Hate Of The Unknown

Chapter 9- Unexpected But Not Unwelcomed

"I swear, they're all a bunch of bureaucrats, but when you show them a document, they forget how to read." That got me laughing. We parked our car outside what seemed to be the main office and walked inside.

I immediately spotted Vivian. She wore tight black clothing like the other guards, but there were a few lines of gold on hers. It made her stand out from the others. Not that it was hard to miss her, with her short blonde hair and the aura of entitlement around her.

She noticed us and made her way to where we were standing. "Good, you arrived just in time. Did you have any issues at the entrance?" She spoke to both of us but looked only at Vincent. I tried hard to contain my annoyance. "Nothing out of the ordinary," Vincent replied with a sarcastic edge, and they shared a laugh.

Now she was nice to Vincent? Was she bipolar or something? I couldn't get her. "Julian, it's good to see you're feeling better. Thank you for coming today." I narrowed my eyes at her words. "I thought if it were up to you wouldn't hire me," I told her harshly. "Well, this was before I saw you in action and got to know you a bit. I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Let's not let it affect our task here."

Vincent looked between us, shock clearly written on his face. "Yeah, okay, we can do that." I wasn't a big fan of having Vivian as an enemy. If we could tolerate each other, it would be great. She smiled at me, the first smile I'd seen on her face when it came to me. She was truly stunning when she was like this. I couldn't deny it. I felt my heart do a little flip.

What the hell, Julian? You can barely stand the woman. Get it together. Clearing my throat, I asked, "So should we go? And what do I need to expect?" Vivian nodded toward the hallway, "That way." We followed her throughout it. I was taking in the offices when she started to talk.

"I'll bring you a concise dossier on each person and quickly brief you before we conduct the final questioning. Then, you'll accompany Ronan in the interrogation room. You won't need to do anything other than inform him if the statements the prisoners make are true or false."

"Okay, sounds simple enough. Where would you and Vincent be at?"

"We'll be just outside the room looking through the double side glass. If anything happens, we rush right over. Of course, Ronan is there with you as well. Trust me when I say he could deal with any problem." I didn't doubt that. The man was a walking gym.

We all entered the interrogation room where Ronan was already sitting, looking menacing as always. "Hey, Ronan." He glared at me and nodded, not bothering to say anything else. Okay then, what a lovely company I have for today. No red flags here.

"Sit next to me. I'll review the files with you before the prisoners enter." I nodded and took my sit as instructed. Vivian and Vincent were still present in the room. Ronan took the first file and opened it so I could see it. The first thing that I saw was a woman. She looked old, was very thin, and had some teeth missing. I knew this look all too well. This was the look of a meth addict.

I took a deep breath. That was how my mom looked in the last few years before her death. Unpleasant memories swarmed into my mind, and I tried to ignore them and keep myself composed. Vincent noticed that and touched my shoulder as if offering me his support. Vivian narrowed her eyes, but Ronan said nothing.

"This is Cleo Ozara. She abandoned her children in the car, resulting in their deaths. She was not convicted due to a lack of evidence. We comb through all the county cases and uncover those the human criminal justice system has failed. It is indisputable that she was with her kids that day. I'm about to allow her entrance and question her further. You'll need to tell me if she is telling the truth."

How could there be insufficient evidence to a crime of that scale? I nodded and straightened in place. I can do this. If the woman is really guilty, I'll know. "Okay, ready when you are," I said to Ronan. Vincent and Vivian left the room, only leaving me with Ronan.