RedZone (9 page)

  Detective Hart looked through the records carefully. He highlighted every number that was repeated multiple times. He looked up the two numbers that repeated more often than others. Trey’s and Michele’s.

  They were the most recent calls on his log in and out. “So good ol’ Pittman wasn’t lying!” He said out loud to himself. Trey’s number was the last to receive a call from him.

  ***

“Yo Trey, you heard about Sevynn?” Angel said holding the missing person flyer. He handed it over to Trey.

“Word? I thought she just left out of humiliation.” Trey responded looking at the piece of paper. “Where did you get this from?”

“Her peoples are out there passing them out. They claim she been missing since before break.” Trey began to feel nauseous.

“You good man?” Angel asked seeing Trey’s reaction. “You don’t look too good.”

“I’m fine. I gotta find Michele, I wonder if she knows.” He raced out of the lobby of his dorm hall and ran over to Michele’s room.

  His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty. When he made it to her room before she could even get her door open all the way he pushed his way through.

“What the fuck!? Trey what’s wrong?” Michele screeched. Trey began to vomit. He held his hand out with the piece of paper that Angel handed to him.

“What’s this?” Michele said snatching it out of his hand.

“Did you know she was missing?” He asked finally pulling himself together.

“I had no idea. I haven’t talked to her since, wow!” Michele sat on the bed holding her head in her hand.

“She’s been missing since before break.” Brice pointed. “This can’t be happening.”

“First Bryce now Sevynn.” Michele said with a whisper. “You don’t think she’s dead do you?”

“I don’t know. I feel bad. I treated her like shit even after all the times she apologized to me.”

***

“Hart! Phone.”

“Who is it?” Detective Hart grabbed the phone holding it to his chest before speaking.

“It’s about that Sevynn chick.”

“Yes.” Detective Hart answered finally. “Really? I’m on my way.” He hung up and gathered the officers in the station together.

“We have a body found on Route 304. It is believed to be that of Sevynn Baker, age 22, who has been reported missing since the first part of December.”

  There was traffic all on the southbound side of  the highway. Drivers were curious as to what was going on as the rubbernecked their way down the road. Police cars and camera crews filled the area. Blue plastic floated in the wind and sparklers lit the road.

  Detective Hart arrived finally after speeding through the traffic with his sirens on. He put on some rubber gloves and walked directed towards the body. Sevynn’s body. He pulled the sheet back to reveal a blue frozen body. “It looks like she’s been in this snow for sometime. Now that it’s been a little warm the last fews days her snow grave started to melt.” One of the coroners explained to Detective Hart.

“Who found her?” Detective Hart asked keeping his eyes on Sevynn.

“Some Trucker stopping to take a piss. Said he pulled over over there and was about to pull his dick out and saw a hand.”

“Thanks.” Detective Hart said a little disturb by the story. “Did she have anything on her, keys, phone...?

“Nope. Her car was found in a ditch close to the campus. By the creek.”

“Wow.” Detective Hart shook his head, he leaned in closer to examine the details of the body. He noticed a string of hair on her coat. It didn’t match the texture of hers. He picked it up slowly with a tweezer and put in a small zip lock. He handed it to the coroner. “Take this down to the lab.”

“Sir, looks like we found a cell phone!” Someone shouted from a couple of feet away from the body. Detective Hart rushed over to the area. “The battery died and it’s probably water damaged.” someone mentioned. He pulled out another plastic bag and slide the phone in it.

***

“Breaking news a body has been found on Route 304...It is not clear but it suspected to be the body of missing Schuylkill University student.
”
The anchor announced

“Shit turn that up!” One of the students yelled out across the cafe. They all turned to the televisions hanging off of the wall in the area.

“Yes, we have an unidentified body..
”
Detective Hart responded to the new anchors question
.
“We are investingating this death is tied into the case of Bryce Henson.”

“You can forget us being on the top University List.” Someone joked.

  The vibe in the room fell somber. Some students cried in silence some made remarks like “She must’ve commited suicide.” or “She was tricking on the side of the road.” Trey and the football team sat at their regular tables, just shaking their heads.

“You cool man?” Someone asked Trey.

“Yeah I’m good. I gotta go I need to clear my mind.” Trey said quietly getting up.

***

  Detective Hart received a call from the coroner the hair that was Sevynn’s jacket did not belong to her. He sat at his desk looking through her phone records just as he did Bryce’s. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. The number came up blocked.

“I’m calling anonymously.” The voice said. “I wanted to report what I saw the night that girl disapeared.”

“I’m all ears.” Detective Hart sat up in his seat and grabbed a pen and note pad.

“She was down by the creek behind my house, I was wondering what they were doing back there.”

“Can you describe who ‘they’ are?” he asked.

“It was a tall girl. She looked like the one on the flyer and a guy.”

“Okay, so what this guy look like?”

“Tall, He had on a leather jacket, and his hair hung from his hat.”

“Could you hear anything, an argument something?” He asked the person on the line.

“No just saw the body language very angry.” The voice responded. “The jacket I do remember had a number or something on it.”

“Shit.” Detective Hart mumbled.

