He closed the door and followed them, moving quickly ahead of them to grab the blanket and fold it. He set it on the back of the couch then set the pillow in the corner of the couch.
"Please, have a seat. Terry is just washing his face. He'll be here in a moment." See? He could be polite when he really wanted to scream and shout. He also wanted to give Terry time to pull himself together. "Can I get either of you some coffee?"
"I'm good," Elijah said. "Thank you, Dan."
The other man shook his head. "No, thank you."
"I'll just go check on Terry." Dan hurried down the hallway to the bathroom. He knocked softly. "Terry?"
When he didn't receive an answer, he opened the door. Terry was there. He was sitting on the toilet seat staring down at his hands. His eyes sparkled as if they were filled with water…or tears.
"Hey."
"Hey," Terry replied as he lifted his head.
"You ready to do this?"
Terry snorted. "No."
Dan smiled. "Come on, let's get this over with. Afterwards, I'll take you upstairs and pound you into the mattress. Make you forget everything."
Terry's lips twitched for a moment before curving up at the corners. "Promise?"
Dan grinned. "Yeah."
Terry let out the deepest sigh Dan had ever heard from anyone before standing. "Okay, let's get this over with."
Dan stepped out of the bathroom and waited for Terry to step out. Once he did, Dan followed him back down the hallway to the living room. When Terry walked over and sat on the couch, Dan sat next to him. He wasn't about to let Terry go through this alone.
"Mr. Iverson," the stranger started. "I'm Paul Clausen. I'm an investigator with ethics board. Do you know why I'm here?"
"I do." Terry nodded. "Chief Helmond explained it to me."
"I have some questions for you."
Terry frowned. "Why are you here, Elijah?"
Elijah smiled as he crossed his legs, resting one on the knee of the other. "I've been retained to represent your interests in this matter."
Terry's eyebrows snapped together. "By who?"
Dan wouldn't mind knowing that either.
"We'll talk about that later," Elijah said. "For now, just answer Mr. Clausen's questions unless I tell you otherwise."
Terry nodded as if he understood. Dan was glad one of them did.
Elijah pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and set it on the coffee table. "I will be recording this meeting. I'd like everyone to state their names so we know who is here."
Terry stated his full name then waited for everyone else to do the same. Clausen's eyebrows lifted a little bit when Dan stated he was an agent with the DEA. Terry drew in a fortifying breath before turning toward the investigator.
"So, what do you need to know, Mr. Clausen?"
