“For the attempted murder of Mr. Finlay Reed.” My eyes widened in horror.

“You’re joking-“

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-“

“And you need proof before making me guilty-“

“We have proof and an arrest warrant. You need to come with us right now or else we will be required to use force.”

“What proof?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“We’ll discuss it all in our office-“

“Conner?” I glanced at him and he averted his gaze from me.

“Right now Miss Katz.” The dark-haired officer extended his hand, and I smacked it.

“Show me the warrant.” I took it from him and couldn’t believe my eyes when I read it.

“We also have a search warrant, and we need to search your house now. If you tried to stop us-“

“Go ahead.” I cut him off and gestured inside. “Let me know if you find anything and don’t creep into my panties.” I plastered a fake smile on my face.

Finlay crossed his arms and watched the officers coming inside and began searching for... Whatever they were trying to find. Conner stood at the door frame and didn’t look at me once. I remained calm knowing I did nothing wrong but wondered what they found on me to get a warrant. My eyes widened at the thought.

The box is in my car!

I looked at the busy officers and Conner, then back at Finlay. I mouthed ‘The box‘ and his eyes widened in understatement. He walked past everyone out of my apartment. I didn’t know what he’ll do, but I believed he’ll get rid of it somehow.

After around half an hour of searching and looking at my things, they gave up when they didn’t find anything and asked me to come with them. When we walked downstairs, the officer asked for my car keys, which I hesitantly gave him.

Finlay was nowhere, and I suddenly felt nervous. The officer eyed me but said nothing and looked into my car. A breath of relief escaped my lips when he found nothing and I sat in the back of Conner’s car with one officer in front and the dark-haired one in the back with me.

I watched Finlay running towards me, and I scooted in the middle, making space for him. The officer raised his brows at me as the car began towards the road.

“I like to sit in the middle.” I shrugged. My cheeks heated in embarrassment when the dude looked at me like I was missing a few screws.

“I hid it,” Finlay mumbled from my right.

I nodded my head and turned it straight. My eyes caught Conners in the review mirror and I saw betrayal in them, but before I could put much thought into it, he diverted his gaze.

The ride to the FBI Field Office felt long and heavy. Everyone was quiet, but there was a storm inside my head. I tried to remember what kind of evidence I might have left for them to plead me guilty.

I was always careful, and the only thing that came to my mind was Candice. She must have said something and turned their direction towards me.

The car came to a halt and the officer next to me got out and waited beside the door for me as I would run away. Rolling my eyes at the dude, I stepped outside and angled my neck up to see the enormous building.

I always wanted to visit this place but as an investigator, not as a criminal.

Following the officers inside, I looked around. People were busy with their work and no one paid attention to us. We walked into the elevator and they pressed the button to some floor.

I glanced to my right to see Finlay observing us. It looked like he wanted to say something, but knowing I won’t be able to answer, he remained silent.

We walked out of the elevator and my breath hitched when the dark-haired officer gestured for me to enter the interrogation room. Swallowing hard, I stepped inside the dark room with two white chairs and a table in the middle. Only the bulb on the ceiling illuminated the table.

I sat at the table quietly and looked to my left to see a vast mirror. There were also cameras in the room and a mic on the table to record the conversation.

“Miss Amber Katz.” The dark-haired officer closed the door and sat in front of me. “I’m Agent Oliver from Scotland’s private investigative agency known as Pegasus Investigations Limited.” I frowned at that.

Scotland?

My brain wheels ran at that. From day one, I’ve seen this guy with Conner. The Cockburns must have sent him to look after Finlay’s case from the beginning. I thought about when the two tuxedo guys who wore sunglasses inside the hospital. They were guarding Finlay’s body. They must be from this ‘Pegasus’ Agency.

But I don’t get why his family is interested in Finlay when I saw no connection between them. From the pictures, I saw on Google it was clear they had nothing to do with him since he was in none of them.

This mystery is getting tangled instead of solved.

“You’re from Scotland?” He nodded at that and I gave him a once-over. “You don’t sound Scottish.”

“I’ve learned different accents.” He answered, sounding smug. “Now let us begin-“

“Agent Oliver, let me tell you something.” I placed my arms on the table and leaned in. “I know you did a background check on me to know I’m an investigative journalist -“

“You’re a sub-writer.” He said, making me halt.

“For now...” I cleared my throat, getting awkward. “And I know how things work, so save your time and mine, and let me call my lawyer, and then we’ll do the talking.” I plastered a smile on my face.

He stared at me, then sighed and placed a phone in front of me. Picking it up, I eyed him. He got the cue and left the room. I glanced at the mic and saw it was on, so I had to be careful.

I took a deep breath and dialed the only number I knew could save my a** from this.

“Hello?”

“Uncle Hudson.”

“Amber?” His voice was laced with confusion. “Why are you not at work and whose number is this? Where is your phone I’ve been calling you since morning-”

“Uncle, I need your help...” I side glanced at the mirror knowing they were listening and watching me. “I’m in trouble.”

“What did you do now?” He sighed, making me roll my eyes.

He had saved my a**  lot of times before, so I didn’t blame him for thinking I did something.

“I was digging in Finlay’s case.” He stepped in front of me and I looked into his eyes. “And they think I’m involved in it.”

“What?!” He screamed, making me wince. “Who is in charge?”

“It was Conner...” I thought back to when he said they handed the case over to the Scottish agency. “But now I think it’s someone from Scotland name Oliver.”

“How did this even happen?”

“I don’t know, but I’m being held.” I looked around the room.

“F**k!” He groaned. “Don’t say a word until I get there.”

“Alright,” I mumbled, and he hung up, but I didn’t put the phone down as I stared at Finlay. “Leave now.”

“I will not leave you alone.” He crossed his arms, looking determined.

I bit my cheek to stop myself from saying something stupid, but I wanted to be alone. I burned my gaze on him, but he didn’t budge from his place. Knowing he won’t give up, I placed the phone down and took a deep breath.

I waited for them but no one entered the room and I sat there alone with Finlay standing in front of me. The longer I sat there, the more my blood boiled and my hands itched to break something… more like someone and I knew who that someone was.

A certain blondie I hated from the beginning.

• • • • •

A/N

Here is an early update!

How's the mystery going so far? 👀

And poor Amber got caught in the middle of it again. 😬

Let's see how she's going to get out of this mess...