Sam chimed in, stomping his foot. “Zoe hated it when guys touched her! Jenkins, don’t push your luck!”
Mike was furious. “I’m trying to solve a case, not do something inappropriate! Don’t you get it? The longer we wait, the more evidence fades. We can afford to wait, but the dead can’t!”
“What are you trying to say? That one of us did it?” Chaz shot back, his anger rising. “We’ve all known Zoe for ten years! She didn’t have any family, so we were her closest friends, her family!”
Mike didn’t flinch. “It doesn’t matter how close you were. Until the victim speaks, everyone here is a suspect.”
Tensions rose, and a standoff loomed.
I was indecisive by nature. When Mike spoke, I agreed with him. But when my friends protested, I wavered.
In the end, it was Chaz’s strength that prevailed, and Mike backed down.
In the living room, we sat in one group while Mike sat opposite us, creating an atmosphere of confrontation.
The tension was palpable.
“What’s your relationship with the victim, and what exactly happened last night?” Mike was still persistent, beginning to interrogate us.