The agent’s face brightened. “Would you like to confess to the crime instead, then?”
“Don’t worry, Claire,” Lucy said breezily. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
Claire had no idea what that meant until she remembered Lucy being arrested for protesting a few years prior.
This was different, though. Claire tried to follow, but someone held her back. She turned around to see the somber face of Agent Alvarez. “I’m sorry about this, Claire,” he said.
She shook her head. “You don’t understand, this isn’t – we’re not some crime family!”
He let out a sigh. “If you have an attorney, now is the time to call them.”
What a nightmare.
But he was right. She rushed back to her room and made a call to the best defense attorney that she knew in Seattle: Melanie Black. Claire had worked under her when she was a public defender. She was bold, fierce and fought for her clients like an angry momma bear – just the way Claire felt now.
Claire’s call was answered, and when she said it was an emergency, she was put through to Melanie’s cell phone. She left an urgent voicemail explaining that her daughter had been arrested.
Luckily, Melanie returned her call in record time, listened to Claire’s hurried version of events, and told her that she’d meet her at the federal detention center in Seattle in two hours.
As soon as they got off the phone, Claire pulled up the ferry schedule to see how quickly she could get to the mainland. To her disappointment, the next ferry didn’t leave for an hour and a half.
She called the only person she could think of: Margie.
“I’ll call Hank right away,” Margie said. “He can get us to the mainland and we’ll rent a car from there, okay?”
Claire nodded. “Okay.”
“It’s going to be fine, Claire. You’ll see. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Claire swallowed. Her throat felt so dry. “I don’t know, Margie. I never should have come here. I never should have bought this hotel, I –”
“Oh no you don’t! There won’t be any pity parties while I’m with you. I’ll be over in half an hour. Go and pack a bag. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” Claire said with a sigh.
She hung up the phone, dumping the contents of her overnight bag to make room for Lucy’s things. Would Lucy even be allowed to have anything?
She wasn’t sure, but she was going to bring as much as she could. Claire was on her way to Lucy’s room when her phone rang.
Chip.
Her stomach sank. Everything he’d said to her was true. It was her fault that the FBI had descended onto the hotel, and if the hotel didn’t make it another year, that too was entirely her fault. He was right, and the shame burned deep in her soul.
She almost didn’t answer his call, but it seemed worse to ignore him. “Hi,” she said weakly.
“Claire, are you okay?” he asked.
She sighed. “I’m sorry, Chip. Now isn’t a good time.”
“I heard.” He paused. “Uh, would you mind stopping by my house for a minute? It’s not far.”
Did he want to yell at her in person? “I can’t. I need to get to Seattle. I’m sorry – about everything. It’s my fault. I know it is. You were right.” She paused. “I’ve never been more sorry in all of my life.”
She ended the call and turned her phone off. That was enough. Perhaps they’d never speak again. It’d be for the best.
