The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I've never been more nervous in my entire life. I'm sitting in a metal folding chair at a metal table in a tiny room. Two federal agents are sitting across from me. One takes notes while the other asks question after question.

I keep going back to Julian, saying, "The key is in your boot; the locker is in your name." If only I'd hit record on my phone instead of just the flashlight, I didn't consider it at the time. Maybe I should've let Hunter and Oliver in with me. One of them would have I bet. 

"I had no idea!" I blurt out suddenly. "I didn't know about the cards until I found the bills. I didn't know about the locker or what he was doing... I swear."

"We are just gathering information right now, Miss Abbot," the talker assures me; the note-taker remains silent. Someone knocks on the door, and they both get up. One of them cracks the door open, talking to someone on the other end in a muffled voice.

"Miss Abbot, we are going to bring in Julian now, so my colleague will walk you back out to the lobby. Don't worry; we are bringing him in through a back door, so he won't see you. Don't leave yet; we may want to talk to you again," the man says, and I gulp.

Yeah, after Julian throws me under the bus!

I'm shaky and pale as the woman taking notes walks me to the lobby. The only thing that brings any comfort is Oliver sitting there, waiting. He sent Hunter back to the duplexes and came with me to make his own statement.

I nearly run to him, and he stands up quickly; all the day's stress hits me at once, and the tears spill down my cheeks.

"Come here," Oliver pulls me into his arms and holds me there. I bury my head against the crook of his shoulder, and he starts stroking my hair. He's quiet, letting me cry out for several moments.

"I have an attorney hired and ready to take a redeye in if needed," Oliver says as he releases me.

"What? An attorney!?" I cry out. "So, you're as worried as I am? You think I could get in trouble for this?"

"No, I don't," Oliver clasps my hands as he speaks quickly and calmly. "But, I have to take every precaution. That's why I called an attorney."

"But Julian is going to lie; he put the locker in my name, Oliver," as I speak, he pulls me towards the small sofa, forcing me to sit. I cross one leg over the other and tap it nervously.

"Listen to me, Kinsey. You called them right away and were honest. You hired me to pay the debts back, and I personally vouched for character" Oliver rattles off. "They have no reason to believe a crook like Julian over you."

"I know, but –"

"But you're panicking anyway, and you're overthinking, and in the next few minutes, you'll be running doomsday scenarios in your head."

"Yeah, pretty much my plan to the letter," I agree.

"We're going to be sitting here for a long time, and that's not how you're going to handle this," Oliver says calmly.

"So how am I supposed to handle it then?" I snap and then blanch at my own tone. "Sorry."

"Deja vu," Oliver chuckles.

"Only now it's me snapping," I sigh.

"No, I meant... that you said that to me once before," he says wistfully. "A long time ago..."

"Oh, my God!" Realization dawns on me. "Hunter's fifteen birthday when he shocked everyone by introducing Mary Beth as his girlfriend. I was about to lose my shit, and you said that's not how you handle this, Kinsey."