The Lengths You'll Go

It was her favourite time of day just before the sky went dark. Looking out into the horizon with her best friend Suzie, revisiting the lookout they used to sneak away to. Escaping annoying family get togethers or just the troubles of life, where they would find themselves vomiting up liquors they were once too young for. But this time the sickly feeling was far worse, her heart in her throat and her hands trembling.

Before her a man sprawled out. Bruises forming underneath his already tarnished clothing, toes exposed through his hole ridden socks.

The two girls wide eyed and scrambling to find their phones to call for help. But he was already dead. His eyes closed, his lips purple in colour standing out against his ghostly white complexion. Now met with colours of blue and red flickering lights that glared behind them.

“tall, dark haired male” said the officer over his radio.

****

The room was cold and the sound of footsteps walking the corridor sent shivers down Frankie’s spine, her shaken knee bouncing against the table she nervously waited at. “Sorry to keep you waiting again Frankie” said Detective Morrison according to her name tag. Before she began questioning, legalities were covered. Results of her negative drug and alcohol tests and Frankie’s vague recollection of phrases commonly heard during crime docos, all created unsettling waves of nausea in her stomach.

“So as you know I need to ask you a few questions in regards to the incident involving yourself and your friend Suzie,” Morrison said surprisingly in a non threatening way. “Could you tell me exactly what happened?”

Frankie wiping her sweaty hands on her trousers before responding, “I was quite anxious behind the wheel, Suzie was showing me the ropes in her manual car that I’d never driven”

“And where abouts were driving? down Huntingly Street you said?,” as she flicked through her notes.

“Yeah Suzie and I just wanted to get out of the house, her mum’s been sick for quite a while now”

“I see, and you came across the man laying in the carpark, dead at the scene?”

Frankie nodded in agreeance.

“Was there anyone around you who could have seen what happened?”

“No it was quite dark at the time, I didn’t see anyone”

Multiple questions were asked by detective Morrison, regarding the state they had found the homeless man in, what time they came across the victims body etc.

“We’ll have more of a formal questioning the next time we see you Frankie, I’ll give you a buzz and we can have a chat later this week”

Coming out of the room Frankie was desperate to retrieve her phone from the front desk. Four missed calls and multiple messages from Suzie compiled her home screen.

“Meet outside Cafe Bloom under the umbrella’s, we need to talk”

How Suzie could even think of food at this moment was beyond Frankie’s ability to comprehend. Walking down to Cafe Bloom passing a lady in a short blonde wig and sunglasses grabs her by the arm asking her to sit down.

“Suzie?” Frankie replied in shock, “What are you wearing?”

“Sit down and put this cap on”

“I don’t think you get to tell me what to do. Do you understand what I just did? Lying to the cops about a guy we hit, are you kidding me?”

“I didn’t hit him Frankie, remember that” looking at her with disdain. “We’ve got to keep track of the detectives, I want to know who and what they’re discussing”

“We’ve just been questioned Suzie, if anything we should be going back to the station and confessing to what just happened”

“Just read this letter,” responded Suzie pushing a piece of paper towards her. The letter addressed from Wilkinson and Bond the local law firm, mentioning the death of her grandma Jean. Suzie never cared for Jean. She hated her judgemental antics at family dinners and never understood why she was ever invited having never called or visited her sick mum on her own accord, only to pop by on special occasions. The letter read on to say an inheritance was made available to her for $20,000 and to get into contact with the firm as soon as possible.

“I need this money Frankie, you know how expensive mum’s treatments have been and how dad can hardly make ends meet these days. I can’t go down for the incident back at the lookout, I just can’t”

Frankie knew what had happened was beyond terrible but she knew she’d do anything for Suzie and her mum. Memories of extra school lunches being made when her parents were busy working overtime, and the Werthington home forever an open door particularly when arguments between mum and dad would get all too much.

Under the umbrellas of Cafe Bloom they sat, Detective Morrison walking out bagel in one hand coffee in the other, talking to who seemed to be a work colleague.

“We’ve got to follow them Frankie, I went home and brought dad’s abandoned car in the hopes they won’t suspect anything”

They were too far deep at this stage and couldn’t do anything but follow them. The detective’s, taking them down main roads and winding streets finally lead them to a seedy alleyway. The two found talking to a range of men and women that looked much like the man at the crime scene. One of the women there later pointing to a pile of clothing and a worn out duffle bag on wheels. The detectives lingered there for a little while before walking away, each holding plastic evidence bags in hand. One containing a small notebook. The two girls remained silent in the car, their hearts beating out of their chest, unaware of what lay ahead of them.

****

Back in the interrogation room they sat, the two girls separated into rooms they had previously visited. Detective Morrison before them as she pushed the small notebook they had seen a few days prior infront of them. The notebook was black in colour, Morrison’s gloved hands flipping to where the bookmark strip lay center to a double page. Photo’s Frankie remembered seeing of Suzie when she was a toddler appeared on them, sitting beside her a slightly older boy smiling too.

“Mark Branshore” said Detective Morrison sternly as she pointed at the photograph “the man you found at the lookout?”

Frankie’s throat feeling drier than ever as she could feel the situation continuing to plummet downhill.

“At first it all seemed legitimate, two girls stumbling across a homeless guy dead at the scene. But the notebook we found and the information we gathered on Mr Branshore, we know he’s the half brother of your friend Suzie and we know you know that too”

Frankie couldn’t even think straight as she was bombarded with more information.

“A successful businessman that proved happiness just couldn’t be bought. Feeling he could buy all he wanted but nothing filled the void of his not so present family. We know Frankie, we know the involvement between you and your friend was a lot more than it was made out to be,” she continued walking up and down the room.

“Let’s go back a couple paces shall we? You both had heard about Branshore through Suzie’s grandma, the only family member that kept in touch with Mark. She’d update you all at Christmas dinner of his booming business and multiple properties, yet he’d fallen off the rails two years ago. We visited a witness, an empty nester who lives by the lookout coincidentally a friend of Suzie’s grandma. She happened to see the victim a week prior to the incident and invited him in for a warm meal. He’d told her of wanting to get back in touch with his family and how he’d severely neglected that part of his life. Eventually he tracked Suzie down and ultimately you too and became acquainted with the area, visiting the lookout in the hopes to find you both”

“But your cover ups were lousy, tire marks. Tire marks found at the scene matching the vehicle you were driving, along with shards of glass also found there that were missing from your broken headlights,” she said as she stopped herself in her paces.

“You knew grandma Jean would pass away at some stage and the thought of sharing the inheritance with someone you both barely knew made no sense. You and Suzie weren’t just friends you were family. She needed the money for her sick mum and you got caught up in it. You both planned this, but unfortunately a plan not planned very well”

Before they knew it they were handcuffed. Frankie and Suzie together, side by side as they always were. Who knew what the future held for them, and if there ever would be one at all.