Crumbling Deception, page 12
“I will.”
He nods, “Good.”
“But that doesn’t mean that I can’t thank you.”
His eyes narrow slightly. Mine follow suit. I resolve to not be the one to look away first. He must notice my determination because he averts his gaze the very next second, his face scrunching up in annoyance.
“Are you mad?” I ask, immediately wanting to lift him up.
“No.”
“Your face is all scrunched up,” I bring up my hands and claw them around my face, imitating his expression.
The lines on his forehead deepen. “It’s not.”
“It’s okay if you’re mad.”
“I’m. Not. Mad.”
“Great!” I perk up. “Can you tell Sadie that too?”
His scowl disappears as his lips part in surprise. “What?”
“Tell her that you’re not mad at us for being in cahoots together.”
I note the return of his scowl with great defeat.
“I’m not in the habit of lying.”
“Detective Roberts, I’m sure I didn’t get into trouble because of Sadie. I am a grown woman and I make my own choices. If Sadie didn’t have my back, I would’ve done anything, how ever reckless, to prove Cora was behind it all.”
With his fingers steepled together, he leans forward on the table.
“And how are you so sure that it was Cora?”
“I overheard her talking on the phone one morning.”
“And did she confess her first-degree murder on a phone call?”
My face twists— when he puts it like that it does sound idiotic.
“No she did not. But she did say that she messed up with Marco and that she will not make the same mistake twice.”
“That does sound dubious, Miss Grayson. But it does not confirm anything. In my line of work, I cannot act on impulse. I need proof before I can pin someone for a crime they may have committed.”
His words strike a chord. How do I tell him that more often than not, my impulses turn out to be true? Like when I just knew Charlie was cheating on me. I turned out to be correct after a series of tests. But I try to convince him the only way I know he can be; with facts.
“She is a botanist. She knows all there is to know about plants. I think she is the only one clever enough to have burned Marco’s tongue so he wouldn’t feel the bitter taste. There was a book about poisonous plants in her shop. Though that’s not substantial enough because it belongs to Mr. Williams’s library. She has been trying to shift blame on me since the day Marco died. Because she is vindictive. She always has been. Also, in case you didn’t notice, she did kidnap me and left me for dead.”
He bristles, “And she is sitting in jail for that.”
“Are you really going to believe that she didn’t kill Marco?”
He sighs, rubbing his forehead. I sense his internal struggle. It isn’t difficult to. With another long exhale, he leans close again, speaking in a low voice.
“She showed us footage of someone breaking into her shop and placing that plant there. We got a call too. But she must have hid it when one of our officers went to investigate.”
I quickly get over my shock about him sharing information with me and ask him the first question that pops into my head.
“Who made the call?”
“It was from a burner phone.”
I fall back. Another dead end.
“Why hide it if she wasn’t guilty?”
“Vindictive, like you said,” he shrugs.
“And where’s the plant now?”
“Somewhere safe.”
I rub my chin, deep in thought. He lets me think in peace and silence.
“I want to meet her.” I announce, standing up.
He immediately shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Miss Grayson,” he stands up too, “please, you don’t need to see her again.”
“I have to.”
I hear his chair scratching the floor as he quickly follows me outside. I stop when I see the nearest officer and ask him to show me to the cells.
“I’ll handle it, Jones.”
Jones, the officer, nods at Detective Roberts behind me. Making it clear where his loyalty lies, he completely ignores me and instantly takes his leave. Knowing Detective Roberts would try to talk me out of it again, I don’t wait around for him to ‘handle it’. I take the first left towards the only corridor I haven’t seen yet. Detective Roberts effortlessly keeps pace with my brisk walk.
“Why are you so adamant on seeing her?”
“She tried to kill me. She owes me an explanation at least.”
I do indeed find the jail cells at the end of the hallway. It is a sight that stops me in my tracks.
“Miss Grayson—”
“This is certainly cleaner than I imagined. Are all the cells like this?” I point at the one in front of me.
I inch forward to see who is in there, but I’m stopped by a hand on my elbow.
“I’ll bring Cora in to meet you.” Detective Roberts gestures at a door on the far side of the hall. “Wait in that room over there.”
I look at him pointedly, knowing he just steered me off course. However, I don’t argue with him as he is finally doing what I want. I take the path he steers me towards and enter the white, clinical room. It is very similar to the interrogation room I found myself in twice.
I’m still pacing when Detective Roberts returns with Sadie and a handcuffed Cora in tow. She sneers as soon as she sees me. Her wild hair, her scowl, her likeness to my ex-husband, and her willingness to kill me, makes my blood boil.
“What the hell is she doing here?”
My feet move past the detective on their own accord and before I know it, my fist snaps out, hitting Cora right under her jaw. I feel it snap together beneath my knuckles and hear her teeth clack. I wait for the satisfaction of hitting her to come but before it does, both the detectives jump in. Sadie pulls Cora back while Aiden tugs at me.
I don’t resist the pull. Uneasiness settles in my gut, and I try to make up with words what I couldn’t with my fist, hoping they’ll at least bring me the satisfaction I crave.
