Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack

that Sadie would be accompanying Caro every step of the way. Caro became increasingly nervous the closer they got to the actual interview. Caro had given an official statement to the police after the situation they’d involved themselves in the year before, so she had experience with police interviews, but that made her even more nervous. Sadie did her best to talk down the significance of this meeting, but at the same time she was increasingly anxious, too. Oh, how she hated these interviews.
    Would Sergeant Woodruff be the kind, understanding, and gentle type of cop she rarely encountered? Or, instead, would he be the chip-on-his-shoulder, hard-nosed detective who used intimidation and in-your-face declarations to ensure everyone knew who was in charge? A quick glance at Caro’s white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel and tight-lipped expression left Sadie praying for the former option. Please let him be nice.
    For the first time ever, Sadie was disappointed when they were not asked to sit in the waiting area. Instead, they immediately followed a female officer down a short hallway, where she initiated a series of stops and signatures before Caro and Sadie were led into what Sadie knew to be an interrogation room. Rather than a mirror-sided wall that would allow them to be watched, two video cameras were attached to opposite corners of the light grey room. There were two chairs on one side of the table, and no chair on the other side.
    “Shouldn’t there be a third chair?” Sadie asked the officer who had served as their guide up to this point.
    The woman just smiled and waved them to their seats. “Officer Nielson will be with you shortly. Please have a seat.”
    “Nielson?” Sadie asked quietly once the door had closed and she and Caro were alone. They each pulled back a chair and sat down at the table. Sadie’s chair legs weren’t even, and the chair wobbled slightly.
    “We’re meeting with Officer Nielson,” Caro confirmed. She looked at the camera set in the corner closest to them and swallowed nervously.
    “I thought it was Sergeant Woodruff.”
    “Nielson is the one who called me back.”
    How had Sadie not realized that? She, too, eyed the cameras and decided not to talk about it right now. She settled back in her seat and restated in her mind the goal of this meeting: to discuss what they knew without drawing too much interest in themselves.
    The doorknob turned, and Sadie took a breath before looking at the area where the face of this Officer Nielson should be if he were of average height. However, once the door opened, the spot she’d focused on was a few feet too high, and she felt her eyes travel lower and lower until they met the blue eyes of a man in a wheelchair. Sadie tried to hide her surprise, but she knew he’d seen it all the same, and she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He gave her a slight smile of acknowledgment and steered himself into the room with one hand while the other held the door open. It wasn’t until he was completely in the room that Sadie realized she should have offered to help. But would that have offended him?
    Caro hadn’t looked up as Officer Nielson entered the room, and she was slightly startled when she did look up to see him wheeling up to the other side of the table. Sadie noted a thick file resting on his lap and a fanny pack secured around his waist. Just like that, they were suddenly eye to eye, and, except for his unexpected means of arrival, he had the demeanor of any other officer Sadie had encountered. That she felt sorry for him bothered her a lot. She knew he wouldn’t want her sympathy, but she also worried that being taken off guard by him had already put her at a disadvantage.
    He put the file on the table and a moment later took a bottle of hand sanitizer from his fanny pack. He squirted some into one hand and then rubbed it into both hands. “Don’t let the chair intimidate you,” he said with a half smile. “I won’t hold it