Branded (2 page)

“Let’s get down to business, shall we?”  Detective
Holden took a seat and glanced at his notepad before targeting Nicole again
with his gaze.

Her attorney cleared his throat.  “I’d like the specifics
on why you’ve brought my client in for questioning.”

The detective shifted his eyes toward Mr. Barton. 
“Of course.  Late last night, we were contacted by the CFO of First Freedom
Financial Company.  He reported that he’d received notification of a ten
million dollar transaction that took place a few hours earlier in the evening. 
Normally, he is made aware of large transfers beforehand, and he was suspicious
because protocol hadn’t been followed in this case.  He did some research,
found it to be an unauthorized transaction and immediately called us.  We
reviewed the surveillance video which places Ms. Camden at the scene of the
crime during the suspected time period.”

She stared at him, disbelief thrumming through her
veins.  “I work there.  Of course I was at the scene of the crime.”  Her
anxiety shot back to acute.

“After hours.”  Detective Holden tapped his pen on
the yellow pad in front of him. 

Nicole started to shake her head in denial and
then stopped.  “I went back last night after I’d left, but that was only to
retrieve my TriMet pass.  I’d shown it to a co-worker earlier in the day when she’d
asked about using mass transportation.  I’d forgotten to put it back in my
purse, and I can’t get home without it.  I was in the office maybe one minute.”

“Four minutes and fifty seconds to be exact.”

“That would be counting the time it took me to get
to my desk and back outside.”

“If enough planning were put into place
beforehand, that amount of time is sufficient to complete a transaction.”

“Are you saying I’m under suspicion just because I
went back into the office?  In a building that large, I can’t imagine I was the
only one there at that time.”  Although she hadn’t seen anyone else while she’d
been there.  “The cameras must have seen someone else go in then, too.”

“You were the only one caught on video.” 
Detective Holden pinned her with a questioning look.

“This does have the appearance of a witch hunt,
detective,” her attorney interjected.

The younger man regarded her lawyer for a brief
second before turning back to her.  “The transaction moving the funds into an
offshore account was made from your computer at the time you were in the building. 
There is only one set of prints on your keyboard which we are assuming are
yours.  We will need to take your prints before you go.  You can give them
willingly, or we can arrest you.”

A dark chill slithered across her skin.  Cold
hands of fear gripped her neck, robbing her of her ability to breathe
properly.  Her gaze darted toward the closed door.  Freedom lay not far beyond
it.  Freedom she wanted.  Freedom she deserved.  “This whole thing is
ridiculous.  I shouldn’t even be here.”  She stood, no longer agreeing to be a
pawn in this sick game.

The detective stood as well.  “Leaving is not an
option at this point.”

She walked toward the door, but her attorney met
her before she could reach for the handle, taking her by the forearm.

“Ms. Camden.  Nicole.  They’re not going to let
you walk out of here without answering a few questions first.”

She shook off his hand, her fears liquefying,
flooding the corners of her eyes.  “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, her
voice quivering.

“I understand.  This can be an intimidating
process.”  He put a warm arm around her shoulders and led her back to the
table.  “But it is a process.  You haven’t been charged yet, but they can
legally detain you for a period of time.  The best thing we can do is go
forward.”

“I’m innocent.”  How could she make everyone
understand that?

“It doesn’t matter at this point.”  He waited for
her to sit before resuming his seat.

“How can it not matter?  I didn’t do it.  I don’t
know how to steal money by using a computer.  I’m lucky if I get my word
program to work like it should.”  If her panic would take a backseat for a
moment, she might be able to figure a way out of this mess.

Detective Holden cleared his throat.  “Ms. Camden,
do you have access to the company’s financial records?”

She dropped her head in her hands.  “Of course I
do.  I work in their finance division.  But it’s not like I can go anywhere in
that system and do whatever I want.  My logon only allows me to go into certain
areas.”

“And you’ve never been given access to any other
parts of it?”

