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A heavy silence hangs in the air.
“He had a knife,” Lila says.
Torres straightens in his seat slightly.
“He was holding a knife,” she continues. “And he looked right at me.”
The officers exchange a glance with each other, then look back at her.
“I could only see his eyes,” she says, the words coming out in little more than a whisper.
I wrap my arm around her, pulling her close to me. Her entire body is trembling.
“Did you see what colour his eyes were?” Torres asks.
She’s silent for a moment, then shakes her head.
“Do you think you’d be able to identify him in a line-up?” Blackwood asks.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
The officers are silent as they look over their notes.
“Did either of you hear anything before, during, or after the attack? Any voices, conversation, screams?”
“No,” I say. “It was completely silent. We just turned the corner and saw this car, saw a man jump into the passenger side and speed off.”
“Did you see which direction they went?” Torres asks.
“I’m pretty sure they turned right.”
Blackwood scribbles down a note.
“Did you notice any other vehicles on the street that could either be connected to the incident, or any other bystanders that may have witnessed it as well?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head.Are we bystanders? Or are we witnesses?
The detectives look over their notes again.
“Just have to check,” Blackwood asks. “Did either of you interact with the crime scene in any way? Did you touch or move anything on or near the body, or drop or lose anything that belonged to you anywhere near the crime scene?”
“I walked across the road to check… to confirm what I thought. I wasn’t sure at first. But I didn’t touch anything. And I walked away almost immediately.”
“Did you take any photos or videos of the incident or the aftermath?” Torres asks.
“No. Like I said, as soon as I realised it was… I didn’t know if they were coming back or if they would follow us, so I got us home as quickly as I could.”
“What about the car?” Torres continues, looking first at me, then switching his attention to Lila. “Did you notice any details of the car, the colour, make, or any part of the reg plate?”
Lila shakes her head.
“The way it took off, I’m fairly certain it had to be a four-wheel drive. Possibly an x5, or something along those lines, but it was too dark to see anything for certain.”
I wish I had something more, anything helpful I could give them.
“Okay, well, I think that’s all we need for now, unless there’s anything else you can think to add?”
I glance at Lila but her lips are pressed together firmly, her stare fixed on her hands.