Testimony

 No writing tip for you today. Just a story.

TESTIMONY

A transcription of the recordings made by Detective William Turner, October 27, 2004. Interviews with Sarah Johnson, Daniel Grady, Jacob Marshall and Mary Finn.

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"Okay, Miss Johnson. Tell me exactly what happened. Where were you?"

"I-I was running. There's a forest behind the school that we play in sometimes. It's a huge forest. One time I got lost. I was so scared."

"And what school is that?"

"You know, my school. The one I go to. Greenview Elementary."

"Right. You were running in the forest."

"Yes." Shuffling sounds. "Am I in trouble? My dad said if he ever had to pick me up from the police station I'd be grounded for a month."

"No, Miss Johnson. You aren't in trouble. But I need to know what happened."

"We were playing. Hide and seek. I was hiding, Jacob was seeking. He's a good seeker. I'm pretty good at hiding, but not as good as Mary is." Shuffling. "Or Daniel."

"Who found the body?"

"Mary did. I heard her scream. Not a normal scream. It scared me. I knew I had to find her." Sniffling. "Jacob and Daniel were there when I found her. It was hard to see what they were looking at. I pushed Jacob. He fell. His knee was bleeding."

"Don't worry about Jacob, Sarah. He's fine. Tell me what you saw."

"There was a man. He wasn't moving, just laying there on the ground. His eyes were open, but he didn't blink. He was dead, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Sarah, he was."

"My grandma died, when I was little. Mom wouldn't let me go in her room to see."

"It's not something a child should have to see."

Sniffle. "Daniel poked him with a stick. His shirt was covered in brown. I don't think it was dirt, was it?"

"No, Sarah. It wasn't dirt."

"Mary was so white. It looked like she was a ghost. Is Mary okay, Detective Turner?"

"She'll be okay, Sarah. Maybe not right away, but she will. What happened after Daniel poked him with the stick?"

"We didn't know what to do. Daniel dared me to touch him. He was so cold. It wasn't like I was touching a person. Just a thing, like rubber. Almost like rubber boots." Crying sounds.

Door opens. "Detective, her parents are here."

"Sarah, you aren't in trouble. You did a good thing when you went to tell an adult. Go home with your parents now, ok?"

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"Mr. Grady, would you like anything to drink? Some water maybe?"

"No."

"All right. Tell me exactly what happened this afternoon."

"We were playing. Found a dead guy. Do you know how he died?"

"Not just yet. What can you tell me about him?"

"I don't know. There was a lot of blood. Kinda smelled too. He'd been there for a bit."

"How do you know that?"

"Same thing happens when we don't clean up right away after butchering our chickens or pigs. Gotta make sure everything is clean, otherwise the flies get real bad. Can get so smelly you can barely walk in the barn."

"Your parents live on a farm."

"Yeah. I've seen dead before. Not people, but animals. A lot."

"Why'd you poke him with a stick?"

Shuffling. Chair scrapes.

"Daniel?"

"I dunno. Just wanted to, I suppose. Kinda thought it wasn't real, like one of those mannequins in clothes stores. Can I go home? My dad will be needing my help with the chores soon."

"We called him. He's on his way to pick you up."

Click.

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"Am I in trouble, sir?"

"No, Jacob. You're not. I just need to know what happened. As much as you can remember."

"We were playing in the forest. Sarah wanted to play hide and seek, like always. Daniel told me to just let her go hide and we'd explore. I'd go find her eventually."

Shuffling. "Who found the body?"

"We all did. Me, Mary and Daniel. Mary screamed. She's a scaredy-cat sometimes."

"What happened next?"

"Daniel dared me to touch him. I wouldn't. Part of me thought it was a prank. Daniel likes to pull jokes like that. One time he put jell-o in my backpack. My dad told me to clean his clock if he does anything like that again."

"So you were all together when you found the body?"

"Yeah, sorta. Mary was ahead of us. She tripped on him. We saw her fall and laughed. She got up and screamed. Sarah came running up a bit later. She's a pretty slow runner."

"She pushed you out of the way?"

"Yeah. I fell. Scraped my knee a bit. It's fine though. Daniel poked him with a stick, then Sarah touched him." Shuffle. "We didn't know what to do. Sarah and Daniel wanted me to go get an adult. I didn't want to go alone. I'm not a scaredy, but what if whoever left him was still out there?"

"What did Mary do?"

"She wouldn't stop staring at him. His eyes were open, but it was like he wasn't there. No one home, kinda. I'm pretty sure there was blood all over his shirt, and some on his face. I couldn't see his hands." Shuffle. "I've seen people die in movies before. That wasn't anything like this."

"It often isn't, unfortunately."

"Daniel and Sarah went to get someone, and I stayed with Mary. It was like she was a ghost. All white and pale. Almost like she was gonna faint."

Knocking. "Your parents should be here by now. Go home, Jacob."

Click.

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"Mary, can you tell me what happened today?"

Sniffle.

"It's okay, Mary. You're not in any trouble here. I just need to know what happened."

Sniffle. Crying sounds. Hiccup.

"Do you need a glass of water?"

Door opens, closes. Sniffle. Door opens and closes.

"Here you go. It's cold. I got it from the fridge down the hall."

"Now, Mary. Can you tell me what happened?"

Sniffle.

"Take a deep breath and think for me, ok? You were exploring in the forest behind your school, is that right?"

Hiccup.

"You were running, and you tripped. What happened after that?"

Sob. 

"Okay. Take a deep breath. Your parents will be here in a minute. We don't have to talk about it today."

Click.