Fates Fickle Ways

Chapter Nine

I was in shock. He knew I wanted to talk about Jake. It wasn't safe to talk about him here, I never had any intentions of talking about him in such a public place. "Not here. Let's finish our coffee and maybe we can speak at your office. A slight nod of his head was all I got in response. We finished our coffee quickly and walked out of the coffee shop together. We were walking side by side to the police station when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and scratched his head. "There's something I have to ask now. It's been bothering me since yesterday." I had a feeling I knew where this was going, I stopped and took a breath. "Yes?" I couldn't let him know I already expected certain questions, it was better for him to just ask them. "Did you know Richy was the one who kidnapped Hannah?" I turned to face him, "No. We really thought it was Michael Hanson. There wasn't much doubt, at least until you told me he was dead." I could tell he was expecting so much more. In due time he will know as much as I can tell him.
   
He continued walking until we reached the station. For such a pretty little town the station seemed to be a bit run down. We walked into the stale aired building, and he led me to a standard little office. There were no pictures, not even of a pet. It made it difficult for me to pick up on any clues I could've had as to how to talk to him. He pulled out a chair for me to sit on and proceeded to sit across the desk on his own. "Mind if I record our conversation?" He didn't seem to leave me much choice as he was already pulling out a tape recorder. "Not at all, at least until we begin discussing Jake." I could see the questions coming up in his eyes, but he appeared to let them go for the time being as he pressed play.

"Please state your name for the recording." He nodded, urging me. "Ella." If he thought he was getting my last name he was out of his mind. He shrugged as if to accept that he wasn't getting that information from me. I wonder if he already knew it. "How do you know Hannah Dunfort?" Guess I should've expected that one. I wonder if any of this will ever be any less strange. "I don't. It's a bit complicated." It wasn't a lie. I had just met Hannah yesterday, if you consider an awkward hug a true meeting. "So, if you didn't know her, how did you get involved?" It would be so much easier just to tell him the story than to keep answering one question at a time. "A text that was sent to Thomas, with nothing more than my phone number. Do you mind if I go ahead and tell you everything that happened? If you still have questions after, I can answer them for you." He shrugged, realizing this was so much deeper than his questions could cover.

We spent the next two hours discussing how I was brought into things, even if the why still isn't very clear, and everything that led us to the conclusion Michael Hanson was the kidnapper. He had very few questions at the end that were answered and cleared up, before he leaned forward and stopped his tape recorder. Thankfully he didn't have any questions about Jake that he insisted be recorded. He nodded to me before leaning back in his chair. "What are you needing help with?" I shifted in my seat. Time to find out if he'd stay true to his word and whether or not I could trust him.

"I want to help Jake, and I need you for that." I held my breath. He quickly stood up from his seat and crossed the room to the door. "Thank you for answering my questions, Ella. I'm afraid I can be of no help with Jake. He has dug his own bed, and it'd be best for you to stay out of it. Have a safe trip home." That's it? He shut me down so quickly, I thought we could at least talk. I sighed and walked to the door. I stopped in front of him, trying to hold my anger back the best I could. "Thank you for your time Mr. Bloomgate."