By the time Winston, Estela, and Diego had left Rosie's Diner, they were the only people there. They talked about every little detail of the paranoid group and what their next move might be.

Before they parted ways, Winston had tried to give Monty's journal back to Estela, but she told him that she thought it would be best if he kept it for now. He thanked her with a hug and got into his car.

The drive back home was long, but it gave him plenty of time to think.

What is the paranoid group hiding? Was his main thought.

When he finally made it to his house, he walked inside and sat down at the dining room table. He sighed and placed Monty's journal in front of him. He debated on whether or not he should read any more of it, since Monty probably never intended for anyone else to see it.

Winston didn't get a chance to decide, however, as the dining room light was suddenly turned on. He jumped in surprise and turned around to see his mom standing in the hallway.

"Winston? What on Earth were you doing out so late?" His mom asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Winston looked down at his watch in confusion. It showed that the time was 10:00 PM. Apparently, he, Estela, and Diego had lost track of time.

"Sorry mom, I didn't realize I was out so late." He ran a hand down his face and put the journal down on his lap.

"You still haven't told me what you were up to." His mom reminded him.

Winston rolled his eyes, "It won't happen again, alright? And if you must know, I was at a diner with some friends from school."

"Wait, you have friends?" His mom asked and Winston scoffed.

"Wow, thanks mom." He said sarcastically.

"I'm only teasing you." His mom said and they laughed.

"You know I was only curious about where you were because I love you." His mom said.

"I love you too, mom." Winston said, smiling.

"Good, now go to bed. You have school tomorrow." His mom pointed upstairs, before heading in the opposite direction.

Winston stayed at the table for a few minutes before eventually heading upstairs. He laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days.

When he woke up the next morning, he saw that he had a missed call from another unknown number. He had saved Estela and Diego's numbers in his phone the night before, so he knew it wasn't one of them.

His thumb hovered over the number, wondering if he should call back or not. He thought about it, before curiosity overtook him and he tapped on the number on his screen. His phone dialed for a few seconds before someone picked up.

"Winston Williams?" A deep voice asked on the other line.

"That's me." Winston replied.

"My name is Deputy Standall. I've been meaning to reach out to you. I've got a few questions I'd like to ask you, if you'd be able to stop by the police station later today."

Winston didn't answer for a moment. He was confused why this Deputy would be contacting him.

"What's this about?" Winston asked.

"I'd be happy to tell you if you came into the station." Deputy Standall replied.

"Um, okay, when would be a good time?" Winston asked.

"Does four sound alright to you? That way you'll be out of school for the day and you'll be home in time for dinner." Deputy Standall suggested.

"Yeah, four is good." Winston said.

"Great. See you then, Mr. Williams." Deputy Standall said and then hung up.

Winston immediately texted Estela and Diego, asking them to meet him so they could discuss what had just happened. They agreed and soon they were all seated around a corner table at Monet's.

"There better be a good reason why you made me get up at six AM." Diego grumbled from where he was resting his head on the table.

Estela hit his arm gently, "Diego, it's obviously something important. He wouldn't have texted us if it wasn't." She nodded for Winston to tell them what was going on.

"I got a call from a guy named Deputy Standall this morning." He told them and Diego's head shot up off the table.

"Wait, why did Deputy Standall call you?" Diego asked.

"He said that he wanted to ask me some questions, but he couldn't tell me what they were about." Winston added.

Diego and Estela shared a glance before looking at Winston, "Deputy Standall is the guy who was in charge of Bryce's case." Diego said.

"He's questioned both of us, and most of the students in the paranoid group." Estela told him.

"I'm assuming he's also the one they told the lies about Monty killing Bryce to." Winston said and they nodded.

"I just don't get why he would contact me. Of all people, how does he even know who I am? He doesn't know that Monty and I were friends." Winston pointed out.

"I have no idea." Diego said, resting his head on his hand.

"Are you going to go?" Estela asked, before taking a sip of her latte.

"I probably should, right?" Winston asked.

"It could give us more answers." Estela suggested.

"And there has to be a reason he called you to come into the station." Diego said.

"I know." Winston said.

Soon after, they parted ways. Estela and Diego began walking toward Liberty, since it was only a few blocks away. Winston got into his car and drove to Hillcrest.

The school day felt especially long to Winston, since he had somewhere to be after. As soon as he heard the final bell ring, he was out of his seat. He drove to the police station and made it there ten minutes early. He sat in his car for the remaining time.

When it was time to head inside, he sent a text to Estela and Diego telling them he was going in. They both responded with words of encouragement. He smiled down at his phone, before getting out of his car.

He walked to the entrance of the police station and opened the door. There was a woman sitting at the front desk. He approached it and the woman looked up.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"My name's Winston Williams. Deputy Standall called me earlier and told me he had some questions for me." He told her.

She nodded, "Take a seat, Deputy Standall will be out here shortly."

"Thank you." He said and sat down in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Not even a minute later, a man walked up him.

"Mr. Williams? I'm Deputy Standall, thank you so much for meeting with me." Deputy Standall said, holding out his hand.

Winston shook his hand, "Just Winston is fine."

"Alright, Winston. Why don't we head on back?" Deputy Standall began walking back to where he came from, with Winston following close behind.

They entered a room with a table in the middle. Deputy Standall took a seat on one side as Winston sat down on the other side. Deputy Standall got out a tape recorder and set it on the table in front of him. He pushed a red button on the side of it, turning it on.

"So, Winston. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, I called you in to talk to you about Bryce Walker's death." Deputy Standall stated.

"Okay." Winston said, growing nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to accuse you of anything, but I did want to ask you about the boy who was convicted of being his killer." Deputy Standall said.

Winston's hands turned into fists at his sides, angry that Monty was being considered a killer.

"Monty?" Winston asked.

Deputy Standall nodded, "Yes. I've heard from a few sources, that you and Montgomery were together the night Bryce was murdered. Is that correct?"

Winston furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Wait, what sources told you that?"

"Are you saying that the information is false?" Deputy Standall asked and Winston immediately shook his head.

"No! It's true. We were together that night." Winston told him.

Deputy Standall nodded again, "Okay." He reached to turn the tape recorder off.

"Who are your sources? Who told you that?" Winston asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not able to share that information with you." Deputy Standall said.

Winston shook his head, clearly annoyed, "Fine."

Deputy Standall stood up and gave him a friendly grin, "Thank you for your time, Winston." He held out his hand once more.

"Wait, that's it? That's all you wanted to ask?" Winston ignored the hand held out in front of him.

Deputy Standall put his hand down, "That's all I needed."

Winston stood up and left the room. He walked out of the police station and went back into his car. He pulled out his phone as soon as he sat down and typed out a text to send to Estela and Diego.

———————————————————————————