"Neither do we," Ramirez replied. "That's why we're going to handle this slowly and professionally."
Priya entered the cabin first and asked Ryan to step forward with his identification. Her voice was quiet enough that nearby travelers had to strain to hear. Ryan emerged irritated, the expression he wore whenever an employee interrupted him. Then he saw Daniel and the detective, and the irritation disappeared.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Mr. Carter," Ramirez said, displaying her identification, "I'm Detective Ramirez. I need you to come with me and discuss a financial investigation. There is a warrant for your arrest. Please keep your hands visible and follow the officers' instructions."
Ryan looked at me before he looked at anyone else. It was such an instinctive movement that I almost felt sorry for him. Even with officers standing in front of him, he appeared to believe I was the person who could make the problem go away if he could only find the right words.
"Valerie," he said, "what did you do?"
I stared at him. I had imagined that if I ever discovered his affair, I would accuse him of lying, demand an explanation, and ask why I had not been enough. Instead he was accusing me of causing the consequences of documents I had never signed. The simplicity of that reversal showed me something about our marriage I had spent years refusing to see.
"I went to work," I said. "That's what I did."
He turned to Daniel. "You called the police on me? After everything I did for you?"
"I reported the records I couldn't reconcile," Daniel answered. "I should have done it earlier."
Ryan took a step toward him, then stopped when one of the officers moved slightly forward. His face had gone hard, and for the first time the other passengers could hear the tension. "This is a company dispute," he said. "You don't understand the financing. I can explain everything at the office."
"You'll have an opportunity to speak through the appropriate process," Ramirez told him. "For now, please come with us."
"My wife signed the papers," Ryan insisted, raising his voice. "She knew exactly what she was doing."
I felt a sharp sensation behind my ribs, as if a small part of my anger had finally found a point. I had known Ryan could lie to other people. I had known he could lie to me. Hearing him tell an officer that I had authorized a transaction against my father's property was different. He was asking strangers to believe that I had betrayed my own family, and he was doing it with the same confidence he once used to describe the future we supposedly shared.
"No," I said, not loudly. "I didn't."
He stared at me as though he wanted to frighten me into silence. I met his eyes. Behind him, Ashley rose from her seat with the manila folder still in her hand. She had clearly heard enough.
"Ryan," she said, "you told me Valerie signed everything because you were already divorced. Which is it?"