“What did you say again?” I address Cora as she tries to maneuver the handcuffs to clutch her aching jaw, “That I couldn’t land a blow on you? That you’ll end me a thousand times before I could? Well, in case it didn’t hurt enough, that was a blow.”
“Li—Miss Grayson,” I hear Detective Roberts’s soft voice from behind my back, “I understand what you’ve been through, but it would be great if you could refrain from assault.”
I flip my hair over my back and take a seat at the table in the middle of the room. Sadie looks at her partner in question. He nods. She tries to steer Cora towards the table too, but when she doesn’t budge, Sadie shoves her ahead.
“I don’t want to be here with this bitch!” Cora whines.
She isn’t given an answer as she is lowered into the chair in front of me. The detectives step to the side, but don’t leave the room. She huffs and claps her handcuffs on the table.
“What do you want?”
“For you to admit that you killed Marco.”
If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under too.
“I didn’t,” she seethes.
“Yeah,” I scoff, “right. You’ve always been a bully. Who’s to say that your skills didn’t develop into something more heinous after school?”
Cora’s eyes narrow to slits. “You think you’re so holier-than-thou, don’t you? With all your fancy clothes,” she waves her handcuffed wrists in the air around me, as she speaks through gritted teeth, “and your people pleasing act. That no one can ever come close to deserve your company or attention. But if you ever deign to actually look around you, you’d notice that people are real people. They have lives too. Marco was my friend too. I cared for him as he did for me. I’ve known—” I watch, shocked, as tears gather in her eyes. “I knew him for thirteen years. Far longer than you did. I am not above admitting that I made a mistake in abducting and hitting you. But I still don’t regret trying to find who killed him.”
With the last word, she snaps her lips shut and moves back in her seat, realizing she said too much. Meanwhile, I sit in my astonishment. I don’t think I have ever seen her so emotive before. Suddenly feeling a bit woozy, I stand up. My mouth opens to say something but my tongue locks up in uncertainty. Cora looks up then. Even with the tears lacing her eyes, there is anger in there. She glares, but I have no idea how I know that it is not at me. My head swims, the cold numbness at my fingertips, travelling up my arms. I decide I should leave before our silence enters the psychopath territory.
Right as I leave, the floor and walls all turn to jelly around me. I touch the nearest one to stabilize myself.
“Miss Grayson?”
I turn around to face Detective Roberts. His pale eyes aren’t jelly, I am relieved to note.
“Jail is no fun, I tell you.”
He looks at me, surprised, “You’ve been to jail?”
I nod, “In Monopoly.”
A small smile quirks up his lips but disappears again after a glance at my face.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure? Because you look like you’re about to pass out.”
The second he mentions it, I realize what is wrong with me.
“Yeah,” I gasp out the words, “maybe I am.”
My knees crumble beneath me. His voice calling out my name echoes somewhere against the jelly walls.
18
Chapter 18
My eyes thank whoever was considerate enough to dim the lights of the room I’m in, before roaming the familiar space. Sadie's office is as neat as ever, not a thing out of its place. Except the tall, iron rod next to the couch I’m lying on. I lift my hand, noticing the IV line inserted and taped to the back, my knuckles slightly bruised.
“Don’t move it around too much.”
I tilt my head up to look at Sadie upside down. Her chair rolls across the floor as she moves from the head of the couch to the side.
“My knuckles are swollen.”
She smirks, “You should see Cora’s face, Laila Ali.”
I groan, rubbing my own face. My mind juggles memories; both recent and old. Flashbacks of Aiden’s worried eyes in the dingy shed, Cora’s hard gaze and panicked pacing, and finally Sadie sheltering us with an umbrella until the ambulance arrived revolve in my head.
“You’re lucky she isn’t pressing charges.”
I sit up, waves of nausea radiating through my head. Sadie grabs my shoulders as I sway on the spot.
“Whoa, Lily, are you sure you’re not concussed?”
I nod and point at my pricked hand, “Dehydrated maybe. But definitely not concussed.”
“Just stay put,” she slowly leans me back against the couch.
I get back to the point as soon as the queasiness subsides.
“When is her hearing?”
“Tomorrow, I think. Why do you ask?”
“How long is she going to jail for?”
“Two years minimum.”
“If I drop all charges against her, will it affect her sentence?”
Sadie’s eyebrows pull together at once.
“You really want to do that?”
A sigh escapes my lips as I remind myself of the truth I saw in Cora’s eyes. She wasn’t lying about being Marco’s friend.
“Are you sure she didn’t kill Marco?”
Sadie nods.
“Then yes, I really want to.”
“As your friend, I don’t think you should make this decision on a whim, Lily. Are you sure you’re not just doing it because you feel guilty for punching her?”
“I don’t feel guilty for punching her,” I immediately deny.
She purses her lips and gives me a look. I sigh, why does she know me that well?
“I’ll think it through just to appease you, but I don’t think my decision will be any different.”
