Page 24 of Tinley's Daddy
We left the room and walked side by side down the hall. Tinley’s head was on a swivel.
“Remember my promise.”
She nodded and relaxed a bit.
We rode the elevator down in silence. The conference room floor was practically empty. A vacuum ran at the other end of the main hallway that led to all the different conference rooms.
“In there.” I pointed and we walked into the room. She dropped my hand and peeked in. She stepped in and stopped. She looked back. I stepped in next to her. She walked to the agents with her hands shoved into her pockets and her head held high.
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face but dropped it when Agent Nelson glared in my direction.
“Mr. Burroughs, perhaps you would like to wait outside while we speak with Ms.—”
Tinley cleared her throat. “Tinley Peterson. And I would like him to stay, please.” Her tone deepened. Her face remained blank and expressionless. It was unnerving. It gave me a bit of a clue on how she survived the last two years. It also pissed me off. Like she closed herself off from the world and since I was in that world, I didn’t like it.
“Of course.” Agent Dan pulled out a chair and motioned for Tinley to sit.
She sat and pushed the chair next to her out for me to sit. She nodded and the ends of her mouth turned up a little. It was a minuscule movement, but I saw it. Strictly for my benefit because when he turned back to the FBI, she was all business.
“So, Ms. Peterson.” Agent Dan flipped open a folder. “Just to confirm some information, you are Tinley Ann Peterson from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You were born on October sixth, two thousand and one.”
“Yes.”
“And you were traveling with a companion at the time you were taken, a Mr. Damon Driskill?”
“Yes.”
“What was your relationship with Mr. Driskill?” Agent Nelson asked.
“He was my boyfriend at the time.” She paused and rubbed the table with her fingertips.
“You hadn’t been dating long?” Agent Dan asked.
“We’ve been friends forever. He and I met in high school and were friends, but we didn’t start dating until after college.”
“Can you tell us a little bit about what happened before you were taken?”
“You mean that night?” she asked. Her eyes blinked rapidly.
“Well, why don’t you back up a little more and tell me about your trip to Europe.”
Tinley rested her hands in her lap. She peeked at me, and I nodded. I gave her the encouragement she needed. She told them the story. About the trip they saved up for. About the club they were invited to, although she was vague as to the type of club. She went into descriptions of the guy who had invited them. She offered amazing detail but didn’t ramble on. She had the agents enthralled with her story. Even Agent Sparks wiped at his eyes a few times. The interview went on for another hour, the agents asking Tinley more follow-up questions. She was exhausted by the time they started winding down.
The agents took a break to confirm something.
“Hey, Tinley, you’re doing so well. You okay?” I squeezed her arm, and she nodded.
“I’m just ready for it to be over.” She bit her bottom lip.
“I know. It will be over soon.” I wanted to remove her little lip from the punishment of her teeth. I wanted to gather her in my arms and run away with her. Away from these men who I believe were generally concerned, but they were also trying to make their case. They weren’t necessarily looking out for Tinley’s best interests. That was now going to be my job.
“Tinley, we just have a few more questions, and we’ll let you go.” Agent Dan laid his hand flat on the table. “This will be uncomfortable for you, but I need you to tell us about some of the men you have been with, if you had any names or knew where they were from and… what kind of things they were into.”
“What they were into?” Tinley’s voice dropped an octave and sweat popped out on her skin. “But why?”
“It will give us more information on who they were, where they came from, and why they had targeted you.”
Tinley swayed in her seat and pushed herself back to place her head down. “Tin?—”
