Page 21 of They Never Tell


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“Huh,” Ackerman said. “That’s fascinating. The dancers at my school just twirled flags and smiled.”

Bria chuckled. “It’s different at black schools.”

“So after she made captain, what was your relationship like?” Webb asked.

“Well, I was second in command, so we were still working together on the routines and stuff. But we weren’t close anymore like we were before. I didn’t trust her.”

“That makes sense. Did she know how you felt?”

“I don’t know. She kinda acted like nothing happened.”

The same couldn’t be said for her father, though. He had been livid, so much so that Bria asked him why he was more upset than she was. He had mumbled something about opportunities and her future, but it never made much sense to her. Ultimately, she chalked it up to his usual overprotectiveness.

“Alright.” Webb flipped a page in his notepad. “I know this might be difficult for you, but we need to talk about the night of the murder.”

Bria nodded slowly. She had been dreading this moment ever since her father told her about the interview. She had never spoken of it, at all, not even to her parents.

“Did you two speak at all during the party?”

“Not really. Maybe hi and bye.”

“When was the last time you saw her? I mean…before the last time.”

Bria looked at Mr. Strozier, hoping he would object or something. But he just gestured for her to speak. “Last time I saw her, she was going outside with some other people to smoke.”

“What were they smoking?”

Bria touched her bandage under the table. “They went outside to smoke weed.”

“And when you say outside, where exactly do you mean? Front, back, side?”

“They went out the back door of the clubhouse. There’s a deck out there. I assume that’s where they were at.”

“Did you ever go outside?”

“No. I don’t smoke weed.” That was true. The first and final time she’d done it, it made her heartbeat speed up. It scared her straight. Her friends laughed at her scariness. They already saw her as a spoiled, sheltered girl, and that whole incident didn’t help.

“Who else went outside to smoke?”

Here we go.“There were a lot of people walking in and out. The only person I remember for sure was Demetrius.”

Detective Ackerman frowned at her. “I’m sorry, but I have a hard time believing that you can’t remember anyone other than Mr. Branch. You knew everyone at the party, right?”

“Yes.”

“Who else did you see going outside?”

“Lots of people. Like I said, the only one I really remember is Demetrius.”

Ackerman glared at Will, who simply shrugged and smiled.

Detective Webb cleared his throat as if to take back the reins. “Did you ever see Nyleah come back inside?”

“I don’t remember that, no.”

“Never?”

“Not that I remember.”

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