5
A n hour later, Emily paid the driver, stepped out of the cab, and approached a house. Before she could knock, the door swung open.
“You look like hell,” Roman remarked, eyeing her up and down.
“Thanks, it’s good to see you too,” Emily replied, stepping into the house.
Noticing her luggage, Roman asked, “How long are you staying?”
“I’m not staying. It’s a long story,” Emily replied. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. Leaving her luggage by the door, she headed straight to the kitchen to pour herself a cup.
Following her into the kitchen, Roman sat at the table and silently observed Emily as she poured herself a mug of coffee. It wasn’t just her disheveled appearance that concerned him; he also noticed the slight tremble in her hands and the sluggishness in her movements. He chose not to mention it; instead, wait patiently for her to join him at the table and explain why she was there.
She started from the beginning. “I think Gabriel is having an affair,” she said, then took a sip of her coffee.
Roman’s eyes widened, his eyebrows shooting up. “You left him?” he asked.
“No. Not yet, anyway.”
“Are you sure he’s cheating on you? You said you think he is.”
“Yes.” Emily went on to explain about the credit card.
When she finished explaining, Roman asked, “What do you want me to do? Do you need me to dig up dirt on Gabriel?”
“No, no. I have bigger problems than that.” Emily exhaled deeply. “I need to show you something.” Emily got up from the table and left the kitchen. She returned a minute later and handed Roman the envelope she had received earlier.
She watched Roman open the envelope and examine the contents, his expression stone-faced. His jaw clenched, revealing the intensity of his thoughts. Emily could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he began formulating a plan to catch the culprit.
After staring at the letter for a few minutes, Roman finally looked up at Emily and saw that she was crying. “I didn’t know where else to go,” she said with tears running down her cheeks.
Roman wrapped his arm around her. “It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “We’ll figure this out. But first, I need you to tell me everything.”
Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Emily sighed, “Okay,” and took a seat at the table. She recounted her weekend getaway with Sydney—how Sydney received a call and had to leave abruptly, her conversation with the stranger sitting next to her, her confrontation with Gabriel’s assistant, Maggie, and then allowing Travis to buy her a drink before she went to the bathroom.
She concluded, “He must have put something in my drink while I was in the ladies’ room.”
Roman’s lips pressed into a thin line, and his brow furrowed. “Are you sure? Maybe you just had too much to drink and passed out?”
“I’m sure,” Emily said, her voice heavy with self-reproach. “I wish I had just gone home.” She covered her face with her hands, her elbows resting heavily on the table.
“You can’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t have known this would happen,” Roman said. “If what the note says is true, I’m certain the letter would have found you, regardless of your location.”
Removing her hands from her face, Emily said, “What do you mean?”
“You’re assuming there’s a link between being drugged and receiving the note. I’m not convinced we’re there yet.”
“Great, you mean to tell me there is more than one person out to get me?”
“I’m not sure. I’m just saying that we can’t jump to conclusions. I promise I’ll do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. But first, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you know about this woman, Maggie.”
“Not much, I’m afraid. I know she is Gabriel’s assistant and has the hots for him. I guess now, we know that they are having an affair.”
“She mentioned she is watching you. You’re going to stay with me so I can protect you,” Roman urged.
“No,” Emily said, standing up. “I have to get home. Ava needs me.”
Roman pounded his fist on the table, making Emily flinch. “You need to stay here.”
Emily stood her ground, “I need to be with Ava.”
“Then I’ll bring her to you!”
Emily paused to consider for a moment, then shook her head. “If you take her, Gabriel will contact the police. The letter said no police,” she reminded him.
“The letter said they would hurt Ava if you contacted the police. They can’t hurt her if we have her. Think about it: if Ava is safe with us, who cares if the police get involved? It will only help us.”
Emily paced the kitchen, contemplating it, then said, “Okay. But I want to write a note telling Gabriel that Ava is with me, so he doesn’t worry.”
“Okay, fine. Now, where is your phone?”
“It’s in my purse.”
“Go get it.”
Emily went and got her phone and brought it into the kitchen.
“Now, turn it off.” Roman said, “We don’t want anyone to track your location.”
Emily powered off the phone and placed it in Roman’s open palm.
“Thank you,” he said, slipping the phone into his back pocket. “Now come with me.”
Emily followed Roman into his office; a room cluttered with folders of active cases. The walls were lined with photographs of suspects, captured in candid moments they never knew were being documented. At one end of the room stood a large whiteboard covered with intricate details about a current investigation.
Roman walked over to the board, flipped it over to reveal a clean side, picked up a black marker, and wrote Maggie in big letters at the top: “What is her last name?”
“Culliver.”
He printed her last name next to her first name, then said, “All right, I’ll focus on Maggie first,” Roman said as he took a seat at his desk.
Roman continued, “I know you think it is Maggie Gabriel is having an affair with, but we need proof. If there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years as a police officer is never to make assumptions.”
“I’ll be on the computer for a while.” Roman handed Emily a pad and pen. “Why don’t you use this time to write your note to Gabriel? I’ll take Ava tomorrow night when everyone’s asleep.”
“Okay,” she said, accepting the items from Roman. She got to the doorway and stopped. “Roman?”
He looked up from the computer, “Yeah?”
“Thank you,” Emily said, her voice heavy with relief that Roman was taking control.
He offered a thin smile. “You’re welcome,” he replied softly.