by Bill H Myers
“We're just renting. My doctor said I needed to stay somewhere peaceful while I recovered from the concussion. No internet, no TV, no alcohol and no getting punched in the head.”
Daniels looked at his notes then back at me. “We thought this was the right address, but maybe it isn't.
"You're saying someone hit you in the face? Out on the beach this morning? Is that correct?”
I pointed to my eye. “Yeah, that's how I got this.”
Daniels nodded. “Tell me about it. When it happened, how it happened, who else was involved.”
He turned to the deputy behind him and said, “Be sure to record this.”
When he turned back to me, I said, “Standing makes me a little dizzy. Mind if we go inside so I can sit?”
He turned to the deputy standing behind him but didn't say anything. Then he turned back to me. “You sure it's okay for us to come in? We don't have a search warrant or anything. You don't have to let us in.”
I nodded. “Look, that punch hurt and I'm pretty dizzy. Follow me in or stand out here by yourself. I'll be inside sitting down.”
I turned and walked toward the living room. The two deputies followed. I sat on one of the recliners and Daniels sat on the couch across from it. The second deputy, who had not been introduced, stood with his notebook and recorder in hand.
Daniels asked, “You sure you're up for this? If you're dizzy, maybe we should get you some medical help.”
I shook my head. “I'm fine. Let's get this over with.”
“Okay, tell us what happened.”
I pointed to the beach and said, “I was out on the deck and heard a woman scream. It sounded like she was in trouble.
“I looked in her direction and saw a man trying to drag a woman away. It didn’t look like they were playing.
“She was trying to fight him off, but she didn't have a chance. He was a big guy, probably six two, and at least two hundred twenty pounds.
“I left the deck and walked over to get a better look. The woman was still struggling, so I asked her if there was a problem. She didn’t answer, but the guy who was holding her turned his attention to me. When he did, she bit his arm. He let the woman go, but not before he slapped her face, hard enough to knock her down.
“I went over to see if she needed help, and while I was down on my knees talking to her, the guy came up from behind and hit me in the head.”
Deputy Daniels nodded. “So, you're saying you went to help the girl? Did you hit the guy after that?”
I shook my head. “I never hit him. I didn't have a chance. I bent down to help the girl and he came up from behind and slugged me. When I got up, he tried to knock me down again.”
Daniels nodded. “So that's when you hit him?”
I shook my head again. “No, I never hit him. All I did was sidestep when he ran at me. I think he tripped. He went face down on the sand. I made sure he couldn't get back up and hit the girl or me.”
“How did you do that? How did you keep him from getting back up?”
I smiled. “I sat on him.”
The deputy suppressed a laugh. “You sat on him?”
“Yes, I sat on him. I didn't want him to get up. He'd already slapped the girl and punched me. I figured the safest thing was to keep him on the ground until he cooled off. So I sat on his back.”
Daniels nodded. “Okay, how long did you do that?”
“A few minutes. He said he was going to kill me when he got up. I wasn't in any hurry for him to do that. I kept him on the ground until he calmed down a bit. I told the girl to leave, to go to safety, and she did.
“When the guy calmed down, I let him up. I didn't stay around to talk. I came back here to take care of my eye.”
Daniels nodded and asked the same question he'd asked before. “So, when did you hit him?”
My answer was the same. “Never. I never swung at him, never hit him.”
I held up both hands with my knuckles facing the deputies. “See, no marks or bruises. If I'd hit him, my knuckles would be swollen.”
Before Daniels could ask another question, I asked, “What's this about? Did someone see what happened and report it?”
Daniels shook his head. “The guy on the beach, the one you describe as being big and dragging the girl, his name is Chance. Chance Boudin. You ever hear of him?”
I shook my head. “No. Doesn't mean anything to me.”
“Maybe you've heard of his father. Amir Boudin. Big investment banker. Lots of money?”
“Sorry. I don't know who he is.”
Daniels let out a deep breath and said, “Down at the station, we've all heard of him. Everyone in the department has. He's got the kind of money that opens doors. Including ours. When he or his son calls, we respond.
“An hour ago, Chance called and said he was assaulted on the beach. He said he wanted to press charges. He didn't know the name of the guy who did it but thought he lived next door to where they were taping the show.
“That's why we're here. Following up on the assault charge.
“The way he tells it, he and his lady friend were on the beach minding their own business when you came up from behind and slugged him. He said you slapped the girl on her face and then ran off. He has bruises on his face, and it does look like someone hit him. Was it you?”
“No, I never hit him or the girl. Ask her. She'll tell you. He was dragging her, she screamed, and I went over to help. He hit her; then he hit me. End of story.”
Daniels nodded and said, “The problem is we can't find the girl. No one over there knows where she is. They won't even tell us her name. Right now, it's your word against his.”
I nodded and pointed at my swollen eye. “How do you think I got this? He hit me. Go back and check his knuckles. You'll see. He's the one who did all the hitting.”
Daniels nodded. “We'll do that. But let me ask you a question. If we find out that this guy hit you first, do you want to press charges?”
