“I told you I need fresh air.”
“You can’t go anywhere until we’re done,” Zelker spoke in a commanding voice.
“I’m not going to talk to you anymore until my attorney arrives.”
“I suggest you call him now, but you can’t leave this room.”
Justina was shocked she was not allowed to leave so she turned and sat down in her chair and thought about who she would call. Her attempts to call Roger and Joyce failed. Since the company contract lawyer was just that, a contract lawyer, she knew he would not be able to help her. Matthew Kingston suddenly came to her mind and she immediately dialed his number.
“Hello.”
“Matthew Kingston?” Justina asked nervously.
“Yes, this is Matthew Kingston, how may I help you?”
“This is Justina Lindsey, and I desperately need you. I’m at the police station. They are questioning me about Reynolds Johnson and his sister.”
Matthew pulled the phone away from his mouth and whispered to Jim and Roger, who sat next to their wives, “Its Justina, she’s been called in for questioning,” he spoke calmly into the phone. “Justina, you need to calm down, they’ll only ask you simple questions, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Justina began crying, “No, that’s not true Matthew. They are accusing me of all sorts of things.”
“How long have you been there? You sound terrified.”
“I’ve been here for about two hours and they won’t let me leave.”
“Don’t answer any more questions until I get there.” Matthew stood from the breakfast table. “I’m on my way.” He ended the call and quickly made his way to the garage, followed by Roger and Jim.
Jim handed Matthew’s briefcase to him as he got into the car. “You do realize this is the door we’ve all been waiting to open up for you.”
Matthew nodded as Roger agreed, “If you play this right, you can become a hero to her, and that’s a good start.”
“I’m going to be that hero,” Matthew said as he got into his car. He winked at his friends before driving away.
“Oh, man I hope he doesn’t hurt her in the process,” Roger frowned worriedly.
Jim smiled at his friend, “Roger, I don’t think you have to worry about it. I think Justina Lindsey will turn out to be his salvation.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think Matthew has fallen for Justina and there’s no way he would hurt her. I think these two are headed on a collision course right into each other’s arms.”
***
Justina was happy to see Matthew walk through the door. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, I didn’t realize they were going to be so aggressive with me. Roger had said it would be routine.”
“That was before Johnson’s sister and kids were found dead,” Matthew stopped talking when he saw tears welling up in Justina’s eyes.
“I hated Reynolds Johnson for taking Elizabeth away from me, but I never once thought of seeking revenge.
“I think we need to discuss this situation further. Are you free this afternoon?”
Justina agreed to meet as a tall, slender, distinguished looking man in an expensive black suit entered.
“I’m Lionel Golden, attorney for the Cabara family. Mr. Kingston, your services are no longer required, I’ve been instructed to take care of Miss Lindsey.”
Matthew looked at Justina for a reply.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t dismiss Mr. Kingston, he’s my attorney.”
Lionel gave Justina a stern look and gruffly replied, “Mr. Cabara wants you to come with me so he can talk to you.” He reached his hand out to touch Justina, but she backed away in protest.
“You tell Nick if he wants to see me, he knows where I live.”
“It is not Nick who requests to see you, it’s his father,” Lionel reached toward Justina again.
Justina became suddenly afraid and gave a pleading look to Matthew.
He stepped between them, “Miss Lindsey has already made it clear she is not interested in dismissing me as her attorney.”
Lionel stared Matthew in the eye, “Mr. Cabara won’t be happy about this.”
“Mr. Cabara will just have to get over it.”
“We need to know what you told the police,” Lionel glared at Justina.
Justina’s body shivered as she thought about Charlie and wondered if this was why Robert Cabara wanted to talk to her and her chest tightened.
She grasped her bag tighter against her body and hoped no one would want her to show them what lay within.
She had decided to keep it close to her in fear that if she left it at the penthouse, Trish might have stumbled upon it, but now she realized, maybe it was too close to her at this moment. “I didn’t say anything to the detectives, so you go back to Robert and tell him to relax.”
“I will relay the message to Mr. Cabara,” Lionel narrowed his eyes at her, and then walked out the door.
After he had gone, Matthew turned to Justina and could see she was even more disturbed than she had been. “Are you all right? You don’t look so well.”
Justina bit her lip nervously as she sipped on a glass of water. “I am just shocked Robert would send his attorney over to question me about my conversation with the police. I can’t believe Nick knows about this.”
Matthew shook his head and sat down next to her. “Justina, are you really fooled by Nick? Don’t be naïve. Nick knows Lionel was sent here.”
Justina knew Matthew was right. She had needed to wake up, but she was not naïve about Nick or his family, not anymore. She looked at Matthew and wondered if she should trust him with her discovery? Deciding it was not the right time, she waited.
“Matthew, what’s next for me? Are they going to question me again?”
“I don’t want you to talk unless I advise you to. Can you do that for me?”
“I will do what you tell me to do, I trust you.”
