High Achiever Page 26

  The moment I entered, it was as if someone hit the pause button on the world. Excited conversations suddenly stopped…and I was met with the glaring eyes of all the deputies and employees inside the building. Some were holding folders, some filling out paperwork and answering phones, while others had been having conversations among themselves. Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing…and stared. You could hear a pin drop.

  I took a deep breath and lowered my head. Their looks of shock and disdain ignited a shame within me that I hadn’t noticed before.

  Gunnar led me to an elevator, and it felt like hours before the car finally arrived. I had seen Eliot out of the corner of my eye, but he darted up the stairs, apparently trying to avoid having to be enclosed in a small space with me. I certainly couldn’t blame him for that.

  I stared straight at the floor as the elevator carried Gunnar and me up to the fourth floor. When the elevator finally stopped and the doors slowly opened, I gasped.

  At least twenty deputies were lining either side of the hallway staring into the elevator, almost as if they were waiting for me. Gunnar gently nudged me from inside and I realized I would have to walk between the two lines of uniformed officers.

  I recognized almost all of them, but the way that they were looking at me made me feel as if we were strangers. I stared at the floor and continued forward, and each cop I passed took turns calling me names under their breath and shaking their heads in disgust. I choked back the tears as I realized so many of them had been to my home, celebrated birthdays with me, and now, now I was reduced to nothing but a piece of shit. Just another loser being walked to the interrogation room. I was once so close to these people and now—I am no one. I am no one. I am nothing.

  The interrogation room had a television screen attached to the wall outside next to the door; I assumed this was for people outside to observe the interview taking place inside. I was immediately filled with dread once I realized that all these people were about to hear all my dirty secrets. Secrets I’d kept hidden for years…They were all about to be revealed, and once they were, I knew that all the people outside that door would never look at me the same way again.

  Upon entering the interrogation room, I observed a single table with three chairs. Gunnar led me to one of them and told me to sit. His voice was stern and robotic.

  Once I was seated, he unlocked one of my handcuffs and I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. The metal had rubbed the flesh of my wrists raw. My excitement was short-lived, because he took the unhooked cuff, wrapped it around the metal of my chair, and clicked it shut. “Seriously?” I asked, feeling annoyed.

  “Seriously,” he said, mocking the frustration in my voice and rolling his eyes before exiting. I was tempted to hurl the chair at him with my good arm but realized it was bolted to the floor.

  There were no clocks in the room, but if I had to guess, I’d say an entire hour passed and I still hadn’t seen a soul. My body was aching, and the cold sweats had been in full swing. It’s impossible to get comfortable while handcuffed to a bolted chair in an ice-cold room while detoxing, so my frustration was at an all-time high.

  “Hello?!” I yelled out to no one. “What’s happening? Did you forget about me?”

  Just then the door to the room swung open and I’d never been more grateful to see a set of cops.

  “I’m Deputy Sherlin and this is Deputy Avalon; we have been assigned to your case,” the female deputy said, shutting the door behind them. She had long blond hair that had been twisted up into a clean bun, and bright blue eyes. She appeared to be younger than me and had I not seen her with a big gun on her belt, I never would have believed she was an actual cop.

  After reading me my rights, Detective Avalon slid a piece of paper toward me. “If you understand your rights and are willing to speak to us, please sign here.”

  I reached for the pen and quickly scribbled my name on the signature line. Somehow, in my twisted mind, I felt as if I would somehow find a way to get out of this. I had been an expert at manipulating and knew that if I cried enough innocent tears and gave an Emmy-worthy performance, they would believe me and send me home.

  “Okay, now that we have your signature, we’d like to ask you some questions,” Detective Avalon said. He was young too; he was dark-skinned with a Spanish accent and there was something so kind about his big brown eyes.

  I watched as he reached down into a briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. He placed the pile on the table in front of him and looked over at me. “Do you know what these are?” he asked.

  “I don’t.” Nice try, though, copper, you aren’t getting me that easy.

  “Well here, let me show you.”

  He grabbed the first paper on the top of the stack and slid it toward me. It was a photograph.

  I looked down at the picture of Eliot’s drill that I had pawned, and just as the realization of what this was set in, he began flipping over photos in quick succession. Suddenly, the entire table was covered with pictures—evidence of all the things I’d been pawning in secret for months, none of which belonged to me.

  “Now do you know what these are?” he asked.

  Obviously, I know what these are, asshole.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “What are they, then?”

  “Ummm, clearly, they are pictures of all the stuff I’ve pawned.”

  “Do any of these items belong to you, Miss Johnson?”

  “Not really.”

  “What do you mean by ‘not really’?”

  “Well, technically, they were in my house, and they belonged to my boyfriend. We kind of share everything, so…I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”

  I could tell by the sudden look of disgust that had simultaneously crossed their faces that I probably shouldn’t have said that.

  “Wow. Okay, well, what about these, then? Huh? These weren’t in your house, were they?” he asked, handing me two photos of the things I’d taken from Eliot’s parents’ house. “You didn’t live there. Therefore, technically, you burglarized their home. Now, they say that if you cooperate today, they won’t press charges. However, if you aren’t forthright with us, you will be charged with burglary,” he said, leaning back into his chair.

