Probably shouldn’t be saying that too loudly while I was in a police car.
“Do you need a lawyer?”
That was a good question. And one I didn’t have an answer to yet. I didn’t want to look guilty because I immediately lawyered up. But I also didn’t want them to pin something on me.
“I don’t know yet,” I said, my voice sounding small.
“Call me if you do and I’ll mobilize Malena.”
My mouth curved into a half-smile. The last person I wanted to rile up over what was hopefully nothing was Malena. I didn’t know anyone with half a brain who wasn’t scared of her when she went into lawyer mode.
“Thank you, honey. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a friend like you.”
“Call me if you need a lift.”
“I will.” I hung up and slid my phone in my pocket.
We made it to the station a few minutes later. When we walked inside, it hit me that I was in a police station, about to be interrogated. It didn’t matter that they called it a conversation; they wanted me at the station for a reason, and I doubted it was for a casual chat.
As soon as I took one step into the interrogation room, all my earlier bravado disappeared, and I felt as if my breath had solidified in my throat. The officer hadn’t spoken another word since getting my phone for me, and the silence grew tight with tension.
He led me to a chair, and after I sat down, he left. I perched on the edge, body coiled tight and ready for flight.
The door opened what seemed like hours later, and I jumped at the sound. I wiped my clammy hands on my pants and willed my pounding heart to slow down. They’d take one look at me and think I was guilty without even having talked to me.
“Ms. Lindberg,” a tall, lanky guy with short-cropped dark hair greeted me.
He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, his badge clipped to his belt. I guessed him to be in his thirties.
“My name is Agent Cody Jenkins and I work for the federal bureau of investigation.” He sat down opposite me, putting a thick folder on the table.
Why is the FBI involved in this? What exactly has Jim been up to?
I watched him open the file and read over it, shifting in my chair when the silence stretched again. Maybe he was here to intimidate me after all.
“What is your relationship with Jim Turner?” he asked, and I sighed in relief. I’d been one nervous inhale from passing out.
Okay, that was an easy question I should be able to answer without making them think I was a criminal.
“We used to be in a relationship, and he’s the father of my children.”
More silence, the sound of more pages turning. “When did your relationship end?”
“Two years ago.”
“Isn’t your daughter only two?”
I clasped my hands in my lap, then released them again. “He took off before she was born.”
He looked at me for the first time since coming into the room, his gray eyes wandering over my face. “Have you spoken to him since you broke up?”
I put my hands on the table, palms down. “A few times.”
“What about?”
“Child support. Visitation. The Darth Vader helmet he left at my house and I sold on eBay.”
Agent Jenkins tilted his head, looking more interested than before. “Why did you break up?”
I hugged my arms around my body. “Various reasons.”
“I need more than that,” he said, his focus now solely on me, papers lying forgotten on the table.
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” I said, not wanting to dig up things I’d rather forget.
“It is very relevant since I need to know if you parted on good terms and would be willing to help him move drugs.”
“Drugs? Is that what you arrested him for?”
Why am I not surprised?
“Among other things. Now, if you’d please answer the question.”
I looked at my lap, hoping this would all be over soon. “He stuck his wick in someone who wasn’t me on our coffee table and then took off with all our money.”
Money I’d worked hard for. Money I needed so I could take a few weeks off after Lena’s birth. Money that made the difference between us having a roof over our head and living on the street.
I’d been lucky I had my virtual assistant job already back then and could keep working. It was hell on earth working with a newborn and toddler in the house, but we made it out the other side. And now it had all happened again and I only had myself to blame. At least this time he didn’t take all my money.
“If you think I’d ever help that sorry mother puffer, you’re delusional. I hate him with the heat of a thousand suns and hope he burns in hell,” I said, looking directly at Agent Jenkins.
“Is there any record of Mr. Turner moving out?” he asked, not impressed by my passionate declaration.
“My name was the only one on the lease.”
Something that should have made me realize right away that he didn’t plan on sticking around, even back then. But he said it was easier that way. Of course it was if he was planning on leaving all along.
“But if you want to check my story, look up his marriage certificate. He got married three weeks after he left me.”
It was also three days before Lena’s birth. I didn’t find out until almost a year later, when I finally tracked him down and his wife answered the phone. She didn’t even know I existed. They didn’t last, and I couldn’t say I didn’t feel some sense of satisfaction when I heard she left him for someone else.
“I think that’s all I need for now. Don’t leave the state, and be available in case we need you to come back in.”
I stood up when he did, holding back the urge to roll my eyes. Where did he
