Tommy's Freedom

Tommy Whitfield's POV

Tommy Whitfield walked out of the detention center into blinding sunlight, a free man for the first time in three weeks.

But he didn't feel free.

"Tommy!" Mrs. Martinez ran toward him, Sarah's mother, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry we didn't believe you."

Tommy let her hug him, but he felt numb inside. Sarah was still dead. Nothing could change that.

A crowd of townspeople waited outside the detention center. They clapped and cheered, calling him a hero.

"We were wrong about you, son," Mr. Chen said, shaking Tommy's hand. "The whole town owes you an apology."

Tommy wanted to scream at them. Where were these people when he was locked up? When everyone called him a murderer? When his own girlfriend's family thought he'd killed her?

But he just nodded and said thank you, because that's what Sarah would have wanted.

Danny Santos came through the crowd, his arm in a sling from the gunshot wound. "Tommy! You made it!"

They hugged, two boys who'd been through hell together.

"What happens now?" Danny asked.

"I don't know," Tommy revealed. "My dad's dead. My mom left town. I have nothing."

"You have us," Danny said. "You have the truth. That's something."

But was it enough?

Tommy went to Sarah's grave that afternoon. Someone had cleaned up the old flowers and left fresh ones. A new headstone had been put with Sarah's picture.

"I'm sorry," Tommy whispered to the grave. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry it took so long to show I didn't kill you."

He sat there for an hour, remembering Sarah's smile, her laugh, her dreams of becoming a teacher.

His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

"She's watching you right now."

Tommy looked around the cemetery. Empty except for him.

He texted back: "Who is this?"

"Someone who knows the truth about Sarah's murder. Meet me at the old movie house in one hour. Come alone or you'll never know what really happened that night."

Tommy's hands shook. This could be a trick. But what if it wasn't? What if someone really knew something?

He went to the old theater where Sarah's body had been found. The building was still sealed with police tape, but Tommy slipped inside through a broken window.

The lobby was dark and dirty. Tommy turned on his phone's flashlight.

"Hello?" he called.

"Hello, Tommy."

A woman stepped from the shadows. Tommy recognized her from news reports—Jennifer Morrison, Jake and Emma's apparently dead mother.

"What do you want?" Tommy demanded.

"To tell you the truth about who killed Sarah Martinez," Jennifer said. "Because it wasn't Marcus Webb like everyone thinks."

Tommy felt his world tilt. "What are you talking about? Webb confessed. He killed her because she found proof of his corruption."

"Webb took credit for the kill," Jennifer amended. "But he didn't do it himself. He had someone else kill Sarah. Someone who's still free. Someone who's been walking around Millbrook claiming to be innocent."

"Who?" Tommy asked desperately.

Jennifer pulled out a photograph and gave it to Tommy.

The picture showed Sarah on the night she died, talking to someone in the parking lot behind the theater.

Tommy's blood ran cold when he saw who Sarah was with.

Sheriff Dale Morrison.

"Dale killed her?" Tommy whispered.

"Dale strangled her with her own necklace, then planted your fingerprints while you were passed out drunk," Jennifer confirmed. "Webb paid him to do it and covered it up. But Dale was the real killer."

Tommy felt anger building inside him. "Dale's dead. He died in the mine."

"Are you sure about that?" Jennifer asked. "Did you see his body? Did anyone confirm it was really him?"

Tommy thought back. In all the chaos, he'd just assumed Dale was dead because people said so.

"The body in the mine was burned beyond recognition," Jennifer continued. "FBI identified it as Dale based on dental records. But what if someone switched the records? What if Dale faked his death just like I did?"

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he knew the organization was coming apart. He needed an escape plan." Jennifer showed Tommy another photo. "This was taken yesterday. Two towns over."

The picture showed a man who looked exactly like Dale Morrison, getting into a car.

Tommy's hands curled into fists. "Where is he?"

"That's why I'm here," Jennifer said. "I can help you find him. Help you get justice for Sarah. But I need something from you first."

"What?"

"My daughter Emma is about to testify against the criminal group. She'll need safety from people who want her dead. I can't be everywhere at once. I need friends I can trust."

Tommy understood. "You want me to protect Emma in exchange for helping me find Dale."

"Yes. Do we have a deal?"

Tommy thought about Sarah, about fairness, about doing what was right even when it was hard.

"Deal," he said.

Jennifer smiled. "Good. Dale is hiding in—"

Gunshots burst through the theater.

Jennifer dove behind an old bar while Tommy dropped to the floor.

More shots rang out, making holes in the walls above their heads.

"They followed you!" Jennifer shouted. "The organization knows I'm here!"

Tommy crawled toward the exit, but armed men appeared, blocking his escape.

He was stuck.

Jennifer returned fire with her own weapon, hitting one offender. But there were too many.

"There's another way out," Tommy remembered. "The basement. It links to the old tunnels under Main Street."

They ran toward the steps as bullets chased them.

In the basement, Tommy kicked open a broken door that led to the tunnels. They fell into darkness, running blind.

Behind them, footsteps and shouts echoed.

"This way," Tommy led Jennifer through the maze of tunnels. He'd explored them with Danny years ago when they were kids.

They emerged in an alley three blocks away, gasping for breath.

"Thank you," Jennifer said.

"Where's Dale?" Tommy demanded.

Jennifer pulled out her phone, but before she could show him, a car screeched to a stop at the alley door.

Sheriff Dale Morrison stepped out, very much living, holding a gun.

"Hello, Tommy," Dale said with an evil smile. "I hear you've been looking for me."

Tommy froze. This was the man who'd killed Sarah. Who'd framed him. Who'd destroyed his life.

"Why?" Tommy asked. "Why did you kill her?"

"Because Webb paid me fifty thousand dollars," Dale answered simply. "And because Sarah saw me helping Webb's men dump dangerous waste. She had pictures of me. Had to eliminate the evidence."

"She was innocent!" Tommy shouted.

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Dale amended. "Just like you are right now."

He raised his gun.

Jennifer moved to protect Tommy, but Dale shot her first.

Jennifer fell, blood spreading across her shirt.

"No!" Tommy screamed.

Dale turned the gun on Tommy. "Any last words, kid?"

Tommy looked at Dale, at Jennifer bleeding on the ground, at the gun pointed at his heart.

He thought about Sarah and all the dreams she'd never get to live.

He thought about his father, who'd died trying to do the right thing.

He thought about Emma and Jake, fighting to uncover the truth.

Tommy made his choice.

"Yeah," he said. "I have last words. This is for Sarah."

Tommy lunged at Dale, ignoring the gun, driven by rage and sadness and the desperate need for justice.

The gun fired.

And Tommy's world went black.