Page 22 of Echoes

“Something?” she asked.

“Yes. Something that the government wanted back.”

“You’re saying that my father, hypothetically, stole something?”

Albert leaned over the table and asked, “Do you know what I’m talking about?”

Eliza swallowed and said, “My father wasn’t a thief.”

She hoped that would be enough to convince this guy that she had no idea what was going on so that maybe he’d open up a little more.

“You didn’t know your father like I did, then,” he said and leaned back in the metal chair. “Let’s just say that there was something takenfrommyfather a long time ago. It cost him his life, too. So, maybeyourfather deserved what was coming to him.”

“Your father?”

“That’s all you’ll get out of me. Hypothetically speaking, when someone dies, and someone else has the power to bring them back from the dead, they should just do it and not let that person stay dead.”

“Back to life? What are you talking about?” she asked, pretending like she had no idea what he was talking about.

“You know, I showed up at that university of yours once. I mean,hypothetically. Your mom was there dropping you off, and I listened in to a few of your conversations that day and some other days, too. It was so easy to plant a bug in your phone. You were both just so clueless.” Albert shook his head. “He was telling the truth: you didn’t know. And I was going to leave you alone. I wasn’t going to come after you, too. But I should have just killed all three of you.” He smirked. “Hypothetically speaking.”

“Your attorney didn’t actually tell them that no one could be back there. There’s no reasonable expectation of privacy in a police station, let alone an interrogation room. So, before you start callingmeclueless, you might want to understand that I’m a visitor, not your lawyer, so you have no privilege here, and two detectives just heard and recorded everything you just said to me.” Eliza pointed to the camera in the right corner of the room. “And this video can be used against you at your trial.”

“What the–”

“My girlfriend is a lawyer. And I’ve got you, asshole.”

“It won’t go to trial.” Albert smiled back at her as if he knew something she didn’t. “I won’t make it that long.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I disappeared for a reason. I owed them, and I couldn’t find it. You’ll never see me again. If you really don’t know what I’m talking about, though, you’ll be fine.” Albert stood then, turned to the mirror, and added, “Let me out of here!”

When the door opened, a guard escorted him out. Eliza stood and left the room as well, seeing Lydia leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Let’s go outside,” Eliza replied, taking Lydia’s hand.

They headed out, but when Lydia went toward her car in theparking lot, Eliza pulled her over to a small creek that was in the wooded area just beyond the station.

“What are we doing?” Lydia asked her.

“Turn your phone off,” Eliza requested and pulled her own phone out of her purse.

Lydia took hers out of her back pocket, and without question, she turned the thing off and put it back. Eliza did the same and walked closer to the creek.

“El?” Lydia followed her until they were at its bank.

“He said he had a bug in my phone. Not this one, but years ago, I think. He said he listened in on my mom and me. He was also there when she dropped me off at college. I think he spied on us for years to see if we knew anything.”

“He didwhat? Why?”

“I was right: he thought my dad had it. That night, my dad told him he didn’t and that we didn’t know anything.”

“So, he listened in to be sure?”

“I think so.”