Letting Go (Chapter-24)

Jilliana

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jilliana said through gritted teeth. She lifted her focus up and away from her right thumbnail, which had a splotch of black nail polish she was determined to chip off. The young female officer sitting beside her, whose name Jilliana couldn’t remember, pulled a small pad of paper and pen from her shirt pocket. The officer sitting across from her - a large, plump man with an unkempt beard - clasped his hands together on the table.

“So you knew this man prior to the break-in?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call Roy a man.” Jilliana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What can you tell me about him?”

“That he’s a total asshole.”

Jilliana glanced over at the pad of paper the female officer was writing on and saw that she had written down the words “total asshole.” She chuckled to herself before turning back to the man.

“You know, Miss Moore,” the male officer leaned back against his chair and folded his arms across his chest in the same way she had, “A man breaks into your apartment and is found searching the rooms while you’re lying on the floor unconscious. I’m surprised that you find this funny. I certainly don’t.”

“Excuse me, officer,” Jilliana looked down at the nametag pinned to his uniform, “Officer Wane, but I’m sure you’re more than familiar with my family’s history,” she waited to see Officer Wane’s demeanor change at this, but he seemed unfazed so she continued, “To judge how I react to stressful situations would be a pretty shitty thing to do.”

Officer Wane glanced at the woman sitting at Jilliana’s side, then back to her.

“What was the nature of your relationship?”

“Excuse me?” Jilliana unfolded her arms and continued to chip at her nail with her middle finger.

“The nature of your relationship with Roy Fuller.”

“No relationship at all,” she shrugged, “We met last week, at a bar.”

“Uh huh,” Officer Wane nodded, “And?”

Jilliana let out a small laugh, “I mean, do you want every detail?”

“Just the facts would be sufficient.”

“We met, he came over,” she looked back down at her thumbnail, “we had sex, and he left the next morning. Is that enough for you?”

“He came over - to your apartment?”

“Yes.”

“And afterward, were there phone calls or texts between the two of you?”

She looked up, “I don’t even have his number in my phone. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

“There’s no need,” Officer Wane adjusted his sitting position slightly, “According to you, Miss Moore, did Roy have any reason to go to your apartment?”

Jilliana scoffed, “No.”

“How about for money?”

Jilliana stopped chipping her nail polish and furrowed her eyebrows, “What do you mean?”

“Well, Roy Fuller may have been intoxicated when we spoke, but he insisted several times that you had stolen from him. Is this true?”

“Oh my god,” Jilliana rolled her eyes, “with all due respect, sir, I would like to know why I’m the one being interrogated when I’m clearly the victim here.”

The officer smiled, “With all due respect to you, Miss Moore, I am not here to waste anyone’s time - especially my own,” he paused to lean forward, “so when I ask a question, I expect an answer. I will ask again - did you take money from Mr. Fuller?”

“Absolutely not,” Jilliana sat up straight, “I never took anything from him. He’s a liar. And an alcoholic, apparently.” She glanced again at the female officer beside her, “And it seems that Roy’s the one who came to steal from me - not the other way around.”

Officer Wane tilted his head slightly. He stared at Jilliana for what felt like well over a minute, then turned to the female officer.

“Officer Landen, please escort Miss Moore to the retrieval window. We’re done here.”

The female officer, who Jilliana now knew to be Officer Landen, guided her out of the room and down the hallway.

“So… am I free to go home, or do I need to answer some more stupid questions?” Jilliana didn’t make any effort to hold back the annoyance in her voice.

Officer Landen remained silent at first, but when they turned a corner she stopped walking, faced Jilliana, and took hold of her right arm. Jilliana was taken aback, not only by the sudden stop and stern look on Officer Landen’s face but by how young she was - she couldn’t have been much older than Serena.

“I’m taking you to retrieve your things,” Officer Landen’s voice was quiet but firm, “but I’m going to give you some advice, okay?”

Jilliana nodded slightly.

“You seem like a good person, Jilliana, but... you’ve got a mouth on you.” The officer paused and let go of her arm.

“I haven’t been here a long time, but I’ve seen things happen. Horrible things. To good people,” Jilliana watched a hint of sadness flash across her face, “Good people,” she continued, “who got into bad situations for saying the wrong thing, at the wrong time, to the wrong person.”

Jilliana felt the urge to speak defensively but held back. There was something about Officer Landen that reminded her of Serena, in the protective, caring way that she spoke.

The officer inhaled as though she were preparing to say something else, but instead turned and continued to walk down the hallway.

At the retrieval window, Jilliana was handed a plastic bag filled with her keys, wallet, and phone before following Officer Landen to a door labeled “Lobby.”

“Your parents and sister are here,” Landen said as she reached to open the door, “and a man - a family friend, they said.”

Before Jilliana realized who the man was that the officer was referring to, she was standing in the lobby, facing him. “Shit,” she said under her breath. She gripped the plastic bag against her chest, wishing she could run back into the small, dismal room with Officer Wane. But within seconds, he had pulled her into an inescapable hug.

“Oh my god, Jills,” Patrick spoke against her hair as he pulled her closer, “You’re okay, thank god.”

Jilliana tensed at first, then felt herself ease slowly into his embrace. She rested her head against his chest, feeling her body go limp against his as he held her, allowing the sound of his heartbeat to slow her own breaths. Everything seemed still and safe at that moment, despite the sound of her parents quickly approaching them from behind.

“Jilliana, my dear, sweet girl!”

Jilliana separated from Patrick just in time to be pulled by her mother into an embrace that wasn’t nearly as calming.

“How, how did this happen?” Jilliana heard her mother speak over her shoulder to Officer Landen.

Jilliana gently separated herself from her mother and turned to face the officer.

“Mrs. Moore, I assume?” Officer Landen extended her hand forward but pulled it back when her mother didn’t take it.

“Agent Keene would like to be here when I speak with you, so if you could please take a seat,” she motioned to a set of chairs lined up against the wall, “She’s being briefed in the back room. It shouldn’t be much longer.”

By the time Officer Landen had walked back through the door, Serena had joined them. The five of them sat, Jilliana sandwiched between her mother and father, Patrick beside her mother, and Serena at the end, next to Patrick. Jilliana glanced down the row to Serena, finding it odd that her sister chose to sit on the end, separate from her. Even more peculiar was Serena’s disposition; she hadn’t made any effort to greet or even look at Jilliana since she walked into the lobby, and she sat stoically against the wall with her gaze down to the floor.

It took Jilliana a moment, to stare at Serena, but she soon recognized the look on her sister’s face. It was a look that Jilliana had seen many times before, reflecting back at her from her bedroom mirror - a look of guilt, regret, and helplessness that had haunted her since the day Serena was kidnapped.

Jilliana stood and walked to the chair at the end of the line. Ignoring the looks from Patrick and her parents, she sat quietly beside Serena and held her left hand. Jilliana watched as her sister turned her head, gazed down at their clasped hands, then back to the floor.

“I’m here,” Jilliana said quietly, “I’m here, and everything is going to be okay. I promise.”