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Amanda, looking fresh despite her long flight, looked at the broken door. “I’m ready Bert.” Kneeling, she removed the sheet from her old friend’s face. “Oh Lucy,” she whispered, looking down at the still, white countenance. “Who did this to you?” She stroked the cold cheek, old now and wrinkled. Lucy had been so young, so vibrant, so alive when they had met forty years ago. Still feisty and one of Amanda’s best friends, she was on the down side of her sixties.
“Could we ask you a few questions?” A young police officer squatted beside her.
Amanda kissed Lucy’s forehead and covered her again. “Yes, of course.” She brushed the tears from her cheeks.
“Did Miss Becker live here?” he asked, his pencil poised over his notebook.
“Sometimes. She was getting the penthouse ready for me. When I live here, she does too. She arrived two days ago.”
“And you were?”
“I just flew in from Rome.” Amanda fished in her handbag and handed the man her cancelled ticket and passport.
He checked them carefully, wrote down the details and handed them back to her. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Miss. We’ll be out of here soon. Will you be okay?” Concern darkened his young face.
Bert stepped up. “Thank you Officer. I’ll take care of her. I will see you down at the station. I don’t think it’s Nick.” He and closed the door behind the team who had finished their data collection. The coroner’s office had taken Lucy’s body away while Amanda was being questioned.
Amanda turned on Bert. “Nick? Nick did this?” Her fury radiated from her so forcefully Bert took a step back.
“Are you kidding me? Why would Nick kill Lucy?” Bert bounced on his feet, agitated by the situation.
Amanda opened her mouth to answer but snapped it shut again. Whirling, she strode to the drinks cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Scotch and poured two hefty slugs. She handed one to Bert before answering. “You’re right. He wouldn’t. We need to get him out of jail.”
“He’s safer there for now. Let me work with the police. I’m sure Nick didn’t do this. Once they get the blood work back…”
Amanda interrupted. “They took his blood?”
“He was completely disoriented, Amanda. He had to have been drugged. It’s a set-up.”
“We need to get that blood before they test it, Bert. Is there any way you can get Nick released into your custody?”
Bert considered this. “I can get the blood as a favor, but there’s no way they will give me Nick. I don’t belong to any official organization that would supersede the police department.”
“I could get you fake FBI, or NSA or even NCIS papers.” Amanda pleaded, her head to one side.
“We can discuss how you could do that later, but the cops will get suspicious if I suddenly show up with those. Besides, he’s safe in jail. We’ll just have to clear his name.”
Her mind working furiously, Amanda moved closer to Bert. “No, no, we need to get him out. Not only do we need his skills, he simply cannot stay there.” At Bert’s look, she continued, “Listen to me. I’ll explain later but you have to trust me.” She took the drink from his hand and put both glasses down. “I’ll get changed and I’ll tell you exactly what we’re going to do.”
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