Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

E ver since Mack had heard Grey claim him in front of everyone, his head had floated in the clouds. Was it possible to feel any happier? Mack didn’t think so.

He jumped off the bus to head to Armando’s full of energy and good feelings. With Grey’s rules for bedtime and the nutritious meals Onelia made for him, Mack felt better than he had for a long time. Add on the tender love Grey had made to him last night and his heart couldn’t be fuller. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve this happiness, but Mack was determined to appreciate each and every second of it.

Waving as he walked past Grey’s building, Mack didn’t know if his Daddy watched or not. He wanted to make sure to show he was thinking about Grey if he happened to look out. The custom of riding home with his Daddy after working was great for them both. It got Grey out of the office and gave the two men time together.

Today as he approached the restaurant, he noticed a police car pulled up at the front. That didn’t seem weird. A lot of officers came in on their lunch break or picked up dinner after their shifts. Armando had a special discount for first responders.

The hair rose on the back of Mack’s neck when one officer straightened and nodded his way. The other immediately pushed away from his position braced against the squad car.

“Good morning, Officers. Coming in for some lunch?” Mack asked politely.

“Mack Oliver?” the first asked.

“Yes. I’m Mack Oliver. Is something wrong?”

“I’m afraid you need to come with us,” the second answered.

“Really? Why? I’m supposed to work at eleven,” Mack told them. His racing mind provided them details they probably didn’t care about.

“You’re going to miss your shift today. Do we need to cuff you, or will you get into the car quietly?”

“I don’t understand. What did I do?” Mack asked.

“A report was made that you’ve stolen someone’s property. We’ll take you down to the police station and get this straightened out.”

“I’ll go with you, of course. Can I call my lawyer to meet me there?” Mack asked and watched their expressions harden as if mentioning representation had solidified in their minds that he was guilty.

“You’ll have time to do that at the station,” the first officer replied, pulling the handcuffs from his belt.

“I’m not resisting, Officer. I just asked to call my lawyer. You don’t need to handcuff me.”

“Innocent people don’t ask for a lawyer,” the second observed in a hard tone.

“They do if the charges are bogus,” a deep, familiar voice suggested behind him.

“Grey,” Mack breathed in relief.

“I’ll meet you at the station, Mack. Officers, those cuffs aren’t necessary. This young man is cooperating,” Grey said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a business card. He extended it to the officers. “Please refrain from interviewing my client until I arrive. We both heard him request to have his lawyer present.”

“He hasn’t been arrested, Mr. Bradford,” the officer who’d taken the card told him.

“Exactly. Nor has he committed any crime. Mack, I will let Armando know what’s happening so they can cover your shift,” Grey assured him.

“Thank you.” Mack shook his head, unable to process what was going on. He held his hands out to the officer with the handcuffs and watched him look at Grey.

“If you cooperate, I don’t think those will be necessary,” the officer holding Grey’s card stated. He opened the back door of the cruiser and waved Mack inside.

He watched through the smeared window as Grey asked a couple of questions and jotted information down in his phone. When they joined him in the squad car, the driver radioed the police station they had apprehended Mack Oliver and were transporting him for interrogation.

Completely cowed by the heavy metal grid separating the rear compartment, Mack looked helplessly out the window to see Grey standing nearby watching him. Mack knew the dark tinting kept his Daddy from seeing him clearly, but he could see the determination engraved on Grey’s face. He relaxed slightly against the padded seat. His Daddy would get this all straightened out.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about a stolen vase?” the driver said in a completely conversational tone.

“I’ve been instructed by my attorney not to answer questions until he is present,” Mack told him, surprised by the steadiness of his own voice. It didn’t reveal his nervousness at all.

That seemed to stop the attempt to question him, thank goodness. It also told Mack what or who had caused this. Joanie. This was going to be his word against hers. If John weighed in against him, it would be two against one.

Mentally cursing his decision to stay with his friend, Mack crossed his ankles, hoping that would bring him good luck. He didn’t dare cross his fingers in the monitored squad car. Who knew how they’d hold that against him? Forcing himself to stay relaxed, Mack repeated the belief in his mind that Grey would save him.

Just when he’d met his Daddy…

Grey walked into the interrogation room, finding Mack sitting visibly uncomfortably behind a table where two detectives glared at him. A large bottle of water sat empty next to Mack’s hand. “Detectives, I trust you weren’t trying to intimidate my client into talking before I arrived.”

“Don’t be worried. He kept repeating that you would arrive soon,” one man said gruffly.

“Perfect. That will avoid any miscommunications. I’ll wait until you escort Mr. Oliver to the restroom.” Grey knew that they had deliberately given him something to drink, hoping Mack would start talking to get the interview finished quickly.

“This won’t take long,” one detective assured him.

“Of course. Neither will using the restroom,” Grey answered.

Rolling his eyes, one suited man stood and waved Mack to his feet. They were back in a few minutes. Mack sat down with a sigh of relief and a whispered, “Thanks.”

“Of course. I’m sure you hadn’t mentioned a need to visit the restroom before, or these detectives would have taken you there immediately,” Grey suggested.

“I did ask. They told me as soon as I talked I’d be free to go,” Mack answered.

“Really?” Grey didn’t say more, but made a note. “Detectives, I’m sure you introduced yourselves to my client. Since I’m new to the conversation, could you tell me your names and badge numbers for my records?” He knew from Mack’s startled movement that the officers had not provided that information. Grey said nothing, but added those facts to his notes.

“I think we’re ready to begin,” Grey told them.

“Did you stay at 514 North Mulberry Avenue between these dates?” one asked before rattling off a couple of dates quickly.

