Nicole motioned for Shelly to lean over, so she could speak softly to not be overheard.
Shelly looked down at her. “What happened to you Nicole? You’re as white as a sheet.”
“Call 911, Shelly. Darla is in my room with a knife in her back. She’s alive but I couldn’t tell how bad she is.”
For a moment, Nicole was afraid Shelly might faint. Her face went pale too, the way only a redhead can.
Finally, she focused on Nicole. “Okay. Let me call right now.”
Shelly picked up the phone and called 911. Nicole couldn’t tell what she said since Shelly was turned away from her.
Shelly looked down at her. “Someone needs to be with Darla.”
Before Nicole could answer, the phone rang, and Shelly answered it.
When she finished, she turned back to Nicole. “That was Floyd, and he said to lock your room and wait for the EMTs down there.”
“I already locked it, so I’ll just go down there and wait for them there.”
As she was going out the door, Nicole saw Shelly almost fall into a chair and sit there staring into space. Poor woman. Maybe she could help Shelly a little later.
Nicole made it to her door without incident and sat there waiting for Floyd or the EMTs. She hoped the medical people would get there fast. She didn’t like Darla, but she didn’t wish her dead either.
All the students and even a few teachers gave her strange looks as they passed her by, but no one stopped to talk to her. Good. She didn’t want to lie, but she certainly didn’t want to tell them that Darla was in her room with a knife in her back.
* * *
Roger had a great time at the farm Sunday afternoon. He’d never seen Nicole so loose and carefree. When they’d played Scrabble®, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. He’d had a great time just watching her.
But Monday morning came and the dread of going to court came with it. He’d been in court dozens of times but always before he’d been representing someone else. Today, he was the one who was accused of a crime. How could that be?
Well, he and Floyd both knew how it could be. Robertson and that Chadwick woman had cooked this up to discredit him and thus allow Robertson to win the race for mayor.
He couldn’t eat anything. He was afraid it might not stay down if he did. So, he had an extra cup of coffee and headed for the courthouse. He left his gun in the Jeep.
Floyd was waiting for him on the front steps and they went inside together. At the metal detector, Roger went through it while Floyd went around it and met him on the other side.
When they met, Floyd pulled Roger off to the side away from anyone else.
“All right Roger. Here’s how it is. I’ve talked to Hallmark several times, and he’s ready to throw this whole thing out if there’s anything that doesn’t look right.”
Roger opened his mouth to speak but Floyd kept going. “I want you to just stand beside me the whole time with your mouth shut. Don’t say a word to anyone. Do you think you can do that lawyer boy?”
Roger almost laughed at the name Floyd had called him years ago when he’d announced to the family that he was going to law school.
“I don’t think anyone will ask you anything at all if I can get this stopped before the judge calls the court into session. After that, I’ll have to do whatever the judge tells me to do. It could mean arresting you, but I don’t think it’ll go that far.”
Roger was still trying to process all of that when Floyd laughed. “Okay, let’s get in there and get this mess over with.”
They headed for the courtroom and were met by Robert Hallmark at the door outside the courtroom.
They greeted each other and shook hands around then Hallmark who was the same age as Floyd and they’d been friends growing up, gave Roger a hard look.
“Is there anything about this woman you need to tell me before we go into that courtroom?”
“No. I’ve never even met the woman. The only time I ever saw her, that I’m aware of, Floyd pointed her out to me at a distance in a crowded bar.”
Hallmark stared into Roger’s eyes for a long moment. And Roger stared back. He knew the tactic. He’d used it enough times in cross-examining hostile witnesses in court.
Finally, Hallmark turned, opened the door without another word and stepped inside the courtroom.
The courtroom was empty because the judge had agreed to come in and talk to them before court was called into session. Floyd had told Roger that he was sure they could get things settled that way without having to go to court officially.
They were all three sitting in the front row of the gallery when Floyd pulled out his cell phone and answered it.
Roger couldn’t hear what Floyd said, and he disconnected that call to make another one quickly.
Finally, he turned to Roger and the CA. “Well, Bob I don’t think we need to bother Judge Hawkins about the sexual assault charges for a while.”
He frowned. “Darla Chadwick was just found stabbed. All I know at this point is that she was alive when they found her.”
Roger couldn’t help it. His first thought was of relief that he didn’t have to go through the ordeal of being accused and even a trial. Then he realized that a woman had been stabbed. That sent chills down his back. Was Nicole safe?
“Floyd, where was she stabbed?”
Floyd didn’t answer right away. He turned to the CA. “Can you handle this from here on out without Roger or me?”
Hallmark stalled a long moment and Roger wanted to reach out and shake him. But finally, he smiled at Roger. “Yeah, I guess you’re free to go … for now.”
They turned to go but Hallmark threw one more comment at them. “Providing you didn’t stab the woman.”
Roger wasn’t about to answer, and Floyd only laughed as they hurried out the door.
As they almost ran down the hallway, Roger had to know. “Where was she stabbed?”
