“Uh… the man that was just here. Do you know him?”
“I didn’t see anyone,” Pete said. “I wasn’t paying attention.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “What can I do for you, Winter?”
“Winter,” I whispered. “You really do know me…”
“I know a little of everyone around here,” Pete said. “It’s how it goes. Right?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“You were in that accident,” Pete said. “Terrible accident. Heard about it. Saw the pictures. Well, I’ve been looking into it.”
“You have?” I asked.
“Come on, let’s go sit down and talk somewhere private,” he said.
Pete opened the door for me and I walked into the police station. He made a few quick moves through some doors and hallways. Then he opened the door to a room that had no windows and just a table and two chairs.
“Water?” Pete offered. “Coffee? I might have some of that fancy flavored bubbly water that everyone seems to drink.”
“No, thank you,” I said.
“Okay,” he said. “Sit here for a minute. I want to go get something.”
Pete left the room before I could acknowledge what he said.
He returned with a folder in his hand.
He tossed it to the table and walked around the table, turning the folder to face him.
As he flipped the folder open, he stared at me.
“What brings you here?”
“I… I don’t know,” I said.
Winter, no…
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I mean, the accident… I’ve been thinking. You know, trying to think about everything…”
“I heard you lost your memory,” Pete said. “I can’t even imagine that. How bits and pieces come and go, right?”
“Something like that,” I said. “When I woke up from the accident, it was scary. Not being able to remember anyone. My father was at my side and I had no idea who he was.”
Pete nodded. “That’s tragic. I’m sorry you’re living through that.”
“But I-”
“You’re wondering why in the world is a detective talking about my accident,” Pete said. “It’s an accident, right? Things happen. People crash their vehicles every day.”
“Yeah…”
“This one felt different, Winter,” Pete said. “I wanted my eyes on this one. Just to be safe. You know?”
“Do you think it wasn’t an accident?” I asked.
“Do you?” Pete asked.
His eyes were beady. Locked to mine. He was a smart man. That’s why he was a detective. He knew all the games and all the tricks.
He made me nervous. Which didn’t make much sense.
This was the man who could help me.
This was the place where I could confess everything and get help.
I opened my mouth a little but hesitated some more.
“I looked at it and tried to make sense of it,” Pete said. “You just went off the road. You didn’t swerve. You didn’t hit the brakes. I went over to the spot where it happened and visualized it myself. You just… went off the road. Of course, your generation is known to be glued to your cellphones. So I thought about that. Then I remembered everyone around here is loaded with cash.” He smiled. “Everything just hooks up to your vehicles, right? There’s no need to look at your phones. Even still, it’s a possibility.”
I nodded. “Yeah… I guess…”
Pete pushed at the folder. “I’ve thought of other things here, Winter. Maybe you did it to yourself. A guy breaks your heart and you want to end things. Meaning, your life.”
“I would never-”
“Or maybe someone did it on purpose,” Pete said. “Someone wanted to hurt you. Someone wanted to kill you. What do you think?”
He slowly walked around the desk.
“I…”
Pete snapped his fingers and touched his jaw.
He clicked his tongue. “That’s right. You don’t remember anything.”
Pete moved around the table and leaned against it. He folded his arms.
He stared at me.
“Right?”
“That’s why I’m here,” I said. “I wanted to see what was being said. Or found. Or…”
“The truth,” Pete said. “That’s what I want. But here’s the thing, Winter. I’ve gone through it all. I’ve looked at it from a lot of angles. Now I can start digging into personal lives. Knocking on doors. Following people. You know, everything I’m allowed to do with my badge. Understand?”
My blood began to run cold.
Follow?
“I understand,” I said.
“My conclusion is simple. It was your fault, Winter.”
“My fault?”
“Completely your fault.” Pete pushed from the table and stared down at me. “Right?”
“How do you figure?”
Winter, run. Turn and run. This guy…
“The evidence,” Pete said. “You were doing something wrong that night. And for me, I have to judge it. Is it worth me digging into? Do I really want to know? How far can I take this? And at the end of the day, you’re the one without your memory of it all.”
My mind went back to racing.
Trying to figure out what would happen right now if I told Pete the truth.
This wasn’t right.
Something was off.
Way off.
“Right,” I said. “I guess I just wanted to remember. That’s why I came here today. I wanted to see if I could see the pictures or talk to someone who was there.”
“I don’t think that will do any good,” Pete said. “Trust me, Winter, as much as I look for the truth, sometimes it hurts.”
“Not remembering hurts,” I said.
“Remembering might hurt more,” Pete said.
I stepped back and reached for the door. “Then I guess I’m done here.”
“Winter,” Pete said. “It was your fault. That’s probably not what you want to hear. You were messing around with your phone. Distracted. It’s the only thing that makes sense. My best guess is you dropped your phone into the back and you were trying to reach for it. You went off the road and then tried to climb into the back because you knew you were going to crash. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense here,” Pete said.
He moved to the door and put his hand flat against it.
He looked down at me again.
I was stuck in the room. No windows.
No escape.
“Yeah,” I said again.
“Anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” Pete asked.
“No,” I said.
“Good. This worked out. Now I don’t have to stop over to your mother’s beach house and bother her. You can just keep to yourself. Feel better. Heal up. And, hey, maybe your memory will come back.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Pete moved away from the door.
I opened it and walked out of there slowly.
I kept that slow and normal pace even as I got into Tank Two.