by Matt Lincoln
“Well, I’m feeling pretty crappy, actually,” he admitted. “Apparently, I got a little infection while I’ve been in here, and now I’m stuck.” He spoke like a man that felt quite disheartened with his situation, and I couldn’t blame him.
“So, you got the infection at the hospital? That’s awful,” Eve sympathized with him. She looked around the room and then leaned over. “I can check and see if there are grounds for a lawsuit if you’d like.”
Lael gave me a strange, questioning look that I sneered playfully at.
“Eve’s a lawyer,” I had to explain with a smile.
“Oh, I get it now,” Lael replied. He turned to Eve and shook his head. “No, thank you, ma’am. But I appreciate your concern.”
I chuckled as I changed the subject. “Have they told you how much longer you’re going to be in here then?”
“Not really,” Lael sighed. “The course of antibiotics has another day, and then I get reevaluated. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer. I think they’re just keeping me in here to cover their… butts.” He swiped a quick look at Eve that changed his original statement. She continued to smile and pretended not to notice.
“Alright then,” I continued, “is there anything that I can do for you while you’re in here? I’d be happy to help out, say… your apartment. You don’t have pets that need feeding or plants to water stuck in there, do you?” I was only joking, trying to lighten the mood.
“No, I have a friend of mine checking up on the place, though,” he assured me. “She’s a short blonde lady, wears glasses. So, if you see her around the marina, she’s not trespassing or anything like that. Just so you know.” Lael offered this explanation as he closed his eyes and seemingly let a wave of pain pass.
I began to wonder if there was more to his condition than he was letting on. I wasn’t close enough to him to feel that I had the right to ask about it, though, so I let it go. I motioned to Eve that we should head out and let him get some rest. She nodded to me in agreement.
She turned to Lael. “Well, Lael, it’s been a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that you start to feel better soon. But I need to get back to the city, and Jake’s my ride.” She smiled kindly as she reached for his hand again to bid him goodbye. It was good of her to take the shortened visit as her fault and not mine.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, too, Eve,” he replied softly. “Thanks for coming to see me. And you, too, Jake. I do appreciate the visit.” He shook our hands again and put on a brave face through whatever he was dealing with.
Once Eve and I got outside, I brought up what I had been thinking. “There’s something else going on with that guy. I don’t know what, but he was only stabbed in the leg at the marina when it was getting robbed. He had a small head injury, too, but an in-hospital infection? That seems a little out of place.”
“Not really.” Eve sighed and turned to me with a worried look on her face. “I took a peek at his intake and medication that he’s been placed on. From what I gathered, he’s got a mild form of Lupus. He’s probably prone to infections sometimes. I had a friend that suffered from it for years. She had to be incredibly careful, all the time.”
I stopped and looked back at the hospital. This put Lael in a whole new light. “I had no idea. He never said anything about it.”
“It can be a very private matter. I wouldn’t worry about it right now.” Eve reached out and took my hand to lead me to the Blazer. “Come on. There’s nothing that you can do for him for the time being. But in the future, just keep an eye on him.”
I swung her around and pulled her into my arms for a kiss. “You’re kind of amazing. You know that?” She was just so surprising sometimes, with her powers of sneakiness and low-key information gathering. I enjoyed having her with me more and more as the day went on.
Eve leaned up to nuzzle my neck and cuddle as we stood outside of my vehicle. “Then you probably shouldn’t let me go, Mr. Header. I’d never say it myself, but some people might consider me quite a catch.”
“That you are.” I looked down into Eve’s beautiful brown eyes and took in their powers of persuasiveness. “What do you say we actually order something into the condo and head back to my place for lunch instead of going out? Or is that too cheesy a plan?” I wasn’t even interested in checking up on the marina at this point either, although I should have been.
“No,” she tilted her face up and kissed me. “I like it when you’re transparent and one-track minded. It makes it easier for me to figure you out.”
We got back into the Blazer, and I put Eve in charge of ordering the meal. While she was busy deciding, changing her mind, and then deciding on something new, I kept an eye on my rearview and side mirrors. There was one particular vehicle that really seemed to like staying directly behind us. I took note that it was a black Audi and that the driver was quite skilled. I changed lanes a few times, not erratically, but enough to make my transitions noticeable and awkward to follow. But that Audi stayed with me through every changeover.
I didn’t want to alert Eve to this, as there was nothing that she would be able to do from the passenger seat, except for maybe let the MPD know about it. Yet, so far, this was only suspicious behavior, and it was nothing criminal. I remembered back in high school when my idiot friends and I would pick a car and follow it all around town when things got too boring to drag main.
Sure, I knew now those kinds of actions would have more than likely gotten us arrested or shot at, but back then, stupid teenagers thought it was a laugh. So, with that in mind, I was willing to give the Audi the benefit of the doubt and not find anything truly nefarious in their activities… yet.
I made some more unusual turns, switching lanes and doubling back when I pretended to miss an important turnoff.
“Dammit,” I added for effect. “Got too much on my mind. I’m going to have to circle around. Sorry about this.” I smiled over at Eve, who looked up from her phone for the first time.
