It Was Always You

Ch. 17 Questions

Angela was sitting in front of her computer filing death certificates since Skeeter had no idea how to use the latest update to the system. She was deep into it when there was a light tap at the door. She looked up to see Skeeter leaning in the doorway looking a little worried. "Angie, there's some fed here lookin' for you," he stated, wringing his hands together nervously. "Lady named Agent Stahl. You know anythin' about her?"

"Nothin'," she answered, a little curious. A fed? For her? What the hell could they possibly want with her? "She say what she wanted?"

"Nah, just asked for you. I put her in the showroom. Figured the caskets might freak her out a little. Make her uneasy."

Angela smirked; she loved her boss sometimes. "Thanks, Skeet," she said pushing away from the desk. She made her way over to the showroom to find a woman in an impeccable suit, running a hand over a light pink casket. "That one's called the Mother's Casket."

"It is quite a sight to behold," the fed said, tapping her hand against it before turning towards her. She held out her little folded badge. "Agent Stahl, ATF."

"Angela Ruiz," she replied, tilting her head to the side. ATF. Esai had mentioned something about the ATF the night before he died. Was this somehow tied to that? Were they coming to question her about his death? "How can I help you?"

"Just a few questions for you," she stated, taking a seat at the table there. Angela took the seat across from her, waiting for her to proceed. Stahl cleared her throat as she leaned forward a bit. "I understand you have a connection with the Sons of Anarchy. Juan Carlos Ortiz. Their intelligence officer. Hospital records show you signed in as Mr. Ortiz's wife. Were in charge of his medical decisions. Is that the case?"

Angela kept her face calm as she shrugged. "Yes. He is my husband," she lied easily. She didn't know what Stahl wanted, but it seemed like she was leading into dangerous territory. It was best to play it as safe as possible. "I use my maiden name at work."

"Right, right, but you're not legally married, are you? There's no filed marriage certificate or paperwork."

"No, ma'am, it's a spiritual marriage," she clarified, knowing better than to tell her they weren't married at all. People got spiritually married all the time, and there was no proof to say otherwise. "The hospital didn't ask me to provide a certificate. Wasn't insurance fraud because none of his treatment was on my insurance, so I'm not quite sure why you're here."

Stahl looked impressed by her logic for a second. She shifted in her seat slightly as if she was preparing herself for another tactic. "I also understand you were once affiliated with the Mayans. You have two minor-in-possession charges. Both while in the company of Esai Alvarez."

"Yeah, and..." she drew out, pretending she didn't understand where she was going with that line of questioning. She knew, though. Stahl was going to tell her he was dead in hopes to shock her, make her upset, poke at what she thought was going to be a weak spot. It wasn't going to work, though. She was already one step ahead.

"And do the Sons know of your affiliation with the Mayans?"

That wasn't the move she'd thought Stahl was going to make. She wondered if the ATF hadn't gotten wind of Esai's death yet. It'd make sense. Esai never had any warrants against him. Nothing that would make the agent check to see if he was still alive before questioning. He was so young, Stahl probably assumed he was still alive. Angela played her surprise off easily with a little shrug. "They're aware. I have nothing to hide. I haven't spoken to Esai in quite some time."

"Can't be easy for them to accept. Had to be some pushback against their intelligence officer marrying someone with such close ties to another club."

So Stahl didn't know about her connection to Happy either. That was good too. They'd worked hard to legally bury anything and everything that would indicate they were family members. It was one of the reasons she was glad they didn't have the same last name. "I haven't had any issues," she stated, shrugging again. "Can I ask what all this is about? Am I under investigation?"