If You Knew What I Knew
Chapter 3

Howie

   “AJ, meet me in my hotel room A.S.A.P.” I hung up the phone without waiting to hear his answer. 
    I stood up and paced.  I couldn’t get over it.  How could this happen?  Again?  I loved my sister and I hated the fact that her body couldn’t be found so that we can have a real funeral.  And I hated hearing how my family reacted to the news.
    About five minutes later, I heard a knock on my door.  I quickly walked to it and opened it, nodding my head at AJ.
    He sat down on the hotel bed and I looked at him.  He looked so sad.  It made me feel good to have friends close enough to grieve for me.  But he had no idea what I was about to ask him to help me do.  He still looked so innocent.  I just hoped that he would agree.
    “AJ, as we both know,” I paused, catching my breath and making sure that I wouldn’t cry.  “Polly Anna has just died.”
    AJ looked down at the floor.  “I’m sorry man.  I’m so sorry.  I know how close you two were.”
    “Well, AJ, I’m going to need you to help me through this.” He nodded slowly.  “But I need to ask you a favor.”
    “Anything, man.” AJ gestured widely with his arms.  “Ask away.”
    “Okay.  I just wanna let you know that you can back out of this at any time, but you have to promise not to tell anyone my plans, okay?”
    AJ’s expression changed from sorrow to confused.  “What are you up to, D?”
    “Well,” I sat down next to him and lowered my voice.  “I know who killed Polly.”
    “Dude!  You gotta tell the cops!”
    “Shh!” I hissed.  I didn’t want anyone to hear us, even though the hotel walls are pretty thick.  “It’s not that easy.  You see, it’s one of us.”
    AJ looked at me as if I were lying.
    “I’m serious!” I had to make him believe me, that way he’d go along with the plan. 
    “Fine,” he said, his voice revealing how much my statement had humored him.  “Tell me which one of us did it.”
    “Little Nicky.”
    AJ burst out laughing.  “Nicky?”
    “Shut up, man!” AJ quieted down.
    “Howie, you are crazy!  Why would Nick hurt Polly?  Heck, why would Nick hurt anybody?”
    “I swear to you AJ, he did it.” AJ was getting serious again.  “I heard him telling Brian.”
    “So Brian was in cahoots with Nicky?” AJ started laughing again, but stopped when he saw the look on my face.  “Sorry, D.  It just sounds so crazy.”
    “Well, it’s not.  Remember who took Polly Anna out to dinner on her birthday?  Nick.  And after he took her to The Olive Garden, they walked out to the lake.  She told him her sob story of how she and Mark broke up and how the whole day had been awful.  Then they started talking about worst fears and of course she said snakes.  He dared her to jump into the lake, which, by the way, is full of snakes.  He knew that she wouldn’t back down to a dare.  So when she was about to do it, he pushed her in.  He said it was just a joke, but why would he do something like that when he knew how scared she was of snakes?  Then he said that she never came back up.  He ran off and didn’t get help.” I stopped, my grief overcome with anger.
    “Whoa, man.  Are you sure that you heard the news right?”
    “Well, she’s dead isn’t she?  Then I heard them plan to go to the park to make an anonymous call to the police.  My theory was proven true when that cop came and told me.” I jumped back up and began pacing again.
    “So what can I back out of?” AJ was beginning to get the picture.  “You said you had some sort of plan.”        
    “I’m getting to that.” I was still forming it out in my head, but I couldn’t think straight anymore.  I needed some fresh air.  “Let’s take a walk.”
    We stepped out into the hallway.  I shut the door and locked it.  I heard another door open farther down the hallway, so I waited in the elevator for the person but nobody appeared.  I pressed floor 1.  The creaky doors opened and we stepped out, neither of us saying anything until we were out in the hotel parking lot.
    “So...” AJ prompted.
    “So...” I paused and turned to look at him.  Would he really go along with it? I hoped so.  “I wanna do it.  I wanna kill him.”

Chapter 4
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