Lee Helling's Arrest
“You get that, Lee?”
“Yeah, Greg. But seriously, you should see about hiring a secretary. You hate taking notes; I hate taking notes. Do you catch my drift?” He clicks his pen and puts it back behind his ear.
“Like we’d ever get anything done if we hired a girl.” He glances over at him. “And don’t you dare say that wasn’t what you had in mind.”
Lee holds up his hands. “You’ve got me, sir. The marvelously charming detective Harris strikes again!”
Gregory rolls his eyes, smirking as he grabs his hat from the hook by the door. “Why don’t we grab a lunch, then we can get back to that case, alright?”
“Sounds brilliant.”
Gregory holds the door open for him, then stuffs his hands in his pockets as they walk a few blocks to the closest coffee shop. They reach the shop just as three police cars pull up around the corner and stop.
“Hold on, Lee.” He grabs his arm as he watches the police file out of their cars, but instead of entering the coffee shop like he had expected, the police surround them. “O-kay then.” He raises his hands slowly. He searches the group for a familiar face before making eye-contact with police chief Ian McIntosh.
“Step away from Mr. Helling, Gregory,” he says sternly.
Gregory steps away, but looks at Lee as he does so. He watches as the cops surround Lee and cuff his hands behind his back. Ian walks over to Gregory and lays his hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I’m sorry, Greg.”
“I don’t understand, Ian. What the hell is this about? How much is his bond? What did he do?” He looks at him.
Ian takes a deep breath and just pats his back. “Why don’t you come with me to the station. I’ll fill you in there, alright? I’ll have Simon run for you a coffee.”
He nods slowly before finally getting into the police car. His brow furrows as he tries to think back to anything he may have involved Lee in that could have gotten him arrested.
“I can promise you, Greg, I doubt you know anything about what that boy was into.”
“Then what did he do, Ian?”
Ian sighs as he shifts the car into gear. “You remember that bombing on third avenue three months ago? The one that nearly killed you?”
“That case for the Duke of Normandy, right?”
“Yes, exactly. We finally traced the explosion back to your partner. His prints were all over it. The boys got a warrant and searched his place while I knew he was with you. They found plans, Gregory.” He looks at him gently.
“Bomb plans?”
“Some of them, yes. There was a few plans that were obviously meant to kill you and a list of politicians….I’m sorry.”
He sits there in silence for a moment as this sinks in. “I want to look at the evidence.”
“Gregory….”
“I’m serious, Ian. I want to look at everything...I can’t...I can’t just believe he’d….” He shakes his head. “He had plans to kill me? ME? He’s my best friend, Ian. That’s preposterous!”
“I’ll let you look at the evidence, but the whole case so far appears bullet proof.”
“Perhaps he was framed!”
Ian pulls into his parking spot. He shakes his head. “Think what you want, Gregory, but you’ll see when you look at the evidence. The case is solid, so if he is innocent, then they have a complete case to try him for terrorism.”
“Oh? What motive do they have down for him then?”
“He’d kill you first so you wouldn’t be in his way trying to stop him. He’s working for an Irish nationalist group that want the fall of England.”
“That’s even barmier, Ian. He’s not even Irish!”
“Are you sure about that?”
Gregory pauses for a moment. “No, but I know he’s not a terrorist! You know how Lee is, Ian! You know this just can’t be right.”
Ian shakes his head as he opens the door. “Actually, Gregory, it’s because I know him that it doesn’t surprise me.”
Gregory slams the door behind himself after getting out of the car. “Then you obviously didn’t know him as well as I did.”
“Just because your partner was arrested is not a reason to take it out on my car.”
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