Manhunt (18 page)

He snapped himself out of it when the guard’s words sunk in. Michael’s mind went into overdrive with all the questions he wanted to ask, and the limited amount of time he knew they had.

“How’s Nikki? Have you seen her? Where is she staying? How are Mom and Dad holding up? What about you? Are things better now that you’ve been cleared? Have you seen Christian and Sophie since you got out? And what the hell were...”

Jeremy cut him off by lifting his hand. “I haven’t seen Nikki yet. She’s staying with Christian and Sophie. I’m headed there as soon as I leave here. Christian and Sophie are both dealing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I’m fine, back to work and the stock is slowly rebounding. At least the board isn’t trying to kick me out of my own company anymore. My assistant quit while I was locked up, though, and I’m having a helluva time finding a replacement.”

“Heather?” Michael asked. She had always given him the impression she loved her job.

“Yeah, Heather.” Jeremy smiled for just a second, but it was gone before Michael could ask what brought it on. “Apparently, she didn’t care for how quick they all were to judge me, and up and quit.”

Jeremy took a deep breath before continuing. “Mom is putting up a good front, but Dad says she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He threatened to slip Ativan in her coffee when she isn’t looking if she doesn’t chill out a little. Instead, she’s baking like a madwoman.”

Michael chuckled a little. “That sounds like Mom. She’s the one that got Nikki hooked.”

“Yeah. I tried to bring you some cookies, but they couldn’t let me, so I gave them to the officers on duty out front.” Jeremy sat down on the cold concrete floor and leaned on the wall facing his brother, his arms dangling loosely on his knees. “Michael, what really happened that night?”

Michael shook his head, his lips in a thin line. “You know what happened. Sebastian tried to kill Nikki. You saved her. I went after Sebastian. He died. What else do you need to know?”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “You seem to be glossing over some key points there, Michael.”

“Do you really want all the gory details?” Michael snapped. “Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.” An image of Sebastian’s bloody body beneath his hands flashed before Michael’s eyes and he shuddered at the memory. “Besides, I’m sure there’s more to your story then I’ve heard, too.”

Jeremy nodded his head. “Nikki called me, screaming. She thought Sebastian was going to kill her. I ran for my car and put her on speakerphone so I could keep the line open while I drove like a bat out of hell. I could hear him banging on the bedroom door until it crashed, then he started doing the same thing to the bathroom door. I heard her shriek and there was a scuffle. I’m guessing he was dragging her out of the bathroom. He was screaming at her, calling her horrible names and telling her he was going to fuck her so hard that she wasn’t going to be able to remember your name.” Jeremy snorted darkly at the irony. “He said that she’d be lucky to live through the night, and by the time he was done with her, no one but him would ever want her again. She was trying to reason with him, begging him to stop. It sounded like he slapped her and then she dropped the phone and it disconnected. It took me another five minutes, maybe ten, to get there. I don’t know, time kind of lost all meaning for me right about then.”

The intense anger and regret burned in Jeremy’s eyes as he continued. “I should have called 911, I was just so scared and frantic that it didn’t even occur to me. I found her unconscious on the ground in the front yard. Her clothes were practically shredded and she was bleeding really badly from a gash to her head. You know the rest.”

Listening to Jeremy’s account just further solidified Michael’s resolve. This was the way it had to be. That bastard deserved what he got. Michael was just sorry he didn’t suffer more first. Now Nikki was free and could live her life without fear. That monster would never hurt her again.

“Thank you for saving her.” It was just the latest in a long list of reasons Michael was thankful to have Jeremy in his life.

“I love her too, you know,” Jeremy replied softly.

Michael was shocked at that revelation. He’d suspected Jeremy had a crush on Nikki in high school, but Jeremy had never voiced it, knowing what she meant to him. Michael had assumed he’d gotten over it. He didn’t know how to feel about it. He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at his brother, but the thought of them together sickened him. Then again, Nikki was going to need someone after he was sent to prison. Jeremy would never hurt her. He was financially and mentally stable, and would give her the world if that’s what it took to make her happy. Michael was sure of it. He swallowed the bile at the back of his throat before replying.

“Don’t let my history with Nikki stop you from getting what you want, Jeremy.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Michael continued, rushing ahead before he lost his resolve.

“What I mean is, if you want to pursue her, I won’t hold it against you. It’ll be hard for me to take, I won’t lie, but it would be wrong of me to lay claim to her from behind bars.”

Jeremy started laughing. Hard. His arms wrapped around his stomach to hold his sides as he doubled over. “You are such an idiot. I mean, I should have known that already. You were a fool to leave her. And I do love her—like the sister-in-law she should have been. Moron.” His laughter died down to a chuckle, and Michael joined him, embarrassed. “You stupid shit. I give up everything to try and make it so you two can be together forever, and you think that since that didn’t work, my Plan B should be to make the moves on Nikki the second you’re out of the picture? That’s rich.”

Michael was truly mortified at his stupidity. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I was thinking that you could make her happy, when I will obviously be unable to.”

Jeremy shook his head. “No one could make Nikki happy but you. And don’t let her hear you giving up like that. It isn’t over yet. Wes...”

Jeremy was interrupted by the sound of the door unlocking. The same guard who let him in earlier poked his head through the door.

“Time’s up,” he said kindly. Jeremy nodded and got up off the floor, dusting himself off before hugging Michael awkwardly through the bars. “I’ll see you soon. Hang in there. Love you.”

“Love you too. Give my love to... everybody,” Michael said as his eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over.

“Will do,” Jeremy replied before leaving.