I don’t know what made her do it, but Eve glanced back over her shoulder to the rear of the Blazer and kept her eyes there for a few moments. My plan may have gotten blown, and I was preparing for a great cover story. She viewed all the traffic behind us and then looked straight at me. “Is that Audi still following you?”
“Yeah.” Honesty was the best policy, after all. So much for sly stealth on my part or an amazing tale about it.
“Since the hospital, right?” Eve didn’t wait for me to answer. “I thought so. Want me to call the police?” She sounded a little hopeful that I’d say yes.
“Well, I’d rather have some fun with them, but that’s up to you.” I gave Eve my best mischievous grin, which I was pleased to see her return.
“Really?” I confirmed. “Okay then. Let’s see what this new little red wonder can do, shall we?” I patted the Blazer’s dash and flashed Eve a smirk.
Now, where I was raised, defensive driving was more of an everyday kind of lesson than a one-time training course. Again, my idiot friends and I would take to the back dirt roads, which were even better when they were muddy, and we’d practice our skills and tricks. So, to even hint that I could handle dodging, swerving, and alternating obstacles was a severe understatement. Then add in military training, and well, I was prepared to a fault. The Audi wasn’t.
I took the first opening that I could see to the right, with barely a car length between us. The Blazer was handling as I needed it to, soft on the inside turns and smooth on the outside ones. Eve had placed one of her hands on the overhead handle, and the other was clutching her seat belt. But she did look to be enjoying herself.
The best way to avoid hitting someone or getting hit was to maintain a steady rhythm in your actions behind the wheel. Remain calm, breathe naturally, and watch all of your mirrors as a rule. It felt a little like swimming, with the clean, sure strokes of weaving in and out of traffic to keep this Audi from tailing us much longer. I had a heightened awareness of the other vehicles surrounding us, and I wasn’t going
to take any foolish chances with anyone else’s safety. I just wanted to make whoever was in the Audi sweat their ill-conceived idea of following me. That was all.
My mind raced back to the other night, to the emotions of not being in control of the Mercedes, and to what that had felt like. But here and now, I was plugged into what I needed to do and exactly how to do it. When I saw an opening, I took it, speeding up to widen the gap and keep them guessing at my next move.
“Um, I think we should call the police now, Jake. This could get dangerous,” Eve whispered anxiously from the passenger seat. “Not that I don’t trust your driving or anything, but…” Her words trailed off as I found myself in an open two-lane spot.
I dropped my speed and moved to force the Audi closer and at my side. This had the precise effect that I’d wanted it to. Seeing that I was finally going to get a good look at them and might even be able to move in behind them, the black car moved away to the right and soon exited to an offramp. Several horns of less than happy drivers that they’d blocked or terrified with their maneuvers chased them off the highway.
Eve had her phone ready and snapped a picture of the license plate, “Damn, it’s too blurry. Sorry.”
“I could see a J-R-B and maybe a 1 or 7. That was it,” I confessed. I had been a little busy with the driving, after all.
After that bit of fun, we headed back to Biscayne Bay. We met the delivery guy in the lobby and went straight up to the condo with the goods. Eve and I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, watching tv, eating the plantain chips and tacos that she’d ordered, and just enjoying the simple joy of being with one another. Plus, with the added excitement of that chase, we both felt alive.
While I was with her, I got to thinking about some things I never had before. I wondered if maybe it was time to make our relationship a little more permanent, or at least official. There was time to talk it up and time to think about the implications and all the stuff that would come with it. But for that afternoon, I’d never been happier to stay in and ignore the world around me, as long as Eve was right beside me.
17
Eve
Jake and I were relaxing in bed when I got the call from George. I could hear the tension rising in his voice with practically every word he spoke.
“Eve?” he breathed. “I’m sorry to bother you so late in the day, but Verity got a call from her office and one of her co-workers. Apparently, Arwa got attacked in the parking lot where they work. They have taken him to the hospital with some minor injuries.”
“Oh, my God.” That sort of slipped out. I guessed I was just shocked to hear it. “Okay, well, is Verity okay? Was she there?” I asked the questions instinctively, looking around for my clothes and shoes in case I needed to go take care of my client.
“Yes, she was there at the office. They all were,” George explained as I placed the call on speaker so that Jake would be able to hear what was going on. I knew that he’d be interested. “Weir had called everyone in to discuss their futures and to talk about hiring legal representation. It really seems to be a bit of a mess.”
“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure that I understood what he was referring to.
“One of Verity’s colleagues, Emiko, told them today that she was turning over all of their financials and that she was getting out from under this situation.” My heart sank to my feet when I heard George say this. That was going to destroy a lot of the defensive measures I was working on for Verity. But it wasn’t all that surprising. It almost always turned into “every man for himself” in these kinds of cases.
“George,” I replied, “this Emiko woman, did she say if she was doing this as part of her own defense strategy, or voluntarily?” That could make a big difference in the long run. I glanced over at Jake, who was listening as closely as I was now.
