Present day.

"Regina Walberg is your only sibling." The lawyer said looking down at a file she had removed from her briefcase.

Regan nodded. "My twin sister."

She looked up at him, surprise evident on her face. "That woman is thirty-five years old?"

"Why?"

She leaned back into the chair and removed her dark-rimmed glasses. "I could have sworn she looks twenty."

Regan didn't know what to say to that. He didn't give a shit either. He shrugged at her. She put on her glasses and looked down at the file again.

"You're undergoing a divorce."

"Was."

She looked up at him, a piteous look bordering her features. "I heard about your wife, I am very sorry about what happened."

He gave a small nod to acknowledge her well wishes, hoping she didn't peruse the topic any further. He wouldn't be able to bear it. Thankfully she didn't.

"One kid."

He didn't reply and she looked up at him in askance.

"What? Do you want me to keep saying yes to what is probably true? Like it's written there already."

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Well, I'll be damned."

"Mr. Walberg, I would appreciate it if you could be a little nicer. At least for the sake of our time. Also," she raised the file. "There are things in this file that have put you in this position, some of which aren't true."

"In your opinion."

"No, in the opinion of those that love you."

He snorted. "Pile of shit. Those people are the ones that put me here. They're dangerous and are incapable of love."

"Just who exactly are they Mr. Walberg?" He looked on with stoic silence and the lawyer sighed. "Let's continue."

After she had read on for over ten minutes, all his achievements and how he'd worked hard to be in the position he was, Regan started to feel sorry for himself. Sorry that he'd let himself get into the mess he was in, sorry that he was not interested in setting himself free. This was his cross and he had to bear it.

"Okay, seems like we've gone through everything here." She removed her glasses and folded them neatly into a glass case. "So, is there anything else you'll like to tell me that's not written here?"

He shrugged. "Not that I know of."

She seemed satisfied. "I'll go through your arrest file thoroughly but for now, everything I have here is enough to get you out on bail."

"I hope."

She neatly arranged all her stuff and his case file into her briefcase and then stood. "I'll be back in a few minutes with a change of clothes for you. You're going home today."

Regan doubted he would feel at home anymore. He was scared. Frightened. But he could use a hot meal and a shower. "You sure?"

"That was the deal, wasn't it? I get you out on bail and you cooperate to fight for your innocence."

Hearing it being said, it sounded very bizarre, that he had to be bribed to fight for his innocence and his right.

"Why are you so interested?" He asked. "If anything, you've been treated with nothing but hostility since you got here. Do you really want to prove your competence to me?"

She smiled at him. "Mr. Walberg, apart from you, I also have a lot to prove to the world that my gender and my skin color aren't a limitation. Sure, a few challenges will be thrown at me here and there, now and then, but I'm determined to scale through." She started for the door, then paused and turned. "About your wife, I'm truly, truly sorry."

She was out before he could acknowledge her condolences. With her gone, the interrogation room was so quiet that he could audibly hear his thoughts. His wife. Everyone was sorry. Everyone pitied him, everyone saw him as the victim. Did he want to muse about Erin? He shut his eyes and he was back to his condo, and to the last day, he'd seen her.

He'd been asleep when his doorbell had frantically rang. It took a long time for him to answer and he did after muttering a long string of expletives. He'd been on an overnight patrol because of a deranged man who had kidnapped several children from a school. The kids still hadn't been found and as a detective, he'd been searching and working late to get the perpetrator. He'd gotten back to his apartment by five a.m. and had had less than two minutes of sleep – though his wall clock said three hours when the noise had woken him.

The doorbell rang again and as he groggily walked to the front door, he muttered, "This had better be damned important."

When he opened the door, he froze.

"Sorry to wake you."

Like hell. She didn't sound sorry at all.

"What's so damned important that you couldn't wait till morning?"

Erin pushed her way in. "Eight o'clock ain't early enough for you?"

He wanted to tell her that it was none of her business but he refrained from doing so. "What do you want?"

She took in his disarrayed apartment and looked up back at him with judgmental eyes that screamed "dirty pig!". "Well for one, since you weren't picking up, your colleagues called my dad."

He directed a gaze at his telephone as if telling it to speak and confirm what Erin was saying. He needed the confirmation because honestly, he couldn't trust her as far as he would throw her.

"What for?"

"They found the kidnapper."

All trace of sleep vanished from his eyes like dew exposed to the sun. "How? Where? When?" All these he asked as he dashed to his room to grab his shirt. He'd slept in his jeans.

"There's no need to bother. They found him already without you. Seems some people aren't indispensable after all." She added after a deliberate pause.

Regan did all he could to restrain himself from kicking her out. He buckled his belt and looked at her angrily. "What do you want, Erin?"

"I spoke with the Colonel."

