“Not sure who Mel is, but I doubt he’ll be able to help you.” Bowman snickered as he shoved Heather into the back seat and slammed the door shut. Joe stood silently by the passenger door and watched Bowman walk toward him, en route to the driver’s side of the car.
Bowman paused a moment and looked at Joe. “Never get between me and my gun again, because the next time, you’ll either be shot or out of a job.”
Joe didn’t respond. He stood silently and watched Bowman walk around the front of the vehicle. As Bowman climbed into the driver’s seat, Joe reached for the handle of the front passenger door. He glanced in the back seat to Heather before getting into the car.
* * *
“What the hell is going on?” Brian demanded as Bowman brought Heather into the station to be booked. Heather silently looked at Brian, her eyes wide and terror filled, and her hands still secured behind her back.
“Remember what I told you, Morelli. Put a muzzle on your buddy.” Bowman shoved past Brian and kept walking with Heather.
Joe grabbed hold of Brian’s arm, stopping him from following Bowman and Heather. Frantic, Brian turned to Joe. “What’s going on?”
“Bowman arrested Heather for Camilla’s murder,” Joe explained.
Brian’s heart raced. “She didn’t murder Camilla. No way.”
“I agree. Whatever I might have thought about Heather in the past, I don’t see her as a killer. Especially not someone she barely knows. Heather is too concerned about karma to murder anyone.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you guys were going to arrest her?”
Joe shook his head. “I didn’t know. At least, not until we pulled up in front of the Glandon Foundation.”
“Damn,” Brian cursed.
“Bowman told me you have to stay away from Heather while she’s being booked, and he doesn’t want you talking to her at all while she’s being held.”
“He can’t do that.”
“He says you’ll interfere with the case, and if you don’t follow his instructions, he’ll suspend you without pay.”
Exasperated, Brian combed his fingers through his hair and looked down the hallway where Bowman had taken Heather. “What am I going to do?”
Smiling, Joe reached out and touched Brian’s arm. “The last thing Chris said as Bowman led Heather out of her office, he told her not to say anything and that he was calling Mel.”
Brian visibly relaxed. He turned to Joe and smiled.
* * *
Heather had stopped crying and had pulled herself together. She sat quietly in the interrogation room, her hands folded before her on the table. She glanced around the room and then stared at the one-way mirror, wondering if Brian was on the other side. When driving over from her office, Heather had sat quietly in the back seat of the police car and listened to Bowman laying down the rules to Joe regarding her future interactions with Brian. If Brian wanted to keep his job, he couldn’t interfere with the case against her, and according to Bowman, that meant he needed to keep his distance. Bowman didn’t want Brian doing anything that might help Heather’s case. Heather wasn’t sure if that was legal, but she had since calmed down and was no longer afraid. After all, Chris had promised to call Mel.
Heather sat back in the chair and wiped away any remaining tears. At least he had finally removed the damn handcuffs. While silently rehashing all that had happened since Chief Bowman and Joe had walked into her office to arrest her, she had to admit, Joe did not look happy about the arrest.
Heather had a new respect for Joe Morelli. It wasn’t because of his attitude regarding her arrest. But she believed Joe had probably saved Hunny’s life this afternoon. Had he not intervened when he had, Heather had no doubt Bowman would have shot Hunny. She didn’t even want to consider the series of events that would have followed.
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Heather looked to the doorway and watched as Bowman strutted into the room—he didn’t walk; Heather thought he looked like an overconfident rooster. She reminded herself of what Chris had told her. Say nothing.
Bowman sat at the table across from Heather and smiled. She said nothing.
“Well, Miss Donovan, you’ve got yourself into a heap of trouble.”
Heap of trouble? What do you think you are now, a cowboy? Heather thought.
Bowman leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t believe you meant to kill Camilla Henderson. It was a crime of passion. You were jogging; you stopped at the bathroom along the beach. Encountered Camilla for the second time that morning. She was all in your face, threatening to break up you and Brian, and you just snapped.”
Heather said nothing; she just stared.
“I can help you out. We can show it wasn’t premeditated; you were provoked. After all, Camilla attacked you at the funeral. People saw. This is your first offense; I would recommend just a few years. You’re a young woman and will be out before you know it.” Bowman leaned forward, now resting his elbows on the table. “But if you don’t plead out, I can guarantee you are going to spend the rest of your life behind bars. And Miss Donovan, that is going to be a really long time.”
Heather remained silent.
“Come on, what do you say? Don’t you want to make it easy on yourself? We all know you did it.”
“I don’t recall waiving my right to an attorney. I wish to see my attorney.”
