Page 95 of The Night Shift

Holly hesitates, then blurts out, “A bar.”

“Which bar?”

A small pause. “I-I can’t remember.”

“And after that?”

“After the bar? I went home. Alone.”

“Do you have anyone who can corroborate this story?”

Holly’s jaw clenches. “I live alone, so no.”

They aren’t buying it. Grant leans in to mutter something to his partner. Their hushed conversation is too quiet for me to catch, but I see a flicker of doubt cross the other guy’s face. Grant straightens up and turns back to Holly, his expression grim. “Miss Moore, I’m afraid you’ll have to come down to the station with us. We need to ask you a few more questions about Josh Duvall.”

Oh, this isn't good.

The color from Holly’s face drains. She opens her mouth, about to say something, but I beat her to it. “She was with me.”

Pin-drop silence.

Holly whips her head in my direction, her eyes wide with confusion. The detectives mirror her surprise.

“And you are?” Detective Grants asks.

“Theo Carter.” I force my most charming smile. “Holly and I work together.”

His gaze flicks between us two. “So, you’re saying Miss Moore was with you two nights ago?”

“DoctorMoore. And yes, she was. We uh…we didn't want to bring it up like this, but...” I steal a glance at Holly, faking some regret, trying to signal her to play along, and she keeps staring at me like she wants to kick me in the chest. “I think it's time we told them the truth, love.”

Holly’s entire body goes rigid.

Somewhere, deep in the dark forest of my mind, a warning bell starts to ring. I should probably shut up. A lie to cover up another lie doesn’t seem like a very good idea, especially when there’s a murder involved, but is it technically a lie? Just because Holly and I aren’t together at this very moment, doesn’t mean we won’t be eventually. Holly and I are inevitable. Like death.

It’s not lying. It’s just borrowing a truth from the future. And how would anyone here even know the difference?

I turn back to the detective. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while. Holly didn’t…wedidn’t want anyone else to know. You know how it is with workplace romances. Tons of paperwork, HR meetings.”

The entire ER grinds to a halt. Everyone is now staring at me with gaping jaws.

Grant turns to Holly. “Is this true?”

She takes a deep breath and tugs at her lab coat. She clears her throat, clearly at a loss for words. When she finally does speak, the words come out in a rush, “Yes…yes, it is.” She plasters on a fake smile and a nod, but I can tell that she’s fuming underneath. “I was with Theo.” She shoots me a subtle sideways glance that screams my demise for later.

“Was that before or after the bar?” the detective presses.

“Both,” I jump in. “We left work together, got a few drinks, and went back to my place.” I look at Holly. “You can probably figure out the rest.”

Her face grows red with embarrassment. I almost expect her to open her mouth so that she can tell me to fuck off and die, but instead she just clenches her jaw and curls her fists at her side, the veins in her neck throbbing like a bassline.

“You could always ask the bartender who was working that night to confirm our story,” I say to both detectives, hoping to put an end to their suspicions.

They study our faces carefully, eyes narrowed, hoping to find a crack in our façade.

Grant mutters something to his partner, who in turn raises an eyebrow at me, clearly amused by some inner joke between the two of them. Morons. Grant steps back. “That won’t be needed, Dr. Carter.”

Brilliant.