I knew the guy deserved to be punished but not by me pressing charges. I didn't need to get involved in anything like that. Not when I was trying to recover from a concussion. “I don't want to press charges. But if you find the girl and she tells the truth about what happened, I'll back her story.”
Daniels smiled and said, “Okay, for what it's worth, I believe you. You're the one with the black eye, and he's the one with the busted knuckles. But without another witness, we can't do anything.”
I nodded. “I understand. But if he wants to come after me in court, get the video. Someone in that house was standing on the deck with a camera. They recorded the whole thing. Find that video, and you'll see what really happened.”
Daniels nodded and turned to the deputy behind him who had been taking notes. “What do you think?”
The deputy looked up and said, “It's his word against Chance's. Unless we can find the girl or the video, there's not much we can do except to file a report.”
Daniels nodded and turned back to me. “With your permission, I'd like to get pictures of your face and hands. It might help us resolve the case.”
If photos would prove I was innocent, I was all for it, so I said, “Go ahead, take pictures.”
I sat while Daniels posed me, and the other guy took pictures with his phone.
When he was done, he said, “We'll go back and talk to Chance. We'll check his knuckles, and if they're bruised, we'll ask if he wants to revise his story.
“If he doesn't, we'll try to find the girl. If she says he hit her, it's automatic jail time for him.
“If you see the girl, let her know we're looking for her.”
He stood and said, “You better put some ice on that eye. It's starting to swell.”
I started to get up and walk them to the front door, but Daniels stopped me. “We can find our way out.”
He and the other deputy left.
My head hurt, my eye was swollen, and I was still dizzy. All I wanted to do was get back in bed with an ice pack on my
eye. I went to the kitchen, grabbed some more ice from the fridge, wrapped the cubes in the washcloth and headed to bed.
Like before, I dozed off. Not sure how long, but I woke to my phone chiming an incoming call.
Since there was only one other person on the planet who knew the number of the burner, it had to be Abby.
Chapter Thirty-One
I answered as cheerfully as I could. I didn't want Abby to know I had been punched in the head and was still seeing stars. And I didn't want to upset her by mentioning the visit by the sheriff’s deputies and the possibility of pending assault charges against me.
I answered and said, “Hi Abby, miss me yet?”
She chuckled. “Not yet, but I'm sure, sooner or later, I will. But that's not why I called. I was worried you might have gotten into some trouble, and I needed to make sure you were okay. How's your day going so far?”
There was no way I was going to tell her the truth, so I said, “It's been good. I slept in, had a late breakfast and walked the beach. I'm back inside now and about to take my afternoon nap. How about you? How are you doing?”
She paused like maybe she didn't believe me. Maybe her gift was telling her my day hadn't gone so well. She pretty much confirmed my suspicions when she asked, “Walker, you sure you're okay? No problems?”
I answered quickly. Maybe too quickly. “Abby, I'm doing fine. No problems at all, except for missing you.”
She paused then said, “That's sweet of you to say, but we both know the truth. You've had a rough day. And it might get worse before it's over.”
Before I could ask her what she meant, she continued. “Walker, it looks like I'm going to be up here a bit longer than I thought. I wanted to have everything wrapped up and be back with you the day after tomorrow. But it looks like it's going to take longer than I thought, probably three more days.
“That means you'll be on your own longer than we planned. Think you can handle it?”
I had plenty of food in the house, and as long as the deputies didn't come back and arrest me, I would be okay. I didn't want to worry her by mentioning that John Law was after me, so I said, “There's plenty of food here. I won't starve. I'm getting pretty bored, but I'll survive.”
“That's good,” she said. “Being able to survive without me for three days is a major milestone. But call me if anything comes up. I want to know right away if you end up in the hospital or jail.”
When she said “jail,” a shiver ran up my spine. There was no way she could have guessed that I might end up in jail for the alleged assault. Maybe she was just joking. That had to be it. But maybe she knew more than I thought she knew.
I didn't want to ask her about it, so I just said, “If I end up in either place, you'll be the first person I call.”
The background noise on her phone sounded like she was in an airport. Maybe she was waiting for a flight or had just landed. “Where are you?” I asked.
“At the airport.”
“I figured as much. But which one? And where are you going?”
She paused for a moment then, instead of answering my question, said, “They're calling my flight. I need to go. Stay healthy. Stay out of trouble, and follow doctors’ orders.”
I told her I would, and we ended the call.
She hadn't said where she was or where she was going. I was pretty sure she didn't want me to know. At least not yet.
It had been good to hear her voice. It made me feel better about the day. But it didn't do anything for my dizziness or the swelling under my eye.
I grabbed more ice, lay down in bed, and put the ice pack on my face.
A couple of hours later, I woke to someone pounding on the door. I was hoping it wasn't the deputies coming back with an arrest warrant.
I didn't want to get up. I just wanted to lie in bed. But the pounding on the door continued, so I decided to get up and see who it was.
Chapter Thirty-Two
My head hurt worse than it had before. My right eye was partially swollen shut, and I knew I'd be dizzy when I stood. All I wanted was some peace and quiet. And maybe an aspirin or two to chase away the throbbing pain in my head.
