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Sam ended the call, hoping that Joel was right.
SDPD, San Diego, California
Sunday, April 17, 9:15 p.m.
Kit was unsurprised to see Joel Haley leaning against the wall outside the interview room in which Sam Reeves waited with his attorney.
“Joel.”
He nodded once. “I tried to call you but got your voice mail.”
She’d known why he was calling and had purposely let it go to voice mail. “I’ve been a little busy.”
He lifted an auburn eyebrow. “Please. If you don’t want to talk to me, just say so.”
She dropped her chin for a moment, trusting him enough to let him see her looking less than strong. Not weak, but not terribly strong right now.
“I heard about Constantine,” he murmured. “He’ll be okay, right?”
She glanced up, found his expression a mix of compassion and anxiety. Which made sense, considering his friend was in interview again. “Yeah, Baz’ll be okay. It was a little scary for a while, though.”
The image of her partner’s knees buckling as he collapsed to the ground had been on constant replay in her mind.
“I bet it was.” Joel was quiet for a few beats. “He’s innocent, you know. Sam. He’s a good guy. He’d never hurt anyone.”
She drew in a breath, let it out. Decided to be straightforward with the prosecutor, because Joel was a good guy, too. “I know. At least I believe.” She shrugged. “I want to believe. But I have to follow the evidence.”
“What evidence do you have?”
She pursed her lips, debating. But Joel would find out one way or another. “Skyler’s parents got a text from her late Friday night. Said she was meeting Dr.Reeves for a drink after work.”
Joel winced. “That’s... not good. But it’s a setup, Kit. You have to know that.”
“Like I said, I want to believe. That’s the best I can give you right now. I have to be thorough. I owe it to those girls.”
He nodded, his jaw gone tight. “Can I observe?”
She shrugged. “If Navarro says it’s okay, I don’t have a problem with it. He’s back there.”
“I’ll ask him. Just... dammit, Kit. He’s my best friend and he’s scared to death. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Kit sighed. “I need to get in there.”
Joel stepped back. “Tell Constantine that I hope he’s back on the job being a pain in my ass soon.”
“I will.” She started to go into the interview room but stopped. “Hey, Joel? What’s the deal with you two and the defense attorney?”
Joel barked out a harsh laugh. “She cheated on Sam. With me. That’s how we met.”
Kit’s mouth fell open. “What the fuck?”
“Right? I was pissed off because I didn’t know about Sam and he clearly didn’t know about me. His first look at me was my bare ass. But... he’s a good guy, Kit. He didn’t hold anything against me. He supported me, even though he was devastated. They’d been together for four years. I was only a repeat hookup, but all he could think of was how it had impacted me.”
“He called her when he needed an attorney.”
“He did. He has a great capacity for forgiveness.”
Kit hoped that was true, because she had the feeling that she’d be asking him to forgive her for what was to come. “Thanks for telling me.”
