From the Notebook of Detective Peavine Jones

Interview of Armstrong, Cory J., CPT USAR, Eleven Days After the Fire

Location: Captain Armstrong’s House, with Lemonade

Everything is really, really, really clean in here. It’s kind of weird.

Captain Armstrong: You two know it’s really early, right?

Footer: Sure, but I know you get out pretty early to run, before it gets too hot.

Captain Armstrong: Well, come on in. I’ll get you some lemonade. How’s your mom, Footer? Hear anything yet?

Footer: No, sir.

Captain Armstrong: You two are pretty tough kids. You do well, for your mom being sick, and you, Peavine, with your dad leaving and all. I’m proud of both of you.

Me: Thank you, sir. Could you tell us a little about flashbacks?

Captain Armstrong: [Suspect looks surprised.] That’s a strange question. I thought I was pretending to be a suspect in the Abrams fire.

Footer: I read about flashbacks on the Internet, and—

Captain Armstrong: Don’t fill your heads full of that crap you can read online. Look, it’s no secret I got problems from the war, so I guess it’s natural that you come to me if you’re curious about it. But why?

Footer: If people see something really bad, like a murder and a fire, could they get flashbacks?

Captain Armstrong: I’m sure they could. Lots of traumatized people out there, because the world has gone totally [censored] insane. Oh, uh, sorry about the language.

Footer: What caused your flashbacks?

Captain Armstrong: Describing my time in the service is hard, Footer. Sometimes when I talk about what happened to me in Afghanistan, or see pictures that remind me of the war, or hear certain sounds or smell certain smells, I relive the worst of what I went through over there.

Footer: Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that, sir. Thank you for your service to our country.

Captain Armstrong: You’re welcome. But you don’t have to apologize for asking.

Footer: What I really want to know is, with your flashbacks and stuff, have you ever realized you forgot something important, like a really, really bad thing you saw?

Captain Armstrong: Yeah. That’s part of it. But I always remember it later, usually at the worst possible moment. [Suspect leans forward. Journalist leans back, probably because Suspect is so tall, and sort of scary with that glare.] War isn’t like on television or in the movies. Even when they get it right on film, you can’t smell the blood or taste the sand scraping your face or feel the desert sun trying to cook your brain to dust in your skull.

Footer: [Journalist looks a little green.] I see. Okay. But if you wanted to remember what you forgot, is there any way to set a flashback off on purpose—you know, to make yourself remember?

Captain Armstrong: I never want to remember. None of us do.

Footer: [Journalist is quiet for so long, I almost start talking, but she stops me.] One more question, sir.

Captain Armstrong: I’m listening.

Footer: Do you always wear those black shoes when you run?

Captain Armstrong: [Suspect stares at his own feet.] Yeah. Why?

Footer: Just wondered. Thanks! [Journalist leaves the house so fast, I have to hustle to keep up with her.]