Mack looked at Grey for permission to speak before answering. “I don’t remember the exact first day I moved in, but I could give you that information if I looked at my phone. I took a picture of myself sitting in the living room on the couch that first evening.”

“I can help with that, Mack.” Grey opened the folder he’d brought with him and pulled out that image. “Is this the correct one?”

“Yes. That’s it. I posted it to my social media, thanking John and Joanie for letting me stay with them,” Mack confirmed.

“Detectives, you will notice that it is date and time stamped. You can corroborate this from looking at Mr. Oliver’s social media account online,” Grey suggested. “The date is slightly after the date you stated.”

“But close,” one detective pointed out as he took the image.

“Yes, but not exact. Sometimes these details matter,” Grey added.

“And the end date?” the other detective asked.

Mack looked at Grey before answering, “Again, without my phone, I can’t tell you exactly. It was a Wednesday, if that helps.”

“How do you remember that?” the same detective asked skeptically.

“That’s John and Joanie’s trash day. I remember thinking that John must have stood up for me or Joanie would have dumped all my stuff out for the garbage men to pick up as soon as I left.”

“The date you listed is a Sunday,” Grey said quietly.

“What do you know about an heirloom vase that disappeared while you were staying at your friend’s home?”

“Nothing. It wasn’t ever in the living room. John texted me about it,” Mack reported.

“We’ll have to have an expert examine your phone,” the detective said.

“This may help.” Grey opened the folder and pulled out a series of screenshots from the device. He placed those on the table in front of the detectives. “You are welcome to verify the authenticity of these, but I’d like you to notice the value given changes over time in these messages. I would guess that the amount reported to you is different as well.”

The look exchanged between the two men told Grey a lot.

“To save you some time, I’ll share these pictures from social media, again with time stamps. You’ll see that Mr. Oliver was a frequent guest of John’s before and after Joanie moved in. Pay attention to the bookshelf. No vase. No vase. The vase appears. It looks more like a candle holder to me. Perhaps you can compare that to the description you received. It’s there for several months and then disappears in the next two photos. Each of those shots predates my client’s move into John’s house.”

Grey waited patiently for the detectives to make their decisions.

“You’ve come very prepared,” one suggested.

“Mr. Oliver shared his concern when the text messages arrived. The way they escalated in both accusation and price alarmed him, understandably. I had the claims investigated. You might also be interested in this.”

Grey pulled the final item from the folder, a thick packet. “This is the criminal report for Joanie Nichols. I’m sure you checked these before pulling my client in this morning.”

Again, that exchange of glances spoke louder than words. The detective who flipped through those pages shook his head before looking up at Grey. “I believe we’ve wasted your time. Mr. Oliver. We’ve received false information against you.”

“I would like a transcript of this conversation and a statement from each of you attesting to that fact. Will you investigate the false report for prosecution?” Grey asked.

“I will see that a report is sent to your office, Mr. Bradford. Thank you for being so organized. It has saved us from wasting more time investigating these allegations. As per the false report, it will be up to the police chief to decide whether to pursue that. I will tell you that will be my recommendation.”

The other detective nodded his head, confirming his support for that action.

“Thank you, Detectives. Mack, we can go.” Grey stood and waited for Mack to realize it was over. When the young man stood shakily, he fought himself from wrapping an arm around his Little’s waist.

They walked together out of the station, and Grey guided him to his waiting car. He opened the passenger door and Mack collapsed into the comfortable seat. When Grey slid inside, he said, “We’ll talk when we’re away from here. They may still be watching.”

Driving a few blocks away, Grey pulled into a parking lot and stopped the sedan. He turned to Mack and wrapped his arms around his Little. “You did so well.”

“That was the scariest thing ever. Thank you for coming. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up before they took me away.”

“You would have kept insisting on calling me. Eventually, you would have gotten access to a phone,” Grey reassured him, rubbing Mack’s back to try to stop his Little from shivering so hard.

“They would have taken Poutine away. That was the scariest.”

“You are both safe now.”

“I can’t believe John had a hand in this.”

“Love makes some people act dumb,” Grey told him.

“Thank you for doing all that investigating. How did you know that was going to happen?”

“I didn’t. I’ve just seen people act badly before. Very few things surprise me.”

“Even that bitchy lady who you were interviewing?” Mack asked.

“I was supposed to go up against her in court this morning. She agreed to postpone the hearing until this afternoon,” Grey shared.

“That seems really nice of her,” Mack said, looking skeptical.

“She needed it to get a report from an investigator.”

Mack’s head drooped. “It’s my fault she’s going to cause you more trouble in court now.”

Grey lifted his chin until their gazes meshed. “You haven’t done anything wrong. A few more hours will do nothing to help her case. I got the information she’s waiting for a week ago. I had plenty of time to craft a rebuttal to that information. This will just make her cocky.”

“Until she figures out you’re still a step ahead.”

“An entire staircase ahead, Little boy. She still has a lot to learn. Want me to take you to Armando’s or home?”

“Armando’s. Being busy sounds best. Besides, I want everyone to see the police released me.”

“Don’t say much at work. Simply that an old roommate reported some incorrect information that was easily resolved.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Mack leaned forward to kiss Grey. “Thank you.”

“I see better friends ahead for you, Mackie.” Grey reattached Mack’s seatbelt and gave him another kiss.

“Zoey and a bunch of the Littles want to learn how to play the role-playing game I played at John’s.”

“Somehow, this doesn’t surprise me. Can you imagine the costumes they can wear?” Grey asked as he backed out of the parking spot.

“Do you think Onelia could help me make an orc costume?”

“An orc, hmmm? I bet she’s a whiz at making tusks.”

“That’s exactly what I thought!”