  Coach Booker invited Trey and a few of the other guys on the team to train with him. There were going to be scouts out and it was to help him practice for what was to come in the combine. They all gathered at the stadium, although it was cold.

  Detective Hart and a few other police man rushed on to the field as Trey began to stretch.

“What’s going on here gentlemen, we’re having a training session!” Coach Booker pointed out.

“I understand that coach, and you can go back to that, I am here for Trey.” Detective Hart said pulling out his handcuffs. Coach Booker looked puzzled and then stepped to the side.

“Antonio Pittman, you are under arrest for the murder of Sevynn Baker and Bryce Henson. You have the right-”

“What I haven’t talked to that girl?!” Trey yelled out as he was held to the ground and handcuffed.

“That’s not what forensics tell us.” Detective Hart chirped. “Come on.”

  Back in the police station the police took Trey’s fingerprints and mugshot. They placed him in a dark cement wall room with a two way mirror and a table. He was still handcuffed.

“I wanted to have faith in you Pittman.” Detective Hart greeted as he entered the room. “I wanted to believe you weren’t the arrogant asshole that you truly are.”

“I did not kill that girl or Bryce.” Trey said calmly.

“Well what I have here are the results of Sevynn’s autopsy.” Detective Hart said slamming the paperwork down on the table. “Blunt force trauma. Maybe a pool ball?”

“I didn’t hit that girl with a pool ball. I haven’t had any contact with her.” Trey pleaeded.

“That’s not what your team mate told me.” Detective Hart smirked. “Your friend Angel Hernandez. Yeah, I met up with him the night of your fight with Sevynn.” Trey had a look of disapointment. He didn’t know that Angel had called Detective Hart. He felt betrayed, especially since they had made up.

“Angel wasn’t in the room. He didn’t see shit.”

“Well her phone records show that you texted her 10 times before her phone went out that day. I have a witness placing you down by the creek with her before she was murdered.”

“I lost my phone back in December, I just got a new one for Christmas. I never texted that girl after October. Did you check that?” Trey said sharply.

“So explain why your hair was found on her coat at the scene?” Both men stared at each other in silence.

“I did not kill that girl. I didn’t want anything to do with her.” Trey said breaking the awkward staring contest.

“So where were you The afternoon of December 9th?” Detective Hart asked as he took a seat.

“I was with Angel Hernandez in the rec center. Then I went over to Michele’s room.”

“Around what time?”

“I don’t remember.” Trey said aggressively.

“Being hostile will get you know where, my friend.” Detective Hart hinted. “Tell me, the last time you saw Sevynn, when she was alive what happened?”

“Fuck this, I want a lawyer!” Trey yelled.

***

“Oh my God! What happened?” Michele asked in shock. She had heard the cops picked Trey up from the stadium and put him in the back of the cop car.

“I think I might have gotten him in trouble, shit.” Angel said upset. Michele looked confused. She didn’t understand what he meant.

“What happened? Why do you think that?”

“I had called Hart back in December before Sevynn went missing. I told him that they were fighting.” Angel said nervously.

“So you snitched on him?” Michele asked.

“He was starting to get manic. I was truly starting to believe he killed Bryce the way he was acting.”

Angel reasoned.

***

  Detective Hart received surveillance video from the overpass from highway 304. In the video a red car pulls up to the spot where Sevynn’s body was dumped, around 1:07AM. The video wasn’t very clear but you can see a figure open the passenger door open and something fall out on to the side. A few seconds later a small shiney object is thrown a few feet away. Detective Hart assumed it was Sevynn’s cell phone, from where it was found at the scene.

  He headed back to the room where they were holding Trey. Detective Hart provided him with a lawyer and called his parents up to the station.  As he walked by the stations lobby he could here a commotion and a woman shouting at the police, and her husband holding her back.

“Miss if you don’t calm down we will have to handcuff you

“Where is my son?” His mother yelled out, “He’s no murderer!”

“Miss, calm down.” Detective Hart said calmly. “We are trying to get this straight. I want him to be innocent just as much as you do.”

“Fuck you. I’ve heard about you, Detective Hart!” Ms. Pittman shouted after looking down at Detective Harts badge. “Up there harrassing those students! You’ve driven my son crazy!”

  Detective Hart stepped back and proceeded to walk into the interrigation room, shaking his head.

“I see where you get that temper, Pittman.” He joked with Trey while entering the room. “Your mother is going crazy.” The lawyer stood up to shake Detective Hart’s hand. Trey had a miffed look on his face. He could tell by their interaction they were probably golf buddies or something.

“You have a lawyer, now speak.” Detective Hart commanded.

“What you want to know?” Trey answered.

“You said you lost your phone. Do you remember where?”

“If I knew where I had lost it, it wouldn’t be lost, right?” Trey answered slyly.

“You have to cooperate, Antonio.” The lawyer whispered. Trey nodded.

“What kind of car do you drive?”

“I have a Honda Civic. Why?”

“Color?”

“Black, why?”

“Do you recognize this car in this photo?”

  Trey’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped. He sat in shock for a few seconds trying to digest what he was seeing. Detective Hart noticed his reaction and asked him again. “Do you recognize this car, Pittman?”

“Yes...” Trey said finally.