I pushed myself up out of bed and used the wet washcloth to wipe my face. I figured if I was going to jail, I wanted to look my best. I ran my fingers through my hair and made my way to the front door.
I opened it, expecting to see the two deputies with an arrest warrant and handcuffs. But it wasn't them. It was the girl from the beach. The one who had been slapped by Chance.
My first thought was, How did she find me? How did she know where I lived? I hadn't told her or anyone else. Maybe she had watched as I walked back to the house after dealing with Chance. Or maybe she had spoken to the deputies and they told her.
I guess it didn't really matter how she found me. Unless she told Chance. If she had, it could be a problem. He had threatened to kill me and warned it wasn't over.
He seemed like the kind of guy who would take being held down personal. Most likely, he'd want revenge. Maybe that's why she had come—to warn me about him. Or maybe she came to thank me for coming to her rescue.
But as it turned out, I was wrong.
Instead of thanking or warning me, she pointed at me and yelled, “You cost me my job. If you hadn't butt in this morning, I'd still be part of the show. But no, you couldn't mind your own business. Now I'm out of work. I needed that job. Without it, I won't be able to pay rent, buy food, or pay my bills. And it's your fault.”
She crossed her arms, waiting for me to reply. Had I not been so dizzy from the concussion and the blow to my head, I would have told her that it wasn't my fault she had been fired. It was Chance's. He was the one who had hit her and then punched me. If anyone had been fired, it should have been him.
But I wasn't up to arguing with her or anyone else. So I said, “I'm sorry. I thought I was helping you. I guess I wasn't.”
I started to close the door, but she said something that made me stop. “What happened to your face?”
I looked at her, wondering why she was asking about my swollen eye. She had seen Chance hit me. But maybe she hadn't. Maybe after Chance hit her, she didn't see what happened next. I decided to tell her.
“Your friend on the beach, the one who slapped you? After he knocked you down, I went over to make sure you were okay. That's when he came up behind and hit me. A sucker punch to my face. You didn't see that?”
She thought for a moment then said, “I saw him hit you, but I didn't think it was hard enough to do that. I guess I was wrong.”
She reached out and touched the bruise below my eye then quickly withdrew her hand.
“Does it hurt?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it hurts.”
I was confused. She was the reason I'd gotten punched, and she blamed me for her troubles. Somehow it was my fault that I had come to her rescue when Chance slapped her.
Then I remembered how she'd gone face down onto the sand after she was slapped. Her face still had the imprint of his hand. “How about you? Does it hurt where he hit you?”
She rubbed the left side of her face. “It still stings. But I'll survive.”
I nodded. “Is Chance your boss? Did he have the power to fire you?”
She shook her head. “No, he's not my boss. He's not the boss of anyone. But his father puts the money up for the show. That makes him the producer. And as the producer, he made Chance the main character. All the story lines revolve around him. So Chance thinks he's a big TV star.
“But he isn't. It's a stupid show, and not many people watch it. Those that do think Chance is the villain. Or the village idiot.
“No network would have touched the show with Chance as the lead if it hadn't been for his father's money.
“But since his father was bankrolling the series, the network didn't have much to lose, so they put a crew together, rented the house next door, and started writing scripts.
“Even though he is not my boss, when he tells the director t
o fire someone, that person gets fired. They need to keep Chance happy, so his father will keep the money flowing.”
I nodded. “You're part of the cast?”
She shook her head. “No. No way I'm part of their little circus of a show. Most of the cast is a bunch of degenerates. You couldn't pay me to join them.
“But, sadly, I do work there, not as a cast member though. I'm part of the sound crew.
“I came in early because we were supposed to shoot today, and it was my job to get the microphones all set up.
“Chance had come in early too. He had some scratches on his face and needed the makeup people to do their magic. He blamed the scratches on a woman. Said she was a real tiger and things had gotten out of hand.
“Most of the crew didn't want to hear about his exploits, but he didn't care. He kept pointing to the scratches and telling anyone who would listen how he'd gotten them.
“When he saw me setting up the microphones this morning, he walked over, put his arm around me and said it was time for us to get to know each other better. He suggested that, since we were alone, we should get in the hot tub together, naked.
“That was the last thing I wanted, to get naked with him in a hot tub or anywhere else. But because he was the boss's son, I had to be careful how I turned him down. I told him “no,” I had work to do.
“But that didn't stop him. He thinks he's a real lady’s man and he thinks all the women working on the show want to be with him. He goes around saying things to women like, 'This is your Chance for love,' or 'Chances are good we'll be hooking up.' Real smarmy stuff.
“Anyone else who said those kinds of things would get their face slapped or get a knee to the groin. But because his father is paying for the show, the women in the cast put up with him.
“Anyway, after I told him “no” I wasn't going to get in the hot tub with him, he left, and I kept working. Twenty minutes later, he came back wearing his swim trunks. He told me there was a problem with the microphone on the beach, and he wanted me to do a sound check with him.”
