Page 2 of With Wine Comes War
“Please, have a seat.” I ushered her to the chair in front of my desk before walking back around, settling in mine.
She began, “Mr. King.”
“Please, it’s Roman.”
“Of course, Roman. I’m sorry about what happened at the hospital and the misunderstanding, but I’m here to make sure this guy goes away for what he did. We need to make sure this is an airtight case, and nothing puts a wrench in it.”
Is the death penalty an option?I honestly wondered.
“That sounds good to me, how can I help?” I relaxed into my chair, crossing my arms over my chest to keep my heartbeat under control.
She got out a notepad and pen then sat up, crossing her legs, using her knee to balance it as she took notes. “There’s a bit of information we need for verification just to make sure it doesn’t become an issue somehow.”
An issue that had to do with me?
“What kind of information? I thought I was cleared?”
She looked slightly uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat, so I’m guessing she thought this new information might bother me. She continued, a bit more cautiously.
“Well, Ms. Kennedy thinks one of the reasons Mr. Ellington did this to her was to get to you.”
Oh Jesus, please tell me this isn’t the reason she cut me out of her life. I can take care of myself.Does she really think I need her to protect me?
I looked up at the ceiling and said, “Why would she think that?” I practically slammed my hands on the desk. Frustration has been up front and center in my life since she stopped taking my calls or responding to texts.
The detective seemed to understand my frustration and wasn’t fazed by my reaction.
“Do you have any business issues with Mr. Ellington?”
Not with the little piece of shit in jail unless he knows that it was me who elbowed him in the nose at the bar.
“More so with his brother, Marcus.” I tried to gain my composure back. I balled my hands into fists, setting them carefully on the desk as I concentrated on answering her questions.
“The district Rep?”
That seemed to surprise her. She sat up straighter in the chair now, her brows knitted together.Does she know something more about him?
“Yeah, he’s been pulling permits, basically holding them hostage until hefty fees are paid. We’ve had delays with some projects.”
“Was one of those projects in Burrow Township?” My favorite project has turned out to be my biggest nightmare.
“Yes. Although Tanner is just his brother’s errand boy, it seems.” I felt my blood pressure rising and my head started to throb.
“Did Tanner know about Miss Kennedy’s involvement in that project?”
I’m not sure where this is going.How the hell would he have known what Alex was doing with the project?All she did was accidently run out of gas in that neighborhood. Now, if I don’t find a way to calm down, I’m afraid I’m going to lose it on this cop.
“Alex didn’t have any involvement in that project.”
Detective Lewis looked confused. I pinched my lip in a tight line trying to hold back the headache that was right there on the verge of debilitating me.
“She wasn’t the realtor for Mrs. Ella Jackson? Helping to negotiate the sale of her house?” I watched her read and take notes in her little black notebook while we were talking to try and concentrate on something other than the pain in my head.
“Look, I didn’t meet Alex until after we started this project.” I squeezed my eyes shut while I pushed my fingers into my temples. “She was angry with me because of it. She’s the one that found out what the Ellington’s were doing. She went to Ella Jackson on her own and nurtured that relationship. She had nothing to do with this project at all.”
Shaking her head, the detective said, “Alex thinks it has something to do with this Burrow Township project. We’re trying to figure it out. If so, the motive may have been them trying to intimidate her, so she’d give up the project. She said he used your name. That’s all we really know.”
That’s why she thinks it was me? How does this guy know anything about me and Alex?