The sound of the door slamming shut, once more leaving him in solitude, had such a ring of finality to it that Michael could do nothing but collapse on his tiny bed, pulling his knees to his chest while he cried. He dozed off into a fitful sleep for a while, waking up to the same guard unlocking the door to his cell.

“You’ve got company,” the guard said. Michael stood and, thinking about what Jeremy had said, hesitantly stuck his hand out at the guard.

“I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name earlier. I’m Michael, although you knew that already.”

The guard laughed, reaching out and shaking his hand firmly. “Yeah, I knew that. Deputy Todd Slader.”

“Nice to meet you, Deputy Slader.”

The guard nodded and held up the handcuffs. Michael sighed and held his hands out so he could be cuffed before leaving his cell.

“Sorry, buddy. Procedure.”

Michael nodded and let himself be led out. Deputy Slader kept a light grip on his elbow as he directed him to an adjoining hallway and then into an interrogation room similar to the one he’d been in with the FBI agents the day before. The standard-issue, rectangular metal table and four metal chairs with stiff wooden seats awaited him. Deputy Slader guided him to the nearest chair.

As he was sitting down, the door opened again and Wes walked through, followed by a woman and a man. The woman, who looked to be in her late thirties to early forties, was well dressed in a conservative gray pants suit with no nonsense heels and had her hair in a neat chignon. The man was a little younger, also dressed impeccably, and eagerly followed at the woman’s heels. It was clear to see who was in charge. Wes patted Michael on the shoulder encouragingly and took the seat next to him. The woman sat directly across from Michael, with the young man taking the seat on her right across from Wes.

“Hello, Mr. Brennan. I’m District Attorney Margaret Singer. This is my Assistant D.A., Mark Thomas,” she said in a curt but polite tone.

The woman held her hand out to Michael, and in a move which was clearly old hat to her, managed to take Michael’s hand and awkwardly shake it despite his handcuffs.

“All right. Let’s begin with the most obvious question. Can you please run me through your activities the night of Mr. Cross’s death?”

Michael looked to Wes, who shook his head slightly. Michael turned back to the D.A. and shook his head.

“Come now, Mr. Brennan. I have no problem informing you that your fingerprints were found on the gun and your DNA has been linked to the crime scene. I also have witness accounts of you entering the hospital covered in blood. It’s quite obvious that you were at the crime scene. I’m just asking you to fill in the blanks for me.”

Wes spoke for him. “My client is invoking his right to remain silent and will not be answering any questions that may further incriminate him. We both know how this meeting is going to pan out. Cut to the chase, please.”

Ms. Singer did not remove her eyes from Michael’s. She seemed to be searching for something, and Michael had no way of knowing if she’d found it. “Mr. Brennan. I want to help you, but I need you to cooperate with me for that to happen.” Her eyes had turned soft and he was almost inclined to believe her, but he was certain this was a well-practiced tactic.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you, Ms. Singer.”

“Michael,” her use of his first name did not go unnoticed, “you do realize that you are facing life in prison, with no chance of parole, don’t you?” Michael nodded, swallowing hard. “If you tell me what I need to know, I might be able to get that reduced significantly.”

“Are you offering us a deal?” Wes asked.

“Well, I don’t have enough information to do that at the moment, do I? It would obviously depend on what Mr. Brennan had to say.”

Wes turned to Michael. “It’s up to you.” Michael paused for only a moment before shaking his head.

“No deal.”

Wes turned back to Ms. Singer. “You heard him.”

Ms. Singer huffed in frustration. “Fine. What do you intend to plea at tomorrow’s arraignment?”

Wes quickly glanced at Michael and Ms. Singer could have sworn she saw irritation flit across his face for just a split second, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “Not guilty.”

Ms. Singer unabashedly rolled her eyes. “It’s your head. I’ll set him up for a psych exam tomorrow right after the arraignment to determine his competency to stand trial.” She turned her attention back to Michael. “If you change your mind, let one of the guards know. They know how to reach me.”

She stood and Mr. Thomas did the same. They were halfway to the door before Mr. Thomas turned back to Michael. “Please see reason. Don’t force us to do something we don’t want to do.”

With that, they left. Wes moved into the chair across from Michael.

“How you holding up, kid?” he asked, his voice calm and almost paternal.

“It’s already so much harder than I thought it would be.” Michael felt weak, letting it all get to him. Especially since it was only going to get harder from here on out.

Wes nodded in understanding. “I don’t think you were really taking the consequences of your actions into consideration, Michael.”

Michael nodded in agreement. Not that it would change anything, but it was true. He had reacted instinctively and hadn’t thought about the ramifications.

“It’s not too late,” Wes continued. “Margaret is as tough as nails, don’t get me wrong, but she’s not one of those people that wants to put folks in jail regardless of whether or not they deserve to be there just so she can say she won. She used to be a defense attorney herself, you know. In fact, I’d be willing to bet she knew Nikki’s dad. You could tell her the truth, Michael. No one would blame you. I trust that she would do the right thing. Self-defense is a valid plea in this case. In the very least, it would be an easier defense to mount than the one I’m building now.”

Michael shook his head vehemently. He’d come too far to crack under the pressure now. “No. No one else can know what really happened that night. It would only make things worse.”

Wes had learned enough about Michael to know he wasn’t going to be able to convince him to change his mind. “Alright, suit yourself. But I’m telling you right now that I’m going to call Nikki to the stand in your defense. If you don’t like it, you can fire me, but every other defense attorney in the county worth their salt would tell you the same thing. I would be neglect in my duty not to call her.”