Her insides crumbled.  She tried to speak, but it
took her a minute to get her voice to cooperate.  “My boss did give me her
password once about…four months ago.  She was headed out of town and needed me
to finalize a client’s transaction.  She had everything ready to go.  I just
had to login and hit send after the client gave his verbal agreement over the
phone.  That’s all I did.  I assumed she would have changed her password after
that.”

“What else does your boss have access to?”

“I don’t know.”  Nicole’s voice rose with
hysteria.  “I didn’t look.  I did what she asked and then logged out.”  She
wiped the tears from her cheeks.  “I’m an honest person, Detective Holden.  I
don’t snoop into other people’s business, and I certainly don’t steal other
people’s money.”

“I believe my client has answered enough
questions, detective.  She’s denied being involved, and everything you have up
to this point is circumstantial.  If you’re not going to charge her, then I
think we’re finished here.”

A frown settled on the detective’s face.  He
glanced between his notepad and Nicole.  “Fine.  She can leave.  For now.”  He
stood, focusing on her attorney.  “I’ll be in touch.”

Mr. Barton stayed seated after the detective
left.  He steepled his fingers, staring intently at her.  A large diamond ring
glittered on his right hand.  He probably cost a fortune to retain.  How would
she ever pay his bill?

“How much are you charging me for this?”

“We’ll consider this your first, free
consultation.  After that, my usual rates are two hundred dollars an hour.”

“Oh, my God.”  She blinked, waiting for him to say
he was joking.  He didn’t.  “I don’t make much money.  Despite what the police
are claiming, I live on my salary and nothing else.”

“There should only be minimal amounts of time
spent on this case unless you’re formally charged.”

“What do you mean by minimal?”

“A couple of hours total would be my guess,
depending on what the police come up with, assuming you want me to represent
you.”  He paused for a brief second.  “Which I would highly recommend.”

At that rate, a handful of hours would wipe out
her savings account.  “What if I can’t pay?  Can I ask for a court-appointed
attorney or something?”

He seemed affronted by the idea.  “Ms. Camden,
this is your future we’re talking about.”

She gave him a helpless look.  “I have some in
savings, but not much.”

“Fine.  I’ll have associates work on the majority
of your case, and I’ll toss in a pro-bono hour or two.  But if this goes to
trial, you may want to consider asking family and friends to pitch in. 
Chancing your freedom on an unknown attorney could have some serious
consequences.”

She nodded.  If the worst happened, she couldn’t
afford to
not
pay. 

Nicole left the central precinct, grateful to be walking
out a free woman.  A cloud of suspicion would follow her, but she felt as
though she’d been granted a second chance at life.  The sun on her face seemed
warmer than she remembered, and the brightness of the blue sky hurt her eyes. 
It was as though she’d been held in an underground dungeon for weeks.  Thank
God it wasn’t a rainy day. 

She glanced down the busy street and spotted her
aunt’s old Corolla parked on the opposite side, not far from the corner. 

She was relieved her aunt had been available to
pick her up, but she had no idea how she’d explain things to her.  It was
absolutely ridiculous to think she’d be charged with grand larceny, but then
again, it was equally ridiculous to have been questioned in the first place. 
Though she’d been relinquished back into the real world, a major tendril of
fear clawed at her.  Until the police had located the real suspect, it would be
hard to sleep at night.

She navigated the crosswalk and opened the
passenger door.  The plush gray seats in her aunt’s car were warm as well, and
she took a small amount of pleasure allowing the heat to soak through her
clothes and into her body.  She was free. 

For now.

“Thanks for coming to get me, Aunt Claire.  After
the horrible morning I’ve had, I didn’t want to try to figure out the bus
schedule from here.”

“Of course.  I would have been upset if you hadn’t
called me.”  Her aunt seemed so frail sitting behind the wheel.  Eight months
ago, she’d been in a serious car accident and had only recently begun to regain
her strength.  Even so, she was the strongest, bravest woman Nicole had ever
known. 

Instead of starting the car, she turned to
Nicole.  “Are you okay, honey?”  Dark bags hovered beneath her dull green eyes,
testifying to the fact she wasn’t getting sufficient rest. 

