Vindicate

CHAPTER 5

   "Guessing from the way I have been rudely awakened at seven o'clock on a Saturday  morning from a very uncomfortable jail bed, I take it that you are interested in my proposal.", drawled Denzel.

She was once again in an interrogation room with Detective Riley Hawkson. He was wise enough to come himself this time knowing that Denzel would talk to no one else but him.

   "I'm more interested in that little piece of information you gave me the last time we met. How did you know about it? Were you involved in any way? ", Riley demanded, ignoring her comments on her comfort.

"So you caught them right? And no, I was not involved.I was just doing my part as a loyal citizen and helping to keep our city safe."

     "You still haven't answered my question. How did you know about it?"

   "And you still haven't given me an answer on my proposal. I'm not saying anything else till we have a deal. You want more, let me see a signed contract.",Denzel bluntly said, staring at the detective straight in the eye. Their staring competition continued for about a minute, till Detective Riley sighed heavily and reached for the briefcase beside him.

Placing it on the table between them, he removed some documents from it and pushed them towards Denzel. "This is the revised version of the initial contract you brought us. All you have to do is sign down there and we have ourselves a deal.", he said.

    Riley watched silently as Denzel read the contents of the revised document. He wasn't surprised at her careful perusal of the contract. He knew that she was not someone who would allow herself to be taken advantage of. Despite her claims of innocence, he was positive that there was more to this woman than what met the eye. How else would he explain the fact that the "parting gift" she'd left him was key to the apprenhension of "The Ghost", one of the FBI's most wanted men, who had evaded capture for the past ten years? She had helped them foil a heist during the auction of the jewelleries of a loved matriarch of the city who had died recently.

  " I'm not signing this.", a voice said, pulling Riley out of his thoughts. 

  "What?!", he asked incredulously.

"I said I'm not signing this."

"Why? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"No. This is not what I wanted. Listen, I'm not your prisoner. I came here out of my own will and subjected myself to this treatment. It's okay for you to want to moniter me closely because you think I'm involved in an ongoing investigation with no other leads. I'm however not okay with you placing  a tracking device on me 24/7. I'm fine with you not trusting me and all that but I'll not allow myself to be babysat like some three year old child.Why on earth would I need a handler? I will not sign it!", she ranted.

A raised eyebrow was all she got in response to her rant. Riley was definitely not expecting such a reaction. He had simply come here to find out how she knew about the heist and get the contract he did not even want in the first place signed. 

"Are you sure you don't want to do this now? It'll save us both a lot of unnecessary trouble.", Riley countered, hoping to change her mind. He had a tight schedule and her reluctance was simply wasting his time.

If looks could kill, Riley guessed he probably would have been dead with his body so mangled that his dental records would be needed to identify him judging from the way Denzel was glowering at him after his question.

"Very well.", Riley muttered. He stood up, packed the documents and proceeded to leave the room.  Pausing at the door, he chuckled, "You sure you don't want to sign these and get out of here? Trust me, the whole 'couture de la jail' doesn't look so good on you."

Her response was a very loud growl which had him amused.