Page 72 of The Captive Missing

The room was large. Much larger than the meeting room at Cambric. It contained one long conference table with many matching black chairs lined up all around it. Perhaps there were twenty all together, Val thought. Her eyes avoided the other faces in the room. She didn’t want to see them now. Not really.

And anyway, it was just a repeat from before. Agent Finn, a police officer, Jason, his father and attorneys, the same nurse, they were all sitting. Sitting and staring. Well… except for Jason. Jason was standing.

She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. How could she after the things she had done? The things she was going to do?

“Val-” Agent Finn cleared his throat and gestured to a chair across from him. “Please have a seat.”

Val kept her eyes focused on the toes of her impossibly shiny shoes. She could almost see her own reflection in them. Shane continued to hold her hand and she did not tug it away.

There was a hushed whispering, fierce in its intensity, and Val knew in her gut that it was Jason. Flicking her eyes up briefly, she watched him sit down hard next to Agent Finn and lean in close, hissing. Agent Finn merely held up a hand to gain instant silence.

“Release her.” Agent Finn gritted his teeth on the words. “And play by the rules set forth by the court, or so help me I will kick you out of this session, too.”

Letting go of her hand, Shane stepped forward and pulled out the chair indicated by Agent Finn. After a moment’s hesitation, Val smoothed at her skirt and sat. She kept her hands folded together in her lap. Stomach churning with guilt, she wished more than anything to flee this room. The heat of her husband’s gaze was upon her. She could feel his eyes as if they touched her very skin.

Swallowing hard, she shoved back the emotions that wanted to erupt. Shane took a seat next to her, with Cambric security remaining standing just behind.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Agent Finn spoke to Val, and the others listened.

Pursing her lips together, Val tilted her head to one side and sought Shane’s approval. It was a movement not lost on the rest of the room. An undercurrent of murmuring broke out, then fell away.

Shane was a lot of things, but he was not a stupid man. He didn’t give her an answer. He didn’t give her any indication either way. For this question, she was on her own.

“No,” Val whispered it, so used to whispering these days with Charlie. The sudden thought of him made her want to throw up.

“Have you been made aware of any of the proceedings regarding your status as a conscription captive?” Finn again.

“No.”

“So you were never told that an injunction filed by Jason Riggs on your behalf was granted by the court?”

“No.”

“It was never a requirement of the court that she be notified.” Shane cut in, drawing a warning glare from Finn.

“Were you told that you did not have to see clients?”

Val twisted her fingers together in her lap. They just didn’t understand, and how could they? It didn’t matter what court order was granted, or what posturing went on here today. She would leave in the custody of Shane. And Shane would make her pay for every question she answered.

It wasn’t worth it anymore. She no longer cared about the truth, or what they knew or didn’t know. The thought of admitting to what had gone on over the past week alone had her throat growing tight. So she turned her face to Shane and reached for his hand.

“Can you take me home?” She asked.

Shane rewarded her with an expansive smile.

Shoving back from his chair, Jason tried to stand up, but Senior managed to grab him and yank him back down. Agent Finn’s face hardened, his broad shoulders tensing underneath his jacket. The nurse and a few attorneys began to scribble notes.

“I wish I could,” Shane told her. “But this is a court mandated examination and you must participate until Agent Finn releases you.”

“You. Out.” Finn pointed to the two security guards, then lowered his finger to zero in on Shane. “You, too. Wait in the hall.”

“I’ve broken none of the stipulations!” Shane was outraged.

“Your mere presence here is clearly an influence,” Agent Finn countered. “And for some damn reason the judge in this matter thinks that I’m his personal errand boy. And my boss somehow agrees. Babysitting you all is not what I want to be doing, but it is what I’m required to do, so you’ll have to defer to my opinion.”

“He’s just as much of an influence as I am!” Shane stood, pointing an accusing finger at Jason. “If I’m out, then he should be, too.”

“At some point, he may get kicked out,” Agent Finn conceded. “But not at the moment.”

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