Strapped Down Read Online Free PDF Page A

shows Mr.Holden entering and exiting the building according to your timeline.” It takes me a second to realize he is referring to Eric and not Taylor; just that moment of confusion makes my heart speed up. Lying this big has put me so on edge, it makes me nervous about the truth. Acosta closes his notepad, shoves it inside his jacket pocket, picks up the recorder and rises from his stool. “Alright Miss Ball, we have an APB out on Eric Holden. As soon as I have any updates, I will let you know. Here is my card . If you remember anything, any new details, please call me. Forensics is still at your house trying to collect evidence so it would be best if you stayed with someone who you are comfortable with. Do you need to reach family?”
    No, no way can anyone know about this but Taylor and me. “I’ll go home with Taylor. Thank you.”
    “I understand this might be difficult, but I may have to come to you with more questions. You have been very helpful, but often it helps to come in when you are more refreshed and go over your account again.”
    I very much do not look forward to recounting the story again, but this is what I signed up for, so I take the card, nod and thank him.
    Detective Acosta turns to leave and I say the first sincere thing to him since he has walked into the room.
    “Detective?”
    “Yes.”
    “Please get him.”
    He reveals a faint, sympathetic grin with the faintest of sighs. “I’ll do my best , Miss Ball.”
    When I step out, I see Taylor sitting in the waiting area, his head in his hands. I hadn’t noticed before that he was still in his pajamas: sandy sweatpants and gray hoodie he seems to have thrown over his bare upper body. It’s so unlike him to not be dressed to the nines out in public. Hunched over like that, he looks so shrunken, nothing like the tall statuesque man I am so used to admiring. He senses me watching and looks up with a smile, but his eyes look so heavy.
    “How’d it go?”
    “It was okay. They were all very nice. I am so tired though. I just want to go home.”
    “Me too. I hate hospitals, so many damn people and bad memories.” Now I realize the heaviness in his eyes is not from lying to the police or the looming threat of his brother. I often forget about his anxiety, but it is the one thing that truly weighs on him.
    “Bad memories?”
    “I just hated it as a kid.” He’s holding something back as usual, but all my mental energy has been used with Detective Acosta.
    In a rare glimmer of fortune, it’s Saturday and neither one of us have work obligations. When we get back to the house we lie in bed for awhile due to a brief second wind that keeps us from sleeping.
    So what did you think about Detective Acosta?” I ask Taylor.
    “I think he’s shrewd. Sorry, I wasn’t on my A-game…fucking hospitals. God, I wish I didn’t hate that so much. I just hope he didn’t misinterpret my anxiety as something related to the case.”
    “Hey, as a concerned boyfriend, you have every right to be shook up. I think they would understand that.”
    “I know, I just got a vibe from him…He gave me his card, he said he might have more questions. I’ll invite him to my home office if he wants to talk more. My territory.”
    “I hope we did the right thing.” I don’t want to make him think I am not all in, but ever since I spoke to Acosta, I have had a knot in my stomach. Taylor’s right, I’m not like him. Despite feeling that my actions are justified, it still feels so wrong to frame Eric like this.
    “We are giving the law a way to right these wrongs for you. He thinks he has the upper hand, but not any longer. Remember, you wanted to do this.”
    “I know,” I remind him. “You’re right. I’ll be strong. I promise. But, what if this becomes messy? He knows things about us.”
    “I’m not concerned about that. His credibility is nil. I have ways of keeping my past in the past. If anyone spoke a word, they would be so tied up in litigation and legal