Page 101 of Perfect Liar
“That sounds nice…it’s okay for me to be there?”
He nodded at the manager to dismiss her.
“Yes, of course. Everyone is excited to meet Will’s girl.”
“What?”
“Yeah, well, everyone’s seen your photo with him. In any case, sharing our personal interests is important in this business. Investors and buyers want to know we have lives outside the firm. They’re more comfortable riding the market fluctuations knowing we’re a solid family business with staying power.”
“So which one of you did the sharing?”
“I couldn’t have stopped him from going on about you even if I’d tried.”
I smiled at the thought of Will thinking about me when he was gone.
Ethan stood abruptly, surprising me, and offered his hand.
“Come with me, darlin. We have an appointment with the commissioner.”
“The police commissioner? What? But where is Will?”
He shook his head and grabbed my hand, giving a little tug.
“Neither of you would benefit from his inability to control himself. He can’t restrain his drive to protect you, not even with the authorities.”
The back of my eyelids stung with unshed nervous tears.
I wasn’t sure how to get through the interview without him…Will was my rock.
“Listen, Ellie. I ordered my brother to stay away from this meeting and warned him not to discuss it with you in advance. I won’t have him investigated.”
Ethan was right. I needed to push back my fear and trust him, because we couldn’t let Will gamble with his freedom.
So, nodding, barely breathing, I squeezed Ethan’s hand, and he took us through the lobby to a private meeting room.
The interrogation started and ended in a gentle manner. Will’s lawyer attended in his place and supplied the commissioner with an acceptable list of procedural questions.
Commissioner Brown was kind…I liked him from the moment he entered the room.
He had compassionate blue eyes and gave comforting smiles as he laid out the questions. And I could tell he and Ethan shared some level of friendship and respect between them.
“Once again, for the record…you arrived at your home at approximately ten minutes before eleven p.m., and at that time, when you found your sister and your grandmother lying on the floor, there was no one else in the house?”
“Yes, other than my niece, Lissie, that’s true,” I said.
Ethan rose from his seat beside me.
“Come on, Commish. You’ve asked these questions, and Ellie willingly answered. We’re done here. But do me a favor…send my personal regards to Stonington’s captain.”
The commissioner nodded in solidarity before turning to me once more.
“Thank you, Ms. James. I’m deeply sorry for your losses. And I want you to know that I’m personally offended by the American police captain insisting we put you through this.”
“Thank you, Commissioner Brown,” I said.
Then he and his detective, who had quietly observed, left the hotel, and Ethan walked me to my suite. We stopped outside the door.
“You’re quite tense. Maybe have a hot soak, Ellie. Everything will be all right. Will should be here soon.”