I was just about to head inside the hospital when I was stopped out front by two uniformed officers. The younger of the two men was obviously a rookie because he seemed nervous in his skin. The older gentlemen had a serious look on his face. “Mr. Mont,” he said in a kind voice to grab my attention, “a word?”

“Can we do this later?” I say and continue my walk towards the building, “I already gave you all my statement. I’m visiting with my brother right now.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but you’re going to have to come with us.” The officer says and suddenly makes a grab at my wrist.

“Excuse me?” I yank my hand back. “You want to tell me what this is all about first?” I could punch this guy in the face.

“Mr. Mont, you need to come with us.” The older guy says.

I snap at the guy, “For what?” I wave a hand at them just to show them that I don’t give a shit what they’re saying to me, “Fuck off. I’m not in the mood for this bullshit. I’m going to visit Eddie.”

“No, you’re not.” The man says and blocks my path, “James Mont; you are suspected of the attempted murder of Eddie Mont.”

“Excuse me?” My eyes widen. I’m confused, hurt, and angry as fuck. I point a finger in the guy’s face, “You fucking idiots think I hurt Eddie?”

“Mr. Mont, please put your hands behind your back and-”

“Fuck you!” I shout at the cop, “You assholes are out of your mind! I swear, if you think for one second-”

The next thing I know I’m getting my face slammed onto the hot hood of a patrol car while the two cops force me into cuffs. The young guy recites my Miranda rights and they both throw me into the back of the cop car. I can’t believe what is happening. My blood is boiling, and I wind up cussing the two guys out the entire ride to the precinct. They ignore me and hold their own conversation the entire way there; they’re talking about some stupid Daddy-daughter dance the older guy is being drug to. Seriously –that’s what they’re talking about while I’m stuck back here losing my damn mind.

Once at the station I get my picture taken and I’m fingerprinted. I’m close to losing my mind at this point, and they place me in a holding cell. Me –in jail! I’m in fucking jail! I wind up walking around in a circle in the cell for several minutes trying to figure out what the hell is happening. What judge put a warrant out for my arrest? What the hell could they possibly have found that would make them think I hurt Eddie?

I take a few calming breaths and then shout towards one of the cops who arrested me. The older guy is near my cell. He looks at me, “Relax,” he says, “you’re only going to be in there for a few more minute. Stops acting like a damn caged tiger. You’re making the crack heads nervous.” He waved a thumb at the cell across the room behind him were some obvious druggies are shaking like crazy.

“What the fuck, man?” I snap at the cop, “This is bullshit, and you know it!”

After a few minutes of the cop ignoring me, two other officers’ show up to take me to an interrogation room. I’m about ready to snap. They have me sit in a chair, and they cuff me to the table and leave. My head is spinning at this point. I kick the chair across from me, and it falls over just as a man in a suit is entering the room. The man frowns, picks up the chair, and then just stares down at me. “Why are you in cuffs?” he asks.

“Hell if I fucking know!” I snap at the guy. “Am I being charged with something? If so, I want to talk to my fucking lawyer, you fucking pig.”

The man rolls his eyes, “Fine. You can stay in cuffs if you’re going to act like that, dumbass.” He sits down across from me and opens up a file. “For the record, could you please state your name?”

I frown and lean back in my seat, “James Mont.” I then sit upright, “Am I being charged for something? If so, I want my fucking lawyer before I say a damn thing to you.”

The man frowns and closes the folder. “That was quick.” He gripes and stands up to leave the room. I can hear him say, “He’s already lawyering up,” just as the door closes.

My heart is pounding. They leave me in the room for another hour before anyone comes inside to clue me in on what is going on. Lillian Lioness, my lawyer, comes walking in wearing that same auburn colored suit of hers and plops down in the seat in front of me. “All right, you can relax,” she says in a reassuring tone. “The cops jumped the gun on this one. I already talked to the judge. He has set bail at $2,500, and I’m guessing a man like you can afford that, right?”

“Damn it, Lillian,” I say, “They think I killed Eddie.”

“And anyone with any sense about them knows that is not true. They don’t have any real evidence. This shit is going to get thrown out quick, trust me.” She chuckles, “Honestly; I think it’s kind of funny.”

“Fuck you, bitch,” I say.

“Hey, easy. Thanks to me, you’re not going to be staying the night in jail.” She says, “And like I said, this is going to wash over quick. You won’t be able to go see Eddie for a few days while I get this straighten out, though.”

I sit upright, “What do you mean?”

“Just a few days.” She says.

“Hell no!” I shout, “You got to fix this now!”

“James, you need to calm down.” She says, “Eddie will be fine. They’re not going to take him off life support without you there. I’m going to get this straightened out quick, I promise. I just need you to trust me. It’s obvious you had nothing to do with this and this is just a couple of homicide cops who aren’t real detectives trying to make a big arrest. This will be over soon.”

“Why do they think it’s me?” I ask.

“There is this ridiculous theory circulating that maybe Eddie had been the one poisoning the supplements and that you caught him. It makes sense in theory, but there’s no evidence to support it.” Lillian says and then awkwardly yet reassuringly pats my hand.

The door opens and a cop comes in and unlocks my cuffs. Lilian looks back at me, “Just pay your bail, and you can go home. I’ll do my best to make sure this goes away quick. I’ll call you first thing in the morning after I have a word with my connections.”

“All right, all right.” I say and follow the cop out to the main entrance of the station to pay my bail. Lillian leaves, promising me an early phone call.

As I am filling out paperwork, the officer behind the desk suddenly lets out a soft snort laughter. “Looks like you’re going to be staying here tonight.” He says.

“Excuse me?” I hiss.

The cop looks at me, “Your assets have been frozen while your company is being investigated for negligence, Mr. Mont. You have no way to pay for bail.”

“You must be joking!” I snap. I had no idea my account had been frozen, and I’m guessing my lawyer didn’t know that either. “Just put it on my credit card then.”

“Yeah, you can’t do that, pretty boy.” He says.

The next thing I know I’m in cuffs again demanding I get my one phone call. I call Sylvia, and that turns out to be a mistake. She had gotten called into work, and she’s in fucking Utah. I try my best to remain calm while I talk to her on the phone. “What do you mean you’re in Utah?” I question.

“My company has me testing out some snow gear!” she sounds horrified, “James, I am so sorry! I don’t know what to do!”

“When are you coming back?” I ask.

“Two days!” she cries into the phone,” Don’t tell me you’re going to be stuck in jail for two days!”

I don’t want her to worry, but unless I can convince these cops to let me have a second phone call, it sure looks that way. After cussing all of them out, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to let me bend the rules. “No, no, don’t you worry,” I lie to Sylvia, “I’m sure I can figure something out.”

This shit escalated quickly.