"So?"

"Don't play dumb. He said you told him you wanted us to get back together."

He barked short laughter. "What a pile of shit. He told me he didn't want the divorce."

"And what was your answer?"

"I told him to go fuck himself. Something along those lines."

"Colonel would die of heart attack if you said those words verbatim."

"Thankfully I have better judgment than that."

She moistened her lips and folded her arms. "So we're certain? We're calling this off?"

"I'll take your cue. Whenever you're ready, we'll sign the papers."

A thick blanket of silence fell between them. Regan wondered if she was thinking the same thing that he was, that they had married so easily by signing a bunch of papers. Now, telling that piece of paper to shove it wasn't proving to be a piece of cake.

"Is that all?"

As if recovering from a trance, Erin's face became drawn angrily. "That reminds me. How dare you get a nanny for my son without consulting me first?"

"Regina." He said angrily.

"That's right Regina. The only Walberg who's proving to be right in the head."

"Why, thank you."

"Blaire told me too. I don't like the idea. I can take care of my son myself."

"Our son, Erin, our son! Don't forget that and, you can take care of him? You're so busy whoring around with your new boyfriend, how the hell will you have the time to take care of him?"

She reeled back as though he'd slapped her. "What? Whoring?"

"I don't care what you call it, but until you're stable in your relationships, you will not take care of Blaire personally. The nanny will."

"You're deranged. You're a lunatic!"

"I'm glad you noticed."

She laughed snidely and paced the room. "I didn't want it to get to this point but I think it will. I think I have to." Then she turned to face him with determination. "Blaire has been the best thing that has ever happened to me so I will not let you take precedence over him! I will fight for custody."

Regan laughed very loud. Now, handcuffed and staring into outer space in the detention room, Regan could hear his mocking laughter, aimed at mocking Erin. All it did was mock him now.

"Custody? Cut me some slack, Erin. You," he had pointed at her. "are a nobody. A fucking nobody. My family has the best team of lawyers that will beat yours hands down at any hearing. So get this into your head, you will lose. I will take Blaire away from your unstable hands. You will lose!"

The next time he'd seen her she'd been in a body bag.

~

His condo, to his surprise, was very neat and orderly. It looked newly dusted and vacuumed, the curtains were drawn to allow sunlight, the air conditioner was blowing refrigerated air to his comfort, and the fridge was stocked to the brim.

He looked at the lawyer. "Thank you for this, Miss Allen."

"Call me Jody." She said smiling politely at him.

He declined her offer. "I'd rather we kept being business-like."

She shrugged. "Your choice."

He sat on one of his chairs and as he sank into them, he felt happy. There were so many insignificant things hadn't realized he'd missed. Like the feel of soft cushions.

"Your bail only allows you to move to a certain distance from your house."

"In other words, I'm still in jail, only in a different setting."

"Mr. Walberg you should be –"

"I know. I should be grateful. I am. Thanks."

She sighed. "I meant to say you should be careful."

"Why?"

"In here you don't have the police protecting you. You're alone – since you declined to stay in your family home where you'll have enough protection."

He snorted. "I'd rather eat grass. I'm okay here."

"Okay." She sighed contentedly. "I was able to get you out in less than forty-eight hours. Remember to uphold the end of your bargain."

"I feel like I might start dreaming of it if you say that again."

She laughed and he regarded her with surprise. Weren't lawyers supposed to be aloof and distant? Okay, maybe not distant, but have aloof mannerisms to prove that they knew best how to shit? This one was friendly enough to offer a first-name basis. And her laugher? Totally unprofessional. Little wonder they had brought her to defend him.

It was clear as day that they were only wasting their time and energy in trying to liberate his image that had sunk deep into the mud. But she seemed enthusiastic about it which was very funny to him. He hoped she would still keep her childlike look at the world after reading his arrest file and seeing the photos from that day. He shivered involuntarily. That day still gave him the creeps.

The door swung open and a teary Regina ran toward him, shoving the lawyer out of the way.

"Regan!" She exclaimed sulkily. "I missed you." She hugged him and he awkwardly patted her back. He looked at the lawyer and saw that her face hadn't changed emotions. They still smiled brightly.

"I have a lot to tell you!"

"Okay, but first I need to see Blaire."

"No. First, you need to shower. You sink like a goat's ass." Regina said.

He sighed. "Fine." Then he turned to look at the lawyer. "Thank you, Miss Allen. I won't hold you further."

Jody smiled and turned to leave. Regina didn't even acknowledge her presence. "I have a lot to tell you. But first," she reached for her bag and brought out two bottles. "this is a bath ointment. It will leave you smelling terrific. Let's go to the bathroom." She took his arms and dragged him with her.

Regan groaned. It was going to be a long night.

~

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