Read The Lies That Bind for Free Online

gently, “Let’s go wash your hands.”
    Just then, the tall, good-looking Hispanic officer whose badge read “Ortiz” zeroed in on me. “You found the victim.”
    “Yes, I did,” I said. Soldier up, Wainwright, I thought, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “She was passed out in the hall. I stumbled over her on my way to Layla Fontaine’s office and called the police.”
    “Who’s Layla Fontaine?”
    “She runs this place,” I said. “Her office is at the end of the hall. I think she must’ve gone home already.”
    “What do you do here?” he asked, taking notes.
    “I’m just one of the instructors.” I waved my hand toward Naomi. “This is Naomi Fontaine. She’s the facilities coordinator for the center.”
    “But—but I didn’t do anything,” Naomi declared, her wide-eyed gaze whipping back and forth between Officer Ortiz and me. “I opened my office door and Minka was lying there, and Brooklyn was kneeling over her.”
    I shot her a look. “They already know that.”
    “It’s okay, ma’am,” Ortiz said calmly.
    No, it wasn’t. Was Naomi deliberately trying to throw me under the bus? Whatever happened to me being the big hero, saving Minka’s life? You couldn’t trust anyone anymore.
    “Where’s Layla?” Tom asked, looking around.
    “She went home,” Cynthia said through clenched teeth. “Brooklyn just said that. Try to keep up.”
    Someone was even crankier than I was.
    The cop tending to Minka called from the hallway, “Can somebody turn on the hall light?”
    “It’s not working,” Naomi explained to Ortiz.
    He walked a few feet into the hall, stretched his arm up, and tested one of the exposed bulbs by twisting it. The hall filled with light.
    “Now that’s weird,” Gina said, her eyes big and round.
    Cynthia frowned in agreement.
    Another blast of a siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. Two EMTs rushed through the gallery carrying their packs filled with equipment. I managed to corral the onlookers away from the hall to give the techs enough space to pass through.
    Whitney walked over and joined us. “What’s going on? I thought I heard a siren. Are we on a break?”
    Gina grabbed her arm. “Girl, where were you?”
    “I was on the phone,” Whitney said defensively, then lowered her voice to add, “That skinny guy let me use one of those storage rooms down the hall so I’d have some privacy.”
    Was she talking about Ned? I looked around the gallery, but he was nowhere in sight.
    “Somebody was attacked while you were gone,” Gina whispered excitedly.
    “We don’t know that,” I said quickly.
    Officer Ortiz signaled me over. “We’ll need to get everyone in one place and start some interviews.”
    “You can use my classroom,” I said, then turned to Gina and Whitney. “Can you help me lead everyone back to the classroom?”
    “You bet,” Gina said. She gathered my people while Naomi assembled Minka’s students and led them back into their classroom. Within five minutes, the area was cleared.
    “You should go wash your hands,” Alice murmured.
    I scowled as I held out my hands. “I completely forgot.”
    “Do you want me to go with you?”
    I smiled in gratitude. “No, thanks. I’ll be okay.”
    In the small bathroom, I let hot water run over my hands. My stomach took another dip as the water turned pale red from Minka’s blood. I wasn’t sure what made me feel worse, the blood itself or the fact that it was Minka’s.
    And wasn’t that a horribly uncharitable thought? Nevertheless, I used lots of soap and plenty of paper towels to clean and dry my hands completely, then tossed everything in the trash can.
    And no, I didn’t consider that destroying evidence. I hadn’t done anything to Minka but save her life, sort of.
    Back in the classroom, Officer Ortiz was trying to keep order.
    “If anyone saw or heard anything,” he said, “I want to talk to you first.”
    Everyone began speaking at once.
    “Stop,” he barked.