Page 47 of Find Me

“No matter what happens, you say nothing, okay?” She slid Hope’s key ring onto her own and dropped it into her purse, along with Alex Lopez’s phone, then slipped her own cell into her back pocket. “Answer no questions. Offer no explanations. The only English you speak is that you’re not talking without the consent of your lawyer. You got it?”

Hope nodded, her eyes filled with fear. Ninety percent odds it was a warrant, which meant only ten percent odds of the encounter ending without an arrest. “No matter what,” she said once again. “Even if they bring you in.”

Hope blinked rapidly, but nodded again. If anything, the warning seemed to calm her. She now knew what she was facing.

Lindsay managed to get to the front door before the police knocked. She opened it a customary distance. “Detective Decker,” she said.

“Ms. Kelly.” He held up the sheet of paper in his hands. “We have a warrant to search these premises.”

She took it from him and did a quick scan: i’s dotted, t’s crossed. As she expected.

“That’s fine. You should know that my client, Hope Miller, is seated in a chair directly to my right. She is unarmed and ready to—”

“What the fuck, Lindsay—” Carter shook his head.

“She came here seeking legal advice after seeing that publicity stunt you pulled. She had every intention of contacting you but wanted to make sure she had a lawyer with her, since you have obviously jumped to some very mistaken conclusions. I’m going to ask her to slowly rise and walk toward us—”

“Save it for a courtroom,” he said. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, and his three fellow officers—all in uniform—followed. Two of them drew their weapons. Hope cowered, raising her hands in the air on instinct.

“Completely unnecessary,” Lindsay said firmly. “I told you she was ready to walk outside.”

Carter waved for them to lower their guns as he slipped a pair of handcuffs from his belt and reached for Hope’s arm to pull her into a standing position. “You’re Hope Miller, to be clear?”

Hope looked to Lindsay for guidance. She nodded. Lindsay was confident it was the only question she would be answering.

Carter cuffed Hope’s wrists in front of her and signaled that she could resume her position in the armchair. “I want to be clear you’re not under formal arrest, but the law gives me the authority to restrain you under the circumstances while we execute a search warrant of this property pursuant to judicial authorization. You want to back me up on that, Ms. Kelly?”

“Actually, you have the right to keep her from leaving, but the right to use handcuffs isn’t automatic.”

“As I’m aware, Counselor. It’s based on the individual facts of the case, which is why your client is cuffed quite comfortably with wrists in front and sitting in a nice cozy chair instead of the back of a patrol car. Any other accommodations we can make?”

“The law gives you the right to keep me from leaving as well, but are you going to handcuff me too?” She knew it wasn’t even a close call. She wouldn’t be cuffed, but that wasn’t her real concern.

He told the other officers to begin searching. “I also have the authority to tell you to leave the premises while we search, which I’m officially using.”

It was the decision she was hoping for, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “I’m her lawyer.”

“Which she has a right to during custodial interrogation, but she’s not in custody, and I’m not questioning her. There’s no right to counsel during the execution of a search warrant—as I’m sure you know.”

She grabbed her laptop and reached for her purse on the sofa as she started to leave, but he held up a hand.

“I’m going to need to search the purse before you take it.”

“Your warrant is for the premises. That doesn’t allow you to search me.”

“Not your person. But as to any container on the property? For all we know, that belongs to her.” He gestured toward Hope.

Carter was more knowledgeable of the constitutional rules than she would have expected. “To represent my client, I need my phone. My driver’s license too, unless you’re detaining me. And I have notes in there as well, which are covered by attorney work product privilege.”

“And you’re welcome to take all of it with you once I give a quick look. You’ll consent to that?”

“I’m not giving you consent to search my bag apart from the authority you claim to have under your search warrant. Do what you’re going to do.”

He took a cursory glance into her purse, as she’d thought he would, and handed it to her. “Peace be with you.”

He wasn’t quite as clever as he thought. “This will likely take a while,” she said to Hope. “I’m going to get you something to eat at least.” She turned to Decker. “Officers, can I bring you anything?”

They ignored the request.

---