Suspicion

"So, we aren't much closer than when we started searching, are we?" Tom asked.

"I mean, we have it narrowed down to people he had contact with. And personally, I'm thinking Phil looks good for it. We just need to find out his whereabouts during the attack." Derek replied.

"What about Terri? She could have done it." Tom offered.

"True, but she seems to have been in shock to hear he was dead. Could be faking it, but I'm not sure she had the opportunity." Scratching an itch on his side, Derek made a contemplative face.

"I can't believe people enjoyed doing this. I would have gone insane." Tom commented as they walked into the cafeteria.

"Other people say the same about sitting and writing code all day. To each their own." Derek replied. "Now, let's see if we can find Camila."

Tom and Derek had questioned the dealers in the Gameroom and found that Terri had played some five-card draw at one of the tables for a bit but had lost her chips and left. Camila had been with her when she arrived, but she played Blackjack and was there later because she hit a winning streak.

Now, it was time to find out more about Terri and who she really was. When they entered the cafeteria, the room was nearly empty. Most of the guild got regular meal breaks at about the same time, so being that it was between meals, there were some snacks available, but most of the staff were preparing for the next big meal to be served.

Charlene smiled and waved Tom and Derek over, "Hello, boys. What can I do for you?"

"Is Camila available? We need to talk with her for a few minutes." Derek said to Charlene, returning her warm smile.

"Camila? I can get her for you. Is everything okay?" Charlene said, her smile turning into a concerned look.

"She's not in any trouble, don't worry. We just need some information." Derek assured her.

"Let me go get her for you," Charlene replied, walking back into the kitchen.

A short time later, Charlene returned, followed by a woman in her mid-twenties. She was of average build, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She had more freckles than normal across her nose and cheeks, with a slightly rounded face. Looking around with concern, she saw Tom and Derek and walked over to them.

"Hi, I'm Camila. Is everything okay?" The woman asked.

"I'll leave you all to chat," Charlene said as she walked back to the kitchen.

"Let's have a seat and chat," Derek motioned to a table in the cafeteria.

"What's this about?" Camila asked.

"It's about your friend Terri. She works here in the kitchen with you, correct?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, we hang out after work some too. She seems like a nice person. It's been hard dealing with everything that's happened." Camila said.

"I'm glad to hear you're making friends. Can you tell me more about Terri? What's she like? Is she seeing anyone? Does she seem like a normal person?" Derek asked.

"Um, she's nice. She seems like a normal person to me. She can be a little quirky sometimes, but who isn't? I do think she said she was seeing someone, but she never told me his name. Seemed pretty secretive about that. And I never met him, so she could have been making it up for all I know." Camila explained.

"Do you think you just aren't close enough for her to introduce him to you?" Tom asked.

"I don't know. When we hang out its mostly to talk about work or we go to the Gameroom sometimes. Let off a little steam, you know? But now that I think about it, Terri does seem to like the drink. Gets a little messy sometimes." Realization coming over Camila. "Did she get in trouble?"

"No, nothing like that. We just want to be sure we know what's going on. We are trying to keep everyone as safe as we can. It's pretty dangerous nowadays." Derek said, trying to ease her growing concern.

"Yeah, that's why we don't go out much. I just can't believe all this has happened. My life wasn't perfect, but I was happy before. Now I feel scared to even leave this building." Camila's face fell as she said this.

"Well, we promise we are working to change that. We want people to be able to lead as normal a life as possible. If you think of anything else, you'll let us know?" Derek asked her.

"Sure. If I hear anything I can let you know as well." Camila said, standing up and giving them a forced smile.

"Thanks, Camila. We'll let you get back to work now." Tom smiled warmly back at her.

After Camila had returned to the kitchen, Tom and Derek looked at each other.

"That didn't tell us too much, but we can keep digging. I think we need to talk with Phil again," Tom said.

"I think you're right. Let's go see what he's up to." Derek agreed.

It took longer than they had hoped, but Phil was brought back in from his scavenger duties to speak with Tom and Derek. They had a special room set up to talk with him this time. Phil was nearly fuming when he entered the guild building.

"What the hell is this all about? I've got work to do out there, and you're costing me my pay." Phil growled at Tom and Derek when he was directed their way.

"Phil, please. I'll make sure you get your average pay for the day based on your other rates. Don't worry about that." Derek tried to ease his anger.

"Yeah? Alright, that sounds good. What's this about?" Phil asked.

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"If you'd just come with us, we have a place we can talk so we aren't drawing so much attention. No need to make a big scene in times when people panic easily." Derek laid a hand on his shoulder firmly and Tom saw him wince slightly as Derek squeezed.

"You know, that makes sense. Lead the way." Phil replied, a look of concern coming over his face.

Leading Phil off to the room they had set aside, they entered to find a single table with four chairs around it. No windows lined the room, as it had been a storage room prior to today.

"Have a seat, Phil. We need to talk to you some more about Jared." Derek began, closing the door once they had all entered the room.

