Con Artist Legacy

Chapter Fourteen: The Patsy

Chapter Fourteen: The Patsy

Left foot forward, right foot back.

I shifted in place once again, a nervous habit that I had picked up lately (especially when there wasn’t anything to kick nearby). To the guards blocking the doorway, it probably looked like I was dancing or worse, trying really hard not to pee.

I sent them a friendly wave, and my best smile to calm their nerves. The last thing I needed was to get tased by antsy jail guards.

Nate and I were waiting patiently for a private room to be set up for our meeting with William Culler, which was making me nervous. I wasn’t sure what new information would be revealed, but I’d honestly learned more than I ever wanted to know about my family already.

Of course the ‘waiting game’ was only the tip of the iceberg. Earlier that morning, I overheard a conversation between Nate and Becks, and I feared that Becks might be making an appearance…and that was really freaking me out.

I wasn’t good with people I’d known my whole life on a good day, and so I had no idea how to react to a stranger that really wasn’t meant to be one.    

“You okay there Ollie?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, yeah…never better,” I lied.

“Right…so you can’t come in, but you can observe through the mirrored wall,” Nate explained, as he directed me in to the observation room.

“Wait, why can’t I go in?”

“Cause you’re not a cop…”

“Thank God for small miracles,” I muttered under my breath.  

Nate pretended he didn’t hear that, which was quickly becoming a trend between us, and hurried over to the interrogation room instead.

As the lights turned off in my room, the once opaque wall across from me revealed a large window that showcased a brightly lit room.

The room we were looking into was a dirty gray color, with a metal table that had a built in space for someone to be handcuffed to. Minimal metal chairs adorned either side of the table, and that was pretty much it. A lonely light bulb swung slowly above the table, washing everything out.

I couldn’t breathe, the suspense was suffocating me, and I’ve never been able to hold my breath for too long. Fortunately the door opened shortly, and a tall oafish man in orange walked through the doors. He was handcuffed, and was flanked by two even taller guards on either side.

But other than that, there was no sign that this man was in the least bit dangerous. In fact, if I hadn’t known anything about him, I would have been outraged that this sweet looking man was incarcerated.

Culler had a boyish face, with sun-bleached hair and sparkly blue eyes. As the guards sat him down, and re-cuffed him to the table, I could’ve of sworn that I’d heard him say ‘please and thank you.’

Just then Nate and Becks strode into the room, and stopped in their tracks abruptly. Apparently they were also surprised by the inmate in the room, but they recovered quickly.

“Hello boys,” Culler waved with his free hand. The man was a teddy-bear, and he looked especially harmless as he lowered his head in embarrassment at being so excited.

“I’m Detective Houston and this is Lieutenant Becks, do you know why we’re here?” Nate asked in his ‘big boy’ voice, as he took the chair in front of him; Becks stayed back, pacing the room.

“Uh no, no one told me yet,” he answered as looked questioningly at his guards, eyes wide and biting his lower lip.

“We wanted to ask you about your friend Metz, remember him?”