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)
Apparently enough to frame me for his battery.
I shake my head. How can I blame him for wanting Angie? She’s beautiful, bright, sweet. And richer than God, not that money ever mattered to me.
So much for my surgery. I’ll miss my appointment with Dr. Engel today, which won’t bode well for me.
And Switzerland is out of the question at this point.
Fuck.
I’ll have to hire an attorney, get out on bail. Maybe cut a deal, which will probably include probation which means I won’t be able to leave the country anyway.
Damn it all to hell.
The officers pull up outside the police station. I feel like I weigh a thousand pounds as they drag me out of the back seat.
“Watch your head,” Officer Maravilla grunts, pushing me toward the entrance.
I don’t respond as I enter what feels like another world, filled with harsh fluorescent lights and gray walls. The sounds of ringing phones and busy voices blend into a steady hum of activity.
They lead me down a sterile hallway lined with small rooms before pushing me into one and leaving me alone with a metal table and two chairs.
The door clicks shut behind them, and I’m left alone in the frigid silence.
The minutes stretch on like an eternity as I sit there, unsure of what to do or what will come next. Thoughts race through my mind. The charges against me, the possible consequences, the effect this could have on Angie.
Just when I feel as though I’m about to be swallowed up by my misery, the door creaks open once more. Two figures step inside—a middle-aged man in a suit and a younger woman with a stern face and glasses perched on her nose.
“Dr. Lansing,” the man says, offering a tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m Detective Morris, and this is Detective Soares.”
I nod, my throat suddenly dry. “What happens now?”
He slides into the chair opposite me, his gaze steady. “Now we talk. Tell me about your relationship with Mr. Normandy.”
“He’s one of my students in anatomy lab at the med school. That’s it.”
“Do you have any reason to want to hurt him?” Detective Soares asks, her tone calculated and cold.
“No.”
A lie, but I don’t want to drag Angie into this.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Why would I want to harm a student?”
“Best to level with us now, Dr. Lansing,” Soares says.
I clear my throat. I could tell them that I suspect Ralph went to HR about Angie and me. I could tell them what Ralph did to Angie.
But I’m done talking for now.
“I’m done answering questions,” I say, “until I speak with my lawyer.”
Detective Morris raises an eyebrow, his gaze impenetrable. “Pretty quick to lawyer up, Dr. Lansing. You sure you got nothing to hide?”
I don’t respond, maintaining my own hard expression. I am not about to let them intimidate me into saying something that could be twisted against me.
Officer Soares stands, crossing her arms. “All right, then, we respect your right to no further questioning without legal representation.”
She walks to the door and knocks twice. A moment later it opens and two uniformed officers step in.
“Give Dr. Lansing his phone call so he can contact his attorney,” she says, “and then take him back to a holding cell.”
I don’t know any attorneys. Who the hell am I going to call?
I sigh.
Angie.
I hate to do it, but she has money and influence. She’ll know a good attorney.
As the officers escort me to the station’s phone, I dread the impending conversation.
One of the officers warns me that my call will be monitored, and then they step back, giving me some semblance of privacy.
Right. No privacy here.
With trembling fingers, I dial Angie’s number.
It rings once.
Twice.
Three times.
God, please don’t go to voicemail…
Finally—
“Hello?” She sounds tired, and her voice is kind of choky. Has she been crying?
“Angie, it’s me.” I keep my voice steady. “I need a favor.”
“What’s wrong? You sound strange.”
I draw in a breath. Time to face the music. “Angie, I’ve been arrested for assaulting Ralph Normandy. I need you to get me a lawyer.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Angie
I nearly drop my phone.
I don’t know why I’m surprised. Ralph told me he’d filed a report. And he’s been beaten badly enough for any judge to sign off on an arrest warrant.
Except for one thing.
Jason didn’t do this. I know that with absolute certainty.
I whisk over to a private area in the hospital wing. Tabitha is at the nurse’s station, chatting with a handsome man in scrubs.
Good.
I’ll have some privacy.
I walk swiftly to the end of the hallway.
“Angie?”
Jason’s voice snaps me back to the reality of the situation.
“Jason, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Jason says. “Just do this for me, please.”
“Okay,” I agree, my voice firming up. “I’ll get you a lawyer, Jason. But you need to promise me something.”
“What?”
“You’ve got to fight this,” I say. “You’ve got to prove your innocence. Because if you’re found guilty…”