Justina swore she saw hints of desire flash across his face as he leaned toward her. Her heart raced at the thought of his lips on hers.
Just before their lips touched, Matthew stopped. He whispered to her as the door opened and the two detectives stepped in, “You can trust me, Justina, I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
Matthew stood and introduced himself to the detectives as Justina sat there pondering his last statement.
After reviewing the notes and listening to the recorded interview, Matthew set the papers down, looked sternly at the detectives, and spoke harshly to them. “My client has answered all the questions that need to be answered for today. If you have any further questions for her, you need to contact me first. Do you understand?”
Detective Zelker spoke coolly, “Mr. Kingston, your client hasn’t even given us an alibi for last evening.”
Matthew looked toward Justina, “You can answer.”
“I went downtown to do some volunteer work at the shelter and the orphanage.”
Matthew instructed Justina to jot down the address of the locations, anyone who saw her and the phone numbers. “Is there anything else you need from Ms. Lindsey?” he asked the detectives.
The two detectives shook their heads “no,” and left the room.
Matthew and Justina gathered up their things and left the building. Justina’s head swirled with so many thoughts and she was afraid.
“We need to talk about some legal issues.” He grinned at her and winked as he came up with an idea. “Follow me to my home and I’ll order Chinese on the way.”
Justina looked at Matthew with an eyebrow raised, “Your home? I, ah, don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Matthew threw a crooked smile her way and replied, “Ms. Lindsey, I assure you I can control impulses I might have concerning you, so don’t worry about me, but if you don’t think you can control yourself, we can go to my office.”
Justina shot Matthew a stunned glance, “Oh, you re
ally do have a huge ego problem, don’t you?”
After following Matthew to his home, she followed him inside and found it to be quite lovely and airy. The living area boasted vaulted ceilings. The room was large and its white walls decorated with wooden frames held pictures that Matthew had painted. In the center of the room lay a coffee table setting surrounded by a cream-colored sectional and matching reclining chair. Separated by two swinging doors were the kitchen and dining room, the colors perfectly matched the colors of the living room.
The French doors off the living room boasted views of the skyline of Dallas. To the right lay a long hallway leading to four bedrooms. A staircase was to the left that led to four rooms on the second floor.
Justina became curious about where Matthew Kingston laid his head at night. Her mind instantly traveled to an intimate image of her with him in bed. She felt her face become hot; she blinked to rid the image from her mind. Justina realized he was standing near her with a grin. She nervously bit her lip.
“I sleep upstairs, in the master suite, at the end of the hall. It has a hot tub in there; it’s really very relaxing and cozy.”
Justina shot him a sharp look. “What makes you think that I care where you sleep?”
“Your face deceives you and your mean response verifies your wide-eyed curiosity.”
Justina lost herself in his eyes and she felt her face heating up again. She walked past him to the patio doors. “You have a magnificent view here.”
“Yes, I do.” he cleared his throat huskily.
Justina turned and watched him walk slowly toward her with a heated look.
Just at that moment, the doorbell rang indicating their lunch had arrived. He turned away from her to answer the door.
The Chinese food was tasty and the conversation was light and enjoyable.
After talking for a while, Matthew decided to change the subject to the day’s events.
“I don’t like the particular circumstances for which you called me, but I am glad you called me.”
“I appreciate you coming to me when I needed you.”
“I will help you any time you need me. Now let’s talk about some things that may make you uncomfortable.”
“All right, let’s talk.”
Matthew stood and pulled Justina’s chair out for her. He pointed to the living room. “I need to retrieve something from my home office. I’ll be just a moment, but please, make yourself comfortable in there.”
Justina nodded and walked to the living room and took a seat on the sofa.
Upon returning from his home office, Matthew held a recording device in his hand. He took a seat next to Justina on the sofa.
“Do you mind if I record your statement?”
“I don’t mind.”
Matthew turned the device on and asked his first question, “Had you ever met Reynolds’s sister?”
“No.”
“Did you ever talk to Reynolds after he was put in jail? Did you say anything to him that might be construed as threat?”
“No. You don’t think this is over, do you?”
“I just want to be prepared, that’s all. Do you remember when you first met Reynolds?”
“I met him at Marcus’ bar. I went to the bar with a client and his wife, Carey and Melanie Jefferson from Philadelphia. We were sitting at a table in the corner and Reynolds was our waiter. He took our orders and gave me a flirtatious look. I remember it because Carey teased me about it,” Justina took a sip of her drink. “I laughed and told Carey and Melanie the waiter wasn’t my type at all.”
Justina reclined on the couch as she continued, “Later Carey and Melanie stepped to the dance floor, leaving me alone. Reynolds approached me. He said he was on break and wanted to dance with me. I told him I was not interested in dancing, but I thanked him for asking. After standing there for a moment, he angrily walked away. I was approached by Reynolds twice more. I threatened to report him for harassment and that finally made it clear to him, I was not interested, and he backed off. Shortly after the last approach, we left the club.”
