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“Hey, Morelli. Times up. Back to your evening accommodations.” Someone said from behind me.
Turning, I found a burly man with a scowl etched on his face.
As I took him in, I realized he wasn’t even looking in my direction. His attention was on something beyond my view.
Okay, that sour face wasn’t for me. Good to know.
“Got to go,” I muttered.
“Remember, you’re a Morelli. Don’t take anyone’s shit.”
“I don’t take it from other Morellis. Why would I take it from outsiders?”
“Good to hear.”
I hung up and took a few centering breaths. All I had at my defense was the cold mask I’d learned to wear from the time I was a little girl.
I could do this. I wouldn’t break.
Squaring my shoulder, I turned to face the cop.
He motioned with his head to follow him, then said under his breath, “Don’t these idiots have anything better to do than act as if it’s a social hour, standing around to gossip?”
As we made our way down to the cell block where I stayed before, I noticed groups of people kept turning to look my way.
“Why is everyone staring at me?”
“Because you became a celebrity sensation in the past few hours.”
“Whatever.”
“Nationally and possibly internationally. The media is all over this story, and politicians have started looking into your case.”
“Politicians? You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“The mayor is somehow related to the Randolph family. No one has said anything publicly about that. Still, everyone in the department knows since Daddy Randolph came in puffing his chest about his connections and wanting everyone to throw the book at you.”
Well, it wasn’t that great.
The officer continued. “Then the Governor called the DA’s office wanting information on the investigation. I'm not sure if he is for you or against you. This is over the top, but what do I know.”
My shoulders sagged. “This is ridiculous. That’s what it is. I didn’t kill the idiot. Someone set me up.”
Maybe I should want to sit in jail to avoid the spectacle.
No, that was my fear of the press talking. I wanted to go home and hide under my blankets for the next ten years. That sounded like heaven at the moment.
“I’d have to agree. You Morellis are more of the slit your throat or shoot you in the head and dump your body in a landfill or watery grave type. No evidence, no crime type. This is a sloppy job. But since the higher-ups assigned someone else to the case, I’ll keep my mouth shut. If the DA and prosecutors want to end up looking like dumb fucks, I’m happy to sit back and watch.”
“So you know I’m innocent.”
“The law says everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”
“You don’t seem to hate my family like the other cops do.”
“The others act morally superior in one area and turn their head in another. I have no time for those games. Everyone knows your family is part of the ecosystem of the city. They are as necessary to keep things going as the snobby socialites you model your clothes for in fashion shows.
“The way I look at it, as long as your family or people like them stay off my radar and their business isn’t in my line of sight, I don’t give a fuck. But once you make it my business, I must do my job. Until then, I don’t care one way or the other. Everyone is just another New Yorker walking down the street.”
