Chapter 29
Looking over the files from Eli’s case spread out on my floor, I’m racking my brain.
“Jeez,” Low says as she opens the door.
“I just feel like I’m missing something.”
“I saw you last night. Have you slept?”
“No,” shaking my head.
“Drew.”
“What? I got home and couldn’t sleep. So I started looking over the files and here I am. I just feel like there’s something I’m missing.”
“Yeah, a fucking Xanax.”
Just waving her off as I sigh, closing my eyes.
“Come on. Take a break. Eat.” She shoves a bag of food in my face and nodding at the couch.
“Thanks,” I mumble to her as I scarf down the burrito.
“Yup, and when you’re done with that, you’re taking a shower ‘cause I could smell you when I walked in the door. You smell like day-old beer.”
Shrugging as I finish the last bite, and nod. “Fine.”
The water beats down on my skin as I close my eyes, looking up. I haven’t been able to sleep for a few days now because every time I do I dream about him.
I blame it on seeing his name too many times a day.
But then again, I just spent even more time staring at it.
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked Sherri to work at the firm, especially because of his case. It’s just making everything worse. It’s just making me miss everything I thought we had.
Shaking the thoughts of us together, I force down all emotions as I go through the timeline again.
5:15 PM - shift meeting happens. For some reason, the evidence room is vacant.
5:20 PM - Eli swipes his badge, and there’s video of him going in. He doesn’t even try to hide that he went into the room. But he doesn’t log his entrance.
6 other people go in between 5:20 and midnight, none of them logging their entrances either.
12 AM - the system goes down for maintenance.
“That’s it!” I gasp. Jumping out of the shower, I grab my towel, wrapping it around my body and swinging open the door. Low looks into the hallway as I run down it and to the files.
“The fuck are you doing?” she asks.
“Where is it?”
“What?”
“Why would he not try to hide the fact that he was going into the room if he was destroying evidence?”
“Because he didn’t care.”
“The cameras were rebooting at midnight; there’s a 5-minute window he could have slipped in and done it then.” I continue to ignore her. “Everyone knew it was happening; there were memos sent constantly about it.”
“He wanted to get caught.” She repeats herself.
Waving her off again. “They didn’t figure out that someone tampered with the evidence until 2am. Well, after the system went offline. There were 150 people with access to the evidence room in that time, but Eli’s at home and accounted for.”
“Drew!”
Cutting my eyes at her, I continue talking to myself.
“Oh…” she trails off, finally understanding what I’m doing. We both know he did it, but what we need is to create enough doubt that they don’t even try him. “But there was someone working it.”
“Yeah, but how can we be sure he was there?”
“Where else would he be?”
“That’s the question.” I pause as I look back at her, plucking my phone out from underneath the papers. I call Sherri.
“Got something?”
“Maybe.”
“What is it?”
“Are we sure that officer who was overseeing it was there?”
“I mean. There’s no camera footage when they came back online of him being anywhere else.”
“You could move through the entire building in that amount of time.”
“Okay…”
“Can we check his cell records?”
“Why would that matter?” she pauses. “It’s in the basement. And there’s spotty service in the basement.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay. Let me look at it.” She tells me before hanging up.
“Why would he have left his desk?”
“Honestly, it’s the last thing I can think of. If it’s not, then the best I’ve got is who went into the room in that 5 minutes, which gives some doubt, but they’ll just say no one and we’ll have to figure out something on the officer.”
Sherri calls me back in a couple of hours.
“That was fast.”
“He admitted it.”
“To what?”
“To leaving the desk for a few minutes. Said he got a phone call, the number kept calling him. But when he finally picked up, he couldn’t hear the caller, and it kept cutting out.
So he went outside to hear them when they called back.
Said he didn’t think it’d be a big deal because no one was supposed to come down since the system was down. ”
“Who called?”
“A wrong number.” Sherri laughs. “He said they were certain they were calling the right person. When they tried to trace the call, it’s a burner. They’re dropping the charges.”
“What?” I gasp as I look at Low, grinning.
“Yeah, good work. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” And the line dies.
“I hate how she does that.” I look at Low, who nods.
“You got it?”
“Yeah. The officer admitted to it.”
“So, what do you do now?”
“I mean, he gets out, I know my brothers will find something for him to do so he works. Who knows, maybe he’ll prospect?”
“Not him.” She pauses until I look over at her. “What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Drew, you spent the last few weeks trying to get your ex, who you’re still in love with, out of jail.”
“And what’s your point?”
“You two need to talk.”
I say nothing back, just roll my eyes before I sigh.
The phone ringing wakes me as I roll over, looking at the time.
“It’s early.” I tell her, making her laugh.
“They’re processing the paperwork now. Go tell him.”
“What? Me?”
“Yes, you figured it out. You get the credit.”
“But… I uh… can’t.”
“You can.” She demands.
“Sherri —”
“Drew. You want to do this job, you’re going to have way more awkward situations than having to talk to your ex.”
“Fine.” I pause. “Did Low have something to do with this?”
