Page 120 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

Sam rolled her eyes to high heaven. “Obviously, you’ve been watching too much Law & Order. The video footage is admissible, and it’s not entrapment. You committed the crime, and you’ll be charged accordingly.”

“Cameron committed a crime when he made me believe we were going to get married and then dumped me for some brown-skinned bitch—”

Sam was glad there were bars keeping her from slapping her across her nasty face. “Are you seriously going there?”

“Does she or does she not have brown skin?”

“The Dark Ages called. They’re looking for their hateful village idiot.”

Her frosty blue eyes flashed with outrage. “He made promises to me.”

“No, he didn’t, and that’s probably because he knew that under your shiny veneer is a hateful, vindictive, racist bitch who doesn’t deserve him.”

“How dare you? You don’t know me at all.”

“In these delightful five minutes with you, I know everything I’ll ever need to know, and I’m deeply thankful that my friend and colleague has removed you from his life. Here’s how this is going to go—when you’re arraigned later this morning, you’ll plead guilty to malicious mischief and take your punishment, including making restitution for the damage you did to Cameron’s vehicle. After that, he’ll be filing for a restraining order that will keep you more than a thousand feet from him and Detective Dominguez. You’ll follow the letter of that restraining order, or we’ll be happy to invite you back for another stay in our city jail. Is there any part of that you don’t understand?”

Jaycee crossed her arms and stuck out her chin. “I want my lawyer.”

“Sure, we can call one for you, but you should know that until he or she arrives, you’ll be staying right here. We won’t be able to arraign you until your lawyer gets here. That can sometimes take a day or two, and your lawyer is likely to give you the same advice I did when he or she sees the video footage of you committing a crime. It’s up to you.”

Her posture lost some of its rigidity when it sank in that her choices were somewhat limited.

“Am I calling a lawyer for you, or shall we move forward with the arraignment and get you released on personal recognizance with an order to stay far away from Detectives Green and Dominguez?”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Sam was a tiny bit ashamed at the pleasure she was taking in the other woman’s discomfort.

“It’s not fair.”

Sighing, Sam said, “What isn’t?”

“He led me on, made me believe we were going to be married.”

“He never once mentioned the word ‘marriage’ with you.”

“How do you know that?”

“He told me he never said anything of the sort because he never wanted it.”

She recoiled from that information. “What else did he tell you about me?”

“That he felt bad that he didn’t feel for you what you felt for him, but he couldn’t force that to happen if it just wasn’t there.”

“It was there! He’s a liar!”

“No, he isn’t. He’s one of the most honest, ethical people I’ve ever met in my life. I have no doubt at all that he was always honest and upfront with you. If you read more into it than what was there, that’s on you, not him.”

“I love him.”

“So much that you flattened his tires?”

“I didn’t want him going to her! How can he want her and not me?”

“Uh, is that a rhetorical question?”

“What does that mean?”

---