AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How did Leo manage to get into the building? Was he watching me during practice? Why did he say he was my counsel? And how the hell is he so calm right now?
By some miracle, Leo managed to convince the officers to interview me in a small spare room right here at the Bolshoi. There's no need to be escorted in the back of a police car down the station. ThankGod. I can't imagine anything more humiliating. Unfortunately, it might already be too late to stave off the rumors. All my fellow dancers have seen me being led out to be questioned.
I'm seated in a plastic folding chair, wringing my fingers in my lap. At least they gave me the courtesy of letting me change out of my rehearsal clothes. It would have been uncomfortable sitting here in a tutu. Leo sits beside me, arms crossed over his chest, one leg folded over the other. They made Mother wait outside. There's no doubt in my mind Inessa has her ear pressed right up against the door to try and listen in. I bet she's furious.
Nausea is testing my resolve again, but I swallow it back with a gulp of ice-cold water and take deep breaths. I’ve learned to time these episodes. They never last more than a couple of minutes. Cold water helps. I can do this. I hate lying, I hate not telling the truth—especially about this child I’m carrying, but I don’t have any other choice, not with so much on the line here. So I push the truth back to the bottom of my consciousness and pretend I’m fine. I can do this.
“How long have you known Vanya?” the officer asks me, flipping through his notebook.
I glance at Leo, though I'm not sure why. He's not a lawyer. Isn't it illegal for him to say he is? He nods, however, giving me approval to answer. I'm just going to have to ask him for the truth after we get the hell out of here.
“Several years.”
“How would you describe your relationship with the victim?”
I gulp.Victim? My heart pounds against the inside of my rib cage. This is getting so serious. “Perfectly friendly,” I mumble. “We're colleagues. We have a good working relationship.”
“She was ranked higher than you, correct?”
My palms are clammy. I'm getting nervous, but I really have no reason to be. “Yes. Technically speaking.”
“Did that ever make you feel jealous?”
“Don't answer that,” Leo interjects, his words sharp like a knife.
I bite my tongue. We're probably thinking the same thing. I don't know what these officers are playing at, but if they think they're going to get a rise out of me, they're wrong. I have to remain calm, keep cool. If I say something out of anger, there's no telling how it might blow up in my face.
I recognize now how precarious my position is. Mother warned me as much, that there would be eyes on me. Whispers. Isn't it a little too convenient that I should reap all the rewards at the expense of Vanya's downfall? The promotion, the role of a lifetime… I'd be suspicious of me, too, if I weren't the one in the hot seat.
“Where were you the day before the incident?” the officer asks me.
“Here, at the Bolshoi. We have a very strict training schedule.”
“Do dancers have lockers here? Some place to keep your things.”
“Of course.”
“Would you have had access to Vanya's locker?”
Leo bristles. “Don't answer tha—”
I stick my hand out and place it gently on his forearm. I've got this. Calmly, I turn to face the officer. “Yes, Iwould. But I would never think of doing such a thing. I don't know what you're trying to imply, but I'm not the one responsible. You're wasting your time here, and every second you waste is another second the perpetrator remains at large.”
“We understand this is a very upsetting time, Ms. Belova, but—”
“If you're so concerned about where I was prior to the incident, you can ask any number of my colleagues. I was already in the practice room for class. You can check the sign-in records since we all have a key card that lets us in and out of the building. And if you're really so concerned, you can ask my mother where I was the night prior because she's a control freak and I have to be home by a certain time or else she loses it.” I take a deep breath, for once in my life grateful Inessa is so damn controlling. I have alibis for all hours of the day, making it impossible for me to be the one behind Vanya's awful attack.
Leo rises from his seat first. “You have everything you need.”
The police officer sneers at him. “That's for me to determine.”
“Is she under arrest?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then we're done here,” Leo states firmly before offering me his hand. I take it, more than a little relieved when he guides me out of the room and down the hall for a moment of privacy.
I can barely catch my breath. I think I handled myself well, but that was nonetheless a terrifying experience. My head is light. The room spins, and the tip of my fingers are buzzing with adrenaline. I've never known that kind of dread before. The way those cops were looking at me… as if they'd already decided I was guilty.
