"From our conversations with Agent Oliver and the prosecutor, we believe that once your interview is finished today, and as long as you all agree not to discuss the actual case, then a supervised visit can be organized." Victoria sounded certain that the necessary arrangements could be made.
"As for the interview today, you need to remember that you don't owe these agents any information that you don't feel comfortable sharing." He was slightly surprised by the tone of Mimi's voice, but he trusted her to explain.
"There is more than enough evidence to ensure that Sinclair and his goons are put away for the rest of their miserable lives. These agents won't stop until they have found everyone and we will certainly help them to do that, but what I will not allow is for your pain, your suffering to be used to further the career of people." Nate was confused, Mimi seemed angry at someone.
"Even if we are deliberately keeping some things secret still?" This seemed to Nate as if it could be problematic in the future.
"We have learned that there have been a few agents, some state police who have been giving anonymous interviews to the press, not only endangering the investigation but making sordid and vile claims. Naturally we have been doing everything we can to find out who they are." Victoria added.
"Can we trust Agent Oliver?" He knew that the agent had been present when Grace had been interviewed and he hated the thoughts of her words being leaked to the press.
"He has proved that he can be trustworthy." Mimi stated, leaving little room for further questions.
"If at any time you want to stop; or don't want to give any specifics, then just let me know, and I'll handle it." Before he could reply to Victoria, they heard the bell that announced the arrival of the elevator to their floor.
Through the glass they could see Agent Oliver, accompanied by another man. Neither Mimi or Victoria seemed pleased by the new addition and it wasn't lost on Nate that his lawyer pressed a button to activate the room's cameras recording function.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The introductions had been brief and to the point, but ever since Nate had shaken the newcomer's hand he had felt on edge, and he wasn't the only one. Mimi was, to all appearances in full welcome mode, but her smile never quite met her eyes. If either Agent Oliver, or the new agent, Frank Midler noticed they never let on.
Agent Midler was in his early to mid thirties, with a receding hairline that he tired to hide and cold eyes that seemed to follow Nate's every move. The man's voice made his skin crawl, and he couldn't help but wonder if the nasally tone was due to having his nose broken at some point.
Having learned early on to trust his gut when meeting new people; the first few answers he gave were brief, with no new information. To give Agent Oliver his due, he didn't press Nate to expand on what he was saying, and he was willing to change the subject.
His colleague however was not reading the atmosphere in the room. Nate could tell that he had an agenda, that his questions were pointed and searching, but he couldn't figure out why. Mimi must have reached the same conclusion, interrupting the agent mid-sentence.
"What did you say your name was again?" She asked, her voice laced with barely disguised boredom.
"Frank Midler, Agent."
"Not Special Agent like Oliver here?" Nate quickly turned his snort of laughter into a cough at the dismissive way Mimi addressed the man.
"I can assure you Ms Riley that I am qualified to be here today."
"Oh I don't doubt that Mr Midler." She snapped back before looking to Agent Oliver to continue, but before the older of the two agents could say anything, Midler jumped in.
"We are still going through the information that you gave us at your first interview and had some additional questions." Midler spoke to Nate as if he was stupid.
"I'm aware of the purpose of a follow up interview," he drawled in reply. "With the number of minions my stepfather has I can see why you might be so slow to find everyone."
"Then you need to help us by actually giving us the details that we need. I'm sure that you wouldn't like it if your lack of cooperation led to your stepfather being released." He felt as if he had been slapped.
"I sincerely hope, Agent Midler, that you are not trying to bully my client." Victoria's voice was pure ice.
"Of course not, I was just reminding him of the possible consequences."
"That sure sounds like a threat to me. Another such comment and I will end this interview."
The agent tried to apologize and for the next twenty minutes the questions were asked by Agent Oliver. Nate went over his first meeting with his stepfather, how he had sensed something was wrong, but he had never imagined just what he would have to live through. He gave some new details about the abuse he had suffered, how his stepfather's friends had worn masks when they used to spend time with him.
When he spoke about the papers that Sinclair had tried to make him sign, Victoria was able to explain why they had been important to what his stepfather was trying to achieve, how he needed control over his stepson to gain access to all the money that had been left to him following his grandmother's death.
As the legal chatter continued Nate found his attention wandering; both agents seemed very interested in the documents that Victoria was showing them. The paper trail for the money that Sinclair had tried to steal, his attempts to gain control of the Henderson Fund; both as a way to pay for his acquired lifestyle and also as a way to launder the large amounts of money he was receiving through his blackmail and extortion schemes. Movement across the table caught his eye, a memory pulling at him, and then the room fell away in a moment and he was back in his stepfather's study...
"Francis I'm so glad you could join us today. You have been working hard and it is time for a reward." From his place in the corner of the room, Nate watched as his stepfather greeted his visitor.
The young man was well dressed, his hair was gelled back and he was holding some papers in his hand, which he placed on the desk in front of Charles. He did not like how happy his stepfather looked, normally this only meant pain for him.
