(Nolan’s Story title TBA)

Nolan

As crappy as I’d felt for the past two days, it’d at least been a distraction from my fight with Shana. It’d been two days since that fight got so ugly it had me storming out of her apartment and just as long since I’d last heard from her. But I’d be damned if I’d be the one to give in this time. Not under the circumstances. I frowned, taking in the scratch on my cheek in the mirror from her nail when she slapped me.

I wasn’t even sure I wanted to work things out and keep on with this chaotic relationship. But I was still hoping maybe I was wrong. Maybe my suspicions about her being shady and possibly sneaking around behind my back were without merit. Even if we didn’t work things out this time, at least my ego wouldn’t feel so damned bruised.

I started back into my brother’s guest bedroom with every intention of taking another big swig of cough medicine. My phone screen lit up on the nightstand, and I glanced at it, as the tiniest bit of hope ignited that it might be a text from her. But I frowned when I saw it was my brother Q, who I was sure was just calling to see how I was doing. I was in no way up for talking or even texting, so I decided I’d just call him in the morning. Hopefully, by then, I’d have a better prognosis to give him about this miserable flu.

Moaning from the aches that pummeled my body, I sat down on the edge of the bed, ready for another shitty night of hacking all night. The loud banging stopped my moaning, and I sat quietly, listening instead. When it was clear it was coming from the front room and not my brother’s bedroom, I stood up. Someone banging at the front door like that at this hour couldn’t be good.

Rushing out into the hallway, I nearly collided with Nico as he rushed out of his bedroom, shirtless and barefoot like me. Clearly, he had no idea who it might be either, but the murderous expression on his face had me following right behind him. With a young pregnant wife and two babies in the house, it was a shock he wasn’t already pounding his chest and roaring.

“Look through the window first,” I urged since he looked ready to swing the door open and give whoever it was a mouthful.

He did but shrugged as if seeing who it was still gave him no clue. “Two men,” he huffed, opening the door.

I glanced around for something to grab as a weapon, since my brother was so pissed he obviously wasn’t thinking straight. The moment he swung the door open I saw the two men in shirts and ties and slacks, and my heart thudded when I saw the badges. But my brother was already letting them have it.

“What the hell? I got babies asleep and—”

“Nico,” I said, touching his shoulder before he got hog-tied. “They’re cops.”

It took a second for that to sink in, but then I saw it in his eyes. The same alarm I was feeling. He turned back to the men and asked the very thing I was wondering. “Something wrong? My brothers and dad okay?”

Both men held out badges, introduced themselves, and explained they were detectives from the Radcliffe homicide department. “We’d like to ask you a few questions to help us with an investigation we’re working on.”

“Homicide,” we both said as Nico backed up, motioning them in.

Detective Williams, a stocky older black man, started first. “Which one of you is Nolan Cortez?”

“I am,” I said, feeling a little breathless now.

“We’re here to ask you a few questions about Shana Overton.”

Curiously, my alarm lessened. This wouldn’t be the first time Shana had had some issues with the law. I just hated that this was happening here at Nico’s because he’d never liked her to begin with and I’d never shared that part about her past with him.

“I haven’t talked to her in days,” I informed them.

“You her boyfriend?” Detective Serrano asked.

Nico’s face was already souring as he crossed his arms in front of him.

“Something like that,” I said but then changed my mind and added. “Actually no. Not anymore. We broke up two days ago, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

The detectives exchanged glances; then Serrano, the younger of the two, jotted something down on a notepad. “So two days ago was the last time you saw her,” he asked, not looking up.

“Two nights ago actually. I was gonna spend the night at her place, but after the argument, I left, and we haven’t talked since.”

“We’re gonna need you to come downtown with us for some questioning,” Williams said, slipping his notepad in his pocket as if he was done questioning me here.

“About what?” Nico asked, turning to look at me in question then back to them. “He’s been here for the past two days, sick as a dog. Whatever problem she’s gotten herself into, he had nothing to do with it.”

“Ms. Overton was found murdered in her apartment this morning,” Williams informed us as my jaw dropped open, and I felt the wind sucked out of me.

I did my best to catch my breath and listen to the rest of what he continued to inform us about. “It appears she’s been dead for at least two days, but since no one reported her missing, it wasn’t until this morning that her body was discovered. The landlord was called out by a complaint about a water leak coming from her apartment, and he’s the one who made the gruesome discovery.”

As I stared at him still stunned cold, he paused for a second before his expression went even harder. “Looks like you may’ve been the last person to see her alive.”

Only bits and pieces of what the two detectives continued to inform me of registered as the reality set in slowly. The detectives assured Nico and me that I was only a person of interest, and since it did appear I was the last to see her alive, it was imperative that they interviewed me.

It wasn’t even until we were halfway downtown when the numbness began to wear off that the brutal reality of this dawned on me. They didn’t just want to rule me out as a suspect like Nico and Madeline suggested. Given the circumstances, I was without a doubt their number one suspect.

I sat up suddenly, feeling the panic. “Holy shit.” I muttered, just before going into a full-blown coughing attack.