Laila and her mother were told not to divulge any details of the investigation to anyone, media or otherwise and they were quick to offer their agreement if for nothing more than to get the two detectives to leave the house.
“Mom are you ok?” Laila asked from the doorway as she watched the silver BMW back out of the driveway. Her mother didn’t respond nor did she continue to sob. She was pale, staring absently in helpless anguish as she continued to sit on the small sectional shaking visibly. “Mom?” Laila asked again putting a hand on her mother’s shoulder in reassurance. She seemed to jump from her current vacancy and back into the moment when she felt her daughter’s hand rest gently on her.
“He went looking for me.?” She both questioned and stated flatly to Laila looking down at the ground as she spoke. “That’s why this happened.”
“Where were you mom?” Laila asked with growing curiosity. A long moment of silence passed and she yelled through her frustration. “Mom, answer me,” Laila said sounding more like a parent than Gina ever would but, no more words came from her. She broke down once again and sobbed softly keeping her eyes on the ground.
CHAPTER 8
Cole was writing in his journal when his mother came into his room. She was followed by two men who stood patiently at the doorway. He put down his pen mid-thought and closed the secrets of his life as he always did when his writing was interrupted. “What’s up? He asked looking passed Dana to his mother’s ‘guests.’
“What have you done, Cole?” Dana asked firmly. She was trembling slightly and her cheeks were hot. She knew she must be flushed but, these men were detectives and they wanted to talk to her son.
Cole turned his attention to his mom looking her straight in the eye. “What are you talking about?” he asked sincerely confused.
Dana shook her head. He seemed to be telling the truth but she wasn’t sure. Frustrated and confused, she turned and walked past the two men without another word.
“Cole, we need you to come out to the living room. I’m Detective Martinez and this is Detective Reese, we have a few questions for you.”
“What’s going on?” Cole asked making no attempt to hide his agitation.
“Son, we’ll discuss it out here,” Martinez replied before returning to the living room. He took a seat on the nearby green sofa waiting. Dana sat across from him in the love seat portion of the sectional. She looked as if she had something to say but, was waiting for permission.
“What’s this about?” Dana asked. Her son was strange but, when the two detectives had arrived she was caught way off guard.
Reese didn’t move an inch. He simply eyed Cole until he heard Martinez, his assumed mentor, telling Dana that she would know why the two had come to visit her son when they were all in the living room. “Now,” Reese snapped at Cole from his stone silence. He reveled in watching the teenager jump to attention at his command. He scrutinized Cole for a moment longer and smiled grimly. “Follow me.” He added calmly before turning away.
Cole was at a complete loss. He quickly followed the unnerving younger detective to the living room. Reese took a seat next to Martinez and Cole found himself sitting next to his mother. For what it was worth, he felt he needed her right now. “Okay, I’m out here so what’s this about?” he asked looking from one detective to the other.
“You tell us?” Detective Reese began but Martinez stopped him abruptly.
“Give it a rest for a moment kid,” Martinez interjected. Reese was reputed to be excellent with interrogation and one of the youngest to rise in the ranks. Still, he was hot-headed and Martinez was at the end of his rope with this one. “Just for a moment,” he offered hoping to diffuse the younger detective’s growing ire.
After a long moment, Reese sighed and gestured ‘go on’ with his hand.
“We’re here about Laila Hardcastle,” Martinez said watching Cole closely, searching for guilt in his demeanor.
“What about her?” Cole asked cautiously. “She’s ok right?” he added knowing that he wouldn’t answer any questions if their reply was anything other than “yes.” He was momentarily distracted when Martinez and Reese both exchanged glances before returning their attention to him.
“Laila’s fine.” Detective Reese offered uncharacteristically.
Cole didn’t trust the man. He seemed young, hot-headed, and arrogant but a reassuring look from Martinez took his attention. “Ok. So what can I help you with then?” he asked the older detective directly.
Martinez knew what Cole was trying to do so he took control of the conversation and told Reese in no uncertain terms to simply ‘take notes.’ “Son,” Martinez began seeming to pick his words carefully before continuing on, “I need you to tell me exactly what you did last night, who you were with, and we need you to try and give us as accurate of time frames as possible. Can you do that?”
Cole allowed his attention to shift to his mother. He didn’t know how she would react to Laila having spent the night with him nor did he like the prospects of what her demeanor seemed to imply. “Does she have to be here for this?” he asked directing his question to Martinez.
He nodded, “if she chooses to be.” He stated flatly looking at Dana Larson while he spoke.
“I’ll tell you all about last night if you tell me what exactly you’re looking for.” Cole stipulated. Another pause issued forth between the two cops as they looked at each other with disdain in their eyes.
“Alright, you want to know?” Martinez asked making one quick rub down his mustache. “We’re looking for your girlfriend’s father and we think that one or both of you know what happened to him.” He said truthfully.
Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “When did he go missing?” Cole asked but Reese interjected.
