Free Fragmented by Colleen Connally

here,” the kid managed, grimacing as if he was in pain. “Look guys, I’m not feeling very well here. What do you want? Is he in some kind of trouble?”
    “ Do you think he should be?” Brophy countered. Waters walked around, checking out the place. “Do you know where he is?”
    “ Yeah, over at Allison’s, I think. I’m not sure. It’s some girl’s place, would be my bet. What do you want with him?” he asked again.
    Brophy watched the kid clutch his stomach, probably in an attempt to stop his stomach from churning. Then he saw the kid’s legs buckle and he eased over to the edge of the couch.
    Brophy ignored the question. “You would be?”
    “ Randy Harrison,” he answered bluntly, not offering anymore information. The tone of the detectives finally registered with the kid that it was serious.
    “ Do you know where he was last night?” Waters took his turn at questioning.
    “ Yeah. We were together. At least until we got over to his sister’s.”
    Brophy and Waters exchanged looks. “Where’s that?”
    “ Off Beacon Street. Why?”
    “ Why were you over there?”
    Randy sat, confusion written all over his face , staring at the two detectives. “Food. And she always gives us money. Before you ask, she’s a nurse at Beth Israel. We usually go hang there while she does our laundry.”
    “ Where did you go when you went out last night?” Brophy pressed.
    Randy shook his head. “Nowhere. All I remember is we had a drink before we were supposed to head out. The next thing I remember is waking up in Cam’s apartment, sick as a dog. Zach dropped me back off here. I think he said he was going home to Hull. Didn’t want to catch what I had. Knowing Zach, though, he came back in for a Saturday night.”
    Brophy motioned to Randy. “Get your jacket, son. You’re going back to the station with us.”
    “ What?” Randy said, surprised. “I’m sick. I don’t know what you think Zach did. It couldn’t be that bad.”
    Brophy didn’t answer him. Instead, he said in a firm voice , “Get your jacket or not. It doesn’t matter to me, but you are coming with us, now.”
    * * * *
    Cameron awoke. It was dark. She looked over at her nightstand. Eleven o’clock. By the time she finished with the cleaning, cooking, and washing clothes, it had been after three in the afternoon. She hadn’t had such a bad day in a long time.
    She tossed and turned from one rambling , troubling thought to another. She yearned for her mother. It had been so long since someone made everything better for her. For once, she wished someone would look after her; then she reprimanded herself. She never allowed herself self-pity, couldn’t afford it. She had to concentrate on the good things in her life, which seemed to be fewer and fewer.
    Meghan’s words kept echoing : “Remember, remember how you felt.”
    Oh, Meghan, I could never forget. Never! How could she ever forget the moment she walked into the empty apartment. Her heart sank. An overwhelming sense of confusion encompassed her. The whole apartment had been wiped out. She lost everything—her furniture, her clothes, Matthew…
    She remember ed feeling exhausted after working a double at the hospital. Her first thought had been she had been robbed. She had tried calling Matthew, who was mysteriously unavailable. So, she called the police.
    Her heart wrenched when she discovered the truth. She had never felt so humiliated. The embarrassment to have to confront the reality it had been Matthew himself.
    “Ma’am, do you think it may have been your boyfriend?” the police officer asked.
    She vehemently shook her head. “No, no. It couldn’t be. He’s my fiancé. We are supposed to get married in four months. Most everything that was here was mine. I don’t understand.”
    Reality slapped her in the face when the police officers returned. The words uttered shattered her dreams.
    “Ma’am, did you honestly not know you were having problems? According to Dr. Matthew