Page 44 of Rascal

“Looks like it.” I was worried, but not devastatingly so. They’d cut me off five years ago, and I’d healed from that.

“Go,” Jonas held the keys out.

“No. If I leave the scene, you’ll be in trouble. Get the officers to send a car over to them,” I replied. A black-and-white pulled up, and Jonas presented his identification. He promptly explained what had happened as the uniforms stared at me. They realised who I was. I waited in our vehicle as they spoke to Jonas and then the neighbour. A detective—one I recognised—turned up pretty quickly, which amused me. Would someone have arrived so speedily if I wasn’t involved?

Jonas went through everything with him again.

“I need your statement,” Detective Grimes announced, approaching.

“Sure. Never let it be said that I don’t cooperate with law enforcement. Oh wait, when I do, you fuckers tend to frame me. I want Jonas present and a lawyer before I speak to anyone.”

Jonas shook his head as Grimes sneered.

“On a first-name basis, are we?”

“Well, you know, you share a flight, after that a drive, it kinda takes off from there, Detective Asshole,” I drawled.

“Hallie, give your statement, and we’ll look in on your parents,” Jonas ordered.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why check on them? Didn’t someone send a black-and-white?” I asked.

Jonas nodded.

“Then why would I go? They’re nothing to do with me,” I replied.

Jonas looked shocked.

“Wow, you’re a real bitch!” Grimes exclaimed.

“I’m what a department of dirty, bent, asshole cops made me. When you frame an innocent person, they tend to change,” I snapped.

“I wasn’t involved!”

“Yeah, I’ve only got your word for that. Jonas, a lawyer, and I’m not saying anything else.”

“Detective, you might want to see this,” a uniform suggested, approaching. He held up an unlocked phone.

My social media account was on the screen. Only, it wasn’t mine. “Fuck!” I groaned, instantly guessing what had happened.

“That’s not yours, is it?” Jonas reached the same conclusion.

“No. Mine is private. Here,” I pulled my phone out and showed him.

“Shit, Jane opened a profile just for this reason. Sandie had no idea which was real and messaged them both. That’s how Jane got here first,” I replied.

“Actually, she contacted Jane a couple of days ago, then yours. I bet Sandie contacted Jane thinking it was your real profile. Then, when she didn’t get a reply, she found your private one. There’s a three-day gap between messages. Jane was already on her way to kill Sandie,” Jonas guessed.

“Fuck! Why won’t she just drop dead?” I screamed angrily.

Bystanders stared at me, and I glowered at them. “Problem?” I snarled.

“You taking her in? You’ve got a witness that saw her!” a woman yelled.

“Yeah, a witness that I arrived with a cop. So shut the hell up, you judgmental cunt!” I snapped, my temper fraying. “You fuckers already judged me guilty when I was innocent, and here you go again.”