“No.” I hear come from the background before I groan, hanging up the phone.
* * *
Sitting in the visitation room, I can’t ease myself from what’s about to happen.
I can feel him as soon as he’s close to the door. As if my soul’s drawn to his.
It causes my leg to shake even more as I try to remain calm.
The guards cut their eyes at me as they walk into the room. They know who I am. They know who Z is, and I showed up enough times while he was locked up that they know my connections.
I know they want to say something to me, but they were told he’s meeting with his lawyer, which, even though I’m not, I’m close enough to count.
My eyes leave them because they’re standing too close to Eli, and if they see me look at him, I’m convinced they’ll be able to put all the pieces together.
My eyes remain diverted from him until I hear him sit down and the doors shut.
“They said I was meeting with my lawyer.”
“I took an internship with Sherri for the summer.”
I can tell from his eyes that he knows why I took it.
“You didn’t have to.” His voice is hoarse as he says it.
“I know.” I try to force down my anger. “The thing I don’t understand is why’d you do it?” I’m sure I unconsciously roll my eyes thinking about it.
“It’s more complicated than you think.” His eyes darting around the room, searching it.
“Don’t worry; The cameras are off.”
“I don’t want them thinking they can get anything out of you.”
“I fall under confidentiality.”
“I wasn’t talking about just them…” he glances at the door.
“Did you destroy evidence for the club?”
“No.”
I know he’s splitting hairs here, and I purposefully roll my eyes this time. “Did you destroy evidence for my brother?”
“If you’re asking me, I think you already know the answer.”
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes.” It comes out in a whisper as he nods.
“Why?”
“I’d rather not have this conversation here.”
“Told you — no cameras, it’s just us. Plus, where else are we supposed to have this conversation?”
He nods, agreeing with me.
“Is that why the club’s paying your legal fees?”
“They’re not.”
“Oh, right… I forgot; a nonprofit is paying them. You think I don’t know it’s a shell for the club?”
“What do you want from me?” he shouts, thrusting his arms out to the side.
“The truth.”
“I told you, not here.” He pauses, shaking his head. “You asked me not to plead, so get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“I never asked you not to.” I don’t even know why I’m trying to lie to him.
“Right,” he laughs loudly now. “Granted, you never said the words, but we both know that’s only because Z was there, and we both know that’s exactly what you were asking.”
I don’t even know why I’m upset about him calling me out on the truth.
I stand up, shoving everything that was sitting in front of me into my bag.
“They dropped all charges last night; they’re just waiting on the paperwork to process.
” Seeing new guards walking up to the door, I nod.
“I’m assuming that’s what they’re here for.
” Spinning on my heel, moving toward the door.
“Drew, wait.”
Letting my hand drop from the door, I motion to the guards to give us another minute.
“No, Eli, I get it; you owe me no explanation… about anything.” Emotions wanting to take control, but I’m attempting to force them back down.
“Don’t explain how you’re suddenly best friends with my brothers again after years.
Don’t explain why you ‘allegedly’ tampered with evidence that got you fired and arrested.
Don’t explain why it looks pretty apparent that you’re on the club’s payroll.
And definitely don’t fucking explain why I woke up alone. ”
“I —” he stops abruptly. “Drew, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, Eli. Really, it is.” I nod to the guards. My heart breaking all over again as the door unlocks and I lie to him before they open it. “It was a year ago. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
The guards move into the room and place the cuffs back on his wrists. Our eyes lock with one another’s as they move him out.
I’m sure he sees my eyes filling with water even as hard as I try to remain stoic.
The sun blinds me as I walk out the prison again.
I shouldn’t be surprised to find Z sitting in his truck outside the walls.
“Drew!” he calls out.
“What?”
“You did it!” He exclaims as he wraps his arms around me.
Pulling back, I give him a curious look as he glances back at the prison, like a little kid.
“You just tell him.”
“Yeah. What are you doing here?”
“I figured he’d need a ride back to his house, least I could do.”
“That’s nice.” I nod my head. “It looks like you got your friend back.” Shrugging my shoulders before I push past him and walk the rest of the way to my car.
Closing the car door, I finally let my walls come down. The tears trailing down my cheeks as I let the moment overtake me, trying to keep eyes on Z the entire time to make sure he isn’t coming over.
I’m surprised how quickly Eli’s walking out of the gates.
The tears come faster as I watch them embrace and Z nod to the truck.
Before getting into the passenger seat, Eli scans the parking lot. I can tell he’s looking for my car.
Our eyes lock for a moment. I watch his lips part, and I wish I could look away. I wish I could pretend none of this had affected me. His head snaps as he looks back into the truck at Z and nods.
One more glance at me, I’m sorry, he mouths before sliding into the seat and closing the door.
Pulling out my phone and dialing Low.
“He’s out.” I tell her.
“Drew.” It comes out in a whisper.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“Okay.” And I hang up. I can’t force anything more.
Driving back to my apartment, I sigh as I climb the stairs, replaying the entire conversation in my head. Hell, replaying every fucking conversation in my head since he showed up with my phone.