White As A Lie

17: Black & White

It's safe to say I avoided Crystal for a while after that. Every time I saw her, I remembered what I did. Then I'd start to feel panicky again.

I didn't lose my house after all. I used the money Crystal gave me to pay the bank. I just couldn't bare the thought of sleeping in the streets after all this, though I know it's what I deserve.

The worst part of it all is that I don't seem to know the difference between right and wrong anymore. I've been stealing little things more and more often. Knowing my blood will forever be white has messed with me.

I had a big scare on April 26th. I was walking down the street when I saw a woman standing on the sidewalk with her purse open. It hung loosely from her arm, so I casually walked forward and grabbed her wallet without her noticing. Inside was about $70 and some small earrings in a pocket.

Chief Burke was suddenly in front of me. "Chief!" I said in shock. He saw me.

"Hello, Mr. McCain." He said with a smile. "How have you been recently?"

I blinked the surprise out of my eyes. "I guess I've been as well as I can be."

He nodded. "I hear ya." He looked up at the sky. "Looks like a storm coming." He looked back down at me. "How has Crystal been? You seen her lately?"

"It's been a little bit, but she was hanging in there." I still couldn't believe he didn't see me snatch that woman's wallet. Unless he did...

"It's been hard without Alton."

"I bet."

"He gave us some important information."

My heart pounded. "Oh?"

Chief Burke nodded. "Oh yeah. He had suspicions. Suspicions that you, Mr. McCain, were the Xander's Sandwiches robber."

I tried to remain calm. He said he didn't tell anyone! "That's ridiculous, sir. How's $200 from a sandwich shop going to help me?" I really hoped he believed me.

"It was quite the suspicion." His voice never turned hostile, but his face sure did. "The police department is just having a tough time lately. We have no leads on your wife's murder, and then there's this robbery, then one of our own is murdered. Pretty strange."

"I'll say." I said.

He nodded. "I've got my eye on you, McCain. Don't be surprised if we call you in for questioning. It seems we've let you go on too long."

I swallowed hard and watched as he walked away. Now the police were after me despite what my blood showed.

Of course, on my way home, I ran into Crystal. "How are you?" She asked.

I was distracted. "Fine." I said. I wanted to get home. I needed to get home.

"It's just the last time I saw you-"

"Yeah. I really need to get home, okay? I'll see you later?" I walked away before she could react.

When I arrived at my house, I gasped.

Police officers were everywhere. Police tape surrounded my house, and my neighbors all stood outside their houses, gawking. Was this why he was talking to me? Was he stalling until these guys arrived at my house?

"What the hell is this?" I asked Chief Burke.

He turned to me with a small smile. "We have reason to believe you may have committed more than one crime..." He said cryptically.

"You said I'd be taken in for questioning, not...this!" I said. I tried to ignore the fact he just said they suspected me for more than one crime.

"Mr. McCain, is that a cut on your arm?" Chief Burke asked.

"Huh?" I looked at the cut I made a while back to check if my blood was still white. "So? I cut myself while making dinner one night."

"It's pretty hard to cut yourself so far up your arm." I just stared at him. "You should know that Alton didn't want you to be the guilty one, but the law is number one in his eyes." Chief Burke leans closer. "And justice."

"Sir." A police officer beckoned Chief Burke inside my house.

"Excuse me." He said and left.

I tried my hardest to remain calm. There was no evidence I did anything. Nothing in the house could possibly be called suspicious. The only thing suspicious would be the knife and gun buried in the backyard...

Shit!

I ran behind the house and saw about six more policemen. None of them had shovels or appeared to have been digging around. Thank God!

"McCain," I jumped at the sound of Chief Burke's voice behind me. "Something back here?"

I shook my head. "No. Just wanted to see if there was any place I could sit in privacy." I lied.

He nodded. "Your kitchen. It appears to have been burned."

"That microwave is about as old as Nicole and I had been married. It was never very good to begin with."

"You're claiming it just...went up in flames?"

I shrugged. "Something electrical, I would assume."

"You didn't bother to fix it with the money you suddenly had to pay the bank?"

"How'd you-"

"I've been the Chief of Police for twenty years, son. I know who to ask in cases like yours."

"I got the money from a friend. And no, I didn't pay to get the wall fixed because it wasn't important. I thought keeping my house trumped my wallpaper."

Chief Burke nodded. "Sure."

I sighed. "Chief...my blood tests. I took three of them. They all said I didn't do anything!"

"It would appear you took a blood test yourself."

"I told you, I accidentally cut-"

"Chief Burke!" Another officer calling grabbed my attention.

My heart sunk when I saw what they were standing over. A hole they had just dug up in my backyard. I was so busy with Chief Burke I didn't see them start to dig. He must've given them the okay while I was talking.

Chief Burke walked over, looked in, looked back at me, and reached into the hole after putting on his gloves.

I watched in horror as he picked up the gun and knife I had buried nearly a month ago.

"Here's another." The same police officer said.

To my horror, he gave Chief Burke yet another bloody knife.