true colors - jb & ag 《completed》

{twenty-five}

Ariana bit her lip hard to keep the frustration from pouring out of her mouth. Mr. Martin drove his Lexus at a snail's pace through the fog-shrouded streets. She tapped her foot against the floorboards and shoved her thumbnail between her teeth, knowing she could've run faster than this old man was driving.

The cops had questioned everyone at the Martin house as they'd huddled under blankets and sipped hot cocoa while Justin had been handcuffed and shoved into a police car. It hadn't surprised Ariana that Justin was the primary suspect in Penelope's stabbing. She'd told anyone who would listen that they'd been together at the pool when Penelope had been attacked, but the cops just nodded and moved on.

What had been a surprise was Bill Martin turning up after the cops left and offering to drive Ariana to the station. Brayden had protested at first, but when Mr. Martin insisted, he'd let her go. Heat blasted from the car vents, permeating the air with the sharp scent of burning dust, but Ariana couldn't stop shivering. She needed to get to Justin, to see him and make sure he was okay.

"Did you know my son Cory?"

Mr. Martin's voice cut through the thick silence, making Ariana start. She turned and met his gaze. Purple shadows hung under his bloodshot eyes and deep lines bracketed his mouth. He and her mother had graduated from Gilt High the same year, but he appeared at least ten years older.

"Y-yes. I knew him." Cory's soft brown eyes and wide smile flashed across her memory.

"He was a good kid." Mr. Martin's voice trailed off as he applied the brake and steered the car into a sharp curve. "He loved to hunt." A smile lifted his profile. "He didn't really care for sports, like his brother. He didn't have that same competitive drive. Music and the outdoors, those were his passions."

Having no idea what to say or why Mr. Martin would talk to her about Cory at a time like this, Ariana just nodded.

"Did you know we called him turtle-boy?" He chuckled under his breath, but the laughter held a bitter twist. "The turtle and the hare, those were my two sons to a T."

Ariana stayed quiet.

"Colin rushes from one activity to another. Doesn't even stop moving when he's eating. But Cory couldn't be rushed through anything. He was thorough and precise in everything he did. Especially when it came to weapons."

The words hung in the artificially heated air between them, carrying an almost physical weight. Ariana swallowed and turned back to face him, her question little more than a whisper. "You don't think what happened to Cory was an accident, do you?"

He pulled the car into the police station parking lot and guided it into a spot near the front door. When he turned to her, his fleshy face had set into hard lines. "No. No, I don't."

Ariana sat stunned, implications swirling through her mind. Had Mr. Martin suspected someone murdered Cory but kept silent because his oldest son, his nephew, and the police chief's son where the most likely suspects? Why had he told her, of all people? And why was he getting out of the car? She'd assumed he was just dropping her off, but when she hadn't moved, he stopped and waited until she joined him, and they walked into the station together.

The first floor of the building was one large room divided by a reception area and then, behind it, two rows of desks. Hallways and several closed doors branched off the main room. Mr. Martin stopped at the front desk. "I need to speak with Chief Kagawa immediately."

The officer didn't even look up from what he was typing on the computer. "The chief is busy. Take a seat and I'll let him know you're here." He gestured toward a row of mismatched chairs and a beat-up table marred with cigarette burns.