  Jesus Christ. Fucking burglary? Hell no.

  “Are you kidding? I didn’t burglarize their home. I used to live there, and they let me in,” I said, feeling annoyed. I felt like a child being threatened with consequences, and I didn’t like it.

  “I’m going to ask you some questions, and I need you to answer them truthfully,” he said.

  “Okay,” I replied, looking over at Barbie, who had been sitting there quietly. So far, she wasn’t that great a detective. She just sat there looking pretty. They probably had her in here to make me feel more comfortable or something.

  “Okay, did you steal and then pawn these items?”

  “I pawned them, yes. But I didn’t steal them. I borrowed them and was going to get them back.”

  “Did you know it was illegal to do that?”

  “I knew it wasn’t good. But I didn’t know like, the charges or anything. And to be honest, I never thought Eliot would press charges even if he did find out. I thought he loved me, but instead of talking to me about it, he sent in the troops to take me away.”

  Just then, Detective Sherlin leaned forward in her seat and scowled at me.

  “He didn’t press charges, you fucking idiot. While investigating the burglary at his home, we did a pawn search. Just for shits and giggles we typed your name in and guess what?! Surprise! You’ve been robbing him blind since back in October. Eliot had no clue until our supervisor called him into the office this morning to inform him of what had been going on, and to let him know deputies were en route to arrest your stupid ass. He didn’t have to press charges; we were investigating a crime and al
l roads led back to you. We had no choice; he had no choice. I had to watch Eliot break down into sobs today in his supervisor’s office when he realized his life was a lie. So don’t sit there and question his love for you. You are the one who fucked up. So, how ’bout you drop the attitude before I drop it for you,” she said, with her eyebrows raised.

  Well…damn, Barbie.

  “I’m gonna take over this interview for now; I think Detective Avalon is being too generous with you,” she said.

  “Good cop, bad cop. I get it. Look, I’m cooperating here, okay? I am admitting I took the items and pawned them. I’m willing to pay for them or whatever. I really don’t feel good, though, and would like to go now, please,” I said, sitting up straight.

  The detectives looked at each other and Detective Sherlin cracked a smile before looking back at me. “Oh my God, you are serious right now, aren’t you?”

  “What? What do you mean? Yes, I’m serious. I answered your questions. Eliot and I can talk about this later and I’ll just give him the money. I will pick up some extra shifts at work. Now that I know he wasn’t the one to press charges, I am pretty sure he will understand once we talk.”

  Detective Sherlin stood up from her chair and Detective Avalon followed suit. I took a deep breath, relieved that this shit was over. I needed to get to Lazarus’s ASAP; my bones felt like they were breaking inside my skin. Shit, I didn’t drive here. “Excuse me,” I said, stopping the deputies before they exited. “I’m not really sure how this works; since you guys drove me, do I have to call a cab or something, or do y’all take me back?”

  Detective Sherlin opened the door and I caught a glimpse of all the deputies who had been standing outside watching. Eliot’s bright orange shirt stuck out like a sore thumb, and I saw he had his head lowered while another deputy sympathetically rubbed his back. “You guys seeing this?” I heard her whisper to them.

  Before anyone could answer she leaned back into the room and smiled.

  “Oh, honey, you just don’t get it. You aren’t going home, not for a long time. We aren’t done here; in fact, we are just getting started,” she said, slamming the door behind her.

  47

  The sound of Kelly’s chuckle brought me back into the office. I had almost forgotten I was talking to my counselor. Reliving those memories verbally had brought me right back to that time. The day when my world came crashing down.

  “Are you laughing?” I asked as her hand covered her mouth, attempting to conceal a smile.

  “I’m sorry, it’s just. My gosh, Tiffany, did you really say that?” she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

  “Yeah, I didn’t know. I had never been in trouble before. I mean, I’d seen crime shows, but I knew that you could like, call someone to bail you out. I thought that was how it worked. I had no clue how much trouble I was actually in, ya know?” I said.

  “Yes. I’m sorry. It’s just so funny how you were like, ‘Okay guys, I’m ready to go. Thanks for your time.’ ” She laughed.

  “Stop. I didn’t know, man!” I was laughing too at this point. I actually thought I was going home that night. I thought Eliot and I would sit on the couch, have a good cry, and work through it. Looking back on what ended up happening instead, I could see the humor in it.

  Kelly glanced above my head at the clock on the wall behind me, and her face fell when she saw the time. “Okay, well, I’ve already kept you past Dating and Marriage class, I’ll talk to Felicity about that and I’m sure she’ll understand. You have spoken so candidly, so honestly about everything that has happened to you and it has helped me immensely to understand your history. Usually I don’t keep clients over the allotted time; however, if I’m being completely honest with you, at this point I’m intrigued. You have a way of speaking, it makes me feel like I’m there with you—in the interrogation room. Why don’t you pick up from where the detectives left you in there, and we can go ahead and wrap this up,” she said.

