"James Hunter, please come with me," the officer said.
That was fast. James kept his hand in mine as we followed the police officer through the door. We walked down a narrow corridor into a larger room with tons of desks. This was actually a lot more like T.V. shows and movies. Detective and police officers were on phones, a few guys were handcuffed to chairs, and there was a buzz of electricity in the air. There were even maps on the walls and pictures of wanted subjects. We followed the officer to a desk and sat down.
"I'm Officer Daugherty and I'll be handling your case." He glanced at his notepad. "I understand you're filing a complaint about blackmail against Isabella Hunter. Correct?"
"Yes," James said.
"Wife?" he asked as he jotted something down in his notebook.
"Ex-wife. I'm getting remarried tomorrow."
Officer Daugherty looked up and eyed me coolly. "Name?" he said.
"Penny Taylor."
"Okay." He turned to his computer and typed something on his keyboard. He scrolled with his mouse and glanced at me once more. "You have a much better record than your future husband."
It took every ounce of restraint not to ask about James' record. That was one thing I still didn't know about. I knew he had been arrested in the past. I just didn't know all the details. "Um...thanks," I said instead.
The officer smiled. "I'll need to know the specifics of the blackmail. What were the demands and what were the compromising materials that Isabella Hunter had against you?" He started typing on his computer again.
"Right," James said. "She had photos of us having sex in my office that she was going to leak to tabloids if we didn't send her 20 million dollars." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Officer Daugherty paused in his typing and looked up at him. "Did you say 20 million dollars?"
"That is correct," James said. "And we gave it to her."
"Okay, well, that escalates this to a felony. Do you know if your ex-wife is currently in New York City? We're going to need to bring her in for questioning."
"I have no idea," James said.
Officer Daugherty typed something into his computer. "Do you have any documentation of her demands and threats?"
"She had been sending pictures and notes to Penny all week trying to get in her head. And then she sent her some text messages about the money yesterday. Show him, Penny."
I pulled my phone out of my purse, clicked on the text message thread, and slid it toward Officer Daugherty.
He picked up the phone and thumbed through the messages. "Okay, give me one second." He lifted up his desk phone and typed in the number from my cell phone into his phone. He immediately hung up. "The phone used for these texts has been disconnected. Are you sure it was her?"
"It was definitely her," I said.
"Were the photos and notes she had sent you signed?"
"No. But one of the things she sent was notes that James had written her when they were married."
"Was there anything else?"
I tried to think. "Yes, there were emails too that she sent me at work. But they were just from a random email account and she didn't say her name."
"Okay, we're going to need access to those as well. I can send an officer with you to pick up the pictures and notes she sent you. We will need access to your work email."
"I can give you temporary access to our server," James said and gestured for Officer Daugherty to hand him his pen and notebook. James quickly jotted down something in the notebook and pushed it back toward Officer Daugherty.
"Alright," he said. "Do you know what bank this account is in? We'll need to verify the amount you're claiming as well."
"Actually, she said it was her account as you can see from the text. But it went to one of my friends," I said.
"And you assume that this friend wasn't the one behind the threats?"
"No. Absolutely not," I said.
I could feel James' eyes on me. I knew what he was thinking. We knew Austin was working with Isabella. So why not Tyler? But I knew Tyler. He never would have done something like that. Even if he was still in love with me. Really, the fact that he loved me made it even less likely.
"Why would your ex-wife send your soon-to-be new wife's friend 20 million dollars?"
"She was trying to get us to break up," I said.
Officer Daugherty nodded, but it didn't really look like he believed me. "Right, right. Do you have this friend's contact information?"
"Yes. Tyler Stevens. His number is in my phone."
"Okay, great. I'm going to give your friend a call real quick."
"I don't really think that's necessary," I said. I pictured Tyler walking away from me back on campus. He had been so upset. This wasn't the way to tell him that James and I had worked things out. This wasn't right.
"It'll just take a second," the officer said as he lifted up his desk phone again.
"It wasn't him," I said. "He had nothing to do with this."
"I'm just verifying the bank account information."
"It did go to him," James said, clearly understanding my distress. "I talked to my bank and they said the name belonging to that account was Tyler Stevens. You can just verify it with my bank."
"Do you know what bank the money went to?"
"No, he didn't say. But I can find out if you want."
"That would be great. How about you give your bank a call while I give Mr. Stevens a call." He lifted up his phone before I could say anything else to stop him.
"Hello, Tyler Stevens?" He paused. "This is Officer Daugherty with the NYPD." Pause. "No, everything is fine. For now." He gave me an accusatory glance.
Why is this happening right now?
"I'm going to call my bank," James said and squeezed my arm. "Don't worry, we're going to figure this out." He stood up and walked toward an empty desk to make his call. I focused back on what Officer Daugherty was saying. He was reading the account information to Tyler.
"No?" Officer Daugherty said. "Yes, if you wouldn't mind checking your account." Pause. "Are you sure, Mr. Stevens?" Pause. "Yes," he said as he glanced up at me. "I'm sitting with her right now." Pause. "I will let her know. If you'll please just keep an eye on your account. We may need to contact you again." Pause. "I'm sure she'll be happy to fill you in. In the meantime, please don't discuss this incident with any outside parties." Pause. "You too, Mr. Stevens." Officer Daugherty hung up the phone and typed something in his computer.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"He said he wanted you to call him."
I thought back to our conversation on campus. We had never talked about the money. He had never even asked about it.
"Did he have the money?" James asked as he sat down next to me.
"No," Officer Daugherty said. "He claims that account doesn't belong to him and that he doesn't have the money." He glanced down at his computer. "His account currently holds only $24,000. According to him." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "If there is any more information that you haven't provided, now would be the time."