"Jared? That dumbass? Why?" Phil asked.

"He's dead, Phil. We need to know how and why." Tom said, sinking into one of the chairs and making eye contact with Phil.

"He is? And what? You think I had something to do with it?" Phil was moving to sit before hearing this and paused.

"That's what we're here about," Derek said.

"I didn't kill Jared. We had our problems, but he stayed in his lane, and I stayed in mine."

"Well, you seem to be the only person with a real problem with him. And you have the opportunity. Out there scavenging for scrap, no one watching, and a truck to bring him back in." Derek leaned against one of the walls of the room and watched Phil.

"I didn't do it. I'm too busy. Besides, if I had done it to him out in the field, his truck would still be out there. It's in the garage." Phil pointed toward the garage as he said this.

"Maybe. Or it could have been brought back by someone. Or you could have waited til you were back at the base. Lots of possibilities, Phil." Tom shrugged as if he didn't care at all.

"Really? And what do I get for killing him?" Phil asked.

"Oh, my dear Phil. That question is not the get-out-of-jail-free card it used to be. There's the XP for one. You get more from killing people than monsters. Did you know that? Then there's the obvious benefit of someone not fighting with you about scavenging." Derek chuckled as he explained.

"I didn't kill the bastard. I didn't want to work with him anymore, but the job pool is a little smaller than it used to be, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Sure, sure. We understand. You have to work with people you don't like now because there are fewer people, and the job market itself is just the pits," Tom said. I get that. It doesn't mean you killed him. You just couldn't stand him."

"Right. I ain't no killer. It's why I didn't want to be a fighter. Don't like the death and danger."

"But you go out there every day to find things we might need here. That puts you in quite a bit of danger, Phil." Derek countered.

"Oh, give the poor guy a break; he goes out there and breaks his back to be useful. He wouldn't even have time to kill someone." Tom said.

"Sure, he would. There's plenty of time when they get back. What'd you do? Sneak up behind him in the garage once the others went in? Strangled him from behind so he couldn't call out? Then you chop him up and toss him in the garbage that you know full well is going to get incinerated?" Derek questioned.

"Hell, no! That's sick!" Phil exclaimed.

"He's too squeamish for that, Derek. He would have to have gotten someone else to do that dirty work for him." Tom said.

"What? I ain't squeamish. I have to kill monsters out there on the job." Phil began to get defensive.

"That's right, Phil. You have to kill out there. So, it's no big deal here, right? And it takes care of a little competition. That's a small price to pay to get some stress out of your life. Who would know? It's the apocalypse, after all. People die every day now in horrible ways." Derek said.

"I mean, that's true, but it doesn't mean I did it. I'm not about killing people."

"Oh, come on, Phil! We know killing people is just one step up from killing monsters. Don't give us that shit." Derek threw his hands onto the table, startling Phil.

"No, you got it all wrong," Phil began.

"Do we, Phil? Do we really? Everything points to you on this. But you gotta know we don't have police and jail anymore. Come on, Phil. Help us help you here." Derek said, leaning fully over the table as he stared at the man.

"I didn't do it. I can't help you if I didn't do it." Phil objected fervently.

"Look, maybe it was an accident? Phil and Jared were out on the job, and something attacked him, but it looked like Phil did it. So, he has to get rid of the body to make sure no one comes asking questions." Tom asked, looking at Derek.

"Well, that would still be bad. He could have told us if it was an accident. We would have believed him." Derek replied.

"I didn't fucking do it! How many times I gotta tell you guys that!" Phil was getting very upset now.

"You keep saying that, but we've been asking around, Phil. You were the only person who disliked him. You were the only person with motive and opportunity. It's really looking bad, Phil." Derek said.

"I know it looks bad, but I didn't do it. I swear on my life I didn't kill anyone!" Phil looked both of them dead in the eyes as he said this.

"Then who could have done it, Phil? We don't have other leads right now. This isn't looking good for you." Derek said firmly.

"How should I know? All I do know is that it wasn't me," Phil said.

"Well, we have a problem then. We can't just let you go back out there right now. You'll have to be confined for the time being. It's for everyone's safety." Derek stood and began to walk toward the door.

"So, you don't have any evidence, and you're gonna take away my freedom?" Phil called after him.

"What choice do we have? We are trying to keep people safe. We'll let you know what happens, but we have to talk to the others." Tom replied as he stood and followed Derek out of the room.

"He's right, you know. What do we do with him?" Tom asked.

"We keep him separated for the time being. We have to get to the bottom of this because if he is innocent, then we are punishing him for no reason." Derek replied.

"This is a fine mess, isn't it?" Tom asked.

"Politics always end up like this. Police work had to detain people without full proof so they could investigate. We are just doing the same."

"Let's just hurry up and see if we can figure this out. I don't like it."

"Too bad. Now shut up and follow me." Derek said, turning to walk down a hallway.