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But Fiona was only in the forensics department of the FBI, officially, even if she had gotten some field work in. She had no authority to arrest anyone.
Marissa didn't know that, though. Fiona didn't have a gun, badge, or handcuffs, but she had to try something here.
As Marissa panicked, Fiona subtly reached for her cell phone in her bag. She had Jake's number on speed dial. He was her partner and an official FBI agent--he could do something here. She pressed on the screen, hoping she got the right number, and let it ring out in her pocket. If Jake overheard the conversation--he would come.
Fiona knew he would.
"Did you have something to do with Julia's disappearance?" Fiona asked. "Or my sister's?"
"No!" Marissa yelled. "I--I didn't, I swear."
Fiona needed to keep her talking and find a way to signal their location. "I don't believe you," Fiona said. "You might look innocent, working here at Goodman's Pharmacy, but you just said my sister's name, Marissa. You know something, don't you?"
It was against everything in Fiona's nature to be so hostile, but she played up the role as best as she could. Marissa backed up more, hitting a table of pill bottles. She jolted.
"I--it wasn't me, okay?" Marissa said.
Fiona's heart stopped.
Marissa's posture resigned, as though she were going to speak up, and Fiona could hardly believe it.
Was she finally going to get a straight answer?
"It wasn't me," Marissa said, "but--I know who it was."
Fiona snapped back to the present as she arrived outside of the door to the interrogation room. She took a deep breath.
After Marissa had said that, she had refused to elaborate, but Jake had arrived with backup, and they'd arrested her for her involvement in Julia’s death. They even got a confession out of her at one point, although only for Julia's side, not for Joslyn's. She’d been in holding here at the FBI since—the only problem was, Marissa refused to talk. Not even a word.
Until tonight, apparently. Chief Harold Whittaker had just called Fiona to let her know Marissa was willing to talk—but only to Fiona. It had been a week since Marissa had been taken in, and finally, she was ready to open up. At least, Fiona hoped so.
Fiona stopped and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, as Marissa had been such a stone wall since she’d confessed to hiding things about Julia’s death, but maybe this would finally lead somewhere.
Fiona stepped inside, where the chief was standing in front of the double-sided glass to the interrogation room. On the other side, Marissa sulked, wearing her prisoner's scrubs--looking much different than she had in her pharmacy lab coat.
The chief nodded at Fiona when she came in. "Red, thanks for coming in," he said.
Fiona bowed. She had respect for Chief Harold Whittaker, and somehow, she'd gained his respect too. He'd been the one who wanted to bring her onto Jake's team, to work with him more. He supported the idea of her becoming a true agent someday, although she knew she had a lot of training and at least some time at the academy in front of her before that.
"Thank you for calling me, Chief," Fiona said. She gazed in at Marissa, whose brown hair shielded her face as she sulked. "Has she spoken at all?"
"Not much," the chief said. "But she's hinted at something. She said she has information, but she'll only talk to you. And I figured it wouldn't hurt to let you try talking to her. Maybe you'll get something out of her."
Fiona nodded. She felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach, but she shoved them aside. This was what she had been waiting for.
She stepped up to the glass and looked at Marissa. Marissa lifted her head as though she could somehow sense Fiona's presence.
"I'll be right out here the whole time," the chief said. "Good luck in there, Red. If this woman really knows something about what happened to Julia Rowe and your sister, well, I hope you get some answers. She wasn't even on the police's radar, but now that we have eyes on this case..." Chief offered a slight smile. "Well, it could mean something."
Fiona nodded, although her throat was tight. She was grateful for the chief's words, and the thought of Joslyn's case being picked up by the FBI felt like the golden ticket she'd needed for the past ten years. But she knew this was more than just getting information about Julia's death and Joslyn's disappearance--the chief was going to be watching her, testing her, and seeing how she could perform in a high-stress, high-emotion interrogation like this.
She couldn't delay it any further. Fiona took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the interrogation room.
Marissa sat across the table, looking much different from the last time they spoke. Her hair was unkempt, and she had dark circles under her dark brown eyes.
"I'm glad you came," Marissa said softly, breaking the silence.
Fiona nodded, taking a seat across from her. "What do you have to tell me?"
