I give her a look, but she just shrugs. “I didn’t have anything that would work. I’m wearing the only old clothes I keep there.”
Fair enough. We both walk back to the living room and start pushing furniture into the center of the room before covering it with a couple of old bed sheets I found in the hallway closet.
I turn when I hear a cough and find a serious-looking Olivia holding out my cell phone for me. “You and I need to talk later,” she tells me.
I take the phone with a grimace, knowing how that’s going to go. But I nod reluctantly as I slide it into my back pocket. If she’s going to be my lawyer, then any communication between us is protected by client-attorney privilege. She can’t say anything to anyone without my permission, which includes her husband.
Just in case, though, I walk over to where I dumped my bag, take out my wallet, and pull out five dollars before handing it to her.
She frowns as she takes it. “You want me to grab something?”
I wave between us and shake my head, about to grab my phone again, when she laughs. “This is my retainer, right? And now that I’m officially your attorney, our conversations are privileged.”
I nod; glad she gets it.
“Smart girl.”
I shrug. I have my moments.
“Alright, what are we doing here? I don’t have to pick up Mia for a few hours yet, so put me to work.”
I could tell her she doesn’t need to do that, but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“We’re painting the walls,” Katy answers for me.
“Are we sanding them first?”
I shake my head. Unless I find something really obvious, then no. I’m just freshening the place up.
“Sounds easy enough.” She strips off her sweatshirt and slips it under the sheets in the middle of the room, leaving her in a pair of black leggings and a matching tank top.
Olivia takes point, pouring paint into the roller tray and handing out rollers and brushes before she starts taping areas of the wall. Katy and I look at each other and grin. It turns out Olivia is a take-charge kind of woman, which is fine by me. I’ll be the first to admit this whole thing has been far more overwhelming than I anticipated.
Katy and I follow her instructions and start painting, stopping halfway through for a paint fight. Olivia rolls her eyes at us, clearly the only grown-up in the room, but she chuckles at the state we’re in. I can’t find it in me to care. There is something so carefree about messing around with Katy that it’s good to let loose with her.
When there’s a knock at the door, I drop my brush on the paint tray and wipe the paint I can feel on my face with the back of my hand. Judging from Olivia’s snort, I’ve just made it worse. When I reach the door, I open it still smiling, but that quickly drops from my face when I find a half dozen cops on my doorstep.
Before I can blink, I find myself pushed up against the door, the door knocker scratching my cheek as I feel hands grab my wrists. I can’t help the scream that slips out when their tight grip tears at my already damaged wrists.
“Sorrow Wells, you’re under arrest for drug possession with the intent to supply.”
I close my eyes in defeat. Even though I suspected something like this was going to happen, I’d hoped to be wrong.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Olivia shouts as she comes storming to the door.
“Mrs. Hawkins, this has nothing to do with you.”
“Like fuck it doesn’t. Katy, call my husband and then your brother and tell them to get here now.” She tosses her cell phone to a scared-looking Katy. I whimper in pain, making Olivia’s eyes narrow.
“If you don’t let go of my client after the damage she has already sustained at your police department’s hands, I’ll be filing a second complaint to go along with the first one I’m filing. I’ll take it to every media outlet that will listen to me and show them exactly what’s happening in Tempest right now.”
Everyone behind me quiets down a little. Cuffs are snapped around my wrists, and though they hurt, it’s a relief when the guy lets go of me.
“Stay right here while we search the premises,” the cop who cuffs me snaps.
“I assume you have a warrant, Detective Smith?”
With a huff, he practically tosses a paper at her. She glances over it and frowns. “This warrant is dated for yesterday morning at 7:58 am.”
