Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
The words echo in my head. Killed before killed before… My heart thumps so loudly I can hardly think.
“That’s impossible,” I say.
“Why?” Ralph challenges. “Because he’s a doctor? You think people like him are incapable of killing?”
“That’s not what I meant.” I struggle to keep my voice steady. “Jason wouldn’t kill without reason, if he’s killed at all.”
“Remember what he told us in anatomy lab? That, as surgeons, we would kill a patient one day, and we’d have to live with that?”
I mull over the words. I was just thinking about them the other day. Jason did say that, and I didn’t think much of it because I’m not going into surgery.
“That’s what you mean? Making a mistake in surgery isn’t murder, Ralph. Christ.”
“What if I told you that his wife didn’t commit suicide?” Ralph says.
He thinks that’s going to surprise me? I already know Jason’s theory. He doesn’t think the note is in Lindsay’s handwriting.
But how much of that do I want to divulge to Ralph?
He’s already falsely accusing Jason of beating him. Now he wants me to believe Jason is responsible for Lindsay’s death?
“You’re full of shit,” I say, my voice gaining an edge. “You don’t know anything about Jason’s past. You’re just trying to get under my skin.”
“And succeeding, it appears,” he replies with a smirk. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”
“The truth?” I laugh. “Is that what you call your deluded ramblings now?”
He shrugs. “Call it whatever you want. It won’t make any difference when the truth finally comes out.”
My heart is pounding, and I struggle to keep my voice steady as I ask again, “What do you mean his wife didn’t commit suicide? You’re not making any sense.”
Ralph looks at me for a moment before sighing deeply. “His wife was murdered, Angie,” he says flatly. “And Jason isn’t as innocent as he claims to be.”
“You’re full of shit.” I look into his eyes. God, he looks evil. “And no way will I ever fuck you, so get that out of your head now.”
“Fine.” He shrugs. “I was willing to make a deal. But now Jason is going to get what’s coming to him.”
A knock at the door.
I turn toward the sound. “It’s okay, Tabitha. I was just leaving.” I open the door.
But it isn’t Tabitha. A tall man wearing scrubs with cold gray eyes is standing there.
“Oh, sorry,” I say. “I thought you were my friend.”
The man walks past me, stands at the foot of Ralph’s bed. “Mr. Normandy, I need to speak with you privately.”
Saved by the bell.
“Fine by me.” I grab my coat and head out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jason
My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door.
I look through the peephole.
Two uniformed police officers stand there.
Fuck.
Now what?
I open the door. “Can I help you, officers?”
“Dr. Jason Lansing?” one of them asks.
“That’s me. What can I do for you?”
“I’m Officer Graystone, and this is Officer Maravilla. Could you turn around, please?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re under arrest, sir, for the assault and battery of Ralph Normandy.”
I gape at the two officers. This must be some sick joke. “What? That’s ridiculous! I’ve never touched the man.”
Officer Maravilla produces a pair of handcuffs. “Save it for your lawyer, Dr. Lansing. Turn around, please.”
Before I can protest further, he takes my arm and twists it behind my back. The cold steel of the handcuffs clinks as the officer fastens them around my wrists.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Officer Graystone begins to recite in a monotonous tone. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
His words blend into a dull noise in the background as my mind reels from the shock of what’s happening. Arrested? For assaulting Ralph Normandy?
They have no evidence besides his word. They can’t—
Suddenly an image of Angie flashes into my mind, her face filled with confusion and hurt at Ralph’s unfounded accusations.
“He’s lying,” I blurt out, interrupting Officer Graystone midway through his Miranda recitation.
“That’s not for us to decide,” Officer Maravilla says, his voice devoid of emotion. “You’ll have your chance to speak at trial.”
“But I didn’t do anything!” I insist, my voice breaking slightly with the strain of trying to keep calm.
Officer Graystone finishes with my rights and looks at me. “Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts, Doctor,” Officer Maravilla cuts in. “We’re just doing our job. You’ll have your day in court.”
With that, they guide me out of my townhome and toward their patrol car parked nearby. The back seat feels cold and bleak as they push me inside and close the door behind me.
This can’t be happening.
Just when I’m getting somewhere on Lindsay’s note.
Why would Ralph accuse me? What the hell did I ever do to him?
You never deserved her.
His words echo in my mind.
This is all about Angie. He wants Angie.