The Events of the Record Shop

By Natalie Anderson

The investigator was the first to talk
“You are being recorded and have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court of law. You have the right to an attorney during interrogation. If you cannot afford an attorney then one will be appointed to you. So shall we begin? Where were you the night of Alex’s disappearance?”
“I- I didn’t..“ Elyza started to say, whispering in a sad tone. Only some would realize it was a sound of grief.
“What?” The investigator demanded. “Do you mean to confess that you went out with her, killed her, and expected people to think she just went missing and believe you?”
“I didn’t do it sir!” Elyza blurted out, unable to let the man go on accusing. “And I don't want to talk to you without my lawyer, thank you!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elyza arrived at her apartment doorstep tired and hungry on the 20th of May after, what she called, the most dimwitted and unsuccessful interrogation ever. Elyza had walked up just moments before wishing that the smell of dinner would be in the air and her girlfriend would be back home and happy to see her. This was not the case though. In fact Elyza had not seen Alex in a week and she was already concerned. The fact no one knew where she went that Friday in this tiny town they lived in was even more disturbing.

For a little backstory, Elyza grew up with her adoptive parents in Bend, Oregon. In her Junior year of highschool she moved to Sumpter, a tiny town to get away from her parents. That’s where she met Alexander or Alex in a record shop. Alex moved from Portland to Sumpter looking to start over. They both grew to be great friends and to put it simply they were inseparable. After highschool they decided to become partners and bought a tiny apartment above the record shop that they now owned.
Elyza and Alex had only been living there a few months when on the 13th of May Alex went missing. Elyza, because of her mass involvement in Alex’s life, was a prime suspect and it wasn’t going good for her. The police thought they had the case in the bag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elyza opened the apartment door to see her friend, Ned, sitting on the couch channel surfing. Ned had been good friends with both of them and moved in shortly after Alex and Elyza bought the apartment. But now there were only 2 people living in the space. “You're back late” Ned commented, eyes glued to the tv. Elyza talked while putting her things away and freeing her long curly black hair from a bun of day stress. “Yeah another interview,” Elyza replied.
“Another one!?”
“yeah.”
“That’s stupid! they’re just trying to get crumbs from someone who is probably hurting the most out of this missing case!”

“Yeah the investigators are still keen on the whole “lover turned killer” theory” Elyza said, sounding drained. Her job had decided to fire her after the rumor of her being a killer. So she decided to drive 3 hours to the nearest city to try and find a job. After coming home around 9:00 pm she was told the police wanted another interview, which took too long. It was now 10:30 at night and Elyza was mentaly and physically exhausted.
After dinner Elyza went to her room which now consisted of papers files and everything regarding what happened the night Alex went missing. When she did that Friday night, Elyza went looking for her, while Ned stayed home. She sadly never found Alex and reported a missing person’s case the next day. Elyza was truthful throughout the whole endeavor but the police were racist and ultimately thought it was Elyza’s doing. Ever since she found this out Elyza was determined to set things right, figure out what happened, and possibly find her girlfriend. She had been collecting information about it all behind the police’s back and after interviewing some people over the weekend, she finally had a lead. Elyza concluded that one man from a ghost town was in town when Alex went missing. On top of that, the local store owner described the stuff he bought that night as “weird.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking in the woods was something Elyza never wanted to do alone but here she was. Even with the sunlight bouncing off the trees, the grass, and her chocolate-brown skin it still seemed not right, or maybe that's just because Elyza was on edge.

Ned had gone to work that morning and that same day Elyza decided to investigate Haris, the only resident of the now ghost town not very far from Sumpter. Haris had lived there only a few years before the town was abandoned. Now he was the only one left. Elyza found Haris in one of the sheds bailing hay. “Hey Haris,” Elyza said, making him jump. He was so used to just being alone that the words cut the silence with a sharp snap. “Ya’ here to murder me or ask me what’s going on?” he firmly asked in some sort of slang.
“I won’t kill you I just need some answers from you”
“What kind?”
“The kind about what you did the night my girlfriend went missing”
“If you are coming to me for that I’m guessing you know where I was that night”
“Yes, now please tell me what you know”
“Mmm debating if I should,” Haris replied in a playful voice, a complete change from the strong serious voice he had just a minute ago.
“Please!” Elyza begged knowing full well he was hiding something from her.
“Hmm tell ya’ what I won’t tell ya’ nothin’’”
“Wha-!”
“Wait! I didn’t tell ya’ this, ya’ never heard it from me. Contrary to the rumors and theories by the police. Alex is Alive”

Why? Who? How?
These were the thoughts running through Elyza’s head all too fast and all at once. After Haris made Elyza depart without an explanation, she had been thinking and thinking. It was hard not too, the stress and frustration was unbearable. Where is Alex? Why was there a rumor in the first place? And maybe the biggest concern, how does Haris know that information?
“Knock, knock, can I let myself in?” It was Ned “look i know some things are difficult right now, but I’m gonna be real, this amount of stress and restless sleep is horrific. So I’m forcing you to come be my ice cream buddy.”
“But-“
“No buts! I want you to know that I’m just doing what Alex would do if she was here. You need fresh air and a refreshing snack.”
Elyza couldn’t even argue with that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was already dark when Ned and Elyza rolled into the tiny parking lot of the ice cream shop. The ice cream shop was almost always open, people in Sumpter didn’t care about the time of day when it came to ice cream and neither did the two friends. They had a lot of happy times hanging out here, Ned, Elyza, and Alex. Ned and Elyza made their way to the cashier to grab their favorite ice cream. As they waited they made small talk with the cashier, who for some reason had some issues with the mayor? Yeah something like that.