“Neither,” he informed me. “She was clearing out all the office and company’s information and turning it over to save herself from getting prosecuted. At least, that’s what Verity said on the phone. The police are over at their office now, and none of the employees can leave.” His tone changed just enough to avoid cracking altogether. He seemed worried, and he had every right to be.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, dismayed that Verity hadn’t called me before she got there. I had only myself to blame because I should have mentioned not only the investigators but her co-workers in the “don’t talk to them without me” conversation. Jake must have seen that I was stressing because he rubbed my back sympathetically.
“Wait,” I said suddenly, “so Emiko was pulling everything to turn it over to who, exactly?” There were laws to protect whistleblowers within companies, and if Emiko was trying to go down that path, I might have to change my tactic for Verity’s defense. I mouthed “sorry” to Jake as I got out of bed and got dressed. I had made up my mind. “Look, George, don’t worry about it. I’ll just head over there to see what I can do to help Verity.” I hurriedly gathered all of my stuff, slipped on my shoes, and headed for the hallway and then the front door.
As much as I hated leaving a perfectly good bed with Jake in it, I knew that my client needed me more. Once I hung up with George, I called up the cab app and ordered a pickup at this location. I must have looked like a mess, but I couldn’t help that. Once I got into the back seat of the taxi and gave her the address, I tried to comb out my hair.
Thank goodness I always carried a brush in my purse. Makeup was a no-go, but I was more worried about my clothes. A tank and jeans would not give off the best impression for a hot-shot attorney rushing to the rescue. Oh well, I’d manage.
The ride was short, and I could see several police vehicles already in the small parking lot. There was also an ambulance with their lights off, and the EMTs seemed to be packing up to leave. Maybe there had been another victim earlier, along with Arwa. I’d just have to ask when I got inside. I paid the cab driver and thanked her, getting out as quickly as I could as I sprinted to the office door. I pulled out my credentials to show them to the officers to gain entrance inside.
I was reluctantly allowed to go in, where I saw three women and one man all standing off and away from one another, each talking to an officer. I made a beeline for Verity. When she saw me, I saw a small, relieved smile creep onto her face, and she let out an audible sigh.
I got to her side and addressed the officer, an older gentleman with a gorgeous head of red hair. I was momentarily stunned and jealous by it.
“Excuse me, Officer, I’m Eve Sarabia, and this is my client. May I have a few moments to confer with her privately, please?”
He gave me a wary look and then nodded. “Of course. Be my guest.” The officer walked away, leaving Verity and me alone, but not really. There wasn’t anywhere for him to go in the crowded room.
This office was incredibly small, and now with all these people in here, it felt extremely cramped. I wanted to pull Verity aside for confidentiality, but there was nowhere to go, so I settled on just speaking in hushed tones and trying to be inconspicuous.
“Are you alright, Verity?” That was my first concern. The young woman looked very shaken up and not at all handling this well.
“Eve, this is all going so wrong,” she lamented. “Emiko is going completely scorched earth and is threatening to turn on all of us.” She looked about ready to cry, so I took her hand and gave it a little supportive squeeze. “She said that she didn’t care who got arrested. She said that she knew she wasn’t guilty and that the rest of us could go to hell.” Verity shook her head at that memory she was reliving by telling me. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, firstly, you’re not going to worry about a bitter comment made by someone as scared as all of you are,” I assured her. “No doubt she’s just lashing out and terrified about what might happen. Now, can you tell me what happened to Arwa? Who attacked him? Was it someone from here?” I looked around the office and didn’t see anyone in handcuffs, and that ruled them out from a logical standpoint for me.
; “No, that happened after he went outside,” she recounted. “He was just so angry at Emiko that he walked out. I was standing over there,” Verity pointed out her location, which would have given her an unobstructed view of the parking lot, “and Emiko and Dallis were yelling at one another, but I saw Arwa start to get into his car. Then, from out of nowhere, this other car pulled up, and the person inside of it started to talk to Arwa. I mean, I thought that’s what they were doing. It didn’t look confrontational. And then…” Verity began to tremble as she spoke.
“It's okay. Take your time and just relax,” I offered, trying to sound kind and encouraging.
Verity took in several deep breaths before she continued. “Arwa tried to move away from the person in the car and come back inside. I even told Weir that something was happening out there. Then I saw Arwa get hit with the door of the car, and someone stepped out and started to kick him.” This was obviously very troubling for Verity. Her hands shook, and I caught her voice failing her every once in a while.
“I’m so sorry that your friend got hurt,” I replied gently. “But did you see the person that was hitting him? Have you ever seen them before?” I hoped that maybe this assault was going to be tied to an angry client of theirs that was upset about a theft or the like. It was just as possible that the attacker was the contact person or the fencer that was getting involved and trying to get information about the investigation. At this point, any kind of data would be helpful, not only for me but for Jake and his case.
“No, I didn’t get a very good look at the person,” she admitted. “They were average height, I guess. I think it was a male.” I could tell she was thinking back and trying to recall it. “They stood behind the car most of the time, and I could only see them kicking Arwa from where I was.” Verity pointed out her position by the parking lot again. “But I did see dark hair on their head. Possibly black hair and, well, I don’t think the man was Caucasian.” She whispered this last part at me.