Free Under Abnormal Conditions by Erick Burgess

office. I expect your full reports at the end of next
week. As usual you can work in pairs, but I need an individual
report from each of you. I’ll see you guys next period.
    As the crescendo of shuffling books again
filled the room, I walked up to the doctor’s desk.
    “Dr. Pierre, I have a problem with my paper
that I need to talk to you about.”
    “Mr. Drake, my office hours are posted. I’m
afraid I don’t have time right now. Either come to my office later,
call me, or send me an email.”
    Before I could tell him I had emailed him, he
had gathered his books and left the room. Dejected, I hung my head
and followed. I figured he hadn’t checked his messages yet and I
would just try and call him later.
    As I dodged my way through the halls, I
wondered how many of my fellow students had similar problems like
mine. Assuredly that was why the doctor was so quick to dismiss my
plea for help. I was sure he had his fill of pseudo-tragic events
of the typical college teenager.
    Just before I reached my car, I could hear
someone calling me in the distance. “Doc!” the voice shouted. “Doc,
wait up.” It was my old roommate, Alex Williams. He was the
ultimate lady-killer. He stood a bold six foot two inches and
weighed two hundred and twenty-five chiseled pounds. He had a
subtle cleft in his chin and sleepy brown eyes that attracted a
great number of female admirers. “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “I’m alright, but I can only give you the
short version of what happened.”
    “Yeah, I talked to Trey last night. I’m glad
to see you are alright,” he answered.
    “Michelle’s mother was the one killed last
night.”
    “What? Man I’m sorry. I wish there was
something I could do,” he said, as he seemed preoccupied with
something. He was never good at hiding his emotions.
    “It was good to see you. We need to get
together soon. I’m going to Trey’s later, maybe we can catch
up?”
    “Doc, I need to talk to you about something.
It’s been on my mind for a while and with what happened yesterday,
maybe this is the time,” he paused and I waited for him to finish.
“I’ll just talk to you about it at Trey’s. I know you got a lot
going on right now.”
    “Well, are you sure?”
    He nodded in agreement and we shook hands as
we parted ways. Before he walked away, I couldn’t help but see
whatever he wanted to talk to me about was weighing heavily on
him.
    “Hey, don’t worry about me. Everything will
be fine.” I said as though I actually believed the words
myself.
     
     

Chapter 11
     
     
    The police station was downtown on Main
Street in Dunham Heights. It was a one-story beige stucco building
that I hadn’t been inside of in years. I didn’t know why they
wanted to see me again; there wasn’t anything else I could tell
them.
    Once inside, I encountered a female officer
sitting behind a huge Plexiglas window, and I pressed the button
labeled “Push For Service”. The lady looked at me and raised her
hand as if to say ‘You look like you can wait for a minute’. She
talked on the intercom for a moment before she finally asked, “Can
I help you?”
    “Detective Williams, please?”
    She studied me for an instant before she
called. I decided to sit down and wait. Still tired from the night
before, I welcomed the chance to relax. The room reminded me of a
waiting room at a doctor’s office…except it didn’t have the fresh
smell or the magazines. After about ten minutes of nodding off,
Williams came out to greet me.
    “Michael, I’m glad you could make it,” he
said, raising his hand for a greeting. I stood, shook his hand, and
followed him through the doors. He led me down a hall just past the
information desk to a small windowless room.
    “Just have a seat, and I’ll be right with
you.”
    He left me alone in the tiny room. There was
only a small desk with two chairs facing a large mirrored glass. I
had seen enough television shows and movies to know what was back
there. I wondered