particular.
'Because he isn't up yet maybe?' the doctor replied. 'Get dressed, Jeff. You'll feel better when you do.'
'What the hell are my partners going to say about this? That damned little bitch has made one hell of a mess for me,' Jeff whined.
'Mr. Buckley, please go upstairs now. Or would you prefer to go to the station in your pajamas? I don't give a damn personally, but either way in ten minutes you're out of here, sir. But I think you would prefer to be seen at your best,' the lieutenant noted.
Jeff turned and, escorted by the two patrolmen, went upstairs.
The other two men walked into the living room and sat down.
'You can talk to him when he's dressed, and before we take him out of here,' Lieutenant Barker said.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Jeff came back into the room with the two patrolmen. He was dressed in a dark pinstriped suit with a white shirt, and a dark patterned tie. A cashmere coat was over his shoulders. He was every inch the prominent businessman.
'He's ready to go, sir,' one of the uniforms said.
The lieutenant stood up, and came over to stand in front of Jeff. 'Jeffrey Buckley, I arrest you for the assault and battery, with intent to do harm, of Heidi Millar. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been outlined to you?'
'She's make a big thing of this,' Jeff said. 'If I could just speak to her.'
'Sir, do you understand your rights?' the lieutenant persisted. 'Please answer yes or no.'
'Yes, yes, I understand. Do you think I'm an idiot like the lowlifes you obviously consort with daily? I want to speak with my attorney!' Jeff was beginning to recover from his initial shock.
'I am going to give Dr. Sam a moment to speak with you, Mr. Buckley, and then we are going to leave your house, and you will be driven to the police station.'
He stepped from the room to give the two men some privacy.
'You're making a fucking big deal out of nothing. So I slapped the bitch. She had it coming, damnit!' Jeff said angrily. Then he turned to the doctor.
'I came to tell you that your wife woke up this morning. She's fine. I plan on releasing her from Shorecrest tomorrow, and she can come home.'
'She's not coming here,' Jeff said nastily. 'The house is going on the market in another month.'
'The house is hers until then, you bastard,' the doctor snapped. 'And it's my understanding that she never signed the settlement, Jeff. Until she does, you're stuck. Damnit, Nora has recovered from whatever felled her, and instead of being relieved, you're pissed. What the hell is the matter with you? What did that nice woman ever do to you to make you so vindictive against her?'
'She's alive,' Jeff responded angrily. 'Why couldn't she have died?'
Lt. Barker gripped Jeff by the arm. 'Let's go, Mr. Buckley,' he said.
Jeff pulled away. 'I'm not going anywhere with you until I speak with my attorney,' he snarled.
'I told you, after you're booked you get a phone call,' Lieutenant Barker said. 'I'm trying to do this in a way that won't embarrass you, sir. But if you refuse to cooperate, I'm going to have to cuff you.'
'Go to hell!' Jeff yelled, and then to his astonishment he found himself slammed facedown into the couch. His arms were dragged behind him. He tried to struggle, but his efforts were futile. He felt the metal cuffs enclosing his wrists. Heard the snap of them locking. Then he was yanked to his feet again. Enraged, he shouted, 'This is police brutality. I'll have your damned badge for this! Dr. Seligmann is a witness!'
'What are you talking about?' Sam said, a small smile flitting over his lips. 'I didn't see any police brutality. I saw a man resisting arrest.'
'You kike bastard!' Jeff was practically screaming now, and his lips were flecked with foam.
'Let's go, Mr. Buckley,' the police lieutenant said sternly. He was embarrassed by his prisoner's slurs on Sam Seligmann. Sam was the town doctor. Everyone liked him. He was a good man. What kind of thing was that for this jerk to say to him? He pushed Jeff forward a little harder than he might have under other circumstances.
Jeff whirled about, and his head butted the detective hard. 'I want my lawyer!'
Two uniforms jumped forward and, each taking an arm, hustled Jeff Buckley from his house past a line of flashing cameras, and into a waiting police car. Left to regain his composure and his dignity, Lieutenant Barker stood up from the couch where he had landed.
'Are you alright?' the doctor asked him.
'I think he bruised my ego,' the lieutenant said with a wry grin. 'Nah, he just took the wind out of me. I didn't expect such violence from the guy.'
'He's a man used to getting his own way, and used to having people do what he tells them to do. His wife really surprised him when she didn't cave easily to the divorce. He was tossing her out of her house. Cutting his kids off so they had no college tuition at the last moment, and he didn't want to pay alimony, or support for the younger kid,' the doctor explained. 'To his surprise, she got tough with him.'
'Yeah, a woman will where her home and her kids are concerned. Nice guy, your neighbor. Wanted everything for himself, and the young girlfriend. Hey, wasn't his kid the high school's star soccer player the last two years? My kid really admired him. Went out for soccer just because of J. J. Buckley. Made junior varsity this year,' the detective said proudly. 'And he wouldn't help the kid go to college. What a shit!'
'J. J. got a scholarship,' the doctor said.
'Well, I better take my prisoner down to the station and book him. You'll tell the wife? I hate stuff like this, and hell, you're a friend, right?'
Sam Seligmann nodded. 'I'll tell Nora,' he said.
The two men went their separate ways: Lieutenant Barker back to the Egret Pointe station house, Sam Seligmann across the street to his house, where he discovered his neighbors all gathered in the kitchen drinking coffee and eating Krispy Kremes. He laughed. He couldn't help it. 'Rina! Rina!' he said to his wife.
'Well, we were all up,' she replied, 'and you were over there. This saves you telling the story four times, Sam.' She handed him a cup of coffee, already creamed. 'So?' she said, offering him a donut from the open box.
'I've got good news and bad news,' Sam Seligmann said. 'Which do you want first?' He took a sip of coffee, and a bite of his glazed donut.
'We know the good news,' Rina said. 'The cops arrested Jeff Buckley.'
'No. The good news is Nora Buckley woke up this morning, and she is absolutely fine, my dears. It's as if she's been sleeping for eight weeks.'
There was a collective shriek of delight from the assembled women, and their husbands smiled, nodding and looking pleased.
'So what's the bad news?' Rina asked.
'There is none,' Dr. Sam chuckled. 'Where is Heidi?'
'One of the young patrolmen got her into his car, and away to the station house before the news media started showing up. Rick and Joe went with her to make sure Jeff didn't bully her out of filing charges. She's hired them as her local counsel,' Rina told her husband, who, nodding, was already turning to Carla. 'Listen, Carla,' Sam said. 'I'd like you to go over to Shorecrest with me when I tell Nora. And bring your cell. There's no phone in her room, and she'll want to call the kids. I'll speak with them first with the news their mother is alright.'
'When is she getting out?' Rina, practical as ever, queried her husband.
'I told her tomorrow. I don't understand it. She shows absolutely no effects of lying unconscious in a bed for all those weeks. It's a miracle.'
'Let me bring her to my house today,' Carla begged. 'She must be frantic about the kids, Dr. Sam. Please!'
'Well,' the doctor considered, 'she is fine, and if she were anyone else, I'd say no, but why not? I'm just across the street if she should relapse. Alright, Carla, you can have her. Is an hour time enough for you? This is seriously big gossip, and I can guarantee it's all over town already. I don't want Nora to hear anything before I have a chance to speak to her. The shock could be very damaging.'
'Ten minutes is enough time for me,' Carla told him. 'I'll just run home and throw on some sweats, okay? What about Nora?'
She can come home in her hospital gown and coat. It's quicker, and will get her out of the media eye. Jeff was
