Chapter 105

All too quickly, we pulled up to the police station. Processing went fairly smoothly, and the officers were nice enough. I suppose that they remembered me from my vampiric abduction, or they thought that I was pretty enough to overlook the fact that I was being brought in on suspicion of murder.

Probably the latter.

Just as they were about to put me in a cell, an idea came to my mind.

“Can I have my one phone call?” I asked.

The officer nodded and took me to the phone.

“You have five minutes,” she said.

I picked up the receiver and dialed Noah’s number.

“Noah Bernard speaking,” he answered.

“Noah, it’s me, Crystal.”

“Crystal? What are you doing call from—” there was a pause as he looked up the number— “the county jail?”

“I was arrested, Noah.”

“Arrested! On what charge?”

“Murder. They think that I killed John Brown.”

“What?” Noah whispered, “Did you?”

“No, of course not! Be serious, Noah. I’m in big trouble here.”

“I am being serious. What kind of evidence do they have against you?”

“I don’t know a lot right now. They’re saying that I tried to force false testimony out of him, and when he didn’t provide it, I got mad and killed him. They have my fingerprints on the murder weapon.”

There was a pause, too long of a pause.

“I only have five minutes, Noah.”

“I just…I don’t know what you want me to do, Crystal.”

I groaned in frustration.

“You’re a lawyer. Counsel me.”

“I can’t. I’m not a criminal lawyer. This is way out of my league.”

I heard a hint of trepidation in his voice.

“Is there something else that you’re not telling me?”

He didn’t answer me.

“Noah, what’s wrong? Do you…do you not believe me?”

“It’s not that, it’s just…Crystal, you were at his house today, and the timing does seem suspicious. You were also really eager to get that testimony, and if you didn’t get it…and if they have your fingerprints on the weapon…”

My hand curled so tightly around the receiver that my knuckles turned white.

“So, you don’t believe me.”

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m only saying that this is so far out of my area of expertise that I would only hinder your case, not help it—”

“Forget it, Noah. I’ll find somebody else to help me.”

“Crystal, please, don’t be like that. I didn’t mean—”

I slammed the receiver into the base. I couldn’t take him not believing me, too. Not Noah.

---

I sat overnight in that cell with four other women, two of them prostitutes and two in for drunk-and-disorderlys. When I told them what I was in for, suddenly none of them wanted anything to do with me. I guessed that murder was a little steep even for hookers and drunks.

I kept to the edge of the bench, near the front of the cell. I couldn’t sleep the entire night, try as I might. With my head leaning against the cool cement wall, I wasn’t too uncomfortable; my mind just couldn’t wind down.

A part of me hoped that someone would come take pity on me, but that seemed to be the case less and less as the minutes ticked by. With my track record, I should’ve known that no one would side with me over supposed crime scene evidence. Even if someone did believe that I was innocent enough to come see me, I only knew one person who could afford my bail, and he didn’t seem any more likely than Noah to help me now.

Another part of me couldn’t stop thinking about what this would do to my reputation. Should I somehow get out of this without going to prison, then I probably wouldn’t have a job anymore, not with the black stain that this would put on Ever After Weddings. Not to mention Andrew might never want to see me again…

Who am I kidding?I asked myself at one point.I’m going to prisonagain. I just have to accept that fact.

I sighed and closed my eyes. It was true. Somehow, they had my fingerprints on the murder weapon, and I was the last person known to be at Mr. Brown’s estate before he died; that and the supposed motive could be enough to put me away for life.

My mind set on going to prison, I finally started to fall asleep early in the morning. Sunlight drifted in through a nearby window, draping across my face. Although I squinted from the glare, I felt content in the warmth.

“Crystal Blanchard,” the female officer called as she approached the cell.

I bolted up, wiping the small amount of drool that had gathered at the corner of my mouth.

“Yes?” I asked.

“You’re being sprung,” the female officer said as she unlocked the door to the cell. “Someone has posted your bail.”

“What? Who?”

She shrugged.

“You’ll have to see for yourself.”

As we walked to the reception area, I quickly saw my knight in three-piece armor.

“Andrew?”

Andrew nodded at me in acknowledgement, but he did not smile or open his arms to embrace me.

Beside him stood another man in a three-piece suit. The man only reached Andrew’s shoulder, but he held himself as tall as though a metal rod had been shoved into his back. His expression was stern and his gaze cold; I would not have wanted to encounter him without Andrew.

“Crystal, this is Mr. Chevalier, a criminal lawyer,” Andrew introduced us. “Mr. Chevalier, this is Crystal Blanchard, your newest client.”

Mr. Chevalier held his hand out for me to shake. Hesitantly, I took it. His grip was firm and tight, confident; mine felt inadequate in comparison.

When Mr. Chevalier released my hand, it throbbed in pain, and I had to resist the urge to shake it out.

“The police need you to fill out some paperwork before they can release you,” Mr. Chevalier explained, motioning towards the reception desk.

Mr. Chevalier, the female officer, and the receptionist talked me through the paperwork as I signed. It mostly guaranteed that I would not run off before my arraignment. I felt sick to my stomach at the déjà vu as I signed my life away.

Once that paperwork was finished, the receptionist wished us a good day, and Mr. Chevalier, Andrew, and I walked outside the police station.

“We’ll get together on Monday to discuss your case,” Mr. Chevalier said as he gave me his card. “In the meantime, don’t get into any more trouble.”

My face turned red at his comment, and my fists clenched, but I merely looked away from him.

“Tell me, Mr. Chevalier, what do you think her odds are of getting out of this?” Andrew asked.

“I still need to review the details of the case extensively, but at this point, we might want to consider a plea deal,” Mr. Chevalier said. He looked at me, then returned his attention to Andrew. “Honestly, I don’t think there’s any way that Ms. Blanchard did it, but the evidence is stacked against her, and it will be an uphill battle if we don’t consider a plea deal.”

Andrew shook his head emphatically.

“No. We need to get her off.”

Mr. Chevalier stared at Andrew for a moment. He nodded.

“Understood. I’ll see you both Monday.”

He bowed his head to us before going to his car.

Andrew put his hand on my back and led me to his gold Aston Martin. We climbed in and buckled up.

I couldn’t take the coldness between us anymore.

“Andrew, why did you bail me out?”

He froze the keys in the ignition.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s obvious that you don’t believe that I’m innocent—”

“What? Of course, I believe that you’re innocent!”

“Then why are you acting so coldly towards me?”

Andrew frowned. He removed his hands from the steering wheel and reached over to brush my cheek gently. He kissed me on the lips, then moved back a few inches from my face.

“I am so sorry that I made you think that, Crystal. I was just trying to seem neutral in front of the police. We’re still trying to hide our relationship, and I don’t want anything to happen to muck things up while we’re cleaning up this mess for you.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I leaned into his hand.

“I thought that you had abandoned me, too.”

“No, no. I will never abandon you.”

He tilted my head up. His thumbs ran across my cheeks.

“I know you are innocent,” he declared, “and I will do everything within my power to prove it.”