Field led them into a room that resembled what she surmised a cell at Alcatraz must have looked like. The walls were gray, the ceiling was gray, and the floors were gray. There was a square glass window looking out at the hallway, but blinds covered it. A ceiling light shone on the gray metal table and chairs. She imagined this was the kind of room that encouraged a depressed person to kill himself. Having to stay here long would be suffocating.
As soon as Field left and the door closed behind him, she said, “Let me get this straight. You went to college, graduated at, what? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?”
“Almost twenty,” he corrected.
He pulled out a chair for her to sit, but she ignored it. Hand on hip, she said, “I’m almost twenty-three, and I just graduated. No one graduates from college at twenty.”
“I did, and so did Dylan.”
“How is that possible?”
“We took a lot of courses when we were seniors in high school and took summer classes in college.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“You had a lot to deal with when you were a senior in high school.”
“Oh.” Then, “You went to law school and graduated at twenty-three?”
“Yes.”
“Then you took the bar and decided to become a Navy SEAL. Who does that?”
“Apparently I do.”
“How old are you now? Forty?”
He laughed. “Twenty-eight,” he answered.
“Are you going to stay in the Navy?”
“No,” he answered. “Isabel, why are you asking all these questions?”
She shrugged. She didn’t have the faintest idea why she was grilling him or why all of his answers made her mad.
There was a knock on the door, and a man walked in who introduced himself as the captain. He was a rather heavyset man with silver-tipped hair and a leathery face from years spent outdoors.
“That was some mighty fine shooting today, young lady. The man you protected is in surgery now.”
“Will he make it?” she asked.
“We’re hoping he will.”
“Do you know who he is?” she asked.
“Not yet,” he answered. Before she could ask any other questions, he turned to Michael and shook his hand. “I heard you were here. How’s your brother?”
Michael smiled. “Which one?”
“Dylan, of course.” He turned to Isabel and explained. “He used to work for me.” He chuckled as he added, “Actually, I think he thought I worked for him, and some days I did. We were sorry to lose him.”
Isabel responded, “Lose him? Dylan didn’t die. He moved to South Carolina and married my sister.”
“I know,” the captain said. “I’m still hoping he’ll come back here to work.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Michael said.
The captain continued to chat with Michael for a few more minutes, asking about his family, and then, as he was opening the door, he said, “I know your brothers, Alec and Nick, are both FBI agents.
What about you, Michael? What are your plans? Are you going to join them?”
Michael grinned. “The Buchanans are an FBI family. I’m thinking about it.”
“Oh, come on,” Isabel whispered. She all but fell into the chair. Now he was thinking about joining the FBI? He graduates from college at twenty, then becomes a lawyer, then a Navy SEAL, and now is thinking of being an FBI agent. What’s next? Astronaut?
And what was she doing with her life? Oh sure, she had a college degree. But did she have a plan, a goal? No. She had a few ideas, but no real direction. She was suddenly feeling quite stupid.
Tears began to fill her eyes.
What was happening to her? She could be emotional at times, but this was over the top. Why did everything suddenly seem like an insurmountable problem? Why were Michael’s prospects for the
future so upsetting to her? When she glanced up at him, he gave her such a sympathetic look she wanted to weep. And that made her even more angry.
Her lack of control had to be because of everything that had happened in the last few hours. She was emotionally exhausted. She just needed some time to think, to put everything into perspective.
Detectives Samuel and Rayborne walked into the interview room just as the captain was leaving.
Instinctively, seeing Samuel, she sat up ramrod straight. Father Mahoney would be proud.
Staring at Isabel, Samuel said, “What were you doing walking around by yourself? The city can be dangerous. You should always be aware of your surroundings, Isabel. Isn’t that right, Rayborne?”