Love of a Lifetime by Emma Delaney

way to get her out of here would be to pick her up and physically remove her.”  Then muttered to himself .  “And I value my nuts too much to try.”
    The detective chuckled and Atayla just looked smug.
    “So what brings you here today, Detective?  Hopefully you have some good news for me.”  Bill stated as he walked around desk to take a seat.
    Detective Larkin followed suit and sat in one of the chairs reserved for clients.
    “I do.  I stopped by your house and spoke to Carla already.  She asked me to come by here on my way back to the precinct and speak to you.”
    Bill’s posture stiffened as he wondered why she hadn’t called, but he nodded his head for the detective to continue.
    “The man who was driving the truck is Larry Gaby.  He’s local and has a record, mainly petty theft and domestic violence.  We picked him up this morning after getting a hit on his fingerprints from the truck’s steering wheel.  After some extensive questioning he made a full confession.  He claimed he was hired by Patricia Wilson.  She paid him to cause the accident, but only gave him the description of your vehicle.  Her instructions did not dictate the circumstances of the accident, only that the occupant didn’t survive.”
    Bill growled menacingly.
    “Luckily the guy wasn’t a professional and your wife walked away relatively unscathed.  What we need to know now is what Patricia’s motives were.  Your wife was very helpful, but she believed you could provide more insight than she was able to.”
    Detective Larkin listened as Bill told him all the details of the situation as he knew them.  It became obvious that Patricia had set out to discredit Bill and when that didn’t work, eliminate him.  He was the biggest threat to her career. 
    She wanted the position of District Attorney, but didn’t have any big wins under her belt.  State vs. Weinstein would be that career changing win.  Bill, however, was damn good at what he did and she knew it.  Patricia knew the odds of defeating Bill were slim so she set out with this alternative plan. 
    “Thanks for all your help.”  Bill shook the detective’s hand.  “Keep me updated on the situation.”
    “I’m heading back to the precinct to question her now.  She lawyered up as soon as we read her the Miranda warning.”  He snickered.  “Care to represent her?”
    The smile he gave the detective was purely predatory.  “I would love to be her attorney.  Life without the possibility of parole sounds like a hell of a deal to me.”
    They shook hands and Bill walked him out of the office and to the front door.  After a final goodbye, Bill walked back in and slumped in a chair at the reception desk.  Both Atayla and Ashley regarded him carefully, not knowing how he was going to react to this new information.
    Finally he looked up at them.  His sorrow glistening his eyes.
    “This is all my fault.”
    “How do you figure?”  Ashley cocked her head in question.
    “Carla would never have been hurt if it wasn’t for me.”
    “Bullshit!”  Atayla admonished.  “The only person to blame for this mess is Patricia.  The woman is obviously insane!  She hired someone to kill you!  It’s not your fault, Carla just happened to be the one driving at the time he decided to make good on his part of the bargain.”
    “She didn’t call me.”  He whispered
    “Who?”   Ashley inquired.
    “Carla.”
    Atayla growled out an impatient sound.  “What are you talking about?”
    “After Detective Larkin spoke to her.  She didn’t call me, didn’t want to talk to me.  Obviously she blames me as well.”
    “Lord, spare me from dense men!”  Atayla looked up at the ceiling and prayed.  Blowing out a breath of frustration, she implored Bill to listen to reason.  “I’m sure the only reason she didn’t call was because she knew how you would react.  By the time Detective Larkin got here you would have had yourself in such a tizzy that you