The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 13: The Tape

Present

TWO DAYS IS a relatively short time, but to Ariel, it was equivalent to 100 days that were lost with zero leads. Sure, in these past few days, an attempt at releasing Tobias has been made, but it was once again unsuccessful. The court refused to release him on bail in fear that he'd run and even so, bail was set at 1 million dollars, an amount of money not anyone could shit out with zero effort. This was more reason for Ariel to put in the effort neither the police department nor Tobias' lawyer was enforcing and that's why against her better judgement, she contemplated following Lewis' lead.

"So you're gonna trust her with this? After she played you like a fool, you'll still go running behind her? Ariel think! You're smart, one of the smartest kids in this school might I add but that's the whole point, you're a kid. What the hell can you do that investigators haven't already done? You complained about running around like a headless chicken when Lewis convinced you that Larson was the killer but you don't realize that it's all you'll continue to be doing because you can't handle the harsh truth. Tobias killed Maria and Kayla, end of story."

"Are you done?" Ariel inquired softly, her gaze remaining fixated on her chipped nail polish. Evelyn sighed and turned her attention towards Parker who was equally as distracted as Ariel. At the sound of his name, he peered up, "what do you think about all of this? It's useless, right? There's literally nothing she can do, please convince her to just stop."

Ariel's eyes met Parker's and she stared into them longingly as if saying 'I dare you'. Parker licked his chapped lips, unsure of whose side to take. With a bit of hesitancy he cleared his throat, "she's right, Ariel. N–not about Tobias killing Maria and Kayla, I know he didn't but about everything else. You can't help him, you don't have the power to do it and you have nothing to go on. Even if you do, it might just be a useless dead end."

Ariel closed the book gripped tightly between her aching fingertips and set it down onto the table. She got up calmly, "you both are unbelievable." She hiked her school bag onto her shoulders, preparing to leave before Parker's hand wrapped around her arm, halting her in her footsteps. "Please don't be like that, Ariel. We care about you, okay? We just want what's best for you and obsessing over proving Tobias was framed isn't helping you at all." Evelyn nodded her head in agreement.

Her composure had yet to be broken despite what she considered insults being flung her way. Instead, she dodged them swiftly, "I get why Evelyn would disagree. She doesn't know Tobias and it's not like she cared to know him either but you, on the other hand, you're his best friend. You know what he's capable of and what he's not but yet you'll sit here agreeing with someone who doesn't know the first thing about him. I hope you can look Tobias in the eyes and tell him yourself that you gave up on him when I prove his innocence."

Realizing now that no amount of convincing would move Evelyn and Parker, Ariel had no choice but to swallow the yearning for Lewis' head on a golden platter. She had to swallow her dignity and follow the lead, regardless of how minuscule or insignificant it may be. If she stayed rooted in one place, Tobias would suffer at the hands of his incompetent lawyer and the Harleyville police department.

Ariel let out an exasperated sigh as she now stood in front of her open locker. She hadn't a second to catch her breath when a black object sticking out from under her pile of books caught her attention. She retrieved it slowly, examining what appeared to be a vintage tape recorder. Inside was a single cassette and attached to the recorder was a sticky note. Ariel tore her eyes away from the foreign object in her hand and observed every student sauntering down the hallway. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but she couldn't let her guard down.