Page 212 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

Like a cop.

“Detective Seeley, and this is my partner—”

“Yeah, that’s nice, hello to both of you,” Cara interrupted. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually, Miss—”

“Cara, please.”

“Cara,” Detective Seeley said, drawling her name out for longer than was necessary. “Actually, Cara, we were hoping you might be able to do something for us. Or rather, help us with some information regarding Gian Guzzi.”

Cara passed her friend a look, although to Stephanie’s benefit, the girl was trying to look anywhere but at the detectives. “Hey, Steph, could you give us a few minutes?”

Stephanie nodded quickly, and gathered her things. “Sure can. I was about to head out anyway. Call me when you wanna meet up to sprint again, Cara.”

“Okay.”

The detectives kept quiet until Stephanie was gone. Thankfully, the library was mostly empty, as it was only mid-day, and the girls had picked a quieter part of the library to work. One between the bookshelves, where only two tables were set up in the large rows.

“All right, ask,” Cara said, glancing up at the detective once she knew they were alone.

“Can you confirm you have personal ties to Gian Guzzi?” the detective asked.

“Define personal for me.”

The man’s gaze dropped to Cara’s stomach. “We have reason to believe he may be the father of your child.”

“What reason is that?”

“Well, we can’t exactly give that information away, Miss.”

“Again, it’s Cara. I’m not married, I’m twenty-seven years old, and I’m pregnant. We have far passed the respectable lady stage in my life, thanks.”

“Is Gian Guzzi the father of your child?” Seeley asked.

Cara sighed heavily. “And if he is? I don’t see what that would have anything to do with detectives approaching me mid-day, in the library of my university, when I’m attempting to finish my dissertation so that I can get my diploma before my son is born.”

“Our apologies for intruding on your time,” the shorter of the two men said quickly. “But we have reason to believe your personal affiliation to Gian may help us with our current investigations.”

“And what investigations are those?”

Cara did not plan to make this easy on the police, but she also had to be careful with how much she pushed. Given her dual citizenship, trouble with officials could put her back across the border without so much as a paper to sign.

“Surely you’re aware that Mr. Guzzi is affiliated to some … criminal business in Toronto? We’re aware you visited him while he was serving time in jail, just a few months ago. We would like to discuss your relationship with him, and what else you may know.”

Cara took her time to save her document, shut down her laptop, and put her things away. She knew that no matter what, she didn’t have a choice but to play along with the detectives, and keep her nose out of trouble. That didn’t mean she planned to give them anything.

“Would you mind a trip to the station, just so that we can get our questions and your answers on an official record?” Seeley asked.

Cara waved a hand, as if to say, whatever. “Could I make a phone call before we go?”

“If you think you need to.”

“I think I do.”

The detectives probably assumed Cara planned to call a lawyer. She called Gian. He anda lawyer met her at the station.

Cara answered nothing after that.