“I suggest you start talking quick or else that pretty little girl may just have to be taken away. You’ll probably never see her again.” He mused coldly.
Cole couldn’t help himself, “Fuck you.” He said to the younger detective with a ferocity that he was sure would get him into trouble. Reese began to stand while Dana began shouting her own protests however, Martinez’s voice immediately roared above the others.
“Shut up everyone. Please.” He said causing both Dana and Reese to fall suddenly silent. Even Cole was impressed at how quickly Martinez had increased the volume of his voice only to be sitting quietly immediately after everyone retook their places. “Reese I don’t want to hear another word out of you. Got it?” he didn’t look away from the younger officer for many seconds eyeing him with such intensity that Cole almost wondered if he had been the reason the phrase ‘like daggers from the eyes,’ had been coined. Finally, he looked to Dana and calmly added, “Mrs. Larson, I need you to stay quiet or else I’ll have to ask you to go into another room.” He said and Dana looked away in a huff. He brought his eyes back to rest even with Cole’s, “Okay son, it’s just you and me. Tell me how it went down.”
Cole didn’t trust the old man but, he would do his best to ensure that Laila was absolved of the heinous accusation. He spoke about the day before with fervor. He did his best to be accurate down to the very last detail. When he was finished, it seemed his recounting had been enough for the two detectives to leave without too many follow up questions.
* * * * *
Immediately after Detective Reese and Martinez left his house driving off in their silver BMW, Dana Larson blew up fiercely. “What the hell was that all that about?” she asked angrily.
Cole immediately became defensive. “Weren’t you listening?” he replied hoping his mother would take the hint that now was not a good time, however, he could tell from the malcontent in her eyes that she had no intentions of backing down from him.
“Yeah, I was listening.” She retorted standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.
“Then you know as much as I do.” He said trying to keep his words quiet even though he wanted to yell at her. She grabbed him by his hair yanking his head back angrily while
she screamed at him,
“You think that you can cause trouble and have the cops enter my home and not have to deal with the consequences!?” She yelled pulling his hair even more tightly.
Cole had to think long and hard about what his next move would be and Dana yanked all the harder while he contemplated a way out of the impending fight.
“What makes you think you can bring that little slut into my home, without my knowledge!?” She added angrily. She liked Laila but, whatever was going on went way beyond any sense of regard for her son’s girlfriend.
Cole grabbed Dana’s wrist sharply pulling tufts of hair out of his own head as he forced her hand away. He was stronger than her and the pain of having his hair ripped from his scalp was nothing in comparison to the anger he felt towards his mother’s choice of words about Laila. “You will never do that to me again nor will you talk about Laila like that?!” he screamed loudly as he held her hands locked in place. “Got it!” he finished keeping his eyes locked with hers in a battle of wills he never wanted to win in the first place.
“Let go of me!” she yelled trying to wrestle her wrists free but, no matter how hard she tried Cole’s grip never loosened.
“I can call those detectives to come back and take you away!” she threatened.
Cole could easily tell that she was not bluffing. “For child abuse?” he asked calming his demeanor as best as he could though he could do little to hide the thriving anger that boiled fiercely inside of him. Dana shot him a look that could have caused hell to freeze over and he knew that there would be no reasoning with her. “Fine,” He said releasing her wrists only to be slapped hard across his face. “You’re sick mom.” He stated flatly before hurrying out the front door of their house which he heard lock promptly behind him. He wanted to turn, to kick in the door and assert himself but, he decided finding Laila was more important than any feud he and his mother were having. ‘Besides, there’s no reasoning with an alcoholic’ he thought angrily as he made his way to Laila’s house.
* * * * *
“Do you think they’re telling the truth?” Reese asked Martinez breaking the long silence that had ensued between them since they left Cole’s house. Reese was still upset at how easily the superior officer had put him in his place in front of both teenagers but, he couldn’t deny that he respected the older man and his ability to solve almost any case that had crossed his desk.
“It doesn’t matter what any of us think,” Martinez mused seemingly lost in thought as they made their way back to the sheriff’s station, “what matters is what the evidence tells us.”
“So what does the evidence tell us now?” Reese asked searching for an answer that was a little more direct.
Martinez looked at the younger detective momentarily before returning his eyes to the road. “All we have now is a burnt truck, some blood, and two teenagers whose stories coincide fairly well.” He stated flatly causing Reese to wonder if maybe the older cop was beginning to lose his knack for solving cases in his old age.
“What if they collaborated their stories the night before so that they knew exactly what to say to us?” Reese asked thinking that maybe there was something Martinez had overlooked. Martinez didn’t respond immediately seeming to take in every word of Reese’s in high regard before he spoke.
“One thing you learn over time,” he began choosing his words carefully to the hot-headed detective, “is how to read people. I admit, if it had been me in that boy’s shoes and saw those bruises I probably couldn’t stop myself from taking out the person responsible but, I can’t see that as the case. Not yet at least.”
“What about the girl? She could have taken her father out.” Reese remarked flatly but Martinez shook his head.
