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"Hey, Mary" Suzanne said when she saw her coworker. It was the next Monday, and the two women were entering the company building.

"Hi, Suzanne" Mary said, taking a sip of the coffee she was carrying. 

"Can I ask you something, dear?" 

"Of course, go ahead." 

"Are you stealing from the company?" Suzanne asked, as casually as if she were talking about the weather. 

"W-what?!" Mary cried out, choking on her coffee. "Are you mad, Suzanne? Why on the earth are you asking me something like that?" she added, looking around in fear that someone might be listening to their conversation. 

"Please, Mary, just answer my question. Believe it or not, I'm just trying to help you here." 

"Oh, really?" Mary snapped, angrily. "I don’t know how an accusation like this one can be called help! I thought you were my friend!" 

"I'm not accusing you, Mary. I'm just..."

"Whatever" Mary murmured, coldly. "But we can't talk about this in front of everyone, right? Come with me. " 

Mary then guided Suzanne to a desert hallway on the second floor, and then into a small warehouse. 

"Now tell me what the hell is going on!" Mary demanded. But then, suddenly, her anger turned into dread. "Oh my god, it was Mr. Hill who put this idea in your head, wasn't it?" 

"Well…" Suzanne started to say, slowly. "He told me that you're under a discreet investigation because of some suspicions raised by Mr. Simmons, your immediate boss."

"God, this is terrible! I can't believe it… If something bad happens to me, what am I going to say to my daughters? To my husband?" she then began sobbing and weeping copiously. 

"Listen to me, Mary. Is Mr. Simmons telling the truth? Did you do something wrong?" 

"Of course not! They are setting me up!"

"Who are 'they'? Since I first met you I have the feeling that you're hiding something from me. I knew that your deep aversion to Mr. Hill couldn't be motivated just by his womanizer reputation. It's time for you to be completely honest with me!" 

"I... I don't know..." Mary said, wiping her tears with a handkerchief given by the other woman. 

"Mary, please! You know you're at risk of going to the jail, right?"

"To the jail?! B-but that's not fair" the woman claimed, losing control once again. "I didn't steal from the company! It was Mr. Hill who did that. And this is not all... I also have reasons to believe that he's involved in a murder!" 

"A murder?! What makes you think so?" 

"Well, I..." Mary stopped talking suddenly, looking suspicious at Suzanne. "But why should I trust you? You're so close to Mr. Hill now... Maybe you're just doing his dirty work… Coming to me to find out exactly what I know."

"No, Mary! Look into my eyes. I would never do something like that. And you know what, I don’t feel so close to Mr. Hill anymore. Maybe… Maybe you were right about him… And most importantly, I'm a mother, Mary... Just like you. I would never betray you this way. Think about your daughters..."

"Don't you dare to talk about my children! I need to get out of here. I'm going to look for a lawyer right now!"

"Mary, wait!" Suzanne begged, but it was too late. The other woman had already left the storeroom, and then made her way toward the first floor again. Suzanne followed her closely, still trying to call her to reason. Mary didn't listen, though, and was almost reaching the exit when she was intercepted by two men wearing black suits. 

"Are you Mary A. Pierce?" asked one of them. 

"Y-yes" Mary said, nervously. "W-what do you want?"

"You need to come with us to provide some clarification, Ma'am" said the other man. 

"Wait! You can't take her like this!" Suzanne intervened. "Who do you think you are?"

"We are from the police, Ma'am" said the first man, showing his badge. "Please, don't get involved. Now, Mrs. Pierce, if you may follow us..."

"N-no! I don't wait to go! I didn't do anything wrong!" 

"In this case, you have nothing to fear. We're trying to be discreet here. Please, don't make this harder for either of us."

"B-but I have the right to a lawyer!"

"Of course, Ma'am. You can call one when we get to our destination." 

Defeated, Mary gave Suzanne a pleading look, and the other woman assured her friend that everything would be alright. But the truth was that Suzanne wasn't so sure of that as she watched Mary leaving the building with the two policemen… 

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PS: This image is not referring to this part I just posted, but to a future scene of this chapter. :-)

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