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    Chapter 18

    tab I stumbled around, trying to grasp what had just happened. From my wife having a sister, to her sister pecking me on the cheek, this case was a puzzle of unexpected plot twists that didn't fit together. I threw myself onto the door of the refrigerator, and wrapped my arms around the latch of the door. Quickly and suddenly, I swung open the door, crouched down, and looked inside.
    tab "The beer..." I grunted, looking the fridge up and down. "The beer..." I quickly compute the label of a Budweiser can into my brain, and take it into my hands. It was already open yet full to the brim, which came to me as odd, but I quickly disregarded it and took a sip. I slammed it down on the table. No, beer wasn't going to help me figure things out. I collapsed on the couch, and processed through everything that happened so far. Everything I knew about the crime.
    tab Charles isn't the murderer, that's for sure. But it's also pretty certain that he's a proxy. The gun and the bullets belonged to him, and Elizabeth's body was found in his closet, so someone was trying to frame him. But was he in with all of this? Or did he not even know he was going to be framed?
    tab And that Kyle person. Where exactly was he? It's a pretty solid guess that he murdered Elizabeth, but it doesn't help to know that if I still don't know where he is.
    tab Is there more that I'm forgetting? Is that is?     I opened my eyes and looked up, processing into my brain the first thing I saw. The beer. The cold beer. The refirgerator...
    tab The note! I rushed over to the refrigerator and looked down at the note. I snatched it up, and read over what it said:
    tab Dear Chad,
    I'm babysitting today. I'll see you later.
    tab With love,
    tab Elizabeth
    tab Not exactly a subtle note, but it didn't matter. I already knew Elizabeth didn't write that note. But that wasn't the point. The question was, who did? I looked closly at the smudged writing. It might've been a stretch, but I could sworn I saw that hand writing before. I stuffed the note into my pocket.
    tab And then I felt a sudden dizzy sensation pound into my brain.
    tab I wobbled around, then stabilized myself for a couple seconds. Then another surge of dizziness, only this time mixed with something else. Drowziness. I fell to the ground, and slowly felt the tired feeling eat me up, until I could do nothing but close my eyes and give in.

    The next day...Somewhere else...

    tab "Wow. You're up early." Charles looks up with a pair of dark eyes, and divulges,
    tab "Well, you know what they say. Early bird eventually gets betrayed and thrown into jail. Or something like that. Right, John?" John chuckles, and says,
    tab "Man, not afraid to get straight to the point, huh? I assume you know everything, then?"
    tab "You assume correctly." John nods, and then holds up his pointer finger in a "wait" motion.
    tab "Just a second. Wait right here." Oh, yeah right, Charles thinks, slumping his head against the hard, cement walls. Like I'm gonna run away. Three minutes later, John comes back with two already opened cans.
    tab "Here," he says, sticking the cans between his armpit as he unlocks the door. "Why don't I come in there and we can have a little pep talk?"
    tab "Why don't you come in here and I can strangle you?" is Charles smart relpy. John makes one last jostle with the key, and the door swings open.
    tab "Oh, don't be that way, Charles," he says, waltzing on in. "I just thought we could sort things out." He sits down on a bench adjacent to Charles.
    tab "Here," he goes on, handing Charles a can. "I had the liberty of opening them myself."
    tab "I don't take drinks from--" Charles begins, but quickly takes it anyway.
    tab "Now, we got set on the wrong foot, but I still think we can patch things up. I think I can end all this." Charles pulls down the can from his mouth, beer trickling down his chin as he growls simply,
    tab "How?" John glances at his watch and responds,
    tab "Oh, I think you'll find out...in about...one minute." He outstrectches his hand with the other beer, and asks a little too calmly,
    tab "Here. Do you want another?" Charles bulges his eyes, drops the can and gasps,
    tab "No...What have you done? What have you done to me?" John shrugs, takes the other can, and starts to walk out the cell. He turns his head, and reassures,
    tab "Don't hate me, Charles. I'm just doing my job. Oh, and don't be too worried. It's very painless." With that note, he walks away, leaving Charles lying on the floor gasping for breath, whipsering the only thing that's in his mind,
    tab "I hate you, Kyle...I hate you, Kyle...I hate you, Kyle...I--" And then...
    tab Lights out.