  “Okay. Yeah, I mean it’s basically over. The fact that I’m here tells you how it all ended, right?” I asked.

  “Of course I know how it ultimately ended, but the way you tell it leads me to believe you were still defiant at this point, closed off. I want to hear about the moment you realized the jig was up, that you could no longer carry the lies anymore—that’s what I want to hear,” she said, leaning back in her chair.

  I knew the exact moment she was referring to; I remember like it was yesterday.

  * * *

  —

  Three hours ago, I thought I was going home. I thought I was going to leave the police station and head to my home, where I would pet my dog and kick my feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch while convincing Eliot that I should be forgiven.

  I was wrong.

  The sweat plastered my shirt to my back, and every joint in my body was aching. I stared across the table at Detective Sherlin, and her eyes peered right back into mine. I had managed to maintain a poker face and clutch my truth tightly to my chest for hours.

  They wanted me to confess to stealing the guns, but I knew they didn’t have any proof, so I continued to adamantly deny that I had anything to do with it. Each time I claimed to be innocent, they left me in the room for another forty-five minutes.

  They would return, try a new strategy, and when I didn’t give in, they’d leave again.

  They took my handcuffs off at one point, thinking that perhaps if they appeared to have my comfort at heart, I would think they cared about me and would confess. That wasn’t happening.

  I curled up into a ball in the corner of the ice-cold room, my shirt pulled down tightly over my bare knees in hopes of generating some warmth. My withdrawals made the room unbearable to be in. It felt like I was locked in a restaurant freezer, except a camera was pointed at me and an entire police force was watching me twist in agony. I needed a fucking cigarette.

  The detectives eventually returned after what seemed like a lifetime.

  “I need a cigarette,” I said confidently as they sat down above me at the table.

  “You aren’t exactly in a position to be making demands, are you, Miss Johnson?” Deputy Sherlin smiled, asserting her power. I could feel the anger rising and I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

  “May I please have a cigarette, Deputy Sherlin. Please.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had a coy smile plastered across her face and I suddenly realized why they kept us handcuffed in here. It took every ounce of willpower in me to refrain from wrapping my hands around her fucking neck.

  “I dunno,” she said, looking over at Deputy Avalon. “Should we give her a cigarette break?”

  “Mmmm…well, I don’t think she has earned it. Do you? I mean, we have spent a long time in here, Deputy Sherlin, and she refuses to tell us what happened. Maybe if she was willing to divulge some information, we would be more willing to provide her with a smoke.” They were speaking as if I were a child, and thoughts of violence again bubbled to the surface.

  “Listen,” I began. “Give me a cigarette and I’ll tell you—” Before I could finish my sentence, the door to the interrogation room swung open and a small Spanish woman entered the room, placed an envelope on the table in front of Deputy Sherlin, and left the room without saying a word. I looked past the woman as she exited and saw that the group of deputies were still huddled around the TV, as if they were watching the Super Bowl, including Eliot.

  “Well, what do we have here?” Deputy Sherlin said, peering into the mysterious envelope. She glanced up at me with her hand wrapped around the contents of it. “Anything you want to tell us before we open our present?”

  “Nope,” I said, fear suddenly taking over. What the fuck was in that envelope? She pulled everything out at once and smiled as she began rifling through the pages. A smile crept across her face
and she slowly turned her face up to mine while passing the pile to Deputy Avalon. She continued staring at me, unblinking, as he looked through the pages. “Wow,” he said, setting them facedown on the table. I looked at him, then back at her, then back at him. The looks on their faces led me to believe that there was no way I was getting out of this unscathed. They had something on me, I just didn’t know what.

  Detective Avalon looked over at Barbie and nodded, and they both stood up suddenly and headed toward the door. My heart felt like it was going to explode as my mind raced through a thousand possible scenarios. Fingerprints? Of course they had my fingerprints, I lived there.

  Detective Avalon exited the room without saying a word, while Deputy Sherlin hung back for a minute and waited for the door to close behind him. She leaned down, placing the palms of her hands on the table, and put her face about an inch away from mine. Her bright blue eyes were glaring at me and I could smell the gum she’d been chewing on her breath.

  “Gotcha,” she whispered, before slapping her hand on the table and exiting the room.

  48

  After what seemed like an eternity, Deputy Sherlin returned to the interrogation room with the mysterious envelope and a cigarette. She rolled the cigarette toward me before sitting down. My heart leapt at the prospect of some nicotine. It had been close to fifteen hours since I’d been arrested, and my withdrawals were in full swing.

  She lit my cigarette for me and leaned back into her chair, glaring at me as I sucked the sweet tobacco deep into my lungs. I closed my eyes and truly savored the moment because I had a feeling that whatever was in this envelope was going to be the nail in my coffin.

  “Miss Johnson, I’ve given you ample time to be honest with me and you haven’t. I’ve offered you a lie detector test to prove your innocence and you’ve denied it. I’d like to give you one last opportunity to be honest with me, because I already know the truth.”

  “Deputy Sherlin, I was honest with you. You pulled out the photos of me at the pawnshop and I admitted to taking the stuff, I’m not sure what else you want—”