Bowman leaned back in the chair again and smiled at Heather. “Okay. You can call your attorney.” Bowman slapped his cellphone on the table and slid it over to Heather. “Do you need a phonebook to find one? Or should we see if you qualify for a public defender? I doubt you do. You own a house, but I imagine you’ll have to take a loan out on that to get bail. If you’re even granted bail. And then there are the attorney fees. You’d be better off pleading out, and then when you get out in a couple of years, you’ll still have a home. But if you decide to take this to trial, you’ll probably still end up behind bars, and when you get out, you’ll be on the streets. Even if your attorney somehow gets you off, you’ll probably lose your house to pay for legal fees. Wouldn’t it be easier to be a guest of the state for a few years and have a home when you get out?”
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Melony Carmichael Nichols walked in, reminding Heather for a moment of Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods. A tall Elle Woods.
“Who are you?” Bowman demanded without bothering to look at her name tag. “How did you get in here?”
“I’m Ms. Donovan’s attorney, Melony Carmichael. I hope you aren’t questioning my client without her attorney present.”
Heather let out a sigh of relief and smiled up at Melony while remaining silent.
Bowman frowned. “Mel?”
“My friends call me Mel. You can call me Ms. Carmichael.” She turned to Heather and smiled. “Heather, don’t worry. I’ll have you out of here before you know it.”
“Maybe Ms. Donovan has an attorney, but she is being charged with murder, and if I have my way, there won’t be bail.”
Melony smiled at Bowman. “I doubt you’ll get your way. My client has never been arrested. She is a respected member of this community, and your case is very flimsy. She didn’t even know the victim.”
“If bail is set, it won’t be under a million dollars. I don’t think your client can afford you and her bail. Ms. Donovan would be better off to plead out, and instead of sacrificing her home to pay your legal fees and bail, she’ll be out in a couple of years and have a home to come back to.”
Melony walked to Heather and placed a hand on one of Heather’s shoulders while she looked across the table to Bowman. “Actually, I’m taking Heather’s case pro bono, because not only am I convinced of her innocence, she’s a dear friend of mine. As for bail, I’ve already heard from Chris Glandon. He told me he’ll cover Heather’s bail, no matter what the price—one million or ten million.”
Bowman stared blankly at Melony.
“Now, I would like to speak to my client. Alone.”
* * *
Bowman stormed out of the interrogation room, slamming the door behind him. He marched over to the adjacent office and reached for the doorknob.
“You can’t go in there,” a voice called out.
Bowman spun around and found himself facing Joe Morelli.
“Heather is in the interrogation room with her attorney,” Joe reminded him. “If you go into that office, you’ll be able to hear everything they say. None of us can be in there when a client is with their attorney.”
“Who is this woman who claims she’s an attorney?” Bowman demanded.
Joe frowned. “You don’t know?”
“She says she’s Melony Carmichael. I remember an attorney who used to be in town named Carmichael, but that was an old man.”
“That was her father,” Joe explained. “But she’s never been a member of his firm. She moved back to town a couple of years ago from New York. Melony is probably one of the top criminal attorneys in the state.”
“I’ve never heard of her,” Bowman grumbled. “She said something about a Chris Glandon paying Heather’s bail. Who is that?”
Joe smiled. “Glandon—Glandon Foundation. Where she works. Chris Glandon is the head of the Glandon Foundation. He’s worth, like, billions.”
Bowman frowned. “That guy who’s her boss. His name is Chris. But I thought it was Chris Johnson. The one with the pit bull.”
“Yeah, well, Chris Johnson works there too. Heather is his assistant.”
“What is this Glandon Foundation, anyway?” Bowman asked.
Joe frowned. “I assumed you knew.”
“Fred just mentioned something about the Glandon charity that moved to town. They’ve been working with the museum, the local humane society, and some other charities. What I don’t understand, why would a nonprofit pay the bail of one of their employees who has been accused of murder? I doubt that’s even legal. It would probably violate their nonprofit status. I would think it would be more prudent to terminate the employment so the employee doesn’t tarnish their reputation. Her bail is going to be a million dollars, at least. That money could be better spent elsewhere.”
Joe shrugged. “I doubt Mr. Glandon would agree. Anyway, the bail money is probably not coming from the Glandon Foundation, but from his private funds. From what I understand, Mr. Glandon is quite fond of Heather Donovan, and to a multibillionaire, a million dollars isn’t that much money.”
“Does this Chris Glandon live in Frederickport? I’d like to talk to him.”
Joe didn’t answer immediately. Finally, he said, “According to the tabloids, Chris Glandon travels the world. But I suppose you could Google it.”