Page 77 of Twice Missing

"I'm not sure what you're implying."

"He meant to ask, was there more to the relationship than friendship?"

Abel’s gaze darted between them. There was hesitation in his response. It was clear he was calculating his next move and what to say. "There was. Look, I already went over all of this with Lawrence County when she went missing and was later found dead."

"Because of the incident at the Pow Wow prior to that?" Noah asked.

"I was an obvious suspect because of that, yes."

"What was the cause of that incident with her cousin besides the slap?”

"I never slapped anyone."

"Then why would her cousin step in?"

"Because Selena and I had a verbal disagreement."

"Over?"

He sighed and got up and asked them if they wanted some coffee. They declined. Abel opened the door and yelled to his secretary. "Michelle, would you mind being a darling and getting me a coffee?"

He closed the door and sat down. Noah wondered if he was using the moment to think. Abel let out a large breath. "Selena was a passionate person, an advocate for her people, and while we saw eye to eye on many things, there were a few moments when my lack of awareness for their history and culture collided with her expectations. One thing led to another, she slapped me. She went to do it again, and I grabbed her wrist. So it may have looked as if I was getting physical with her and then the mention of a slap… wires of communication got crossed and her cousin thought I slapped her. I didn't. I stopped her from slapping me."

"Then the deputies got involved. What caused the beatdown?"

"He got belligerent. He felt they were taking my side. He pushed back when told to walk it off and that led to them attempting to arrest him for assault on an officer. I'm sure you've experienced that?" He smiled back as if he had it all under control. "Except that isn't exactly what came out. Kayla released the video, ten years later out of spite."

"For what?"

"My rejection of her."

"We were told you and Kayla were an item."

"She would have you believe that. Selena and I were,but Kayla was much younger. She wanted it to go there, I didn't."

"How noble of you," McKenzie said. "Quite a rare trait."

Abel narrowed his eyes at McKenzie.

"When was the last time you saw Selena?"

"The Pow Wow. That was it. Then she went missing. That's why they looked at me. But I was cleared of any involvement."

"And Kayla?"

"Besides you two asking, no one from the reservation or Lawrence County has asked me if I was involved."

"But Kayla did frequent here, yes?"

"She did."

"And what brought her here?"

"She felt she could be a liaison for her community. Someone who could bridge the gap between us and St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. So… she wanted to understand more about our operations, vision, the impact of the work on the land, and so on."

"And over time she just happened to fall for you, is that what you’re saying?" McKenzie asked.

"Something like that, yes. But I made it clear that I wasn't interested."