Chapter 3

The car pulled into the car park at the station. My nerves refilled my stomach. Logan was out of the car before I found the courage to unbuckle my belt. He opened my door and offered me his hand. I shook my head, sitting firmly. He crouched down in the doorway.

“Leah, you need to report this.”

I shook my head, scared. He reached in slowly and placed a hand on top of mine.

“I’m here with you. Trust me, the best detective I know is in there waiting for you. Amelia will look after you.”

“How do you know her?”

“I have worked a few cases alongside her before. Leah, I'm a lawyer.”

My eyes flashed up to him, wide. What were the chances that the one person I would come across in this situation would be a lawyer? The look in his eyes made me feel safe. Part of me couldn't help but wonder if that was why I found him safe and grounding.  I nodded my head, and he pulled away and stood back away from the car. Unbuckling my belt, taking a deep breath, and stepping out into the cool night air shook my nerves a little. Step by step, one foot in front of the other, I followed him inside. There was a large white reception desk just inside the front door.

“Good evening, we are here to see Amelia Clarke.”  

I always kept my distance one step back from Logan.

“Ah, Mr. Carter. Of course. Miss Clarke has not arrived yet; however, we do have a room ready for her. Please follow me.”

Logan smiled towards me and extended his hand to follow the officer on the desk. Taking a deep breath, I followed him to a door where he swiped a card for it to open. Looking over my shoulder, I checked constantly that Logan was one step behind me at every turn.  

The corridors felt constricting and confining, until it opened up into a large office space. There were several officers walking around, and others huddled talking around a desk. We were led through another door, into a corridor filled with numbered doors. We were shown in a room halfway down on the left. Interview 6 was etched into the sign on the door. Inside was a table with four chairs. Two chairs on either side of the table. The white walls were towering. My eyes scoured every inch of the room before I stepped fully inside. There was a camera in the corner near the door. In the back corner was a water cooler.  

It wasn’t until that moment I realised how dry my mouth and throat had become. Logan noticed and pulled a cup from the holder and poured some water. He offered it to me slowly, watching me carefully. I thanked him with a quiet smile. Sipping the cool water slowly, I took a seat the furthest away from the door in the corner. Logan took the seat next to me. I shuffled into the chair trying to settle but my stomach was churning.  

There was a loud bang in the corridor that startled me. I lurched up from the chair so quickly that I tipped my chair over. As the chair hit the floor behind me, I jumped again spinning around and backing up towards the table. I knocked the water over as I hit the table and quickly spun to try and clear it up. My heart was racing, and my breathing became heavy. My ears were pumping with the sound of my heartbeat. My vision was blurry, and it was only when I felt Logans hand on my arm that I looked over to him, I had to blink several times for my vision to clear.