Chapter 38 Oak
Oak
Iraise my wrists that are bound together by cuffs and chained to the steel table. “Is this really necessary?”
Agent Liam Travers sits on the opposite side of me with his hands clasped on top of the table. There appears to be a sympathetic look upon his face but I can’t tell if it’s all smoke and mirrors. “Sorry, can’t go against protocol.”
“Protocol, right,” I scoff. If protocol is being questioned in this outdated, cold and stuffy room on a painfully uncomfortable metal chair with my wrists cuffed too tightly and absolutely no accommodations then they’re doing protocol perfectly.
“You must understand, we can’t take the risk of having you sit freely. We know of your reputation and you were highly spoken of as a Marine when it came to tactical and combat.” He speaks as if he’s telling me a compliment but all I’m hearing is I’m too much of a threat.
I sit my hands back down on the table, only because the chain doesn’t allow me to move much. “Then surely you must know I can still do damage with my hands bound.”
“Is that a threat against two agents Mr. Barrington?” Agent Astrid Liu accuses with her nose high in the air.
Cutting a glance at her I reply nonchalantly, “No, I’m merely stating a fact.”
Agent Travers looks rather amused while Liu is highly annoyed. What a pair these two make. If the definition of good cop bad cop is in the dictionary there’s a picture of these two with it.
And so far his good cop routine isn’t working, which is only pissing Liu off more.
I take it doesn’t take much to ruffle her feathers. She seems the type that needs control in all aspects of her life. Order, structure, plan. Type A personality with no means of compromise or change. Her personal life must be a damn pity.
She strides from the corner of the investigation room with determination. Propping her hands on the steel table she leans against it. “We’re not here to play games, Mr. Barrington.”
“Mr. Barrington reminds me of my father. Keep calling me that and I won’t answer anything at all.”
Her nostrils flare. Through clenched teeth she says frustratedly, “You haven’t answered anything for the past five hours.”
I cock my head to the side. “Perhaps it’s because you insist on addressing me as Mr. Barrington.”
Travers suppresses a laugh. When Liu gives him a glare meant to kill his laugh turns to a smothered choke.
She raises a brow at me. “You do realize you are being charged with murder.”
“Allegedly.”
“Not allegedly, Ethan,” she says my real name as if that’s any better. There’s only two people left in this world who call me by my real name. And that’s my sister and my mother. “We have the evidence that you killed Chris Townsend.”
“Forgive me, Astrid,” I address her by her name only to ruffle her feathers more. The twitch of her eye tells me I’ve succeeded. “You’re acting as if an innocent man has been murdered.”
“You don’t get to decide who lives and who dies.”
“It seems I was only afforded the luxury of a decision when I was a Marine.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You were serving for your country.”
“And you’re serving the people?”
“Yes,” she responds stiffly. “What is your point?”
“That it seems only certain people are allowed to decide who lives and who dies.”
She huffs, turning to face her partner with an exasperated expression. He seems to be biting back a smile.
Aggressively she pulls out a chair and takes a seat. Staring me down she says firmly, “We have several witnesses that state you were the last person to see Chris Townsend alive. And that you had a personal vendetta against him.”
“Do pray tell who these witnesses are.”
“We can’t disclose that information at this time,” she says.
I want to roll my eyes but I refrain. However, I keep remain stoic. I won’t give these fuckers anything. “Nightcrawlers MC along with his family are my top guesses as witnesses.”
“Your club has history with them, yes?” Travers asks.
“Had,” I correct him. He looks on, expecting me to elaborate but I don’t. He leans back in his seat and I swear a flicker of admiration happens in his eyes.
“There is also surveillance footage of you outside Stonesville Sheriff Department awaiting Chris Townsend when his bail was posted,” Liu informs me.
My fingers tap against the steel table but not as a coping mechanism, rather a tactic to annoy her further. Her eyes cut to my fingers and I flash her a grin when they return to me. “Your point?”
“Why were you waiting for him, Mr. Barrington?” I raise a brow and she clears her throat, correcting herself. “Ethan.” I cock my head to the side and finally she calls me by my road name. “Oak.”
“Who says I was waiting for him?” I answer her question with a question.
“Are you denying your presence outside Stonesville Sheriff Department?”
“Is that what I said?”
