Orla.
"I just got a call from the station," Mateo divulged, walking into my room while I shut the door after him and followed suit. We'd lodged a suite in the hotel last night due to the abrupt mayhem.
"We've been invited for questioning."
I nodded silently.
Narrowing his gaze in evident concern, he asked, "You okay?"
"Why?"
"It's Sebastian involved here."
"Do I have a reason not to be?" I asked casually. "I'll be out in a jiff," I said rather, looking away and heading to the closet.
In a few moments, we were set and already heading to the station in his car.
"What did your friend say?" I asked randomly, scrolling through the tabloids on last night's incident on my tablet. His friend worked with the police and I was inquiring about the investigation.
"Aside from the fact that the shooter was a good sniper, every other thing is off the radar," he said.
"And his location?" I asked, raising my stare at him.
"I think the perpetrator came prepared, probably bringing a camera jammer," he stated. "Tracing the bullet's trajectory, locations were narrowed, and a couple of CCTV footage was obtained from them. But ultimately, the police found nothing."
I induced a brief silence to try and assimilate what he just said.
"Any statement yet?" I inquired, referring to Sebastian. "Has he been able to make any?"
"He's still out. As we speak, his ward is being heavily guarded in the hospital. Once he wakes up, the cops are most likely to get his statement."
"I see," I mumbled, dropping my hand to my lap.
"You okay though?" he broke the silence that ensued.
"There you go again," I mumbled with an eye roll, unbothered.
"I mean, last night was meant to mark a new dawn. But all you got was a jumpscare. And now, police questioning."
Heaving a sigh, I sank into my seat, leaning against the headrest with my face thrown out the window.
"You could have my bacon as compensation," he said cheerfully.
"As if," I mumbled playfully, knowing he could kill for those.
We got to the station in about fifteen minutes and were led to the interrogation room where the interview was going to be held.
"I'm sorry, I hope we didn't keep you waiting," said the officer who just walked in while a younger colleague trailed behind.
I checked the time and it was barely a minute since we arrived.
The duo took their seats across the large table standing between us and then went on to set up their laptop, ready to take our statements.
"Thank you for making time despite your busy schedules. You both are the first to honor our invitation," the man with short curly hair I deemed the senior, started.
"And before we start, it's just a formality. In no way are you considered suspects."
I adjusted my seat, crossing my arms as I was already getting bored of the long talk.
Clearing his throat, he went right into business.
"What relationship do you share with the said Sebastian?" he asked while the lad warmed up, positioning his fingers above the keyboard.
"We USED to be friends," Mateo answered emphatically, kickstarting those long fingers, the active clacks that cushioned the air betraying his need to keep up with their conversation.
"'USED to'?" he reechoed, scrunching the space between his brows into a skeptical line.
Unfazed, Mateo nodded.
"And you invited him to her unveiling party?" he asked, briefly drifting to me midway into the question.
"We're all in the same industry. Are all your colleagues called friends?" Mateo retorted.
Well deserved.
"May I ask why you're no longer friends though?" He relaxed against his seat, now staring through narrowed eyelids in scrutiny.
What happened to 'In no way are you considered suspects?'
Me and Mateo exchanged knowing stares. A quick reply was a luxury neither of us could afford this time.
"Well, we – "
"We used to date and then broke up," I blurted, betraying our wordless resolve and attracting an agape stare whipping to me from the side. Their eyes rolled in my direction, expressions flushed with surprise. "Happy now? Or do you also want to know why we broke up?" I asked bluntly. If this was going to hasten this up, then I didn't mind.
The younger officer flickered his gaping eyes back to the screen, his fingers taking some time to regain flexibility while the other had his lingering on me for a little while longer.
Sebastian and I had our relationship hidden so it was no shocker they reacted that way.
"Why did you guys break up?" he asked still, locking my gaze.
"Ditched me on our wedding. Said I wasn't good enough."
Although slight, I could pick up subtle hints of disbelief on his face, probably baffled at how straightforward I was being.
Mateo on the other hand still had a confused gaze glued to me.
"Any chance you could've done this out of revenge?"
His tone changed, suspicion now warring intensely with the probing look in his eyes. Perching his elbows on the table, he stretched his head to me, relaxing his chin on intertwined knuckles.
"Who knows? Maybe you're not over him yet."
I scoffed, breaking free from the fierce contest our eyes were engaging in.
"Am I being absurd?" he asked when I reverted a glare to him.
Not like I had the slightest intention to answer that, but our conversation was intruded on by a buzzing sound from his pocket.
"One second please," he excused, raising a finger to me, and bringing out the phone from his pocket.
Raising to see what it was all about, he announced, "It's a call from the hospital."
. . .
Sebastian was up again, and ready to give his statement. And for that, we were to be present at the hospital. Only when the issue was completely resolved were we supposed to return freely to our normal lives. Trust me, I could hardly wait for that.
His ward was a bit crowded with the doctors just leaving by the time we got there. Must have been their usual routine check for patients who were either recovering from a coma or just woke up from a deep slumber.
In no time, the questioning kicked off.
"We're with the police," the brawny one between the officers announced when it was just us with Sebastian in the room.
His face was as gloaty as ever, sitting in bed and staring through the cops standing by his bed, at me standing beside Mateo.
"You sure you can handle the questioning now?" the blondie asked, inviting a stoic nod from him.
"Alright then. We'll begin right away." He veered to us briefly for reaffirmation before proceeding.
"Do you remember everything that happened?"
"Vividly," he deadpanned, never ripping his glare off mine.
"Are you under some kind of threat?"
"Probably."
"Ever happened before?"
Silence …
"Has this ever happened before?" he repeated when Sebastian's reply dawdled.
"No. No, no, it hasn't," he finally answered, a bit hesitant as if THIS reply wasn't entirely honest.
"Any idea of who could be behind this? That could help to narrow down our investigation."
A suspicious look immediately sparked in his eyes, a corner of his lips slightly elevated wryly. "I am not so sure," he drawled. "But I just might know who was the mastermind," he completed before derisively swaying his eyes off me, up to the cop by his left.
He did?
"It's that guy over there," he said, pointing in my direction.
Who? It was just the five of us in the room. I whipped my head backward, expecting to see someone who probably just walked in through the door, but met it as it was.
"Mateo Garcia!" he declared, letting a maniacal chuckle follow and hauling my attention back to him.
The next thing he said left my eyes bulging, and my jaw drooping.
"He'd told me to watch my back."