The Bars Between Us

14. Lies

"You're not in trouble are you?" he asks.

"No!" I object quickly. "The help I need is a favor."

"Um, okay, how can I help?" he offers. I smile, thankful for his help.

"I kind of need to see a case file," I mutter quickly. He goes silent, and I can hear him walking. When his footsteps stop, he starts to talk again, but quieter and frantic.

"Why the hell do you need a case file?"

"So, I can't have it?"

"That's not what I'm saying. The public are allowed to request files, under the Freedom of Information Act, which you can inspect or copy. I'm just wondering why you need it."

I bite my lip before I go into the explanation about how I'm trying to prove someone's innocence. He sighs.

"Alright, but I won't be able to send it to you. You'll have to come down." Whose case is it?"

"Nixon Hawk's. Have you heard of it?"

"Heard of it? It was huge! All the evidence was stacked up against him!" he states loudly. I press my lips together.

"I'm trying to prove it wasn't. He's never really admitted it," I point out.

Scott's response is broken up by a beep from the speaker in my phone letting me know that I am getting another incoming call. I bring the phone down from my ear and look at the display to see Piper calling me.

"Hey, Scott, I'll be down in the next couple of days so I'll speak to you then. I have another call," I say, telling myself that I will worry about telling Roman later. In return, he tells me where to find him, before he hangs up. I click answer on Piper's call, and return the phone to my ear. Before I can say 'hello' she stops me by apologizing.

"I'm sorry, I know I was meant to call you the day after we had drinks, but my boss has been on my ass since then. I've not had a free minute."

I chuckle. "Don't worry about it."

"So, how have you been? Did anything else happen with that man at the bar?" she inquires in a cheeky tone.

"Piper, you know I'm married. And no, he just offered to take me home, which he did. Nothing else happened. I haven't even talked to him since."

"That's a shame. He was hot."

I shake my head at her as I look at the photo on the desk of us all. We all look happy to be around each other, but both Piper and Roman have always been frosty to each other. I make a non-committal sound.

"So, what are you up to this week?" she asks.

"I'm going to go down to New York City soon for a day trip. It's work related," I quickly add at the end when I realize that Piper would want to come down with me.

That's if her boss would have let her have the days off. I love her, but I don't really want her to know what I'm doing for whom. She would get the wrong idea... Or would it be the right one?

"What has Roman got you doing down in New York?"

"Um... I'm going to pick something up."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah," I answer without thinking.

"Well, I'll come with you for the ride; we can go shopping once you've picked it up," She offers.

"I—Uh—Are you sure?" I ask.

"Oh, hang on, Mr. Wooden-stick-stuck-up-my-ass probably won't allow me to leave for the day. Sorry," she grumbles. I let out a sigh of relief, hoping she doesn't hear it.