THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY (20 page)
Later, when she’d been denied the small-business loan she’d
wanted to start a private investigation firm, she’d thought that must surely be
rock bottom.
But none of those were rock bottom.
Rock bottom was being arrested by her
former
boyfriend—there could be no doubt about that—and being thrown
in a concrete-block holding cell that reeked of vomit and urine. A holding cell
that currently housed five other women who looked like they could kill someone
every morning before breakfast and never bat a false eyelash.
Heather didn’t know where her sister was. The police had
refused to answer any of Heather’s questions about Lily. And no one had come
back to update Heather or even give her the infamous phone call prisoners on TV
shows always got. Not that she had anyone to call. Lily was her only family. Her
friends had given up on her long ago when she’d started working seven days a
week to try to build a P.I. business. And Nick... She shied away from that
thought.
She was so tired. She wanted to rest her head against the wall
behind her, but she was too afraid of lice, or something worse, that might be
clinging to the surface. Instead, she stood a few feet away, trying not to touch
anything, trying to pretend the speculative looks from the other women didn’t
send shivers up her spine. She was also trying her best not to give in to the
urge to cry.
She was appalled that tears kept threatening to course down her
cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried, or the last time she’d
even wanted to cry. She had Nick to thank for her jangled nerves. He’d judged
her without giving her a chance to explain. He’d assumed the worst. Fine. Let
him think what he wanted, but if there was any chance he was going to be the one
to interrogate her—if anyone ever did bother to interrogate her—she wasn’t going
to let him see her with red eyes and tearstained cheeks.
She didn’t want him to know how much his betrayal had hurt
her.
A buzzing noise sounded and the door opened. A policewoman
stood in the doorway and motioned for Heather to step out. “Miss Bannon, your
lawyer is here.”
“My lawyer? But I haven’t even had a phone call.”
The policewoman shrugged, her lack of interest stamped in her
jaded, world-weary eyes. “Do you want to see your lawyer or not?”
Heather figured the police had made a mistake, that the lawyer
was there for some other prisoner. But if playing along meant she’d get out of
the foul-smelling cell for a few minutes, she wasn’t going to argue. She stepped
into the hallway.
The door buzzed closed behind her, and the policewoman led her
down the hall to a door stamped with the words
Interview
Room.
As she went inside, she braced herself, expecting to see Nick
or a police officer waiting to grill her with questions. Instead, a stranger in
a suit that looked like it must have cost at least a thousand dollars was
sitting at a small table. He gave her a friendly smile and stood to shake her
hand.
“Miss Bannon, I’m Anthony Greary, your attorney. A mutual
friend hired me to help you out of this unfortunate situation.”
The door closed behind Heather. She shook the attorney’s hand
and sat. “Mr. Greary, who is this ‘mutual friend’?”
“Someone who prefers to remain anonymous.”
The fine hairs on the back of Heather’s neck stood at
attention. “I don’t suppose this friend is the man who gave my sister those
bricks of cocaine?”
Greary glanced at the door and cleared his throat. “As I said,
I’m here to help.”
She had her answer. And it really sucked, because she’d
so
looked forward to a good half hour or more out of
her cell. She pushed back her chair and stood. “I think you have me confused
with my sister. My name is
Heather
Bannon. My sister
is Lily. We’re identical twins, but I assure you, we’re nothing alike in any way
that matters. And I guarantee we don’t have any mutual friends.”
“There’s no confusion. I’m here to get both you and your sister
released.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say that one of you has something my employer wants
returned.”
Cold fear iced over Heather’s insides. He had to be talking
about the cocaine. What would happen if he found out she’d destroyed one of the
bricks, and the police had the rest? Her hands started shaking. She clutched
them together and gave the lawyer a false smile. “Like I said, there’s been a
mistake.” She strode to the door and banged on the glass window.
A policeman Heather hadn’t seen before opened the door, a
surprised look on his face. “You have fifteen more minutes, ma’am.”
“There’s been a mistake. This man isn’t my lawyer,” Heather
said.
The cop looked past her into the room. He shrugged and led her
back down the hall to the holding cell. At the door, he paused and pulled a key
card from the pocket of his shirt.
“Wait,” Heather said, desperation lending her voice a
high-pitched tone. She
really
didn’t want to go back
into that cell. What if the other women had banded together while she was gone?
What if they’d formed an alliance, like on those reality TV shows, and had
decided to beat up the new girl just for fun, as a way to pass the time?
Panic was making her think crazy thoughts. But crazy or not,
she couldn’t help the tight feeling in her chest and the way her lungs were
laboring to draw an even breath. She had to get out of here. Maybe she could
talk to Nick for a few minutes and straighten this out. She hated to beg,
especially when she’d rather punch him than look at him, but if she was here
much longer they’d have to take her out in a straitjacket.
“Please, I need to talk to Nick Morgan and explain,” she said.
“He’s one of the DEA agents who—”
“I know who he is, ma’am. But Special Agent Morgan isn’t here.
And he specifically said that if you asked for him, he didn’t want to talk to
you.”
Heather closed her eyes, squeezing them tight against the
ridiculous urge to cry again.
How could you, Nick? How
could you judge me like this and throw away what we had, like I never even
mattered to you?
She opened her eyes and cleared her throat. “I believe I’m
entitled to a phone call. I need to call a lawyer to arrange bail.” Not that she
could afford it. About the only thing she could offer as collateral was a
four-year-old dinged-up Ford Focus that had an outstanding loan balance higher
than what the car was worth.
“I’ll set that up,” he said. “But you need to wait in the cell
for now.”
She managed not to whimper, barely. The policeman opened the
door and impatiently motioned her forward. She steeled herself, took a deep
breath and stepped inside. The odor of vomit hit her, making her eyes water,
crushing the last remaining shred of affection she’d ever felt for Nick
Morgan.
Copyright © 2013 by Lena Diaz
ISBN-13: 9781460323137
THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY
Copyright © 2013 by Robin L. Perini
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