A man and a woman walk in. They are dressed very professionally. I say hello trying to ease the tension in the room. The woman replies with a very soft, soothing voice. The man starts talking.
“I’m Marcus Graves and this is my partner Brooke Mourn. We’re detectives investigating The Murder of Julia Carter.”
I stare at them blankly realizing I’m a murder suspect. I don’t even know how to react. My body is frozen. I try to look into my memory; nothing. There’s absolutely nothing. I can’t remember a single thing. Brooke’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Ella, I know it’s hard to deal with the loss of your mother but-”
“Ella? My mother”
“I know you probably don’t want to talk about your mother right now, but we need an explanation for the blood on your hands.”
Oh, no. I forgot about the blood. Do they think I killed her? What do I do? It’s not like I can tell them why it wasn’t me because I can’t remember. I can’t remember. I could have killed her, and I don’t even know. I place my forehead on the table and look down at my hands. My vision gets blurry as a single tear drops and moistens the dry blood. I wipe my cheek with the back of my arm and look back up at the detectives. I make eye contact with Marcus.
“I don’t know who I am, or if I really killed Julia Carter or not. I can’t remember anything from before I woke up earlier”
“Julia Carter is your mother, and you are Ella Carter. It’s April 18, 2021”
He takes a piece of paper from a folder. He clears his throat and slowly reads from the page.
“Name: Ella Carter.
Birth: May 5, 2000.
Gender: Female.
City: Rialto.
State: California.
Relation to Victim: Daughter.
Any of this ring a bell?”
“No. but now I know who I am. Ella Carter; 20 years old from Rialto, California; daughter of Julia Carter.”
They get up and walk out the door. The officer walks in and escorts me out of the room. On my way out I notice the detectives talking to a woman dressed in a nurse’s outfit. I ask the officer where we are going hoping I didn’t have to go back to that horrible jail cell. He said we were going to a hospital to see if I had any injuries that might have affected my memory. We walk out to a street with few police cars. I am instructed to get in.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
