Strong Alibi by K.C. Turner (story reading txt) 📗

“Okay. Second, Brandon DeFranco is a journalist for the Silverton Tribune who literally gets a hard on for a story like this! Did you expect anything less from his own wife?” China glared at her as if she was waiting for her to disagree so she could slap her back into reality and take great pleasure in it.

Although she knew she was right, she was dead on actually, Elizabeth still felt betrayed. Here she was, wasting her energy and her time, for a woman who had obviously been gaslighted. Just another victim she couldn’t reach.

“And as for Peggy? Screw her! Sitting up there on her Ivory Tower. Confidence? I’m sorry but you can’t have the confidence of a runway model and look like a doctor’s wife.” She lit another cigarette out of frustration.

Elizabeth giggled. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

A tad irritated she had to explain herself, she happily informed her friend. “It means she’s homely, Liz. She’s confident she has the doctor because she has the three-carat diamond on her finger, but she doesn’t really have him. The twenty-four-year-old nurse he’s banging in the broom closet on his break while they’re both snorting Ritalin in between patients, has him.” Her Asian eyes widened as she pursed her lips as if to say, ‘Duh.’

Elizabeth’s face showed a bit of surprise. She shook her head and smiled shamefully.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

Having an hour to stew over what happened to his request, Martinez glided up the stairs to the detective bureau like an angry deity. His face was red by the time he reached the office, sweat beading on his forehead. Shawn was sitting at his desk, deep in thought about whatever he was reading on his computer. He glanced up upon Martinez’s hard footsteps coming towards him. Shawn backed up in his chair a bit and began to stand, nearly expecting a backlash of sorts.

Martinez swiftly gained traction and headed straight for Shawn’s throat with his hands. The two men fell back onto the wall, Martinez yelling the entire time. “You son of a bitch! You knew how important this was! I thought you had my back!” His grip grew stronger.

Choking on his words, Shawn attempted to explain himself. “Martinez! What the hell?”

Chief Holden heard the commotion and quietly made his presence known within the room filled with testosterone. He leaned against the doorway and crossed his long arms across his chest, calmly but clamorously asking, “What the hell is going on here?”

Martinez released Shawn’s throat and shoved him in the chest, his back making a loud thud against the wall behind him. The fury in his eyes remained as he glared at his colleague. “Well, I don’t know, Chief. Why don’t you ask Johnson why my request never made it to Mansfield and Liz missed the parole hearing!”

Removing his glasses from his tired face, he wiped them clean with the handkerchief from his shirt pocket before adjusting them back on his nose. “This true, Johnson?”

Befuddled, Shawn grasped for words. “Chief, I have no idea what he’s talking about. One minute I’m sitting here working, the next, he’s literally at my damn throat!”

Not able to contain himself, Martinez continued to yell. “Chief, I asked him to send in my request to Investigator McMurphy. McMurphy said he never received it. Johnson said he sent it!”

Holden remained calm. Looking at Martinez from over the top of his glasses, his eyes expressed a warning. “I think you’re going to need to take it down a decibel or two.”

Martinez took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he continued. “McMurphy also said he emailed me the change in the hearing but I never received it. We arrived there today, only to find out the hearing was held yesterday!”

For a moment, Holden gazed at Martinez, not looking into his eyes, but through them. Then he moved on to Shawn who was waiting for his turn with a piece of paper in his hands. “What do you have to say about this, Johnson?”

Handing the sheet of paper to him, he defended himself. “This is the email I sent in on Monday.” He turned to Martinez, “Look, man, obviously I did screw up without even realizing. After you left, Chief needed me to go check out another OD. I mistakenly sent the email to general requests at Mansfield instead of directly to McMurphy, not even thinking about it. Still, it should have gotten to him. I’m sorry, man.”

“Johnson, you knew how important this was and why didn’t I get McMurphy’s email? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Really Martinez? I don’t mean to be a dick but if it was so important why didn’t you send the damn thing yourself? And how is it my fault or my problem that you didn’t get his email?”

The look on his face was a cross between appalled and stupefied. “Are you freaking kidding me, Johnson?”

Before Martinez had the chance to go after Shawn’s throat again, Holden took control of the room. “Johnson, don’t you have somewhere to be right now?”

Pushing his chair under his desk with force, Shawn exited the room. Holden looked at Martinez and sympathized logically. “I’m sorry Elizabeth missed her hearing. You know these things sometimes happen, Martinez. Wires get crossed. Not sure what happened to the email from Mansfield to you but you may want to ask McMurphy about that before you go pointing fingers.”

Sighing in disgust, Martinez knew the Chief was right.

“How’d Elizabeth take it?”

Raising his head and shaking it proudly, he threaded his arms across his chest. “She doesn’t seem to care much. Not that she doesn’t care, I just - I know she’s scared.”

Holden nodded, “Rightfully so. I understand you have strong feelings for her but I told you from the get-go to tread lightly on this. Don’t let yourself care more about it than she does and don’t push her too hard.” Turning his tall, lanky frame around to return to his office he looked at Martinez one