Floyd stopped for a moment and looked Roger in the eye. “I don’t think you want to know.” But he told Roger anyway. “She was stabbed in Nicole’s classroom … before Nicole got there this morning.”
With that, they resumed walking fast toward the rear of the courthouse where Floyd’s car was.
“You coming with me?”
Roger hadn’t realized it yet, but he was. “Yes. One way or another, I’m going out there to be with Nicole.”
“Good. I think she’ll need you. She’s the one who found the woman.”
That almost stopped Roger in his tracks. It did slow him down enough that Floyd turned to see what had happened to him.
Floyd ran code in his Tahoe all the way to the high school. Neither one spoke the whole way. Floyd kept busy talking on his cell phone or the police radio.
Then they were soon running into the school office where Shelly met them and led them down to Nicole’s classroom.
Once there, they found Nicole just sitting in her wheelchair outside her classroom staring off into space. The principal, Ron Farley, was standing next to her but it didn’t look like they were talking since Nicole was looking away from the principal.
He glanced into the classroom and saw two EMTs working on a woman on the floor.
Roger turned back to Nicole, and she looked lost for the first time since he had known her. She didn’t seem to be the independent woman totally in control of her life that he’d grown to love.
Love? Is that what he just thought? Wow!
Later.
* * *
Nicole was cold. The high school hallways were always too cool for her. She spent no more time in them than necessary for that reason. But now she was having to sit there without moving around and she was getting very cold.
Of course, none of that could have anything to do with the fact she’d just found a stabbed woman in her classroom. She hadn’t seen that much blood for six years and she’d hoped she’d never see it again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone step up beside her. She looked up and saw R
on Farley, the principal, standing there.
He didn’t speak at first. He just stood there looking anywhere but at her. If it hadn’t been such a serious situation, she would have laughed at him. He seemed to be nearly as uncomfortable with the situation as she was.
Finally, he turned around so she could see his face. “What happened to her?”
“Someone stabbed her in the back. She’s lying on the floor next to my desk on her stomach.”
“Are you okay?”
“As good as I can be after finding Darla stabbed in my classroom.”
Soon, two EMTs came rushing down the hallway pushing a gurney with their equipment piled on it.
Quickly, Nicole unlocked the door before they got there. They rushed in and she and Ron stayed where they were.
They didn’t talk any more but waited quietly there for Floyd.
Finally, Nicole saw Floyd coming down the hallway toward them. And, yes, that was Roger following right behind him. Nicole had never been so happy to see anyone before. She couldn’t explain it, but she suddenly felt that everything would be okay now that Roger was there for her. And she knew he was only there because of her too.
Floyd stopped directly in front of her and looked into the classroom. Then he leaned over to speak to her. “Okay, Nicole. I need for you to tell me exactly what happened from the time you came into the building until right now. You ready to do that?”
She looked up at him and gave him a feeble smile. “Yes, I’m okay.”
She blew out a sigh. “I stopped at the office to check my mailbox and talked to Shelly for a few minutes then I came on down here.”
Floyd interrupted her then. “Did you see anyone who didn’t belong either in the parking lot or here in the hallway?”
She shook her head. “No, and I was watching the parking lot closely since I forgot to call your dispatch to tell them I was ready to come in. So, I drove here without your escort.”
She thought for a moment. “And I saw no one in the hallway who looked out of place either.”
“Okay, go on. What happened when you got here to your door?”
“I put my key in the lock, but the door was slightly ajar, and it opened a little. So, I went on in and found Darla lying there on the floor next to my desk.”
“Did you touch anything besides the door?”
“No.”
“Okay. As soon as the EMTs take her out, we’ll go in.”
Shortly, the EMTs came out the door with Darla on their gurney and took off down the hallway toward the exit.
Floyd, who now had on a pair of gloves, stepped through the door. There was a pool of blood on the floor where Darla had been. Nicole had secretly hoped it would be gone, but it wasn’t.
Floyd stopped and looked at the rest. “Everyone stay right here by the door while I look things over. And don’t touch anything.”
The three of them stayed where they were and watched as Floyd picked up a knife off the floor and examined it. Finally, he turned to Nicole with a frown. “The weapon appears to be a letter opener, and it has your name engraved on it.”
Nicole’s stomach sunk at that announcement. She knew what was going on now. She looked up at Roger and he leaned over her.
“Don’t worry Nicole, someone is trying to frame you just like they did me but it won’t work. Okay?”
She nodded and returned her gaze to Floyd who was now standing halfway between her and the bloody spot. Before anyone else could say anything, she saw two men come in and go past her and Floyd to start examining the area where Darla had been.
Floyd headed for the door. “Okay. Let’s all step out into the hallway and let my techs see what they can find out.”
Once out in the hallway, Floyd turned to Ron. “I think Nicole needs to take the rest of the day off.”
“Yes, definitely. I’ll go down to the office and make arrangements for her classes.”