“You haven’t been sleeping again, have you?  I’m
so sorry to worry you like this.”  The guilt resulting from giving her dear
aunt additional stress gnawed at her.

The older woman pretended to tuck her short gray
hair behind her ear.  The strands weren’t long enough to actually tuck, but it
was a gesture her aunt used repeatedly when she was upset.  Maybe it carried
over from a day when she’d had longer hair.

“I never sleep.  You know that.”

“I know.”  Her aunt’s medications also brought on
insomnia.  “I wish I could change things.  I wish I could make it so you didn’t
worry about me.”  The last thing the poor woman needed was something else
threatening her health.  She prayed this whole ordeal would be over before she
suffered another hit.

“Me, too.”  The older woman glanced out the
window, seeming to stare at the traffic as it whizzed past.  “I need to ask you
something.”  She turned her pale gaze to Nicole.  “Did you do this thing they’re
accusing you of?”

The sharp point of the arrow that carried her aunt’s
words pierced her.  “No,” she whispered, emotion pooling in her eyes.  “You
think I did?”  She’d spent her whole life trying to prove to her aunt that she
deserved the sacrifices she had made for her, trying to prove to the world that
she was not her father’s daughter.

The older woman’s eyes filled with tears as well,
and she shook her head.  “No.”  She sighed.  “No.  I just remember the same
feelings of confusion and sadness when I found out about your dad’s life of
crime.  This brought back all those memories and all those horrible times.  But
you’re different.  I know you are.”

“I’m nothing like him.” 
Nothing
.

“Of course you’re not.  You and I both made sure
of that.”  She shook her head again as though to put order to her thoughts.  “How
did this happen, Nicole?  Why would they even think to accuse you?”

“I don’t know, Aunt Claire.  Whoever did this used
my computer, but they left no prints.  I don’t know if they meant to frame me,
or if they chose a random computer and happened to be lucky enough to pick a
night when I’d gone back to the office for my TriMet pass, which made me a
prime suspect.  Maybe this person or people didn’t really intend to hurt me.”

“Or maybe they did it on purpose.”

She couldn’t bring herself to believe that.  “Why? 
I haven’t made enemies.  Why would someone purposefully choose to hurt me like
this?”

“If you look guilty, then the police will stop
looking elsewhere for whoever really did it.  Maybe someone knows about your
father’s past.  Maybe they thought you’d make a good scapegoat.”

“How could they?  I’ve never talked about him to
anyone at work.”

Her aunt shrugged.  “I don’t know.  But it’s a
strange coincidence, don’t you agree?  At this point, I don’t think you can
discount anything.”

Frustration and anger welled inside her and came
out in a growl.  “This is all so unfair.  I’m a good person!”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’ve lived a good life.  I’ve never hurt anyone. 
How does something like this happen to someone like me?”

The older woman took her hand and squeezed.  “I
don’t know, honey.  But you’ve got to do whatever you can to protect yourself,
okay?  This attorney?  Is he any good?  I could take out a loan to help pay for
a good lawyer.”

No, she couldn’t.  Her house was already mortgaged
to the hilt to pay for her medical expenses.  “He seems like he’s pretty good. 
He did a great job getting me out of there.  Plus, he came highly recommended
by a friend.”  She’d have to call Riley and thank him for his help. 

“How will you pay him without a job?”  The
wrinkles in her aunt’s forehead thickened as she raised her brows.

“I have a paycheck coming, plus a bunch of
vacation pay.  They can’t withhold that.”  At least she didn’t think they
could.  “Plus, I have some in savings.”  She was seriously screwed.  “I’m sure
I can find another job of some kind to pay the bills while I wait for the
police to figure things out.”

“I’m not so sure.  Do you really think someone
will hire you?”

“I have to try, don’t I?”  She didn’t have another
choice.  “Besides, I haven’t formally been accused of anything, only
questioned.” 

“I think you should come home.  Come back and live
with me while you get this mess settled.  I can take care of you.”

“Thank you so much, Aunt Claire.  But you have
enough to do, tending to yourself.”  Her father’s sister had taken better care
of her than her parents ever had.