I Fell From His Helicopter Over The Ocean While My Parachute Was Already Strapped On...

The conference room at Keller's office smelled like lemon cleaner and old paper. I sat with my hands flat on the table and the bag on the floor between my feet.

Keller didn't look the way I'd pictured. No expensive suit. He wore a gray polo and khakis, like he'd come from a golf course. He slid a bottle of water toward me and didn't open one for himself.

"Amelia, thank you for coming," he said. "Richard is very concerned. The fall was traumatic. We want to make sure your medical costs are covered and this doesn't become something it isn't."

Deputy Marris waited in the parking lot with the engine running. Cho had walked me to the lobby and said, "If you want out, you say you need air. We come in."

I kept the recorder in my palm under the table. The wire Cho had taped to my waist itched.

"I brought what you asked for," I said. I set the clear sleeve on the table. Inside it were photocopies, not the originals. Heller had told me to do that.

Keller glanced at the pages and pushed them back gently.

"We don't need to dwell on drafts," he said. "That amendment was never executed. It was a thought exercise Richard's previous counsel drafted. It's moot."

"It has my name on it," I said. "And a notary stamp."

"Which you didn't sign," he said, and his voice stayed even. "So there's no harm. Let's talk about what Richard actually wants. He wants to support you and the baby. He wants privacy."

I felt the weight of the bag at my feet. Inside was the harness, still damp, sealed in a plastic evidence bag Marris had given me, and the original recorder. I hadn't handed it over.

"You said you could resolve the share confusion without police," I said.

"We can. Richard is prepared to sign a statement that any prior draft is void and that you retain your full interest. In exchange, you return any recordings made without consent and agree this was a recreational accident. No police report beyond the medical incident."

That was the trade. My proof for his promise.

I unscrewed the water bottle and took a sip. My hands didn't shake. That surprised me.

"Can I think about it overnight?" I asked.

Keller smiled for the first time. "Of course. But medical privacy cuts both ways, Amelia. Once this goes to detectives, hospital records become part of a file. Your prenatal history, prior visits. Do you want that in a file?"

I stood. The chair scraped loud.

"I need air," I said, clear and even, the way Cho told me to say it.

Keller's smile thinned. "Amelia—"

The door opened before he could finish. Marris stepped in, not rushed, and Cho right behind her. Marris looked at the table, at the photocopies, at the water.

"We're done here," Marris said.

In the hallway, Cho put a hand lightly on my elbow. "You good?"

I nodded. My breathing was steady.

Outside, in the parking lot, Marris popped the trunk of her cruiser. Heller was there from legal aid, leaning against her car with a file folder.

"You didn't give him the originals," Heller said. It wasn't a question.

"No," I said. "Copies only. Like you said."

"Good," Heller said. "Because he just admitted on tape that the draft exists and that your signature was never obtained. That's conspiracy to file a false instrument, even if he calls it a draft."

Marris lifted the bag from my hands. "We're logging the harness and the original recorder into evidence tonight. You'll keep a certified copy of the audio on your phone and a second copy with Heller. No more single point of failure."

I watched her seal the bag and sign the tag. For nine days since I'd bought that harness, I'd kept the receipt folded in my sock drawer, waiting. Now it was out of my apartment for good.

Cho walked me to my car. "You need a place that isn't the house tonight," she said. "Do you have someone Richard doesn't know well? Someone who won't answer to him?"

I thought of Mara from the clinic, the ultrasound tech who'd held my hand when Richard had stepped out to take a call. She lived over in Fairview, twenty minutes inland, and she'd written her cell on the back of my appointment card.

"Mara," I said. "She said if I ever needed anything."

"Call her," Cho said. "We'll do a safety check on the house tomorrow with you, not for you."

I called. Mara answered on the second ring.

"Amelia? Are you okay?"

"I need a couch tonight," I said. "Just tonight."