“John Hardcastle was a big man. I don’t think that a girl of her stature has the ability to move a body from a crime scene, torch his vehicle, and manage to make it to her boyfriend’s house in the time frame that both Laila and Cole gave to us without anyone witnessing her along the way.” He paused for a moment longer before finishing his thoughts. “Besides, if she had been the one responsible, then why wait until after Mr. Hardcastle had left the house?”
Reese, although bothered by the older man’s trusting nature didn’t respond instead, he rifled through the notes he had taken looking for any inconsistencies. He had to find something to show the older detective up.
* * * * *
Although Laila had told Cole never to come over unannounced he couldn’t stop himself from knocking gently on the oak front door of her house. He wasn’t surprised when the door opened and Laila looked at him apologetically with tears in her eyes. “Are you ok?” he asked trying to be as sympathetic as possible while he spoke. In an instant, she was crying so incoherently that Cole wondered if he had been right in seeking her out so soon after they had been questioned by the police but, he pulled her close to him inching both of them to the wood porch while she sobbed.
“It’s my fault.” She repeated over and over never looking at him while she spoke.
He wanted to comfort her as he rocked her gently in his arms but, he was at a loss for words. ‘What can I say?’ he thought knowing that there was no comforting way to offer his sympathy. “It’s ok,” he said realizing that his attempt at reassuring her was feeble at best.
“No, it’s not ok. I said things to him that I should have never said.” She declared as she cried harder burying her face in his chest.
“Laila…..” Cole began but, she wouldn’t listen.
“Don’t tell me how I should feel.” She snapped sharply and Cole felt helpless to retort.
“Ok sweetheart.” He agreed, at last, knowing that he couldn’t soothe her any more than he already was by simply being with her. She continued to sob but Cole didn’t offer a reply as he allowed her to continue with her declarations of blame with quiet regard. When she felt like she could cry no more she was shaking visibly in his arms.
“I’m sorry Cole.” She apologized turning her face so that her ear rested against his chest which was now soaked with tears.
“Don’t be. I love you.” He replied as he moved a tuft of soaked hair from her cheek to behind her ear.
“I love you too babe,” she said pulling away from him resting on her knees as they locked eyes, “Always and forever.”
* * * * *
Cole sat quietly beneath the canopy of trees alone with Laila in the refuge of the creek bed. Laila spoke absently about her father and Cole listened intently to every word in the hopes that somehow she would feel better given the recent events that had so quickly disheveled her life.
“He wasn’t a bad man.” She said throwing a small stone into the slow-moving waters below. “I guess in a lot of ways I shouldn’t be talking about him in the past tense.” She admitted looking at Cole for support but, he simply nodded his agreement. “Do you think I should?” she asked seemingly hurt by what she believed to be a complete lack of regard on his part.
“I don’t know what you should think.” He admitted readily knowing that he couldn’t possibly understand how she felt. “All I know is that I will be here for you no matter what the outcome.” He added causing her disposition to lighten visibly.
She sighed heavily closing her eyes as she spoke, “I was five, my brother was still living at home and my mother was much more involved in our lives. God I loved Christmas time.” She said still with her eyes closed but a small smile had found its way to her lips as she recalled a memory she thought long forgotten. “I remember that Christmas so clearly right now. Mom woke my brother and me early Christmas morning. I still believed in Santa Clause so I was excited and my brother played along so I could have a good time. That year my dad dressed up like Santa and brought me the one present that I had been dreaming of. Like most girls, I was into Barbie dolls.” She chuckled lightly before continuing her story. “He got me a life-size Barbie saying that I had been so good this year that he wanted to deliver it in person rather than leaving it under the tree the n
ight before like he had for so many other good boys and girls.” She opened her eyes looking over at Cole who remained focused entirely on her. “I guess it sounds like a bunch of sentimental crap,” she said flushing visibly from embarrassment.
“Not at all,” Cole replied seriously.
“I never really told him how much that meant to me and now I’m afraid I’ll never get the chance to.” She finished struggling to keep her tears from fighting their way to the surface. Cole wrapped one arm protectively around her and she was able to stay her tears. “My mom took off after the cops questioned us,” she added finally.
Cole couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What do you mean she took off?” he asked feeling genuinely angry that anyone would do such a thing, especially a mother. Laila rested her head heavily on Cole’s shoulder before she spoke,
“She said that she was going to go stay with ‘a friend’ and that I need to figure out what I should do.” She looked away from him trying to hide her pain.
“She just left you?” Cole asked doing little to hide his astonishment.
“I don’t know what’s going on and I’m not sure I care to know but, for now, I think I’m just extra baggage in her eyes.” Laila finished choking out the last few words in such a way that she wanted to take them back but, she assumed that she wasn’t far from the truth.
“Laila, you’re the world to me and I think maybe your mother is just in shock for now.” He replied uncertainly and he could tell even with his reassurance Laila felt as if she was all alone in the world.
Prelude To Insanity Page 11
