Page 44 of Stone Coast

Jared nodded to Ross, and Ross asked me, "Are you ready?"

22

"I'm going to start with some baseline questions,” Jared said.

I nodded.

I was nervous, even though I didn't have anything to lie about.

"Are you currently employed by the CIA?”

I thought about it for a moment. "That's what they tell me.”

"Is your name Savannah Stone?"

“That's what they tell me,” I said again in a slightly sassy tone.

He gave me a somewhat annoyed look, and I responded with a slight shrug of my eyebrow. I don't think he was expecting that answer, but it was the truth. I had to take everything everyone told me at face value.

"What city are we in?”

"Pineapple Bay.”

"What state are we in?”

"Florida.”

"I'm going to ask you some control questions," Jared said.

"I'm an open book. And not a very thick one at that.”

"Have you ever lied?”

"I'm sure I have.”

"Can you be more specific?”

"No. I can’t be more specific.”

“Have you ever taken anything that doesn't belong to you?”

"Not that I recall."

Jared studied the computer screen as I responded, looking for anomalies. By the look on his face, I don't think this was quite going the way he planned.

"Have you ever killed anyone?”

"Yes.” It sounded weird to say.

"How many people have you killed?”

"I think Ross is in a better position to answer that than I am.” I had the distinct impression that my time at the CIA wasn't exactly benign.

"I'm not asking Ross questions. I'm asking you questions.” Jared paused. "I'll repeat the question again. How many people have you killed?”

"One that I know about.”

Jared studied the screen.