Episode 2

"Hi, sorry for the delay and all, what can I get you?" Ellie smiled as she handed the couple the menu.

"I could start you off with some drinks though" she chipped.

"Champagne would do, we'd have our orders ready by then" the elderly woman smiled and Ellie slightly bowed before rushing off.

"Such a beauty" she complimented to the hearing of her husband

"Not as yourself" he winked

"Oh honey" she blushed

Ellie arrived with the wine and two glasses, "here" she smiled, placing the glasses well on the table before pouring out the content from the bottle.

"I'll be right back" Ellie smiled after jotting down their order.

"The boss wants to see you" her colleague said to her and she sighed.

"Please help me get these to table fifteen" she said to the girl who nodded and left pushing the trolley along.

Ellie adjusted her clothes and her hair, she hesitated before giving a knock.

"Ellie?" She heard his voice from within

"Yes sir"she replied loudly

"Come in" 

"You sent for me?" She said standing by the door.

"Do we have to do this everytime, Ellie" Tyler sighed looking at her.

He was surely handsome, young and wealthy, but being in a relationship was the last thing on Ellie's mind.

"Take a seat" he said when she said nothing.

She slowly walked towards him and sat on one of the chairs facing him.

"Any problem Sir?" She asked

"You're never gon call me Tyler, are you?" He asked somewhat sad. Ellie didn't blink as she stared right back at him.

"I heard something happened last night at your apartment?"

"Aside Clara coming home late and drunk, nothing happened in my apartment " she responded

"Sorry, your flat, your neighbor, Mr James Cavendish, I heard his dead" Tyler smiled

"How do you know of that?" She asked alarmed.

"Calm down honey, he's a friend of mine, we drink once in a while, besides it's all over the news" he laughed and she swallowed nothing

"Did it affect you girls?" He asked and she squinted her eyes at him, not perfectly understanding what he just said.

"Why should it affect us?" She retorted.

"No detective swings by or something, or accusing you girls of nothing, right? Detectives can be sure crazy" he said and she looked at him

"Yeah sure, one did drop by, buh it has nothing to do with us, we'd never murder a person" she said 

***

The doorbell went off the second time and Clara groaned on the couch, she was seeing a movie on her favorite channel.

"Jeez, Ellie, use the password" she groaned heading for the door

"Did you forget the... Oh.. oh.. it's you...again" she rolled her eyes.

"Afternoon, Miss Brooks " detective Wheeler greeted

"How can I help you?" She ignored his greeting.

"Are you alone?" He asked

"You trying to kidnap me or something?" She joked

"Not really, I just need you to follow me to the station for a little chit chat " he smiled but her own smile faded.

There's been a murder, they'd been questioned already, and now he wants her to follow him to the station, it's definitely not a good thing. Her brain was processing things real fast, "is he tagging me a suspect?!" She screamed in her head.

"I've already been questioned by you, earlier this morning" she managed to keep her cool

"It wont take much of your time, Miss " the man assured her. She had never liked cops, no level or amount of assurance would ever make her feel comfortable around them.

"Let's not use force, shall we? It wont take much of your time, I promise " he said again

"I'd just change into something better and place a call to my sister" she said and left while he waited.

She called Ellie but she didn't pick up, she sent her a text and had a change of clothes before leaving with the detective.

They got to the station and she was led into a room with just two chairs. 'Interrogation room', she guessed. Wheeler sat on one of the chairs and motioned her to use the other which she did.

He started with a smile, and boy was he ugly. Clara wondered if he was married and if yes, if his wife is blind.

He handed Clara a document spelling out her Miranda rights and told her to sign it.

"Just a formality" he said.

She stared briefly at him, and then to the document which she pretended to read but barely did before signing it.

"Miss Clara Brooks" he smiled.

"Can you tell me all that happened that night?" He asked.

She wasn't as thorough or the observant type as her sister or just maybe she wasn't in the mood, since she was sure she did nothing, she would answer his questions and be done with all of this.

"Well, I came home drunk that night and rode the elevator with a neighbor of mine, Carly, that's her name I guess" she said and she could see him jot it down.

"We went in opposite directions before the lights went out and that was it" she said.

"Did you not stop by James's house?" He asked and she stared at him, trying to understand his point to know how she'd answer his question.

"You were caught on camera banging loudly on his door" he said showing her the CCTV footage from that day.

"I was drunk, I mistook his apartment for mine but I left for mine when I saw the apartment's number" she said.

"The CCTV didn't record that part"

"Cause the lights went out" she said

"How would I have gotten in, I don't know his password or nothing" she snapped getting angry.

"That would be all for today, thanks Miss" he said 

"That would be all forever" she snapped before storming out.

Her phone rang almost immediately and it was Ellie.

"What's that text?"

"Meet me at home!" She sounded before storming out of the building.

.

"That was all?" Ellie asked after Clara's narration.

"They're tagging me a suspect, I'm very sure" she said.

"Calm down, you're the one who got drunk, but we'd get to the end of this" Ellie assured her but Clara just stood and went in.

Ellie knew things were going to change for them, her mind raced back to Tyler's question.

"No detective swings by accusing you of nothing?" It kept ringing in her head.

TBC ...