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She hoisted me up by my elbow, helping me to the bench. “Is there any chance this is about your neighbor?”
“Why?”
“Well, he lives in your neighborhood,” she said, shooting me a knowing look. “That alone means he’s bad news. And he saw your ex go into your house and that he took the money. How does he know that? I’m just saying, maybe it was your neighbor that took the money, and he’s blaming it on your ex.”
“But why?”
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Um…because he’s not stupid. He knew that you’d find the money missing, and then you’d start questioning everyone around you.”
“But he saved us…” I said, trailing off as I thought about how I discovered the missing money, and not long after, he ran out of the house. “No, it couldn’t be,” I said to myself.
“You don’t know him,” Gina pointed out. “I don’t think you can rule anything out right now.”
She was absolutely right. I didn’t know Jack, and as much as I wanted to believe there was something beneath that hard exterior, I couldn’t say for sure that he didn’t do it.
“I can’t think about this right now. I have to get to work.”
“Whoa,” she shook her head, trying to push me back down. “You were just attacked. No one would blame you for taking the rest of the day off.”
“Denise would. She already thinks I tried to get her fired!”
“Girl, nobody likes Denise. Anyone could have tried to get her fired, and the rest of us would throw a party for whoever succeeded.”
“Still, I need to focus on work. If I go home, this is all I’ll be thinking about.”
She gave me a disapproving look as I stood, ignoring the pain in my side. I thought maybe she would at least help me get my purse, but it was like she was trying to prove a point, just as much as I was. I got my stuff and slammed the door, leaning in to hug her.
“Thank you.”
“For what? Being unable to convince you you’re being stupid? You’re right. I deserve a medal.”
I chuckled, then walked out of the break room. I felt like everyone was watching me, like they knew what happened. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I checked out every single person I passed, wondering if the person who attacked me was still here.
“Are you ready?” the officer asked, smiling a little too widely at me.
I shot him a wary look, wondering if he could be the one. He knew where I was going. He could have followed me into the locker room, then slipped back out here completely unnoticed.
“I can drive myself.”
“That’s okay. No need for you to waste your gas when we already have the car outside.”
He reached for my arm, but I jerked it away. “Really, I’d feel better driving myself.”
His face turned to stone as he grabbed my arm a little too hard. “Don’t make this hard on yourself. Just get in the damn vehicle or I’ll be forced to arrest you.”
I didn’t want to make a scene, but now I was really freaked out. I wished Gina was around to witness this, but all the nursing staff seemed to be absent at the moment. And if Denise were at the desk, she’d probably smile and wave to the officer.
“Alright,” I answered shakily. “Where are we going?”
“To the station.”
I’d been sittingin the interrogation room for an hour. Now I understood why they requested I go with them. They clearly thought I was somehow connected to something that happened, and they wanted to trick me into coming to the police station. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why they didn’t just tell Denise I was wanted for questioning?
The door swung open and a man strolled in wearing a suit. The officer that brought me in was right behind him, glaring at me like I was the scum of the earth.
“What am I doing here?” I asked, looking only at the man in the suit.
“Ms. West, I’m Detective Wilson. Thank you for coming in.”
