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“We have already questioned Miss Britt extensively. We are aware you and West had access to work files. She contends that you wouldn’t steal.” He sat back in his chair. “That’s not up to her, but to me to decide. I need to know how far your involvement goes.”
“Greer? Vaughn?” I looked at him as the room spun in circles.
There was no way to hold on to the attorney in me. The woman with the calm rational legal expertise. I couldn’t keep her locked in and absorb the words at the same time. I couldn’t process what he said as part of the law and not as a woman who had learned the unthinkable.
“When? When did this happen?” I mustered a few words.
“The Senate Defense Committee alerted us to the breach immediately. The way this works is you give me information and then I share information.” He tilted his head. “There is no question that West was behind the information attack. The question is what role you played.”
“I think I’m going to be sick again,” I whispered before what was left in my stomach spewed across the table.
Chapter 23
When I dressed for the flight home I had chosen stretchy yoga pants and a long-sleeve running shirt. It was supposed to be comfortable on the cramped airplane. A female agent stood behind me in the ladies’ room while I used a scratchy paper towel from the dispenser to try to clean the cheerful fabric. I had bought it so I could run at night ane be seen by cars. The vibrant tangerine was like an arrow pointing to me when I walked through the halls.
She watched me in the mirror. Her arms folded. I could see the gun on her hip. I washed my hands and wiped the smudges from my face. She led me along the hall, but guided me to a different door.
The interior of the room looked the same as the last one, only it wasn’t filled with the stench of sickness.
I sipped on a bottle of water while Agent Kenneth waited for me.
The agent was now wearing a T-shirt. I had soiled his suit and the red tie. I had never vomited on anyone. A part of me believed he was responsible. It was his fault he was down to an undershirt. I didn’t owe him an apology after he mangled my happiness just as severely as if his hands were clasped around my throat, squeezing the breath from my body.
My fingers trembled as I fastened the lid to the bottle.
“Are you ready to continue?” He wasn’t harsh, but I didn’t detect sympathy.
My stomach hurt. My clothes smelled despite my effort to wash them in the bathroom sink. I was reeling from being hauled into this stale interrogation room with no windows to the outside world. No. I didn’t want to continue. But the only way out was to comply. I knew that much.
“I-I guess.”
“Look, Mr. West has been on our radar for a number of years. We haven’t been able to bring him in. Any information you can provide will help us do that.”
“I don’t know anything.” I swallowed. The hollowness filled me. I didn’t. I didn’t know who Vaughn was or Jeremy. He wasn’t a Jeremy.
“What seems like insignificant details to you can add up to complete the puzzle we have. You might have the missing piece, Miss Charles. You just don’t realize it. Together, we can figure out what that is. If you agree to help us, I believe I can have all charges against you dropped.”
“I don’t care about the charges.” I gritted my teeth. My eyes lifted to his. The tears slipped from my eyes in heavy droplets. “You just told me the man I’ve spent the last few months with is a criminal. That everything he told me was a lie. That he used me to steal from my best friend.” I clenched my jaw. “I will fight the charges against me. We both know I didn’t help him.”
“Good. It sounds like you’re willing to cooperate.”
“I didn’t say that,” I snapped. “I need more than five minutes to process this.” I glared at him.
“How about I wait outside. I could use a cup of coffee. You?”
“I’ll pass.”
“Another bottled water?” he offere
d.
“No.” Did he think hospitality mattered in here?
“I’ll give you some time to think about the offer. But, it’s not open-ended. Realize you need to make a decision.”
He walked out of the room. I stared at the mirrored glass. My mascara was smudged beyond recognition. I wondered who was on the other side. Who was witnessing my heartbreak. Who was watching me fall apart. Who saw the moment my life was shattered.
What were they thinking now? That I was a pathetic mess? That I had let a man ruin me? That I had been conned? I should have been smarter. I should have been suspicious. I should have been anything but weak.
