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“Morning.” He’s cold in his response.
“Is it not a good morning for you, Jeff?”
He doesn’t answer and it’s when his steely eyes tell me there’s something very wrong. “We received word today from the Illinois Bar Association, and it’s disturbing. I hope it’s a cruel joke.”
My pulse stops. “If your hope is that it’s simply an error, why are you treating me as if I’m already convicted?”
“Bribery and coercion, Ms. Atkins?”
I stop in the middle of the room, holding on to the back of the couch. “Jeff, what? I don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about.”
He tosses a file on my desk. “There’s testimony from three employees you questioned last week concerning the charges against Luciano De Santos.”
“Yeah, I met with three former employees of Keep it Greene Inc. Voluntarily. I gave their information to the lead investigator for the case.”
Jeffery Mann’s accusatory eyes don’t leave me as I maneuver to my desk to witness for myself the bogus charges brought against me.
“Every person’s claim is the same. You coerced them, bribed them with ten thousand dollars then threatened them.”
My hands flip through the complaints and my mind spins. “No, this can’t be true. This can’t be…”
The second I’m about to argue with Jeffery, Penn charges into my office. “Anisten, not another word, not to Jeffery, and certainly not to the…”
The next thing that happens is straight-up from an episode ofLaw and Order, as a detective, one I’ve met on occasion in criminal cases, steps forward, an arrest warrant in his hands.
“Anisten Atkins, you’re under arrest on the charges of bribery and coercion. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can or will be used against you in a court of law.”
It’s mere seconds before they have me in handcuffs behind my back.
“Anisten,” Penn calls out, “not a word, don’t say a fucking word until I get to the station.”
My mind is on one thing and one thing alone. “Call Luc.” It’s all I can say because I’m a lawyer after all. I know better. But who could have ever seen this coming?
* * *
Fingerprints, mug shots, and being stripped of all my personal effects are three things I’d never thought would be part of my life.
The cell is dark and dank, holding me without access to my lawyer. They don’t try to speak with me; I know my rights but it doesn’t stop the tears trickling from my eyes. I’m attempting to work backward because my brain hasn’t had a chance to think through all these events leading up to my arrest. The recording. I have the consented recording of the witnesses. Three people claim that Keep it Greene Inc. has slandered Luca’s company for years. How do these sure-fire testimonies turn from casting reasonable doubt to me committing crimes no lawyer wants to be accused of?
How could I go from the top of my world to possibly losing my job, my career? What if Luca doesn’t believe me? We’d be done. This is a colossal shitshow. After all, I got the names, the location, and every part of this lead from Harry Lane.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
“Mr. De Santos,” Shaelyn calls out through the intercom. “Mr. Coultier is on the phone for you, stating it’s an emergency.”
In all the years I’ve known Penn he’s never pulled the emergency card on me, but more so, he’s Anisten’s co-worker and boss. Without thought, I end the conversation with Shaelyn and answer the only open line on my phone.
“Penn?”
“We have a situation, Luca. The Chicago P.D. just marched into the building and arrested Anisten.”
Arrested Anisten. The words radiate in my mind, and I don’t understand. Arrested Anisten? This is some horrible inappropriate joke Penn is known for, right?
“Luca? You there?”
“Yeah, where is she?” I know it isn’t a joke, not with the resolve in his voice.
He rattles off the information with the address. “I’ll meet you there.” I forget I’m on a corded phone, and when I take long strides toward my office door, I’m pulled back to the landline.
