Page 53 of Matched By Mistake
“Sure. Are you going to question me here?”
“No, come into my office,” Nathan said.
Maggie followed him down the hall. Her mom reached out to squeeze her arm and Maggie gave a short nod. He hadn’t realized it earlier because Maggie was usually so genial and upbeat but there was a core of solid steel inside her.
And that made him realize something he maybe should have sooner. Maggie wasn’t the type to sneak around to try to get information. She’d always been brash and straightforward.
So as she’d said, who had broken into Winters Industries?
Maggie held herself tall as she walked past Jericho and his father. She was still so deeply hurt and mad that they thought she would commit a criminal act. Her mom had looked at her and Maggie shook her head, knowing if her mom showed her an ounce of sympathy her control would break and she’d start crying again.
Her mom just nodded and Maggie did what she’d done when she’d had to walk out of Sheen by herself after Randall had dumped her. She reminded herself whose daughter she was and that she’d been raised to be strong. And fuck Jericho Winters for not even hesitating before deciding she was a criminal.
Where was Cecily? She wondered if she needed to talk to her lawyer. Even though she knew she’d done nothing wrong.
“Do you want to wait for your attorney?” Sheriff Battle asked.
She shook her head. She knew she hadn’t committed the crime and had been in Dallas all night.
“We can talk without her.”
Sheriff Battle wasn’t someone Maggie knew all that well. He’d come to the high school and talked about not doing drugs or drinking and then driving. And he’d come to her parents’ Christmas parties over the years. But Maggie had never personally spoken to him.
“Okay, Maggie—do you mind if I call you by your first name?” he asked.
“No, sir, I don’t. What do you need from me?” she asked as he gestured for her to take a seat.
She was nervous even though she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Her hands started sweating and she almost wiped them on her thighs but then stopped in case he thought that meant she’d done it.
“I just need to know where you were from eight to nine tonight,” he said.
“I was in Dallas with Piper Holloway and Brian Cooper. Mostly Piper. I had a quick dinner with both of them. I have GPS on my car and they can vouch for me... Also, I took this photo at the gallery of the art installation I helped Piper with.”
She opened the photos app on her phone and handed it to Sheriff Battle after she’d swiped up so the metadata was visible.
He took it from her and then called in one of his deputies to verify her story. She was left alone in his office for a few minutes and her mind was whirring with too much. One thing that was so different about tonight versus the night Randall had broken their engagement was that back then her mind had gone quiet and calm. Of course, she’d been embarrassed and humiliated and mad. But not like this.
Her anger had been more because he’d taken her to a public place to end things. It hadn’t felt like this. She’d been alone when she’d found out what Jericho thought of her and this hurt was so much deeper. She couldn’t stop her emotions. She wanted to wrap her arms around her body to try to keep it all inside but she also didn’t want anyone to see her that way.
She knew she just had to hold on a little bit longer. They’d confirm everything and she could go home and be alone and then she would let it all out. Just a little bit longer.
“It’s confirmed. You’re good to go,” Sheriff Battle said as he came back into his office. “Though do you have any enemies?”
“What?”
“Someone went out of their way to look like you in this video,” Sheriff Battle said.
“Can I see it?” she asked.
He turned the tablet to her and Maggie hit Play. As soon as she saw the long ponytail, she knew why everyone had thought it was her. It was her signature style. She wasn’t wearing it tonight, but she almost always did. She leaned in closer. She didn’t want to mention Cecily, but Maggie recognized those stilettos. And her friend had asked her to get dirt on the Winters family.
Would Cecily have done this and tried to frame her for it?
“I don’t have any enemies, Sheriff. I mean, except for the Winters feud, and I’m pretty sure that isn’t a Winters family member pretending to be me.”
“Yeah, I thought so, too. It was a long shot,” Sheriff Battle said.
“Maybe not. I... I’m not positive, but our lawyer Cecily did ask me to try to dig up some dirt on the Winterses since I was dating Jericho... I told her no, but maybe she tried to find some on her own?” Maggie said.
