Page 38 of Buddy System

Blake narrows his eyes at Levi and says, “Weren’t you the anthem singer at the Fourth of July party?”

“Yes, sir. And no, I wasn’t here with Skyler all evening because I had a late-night meeting to go to, but I know he was here when I left and here when I got back. I took his car, so…”

“Are you in the habit of meeting people in the middle of the night?” He eyes Levi suspiciously, and I don’t like it a bit.

Levi lets out a frustrated breath. “I’m a singer—as you know—and musician, and the meeting was with Buford Wallace at The Hive. I had to wait for the show to end to talk to the musicians there. I assure you, I was not up to something shady. You can ask Buford, and he’ll tell you I was there on business.”

“Do you have any other means of transportation besides your car, Mr. Colfax?”

“Well, I do have a business truck from our family garden center that I keep here. But stop calling me that.”

Ignoring my suggestion to lighten up, he asks, “And did you drive it to leave the house last night?”

“No, of course not.”

He looks at Levi again and reiterates, “So you were here before ten and after one, but you cannot swear to Mr. Colfax’s whereabouts during those hours. Is that correct?”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t lie about it. He was upstairs working in his studio the whole time I was gone.”

“Sergeant Spencer, please do not leave town. We will be contacting you again for more information after I verify what you’ve told me about your whereabouts. Mr. Colfax, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me. You’re under arrest for the assault of Marjorie Henshaw. She named you as her attacker.” He proceeds to recite to me my Miranda rights. This is fucking unreal!

I jump up and grab my hair. “What? What do you mean I’m under arrest? I haven’t seen Mrs. Henshaw in days, and why would I want to hurt her? This is a huge mistake!”

“Sir, what are those stains on your shorts?”

I look down and see some rusty splashes on my shorts. I didn’t even realize I’d made a mess on them. “I was painting! Those are paint! You can’t arrest me forpainting!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Colfax, I see now that the stains are paint, but you’re going to have to come with me anyway.”

“What? Blake, come on, man! Youknowme. I’m not in the habit of going around hurting people or breaking the law in any way!”

Finally, he looks contrite and answers, “Yeah, I know. But I am under a strict directive from Sheriff Hansen to bring you in. I wish I didn’t have to, but orders are orders.”

“Isn’t he some kind of distant cousin to Mrs. Henshaw or something?” I ask.

“I believe that may be true.”

Trying to exhale some of my mounting stress, I ask, “Can I at least take a shower and put on some clean clothes?”

“Sorry, no. Your friend here can go get you a shirt and a pair of shoes, and that’s it. You’ll have to stay here with me. According to Sheriff Hansen, I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight.”

Levi scoots out of the room, and while he’s gone, I ask shakily, “I’m really sorry she’s hurt. How badly injured is she?”

“It appears someone was quite angry with her and beat her rather severely. But at least she made it to her neighbor’s house for help when the attacker left.”

“Oh jeez. I think I’m going to be sick.” Yep, I was right. I bolt to the kitchen sink where I lose my breakfast. I rinse out the sink and my mouth and turn around. “How could you possibly think I’d have anything to do with that?”

“Honestly? I don’t. But word around town is that she’s been complaining about how you threatened her and refused to pay her for working here. She reported to several people that you were belligerent and scared her. I guess that informationreached Sheriff Hansen, and he wanted a quick resolution, so I was sent to pick you up.”

“That’s ridiculous. Levi and his wife were both here and can vouch for what was really said when I asked her to leave. I don’t owe her a dime. And I sure as hell never touched her!”

Levi reappears and hands me a clean t-shirt and a pair of sneakers. His face is pale, and his eyes are huge.

“Please put on the rest of your clothes, Sk…Mr. Colfax.”

I want to brush my teeth, but I doubt that’s going to happen, so I pull on the shirt and sit down to tie my shoes. Levi looks as shocked as I feel. Who would hurt an old lady? And how bad did the gossip get for the sheriff to think it was me? I stand up, and Blake cuffs me.He cuffs me! I’ve never felt so mortified in my life. At least he put the handcuffs on in front of my body instead of behind my back when I showed him that my arm doesn’t move in that direction very well yet. He saw my damaged shoulder while my shirt was off, so he didn’t object. That was decent of him, at least.

“Levi, please call my dad.” I rattle off the number to him as he punches it into his phone. I’m glad he has it handy. “He’ll know a lawyer, I hope.”

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