“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” shouted Chaz, who rushed forward and grabbed Mike’s arm, stopping him from going any further.
Chaz was a fitness instructor and the strongest in our group. With him stepping in, Mike couldn’t move.
“Don’t mess with Zoe’s clothes!” Chaz growled.
Mike twisted his wrist, clearly annoyed. “I’m investigating a case. I can’t overlook any detail! You didn’t object when I moved her dress, but now you’re flipping out over her shirt?”
Chaz was at a loss for words, but luckily for him, Casey stepped in to smooth things over.
“Zoe was a very modest person,” Casey, our friend and a psychologist, explained. “I don’t want her dignity to be stripped away in death.”
Casey always knew us well, and she knew Zoe best. Zoe had lost her parents when she was young and had grown up moving between the homes of kind neighbors. Her difficult upbringing had left her sensitive and fiercely protective of her dignity.
Sam chimed in, stomping his foot. “Zoe hated it when guys touched her! Jenkins, don’t push your luck!”
Mike was furious. “I’m trying to solve a case, not do something inappropriate! Don’t you get it? The longer we wait, the more evidence fades. We can afford to wait, but the dead can’t!”
“What are you trying to say? That one of us did it?” Chaz shot back, his anger rising. “We’ve all known Zoe for ten years! She didn’t have any family, so we were her closest friends, her family!”
Mike didn’t flinch. “It doesn’t matter how close you were. Until the victim speaks, everyone here is a suspect.”
Tensions rose, and a standoff loomed.
I was indecisive by nature. When Mike spoke, I agreed with him. But when my friends protested, I wavered.
In the end, it was Chaz’s strength that prevailed, and Mike backed down.
In the living room, we sat in one group while Mike sat opposite us, creating an atmosphere of confrontation.
The tension was palpable.
“What’s your relationship with the victim, and what exactly happened last night?” Mike was still persistent, beginning to interrogate us.
I knew he was just doing his job, and although I felt uncomfortable with his suspicion, I decided to explain after some hesitation.