The Billionaire Boss's Scandal

Interrogation

Even though the police officers had said Amara wasn't technically being arrested, it sure felt like she was. The handcuffs weren't helping that. They read her rights, then took her down to the police station. They told her they weren't sure if they would let her leave for the night. Apparently, that would be determined by how she answered the questions.

Tears dripped down Amara's face. She was terrified. Of course, she hadn't had anything to do with the murder, but would the cops believe her? She had been petrified to lose the babies to the custody battle--but if she was found guilty, they'd be taken away for sure.

Her mind raced back to the courtroom she had been in, only that morning. In those moments, Amara had hated Joshua. She had wanted him to leave--to disappear and stay out of her life forever. But she had never expected him to die so suddenly. Nor had she really wanted it, come to think of it. 

Amara's stomach dropped when they got to the police station. Sure, she had been nervous in court that morning, but that was nothing compared to how she was feeling right now. 

Once she was in the interrogation room, they let her take the handcuffs off. A tape recorder sat on the table. She was alone for the first few minutes, but she guessed that they were watching her through the mirror on the edge of the wall. She had watched enough crime shows to know that tended to be how it worked.

After a few minutes, two detectives entered the room, one male, one female. The man was tall, at least six foot four, and appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties. He had piercing green eyes and his dark brown hair was cut in a slightly longer variation of the typical short style that police often wore. 

The woman was quite a bit shorter and was around Amara's height. Amara could see that, despite her size, she was quite muscular. Her hair was dark brown, but had been lightened with highlights. She styled it in a chin length bob. Her eyes were brown as well, but they were just as fierce as the man's were.

"Hi, Amara," The man said. "I'm Detective Milne, this is my partner, Detective Ramirez."

"Hi," Amara said simply. She didn't want to say any more until she figured out what was going on here.

"We want to ask you some questions regarding the murder of Joshua Leonard," Detective Ramirez stated.

"Okay," Amara said. 

"What do you know about his death?" Detective Milne started.

"Only that he is dead," Amara said. "And that it had to have been within the last few hours, because I saw him this morning."

"We understand you were in a custody battle with Joshua," Detective Milne said. "What were your feelings like towards each other?"

"I don't know," Amara said. "I'm pretty sure he hated me. Of course, I pretty much hated him too."

"What's your background with each other?" Detective Ramirez asked.

Amara shrugged. She didn't want to go into detail about that. "It's complicated."

"We've got all night," Milne stated.

Amara looked between the two of them, then sighed. "I used to work for him. I was his receptionist for a few years. One night, he and his girlfriend--who I guess is his wife now--had a fight, and I had thought they had broken up then. One thing led to another, we had a few too many to drink--or at least I had. And that was the night my kids were conceived."

"How was your relationship with him after that night?" Ramirez asked. 

"Not good," Amara admitted. "He wouldn't accept that he was the father. It was a constant struggle between the two of us, until he fired me from my job. After that, we really didn't talk much. He showed up not too long ago and sued me for custody of the babies."

"Where were you this afternoon?" Milne asked.

"After being at court, we went to Applebee's for lunch, then we went home. I never left there."

"Do you have someone who can confirm that?" Milne asked.

"Yes." Amara gave them Gabby and Ethan's names and phone numbers.

"Miss Gray," Ramirez said, "we have reason to believe you may have been involved with Joshua's murder."

"How so?" Amara asked. Her stomach twisted into a knot.

"Given your past with him and your current custody battle, it seems you had some ill will towards him," Ramirez stated.

"Of course I had ill will towards him!" Amara burst. She tried to make her voice even. "He slept with me, then abandoned me when I needed his help. Now he's trying to punish me for it? Of course I was mad at him. But I didn't kill him."

Milne and Ramirez watched her for a moment. Then they exchanged a glance. Ramirez's eyes took on a sympathetic gleam. Amara wondered if she had ever been screwed over by a guy. Maybe she could relate in some way.

"Here's the problem, Miss Gray," Milne said, leaning forward. "You've been accused of the murder. And the accuser is pretty adamant that it was you."

"What?!" Amara exclaimed. "But I didn't! Who would say that?"

As if on cue, the door to the interrogation room burst open. Nicole stormed in. There were two people following her and yelling at her to come back to the waiting room.

"You did this!" Nicole exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Amara. "You killed him!"

"No! I didn't!" Amara protested. 

She stood, but Detective Ramirez gestured for her to sit again. Amara did, and she took note of Nicole. She had never seen her like this before.

Nicole's usually perfectly flat, blonde bob of hair was sticking out everywhere. Her green eye were wild and desperate. Mascara was smudged on her tear streaked face and her lipstick had been eaten off. Even her cardigan wasn't on correctly--it was hanging off her shoulders.

"Take her somewhere she can calm down," Detective Milne ordered. "We're almost finished here."

The two people in the hall somehow managed to pull Nicole form the room. Milne followed them. Ramirez turned to Amara. 

"Why don't you head out to the waiting room?" she said. "We'll let you know what's going to happen from here."

"Am I going to be able to go home tonight?" Amara asked. Her mind raced back to the babies. They had been asleep, but neither of them were sleeping through the night yet, so surely, they'd be waking up for a feeding soon.

"We'll see," Ramirez answered. "We may just have to pick this up again in the morning."

Amara blew some air out of her mouth as she left the interrogation room. She wasn't sure if they were allowed to keep her overnight or if they were going to have her sleep in a holding cell. She really just wanted to go home and curl up in her bed. At least she didn't have to worry about the custody case anymore.

As she went and sat in the waiting area, a sudden thought occurred to Amara. What if they thought she killed Joshua? What if she was found guilty? She'd lose the twins for sure. Not to mention, she'd probably spend life in prison. Who would raise them then? Would she ever be able to see them again?

Amara looked toward the interrogation room. She could still hear Nicole. She had gotten quieter, but she was still hysterical.

As much as she didn't deserve it, Amara felt a pang of sympathy for her. Joshua was her husband, after all. Their relationship didn't make a lot of sense to Amara, but it had been clear that they loved each other. 

Amara leaned forward, rested her arm on her knee, and tucked her chin into her hand. She had to wonder, was Nicole responsible for Joshua's death?