Another twitch of her eye. “You expect us to believe you weren’t outside Stonesville Sheriff Department for Chris Townsend?”
I answer with another question. “Is that what you believe?”
She huffs frustratedly. “I believe once you found out his bail had been posted you waited outside Stonesville Sheriff Department to intimidate him. Then you followed him, studied his whereabouts, until killing him two nights later.”
I say nothing because she isn’t wrong. That’s god dammed exactly what I did. Not one ounce of regret either.
“You killed a man, Oak. You killed a man with your brutal force before he could be rightfully judged.”
“After how many times the system has failed women in this matter do you really believe he would’ve been found guilty of aggravated assault and rape?”
“Are you admitting you killed him because of what he had done to your sister, Nora?”
My finger taps against the steel table, this time out of the need to hit something. I let out a long breath. “I’m merely asking a question.” My voice sounds stiffer than I’d like it to. And I hate how I’ve given her my first reaction.
“Well, I suppose we will never know now will we? He very well could’ve been found guilty on all accounts. But you couldn’t wait to hear his verdict could you?” I’ll give her credit; she doesn’t back down.
“Let’s say he did appear in court and he was found guilty on all charges.
” They both listen intently as I go over hypotheticals.
“He goes to jail for a number of years, possible lesser sentence account of good behavior.” What a fucking joke that would have been.
“Only to get out and do the same vile shit he was doing before.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” Liu argues. “He could’ve changed.”
“Now I’m starting to think you believe unicorns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow are real, Astrid.”
“Are you telling me that you believe people can’t change? That they can’t grow? That people don’t have remorse for what they’ve done?”
“Again, when did I say that?”
“Oak, we all know what you were implying.”
“You assumed wrong,” I tell her. “Do I believe people can change? That they can grow and are capable of remorse?” I pause for affect.
I think of Snake and how’s he changed. I think of the remorse Haven felt when breaking Dex’s heart to protect him and the club.
I think of how I’ve grown in my time of knowing Grace. “Yes, I do.”
“But not for Chris Townsend?”
“Not everyone in this world is good, Astrid. Nor does everyone want to change for the better. There will always be vile monstrous creatures that walk amongst us. Some are even in fucking law services and government.” There’s a bitter truth that will be hard for little miss l I see the world in black and white to swallow.
She studies me for a minute. I can practically hear the gears grinding in her brain. “You still killed a man.”
“Let us not refer to him as a man from here on.”
She raises a brow. “And why not?”
“Because a man doesn’t take what women aren’t willing to give. A man doesn’t use his fists to beat her into submission. A man isn’t a coward.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more.” Travers genuinely says.
I nod my head and he does the same. If it weren’t for him being a fed him and I could’ve been friends. How unfortunate.
“The people will understand if you killed him as a crime of passion.” Liu tries with another tactic to get me to confess.
“Would you?”
“Would I what, Oak?”
“Hypothetically, of course, would you understand?”
She becomes silent again. I try to read her.
Try to gain as much information as possible to use against her.
But she’s harder to crack than I thought.
Maybe she clings onto the idea of a black and white world because someone had wronged her.
And in her eyes once you’re on that side you deserve to be answered for it.
But when she’s like this, silent with no facial expression, it makes me wonder if she’s questioning the world she forced herself to see.
“It’s not appropriate for me to answer that question, Mr. Barrington.” I struck a nerve. Good. Let her be rattled.
“I’d like my lawyer present for further questioning.”
“Confess to killing him, Mr. Barrington. For once in your life do the right thing.” The right thing would’ve been torturing him for weeks before allowing him his death.
“And what have I done wrong in your eyes, Astrid?”
“You were dishonorably discharged from the Marines.” Fuck. Keep calm, Oak. Don’t give her the reaction she’s craving. “Mentally unfit is what it states in your file.”
“So suffering with mental health issues caused from my times overseas means I’ve done wrong?”
“Leading your unit to their deaths means you have done wrong, Oak.” My name is spoken mockingly.
A flare of pain happens in the cavity of chest. My stomach achingly tightens.
“Isaac,” she says his name and my heart plummets to the pit of my stomach.
“Roman, Jude, Darius and Miguel.” My mouth suddenly becomes very dry, reminiscent of my times overseas.
The air gets thinner. I can feel the sand filling my lungs.
Fuck.
Fuck!