“Wheel them in,” he said with a frown.
Abby broke from the hug and snuggled herself next to Josh.
“Come on, Abby. Let’s get the police officers. You’re going to sit with Uncle Bobby while Daddy and I talk to the policemen.”
“Is Bob here?” Josh said.
“Yeah, he brought us. He’s waiting outside. They
won’t let him in since he’s not family.”
Bob Deuce had been Josh’s friend since they were
twelve. “Tell him thanks for coming.”
Kate helped her daughter down from the bed after
she had given Josh a kiss. He promised to tell Abby all about the accident when he returned home. They left and Kate returned with two uniformed officers.
The officers stood at the end of the bed. Kate sat on the bed next to her husband. The officers introduced themselves as Brady and Williams. Brady did the talking and Williams took notes. Brady was in his mid
forties and a good thirty pounds overweight for his six feet. He fixed Josh with a piercing look, like he was the guilty one. Josh thought he probably had too many people lie to him over the years. Williams was a young, well- groomed black man who looked as if he’d been out of the academy a couple of years and lacked the case-hardening that came with the position.
“Could you tell us what happened, Mr. Michaels?”
Brady asked.
“I was driving back home on Highway One-sixty
two when a car overtook me approaching the river.”
“What speed were you doing, sir?” Brady interrupted.
“Sixty-five.”
Brady nodded to Williams, who made a note of the
speed.
“And are you aware of the speed on that road, sir?”
Brady inquired.
“Yes. It’s not sixty-five. If you want to give me a ticket then do it, but do me the courtesy of letting me tell you what happened,” Josh responded. His irritation blistered at the attempted slap on the wrist for speeding.
“Josh,” Kate said softly. She put a hand on his arm.
“We’re just trying to establish what happened,”
Brady said without apology. “Carry on, sir,”
“As we came to the bridge, the car behind me, I
think it was an Explorer or Expedition—”
“Color, Mr. Michaels?” Williams asked.
“Black.”
“New or old?” Williams said.
“It was a current model. It looked as if it had come straight out of the box.”
Williams’s interruption of his account with simple, objective questions relieved Josh’s tension, bringing his anger down to a simmer. Brady was a pain in the ass, but at least the other officer seemed genuinely interested in Josh’s case.
“He overtook me as we reached the bridge, but
when the SUV got just past me, it cut back across. I swerved to avoid it and went onto the shoulder. I tried to stop, but I was too close to the edge of the river. The car went over the embankment.”
“So it was an accident,” Brady said.
“No way, this guy meant for me to go over the side,”
Josh said, cutting the assumption down before it had a chance to become fact.
“What makes you say that?” Williams asked.
“When I was in the river I looked back and I saw him watching me, then the asshole gave me the thumbs
down. This bastard definitely wanted me dead,” Josh said bitterly.
“He did what?” Williams asked.
“He gave me a thumbs-down.” Josh demonstrated.
He straightened his arm with his thumb up and twisted his arm until his thumb pointed down. It was an exact representation of the gesture the man on the bridge had performed.
Kate gripped his arm tighter. “Why did he do that?”
Josh shrugged.
“And why would this man, a stranger, want to kill you?” Brady added, seemingly unimpressed by Josh’s account.
“I don’t know. You’re the ones I hope are going to find out,” Josh said, incredulous at the lack of concern shown by the cop.
“Can you give us a description of this man, sir?”
Williams asked.
“No, not really, the sun was in my face and I
couldn’t make out his features, but he was white. He wore sunglasses and a baseball cap. I couldn’t tell you how tall he was.”
“So, you’re saying that a man you don’t know and
couldn’t see ran you off the road without reason?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I find that difficult to understand. Are you sure there isn’t anything you aren’t telling us, Mr. Michaels?”
“No, there fucking isn’t.”
“Mr. Michaels, there’s no need for the profanity,”
Brady said sternly.
“Sorry,” Josh snapped back.
“Nowadays, the department is getting more and
more cases of road rage. Drivers are making it personal when they don’t get their way. Everyone thinks they’re a law-enforcing road vigilante. They’re not. The police enforce the law, not citizens.” Brady paused after his sermon. “Now are you sure nothing happened that
would have provoked the SUV driver?”
“No. Nothing happened. We weren’t racing each
other. I hadn’t cut him off and I hadn’t been riding his tail. He just ran me off the road and waited around to see me drown.”
“I think we have enough for now. We’ll take another look at the area and we’ll see if there’s any physical evidence that will allow us to make any progress,” Brady
said, dismissing Josh’s final statement like he’d already passed judgment.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about the man or his vehicle? Like a license plate number?” Williams asked.
“No, nothing.”
“Your wife has given us your details and we’ll be in contact in the next few days. And sir, can I recommend that you watch the speed? You never know, ten miles an hour slower and you might have stopped in time. Good night to you both,” Brady said.
“Good night, sir… ma’am,” Williams said.
“Good night officers,” Kate said.
Williams pocketed his notebook and smiled. Brady
put his hat back on and tipped it to both of them. The two policemen left the hospital room.
Josh waited for the policeman to get out of earshot before he exploded. “They didn’t believe a word of
