I had just elevated myself to a whole new level of trouble.
“I DIDN’T DO IT,” I SAID AS I FACED THEM. “WHEN I WALKED IN, I found him like this.”
Kelsey was still screaming, and I wasn’t sure they even heard me over the noise. I’d expected a pair of weapons to be aimed at me, but all they had were cell phones. Unless one of them had a stun gun in his pocket, I should be all right.
“Would you stop that?” I snapped at Kelsey. She wasn’t making the situation any easier.
“You stabbed him,” she said, now whimpering.
“I did no such thing. I just got here.”
Kelsey wasn’t buying it. “Don’t lie. You hit him before. I saw it.”
That got the security team’s interest, and I really couldn’t blame them. “It’s all very simple to explain,” I said.
“Save it for the police,” one of the guards said. “Now step away from the body.”
I knew better than to try to argue with them. I did as I was told, and a minute later, paramedics arrived, along with a police escort. Before I could say a word, one of the security men pointed to me, and a man in a nice suit walked over to where I was standing.
“What happened here?” he asked me as the paramedics began searching for a pulse.
“We had a disagreement, I left, regretted it, then came back to apologize. When I did, I found him like that.”
“You seem pretty calm after just discovering a body.”
I nodded toward Kelsey, who was now collapsed in the arms of one of the security men. “I’m not like her. I’ve been a cop’s wife a long time.”
That got his attention. “Someone on our force?”
I shook my head. “No, he used to be the head of the Charlotte police department.”
“But not anymore.”
“He was shot in the line of duty, so he had to retire.”
“You’re Zach Stone’s wife?” he asked.
Maybe things weren’t going to be so bad after all. “I am. My name’s Savannah,” I added as I extended a hand to him.
He ignored it, and I put it back by my side. If he was impressed with the new information, he didn’t show it. “My name’s Shawn Murphy. Let’s go to the station.”
“You’re arresting me? Based on what?”
“I’m questioning you,” he said patiently, as if I were too simple to understand words any bigger. “You’re an ex-cop’s wife. You should know the difference.”
“Fine, I’ve got nothing to hide. Let’s go.”
As we started for the door, Kelsey suddenly came alive. “You didn’t have to kill him!” she screamed at me.
“I didn’t,” I said, “and I wish you’d quit saying that I did.”
As we walked out to the officer’s unmarked car, he asked, “Is she a friend of yours?”
“Did she sound like she was?” I snapped.
“Hey, no reason to take it out on me. I’m just trying to find out what happened.”
“I wouldn’t mind knowing that myself.”
We drove a few blocks, and he pulled into a parking lot clustered with blue and white police cruisers. An imposing building with rows of glass and red brick faced us, and I was quickly led inside.
“Now, let’s start from the beginning,” he said as he settled in behind his desk.
“I want to talk to my husband first,” I said.
“He’s not a lawyer,” Detective Murphy said.
“No, but he’s the only one I trust. I’m not about to answer a single question until I talk to him.”
The detective studied me a few moments, and then said, “Then I guess we’ve got a problem. I’m trying to investigate a murder, and so far, you’re my only witness.”
“But I told you, I didn’t see anything,” I said loudly. “Derrick was already dead when I got there.”
“So you say,” Murphy said, jotting something down in his notebook. “You two had a fight, didn’t you? Or are you denying that now, too?”
I suddenly realized that though I’d claimed I was going to be quiet, I was being anything but. “I’m calling my husband, unless you want to stop me.”
“Go ahead,” he said.
I grabbed my phone, and then realized that his would still be off.
“Did you change your mind?” the detective asked.
“Just about who I’m going to call.” I dialed an entirely different number, and Jenny answered on the third ring.
“You’re early,” she said the second she heard my voice. “I’m just getting out of court.”
“That’s handy, because I’m at the police station,” I said.
“Where are you parked? I’ll swing by and pick you up.”
“No, you don’t understand. I’m inside. They think I killed Derrick, my syndicator.”
“That’s not funny, Savannah.”
“It’s not meant to be. I need you.”
There was a brief pause, and then Jenny said, “Don’t say another word. I’ll be right there.”
FIVE MINUTES LATER, JENNY BLAKE CAME INTO THE STAtion wearing a suit that must have cost a fortune. She looked good, but there were more frown lines on her face than I’d ever seen before. Jenny was still trim, something I’d always envied, and her long red hair was pulled back in a conservative style.
“Hello, Detective,” she said as she walked to us, ignoring me for the moment. “I’d like to speak with my client in private, please.”
“Since when has she been your client?”
“Since she called me,” Jenny said. With a lighter air, she added, “She’s my roommate from college, Murphy.”
“And an ex-cop’s wife, I know all that,” the detective said. “But she’s deep into this.”
“Let us have the room,” Jenny said.
Murphy seemed to think about it, and then he pushed himself away from his desk. “Fine. I’ll be just outside waiting.”
After we were alone, Jenny hugged me, and then got a legal pad out of her briefcase and sat across the table from me. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Savannah?”
“I don’t even know where to begin,” I said.
“Let’s start with what happened at your meeting with Derrick,” she suggested.
“I didn’t kill him. You know that, don’t you?”
She looked exasperated. “Of course I do. But I need to know everything that’s been happening.”
“As my lawyer or my friend?”
“Right now I’m not your old college roommate; I’m trying to keep you out of jail. Have you called Zach yet?”
“He’s testifying in court in Knoxville, and I don’t want him to know what’s going on here, at least not yet.”
She looked startled by the admission. “You two aren’t having problems, are you?”
“Of course not,” I said. “I’m afraid he’ll fly here and not testify in court, and trust me, he needs to testify.”
“Fine, we’ll call him later. For now, it’s just you and me.”
“The two musketeers, together again.”
“Let’s get started.”