"Once our business is finished then I promise an evening you will never forget." He couldn't really hear what else was said, and the longer he could remain away from the men the better. While the words washed over him, he became aware of a new sound, one that was barely audible, but constant, through out the conversation.
"Nathan." His head snapped up at the sound of his stepfather's voice, scrambling to stand to attention. "As you can see he responds well to direct orders, though he still has some fight left. If you know how to push him that is."
The words made no sense to Nate, they rarely did, but still they filled him with dread. "Take a seat here boy."
Knowing that it would do no good to disobey an order, especially with an audience, he walked to the chair. It was placed so that his vision was filled with the sight of the visitor's back, which was bare for some reason.
"Now boy, this is what happens to those who know their place, and who don't question my orders." A strange burning smell filled the room, there was a slight gasp of pain, all mixed with the constant unrecognizable sound.
"Time for some medicine boy."
The memory faded, and it took everything for Nate not to jump from his chair. There was a vile taste in his mouth that he could not account for. He could hear the raggedness of his breathing as he tried to swallow back bile, and the concern in Mimi's voice. He didn't know how much time had passed or if the man across from him knew what had just happened, but he needed time to think.
"Sorry, I've been having some trouble with my attention span. I knocked my head last week, and the doctor said it was probably from that." Nate had to credit Mimi and Victoria for not reacting to his lie.
"Plus all the paperwork stuff is kinda dull don't you think?" He could only hope that his answer was enough not to alert the agent that anything was wrong.
"Paperwork can be a necessary evil," Victoria qu
ipped before moving the interview along again. He was even more guarded about his answers, but he did try to leave some breadcrumbs for the agents to follow.
"Were you surprised by the events of the Pep Rally?" Agent Midler asked.
"Can you be a bit more specific please?" Nate hoped he sounded polite.
"Well any of them. Did you ever suspect that your father would go so far as to take hostages for example."
"I suppose it depends on your definition of hostage. For example, my late grandfather would tell you that Charles Sinclair took my mother and I hostage on the day he married her. That by keeping us isolated, by drugging my mother, we had no way of ever leaving."
"That's an interesting way of looking at things Nate," Agent Oliver's voice was kind, the older man making a note of the words he had used.
"It's not the same as what Ms Andrews went through," Midler added.
"My granddaughter was drugged, then taken from her home. Amelia Henderson was drugged so that she could not leave her home of her own free will. Seems pretty similar to me." Mimi was beginning to sound annoyed.
"Sinclair."
"Excuse me?" Nate snapped at the agent.
"Technically your mother's name is Sinclair, she took your father's name when she married him." Agent Midler insisted. "And I guess it's your name too, since you were adopted by Charles Sinclair."
There was quiet in the room, Nate didn't like the look on the agent's face, it was smug, as if he enjoyed taunting him. It was also foolish behavior as it had alerted Mimi and Victoria to something, possibly the other agent as well.
"You know, I wasn't aware that the adoption was public knowledge just yet?" Victoria said smoothly, starting to lay the trap, but Nate needed a little bit more time to work on his own hunch.
"All the agents on this case have access to all the documents associated with it." With each word spoken, Agent Midler condemned himself, and Mimi had obviously decided to help him out just a little more.
"You are being exceptionally diligent in your research for this case, perhaps I was wrong about you Mr Midler."
"We are always willing to go the extra mile, if it means getting the outcome we want. It's why I insisted on speaking with Charles, Mr Sinclair, prior to this interview."
"You've seen my stepfather in jail?" Nate was a little confused.
"All regular procedure I assure you. Agent Oliver accompanied me." He could tell from the man's voice that his colleague's presence had been unwelcome.
"He had some interesting things to say in the course of his interview. He feels as if you are acting out against him, that you have never respected him, and wish that he had never married you mother."
"I can't deny that I wish he had never met my mother, that he was never part of our lives, but I'm not sure how his abducting a teenage girl can be excused."
"But was she really abducted? The football players say that it was all part of a consensual hazing stunt for the rally. She was named the Homecoming Queen for goodness sake, hardly the actions of a kidnapper."
"Are you serious right now?" Nate spoke over Mimi, who was promising to inflict a world of hurt on Midler for his last statement.
"Agent, a word please. Outside." Agent Oliver was on his feet, ready to leave, and Nate knew he had to prevent that at all costs.
"Actually why don't we give you the room, and we can wait outside." Mimi and Victoria were quick to agree with this suggestion, leaving the two men no other option but to stay where they were. He deliberately walked passed where the men had been sitting, noticing the familiar pattern that Midler had been drawing on the notebook in front of him.
Once outside and with some distance between them and the room, Nate quickly filled the two women in, about his flashback, his suspicions and his plan to prove his theory.
"Just be careful with what you say, we can't be accused of entrapment okay?" Victoria said quietly, all the time keeping watch on the two men in the room.
"The adoption comment that was a slip right?" Mimi nodded her head in confirmation.
