Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Deception (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lorelei Confer

She laughed, rolled her eyes in disbelief, and crossed her arms across her chest.
    “That’s what I’ve been telling you. They took me. They abducted me. You act like you just solved the great mystery of the Egyptian pyramids.” She paused, waiting for their reaction. Hearing none, she continued. “I don’t even know for sure what ‘human sex trafficking’ is, so how do I know it might have happened to me?” Isabella took another sip of her coffee.
    “Isabella, without any identification or evidence, we have no idea who you are or from where you came,” Dave explained.
    “Except for what you’ve told Wyatt, of course. It’s pretty clear we have to start at the beginning and reconstruct and verify virtually your entire life. The sooner we do, the sooner we can make plans to get you back where you belong.”
    He took a small fingerprint kit out of his briefcase and began to take her fingerprints while explaining they would be entered into a database looking for a match.
    “Since schools typically fingerprint anyone and everyone who works within the school system they will be searched within the same database. We’ll probably have a match quickly, and that would be a good thing.”
    After putting the fingerprint kit away, he retrieved a small black notebook, directing his attention to Isabella. “You need to tell me everything about yourself in detail, things I can verify.”
    “Okay, what do you want to know?”
    “Let’s start with personal information like your full name, address, age, date of birth, social security number, parents’ names, home and work addresses, occupation, where and when you graduated from school and college, where you work and how long, your friends, and especially your ‘friend’ Amanda,” Dave answered.
    Surprised to hear he knew about Amanda, she assumed Wyatt must have told him. She took a couple of deep breaths, hesitating, knowing she would have to relive the past year, which included moving out of her mom’s house, moving in with Michael, breaking up with Michael, getting her own apartment, and somehow getting abducted to Virginia. None of it seemed real or appealing to her.

Chapter 15

    Isabella answered their questions while Wyatt retrieved a yellow legal pad and made notes on it.
    “Are you married?” Wyatt interjected among Dave’s questions.
    “No.”
    “Ever been married?”
    “No. Is this relevant?” she asked Dave.
    Dave and Wyatt ignored her question and continued asking her about what kind of car she drove, the tag number.
    “Okay, how did you come to know Amanda?” Dave asked her.
    “I met her at the gym where we’re both members. It’s near the school where I work.”
    “How did you become friends with her? Did you approach her or did she approach you?” Wyatt asked.
    “Amanda introduced herself to me one day at the gym. Then she invited me for coffee after our workout, so I guess you could say she approached me.”
    “When did she first meet you?” Wyatt asked.
    “About six months ago. I had recently broken up with my fiancé and needed a friend. I guess I was vulnerable and she won me over.”
    “Where did you go for coffee?” Dave asked.
    “It’s a local coffee shop with a real trendy name on Ridge Street near the school. I don’t remember the name exactly, but it’s something like Groovy Grounds or something similar.”
    “Interesting name. Maybe we can get a video surveillance with a description of Amanda,” Wyatt interjected.
    “What’s Amanda’s last name? Maybe she has priors,” Dave asked.
    Isabella shrugged her shoulders and shook her head from side to side. “She never actually told me her last name. I just always knew her as Amanda, and I never asked her that I remember.”
    “Can you tell us Joe’s full name, if he works and where?”
    “Amanda introduced Joe as Joe Sneed but neither of them ever mentioned their jobs. Amanda lives in a beautiful, affluent condo building so she had to work somewhere. She always