No matter how innocent or doe-eyed this woman appears, I don’t know the first thing about her. She’s wanting to interview me about something that’s important to me, an integral part of who I am. I have no idea what her endgame is, what she’ll actually do with any information I might potentially give her, and that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t even know if it would be sanctioned by my commanding officer.
Without hesitation, I reply, “I’m sorry but I’m unable to assist you.”
She studies me for an uncomfortably long moment. “You’re unable or unwilling?” she asks baldly.
“Either way, I can’t help you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, ma’am, I have people waiting for me.” With a last suspicious look, I walk away to join my teammates.
I find the guys exactly where Dutch said they’d be.
“Hey, dude. Where you been? You disappeared quick enough with that rather lovely lady you were seated next to.” Scooter wiggles his eyebrows, a grin splitting his face.
“Bite me, jackass. She was just looking for information I can’t give her. End of discussion.” To deflect any further questions, I ask, “So, what did I miss?”
“Nothing. We’re just shooting the breeze while we wait for court to resume. Worrying about Indigo. She looked pretty traumatized after that low-life sleaze of Armatrout’s had hold of her,” he replies.
“Asshole. You guys shoulda just let me end him while we had the chance, instead of arresting his slimy ass,” Bear all but growls in frustration. “What if the bastardgetsbail?”
“Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near her again.” Gator adds his two cents.
Just then, the bailiff calls the end of recess, and we make our way back into the courtroom.
I wait to see if the woman will be bold enough to take her seat beside me, and yip, bold as brass she does. Hats off to her for having the stones to do so after I blew her off, and grudgingly, I feel respect for her tenacity. She even gives me a hesitant smile before facing forward again during the balance of testimony.
When the last witness has been badgered and subtly intimidated, the judge calls another short recess to deliberate his decision. The fact that it takes less than twenty minutes is worrying, and I have a sick feeling in my stomach I know where its headed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I know it’s been a long day. So I’ll keep my judgment short and to the point.” The judge clears his throat, and the court collectively braces for his ruling. “Having gone over the facts presented by the witnesses over these last few days, as well as the case presented by the applicant, it was a clear cut, yet difficult decision to make.
“While it is abundantly clear that the majority of the witnesses who appeared before me suffer from trauma of one kind or another, and that it was suffered at the hands of Mr. Armatrout, there is no tangible evidence that ties any of these allegations to him.
“Our legal system’s success relies on sticking to solid evidence that can be verified. Failing this, thesystemfails. It is based on this lack of substantiable evidence, I find I am unable to make any other ruling than to grant Mr. Armatrout bail–”
He doesn’t even get a chance to complete his sentence before chaos descends. The judge bangs his gavel, and his bailiff calls for silence in the courtroom. When finally the room returns to a restless silence, he once again clears his throat.
“Order will be maintained in my court, or I will have the room cleared. Am I clear?” He waits a moment, I’m assuming for his words to sink in. “Now, as I was saying, based on a lack of substantiated evidence, I am forced to grant Mr. Armatrout bail. Bail is set at five million dollars, and you are to turn in your passport in. Court is adjourned.”
The judge gathers up his things and exits the room as the gallery erupts once again. My eyes track to where Indigo’s sitting, her expression the same as I’ve seen on bomb victims. Her glazed eyes beseechingly fix on Knight, and I can feel my own heart clench. I’d have to have a heart of stone not to be affected by it.
As one, our team of brothers and I surround them in support, all thoughts of Ms. Agatha Traeger forgotten.
2
AGATHA
Photos scattered across the table telling a story of gruesome atrocities have me recoiling in horror. The mass grave is nauseating, but it’s the sight of a tiny hand clutching a handful of material of the person holding them that breaks me. A silent sob catches in my throat.
Trapped in a nightmare recounting the visual horror story, I can’t seem to wake up. Stuck in a twilight zone somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, I’m aware it’s only a dream but unable to fight my way back to consciousness.
The ringing of my cell phone finally snaps me out of my no-man’s land, and I come fully awake, drenched in perspiration, grief bubbling beneath the surface. Taking a moment to gather myself, I check the display and see it’s my personal assistant.
I don’t have it in me to deal with her right now, so I leave the call to ring to voicemail, hauling myself out of bed instead. From experience, I’ve discovered the best way to deal with a nightmare hangover is to stay busy.
I strip the bedding off my bed and carry it through to the laundry room. Once I’ve loaded it into the machine, I add my wet pajamas to the wash and start the washer before hopping into a refreshing shower.
By the time I’m done showering, dressing, and doing my makeup, I’m feeling less rattled and more able to face the day. My first cup of coffee firmly clutched in my hand, I settle at my desk to get some writing done. Because this book sure as hell isn’t going to write itself.
When the traumatic impact of my work as a crime reporter forced me to retire from journalism, I embraced my dream of writing crime fiction instead. My years as a journalist amassed me a wealth of experiences to draw from in crafting my stories, and for the most part, I love that I get to write fiction for a living.
There are days, though, I regret choosing to “write what I know.” Days like today, when the things I’ve seen haunt me, and I can’t seem to find my equilibrium. When the fear, pain, and sheer hopelessness of the victims I encountered weigh heavily on me.
