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We ate in silence until the edge had been taken off our hunger. I had just finished a cold drink when Mel joined us at the table.
“So, dude, when do we get to meet your girl?” he asked.
I smiled. “Soon.”
“You’ve been saying that for ages,” Ryan pointed out.
“Things are busy, man. I’m working, she’s working, and she’s thinking of taking a few courses, too.”
Mel was about to ask me another question, when we heard sirens in the distance. But they seemed to be getting closer and closer. We were about to continue the conversation when I noticed a slight commotion outside of the day room.
“Wait, it sounds like the sirens are here,” Mel said, frowning slightly as he stood up.
A second later, two cops burst into the day room. The tallest one was well built and muscular. “I’m looking for Phil Roberts,” he said.
I stood up tentatively, but I didn’t hesitate to answer him. “I’m Phil Roberts,” I said.
He nodded once and signaled to his partner. “Cuff him.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong. The second police officer approached me quickly, and I couldn’t quite understand what he was doing with those cuffs pointed in my direction. I could hear Mel and Ryan speaking at the same time, but I had no idea what either of them said. Kendrick was looking at me in shock, and I suspected that my face was plastered with the same expression.
My hands were forced back as the cuffs were placed around my wrist and I was vaguely aware of the fact that the cop cuffing me was also reading me my Miranda rights. Was this really happening? Was I being arrested…at work…in front of all my colleagues?
And then suddenly, noise filled my eardrums and I remembered that I had a right to know what this was all about. “Hold on,” I said, addressing both cops. “What is this about? Why am I under arrest?”
The cops exchanged a glance, and it was as though they thought I was acting for their benefit. I was getting angry now… What had I done that could warrant something like this?
From the corner of my eye, I spied Sarge walk into the day room, obviously having been alerted to the situation. He was taller than both cops and much more impressive. He walked over to us and looked me in the eye.
“Phil,” he said. “What’s happening?”
“I have no idea,” I said, glad someone was asking me the question. “I honestly don’t know why I’m under arrest.”
“I’m Sergeant Green and I run this station. This is one of my best men, and I want to know why you are both here.”
“We received an anonymous tip,” the taller officer replied. “The tip proved to be legitimate. We found twenty pounds of crystal meth and ten pounds of cocaine in your apartment.”
“I… What?” I said, in complete disbelief. “You’ve got the wrong person.”
“We found the drugs in your apartment.”
“Then it was planted there,” I said immediately. “I don’t do drugs. I don’t deal drugs. That’s not my life.”
“There’s no point talking to us,” the shorter cop said to me. His tone was not unkind, but it was clear that I wasn’t going to get any help from them. “You’ll have to find a lawyer.”
I could barely speak. I had no idea what to do or who to call. I didn’t have the faintest idea how to retain a lawyer in the first place.
“Don’t worry, Phil,” Sarge said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll find you a lawyer—we’ll get this mess sorted out.”
“Sarge,” I said desperately. “I didn’t do it… I don’t do drugs.”
“We’ll sort it out.” He nodded, though I noticed he didn’t tell me that he believed I was innocent.
Then I was walked out of the station in handcuffs, in front of all my colleagues, and pushed into the back of a cop car. It was the most humiliating experience of my life, and I could barely process it all. This day had started out pretty well, and right after putting out the fire at Linda’s house and saving her beloved dog, I had felt every bit the hero.
But now my life had turned upside down, and I had no idea how. The cops said that they found pounds of drugs in my apartment. I knew for a fact that wasn’t possible. The only way it could be possible is if someone had planted them there. My mind was spinning… If it was true, who had done it?
“Am I allowed a call?” I asked the cops.
