“May well be a case of wrong identity. You have no evidence at this point,” Mia remarked in a steady voice that, oddly, was a turn-on.
I clasped my hands together at the table as I let Mia go to work.
“Very well. At this stage, Mr. Briggs, you are free to go, just don’t leave town,” she warned with a grim smile. “We may have some more questions for you in the near future.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Besides, I haven’t done anything wrong,” I professed my innocence to her one last time as I rubbed my temple. The anger inside of me at being falsely accused was threatening to boil over.
“Thanks, Detective Shepherd.” Mia gave a nod. “If that’s all the questions for today, we can wrap this up and move on.”
“It is. Thank you.” She opened the door to lead us out of the automatic double doors and into the Holbeck sunshine.
The tight-lipped smile she displayed gave me the feeling she was hoping to nail me to the cross. It sucked to be her, because I didn’t do it. Yeah, I’d been in trouble in the past, but that’s not me anymore. I’d grown to become a better man. I was a regular guy these days, and I wasn’t interested in breaking the law.
As we emerged from the four walls, we stepped right out into the Mississippi mugginess, but I exhaled in relief. “What a crock of shit! She knew she had nothing, but you still demanded evidence. This smells like a set-up, I swear. You are good. Really good. That was impressive,” I praised as I studied her in the sun.
She was even more beautiful in the sunlight with her emerald eyes and her come-hither black librarian glasses.
Something just seemed magnetic about her ways and her take-charge attitude appealed to me.
“Thank you, but I’m just doing my job,” she claimed matter-of-factly as she flicked her long hair out of her face. “They have no evidence whatsoever to link you to the scene. You have receipts to prove your whereabouts. It was pretty clear cut to me. I didn’t have to give her anything at all. She received a phone call. She can’t make any arrests based on that and she knew it,” she spoke with authority and common sense. A tiny sheen of perspiration formed on her forehead.
I wanted to wipe it off for her.
She beat me to it as she pulled out a tissue from her bag.
“Hot out here, huh?” I cringed. It was always hot in the ‘Sip. This was the first time in a long while I’d been nervous around a female, which was both strange and intriguing for me.
“Yes. I need a cold drink or something.” She fanned her beautiful face.
I thought to myself that I needed a cold shower—not a cold drink.