Page 70 of Private Pleasures

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Jeff came back into the room with the two patrolmen. He was dressed in a dark pinstriped suit with a white shirt, and a dark patterned tie. A cashmere coat was over his shoulders. He was every inch the prominent businessman.

“He’s ready to go, sir,” one of the uniforms said.

The lieutenant stood up, and came over to stand in front of Jeff. “Jeffrey Buckley, I arrest you for the assault and battery, with intent to do harm, of Heidi Millar. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been outlined to you?”

“She’s make a big thing of this,” Jeff said. “If I could just speak to her.”

“Sir, do you understand your rights?” the lieutenant persisted. “Please answer yes or no.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Do you think I’m an idiot like the lowlifes you obviously consort with daily? I want to speak with my attorney!” Jeff was beginning to recover from his initial shock.

“I am going to give Dr. Sam a moment to speak with you, Mr. Buckley, and then we are going to leave your house, and you will be driven to the police station.”

He stepped from the room to give the two men some privacy.

“You’re making a fucking big deal out of nothing. So I slapped the bitch. She had it coming, damnit!” Jeff said angrily. Then he turned to the doctor.

“I came to tell you that your wife woke up this morning. She’s fine. I plan on releasing her from Shorecrest tomorrow, and she can come home.”

“She’s not coming here,” Jeff said nastily. “The house is going on the market in another month.”

“The house is hers until then, you bastard,” the doctor snapped. “And it’s my understanding that she never signed the settlement, Jeff. Until she does, you’re stuck. Damnit, Nora has recovered from whatever felled her, and instead of being relieved, you’re pissed. What the hell is the matter with you? What did that nice woman ever do to you to make you so vindictive against her?”

“She’s alive,” Jeff responded angrily. “Why couldn’t she have died?”

Lt. Barker gripped Jeff by the arm. “Let’s go, Mr. Buckley,” he said.

Jeff pulled away. “I’m not going anywhere with you until I speak with my attorney,” he snarled.

“I told you, after you’re booked you get a phone call,” Lieutenant Barker said. “I’m trying to do this in a way that won’t embarrass you, sir. But if you refuse to cooperate, I’m going to have to cuff you.”

“Go to hell!” Jeff yelled, and then to his astonishment he found himself slammed facedown into the couch. His arms were dragged behind him. He tried to struggle, but his efforts were futile. He felt the metal cuffs enclosing his wrists. Heard the snap of them locking. Then he was yanked to his feet again. Enraged, he shouted, “This is police brutality. I’ll have your damned badge for this! Dr. Seligmann is a witness!”

“What are you talking about?” Sam said, a small smile flitting over his lips. “I didn’t see any police brutality. I saw a man resisting arrest.”

“You kike bastard!” Jeff was practically screaming now, and his lips were flecked with foam.

“Let’s go, Mr. Buckley,” the police lieutenant said sternly. He was embarrassed by his prisoner’s slurs on Sam Seligmann. Sam was the town doctor. Everyone liked him. He was a good man. What kind of thing was that for this jerk to say to him? He pushed Jeff forward a little harder than he might have under other circumstances.

Jeff whirled about, and his head butted the detective hard. “I want my lawyer!”

Two uniforms jumped forward and, each taking an arm, hustled Jeff Buckley from his house past a line of flashing cameras, and into a waiting police car. Left to regain his composure and his dignity, Lieutenant Barker stood up from the couch where he had landed.

“Are you alright?” the doctor asked him.

“I think he bruised my ego,” the lieutenant said with a wry grin. “Nah, he just took the wind out of me. I didn’t expect such violence from the guy.”

“He’s a man used to getting his own way, and used to having people do what he tells them to do. His wife really surprised him when she didn’t cave easily to the divorce. He was tossing her out of her house. Cutting his kids off so they had no college tuition at the last moment, and he didn’t want to pay alimony, or support for the younger kid,” the doctor explained. “To his surprise, she got tough with him.”

“Yeah, a woman will where her home and her kids are concerned. Nice guy, your neighbor. Wanted everything for himself, and the young girlfriend. Hey, wasn’t his kid the high school’s star soccer player the last two years? My kid really admired him. Went out for soccer just because of J. J. Buckley. Made junior varsity this year,” the detective said proudly. “And he wouldn’t help the kid go to college. What a shit!”

“J. J. got a scholarship,” the doctor said.

“Well, I better take my prisoner down to the station and book him. You’ll tell the wife? I hate stuff like this, and hell, you’re a friend, right?”

Sam Seligmann nodded. “I’ll tell Nora,” he said.

The two men went their separate ways, Lieutenant Barker back to the Egret Pointe station house, Sam Seligmann across the street to his house, where he discovered his neighbors all gathered in the kitchen drinking coffee and eating Krispy Kremes. He laughed. He couldn’t help it. “Rina! Rina!” he said to his wife.