“Yes sir, I do. Where would you like me to begin?” I grin, wondering how long before he breaks.
“The girl, you, the bomb. Feel free to enlighten me.” He leans back, crosses his arms, and glances over a prominent Italian nose.
“I was her bodyguard and she went missing.” My tactic tonight will be to start slow and ease on into full story-telling mode.
“How did she end up in Greenwich Village?”
“Permission to expound?” If I could flutter my eyelashes, I would.
“Go ahead but I’m warning you, son, keep it simple.”
“Yes sir.” I take a deep breath. “Wahl…. You see, Stacy was dressed as some kind of super hero. At first she wanted to be a witch but changed her mind. Now understand, this is pertinent because she marched in her grade school’s parade which is why I drove Vladimir, her father, there. He wanted to watch. Oblonsky’s my client, rather his daughter is. He was afraid for her life and now I see why. I’m betting someone in his staff was behind her kidnapping and the bomb, too, though, I can’t be sure. We can get back to the explosion in a minute on account of having a moratorium on rambling. Where was I? Oh yeah, Stacy. She is the cutest little thing. Smart as a whip, too. I dropped her and her dad off at their room in the Waldorf and all of sudden, the nanny, Mrs. Nelson, comes a-knocking on my door. She’s hollerin’ how the tyke went missing. Sam was with me, by the way. I sent her downstairs to the lobby and for once, she did as I said. When we were sure the girl wasn’t hiding somewhere, we all went down to see if she was picked up by security cameras.
“Sebastian, I said no ram-”
“Now, don’t interrupt me because here’s where things get interesting. To me, it looked like she left on her own accord but that don’t make no sense at all. I bet if you check her computer, you’ll find one of Vlad’s guards offered to take her to the village.
“She reads?” Police Chief Russo raises his brows.
“I did mention she’s intelligent. Should I start again? Mebbe you weren’t listening.”
“Sebastian…”
“Yes sir. Now, Vlad, Stacy’s father, told her to stay put but the kid wanted to march in the world’s greatest Halloween parade. I bet Samantha is guilty of doing something similar as a girl. She told me how once she…”
“Mr. Sutcliff. We agreed…”
“Yes, Sir. My apologies, sir. It’s real hard to stay on topic. Anyhow, I have no idea how Stacy got fitted up with a bomb but I’m pretty sure, whoever did it, works for good ol’ Vladimir. Anyhow, by the time I found my client, she was wearing a thick army vest. Once I saw the wires-”
My mouth dries and suddenly, I’m back in the desert where accusing, lifeless eyes stare. The stench of blood, urine, and death follow me as I try to scramble out from under our vehicle. My pal Lucky shouts and for a moment, I think I’m dead and gone to hell until gunshots ring out and I return fire.
“Son?” That fateful day fades and through the fog, Sam’s father frowns. Both he and my attorney look mighty concerned.
“Just taking a breather.”How long was I gone for?
Bombs, I fucking hate them, especially when little kids are involved. My inner vision returns and loops through more of my personal horror film. The woman my pal Lucky swerved to avoid comes into view with a baby wrapped in a blanket.
“It’s an IED!”Fuck. Did I say that out loud?
Back in the present, my lawyer nods at Russo. “Looks like we’ll need to finish this tomorrow.”
“No. I’m fine. Would you get me a glass of water?” Sweat rolls down my side as the temperature in the room climbs.
It gets hotter still, when my two witnesses leave and Jack Fialko walks in the door.
“PTSD?” He takes the seat vacated by my father-in-law.
“None of your goddamn business.” I don’t know this guy from Adam and if Sam is right, he’s not to be trusted.
He snaps his fingers at the two-way mirror and the recording LED on the camera goes out. “How about I talk, and you listen?”
“Your dime.” I lean back and my gaze narrows.
He’s way too slick but, he did save Stacy so he can’t be all bad. “I think you should go home and say nothing more about what happened this afternoon. Slate agreed.”
“Tell you what. I’ll check in withmy paland let you know.”
“Fair enough. First, I want to thank you for saving my niece.”
