“We can chat here, can’t we?” One of them asks, sliding himself noiselessly into a metal chair bolted to the floor. Agna, I shrug.
“I’m agent Carter, this is agent Darling…” he says matter of fact, both men flipping their IDs out of habit but I can't help but have to see it for myself, making them tense up when I lean over and peer at one of the IDs, “…AgentDarling…” I echo back, lifting my brow before settling back in my own chair which creaks under my weight.
But these two aren't so easily flummoxed and it’s actually Darling who sets the ball rolling. “Mr. Larson, we’d like to talk to you some more about your interest in Lori Finch-”
The sound of her name out of another man's mouth is enough to see me lose whatever control I’ve mustered so far. Carter grips me firm by the shoulder, pushing me back into my seat. Surprising me with his strength but more so when he explains things a little clearer.
“…We need to talk to you about some other girls, Lee… Darling continues in a friendly but firm tone, “…Girls who went missing and never came home after they saw a man- Well. After they saw a man in their yard for one thing…”
It hits me harder than hearing Lori's name. Almost.
Do they wanna use me as a scapegoat for a bunch of someone else’s crimes? I’ve heard stories, but surely that sort of thing doesn't happen in the twenty-first century.
“…People go missing all the time,” I answer dryly, “And if you think that for a minute that I’d ever-”
“Oh no, Mr. Larson. We don't meanyou.”
I blink, stunned at Darling’s statement.
“Off the record? We think you deserve some kind of medal… Leading us straight to our man. Without you, we’d never have even suspected Dr. Schmidt of being the man we’ve hunted for a decade. We took him into custody as soon as he got here.”
“Darling, I don’t think he needs to knowthat,” Agent Carter replies sharply.
But I disagree. Hearing that the old fossil Schmidt is a wanted man himself is cause for celebration in itself. And it brings the smile back to my face. A real wide one.
The kind that makes me feel like I might just have Lori back where she belongs sooner than I first thought.
12
LORI
Dad’s busy arguing his case for the state of our front door with the officer in front. Mom and me are in the back and she fusses over the stupid blanket they’ve put around me. If they’d busted in on Lee and me a few hours ago it might have been a different story, but mom seems to notice something different about me.
“Lori… Did he-?” She starts to ask, stopping herself when the officer driving talks over both my parents, “We’re taking Lori to the hospital to get checked out and then she’ll be interviewed to give her statement… I have no idea who’s gonna pay for your front door, Mr. Finch. But Your house will have a police presence until it’s fixed…”
The anger I’ve bitten down on bubbles up and I think it’s high time I stopped letting these people treat me like a child.
“I don't need a hospital, thank you.” I squeak at first but then repeat louder and clearer. “And dad’s right,” I add, looking at my mom, “Whoisgonna pay for the door the police kicked in? I didn’t call for help.” I explain, making her give me that look again. The look of someone who just knows, I guess.
Dad’s quick to start his whining all over at the mention of the door but mom leans over closer, asking me again if Lee ‘did anything to me’. It’s a make-or-break question. Lord knows he's in enough trouble as it is but if anyone thinks he did anything I didn't want him to, they’ve got another thing coming. But I would have preferred a better time and place to talk to my parents about Lee and me.
The man I’m in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with. Now that's worth speaking up for, isn't it? Especially if they're gonna accuse him of something like- I shake my head angrily at the idea.
“Lee didn't do anything I didn't ask him to!” I growl, shocking my mom a little but making my dad crane his neck so hard I hear it click loudly.
“What!? What did you just say?”
“You heard me, Dad. I’m twenty, not twelve… I never asked for anyone to call the cops, not ever. Not tonight and definitely not the night I first saw him…”
My eyes tighten and I focus on my mom, noticing the way she’s tensed up. Not because I’ve admitted sex with the man, but more because I think we both know now who called the police onto Lee in the first place.
“How- How was I to know?” Mom chuckles nervously, “Honey if you have a boyfriend, there’s better ways of going about it than that… But really? You- You know the man?” She asks, her eyes widening with a little wonder as well as a tinge of green. Convincing me she must have seen as much as I did that first night. Her eyes move past me and she blushes bright red, shivering in her seat.
Yeah. She saw.
Anyone who saw it that night would have felt the same, but Lee chose me. I’m his. He told me so himself.
The officer driving slows suddenly to a complete stop and turns in his seat to face me, “You mean to tell me that you know this guy? That everything between you two was completely consensual?”
