“So that’s it?” Donovan watched as the news station on the
hospital television wrapped up its report on the “Football Murders.” The
detective shook his head. “Obsessive
lover kills rival and witness, and I come off looking like a hero.” He ran his hand through his hair. “No mention of Emma?”
A dark suited figure appeared in
the doorway and cleared her throat. “We
prefer you just forget any involvement by Miss Couteau in these events…”
Startled, he said, “Excuse me?”
“Oh, I’m sorry detective. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Addie Finch, and I work for the
law firm of Mulligan, Pakula, and Lee. I
serve as the attorney for the Couteau family, and I act as Emma’s conservator
as well.” She pulled a business card from
a pocket and handed it to him. “The Drs.
Couteau travel to many parts of the world, and sometimes, their work takes them
to somewhat dangerous areas. There are
people out there who disagree with their mission and have threatened the
doctors and their family, so they prefer to keep a low profile.”
“I get that. But-” he objected.
“It’s okay, Donovan.” Emma’s soft voice floated from the bed. “I won’t forget that you saved my life.”
He turned to the patient in the
bed. “My vest saved me; you were the one
that took that girl out.”
“Well, when you crashed into the
room, that gave me some time…” she countered.
“I was just doing -” he started.
Emma cut him off, “You were just
doing your cop thing. I know.”
The detective shook his head, “I
was going to say, I was just doing what any friend would do for another.”
Finch watched the interaction
between the two and smiled. “Can we
count on your silence then?”
Donovan glanced at Emma, who
raised an eyebrow. He took a deep
breath. “Yeah, sure.”
The attorney smiled and shook
his hand. “Thank you so much.” She gave Emma a look and said, “I’ll let the
people back in the office know how you’re doing. All the protocols are in place and they’re
running smoothly. I’ll be in touch with
you later.” As she turned to leave,
Finch spoke to Donovan once more, “Thank you again, officer, for taking care of
Emma. She’s very special to us.” With that, she nodded goodbye to Emma and
walked out of the room.
The detective stared at the door
for a moment and furrowed his brow. He
turned to Emma and asked, “Is she…”
Emma returned his gaze, blinked
several times, and said, “She’s my attorney, Donovan. That’s all you need to know.”
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