Lying

Author's note: just to let all of you know I didn't have enough words so Im just doing a really long author's note so i dont have to do a whole bunch of extra words and sorry about this horrible spelling and grammar but im in a huge rush to get this finished so please dont mind that and have a great day because this world is crazy and i dont want any of us to be upset about it because there is always a bright side and stay positive peeps

I am Ligera, fourteen-years-old. My being lives in Seney, Michigan. But my mind lives in La La Land most of the time. Some people say my head is always in the clouds. Tipo says that I’m just different, unique. Most don’t agree with him. The girl named Ligera is just a freak, nothing more.

I act the way I do because I have a secret. And I’m going to let you know what it is. So pay close attention.

Mother killed Father all of those years ago.

And now I have to tell the police what I know.

---

“Love, don’t worry. We will get through this together. Neither of us have done anything wrong, have we?” Mother said cleverly. She was smarter than she seemed. Her mind knew that we hadn’t done anything wrong, but she had.

“Right. I’m just nervous to be in a police station again. Last time…” I trailed off. Mother knew what I meant, which caused her to sigh.

“That is in the past, though. We have a clean slate.”

Yeah. Clean slate, not clean record, I thought. The idea to say it out loud crossed my mind, but I decided it against it. Mother would be extremely offended if I did.

“Kiley and Ligera Franchez?”

I looked up and saw a policewoman holding a clipboard, scanning the waiting room. Mother got up and started briskly walking towards her, me not far behind.

“Hello. I am Kiley, and this is my daughter Ligera. We were told that the case of my late husband’s murder case was reopened, and we were expected to talk to a Detective Sam Jenson,” Mother announced. The policewoman nodded and checked her clipboard again.

“That’s what my chart says. Follow me this way to see Jenson. Oh, and to let you know, I will be observing your meeting. I’m still training to become Detective Lila Josler,” Lila beamed. You could tell that she was proud of becoming a detective. I guess I would be, too. But I want to be a therapist-author. Anyway.

Lila was leading us down a hall, then took a sharp right, and finally we were in front of a wood door labeled Detective Jenson.

“Here it is. Go on in.” Lila opened the door and gestured for us to go in first. Mother went in first, then me, then Lila. The room was fairly large, with a big desk, multiple bookshelves, and what seemed to be a fingerprint station. A burly man was sitting in the chair to the desk with his back to us. From what I could see, he was wearing a suit and had midnight black hair. Extremely serious. The man spun around in his chair, staring directly at me as he did.

“Ligera, fourteen-years-old, born on a Tuesday at 8:56 p.m., blue eyes, dirty blonde hair.”

At the same time, I stepped back, put a hand up to my dirty blonde hair under my ball cap, and looked away from the detective. Mother put her hand tentatively on my shoulder. I could hear Detective-In-Training Josler stifle a snort.

“Don’t be so surprised, hon. He read your file before we came in. Your mother’s, too. He knows everything there is to know about you. That’s important, anyway.” Lila signaled for Mother and I to sit down across from Detective Jenson. We did so, and Lila sat down in a chair in the corner.

“Let this investigation begin. Now, I’m not going to sugar coat this. When the case was first opened, no one--not one person--came to a conclusion on who murdered Mr. James Franchez. But now, we’re trying again. And this time everyone in this case is determined to figure it out. To be honest, our number one suspects are the people who are closest to him. Since he is not close to any of his family, that would be you, Ms. Franchez, and you, Lagera. But, since Lagera was only six at the time, that immediately rules her out. So, then we go straight to you, Ms. Franchez.” Jensen turned his attention to Mother, fixing her with a death glare. Lila was scribbling on a piece of paper; most likely what she wanted to do when she was a detective. 

“Excuse me, Detective, but I have a question for you.” Lila put a hand up. “Is it always easier to cut to the chase or is it sometimes easier to ease into it?” She looked expectantly at Jensen. He took his death glare off of Mother and turned to Lila.

“Always cut to the chase. If you want answers, you better be as harsh as possible. Now, let me get back to my job,” Jensen snarled. You could tell that he wasn’t happy about having Lila listening in by the way his face got red and the way he spoke. I think Lila could tell, too, because she immediately shut her mouth.

“Ligera, I have a question for you. Do you believe--or know--that your mother, Kiley Franchez, murdered your father, James Franchez?” Detective Sam Jensen looked at me with an eagerness in his eyes.

There was silence. Everyone was holding their breath, including me. At first I didn’t know what to say. Should I tell the truth or lie? My

mind went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And then it was easy to decide. I knew what I should say. 

“Detective, my mother had no connection to the murder of my father. Actually, I know who killed my father. My father killed himself. It was a mission that he had for years. We tried to stop it, took him to counselling, but it was useless. And here we are.”

As you can see, I chose the latter. I guess I’m just like Mother now. There’s no problem with that.