With that, Ron left, and Nicole was alone with the McCracken brothers. She knew Roger didn’t suspect her, but she wasn’t so sure about Floyd.
She expected Floyd to talk to her next, but he turned to Roger instead. “You think you can go home with her and get her settled there?”
“Sure.”
“Give me your keys and I’ll get your Jeep over there later.”
Roger then leaned over Nicole. “Are you ready to go home Nicole?”
She started to protest that they’d all made these plans for her without consulting her. And that’s exactly what she would have done even two weeks ago. But now, somehow, she realized she had been changing and hadn’t even noticed it.
She also knew the source of those changes was standing in front of her with a worried look on his face. She looked up at Roger then.
“I don’t want to pull you away from anything else.”
He shook his head. “I had already cleared my calendar for today because of the charges Chadwick filed against me.”
She’d forgotten about that. “Oh, Roger. I’m sorry. I forgot all about that.”
He grinned down at her. “Don’t be. At least for now, the charges have been dropped now that the accuser is not available to accuse me.”
She was glad for that but no matter how badly Darla had treated her, she was sorry she was hurt.
Roger moved as if to take her chair grips and then backed off. She laughed. “Go ahead and push me Roger. I want to get far away from here as quickly as I can.”
Chapter Twelve
Roger couldn’t explain it, but he felt almost light-headed at the prospect of pushing Nicole’s wheelchair out of the school and to her van in the parking lot. He knew it was a privilege she gave to very few, probably only to her twin brother Nick. And she was very close to Nick. Wow! Great!
He soon discovered that there was a drawback to him pushing her. He couldn’t talk to her because she couldn’t see his face. Maybe that was why she asked him to push her. But no, he didn’t think so. At least that wasn’t the only reason. He could tell she wanted to get away from her classroom as quickly as she could and him pushing her was much faster.
When they were approaching her van, he saw her pull out her remote and the sliding door opened then the lift folded out and down to the pavement. Knowing she would rather do the rest herself, Roger stepped back and watched. She wheeled onto the lift and then it brought her chair even with the inside of the van. Once inside, the lift folded back up, and the door slid closed.
Roger had been so engrossed in watching he had to hurry to get in the passenger seat before she left him standing in the parking lot. She already had the engine started and was ready to go.
He looked at her and smiled.
“What are you grinning about?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t making fun of you. It just keeps amazing me how you do so much on your own.”
He made a motion with his hand to include the van. “Now I understand what you were saying yesterday about how all of this makes it possible for you to be independent. It all makes a lot more sense now.”
She kept her eyes on his. “Does that mean you understand salvation now?”
He frowned and shook his head. “No. At least not totally. I think I’m getting closer though. You were right when you said I need to talk to the pastor.”
She turned to face the front and drove out of the parking lot and onto the street.
He couldn’t talk to her while she was driving, and he was glad she didn’t say anything he’d have to wait to answer.
Soon, they were pulling into her garage and he got out to watch as she exited the van and rolled up the short ramp to the kitchen door.
Roger had never been back there in her laundry room and on into the kitchen from that direction. He suddenly realized that he was learning more about Nicole and her life almost every day. And he liked it all … a lot.
Nicole didn’t pause, she laid her bag on the table, checked her phone for messages and went straight to the coffeemaker. She didn’t ask if he wanted
any. Did she assume he wanted some?
She answered his question. “If you want tea, I have some or even a soft drink.”
“No. Coffee is fine, and I drink mine black with no sugar.”
She smiled at him. “Did you acquire that taste in the Army like I did?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
They were quiet for the few minutes it took the coffee to finish. Then he watched as she poured two cups of coffee. Then she clipped her little platform to her chair and brought the coffee to the table.
Once they were across from each other with the coffee cups in front of them, Nicole smiled at him. “Thank you for not trying to help or even do it for me.”
He grinned back at her. “Never even thought about it.”
They sat there staring into each other’s eyes for a long moment before she smiled rather timidly at him.
“The other day, you told me that you are attracted to me.”
She stopped, and he waited, knowing there was more.
She seemed to be picking her next words very carefully and he could understand how she felt. He’d been the same way when he’d told her that the other day.
“I too am attracted to you Roger.”
When he started to speak, she held up a hand to stop him. He let the breath out he’d taken in preparation of speaking. It made a strange rushing sound.
“No. Let me finish. I need to explain something to you first. Ever since my injury, I have pushed all men out of my life.” She smiled briefly. “Except for Nick of course.”
He so desperately wanted to say something, anything that might make this easier for her, but he couldn’t think of anything. So, he sat there and waited for her to continue.
“I’ve had a few men make advances toward me since then, but I just never felt right with any of them. They all seemed to be fake somehow. Like they were sorry for me or they wanted to protect me or even do things for me.”
He laughed. “Knowing you as well as I do now, I can see that would drive you away from them in a hurry.”
She didn’t laugh, but she did nod her head slightly in agreement.
Not My Solution Page 17
