Read Online Final Call by Terri Reid - Free Book Online Page B

going to be a good day. They had already received emergency notifications
the storm heading their way through Nebraska and Iowa was going to be intense. He
knew most of the afternoon and evening was going to be spent dealing with
traffic accidents and other weather-related rescues.
    “Hey, Chief,” said Cory Jackson, a
tall, powerfully-built African-American officer called out with a laugh. “I
understand you’re going to interrogate the prisoner in solitary. Want me to go
with you? Be your back-up?”
    “Hey, Jackson, I was going to ask you,
but I figured the kid would be too much for you and I’m trying to work on your
self-esteem this month.”
    Cory laughed. “Appreciate it, Chief,”
he said. “But, if the kid overpowers you, just call out. I’ve got your back.”
    “And that scares me more than you’ll
ever know,” he joked.
    He unlocked the door and found Rodney
curled up on the cot sound asleep. The blanket was wrapped around his body and
his head was tunneled under the pillow. The loud snoring coming from his pillow
assured Bradley his prisoner was in fine shape. Bradley lifted a foot and
kicked the bottom of the cot. Rodney woke with a start and rolled out of the
cot.
    “What? What?” he yelled, trying to get
his bearings.
    “Rodney McMullen,” Bradley said. “Are
you ready to answers my questions?”
    Rodney nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, I’ll
tell you whatever you want to know,” he said.
    “Fine, pick up your belongings and
we’ll go upstairs to my office and wait for Mr. Middlebury.”
    “I don’t need Middlebury,” Rodney
insisted. “I can answer the questions on my own. I don’t need a handler.”
    “I’ll need you to sign a release that I
offered to wait for your attorney and you declined,” Bradley replied.
    “No problem,” he said. “I know what I’m
doing. I studied law, you know.”
    They climbed the stairs up to his
office. “So, you’re a lawyer?” Bradley asked.
    “No, I studied law, business,
archeology, accounting, and communications,” Rodney said.
    “What did you want to be?” Bradley
asked.
    “A policeman,” Rodney confessed, “but
my mom thought it would be too dangerous.”
    “Well, she was just looking out for
you,” Bradley said. “Moms do that.”
    “My mom does it especially well,”
Rodney said. “So does Mr. Middlebury.”
    “I’m sure they just want what’s best
for you,” Bradley offered.
    Rodney shrugged. “Why do so many people
who want what’s best for me never ask me first?”
    “Yeah, that can be a problem.”
    Bradley led them into his office and
handed him the release. Once signed, he offered him a seat.
    “So, Rodney, where were you on Saturday
night?”
    “I was home,” he said. “I was watching
television.”
    “Was anyone home with you?”
    Rodney chuckled. “You mean like a girl
or something?”
    “I mean anyone who could corroborate
you were actually where you say you were.”
    “Oh, well, no,” he said. “It was my
usual Saturday night. I watch T.V. and eat pizza.”
    “Do you get delivery pizza?” Bradley
asked.
    “Why are you talking about pizza? I
thought you wanted to talk about me.”
    “The delivery man could verify you were
home,” he said.
    “Oh,” Rodney said, a smile spreading
across his face. “That’s really smart. Yeah, it was delivery. I got it at about
seven o’clock.”
    “Did you see anyone else that night?”
    He thought about it for a minute. “No,
I just watched the Lethal Weapon marathon. It was great.”
    “How did you and your aunt get along?”
    “Well, Auntie Faye never got along with
anyone,” he said. “She thought I was stupid, immature, wimpy and...”
    He searched for a word.
    “Oh, yeah, worthless,” he finished with
a smile. “She’d say that all the time.”
    “That must have made you feel angry.”
    He shook his head. “Nope, because I
would just do what my momma suggested, I’d just remember all of the money she
was going to leave me when she died. So, I