“Just got the letters yesterday, waited till today to tell you.”
“Oh my god, you guys, that’s amazing!”
“We know.” We all laughed again at D. This was the best news I could’ve received. I thought for sure I was going to be all alone. I did want a fresh start and now I’m still getting a new start while having some great friends with me.
“You guys can stay with me at my dad’s vacation spot! So, we don’t have to be in lousy dorms.”
“Thank fuck, Heather. You saved my life.”
“You’re welcome CiCi.”
“SHIT HEATHER, LOOK OUT!”
Derrick’s warning scream scared both Cindy and me. All I saw was bright lights. Headlights. Coming closer and closer on my side. The blinding light filled up the car. I felt the impact and the airbag deploy. The rest was black. Will I get tomorrow? Will it be another day?
10
On the car ride here, I got a call from Heather. She told me they left to go get their pictures taken. So, I have time to waste with Harry, as long as things are okay. I arrived at Harry’s office and he was waiting for me at the lobby. He pulled me up to where his office was. He was impatient. He seemed stressed. Worried.
“What is it, Harry?”
“It’s bad. It’s bad, bad.”
“Harry.”
“Just listen.”
He turned on the radio. It was my channel; ComBox. They were reporting on our trial.
“Head Anchorman here at ComBox, Cordell Hendricks, is currently battling a legal dispute against multi-billionaire stockbroker and businessman, Louis Gladys. The court case, which is scheduled for June 20th, ten days from today, is because Mr. Gladys allegedly raped and murdered Hendricks’ wife, Elle Hendricks. This dispute has been kept private by the two per request by Mr. Gladys. That is until this morning when Gladys told this to Tyson News in a phone interview:
“No, I didn’t do a thing. Cordell has had it against me ever since high school and now he can’t handle how successful I am. He’s a jealous boy. His job is to report his fake news and now he’s using his manipulation powers against me. I will not stand for it.”
Mr. Gladys goes further on about our own Cordell Hendricks in the interview. Since the interview has been released, Gladys has brought forward substantial evidence, proving this case to be a personal vendetta against him. He has shown former letters, text messages, voice recordings, and confidential documents to Tyson News. Gladys claims that Mr. Hendricks committed the crime himself. The case has since had the court date cancelled and Arizona State Police say that they have contacted Mr. Hendricks’ lawyer to bring him in to questioning…”
“Is—Is this true?”
“Cordell, I was contacted by the AZPD and VTPD about bringing you in for questioning. Judge Flynn called me about this. He said that he cancelled the case himself.”
“What the FUCK, Harry!”
“Don’t blame me, man. This shit ain’t my fault.”
“I’m not blaming you. But now all of a sudden, I’m the suspect. I’m the defense in my own case. I have all the fucking evidence to put him away. His fingerprints from Elle’s body. His DNA samples. Even a voice recording that Elle took during all of it. She was pretty much wired up! What the fuck? We need to release it. The police report!”
“Cordell. All that disappeared.”
“Ex-fucking-cuse me!”
“It’s all gone. We don’t have any of it anymore.”
“He fucking destroyed it. He has money. He has connections. He has power. You know damn well he paid off some VTPD, detectives, and I have half a mind to believe he paid off Judge Flynn too.”
“I contacted the department after I got off the phone with Flynn, the lady who picked up the phone said there is no record of anything against Louis Gladys.”
“This shit can’t be happening! What the actual fuck.”
My phone started to buzz. It was ComBox.
“Hello?”
“Hi! Mr. Hendricks?”
“Speaking.”
“Hello. This is Rachel Timmons, from the Board of Directors. Uh, I’m calling to inform you on what was just aired on TV. Since you are in such a serious case and are a prime suspect being investigated, we have decided to release you from our studios. You can expect to receive your belongings that were left at the studio in the mail by the end of the week. Please send all studio belongings back via mail as well. Have a great day. Goodbye.”
The phone call ended.
“Cordell? What wa—”
“I was fired. I was fucking fired.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“They said it was aired on TV. Turn it on please.”
Harry turned on the TV. He found the channel and rewinded back to the beginning of my story. I had to listen to all this bullshit again. It reached the interview part. I couldn’t believe it. I paused it. I saw his grown-up face for once. I couldn’t believe it. I’m pissed. His ugly face. I was deceived. I was lied to.
“Louis Gladys is… Tate.”
“Huh?”
“The man I’ve talked up since I’ve seen him. The man who was my daughter’s therapist. My coworker for a brief time. He was pretending, just to get close to me. He knew I had no idea what he looked like. So, he took all advantages.”
“I’m sorry, Cordell. You know I’ll keep the cops occupied and make sure you don’t have to go into questioning.”
My phone started to ring. It was an unknown number.
“Don’t answer it. Could be detectives.”
“I have too. If it’s police, then I need to prove my innocence. You’ll be right by my side anyways.”
I pressed accept, but I put it on speaker.
“Hello? Is this Mr. Cordell Hendricks?”
“Yes, it is. Whom may I be speaking with?”
“Hi, sir. This is Doctor Westing of Casa Grande ER. I’m calling on behalf of your daughter, Heather
