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made me feel uncomfortable.
    Not to mention the fact that I had to take
shallow breaths to keep from gagging on stale beer fumes radiating
off my dad. Even though he was several feet behind us, tilting back
in his chair, his stench had somehow drifted across the room.
    Hadn’t he ever heard of a shower?
    I wondered briefly if Bryon could smell my
dad, but I already knew the answer to that question.
    My life totally sucked.
    I shifted focus again to the officer whose
gaze was practically glued to my face.
    Officer Garza was an older Hispanic guy with
a receding hairline and dark eyes. He smiled at me a lot and handed
me tissues when I broke down crying, but something in the way he
looked at me made me feel uneasy. Kind of like he was looking
through me. Like he was waiting for me to say more. But he couldn’t
have known about my visit with dead Sunny. Maybe I was being
paranoid.
    Just as we had finished with our statements,
Sparks came into the office and nodded to both of us. “You two have
had a trying morning. I think your parents should take you
home.”
    Turning, I noticed my dad was now positioned
forward in the chair, knuckles white as he gripped each knee. His
graying black hair was a mess, as usual, and the buttons on his
stained white shirt weren’t even lined-up correctly. Brow furrowed,
he stared blankly at his feet. Was he seriously concentrating on
something, or was he ready to pass out?
    If he wanted to embarrass me, he sure
succeeded. I cringed, stealing a sideways glance at Bryon, fearing
what he thought about my dad. Krysta’s drunk father who just rolled out of
bed.
    Suddenly, Dad’s gaze met mine and his dark
eyes bore into me. I couldn’t tell if he was concerned or just
angry.
    My gaze dropped to the floor; my chest felt
even tighter than before. Maybe I’d interrupted time with one of
his ‘girl’ friends.
    I knew having a teenage daughter wasn’t easy
for a guy like my dad. He had a hard enough time trying to pay the
bills and now his child was a witness in a murder case.
    “So you’re Andy’s little girl?”
    Startled, I turned to Officer Garza who
stared down at me with a knowing expression.
    “Yeah,” I mumbled, before looking away from
his penetrating stare.
    I wondered how he knew my dad. Maybe Officer
Garza had been a security guard once, too. I didn’t want to start a
conversation with him; the way he stared at me made me way too
uncomfortable.
    I just wanted to get out of the office. Away
from the cops. Away from my dad. Bryon, the other cop and a man who
looked like an older version of Bryon were talking in front of me,
blocking the doorway, and I saw no way of getting through.
    I hated being short.
    “You look a lot like your mom.” The tone of
Garza’s voice behind my back softened and ended on a raspy
note.
    “No, I don’t,” I blurted, looking back at
him with narrowed eyes. Even if I wanted to, I knew I looked
nothing like the woman who abandoned our family. She was tall and
had red hair and pale skin. I looked nothing like my mom.
    “Time to go home, Krysta.” Dad’s strained
voice came from behind Garza.
    The other men parted as Dad plowed through.
“Hey, Richards.” Garza nodded. “Feeling okay?”
    “Yeah.” He flashed Officer Garza a thin
smile. “We need to get home.” Dad pulled me to him.
    Looking into Dad’s strained features, I knew
he was far from happy. As he led me between the men and out the
door, I thought my hand would crush under the strength of his
grip.
    “Nice seeing you, my friend,” Officer Garza
called as we retreated.
    Remembering I’d left Bryon without saying
goodbye, I tried to turn and wave, but Dad jerked me forward.
    Dad didn’t release my hand until we hit the
pavement. “Damn, Krysta, I don’t like you being a witness in a
murder case.” Swearing again, he jerked open the passenger door of
our little rust bucket and then erratically waved for me to get
inside. “I wish you would’ve kept quiet.”
    I knew having me