Erik's heart started racing as he stepped into the room and saw the private investigator sitting at the table, his piercing gaze fixed upon him. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead as he sat down across from the man.
"Mr. Romano, I presume," the investigator said in a deep, gravelly voice. Erik nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"I'm Private Investigator Hais. I've been hired to look into the disappearances of Logan Reid, Conal Price, and Orson Smyth. And I believe you may have some information that could help us."
Erik's mouth went dry. He tried to remain calm, but his mind was racing. His worst fear just came true, and the man was there because he was investigating the three motherfuckers disappearance.
"Good morning, Private Investigator Hais," Erik said. "Everything I can do to help you, I will," the young man said, making a fake smile.
Hais nodded and said, "Thank you very much. It is not a lot, really. I just need to ask you some questions."
"Let's hear then," Erik said.
"From my investigation, it became clear you had a weird but strong history with the three. Care to tell me what it consisted of? Do you know anything about their disappearance?" the investigator asked. He wanted to see if Erik was going to tell him everything.
"We weren't friends, if this is what you are implying, and I'm afraid I don't know anything about their disappearances," Erik said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Hais leaned forward, his eyes locked on Erik's. "I don't doubt you know nothing about their disappearance, but anything can help," Hais said, clearly lying since he firmly believed Erik killed them.
"For example, when was the last time you saw them?" He asked, his tone making it clear that he wasn't buying Erik's story.
Erik knew he had to be careful with his words. "I'm pretty sure you already know what Conal, Logan, and Orson did to me. I mean, it is impossible that you came here without having asked anyone about it," he said, keeping his calm.
Hais raised an eyebrow. "Well, that is true. I know they did you a lot of bad things; this is also why I'm here. I'm trying to understand if you had anything to do with their deaths."
Erik was greatly surprised by Hais's honesty, but what he said meant he suspected him. His mind frantically tried to think of an alibi that would hold up under the investigator's scrutiny. Hais leaned back in his chair, studying Erik intently.
"So, I will ask my question again: Do you know what they did the day of their disappearance? Did you see them at school or elsewhere?"
Erik sighed, "I saw them at the entrance around 08:30, but I hurried to my class, so I don't know what they did later." He said his voice firm but his soul trembling. Hais looked at him for a few more moments before nodding slowly and writing something down in his notebook.
"Very well, Mr. Romano. But I must warn you: If I find out you're lying or withholding information, it won't bode well for you. And believe me, I will find out the truth. The Red Palace may be a closed institution, but no one is above the law."
Private Investigator Hais cleared his throat before asking his next question. "Given the nature of your relationship with the three kids, can you tell me if you ever had any altercations with Logan, Conal, or Orson before their disappearance?"
Erik nodded his head; there was no point in lying since a lot of people saw him fight against them at the cafeteria. "One time. I bet you already learned about it, but there has been a fight at the cafeteria once. As you are aware, the three usually bullied me, but I never fought back prior to that day."
Hais scribbled something in his notebook again. "Can you tell me what they did do? How did they bully you? Of course, we can talk about something else if you don't feel like it."
"No, no... I want to help you," Erik said. He faked a troubled look and then focused on the desk, saying, "They would make fun of me, push me around, and sometimes even steal my things. What they did the most, however, was beat me up. It wasn't a pleasant experience."
Hais nodded. "I see. Did you ever tell anyone about the bullying?"
Erik hesitated before answering. "The other students knew; they were often there when that happened. But I said nothing to the teachers, as I thought it would only make things worse."
Hais raised an eyebrow. "So, you kept it to yourself?" Erik nodded. "Yes, I did."
Hais made another note in his notebook. "Was there a certain time when you wanted to make them pay?" That was a weird question in Erik's mind. It was clear that any person would have wanted to make them pay in one way or another, so he knew that if he said no, that would be suspicious, and he decided to tell the truth about this.
Erik shook his head. "Of course, like all the other kids who suffered the same fate as me. There are many at school; you can talk to them. However, I may have been bullied, but I never harbored any feelings of vengeance toward them. If this is what you are asking me. There was no point, as what they did to me had already been done, and they stopped harassing me after our fight at the cafeteria," Erik lied once again.
Hais leaned forward. "Are you telling me the truth, Erik?"
Erik looked Hais straight in the eye. "Yes, I am. I know what you are thinking, but I didn't have anything to do with their disappearance."
"All right," the old man said without keeping his eyes off Erik. Private Investigator Hais leaned forward in his chair again and then asked. "Can you tell me what you did after school ended the day the three kids disappeared?"
Erik swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew this was the question he had been dreading, the one that could make or break him, as he didn't have an alibi for the window of time before he arrived at Mister Fox's house, and even in that time, there was no one who could testify he was there, as his old employer was dead. "I went to Mister Fox's farm to work as usual," he replied, keeping his voice steady.
Hais raised an eyebrow. "And what time did you arrive there?"
"Around 14:00," Erik said. "I took a cab." Erik knew he couldn't say he was at the train station. Around that period, Erik didn't know the system well, and he wasn't used to taking advantage of the machine, so he didn't ask the biological supercomputer to turn off the station's cameras, meaning that if he said he was there, Hais could check the station's recordings.
"Do you remember what identification number it had?" Hais asked.
"No. I was in a rush to go to work, so once it arrived, I jumped in without looking at the number."
Hais nodded slowly, but Erik could tell he wasn't satisfied and that he still had some doubts. The investigator's eyes bore into Erik's, and the awakened man felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. Did Hais think he killed them? Did he know what really happened to the three kids?
Erik tried to keep his breathing steady as he looked back at Hais, trying to gauge his reaction. But the investigator's face was mysterious, and Erik couldn't tell if he was getting closer to the truth or not.
Hais took a deep breath and leaned forward, his piercing gaze locking onto Erik's eyes. "Now, Erik," he said firmly, "I need to ask you a few more questions. After you finished working at the farm, what did you do next?"
"I caught the train back to school," he said. "I had to be back at school by 18:00 for training."
Hais raised an eyebrow. "And what time did you leave the farm?"
"I left around 17:00," Erik replied.
"Can anyone confirm that you were at school for training that evening?" Hais asked, his eyes never leaving Erik's.
"Yes," Erik replied, feeling a flicker of hope. "My teacher and my training partners can vouch for me. We had a rigorous training session, and everyone was there."
Hais nodded thoughtfully. "I see. And did you have any contact with the three missing kids after training that day?"
Erik shook his head. "No, I didn't. I went straight home after the training ended; as I've said, I only saw them briefly in the morning before the lessons started. I didn't see them or hear from them at all after that moment."
Hais then took out a photo from his pocket and placed it in front of Erik. The photo showed Logan, Conal, and Orson coming out of the train's station elevator, facing a masked kid wearing a Thornton High School uniform.
"Do you recognize this kid with the mask?" Hais asked, his eyes fixed on Erik's face.
Erik studied the photo for a few seconds before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know who that is. I've never seen him before." However, he was panicking. Hais was, of course, already in possession of the train's station recordings, so his previous lie basically saved him a lot of trouble. However, he was aware that forgetting to turn off the camera had been a rookie mistake, something that could put him in serious trouble.
Hais nodded, his expression unreadable. "Is there anyone you can think of who might know who he is? Anyone who might have seen him with Logan, Conal, or Orson?"
Erik faked thinking for a moment before shaking his head again. "I can't think of anyone off the top of my head. But I can ask around and see if anyone knows anything."
Hais nodded again and scribbled something down in his notebook before looking back up at Erik. The conversation wasn't going to finish soon.
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