“I don’t get it,” she frowns. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“I get where she’s coming from,” I shrug. “I’m not saying that I would’ve done the same thing. But I get her motive. And if she hates me that much, it’s really no shocker that she jumped at the chance to scare me a little.”
“She didn’t just scare you, Lily.”
At a loss for words, I shut my eyes and rest my head back against the wall.
“And she was wrong, you know?”
“About what?”
“About you.”
She continues when I look at her again.
“You do have really good taste in clothes,” she smiles, making me smile too, “but you’re not haughty. She was right on the nose with the people pleasing thing though. However, it’s not your responsibility to know everything about everyone. Even I thought she was bullshitting everyone at the memorial to be honest.”
“I know you’re only trying to make me feel better.”
“Is it working?”
I give her a tired smile and lean against the cushions. Cora didn’t kill Marco. Which brings me back to square one. Was I right in questioning Max? With my heart throbbing painfully because I’m about to betray my friend, I sit up.
“Sadie there’s some—”
The door to her office swings open after a sharp knock. A slim man with greyish hair walks in.
“Ah!” He grins at me. “The sleeping beauty awakens.”
I look from him to Sadie.
“Lily, this is Dr. Steel, our precinct’s private physician.”
“That’s a lot of P’s Detective Williams,” Dr. Steel chuckles as he checks the bottle hanging from the rod.
“Right on time. You’re done here Miss Grayson.”
He kneels down to take the needle out of my hand. I look at Sadie as he does. I might not be scared of needles but it’s no pleasure to see one enter or exit my body. The crinkle of a plastic wrapper brings my gaze back to him.
“Here you go.”
I look at the lollipop in his hand then back at him.
“I’m thirty,” I state.
“You can have water too, but this,” he raises the lolly in his hand, “is a must, I’m afraid.”
Sadie snickers in her seat. I roll my eyes at her and take the lolly from him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, my dear.”
With that, he stands up and picks up a briefcase from the floor.
“I’ll walk you out,” Sadie moves to stand up.
“Oh no,” Dr. Steel motions her to sit, “Aiden will do it. He’s the one who dragged me here. He might as well be the one to send me on my way.”
Sadie grins like a cat who got the canary.
“He really did, didn’t he? He’s not usually like that. Don’t know what got into him.”
Dr. Steel answers her with a smile and a pointed look over his glasses.
“See you later, Sadie.” He turns and bows at me, “Miss Grayson.”
I wave at him with my left, non-achy hand.
“Thanks again, Dr. Steel.”
After he leaves, I smack Sadie’s arm.
“Ow!” She yelps, rubbing at her arm. “You’re awfully vicious today, aren’t you?”
“Only for people who deserve it! Why were you making fun of Detective Roberts? He’s a good man.”
“Whenever did I say he’s not? In fact, he’s always so calm. The first time I saw him lose his composure was the night you got kidnapped. Your partner, Max, called us almost an hour before Cora showed up.”
“Max?” I sit up, “What did he say? Did you talk to him? How did he sound?”
“Calm down Sherlock! He said that you both were at the bakery and he went out to make a call. When he came back, you weren’t there and he found your phone smashed in the alley. I didn’t talk to him so I don’t know how he sounded then, but I met with him afterwards and he was pretty shaken up. He even came by the hospital when you were still unconscious. Haven’t you seen him since?”
“He visited my parents’ yesterday, with Stella of all people. But I was asleep so they left.”
She nods at my face, “You’re frowning pretty hard over there.”
“Sadie,” I sigh, “I was so sure Cora was the one who poisoned Marco. If she didn’t do it, then who did?”
She places her hand on mine. “We’ll find out soon, Lily. Whoever it is, they can’t run forever. But I need you to stay out of it. Please.”
A nod is all I can manage for her at the moment.
“I’d like to go home now.”
“I’ll drop you off.”
We run into Detective Roberts in the parking lot. His dark hair shines, slightly wet from the drizzle. It’s a welcome reprieve; the rain, not his hair. Though the latter is not an unwanted sight either.
“Miss Grayson.” He halts in his tracks when he sees us. “How are you feeling now?”
“Much better. Thank you.”
Sadie’s loud ringtone jars me.
“Sorry Lily, I have to get this. Hey Aiden, can you drop her home please?”
She runs back inside without waiting around for any of us to reply. As she disappears, I turn back to the detective.
“Detective Roberts, you don’t have to—”
I jump at the beep of a car unlocking. When I see the blinking lights but no one around us anywhere, I turn to him again. Only to see him shaking his head.
“What?”
“That’s my car. Get inside before you get wet.”
Ignoring the weird urge to laugh, I point at my bicycle.
“That’s my bike. I can go—”
“It’ll be at your house first thing in the morning. Anything else?”
I glare at his annoyingly handsome frown and stomp to his car. My glare only intensifies when he’s there before I am, to open the door for me. I get in, immediately wrapped in the rich scent of sandalwood and leather. Crossing my arms, I watch as he rounds the car and gets in the driver’s seat.
“Put on your seatbelt.”
My glare doesn’t lessen at the order. He notices my noncompliance after turning the heater up a notch.
