"What happened?" Aunt May asked gently, noticing my distant stare. I quickly composed myself, ready to apologize and get back to helping Maya, but Aunt May stepped closer, her voice soft. "If you're still troubled by what happened to that man, try not to dwell on it. How about we skip school tomorrow and go see a movie? Just to clear your mind a bit."
Her gaze was warm, a mixture of empathy and concern that made me realize how much she cared. Pushing away the thoughts crowding my mind, I managed a smile. "I appreciate it, but I've got a project submission tomorrow, so I need to be there. But… I'll take you up on that offer on Saturday. Peter can come too."
Aunt May's face softened with a smile as she reached up to ruffle my hair. "Good! Now go help out Maya. And don't worry—we've got something prepared for you all to eat in the meantime."
"Before the party starts?" I asked, surprised. Aunt May chuckled, "Just a little taste test of everything we've cooked up. But between you and me, there'll be more than enough to fill you up until the main event."
As I was straightening my hair and heading back to the hall, a loud crash echoed through the air. The sound was so sharp it made my heart skip a beat.
Crash! Bang! Whack!
Immediately after came a chaotic symphony of car alarms and honking horns. Aunt May and I exchanged a look. "Today's really shaping up to be a rollercoaster," she murmured, shaking her head.
We hurried into the hall to find Derek and Maya already outside, staring into the distance. Ryan, freshly changed, came down the stairs, and Mrs. Smith and Elise joined us at the front door. We all looked at one another, sharing a silent understanding that whatever had just happened, it was out of our control. Together, we stepped outside and looked down the street to see a plume of smoke rising about two blocks away.
"What's going on?" I asked, straining for a better look.
Derek, eyes focused on the scene, replied, "Looks like an accident. A black SUV just sped through here a few seconds ago. It must have caused it."
"I'll go check it out. I might need to stick around until the EMTs arrive," Elise said as she hopped into her car.
Mrs. Smith crossed her arms, watching Elise drive off. "This city's only getting more dangerous," she muttered. "Feels like everything's shifted since Tony Stark went public as Iron Man."
A few minutes later, everyone had mostly recovered from the shock of the accident. Laughter and conversation slowly filled the air again as we resumed party preparations. Just as we were putting the finishing touches on the setup, a car pulled into the driveway.
"It's Dad!" Ryan said and the younger kids ran outside, grinning from ear to ear as they welcomed him home. Ryan's father, Mathew, wore a serious expression that softened immediately upon seeing his kids. The fatigue etched into his face seemed to fade as he knelt to greet them, his arms wide.
After hugging them, Mathew noticed the smoke in the distance. He walked inside, nodding toward the commotion. "What's going on out there?"
Mrs. Smith helped him out of his suit jacket, brushing some lint off his shoulder. "Looks like some kind of accident. Elise headed over to check things out—she'll be back once the EMTs take do their thing and the other cops secure the scene."
Mathew placed his police badge and gun on the dining table, took a long sip of water, and looked over at Ryan and me. "Everything alright with you two?"
We both nodded.
"Come on upstairs for a second, let's talk," Mathew said, motioning toward Ryan's room. The serious undertone in his voice made it clear he didn't want anyone else to overhear. We followed him quietly up the stairs.
Once we were settled in, Mathew leaned in. "After the two detectives took your statements, did an FBI agent ask you any additional questions?"
The sudden shift took me by surprise, but I kept my face neutral. "Yes, she asked similar questions to the detectives. Ryan remembered every detail, so I went along."
"Did she ask anything else? Or try to talk to either of you afterward?" he continued, scrutinizing our reactions.
Ryan and I both shook our heads. "No, Dad. She only talked to us in front of the detectives. Why, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing too important," Mathew replied with a dismissive chuckle. "Just that feds can be tricky sometimes."
His answer didn't sit right with me. Something else was going on behind those calm eyes of his, something he didn't want us to dig into.
Suddenly, a knock at the door broke the silence.
"Who is it?" Mathew called, though his voice held a sense of recognition.
"It's me, Elise," came the response. Mathew opened the door to find her standing there with two clear evidence bags, each containing a cellphone.
"I was about to call you," he said. "What happened out there? My wife mentioned an accident."
Elise nodded, holding up the evidence bags. "Yeah, there was an accident—a serious one. But there's more to it." She glanced past Mathew to where Ryan and I were standing, then looked back to him.
Mathew caught her meaning immediately, stepping outside the room and closing the door behind him. Intrigued, Ryan pressed his ear to the door, signaling for me to join him. Against my better judgment, I leaned in, catching snippets of the conversation.
"The accident was caused by an SUV—it plowed into several parked cars outside a restaurant," Elise explained.
Mathew's voice was low. "Was anyone inside those parked cars?"
"No, thankfully, the owners were inside the restaurant. But…" Elise hesitated. "The driver and passenger in the SUV? They're both dead. And it wasn't the crash that killed them."
"What?" Mathew's voice held a note of shock. "What do you mean?"
Elise replied, "Their skin was blue when we found them. Initially, I thought it might be poison, but paramedics confirmed it as pulmonary edema—fluid in the lungs. That's likely what impaired their driving and led to the crash."
"Pulmonary edema? Both of them at the same time?" Mathew asked, the disbelief clear in his tone. "They'd need to be near a large water source for that to happen naturally."
"I know. I've already requested the medical examiner's report. The responding officers think they might be part of an Asian gang; we found weapons and bloody blades in the SUV."
"An Asian gang… That's not good. They don't have much fear of law enforcement," Mathew muttered, a note of concern in his voice.
Elise seemed to shift gears, "Enough about the accident. Tell me about the murder case you're investigating. What did you notice at the crime scene?"
"The victim's throat was slit," Mathew said quietly. "But here's the strange part: his legal age is listed as 32, but he looked to be in his forties or fifties."
"Premature aging?" Elise questioned, her voice filled with curiosity.
"No idea. We're still waiting on the family for more info. But that's not the only unusual thing." Mathew's voice grew lower, almost a whisper. "I had a friend at the FBI look up this 'Agent Sophia' who questioned the boys. Turns out, they don't have an agent by that name. And no one was dispatched for this case."
Elise's voice rose in shock. "She wasn't with the FBI?"
"Exactly. They have no record of her at all."
**
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