I fought the urge to reach beneath the seat, my knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
“It’s Dom,” Tony said, holding up his cell. Then his forehead wrinkled. “Hey, you okay?”
I forced my body to relax. “Yeah. I’m okay. That cop just shook me up.” I lied.
“Could have fooled me,” he said and silenced the ringing of the phone. “Hey, boss. What’s up?”
He listened a minute and began to talk. “We’re near the mall. We got pulled over. Blue was awesome, handled the cop with ease!”
I wasn’t sure if Tony singing my praises was going to help me or not, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to know how Julie was.
“Yeah! We even scored a new client!” Tony was saying. He reminded me of an overeager puppy trying to please his master.
He fell quiet and I breathed a silent thank you. I could pretend I was sick and wanted to go home. But someone could come by my house, and if I wasn’t there…
I could pretend I had a booty call… but with who? I refused to bring Julie into this anymore and act like it was her.
“Yeah, no problem,” Tony said and then hung up the phone.
“Dom wants us to come back.”
Good. I could dump Tony and figure out a way to leave. Driving would give me some time to think of a plan. Maybe I could somehow get a message to Slater and he could give me an out.
When I pulled up to the curb at Dom’s, Tony opened the door before I could cut the engine. “Dom said you didn’t have to come in.” His voice was wary.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, finally realizing there might be something going on.
“No, I don’t think so. He just wanted to talk supply business with me.” His eyes shifted away.
“Ahhh, crew business that I’m not allowed to be involved in.”
Tony’s face blanched. I could tell he felt bad. “Yeah. Look, I’m sure Dom will come around.”
I held up my hand and cut him off. “It’s cool, Tony.”
“Really?” he asked, looking hopeful. If I hadn’t just witnessed him giving drugs to a kid, I might actually like the guy.
“Yeah. I’ll see ya later.”
He slammed the door and it took everything in me to not peel away from the curb like a bat out of hell. After letting the engine idle for a few seconds, I pulled out onto the street at a normal speed. A few blocks over, I couldn’t take it anymore and I pushed on the gas pedal and sped toward the station.
23
Julie
Interrogation rooms smelled. Well, I don’t know about all of them, because this was the first one I ever had the dishonor of being kept in. But still, it smelled. The tiny square room was filled with stale air tinged with sweat and possibly urine. It made me very afraid about the chair I was sitting in and who may or may not have peed in it.
I thought for a long time about asking for a Lysol wipe.
I figured there was no use because I likely wouldn’t get it. They wouldn’t even take the handcuffs off my wrists.
Aside from the Lysol wipe, the only other thing I could think of was if I was going to have to mark that box on every application that I filled out from now on:
Has been arrested for committing a felony.
Did that mean I would forever be considered a criminal? Or was that only if I was found guilty? Wait. Was this going to go to trial?
Clearly, I was not handling this well.
And I hadn’t even been questioned yet. They literally stuffed me in the back of a squad car, drove to the station, and shut me in this interrogation room. They tried to ask me one question, and I demanded to speak to Blue.
Not a lawyer. Blue.
Except the minute I asked for Blue, a hush fell over the room and everyone left. I heard some yelling a while ago, but no one had been in since.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
I kind of wished I hadn’t drunk that coffee earlier. I kinda understood why my chair smelled like urine now.
I had to pee.
How long were they going to leave me in here? I felt like an animal chained up and shoved in a cage.
Holy moly… were they going to put me in a cell? That was like an actual cage.
It would serve them right if I peed right here and now!
Take that, idiots who arrest law-abiding citizens! Clean up my pee!
Yes. Clearly being incarcerated made me unstable and dramatic.
Whatever.
As more minutes wore on, some of my anger and frustration wore away and was just replaced by anxiety. I realized things looked really bad for me. I was literally caught with a huge stash of drugs, with some of them in my hand.
Yeah, I was going to try and tell them it was all a misunderstanding. I would tell them about the conversation I overheard, about how I went looking for stuff I really didn’t expect to find.
Would they believe me?
I didn’t know and frankly, I was kind of scared to talk. I was afraid I would just make things worse. I guessed I was going to have to get a lawyer. I would probably lose my job over this.
I wanted Blue.
If Blue were here, he could vouch for me. He would believe what I said. Maybe he would convince the other guys I wasn’t lying. He could be like a character witness.
Only I didn’t know where Blue was or where he lived. Hell, I didn’t even know what kind of car he was driving. I wasn’t sure if they would let him come to the station for this; it could compromise his cover.
The headache threatening me earlier decided to add to my torment by beginning to scream behind my eyes. My stomach felt nauseous and my hands and knees were shaking from all the stress I suddenly felt.
I closed my eyes against the harsh fluorescent light overhead and leaned forward, resting my overheated forehead on the table. It was cool and felt a little soothing against my headache.
I needed a plan.
A plan would make me feel better. More in control.
Whenever the officers came back, I would make them let me go pee. Then I would demand my one phone call. I would call Dee and she could post bail (would I need bail?) and get me out of here. I would get a lawyer, who’d probably charge all of my savings just to talk to me. But I would hire him anyway. I would rather be poor than in the big house with burly women named Wilma.
After that, I would let the police question me. I would tell my story. I would stick to the truth.
The truth would set me free.
Why did that sound like the most pathetic line ever?
I took a deep breath. It was a good plan.
I turned my head and rested my cheek on the brown tabletop and stared at the wall across the room. I wondered if someone was watching me through the two-way mirror behind me. If so, they were going to be very bored.