“Mr. Bond,” Agent Anderson said as he entered the room, “I have some more agents for you to talk to.”
“What, more agents to toss around homophobic slurs?” Ethan spat.
Murphy’s eyes went round before she narrowed her gaze on Agent Anderson’s back. “Thank you, Agent Anderson. That will be all,” Murphy said flatly.
“If it’s all the same, I’ll stick around and see what he has to say for himself.”
“Actually, no, you won’t,” Murphy said. “You were asked to put Ethan Bond into protective custody, not treat him like a criminal. Besides, this isn’t your investigation.” Murphy hoped talking down to Agent Anderson would put her in Ethan’s good graces. She could only imagine what transpired before Harper and she arrived in Houston, but Agent Anderson clearly didn’t follow FBI protocols.
“But—”
“You heard the agent,” Harper said. “We thank you for your cooperation, but we’ll handle it from here.”
Agent Anderson pushed his way past Harper and Murphy in a huff and slammed the door behind him. The glass reverberated, and Murphy was a bit surprised the glass hadn’t cracked.
She sat at the table across from Ethan, and Harper leaned against the door. “First, let me apologize for anything that happened before our arrival,” she said with as much remorse as she could muster. “I don’t know what Agent Anderson said or did, but it clearly wasn’t what he was told to do.”
Ethan stared at her with no emotion on his face. Murphy could read people’s facial expressions, but Ethan’s mask was pretty good.
“I’m going to lay out what we know,” Murphy said. “When I’m done, I will ask you to fill in as many blanks as possible.” Murphy pulled out her cell phone and looked through the notes she’d prepared before diving into everything she knew. While analyzing the situation, Ethan occasionally piped in with more information Murphy didn’t already have. As time passed, Murphy noticed Ethan becoming more relaxed and open, which was precisely what she had hoped for.
* * * *
Blayne
Blayne looked up at the ugly green building as Kira pulled into the FBI parking lot. At first, Blayne thought they had made a wrong turn when he saw the green glass structure, but the sign out front said they were in the right place.
Kira parked the car in a visitor parking space and walked inside the building, with Blayne following her. Convincing Dr. Giest-Mueler to discharge Blayne hadn’t been easy. Blayne promised not to drive and return if he showed any signs of problems. Kira swore up and down that she’d hold Blayne to that promise. With much reluctance, Giest-Mueler finally discharged Blayne, and noted in Blayne’s chart he was being discharged against medical advice.
To get around the FBI agents stationed outside Blayne and Jamie’s room, Kira convinced Madeline to distract them as she slipped Blayne out. Madeline wasn’t too keen on tricking FBI agents, but Jamie had pled with her to help them. In the end, everything went as smoothly as possible. Blayne and Kira had slipped out of the hospital. Kira had plugged in the GPS coordinates for the FBI building in Houston, and they’d taken off.
Kira walked up to a reception desk in the atrium of the FBI building. A young man looked up from the desk as she approached and said, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here to see my client, Ethan Bond.”
“Excuse me?” the receptionist asked.
“Ethan Bond was brought into this facility by Agent Raymond Anderson earlier today. I’m here to make sure my client has proper representation. I’m his lawyer.”
The receptionist picked up the phone and dialed what Kira assumed was Agent Anderson’s number.
“Agent Anderson, I have a lawyer here who represents…” He turned to Kira and asked, “Who do you represent again?”
“Ethan Bond.”
“The lawyer represents Ethan Bond.”
Kira wasn’t sure what Agent Anderson had said, but from the look on the receptionist’s face, whatever it was, it hadn’t been kind.
“He’ll be right down. You can sit over there.” The young man gestured toward a small waiting area in the atrium’s center.
Blayne and Kira walked to the waiting area, and Blayne sat down. Kira stood and started pacing.
“Calm down,” Blayne said. “You’re going to wear a hole in the marble flooring.”
Kira let out an exasperated sigh and took a seat opposite Blayne. “How are you doing?” Kira asked.
“If you mean, ‘are you in pain?’ I’m doing okay. I still have enough happy drugs running through my system.”
