Page 19 of Sinful Deception

Minka says to stay positive.

Aubree is like a gray rain cloud, settling heavily on my head and making it difficult to look up.

But they all promise to stay with Jada, and Penny is with an oblivious Mia, so I’m in the hall with the mayor of the city, a dude I probably would never have met if not for Minka’sconnection with him. And now, instead of running a city, he’s running a case. Albeit, from the side.

“Egbert Alexander carries an unfortunate name,” Lawrence rumbles. “But he’s an excellent attorney and my best recommendation, considering the circumstances. I’ve briefed him not only on the current situation, but your history with the victim…” He swallows and glances down for a beat. “I caught that history through my assistant, aware the information might have come with a slight, even unintentional, bias, so I sifted through it with that in mind and provided Egbert with what I consider the pertinent details. He’s on the way.” He checks his watch, then looks right when Balladae steps out of a conference room about forty feet along the hall. “You won’t enter that room until he’s arrived, and you won’t answer questions until he can speak for you.”

“Do you think I hurt my ex-wife, Mayor?”

“It doesn’t matter what I?—”

“No.” I cut in sharply. “Do youthinkI hurt Jada? It’s not uncommon for the lover—ex or current—to hurt a woman. The fact she stole from me in October, essentially emptying my bank account and my medicine cabinet, are reasons I might want to put her in the hospital.”

“No.” He straightens his spine and holds my stare. “I haven’t spent more than a few moments with you since moving to this city, Detective Fletcher. Which means?—”

“You can’t know I’m innocent. Not only that, but your career before Copeland would create a prejudice in your mind that would convince you it was probably me.”

“If I were talking to anyone else?” he concedes with a shrug. “Any other situation? Yeah. I’d look at the ex-husband first. It’s obvious.”

“Right. And you don’t even know me. So, for all you know, you’re helping a guy who probably did that to her.”

“I know Doctor Mayet.” His lips twitch with the ghost of a smile, his eyes swinging along the hall as though to ensure she doesn’t overhear him speaking about her. “She doesn’t want me to know her, and she throws up roadblocks at every opportunity. But I like to think I know her heart as thoroughly as I know my daughters’. She doesn’t allow me in to her daily life, but fortunately, I see the bigger picture. That means I know who she is within her soul, and I know, without a single shred of doubt, that she would not associate with someone who could do to a woman what has happened to Ms. Watson.” He dips his hands into his pockets and rocks back onto his heels. “And if, by chance, this was you and you’d experienced some kind of psychological break that led to Ms. Watson’s current predicament, then I believe wholeheartedly Doctor Mayet would not be sitting by your side, defending you to the police and comforting you while you hurt. Frankly, I believe she’d have already punished you for it.”

Stunned, my eyes narrow to thin slits. “Punish me? How?”

He lifts his shoulders, before letting them drop again. “I’m not privy to the details of how she delivers retribution when displeased. But I know she’s not shy when it comes to letting people know her feelings. Especially when those feelings are negative.” He peers to my left and nods when a bald-headed, five-foot-something, round-bellied, and thick glasses guy wanders our way. He’s a nervous being with a heavy briefcase and a tie that sits askew.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Detective.” Lawrence brings his hand up, covering his mouth while he speaks. “He’s good at his job.”

“Guess I’ll have to trust you to be afraid of Mayet’s wrath. If you give me a dud lawyer and I’m tied up for a crime I didn’t commit, I’m certain she’ll express her negative feelings. Loudly.”

He chuckles. But as Egbert approaches, he coughs the sound away and offers his hand, waiting for the dude to move his briefcase from his right hand to the left. Then their palms meet. “Thank you for coming at such short notice, Mr. Alexander.”

“Oh, no problem.” He pulls back and fixes his glasses as they slip along his nose. “I’ll always take your calls, Mayor Lawrence.” He looks at me. “Detective Fletcher. I’m sorry to meet you under these unfortunate circumstances. But I assure you, I’ve read the notes provided and feel confident my colleague and I will provide you with sound representation and advice.”

Lawrence’s brows pinch close together. “Your colleague?”

“Yes. A Ms. Asa called me just a moment after you did. She explained your wishes that we work together on the matter.” He hooks a thumb over his shoulder. “She said she would be here soon. Once she arrives, we can begin.”

“Ms. Asa?” Lawrence yanks out his phone and swipes the screen unlocked. “I don’t?—”

“Don’t panic.” I shake my head, barely noticeably, side to side, when the elevator nearby dings and the steel doors open. Then the fucking ballerina I’ve long ago learned to fear, and yet, inexplicably trust, steps out with a cross-body bag slicing across her chest, tight jeans cupping her trim body, and a coat that goes almost to her knees. She beams when our eyes meet, then raises a brow when the mayor startles with surprise.

And by startle, I mean his jaw clenches. Because he’s a man who knows how to mask his thoughts in front of an audience.

“Gentlemen.” Sophia comes to a stop on Egbert’s right and offers her hand first to the mayor, then me, then the actual real lawyer. “Sophia Asa. Thank you so much for waiting for me.” She looks me up and down and grins when I scowl. “You needn’t worry, Detective Fletcher. I’m more than happy to work with Mr. Alexander today. I’m confident we’ll achieve a positive outcome.”

“How so?” I grumble. “I’m not entirely sure how your presence could be helpful.”

“My presence is always helpful.” She peers along the hall when Balladae taps an impatient foot against the cheap linoleum floor. “Shall we start?”

“Have you read the brief?” Lawrence is neither pleased nor noticeably angry that she’s horned in on our meeting. He’s merely… curious, I guess. “There are intricacies to this case that may prove tricky under rapid-fire questioning.”

“I spent my commute studying every piece of evidence thus far provided.” She looks down at my hands, perched on my hips, and smiles. “Got your phone, Detective Fletcher?”

Because she fucking tracks me. And records me. She has me, Archer, Minka, and every other human she deems interesting on a leash shorter than my left arm. Jesus, she has proof already that I was nowhere near Jada when she was assaulted. Asa merely has to wait for her chance to present said evidence and come up with a believable reason for having it in the first place.

Easy, I guess.

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