Page 134 of Roses in Summer

“Can someone please escort the other Ms. Gregori out of this conference room. Preferably out of this building?” Maroaka scowls, not even looking in Bianca’s direction.

“Wait a damn minute—”

“Ms. Gregori, that’s enough. Gregori, please escort your sister out.”

“Are you kidding me?” Bianca asks under her breath, shooting daggers at Maroaka’s face.

“Bianca, go with your brother. Please,” my mom whispers, her voice strained.

With a huff, Bianca shoves her chair back and stands, her face set in a furious frown. Not sparing another word, she storms around the table and wrenches the door open. Detective Porter returns as Bianca leaves.

“Okay, Ms. Gregori,” Detective Porter smiles at me, placing a camera and tripod on the table. “I’m going to ask you a few questions; I’d like you to answer each one as completely as you can. Any detail you can think of is important and we can sift through everything once we have your statement, okay?”

I nod my head at her. “Can they stay?” I tilt my head toward my parents and Lincoln, grabbing his hand to silently tell him I need him here.

Detective Porter doesn’t answer, instead looking over at Maroaka. He clenches his jaw, but sighs. “Fine.”

I release a breath I don’t realize I’m holding and sit back in my chair, bringing Lincoln’s hand with me. Long moments pass as Detective Porter sets up the camera, verifies the angle, and then presses play. With a raised brow, she silently asks if I’m ready.

I nod slightly, just enough to give her the consent to begin.

“Please state your full name,” she begins, asking me to provide my personal information before she dives into the heavier questions. “Can you please tell us where you were when the fire broke out last night?”

Clearing my throat, I look directly into the camera. “I was in the shower. My sister came in and made sure I made it out of the building.” Lincoln’s hand squeezes mine at my words. I don’t have to look at him to know that he’s pissed about the danger that we found ourselves in.

“And can you describe what happened when you exited the building?” I lick my lips going into detail on how Bianca believed she was pushed down the stairs, leading to the both of us stumbling.

“And do you recognize the man in the video who appears behind you and Ms. Bianca Gregori?”

I shake my head this time. “I don’t know. I can’t see his face, but I recognize the bracelet on his wrist.”

“And could you describe that bracelet, Ms. Gregori?”

“Yeah,” I croak, pausing to cough. “Yes. It’s a thick gold link bracelet with two lion heads eating a snake. There are small diamonds in the eyes of each lion. Mitchell Abernathy and Christopher Kopicki each wear this bracelet, though I’m not sure if there are any others out there.”

Detective Porter gives me an encouraging nod. “Can you please describe your relationship with Mitchell Abernathy.”

“There’s no fucking relationship,” Lincoln grinds out beside me, causing all of our heads to whip toward him.

Detective Porter’s face settles into a frown. “Please, no commentary from the emotional support in the room.” Looking back at me, she asks her question again. “Can you please describe your relationship with Mitchell Abernathy?”

Squeezing Lincoln’s hand again, I open my mouth and dive back into the waters of high school, recounting our relationship, our breakups, and the way Mitchell held information over my head to get what he wanted. I don’t hold back on detailing the night of Chris’s party, trying to remember every detail from that night all those years ago.

Sucking in a breath, I pause before detailing the more recent encounters. “I saw Chris after I interviewed at the library; I noticed his bracelet—the lion one—when he grabbed my shoulder to turn me around. I didn’t realize he also had that bracelet until that day. I saw him a few times after that, as well, all in the library. I know that I already reported that black car that seemed to appear out of nowhere,” I pause, sucking in a breath before continuing. “And then, I saw Mitch.”

I swallow the bile in my throat at the memory of his hands around my neck. “It’s okay, ciern,”Lincoln whispers, “I’m right here, baby.” He’s calm right now, though he doesn’t know all the details.

Closing my eyes, I detail his surprise appearance in the library. “After one of my shifts in the library, Mitch cornered me in the parking lot. He made sure I didn’t see or hear him before he pinned me against the door and put his hand around my neck. H-he threatened me and told me that I would pay for ruining his life.”

“And did you file a police report?”

I shake my head, looking down at mine and Lincoln’s joined hands. “No. My parents called the officer who filed my original report and alerted them to Mitch’s reappearance. I have a restraining order against him. But my roommate has also had dealings with Mitch and Chris.” I bite down on my lip, feeling both guilty and nervous in bringing up Olivia’s history.

Detective Porter’s eyebrows rise at my explanation, but she keeps going. We sit in the room for an hour, trading questions and answers like jacks, until finally, she stops the recording. “Thank you, Seraphina. if you see Ms. Bowman, please give her notice that we will be reaching out to her, as well. For now, I’ll get this transcribed and entered into the system. Sargeant, if you don’t mind?”

Maroaka nods at Detective Porter, dismissing her without a word. As soon as the door shuts behind her, he turns to us. “Thank you for consenting to this recording, Ms. Gregori. Please know that we will do everything to keep you and the rest of residents in your building safe. This is an ongoing investigation, so I ask that you do not divulge any information to anyone—friends, family, media outlets. The more we are able to keep this contained, the more efficient we will be in closing this.”

I nod. “Of course. Can I ask what happens next?”

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