Chapter 13 - The Interrogation Room
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By 3:00 a.m., the rain had stopped, leaving the city quiet and damp under a foggy sky.
I sat in a cold interview room at the state police headquarters, wrapped in a grey wool police blanket over my ruined wedding gown. A paper cup of lukewarm coffee sat untouched on the metal table in front of me.
Trooper Miller walked in, holding a thick blue folder. He pulled out a chair and sat down opposite me.
"Evan Vance’s real name is Evan Vance-Miller," the officer began, opening the file. "He has two prior convictions for grand larceny and identity fraud in Illinois. He ran a classic confidence scheme—targeting wealthy widows and divorcées with asset-heavy estates."
I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "How did he find me?"
"Through your brother," Miller explained flatly. "Evan met Peter at a regional real estate seminar seven months ago. Peter was bragging about his late brother-in-law's insurance trust, trying to find a partner for his riverfront development idea. Evan recognized an easy target immediately."
"And Peter went along with it?"
"Peter is an idiot, Mrs. Miller, but he wasn't the mastermind," Miller said, sliding a sheet of paper across the table. "Peter thought Evan was going to borrow the funds legally through a short-term corporate loan. He didn't realize Evan was planning to drain the entire trust and flee to South America until he saw the shell company transfer documents tonight."
"What happens to them now?" I asked.
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"Evan is being held without bail on charges of grand larceny, identity theft, forgery, and arson," Miller said. "Because of his prior felony record in Illinois, he’s looking at fifteen to twenty years in federal prison."
He paused, looking at me with sympathetic eyes. "As for your brother Peter... he’s facing accessory charges. But given that he tackled the suspect and recovered the stolen property, the prosecutor might offer him a plea deal with probation."