“Interesting, the story you just told me matches what Reynolds told us about that night. Did you testify at the trial?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Was that the last time you saw Reynolds?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Did you notice if his sister was in court?”
“I think she was, but I can’t be sure. I didn’t talk to her.”
“Is that all you can recall concerning your encounter with Reynolds?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
Matthew turned the recording device off. “I think that will be all we will do for now.”
“What do you think will happen next?”
“I don’t think you will be contacted over this matter again unless they think you can provide them information about Nick.”
Justina took a deep breath, “I can’t tell them much about Nick; he’s a very private man.”
“You have known him for a while, I’m sure he’s opened up to you.”
“Nick has never opened up to me about anything, personal or business.”
“Justina, does it bother you that you’ve been dating someone and you don’t know much about him, either in his personal or professional life?”
“All I know about him is that he works with software, and no, it doesn’t really bother me.”
“Something is bothering you, though; I can see it in your lovely face. You look tired.”
“I’m tired of being bothered,” Justina bit her lip nervously.
Matthew raised an eyebrow at her with great interest. “What exactly is bothering you?”
“Are we still having an attorney/client conversation?”
Matthew smirked as he kept his eye on her. “No, I think we stopped being in that mode about five minutes ago.”
Justina unconsciously licked her lips slowly. “I’m so tired of being on the outside looking in and wishing I was a part of something special.”
“Did you think Nick was something special?”
“We are all special in our own way, but I believe a person has to find the exact perfect person for him or her to truly be in the special place meant just for him or her.”
Matthew watched and listened intently, and he had to admit that he had once been a part of that special thing of which Justina spoke.
“What if you’ve been a part of something special once; can you become a part of something special again, or do you only get one good try?”
Justina thought for a moment and realized Matthew was thinking about his deceased wife, Leslie. She smiled at him. “Oh, I think second chances are possible.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in God.”
“I’m not sure what I believe in, but what does my belief have to do with second chances? I believe we create our own chances, our own destinies. Do you believe in God or higher power?”
“Yes, I do.”
Justina looked curiously at him and questioned, “Why do you believe?”
“I’ve been taught to believe my whole life, and there are things that occur in this world that can’t be explained any other way than to say a higher power had something to do with it.”
“Hmm, you’re the religious type.”
Matthew scrunched his lips nervously. “I used to believe in God and even worshiped him, but I lost my faith when my wife died.”
“Do you blame God?”
“Yes, I guess I do, but my mother says I’m wrong.”
“I’m not sure why bad things happen to good people, but they just do; I lost Elizabeth and I loved her very much, but I didn’t blame God, or some other higher power out in the universe. I blame the person who chose to take her life.”
Matthew hoped she was right about having a chance one day to be a part of something special again. He had been going through women like cheap bottles of wine and had yet to find someone special.
He leaned over and impulsively kissed her on her cheek.
“What was that for?” Justina asked, “I wasn’t ready for that.”
“I just wanted to say thank you for being the way you are.”
Justina and Matthew shared a smile, and then suddenly she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I want to thank you for being there when I needed you, Matthew.”
He pulled her back to him and kissed her once more, but on the lips this time and with passion.
Justina did not want to resist and so she gave in to him.
They kissed for a long and pleasurable time.
Matthew suddenly pulled away from her, their eyes burning with desire.
“I have to stop now, or I won’t be able to stop later.”
Justina was disappointed, as well as surprised when she stood and retrieved her purse.
Matthew took a deep breath and stood with her. “Oh baby, please don’t make this any harder for me. I want you, believe me, I want you, but it’s just not the time, not yet.”
She knew he wanted her. He had told her once that they would both know when the time was right for them, so she decided to trust his instinct because lately she doubted her own.
“I do believe you, Matthew, but I think I need to go.”
“I want to spend some time with you, Justina. I want to get to know you better.”
“I think it is a fine idea, Matthew.”
Matthew smiled,“So when can I see you again?”
“I’m not sure. Call me soon and we’ll talk.”
She left him standing alone with his thoughts and a tight grip on his passion, fighting for release.
***
On her way to her penthouse, Justina received a call from Nick. She caught her breath when she saw his name flash across the screen. Was it coincidence that Nick had called her just now or was Matthew correct in his suspicions of Nick? She thought she knew him, but after what she witnessed the night at Isabella’s, she was not sure of anything in regards to Nick. She grasped the phone in her hand and contemplated answering, but then she decided against it. She flung the phone into the passenger seat and ignored the rings. However, when she got to the penthouse garage and parked, she retrieved the message.
“Justina, Nick here. I am just calling to check on you since we’ve not spoken in awhile. I wanted to take you up on the invitation to the private dinner we talked about. I miss you, Justina. Please, when you get this message, give me a call. Bye.”
Justina cursed at the phone, “No, you’re just calling me to find out what I told the police about you.”