Chapter 3

3.

Field sizes Traci up over their tepid coffee.

"So what were you doing at the encampment?"

Sips.

"I sleep there once in a while. Melissa and Shamrock make me food and we talk and do things together."

Casually, "you don't have anywhere else to go? Why do you stay with adults who aren't your guardians?" Field 🏑 fielding

“It's just sometimes, I help out Elena and Tyler at the restaurant too. There's lots of places I stay.”

"So what did you hear? You said you really didn't see anything except a dark person running away?" Fields knows he's probably not going to get anywhere but has to write ✍️ it down 👇 for posterity.

"One shot popped off, I froze. The person split 🪓 really quick I barely saw anything. It was dark 🕶️🌑."

"But you heard something?"

Traci puzzles over how to say the things, "ee su eh droga? I think. It sounded like they were asking if those were their drugs. Which doesn't make sense Melissa works at housekeeping and Shamrock ☘️ is a busboy, as far as I know they don't use drugs except maybe marijuana they chase those people away when we're having dinner. It all happened so sudden."

Field circles back, "do you know of any other reason somebody could be there talking about drugs in another language? With a gun?"

"It makes no sense to me," Traci wells up, "Shamrock ☘️ and Ngoc Ngoc chase people off but they never argue they're so kind to everybody."

"I'm going to let you go, Traci, and I know you have places to go but we need you to stay in touch and in town while we're looking for the murder suspect ok. We don't want anybody else in danger and we have no idea what this person wanted." Field in the clear.

"Thank you, and if I do hear any more from Melissa or anybody else I will definitely tell you. I just don't want anybody else getting hurt either. I hope it was all a mistake and this person messes up somehow and we find out who it was."

Quizzical, Fields opens, "if you know something else..."

"I don't!" Traci lashes out. "It's really bothering me I wish I knew why somebody would shoot my friend!" 

"Ok, Traci, I didn't mean to hurt 🤕 your feelings," Fields follows "don't put yourself in harm's way but if you find anything else out, or if something happens, here's my card with the case number, alright?"

Traci palms the encrypted printout and blinks, nodding affirmation. Skulking out of the room with zero resolution.

"So, T, it was quick." Tyler and Traci lock arms and clamber out of the precinct chambers like club crashers to a curbside barbecue. "We're getting you and Ngoc something different for the time being. You stay with us, we'll work something out for her. This isn't anything we should be leaving you both out there with."

"I'm really bothered, what if they were looking for me or Ngoc Ngoc, won't they come back again?" Traci ruminating the unknowns of the unknowns.

Tyler posits, "there's one more thing we didn't think 💬🤔🧐😯😘 of, T."

"What's that?"

"Well, it could be somebody you gave some party favors to, or it could be somebody was upset about the person getting the favors and saw you do it. We don't know what we stepped in. I just know I'm getting us out."

Traci holds up the bag, "does that mean no more running?"

"You took that in there?! Geez Trace." Tyler latches onto the satchel 🎒.

"There's nothing in it I put what I had under the seat." 

"Oh that's SO much better." Tyler facepalms himself. "I'll have to be the connect for Elena for a while we can sort it. The cops already know about me and we don't want you in juvie."

Having been handed a get out of jail free card at Shamrock ☘️ expense, Traci folds arms and glides ghostily into the passenger seat next to Tyler again, wondering if really they all did end up in a better place.