The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(88)

Charlie rubbed her forehead. “I have to get to work.”

I didn’t let go of her arm. “Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know what to believe.”





*



This morning was going to shit. I walked into the house after practice as my phone rang. It was Krista.

“Turn on your TV.”

“What?”

“Turn on your fucking TV, Channel 44.”

I turned on the TV. I could hear the echo of the same channel on Krista’s side.

A reporter was standing outside Sabrina’s apartment. “It’s come to light that Sabrina might have been in a romantic relationship with NHL star Mica Petrov. A source has reported that there were some highly suggestive texts exchanged between her and the player, who, incidentally, was married late last fall. Texts included phrases like, ‘You told me you were going to tell your wife about us’ and ‘Tell your wife about me, or I will tell her. That was our deal.’ We’ve reached out to his agent, who said that he wasn’t part of Sabrina’s life, but we recently received photos that indicate otherwise.”

On the screen flashed two photos. The first was of Sabrina standing and talking to me at the Valentine’s Day gala. She was staring up at my face with an anguished expression, and I was looking at her like I wanted to kill her. The second photo was worse. It was taken at the antique clock. Sabrina had a scared expression on her face and I was glaring down at her with my hand around her wrist.

That photo had been taken right after she had slapped my face. But it looked bad. It looked really bad.

“Someone’s setting me up, Krista.”

“I believe you.”

“How’s Charlie?”

“How the fuck do you think she is?”

I started to walk towards the door. “I’m coming down to your office.”

I swung the door open. There stood Detective Wallace and three officers.

Fuck. My. Life.

“Mica Petrov, you’re under arrest for the disappearance of Sabrina Christensen. You have the right to remain silent.” He continued to read me my rights.

“Krista?” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

Krista breathed in my ear, “I’m calling my lawyer.”

Before I could respond, someone ripped the phone out of my hand and deposited it into an evidence bag.





*



They hauled me down to the police station and shoved me into an interview room that was windowless except for the two-way mirror.

Detective Wallace came in and tossed a file on the table. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

I crossed my arms and shrugged. “Nothing.”

He pulled out a few photos. I leaned forward, glanced at them. They looked like photos of a journal, with feminine handwriting.

“You know what that is?”

“Never seen it before.”

“This is the personal journal of Sabrina. You know what she wrote about?”

I shrugged. “Do I care?”

“You. She wrote about you. Pages and pages of how you met, how you started cheating on your wife with her. Her guilt over that. The cities she followed you to for your away games, including tickets you bought for her. And how you made her promise to keep it all a secret.”

My heart started to pound. What the fuck was Sabrina up to? “That is a load of shit.”

He stabbed the file with his finger. “She details how violent you became with her when she begged you to end it with your wife. And when you said no, and she tried to leave you, you hurt her. You slapped her face and told her she would never be free of you.”

If this wasn’t so serious, the whole thing would be laughable. “Are you done reading your fairy tales?”

He picked up a photo and started to read. “Mica just called. He’s outside. He said he just wants to talk, but I am afraid.”

I shook my head.

“She wrote that the night of her disappearance.”

I was in way over my head. “I want to talk to my lawyer.”





Chapter 29





CHARLIE





The dogs needed a walk. Sasha was about to lose his mind and desperately needed exercise. I didn’t feel like moving, but that wasn’t fair to the dogs—they had been cooped up all day. Zoey pulled into the driveway just as we got outside. She got out of the car and pulled me into a hug.

“Are you okay?”

I started to cry again. I had been crying all day. “No.”

“What’s going on?”

I looked around, feeling bewildered. “They won’t let us talk to Mica. They won’t let me see him.”

Zoey took Sasha’s leash. “Let me walk with you. You can tell me all about it.”

We started to walk, and I explained everything that I knew. Which wasn’t much. Mica was questioned this morning about Sabrina and then later on in the morning, when they got a hold of those photos, they arrested him. That was all I knew. Krista’s lawyers were involved, but so far, we had no word.

Zoey scowled. “That chick has been trouble from day one.”

My voice hesitated. “He had texts between them. Incriminating texts. She also approached me at the kids’ charity event and told me that Mica had never stopped seeing her.”