"We ran background checks on the majority of people working the case, and for Midler to pass it means he has been working with Charles for a long time. Has probably been with him from the start, or was recruited very early. I think, but can't be sure, that he lacks the vision and imagination to see you as a real threat, so we can use that. Lure him into a sense of false security."
Nate almost smiled at the way Victoria kept her gaze on the conference room, trying to ignore what Mimi was telling him.
"You might hear things, that I haven't shared as yet, and you have to promise me you won't react." He whispered so that both ladies could hear him, and he hoped, the urgency in his voice.
"I don't like the sound of that," Mimi replied instantly.
"We will both protect you Nate. If I feel as if you are skirting a line, legally speaking, I'll find a way to let you know." He smiled in gratitude at his lawyer.
"Oliver knows that something is up, he's not stupid." At his questioning look Mimi just smiled. "This is not the first time our paths have crossed, I can't say anything else."
Mimi's words were somewhat comforting but before Nate could ask anything else, they were called back to the conference room. Midler was so busy preening that he missed the glance between Mimi and Agent Oliver.
"In our search for the truth," Agent Oliver began once everyone was sitting again, "we got a little sidetracked. It happens from time to time, and for that we are sorry." He looked expectantly at his colleague, who made a face that Nate could only guess was meant to look apologetic.
"We would be really grateful if you would let us return to your earliest memories with Charles Sinclair." The tone of voice used by Agent Oliver suggested that the older man would be happy for Nate to call an end to the entire interview, but that it would only delay the inevitable.
"That's right, we need to ask you some questions that might be distressing." Nate remained quiet, focusing on his breathing and controlling his responses, knowing that the rogue agent was looking for any way to discredit him.
"There have been reports of abuse that you suffered while in the care of your mother, Amelia Henderson Sinclair."
"Are you suggesting that my client's mother abused her son?" Nate was glad that Victoria was on his side, her harsh rebuke showing that she would not let anything slide.
"What my colleague meant to ask, was if Mr Henderson felt comfortable sharing details about his childhood, beginning with when Mr Charles Sinclair first became involved with his mother. Or if he would prefer to provide us with a written statement."
Agent Oliver threw the words out like a sharp reminder to the other man that he was on shaky ground.
With little choice, Nate recounted some of the experiences during the years he spent in the same house as his stepfather. How Charles described his methods of torture as discipline and how he liked to invite his friends over to participate.
"You never thought of speaking out, of telling someone?" Midler asked.
"If you had actually listened to what my client told you, then you would have your answer. Mr Charles Sinclair, from almost the first, isolated his stepson so that there was no one he could turn to."
"I mean no disrespect to young Nate here, but if we have no corroborating evidence, we will be unable to charge Mr Sinclair in relation to any of these allegations."
Nate felt his temper rising at the sheer gall of the man sitting across from him. He was just waiting for the right moment to trap the agent.
"How do we actually know that what your client has said is true? We haven't seen any medical records from the time, indeed no doctors in the area reported that they were ever called to the family home." Nate sat up a little straighter in his chair, as another puzzle piece fell into place.
"My stepfather had a friend with medical training who would be called to the house to patch up the worst of my injuries. I had never seen him before my mother remarried,
and I've been lucky enough not to have become reacquainted with him since my return."
"Do you know if this doctor friend of your stepfather ever treated your mother? Or if he was the one who provided the drugs given to her?" Agent Oliver asked.
"I always suspected he was helping my stepfather, he was one of the few people that Charles seemed to trust without question. Of course considering the information the doctor had, it was clear why."
"I'm afraid I don't understand Nathan." From the corner of his eye Nate could see the slight flinch from Mimi at the use of this name, and how it yet again proved that Agent Midler was more involved than he should be.
"My stepfather, as I am sure you are aware from your research into this case, is paranoid by nature. He had many ways of ensuring the loyalty of those around him. The doctor also treated people who had been hurt while in service to my stepfather. We have already found several documents to support this."
"I sincerely hope for your sake that you have not tampered with evidence." Midler threatened.
"What my client is trying to tell you, is that while reviewing personal items removed from his house, we became aware of documents with information of a sensitive nature."
He watched in awe as Victoria tore down every one of Agent Midler's arguments and threats about what Nate had done, how he might face prosecution and so on, Agent Oliver sitting back allowing it all to happen, before intervening.
"Nate, if you would be so kind as to give us an idea of what you are referring to, so that we can follow procedure to gain access to the files ourselves." The older man gave him encouraging nod, proving that what Mimi had said about him was true.
"My stepfather liked to know about his henchmen, especially the early recruits. He would insist that they have full medical assessments, and he would hold on to the results. This included dental impressions, pre-existing conditions and so on. These were constantly updated."
"When Mr Henderson was reunited with his grandfather, he was treated by several doctors due to his current injuries at the time. During these treatments the doctors noted past injuries, bones that had not healed properly, scaring and so on. These records can be made available to you."
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