Chapter 7: The Station
Officer Briggs was waiting for us at the front desk when we arrived.
He led us to a small conference room — gray walls, a table with four chairs, a paper cup of water nobody touched.
Patricia was already there, a leather folder open in front of her, pen in hand.
Michael arrived eleven minutes later, escorted by a different officer.
He was younger than I expected.
Thinner.
He had Jake's same jaw, Jake's same way of holding his shoulders — but where Jake's face had always been smooth and easy, Michael's looked like someone had been pressing on it from the inside for a very long time.
He sat down across from Emily.
She looked at him for a long moment.
"You could have called me directly," she said.
"Months ago."
"I know." He didn't look away.
"I was afraid Jake would find out and run before you had the document.
Royce has people who watch for that kind of thing."
"So you waited until my gender reveal."
"I waited until I had everything.
The full document.
The notary records.
The name of the account Royce used to receive Jake's first payment." He set a folded envelope on the table.
"It's all in there.
I had copies made."
Patricia slid the envelope toward herself without opening it.
"Mr.
Calloway," she said.
"When did you first become aware that your brother had entered into this agreement?"
"Late March.
Jake called me.
He was — he sounded scared.
He told me what he'd signed and asked me if I knew a way out." Michael's hands were flat on the table.
"I told him there wasn't one.
Not a clean one.
I told him he needed to go to the police."
"He didn't."
"No.
He told me it would be fine.
That he'd find the money." A pause.
"He didn't find the money."
Officer Briggs leaned forward.
"Mr.
Calloway, do you have a current location for Royce Callum?"
"Not a home address.
But I know he has an office — or what he uses as one — in a commercial building in Henderson.
I can give you the address." He looked at Briggs directly.
"He's not going to run.
Men like Royce don't run.
They make other people run."
Emily spoke.
"The text my mother received this morning.
'This becomes a family matter.' What does that mean?"
Michael was quiet for a moment.
"It means he'll use the pregnancy," he said.
"Not physically.
Royce is too careful for that.
He'll use it as leverage.
Threaten to make Jake's situation public in a way that destroys Emily's reputation along with his.
Or he'll find a way to create legal complications around the baby — false claims, custody interference, anything that costs money and time and keeps Emily afraid."
"He can't do that," Patricia said.
"He can try.
And trying is enough to cause damage." Michael looked at Emily.
"I'm sorry.
I know that's not what you want to hear."
"What I want," Emily said, "is for someone to explain to me why my husband thought any of this was acceptable."
Michael didn't answer right away.
Then: "Jake has always believed he could fix things after the fact.
That if he could just buy enough time, the problem would shrink." He paused.
"It never shrinks."
Briggs stood.
"We have enough to bring Jake in for formal questioning.
His attorney has been notified." He looked at Emily.
"Mrs.
Calloway, the protective order Patricia filed this morning has been processed.
That covers you and the residence.
We're also pursuing the threat message as a separate matter."
Emily nodded.
"One more thing," Michael said.
He reached into his jacket pocket and placed a small USB drive on the table.
"There are recordings on there.
Phone calls between Jake and Royce from February and March.
Jake didn't know I had them." He looked at Briggs.
"I recorded them because I was scared of what Jake was getting into.
I didn't know I'd need them for this."
Briggs picked up the drive carefully.
"Mr.
Calloway, I'm going to need you to remain available for the next several days."
"I'm not going anywhere," Michael said.
Emily stood to leave.
At the door, she paused.
She turned back to Michael.
"Did he ever mention the baby?" she asked.
"When he talked to you about all of this.
Did he ever bring up the fact that I was pregnant?"
Michael's expression shifted.
Something moved across his face that he didn't try to hide.
"Once," he said.
"In March.
I asked him how he could have signed that document knowing you were expecting." He stopped.
"What did he say?"
"He said he didn't think it would ever get this far."
May you like
Emily held his gaze for one more second.
Then she walked out.
