“I didn’t.” She lifted a tear-stained face. “No one believes me,” she whispered. “I didn’t kill the man. I didn’t even know him.”
“All you need to do is tell the truth, tell the authorities everything you know.”
“I tried, but they won’t listen.” Hailey’s eyes darted around the room. “Where’s Greg?”
Morgan moved closer. “Greg thought Grady was hurting you. He pushed Grady and ended up getting arrested.”
The color drained from Hailey’s face. “Greg’s going to jail?”
“Unfortunately. He was very upset,” Morgan said.
“Th-this is all my fault.” The woman burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Morgan and Grace offered words of comfort, but the more they tried to reassure her, the harder she cried.
“I suppose we could all use a good cry once in a while.” Grace ran to grab a box of tissues. By the time she returned, Hailey’stears had subsided. She became quiet and withdrawn. “I called your Aunt Jennie. She’s on her way here. I think you should take the day off.”
“Are you…are you going to fire me?”
“No, but I do feel that because of you the situation escalated.” Grace extended her hand, giving Hailey a hand up. Falling into lockstep, they led the distraught woman back inside the house.
Thankfully, Hailey’s aunt arrived a short time later. Taking turns, Morgan and Grace briefly explained what had transpired.
“I’ll take Hailey home and call you later.”
Grace accompanied them to their vehicle and returned to the kitchen. “What a mess.”
“What a mess is right.” Morgan glanced at the clock. “I had better get over to the Easton Harbor Police Department to see what I can do to bail Greg out of jail.”
Chapter 19
Morgan stepped into the Easton Harbor Police Department and approached the counter. “Good morning. Is Grady MacDonald here?”
“I believe so.” The clerk made a quick phone call. “Hey, MacDonald. Got a visitor.” He held the receiver away from his mouth. “He’s in the back. I gotta give him a name.”
“Morgan. Morgan Easton.”
A flicker of surprise flitted across the man’s face. He repeated her name, nodded and replaced the receiver. “He’ll be up shortly.”
While Morgan waited, she wandered to the window, wondering what she could say to plead Greg’s case. Yes, he had acted irrationally. No, he should not have shoved Grady or got in his face. Quite frankly, she placed more of the blame on Hailey, who had caused the scene with her dramatic theatrics.
“Hey, Morgan.”
She spun around and found Grady standing a few feet away. “Hey, Grady. I…uh…I’m sorry about what happened.”
“You’re here because of Greg.”
She nodded. “He overreacted. I’m not here to make excuses for him. Clearly, Greg let his emotions get the better of him. He thought you had hurt Hailey.”
“I know, which is why I let him go…after he cooled down.”
Morgan’s jaw dropped. “You did?”
“We had a long chat in my patrol car. He apologized. I accepted. He assured me it would never happen again, so I gave him a ride back to his apartment.”
Morgan briefly closed her eyes. “Thank you, Grady. I’m so sorry. I have an inkling about what’s going on with Hailey, and I understand you’re doing your job. Please know that what happened between you and Greg is completely out of character for him.” She knew she was rambling, but was so relieved to find out he’d let Greg go, she felt the need to explain his irrational behavior.
Finally, Grady stopped her. “It’s okay. Greg is a good guy. Hailey, on the other hand? She has some explaining to do.”
“Do you think…I mean, Grace is your girlfriend. Is she safe with Hailey around?”
