Meg waltzed in my office with her time sheet.
“Can you sign this please so I can scan it in?” she asked, placing the form in front of me.
“Sure.”
I initialed the last line and dated it.
“I’m meeting some friends for drinks tonight. Want to go with us?”
“I don’t think so.” I hadn’t been out since everything collapsed. “I have finals to grade.”
I couldn’t imagine walking into a bar. I had no interest in men. I also had no confidence in my ability to judge character. That part of me was irreparable.
“Oh come on. You can get Jessie and Greg to work on that for you. You should have some fun. You’ll like my friends.”
I smiled. “I bet I would, but I want to get the grades in and posted tonight. Then it will be off my plate.”
She twisted her lips together. “You can text me if you change your mind.”
“Thanks. If I finish early I’ll let you know.”
They didn’t know. No one here knew what had happened. They seemed sensitive and concerned, but I realized they were trying to give me space after what happened with Garrett’s emergency. Vaughn was a secret I kept to myself. A dark secret between the U.S. government and me.
I packed my laptop and locked my files for the night.
“Good night, Addie.”
She seemed to be staying later each night.
“Good night.”
Meg had left for the day and I walked outside.
Agent Kenneth waited for me. His long trench coat was laughable.
“Good evening, Emily.”
“Hi.”
We walked in silence to our usual bench. I sat next to him. I made sure to keep a wide gap between us.
He flicked the power button on the recorder he used to capture our conversations. I considered them interrogations, but he made sure to remind me I was a willing participant in the investigation. It didn’t feel that way. It was either this or federal charges. My license to practice law was in jeopardy. My residency . Everything I had worked toward hinged on these meetings.
“Let’s get back to where we left off yesterday.”
“Ok.” I waited for him to give more of a prompt. I didn’t volunteer information.
“You mentioned that West took a trip to Germany.”
“Yes. At least that’s what he told me. Who knows where he really went.”
“Assuming he did go to Germany. What can you tell me about the trip?”
And this was when the haze settled in over my eyes. I didn’t know what was real and what was fabricated. The more I talked to the agent, the more I doubted every conversation I had with Vaughn. The more I doubted the stories. The dates. The closeness we shared. I couldn’t tell anymore if any of it was real.
“He didn’t say much about it.” I tried to think. I heard about Germany the night we first slept together. The night I gave in to every impulse.
“Come on. He had to say something. You know how this works. I’m putting a big puzzle together. You are responsible for the pieces.”