“I told you,” she insisted, her voice steady. “No one gave it to me. I chose it because the sentencing pattern matched three other cases I’d cross-referenced. Besides, I know in my gut that Daniel Vetrov is innocent.”
I stared at her for a moment, and she looked right at me without blinking. From her file, I already learned that she was working on the case alone. No external influence whatsoever. However, this interrogation was just to confirm.
“Sit,” I said, my tone low and even.
“I’d rather stand.”
My expression remained neutral. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Her jaw tightened, and after a beat, she sank into the sofa behind her.
I couldn’t care less whether she sat or stood. Making her sit down was a reminder of who called the shots around here. I was in charge, not her. She needed to understand that.
She kept her back straight and her hands in her lap. Her expression was dark, her brows knitted to accentuate the scowl on her face.
“What makes you think Daniel Vetrov is innocent?” I asked her.
“If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
Her sharp tongue was as disturbing as it was interesting. I hadn’t had someone challenge me like this in a while. And it was rather refreshing.
“In your presentation, you mentioned mobile tower discrepancy,” I said. “How did you obtain that data?”
She exhaled softly. “Freedom of information request. Filed eight months ago.”
“You’ve been working on this for eight months?” I asked.
“Ten,” she corrected. “I filed the request at two months.”
The room fell silent for a moment until she broke it.
“It’s just a student presentation. What’s the big deal?”
“If it’s ‘just a student presentation,’ why did you request the case be reopened?”
“Because an innocent man is in jail while the real culprit behind the bombing—that claimed a dozen lives—still walks the streets of Chicago.” The words burst out in a rush, her tone laced with resentment. “How are you okay with that?”
I didn’t respond.
“Would you be so chill if it were yourbrother behind bars for a crime he did not commit?” she asked, attempting to question my morality.
Her ignorance and naïveté almost made me laugh. Almost. She thought she’d found a thin thread in my conscience to tug at. She was wrong.
She looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Who are you protecting?”
I didn’t blink.
“I mean, that’s the only logical explanation,” she continued, her voice dripping with conviction. “You kidnapped me because you know I’m on to something, something that would prove Vetrov was framed.”
Silence.
She leaned in, her gaze unwavering. “If I prove his innocence, the authorities would have no choice but to investigate the real culprit.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “You don’t want that. That’s why you’re trying to silence me—to protect the mastermind behind the bombing.”
“Trust me,” I said, “if I wanted to silence you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
She rose to her feet, daring to close the distance between us. “Then what do you want with me? Why am I here?”
I didn’t answer.
