Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“So, you’re here to talk about Long?”
Russell and I both responded with a “Yes.”
“Well, he’s a great firefighter. A great person. I hate that this is happening to him.”
Taking out a notebook, I went to ask a question, but Russell beat me to it.
“Captain Riggs, was there anything different you noticed about Mr. Long before the alleged incident?”
He pinched his brows together. “No, everything seemed to be normal. He was getting ready to ask his girlfriend, Rochelle, to marry him, and we all knew he was nervous about that.”
I wrote that bit of information down and Russell didn’t.
Russell then asked, “Has anyone ever come to you with any such allegations before regarding Mr. Long? A female firefighter, perhaps?”
“No. Never.”
With a curt laugh, Russell said, “Is that a truthful answer?”
My head turned quickly as I gave Russell a dumbfounded look.
“What do you mean is that a truthful answer?” Riggs asked.
“I know you all consider yourself like family around here, so I’m sure if anything like this was brought to your attention in the past, you’d share that with us so that we aren’t caught off guard at the trial. Am I correct?”
Riggs looked at me and then back to Russell. Leaning forward, he pointed to him. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“No,” I responded. “Russell, may I speak with you in private please?”
He didn’t even bother looking at me. “It’s okay, Rory. I’m sorry, Captain Riggs. But you have to know my number-one interest is the client and the Boston Fire Department. This allegation was made while Mr. Long was on duty and here at your fire station. I need to know if there has ever been anything that this woman’s lawyer is going to dig up and hit us with at the last minute.”
Riggs leaned back in his chair and studied Russell. “To my knowledge, there has never been any other such allegation brought forth concerning Robert Long.”
“May I question some of the other firefighters?” Russell asked.
“I have no problem with that.”
“Thank you so much for your time, Captain Riggs.” Russell stood and reached his hand out. Captain Riggs took it and turned to me.
“Rory, you might have a better shot of getting the guys to open to you, since you’re a part of the…family,” he said, glaring back at Russell.
A smile danced on my lips while I nodded my head and shook the captain’s hand. “Thank you, Captain Riggs, for your time.”
We’d turned to leave the captain’s office when he said, “Robert Long is probably one of the most caring guys I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with. There isn’t a person around he wouldn’t give the shirt off his back for. We’re counting on you to get him out of this.”
I swallowed hard. What if we can’t do it? What if we lose? An innocent man could be sentenced to jail.
“We’re going to do our very best, sir,” Russell responded.
The captain walked us to a private office after introducing us to the firefighters. The moment he mentioned who my father was, all eyes were pinned on me.
We spent the next hour and a half asking the firefighters who worked on Robert Long’s shift questions. The more we asked, the more one thing stood out to me.
When a call about an accident came over, everyone quickly dispersed.
“Well, I guess we’re done here,” Russell said with a sigh.
As I glanced down at my notes, one word caught my eye—fiancée. I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
As we approached Russell’s BMW, he stopped and turned to me. “Well, that didn’t really get us anywhere.”
“What about his fiancée?”
Holding the car door open for me, he pulled his head back and asked, “What about her?”
“I think we should talk to her. Maybe there was something she noticed, or she knew.”
Russell nodded. “She’s on my list. I want to talk to his parents, then her.”
Looking over Russell’s shoulder, I saw Finn.
Russell snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Rory?”
“Finn, what are you doing here?” I asked as I made my way over to him. His eyes were fixed on mine, and when he smiled, he stole my breath. He looked past me and saw Russell.
“I think the better question would be what are you doing here?” Finn asked Russell.
I glanced over my shoulder to Russell, then quickly turned back to Finn. “Mr. McCormick and I are working on Robert Long’s case.”
Finn’s eyes moved from Russell back to me, and I thought I saw a look of relief move across his face. “We were talking to some of his coworkers. Do you know Long?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ve met him a few times. Really nice guy.”
“That’s what everyone says,” I responded.
Finn took me by the elbow and walked me back toward the firehouse. “So if you have time to go out to eat with your…coworker…you surely have time to go out to dinner with me.”