think, but I swear, I didn't have anything to do with that. I didn't like that dude, but I didn't kill him.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. In my heart of hearts, I didn't believe that Eli could be capable of murder, but at the same time, I didn't know him. My gut feeling just told me to reserve judgment until later.
“Then, what happened? How did you get out and what in the world are you doing here of all places? You didn't run very far.” I looked around to see if the security guards had spotted us yet. They wouldn't have been able to see Eli from the parking lot. At worst, I'd look like I was talking to myself. That was better than the alternative. I could be going to jail for aiding and abetting a murder suspect.
Eli said, “I've been in here so much, I know the place inside and out. It doesn't take a genius to get out of there, especially when Captain Mafioso didn't even bother to latch the door behind him. Easy peasy.”
“But you were in restraints.” I distinctly remembered fastening them as we'd been trained. “And, we took your clothes.”
He started laughing. In a whiny voice, he said, “Oh, these are too tight. They are hurting me. You're cutting off circulation.”
I rolled my eyes at him. The kid was sneakier than I thought. “So, you faked that?”
“Every last word of it. You should have checked my chart. I'm really good at doing a lot of things in the Lame House of Crazies.” He laughed again. This time louder. If this weren't so serious, I'd be able to laugh about it too, but I couldn't. I didn't want to egg him on. He was in trouble and, unfortunately, I was going to have to turn him in.
Before we realized what was happening, the guards had their weapons drawn and were making their way toward me, coming from either direction.
Eli looked from side to side, then, took off running inside the building, leaving me standing there like a fool.
“Put your hands up!” The guards yelled.
“I...” I started, turning to face one of them, but he screamed at me louder.
I complied.
When they reached me, one of them was speaking into a radio, telling the person on the other end that they'd found me and Eli Pardo between the buildings together.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
I closed my eyes. Eli left me to face the guards alone.
How was I going to get out of this mess?
“I didn't do anything wrong. I was about to turn him in.” I tried, but that didn't stop them from placing handcuffs on my wrists.
“Sure, you were. You were going to be totally transparent. That's why your little boyfriend there is hiding inside a building and your trampling through bushes again.” The guard started laughing.
Over the radio, I heard someone say, “We got him. Police are on their way.”
Another guard yelled from the sidewalk, “Great catch guys. That was awesome. Good work!”
I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut. Eli stared straight ahead, almost like he could see right through everyone. I wondered what he was thinking and I prayed that I hadn't been duped by him yet again.
*
“What part of doing as you're told and stay out of trouble do you not understand? I can't believe this? Did you know he was there the whole time? Mercy, what has gotten into you?” Rollie paced around the room, seething with anger.
Outside of his office, the phones were ringing non-stop. Given the way he was behaving, I was willing to bet that some of those phone calls were from the media.
“Rollie, you have to believe me. I was only out there because I... I...” The truth wasn't going to help me much. It still made me look suspicious, so I shut my mouth.
His secretary opened the door and announced that Lou had arrived with a detective.
My life is over!
Lou had a smirk on his face. “Mercy.”
I put my head down. No point in being nice. I'm sure he was about to give me some bad
I breathed a sigh of relief. In my heart of hearts, I didn't believe that Eli could be capable of murder, but at the same time, I didn't know him. My gut feeling just told me to reserve judgment until later.
“Then, what happened? How did you get out and what in the world are you doing here of all places? You didn't run very far.” I looked around to see if the security guards had spotted us yet. They wouldn't have been able to see Eli from the parking lot. At worst, I'd look like I was talking to myself. That was better than the alternative. I could be going to jail for aiding and abetting a murder suspect.
Eli said, “I've been in here so much, I know the place inside and out. It doesn't take a genius to get out of there, especially when Captain Mafioso didn't even bother to latch the door behind him. Easy peasy.”
“But you were in restraints.” I distinctly remembered fastening them as we'd been trained. “And, we took your clothes.”
He started laughing. In a whiny voice, he said, “Oh, these are too tight. They are hurting me. You're cutting off circulation.”
I rolled my eyes at him. The kid was sneakier than I thought. “So, you faked that?”
“Every last word of it. You should have checked my chart. I'm really good at doing a lot of things in the Lame House of Crazies.” He laughed again. This time louder. If this weren't so serious, I'd be able to laugh about it too, but I couldn't. I didn't want to egg him on. He was in trouble and, unfortunately, I was going to have to turn him in.
Before we realized what was happening, the guards had their weapons drawn and were making their way toward me, coming from either direction.
Eli looked from side to side, then, took off running inside the building, leaving me standing there like a fool.
“Put your hands up!” The guards yelled.
“I...” I started, turning to face one of them, but he screamed at me louder.
I complied.
When they reached me, one of them was speaking into a radio, telling the person on the other end that they'd found me and Eli Pardo between the buildings together.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
I closed my eyes. Eli left me to face the guards alone.
How was I going to get out of this mess?
“I didn't do anything wrong. I was about to turn him in.” I tried, but that didn't stop them from placing handcuffs on my wrists.
“Sure, you were. You were going to be totally transparent. That's why your little boyfriend there is hiding inside a building and your trampling through bushes again.” The guard started laughing.
Over the radio, I heard someone say, “We got him. Police are on their way.”
Another guard yelled from the sidewalk, “Great catch guys. That was awesome. Good work!”
I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut. Eli stared straight ahead, almost like he could see right through everyone. I wondered what he was thinking and I prayed that I hadn't been duped by him yet again.
*
“What part of doing as you're told and stay out of trouble do you not understand? I can't believe this? Did you know he was there the whole time? Mercy, what has gotten into you?” Rollie paced around the room, seething with anger.
Outside of his office, the phones were ringing non-stop. Given the way he was behaving, I was willing to bet that some of those phone calls were from the media.
“Rollie, you have to believe me. I was only out there because I... I...” The truth wasn't going to help me much. It still made me look suspicious, so I shut my mouth.
His secretary opened the door and announced that Lou had arrived with a detective.
My life is over!
Lou had a smirk on his face. “Mercy.”
I put my head down. No point in being nice. I'm sure he was about to give me some bad
Similar Books
