Free Dark Web by T. J. Brearton

chitchat seemed to make the kid more comfortable; some of the fear he’d been exuding had abated. “Not really. Why?”
    Swift shrugged. “Just asking. My old man and I didn’t see eye to eye on anything. I’m talking about my stepfather. Practically everyone in my family is in law enforcement, though. That’s how it usually works. My father was killed in the line of duty. He was a state police detective, too. My stepfather, though, he was a highway patrolman.”
    Hideo looked away and studied the wall for a moment. Maybe he sensed what was coming next.
    “Point is, I guess it’s in the blood and in the backstory. Know what I mean? So I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I really hope you can be honest with me. Alright? I just need to know a few things, and then I can get you out of here and back home.”
    The kid averted his eyes.
    “What were you doing up here tonight? You and your family, you don’t live up here. Do you?”
    “No.”
    “So what were you doing up here?”
    “Visiting a friend.”
    “And that friend was Braxton Simpkins?”
    “Yes.”
    “Could you look at me, son? Would you mind?” Maybe it was rude in Japanese culture to look authority figures in the eye, but Swift needed to see what was going on there.
    Hideo slowly brought his gaze back. The fear carved through his features. It made a knot of his mouth, as though he was afraid to blurt something out, or start crying.
    “Thank you. Why were you visiting him in the middle of the night?”
    Hideo shrugged his shoulders.
    “Are you afraid to tell me something?”
    No response, and then Swift saw tears filling his eyes. He looked away again, up towards the corner of the room. He nodded twice, which caused the tears to spill over his eyelids and track down his face.
    “Okay. So where do you live? Philadelphia?”
    He nodded again.
    “Do your friends, the two other guys in the car with you, do they live in Philadelphia, too?”
    Now the kid shook his head, no.
    “Where are they from?”
    “New York City. And Short Hills, I think.”
    “Short Hills? Where’s that?”
    “Jersey.”
    “Okay. So we got three of you from three different states. How do you all know each other?”
    “Online.”
    “And is that how you know Braxton Simpkins? From online?”
    Hideo nodded. His whole mouth now was working, his mouth pursed, the lips crinkled, and his features contorted as he tried to staunch the flow of tears.
    “What sorts of things online? Like Facebook? Social Media? That sort of thing?”
    He shook his head, no.
    “Then what? Something else?”
    The kid was very still. He stared at the desk.
    When he finally spoke again, his voice trembled. “I don’t want to say anymore. I’m sorry.”
    “Hey, no. Hey. It’s okay. You’re doing great.”
    “I guess . . . I guess I should call a lawyer after all.”
    His voice cracked on the word lawyer and he lowered his face into his hands. A few seconds pause, and then Swift thought he heard the kid say something. He leaned forward and listened to the muffled words.
    I’m sorry , the kid was saying into his arms through the wet snuffle of his tears. I’m sorry.
    One down , thought Swift.
    * * *
    Swift took a quick break and called Trooper Bronze, who’d gone back out to 9N to keep an eye on things.
    Swift could hear the wind rattling around in the background as Bronze answered.
    “You’re still holding the scene?”
    “Yes, sir, Swifty.”
    “Okay. I’d like you to call some relief. Leave the scene and head back over to the family.”
    “Sir?”
    “Keep an eye on them, get the stepfather and his girls anything they need. I’ll be there as soon as I can — these kids are opening up like flowers. I’m going to get a confession out of one of them.”
    “Excellent.”
    “But we still need to keep an eye on the stepfather. And while you’re doing that, helping him out, we’re going to get everything from the decedent’s bedroom. Our CSI, Silas, is going to get the laptop —