The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 41

About two hours later, Taylor and Barnes waited for the arrival of Agent Martinez before they questioned Rutland. He refused to answer questions anyway without his lawyer present, so the wait for Martinez worked in their favor. They spent the time going over the facts of the case and possible scenarios that could arise while they were questioning Rutland. Taylor wanted to be ready for any situation to make his case as airtight as possible. 

The lawyer arrived about half an hour or so after Rutland called him. Since then, the two men sat in the interrogation room discussing Rutland's present situation. Taylor wondered what they could discuss and what type of defense they could employ. He felt confident that the case they built would withstand anything they could throw at it, but when lawyers were involved, nothing was ever assured.

"Barnes," he began, looking across the desk to her, "I need to know your head is in the right place. The last thing we need is to make a mistake now."

"I'm fine, Roger. You don't have to worry about me."

"I'm not worried about you; I'm worried about the case. A lawyer can complicate this in court if we don't follow all the proper procedures. Not to mention, we can't help Erin if we lose our temper in there. He will probably try to rattle us, so we have to be ready for that, and don't let him inside our heads."

"I got it, okay?" she responded. "I promise to keep my cool. I will follow your lead, and I have your back. I swear, I'm good."

Hesitatingly, he asked her another question that was on his mind. "So this thing with Miller, I know it's complicated, but have you figured out what you will do?"

"Didn't we just have this conversation?" she asked. "No, I haven't figured it out, but we will. He's not my boyfriend or anything, but maybe I'm open to the possibility. Maybe things will work out for once. I don't know, but I'm willing to try." She decided to shift the conversation. "What about you? Are you still seeing this? What's her name, Amber?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he answered, "Yeah, we've seen a lot of each other lately. I guess you could say things are great between us. I'm in a good place right now, at least as good as an old guy can be."

"That's good, Roger; I'm happy for you. I still want more details, though."

Looking toward the front of the office area, Taylor spotted Martinez as he entered the station. "Well, looks like that will have to wait; our friendly DEA agent is here." Standing to his feet, Taylor rose to meet Martinez. "Glad you could make it," he said, extending his hand to Agent Martinez.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had a few things to take care of before I could leave, and traffic is a pain this time of day around here."

"Not to worry, the guest of honor should be ready for us by now. What do you say we make his day a little worse."

"Sounds good to me."

The two detectives and Agent Martinez entered the room, ending Rutland's conversation with his attorney. Taking their seats, Taylor prepared himself for what he was sure to be a long fight. "Well, Mr. Creighton, your client has a lot of explaining to do. You know, the last time I gave a man a ride across town, he sat in the passenger seat, not the trunk."

"Cute, Detective Taylor. You know I've heard about that dry wit of yours. My client is ready to talk about the incident in question."

"Well, that's great to hear. So why don't we start from the beginning? When did you start working for Barbero?"

"We are not prepared to discuss any involvement with Mr. Barbero at this time. We are here to discuss the kidnapping and evasion charges you've filed."

"Okay, great, let's talk about kidnapping then. How long have you known Erin Harper?"