Page 112 of The Voice We Find

“I’ll let Agent Terrell fill you in on the details, Sophie, but I think you just more than proved your worth in our investigation.” She directs the gleam in her eye at me. “I’m Agent Trujillo, by the way.”

A second FBI agent? There’s a roadblock of information gathering too quickly for my mind to process, but a single word snags my attention:investigation.

Agent Terrell juts his chin toward the end of the hallway. “We’ll be in nine if you need me.”

“I’ll check in when I’m finished in six,” Agent Trujillo confirms.

The two agents offer each other cursory nods before I’m expected, once again, to trail after the first one with even fewer answers than I had before.

“What did she mean by ‘proved my worth’?’” I’m officially done with the quiet game. “Can you please just tell me what is going on here?”

He stops in front of room nine. “Agent Trujillo believed you were a good egg from the start.” He puts his hand on the doorknob. “That’s a high compliment in our line of work.”

“What line of work?” Frustration simmers low in my belly at his ambiguity. “You mean, back when you were pretending to be a pretentious stockbroker who propositioned me to join him for a night on his yacht?”

There isn’t a shred of acknowledgment for my stellar memory recall or a hint of apology when he says, “I was building a case. Be grateful you were on the right side of it.”

I’m about to comment when he swings open the door to reveal the back of Natalie’s sparkly red ball gown. At the sight of her, adrenaline swamps my insides, and I forget all about the events in the hallway.

“Natalie.” I plant myself in the hard plastic chair beside her and mentally prepare to see evidence of a physical altercation. But when she turns, there is no sign of dried blood. Just dried tears.

She rests a soft hand on the fabric covering her midsection.The baby.She offers me a tentative smile. “Thank you for coming. I know this couldn’t be happening at a worse time for you.” She flicks her gaze to the agent, who’s just taken a seat across the narrow table from us.

It’s then I scan the whitewashed walls and note the lack of furniture.Is this an interrogation room?

“What have you told her?” Natalie asks Agent Terrell.

“Not much. I figured you’d like to be a part of the discussion.” His voice is notably softer when he speaks to her. “Although, she did hear Andre’s voice in the hallway.”

Andre.

Andre.

Andre.

Where had I heard that name before?

“Oh.” My sister-in-law closes her eyes, exhales, and nods. “Okay.”

“Natalie, please.” A mix of desperation and fear churns in my gut. “Tell me what is going on here.”

She takes a slow, measured breath. “Your brother was arrested tonight. For art fraud and embezzlement.”

Of all the scenarios I’d imagined her telling me when I arrived, fraud of any kind hadn’t even made it into my top one hundred guesses.

I sink back in my chair. Words have failed me many times in the last few weeks, but this time it’s different. This time my speechlessness is because my brother is in jail and his wife appears as cool and collected as I’ve ever seen her.

Agent Terrell stakes his elbows on the tabletop and dips his chin. “We aren’t at liberty to discuss certain details as the investigation is technically still open, but considering how pivotal Natalie’s cooperation has been over the last three months, we decided to honor her request and loop you in as quickly as possible. She trusts you, and more importantly, so do I.”

My jaw unhinges. “You trust me? How? You don’t even know me.”

“Actually,” Natalie counters, “they know a lot more than you might think.”

The only thing I can manage to move is my eyeballs, which are currently focused solely on Natalie.

“I know this must be a huge shock.” She picks up my limp hand. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to, but...” She shakes her head. “It would have put the investigation at risk.”

Flustered, I make eye contact with the agent. “Can you please start from the beginning? When did all this begin?”

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