Page 4 of The System

She closed the door, started the car, and as she backed out of the driveway, he was waving at her with that big smile still on his face. Once, that smile had gotten her to go on a date with him, and there were times that she saw it today and remembered how much fun they’d used to have and how much she had loved him.

Her phone rang and connected to the Bluetooth in her car. Kieran didn’t recognize the number, but she hit the button on the screen to answer anyway since she had an hour-long drive ahead of her and thought that if it was someone trying to sell her something, she could have a little fun telling them that she wasn’t interested.

“Hello?”

“Hello. Is this Kieran Hart?” a female voice spoke.

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Lieutenant Dylan Easton. I’m a police officer.”

“Um… Okay? Sorry. What’s this about?”

“I have a few questions for you. I was wondering if you could stop by the station.”

“Questions? Questions about what, exactly?” Kieran asked.

“It’s a long story, Ma’am. But if I give you the address, are you available to come by today?”

“Do I need an attorney?” she asked, thinking of Diego.

“No, Ma’am. I just have a few questions regarding a case.”

“A case? What case?”

“How about this…” Lieutenant Easton began. “You stop by the station, and if at any point you’re unhappy with my questions, you’re free to go. Or, if you want to call an attorney, you’re more than welcome to do that.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just really confused here. I don’t even have a parking ticket. I don’t think I’ve gotten a speeding ticket in years. What could you possibly need to talk to me about?”

“We generally like to talk to people in person, mainly to make sure that the person we’re talking to is the person we need to be talking to. Hard to verify that over the phone,” Lieutenant Easton replied.

“Am I a suspect in something?”

“Ma’am, it would be easier if–”

“Yeah. Fine. I get it: talk in person. Fine. I’ll be there. But my ex-husband is a defense attorney, so I know the law. I’ll call him and have him meet me there.”

“It’s really not necessary. But if you’d like, that’s not a problem. Let me give you the address.”

The address, surprisingly, was for the town over from where Kieran had just moved and only forty minutes away from Diego’s house. She hadn’t called him yet to ask him to meet her because she was more curious about what was going on and knew that if she did call, he’d rush over, and it would be a whole thing. Deciding to determine if it was necessary first, she walked into the small station and asked for Lieutenant Easton.

“Right this way,” the man at the desk said.

Kieran followed him into the main part of the station and into a small room that looked like it had been taken straight from Law & Order, which made her more nervous than she’d been so far. With each step, she now heard that dun-dun sound from the beginning of every episode.

“Mrs. Hart?” a woman with a badge hooked on her hip said as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her.

“I’m divorced. And call me Kieran,” she replied to the tall woman with short dark hair.

She’d been meaning to change her name back to her maiden but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

“Okay. Well, call me Dylan,” the woman told her back and held out her hand. “Dylan Easton. Nice to meet you. Have a seat.”

“I think I’ll stand. I’m still not sure what you would need to talk to me about.”

“I’ll sit, then.”

It was only then that Kieran noticed that Dylan had a file folder in her other hand. She sat down in the metal chair across from where Kieran was standing and placed it on the table.

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