“May I know what offense I am guilty of, officer? Why go to all that trouble to prevent me from boarding the plane?”
“Are you Winnie Garland, the chairperson of Garland Group? Were you planning to depart Chanaea for Yartran?” asked the police officer sternly.
Winnie affirmed that with a nod, “I am. But I don’t think that is the reason I’m being detained now, is it?”
Astounded by that young woman’s poise at first, the officer promptly followed up, “We’ve received a tip-off accusing you of possession and transportation of illegal substances, so we must ask for your cooperation with our investigations.”
That yielded a frown from Winnie, for the fact that she was bringing samples of drugs across the borders to Yartran was a matter of great discretion. The only ones who were in the know about that were Josiah, Louis, and herself. Even Xavier had been kept out of the loop.
Thus, it was puzzling to her that the police had received a tip-off from the public about that. Who is it, exactly? And what grudge does that person have against me? Surely, it can’t be Josiah or Louis, right?
“Thank you for sharing the facts with me, officer. I am, however, a cautious person, so I must insist on seeing some form of identification. Otherwise, I would be inclined to believe that someone might be looking to set me up.”
“Certainly!” This time, there were a total of five police officers present. The group consisted of the two who were restraining her arms from either side and the three others who stood apart from them.
The one who she assumed to be their captain duly produced his identification card as requested, and the verification of the card’s authenticity got Winnie’s brow bunched up into an even tighter furrow.
“Satisfied now? Take her away!”
“Very well. I’ll come with you.”
The police acted quickly to remove her from the scene in a bid to minimize disruption to the public.
Someone was documenting the entire sequence as it was happening, including the conversation between Winnie and the police officers.
Apart from the small briefcase, Winnie had no consignments or any other luggage to her name along on that trip, as she was only delivering some samples.
That small piece of luggage in question was now in the custody of the police officer in charge.
He opened up the briefcase in front of Winnie to reveal the two vials of drugs inside.
“Would you care to explain this, Ms. Garland?”
Winnie was sandwiched between two officers at the back of the patrol car.
“I’m not an expert on the nature of these two samples, so allow me to contact my lawyer and doctor friends when we arrive at your station. I’m sure they’ll be able to provide you with a reasonable explanation then,” she replied blandly.
Half an hour later, Winnie was brought to the police station in Avenport’s Northern District alongside her briefcase.
Over ten minutes passed when Josiah and her lawyer also joined her there, arriving one after another.
While the two of them were liaising with the police, Winnie drank coffee inside the reception area.
It was only until she had patiently downed the last drop from her cup that the police captain from earlier walked out alongside her lawyer.
“You’re free to go now, Ms. Garland. Please excuse us for this disruption to your schedule,” said the police captain amicably.
“Here’s hoping that such a day never comes,” Winnie replied smilingly.
When she exited the gates to the police station, Josiah’s car was already waiting outside by the entrance.
With that tiny briefcase in hand, Winnie opened the door to the backseat and hopped in.
Josiah could not refrain from turning back to glance at her. “Seriously? Are you really going to treat me as though I’m your driver? Is the privilege of being my co-driver not good enough for you?”
Winnie observed Josiah’s eyes through the reflection in the rearview mirror while she replied indifferently, “It’s far too dangerous for me to ride shotgun, as I’m worried someone might be waiting in ambush by the side of the road and looking to suddenly ram into us. My odds of dying while seated next to you would be much greater than if I were to sit behind you.”
The two of them exchanged looks briefly through the rearview mirror, but Josiah quickly rescinded his gaze.
His lips lifted in a somewhat self-deprecating fashion while he started up the engine. “What? Don’t tell me that you’re suspecting me of reporting you. Do you think I’ve lost my mind?”
“I wouldn’t say that. Turning me in and preventing me from leaving wouldn’t exactly work in your interest. But I have to ask, did you share information about my flight schedule today with anyone else?” Winnie asked in a business-like manner.
Without even pausing to think about it, Josiah responded strongly, “Of course not. Why would I want to do that? Do you think I’m crazy?”
“In that case, do you think it could have been Louis?” Winnie pressed further.
Josiah remained as steadfast as ever. “That would be even less likely. He doesn’t even have any plausible motive for it. Besides, he’s been busy as heck; he probably won’t even be able to remember your flight number.”
Winnie nodded in agreement. “I don’t suppose that either one of you could be responsible for it as well. Who else do you think it could be?”
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