But I didn’t do it.”
“I really, really don’t know,” Jenkins said.
“It wasn’t me!” Cruz said. “And I don’t know who it was. I’m honest!”
Somebody in the room was not telling the truth. Carter knew he would have to go much deeper than that.
“Nobody is leaving this basement until I find out who killed my friend.”
Everybody looked at him even stranger.
“Yes, Freeman was my friend. And he was one of my only friends. But somebody in here had the nerve to take that friendship away.”
Carter walked closer to them and got in all of there faces.
“And tonight, that somebody is going to pay the price.”
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