A Dark Horse

by Cooper, Blayne

  Natalie tucked a thin, snug white tank top into slim-fitting, threadbare Levi’s and wiggled her toes comfortably in her well-worn sneakers. Then she layered a baby-blue chambray short-sleeved shirt over the tank. She applied a touch of mascara and clear lip gloss and left her makeup at that, foregoing everything else, including the usual powder she used to cover the light smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

  The overall result, Natalie decided with brutal honesty, was nothing to write home about. She still had dark circles under her eyes that would simply take time to erase. Her outfit was what she’d intended to wear on the plane ride home, where no one from work or even the NOPD would see her. This was “weekend Natalie” and under these horrible circumstances she needed every possible comfort. Even from something as silly as a pair of well-loved sneakers.

  Natalie padded back into the guest bedroom, hands full of toiletries that she stuffed into her travel bag and zipped closed. It was 9:08 a.m., later than she’d normally sleep even on the weekends. She could hear Adele and Logan’s laughter coming from the living room. They’d obviously been up for a while. She listened for Detective Landry Odette’s deep baritone, but couldn’t pick it out among the muffled words and squeals.

  A cool breeze blew in from the open window that Natalie didn’t remember opening. Adele must have come in while she was in the shower. Overnight, the rainy weather front that had stalled over the city passed, causing the temperatures and humidity to plummet. This morning was sunny and breezy and even the birds outside seemed to have renewed energy in the face of the much cooler day.

  Natalie sucked in a deep breath of fresh air that felt heavenly. She was still sad, devastatingly so. But already things were feeling more manageable. Emotions like guilt, shame and regret were being compartmentalized. And lists of things she still needed to do were being organized in her mind.

  There’d be a wake, funeral, graveside service and reception at the house full of church members whose names only her parents would know, neighbors bearing various hot dishes, and shirttail relatives who would show up out of a sense of guilt, curiosity, and for the free booze.

  Natalie didn’t want to attend a single one of those things. She wanted to say goodbye to her brother in her own way and to grieve without an audience. But her parents would need her, and like always, she would put aside her own wants and needs and try not to disappoint.

  Mid-thought, Natalie’s nose twitched and she spied a steaming cup of coffee waiting for her on the nightstand. A genuine smile bloomed.

  Coffee in hand, she put aside thoughts of things that would happen another day and wandered out to the living room. She found Logan spread out on the floor wearing shorts, shoes, but no shirt, and playing with a large plastic dinosaur. The chubby three-and-a-half-year-old was having a ball as he and his mother traded what Natalie assumed were dinosaur roars. Then again, who knew what dinosaurs really sounded like?

  Adele was on the floor near Logan, her back resting against the sofa, the morning newspaper spread out in front of her, coffee mug at the ready. Her hair was tousled and worn in a loose ponytail and her face still held remnants of creases from her pillow. She was wearing a T-shirt and shorts again, with the addition of a thick pair of white socks.

  Maybe Adele and Logan hadn’t been up for that long after all.

  Adele glanced up and smiled warmly at her guest. Or at least she tried.

  Natalie immediately sensed something was wrong.

  “Good morning,” Adele said her voice still sleepy, her eyes not quite meeting Natalie’s. “Did you sleep well?”

  A polite lie was on the tip of her tongue, but she quashed it. She felt close to Adele and didn’t like the thought of even the white lie between them. “Not particularly. You?”

  Adele flashed a low-watt, but genuine smile at Natalie’s bluntness. “I got a few hours in.”

  Natalie raised her coffee mug in acknowledgment. “Thanks for this.”

  Adele dropped her gaze to stare at the face of her watch, suddenly finding it terribly interesting. “No problem. I’m sorry I missed dinner last night. I had to run some errands that went crazy late, and my mom ended up picking up Logan for me. Then I had to get him from her. I was—” She glanced up, seemingly realizing that she was uncharacteristically rambling. “I was delayed.” She took a deep breath and shifted a little to center herself. “I didn’t want to wake you last night, but I really need to talk to you about yesterday.”

  Worry brewed in Natalie’s belly at the solemn look on Adele’s face. “Okay,” she said reluctantly.

  “Your flight?”

  “This afternoon.”

  Adele nodded, lower lip between her teeth.

  “Mama?”

  Adele turned to her son, who hadn’t even looked up from his toy when Natalie entered the room and gave him a little nudge. “Logan, this is Ms. Abbott.”

  The boy stopped what he was doing, but kept his dinosaur gripped tightly in his hands as he marched over to Natalie and boldly said hello. He held out his toy for Natalie’s closer inspection. “See? It’s a dinosaur. My favorite.”

  Natalie crouched down to his level and forced herself not to think of Josh at this age. If she did, she’d burst into tears. “Hi, Logan. He?” she paused, asking Adele with a tilt of her head whether it was a boy or girl dinosaur.

  Adele merely shrugged and gave her a half smile that said she had no idea.

  “She is an excellent T-Rex, Logan. Super scary and loud.” Natalie didn’t touch the toy for fear the little boy would start to shriek like he was being kidnapped. She hadn’t been around small children for a while. But fool her once…

  He beamed an enormous grin and nodded, then released his own very enthusiastic dinosaur roar, bouncing a little on chubby feet.

  “What’s her name?” Natalie wondered aloud, pointing at the toy.

  “T-Rex,” he said proudly, eyes bright.

  Okay, perhaps he wouldn’t grow up to be a fiction writer.

  Natalie was nervous in the preschooler’s presence, but also a little charmed. He strongly resembled his mother, but this smaller male version of the detective had none of his mother’s keen intensity. Instead, he simply looked relaxed, full of energy and happy. The way a child should.

  Natalie fought the desire to reach out and tickle his exposed belly.

  Abruptly, Logan lost interest in the visitor and flopped back down on the floor with his toy, making the reptile march across the rug and then over his mother’s lap.

  “Sorry,” Adele murmured. She gave Logan a mischievous pinch on his bottom as he and the dinosaur scooted away. “Sometimes he’s a bundle of energy with the attention span of a flea.” She shrugged again, this time sheepishly. “He probably gets that from me.”

  Natalie spied Adele’s fidgety hands, and privately agreed, but chose not to comment. “There’s nothing to apologize for. He’s obviously thrilled to spend this time with you.” She was surprised to find herself feeling a little envious. Though Natalie wasn’t sure whether it was of Logan or Adele.

  Natalie couldn’t remember being as young as Logan, but suddenly a faint memory came into sharper focus. She was five or six years old and at a summertime tea party on a blanket in the backyard with her mother. The sun was shining and there were cookies to go with their lukewarm tea. It was a nice memory, one that warmed her insides in a way she hadn’t felt in too long. Natalie wondered briefly when the harder times with her mother had begun to overshadow the sweeter ones in her mind.

  But the memory quickly faded, and Natalie found herself squarely in the present.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I think I need to ask you the same thing.”

  Adele’s expression clouded over further. “Let me put on a movie for Logan and then we can talk—”

  Suddenly, the front door exploded open.

  * * *

  The front door banged hard enough to shake the glass in the windows and startle everyone in the living room. Natali
e instinctively placed herself between Logan and the door and Adele jumped in front of both Natalie and Logan, reaching for a gun she wasn’t wearing.

  Red-faced, Landry stalked deeper into the room, and headed straight for Adele. “Why can’t you ever listen?” he roared.

  Alarmed by the crashing door and his father’s yelling, Logan’s lower lip began to quiver and tears filled his brown eyes.

  “Landry!” Adele scolded, suddenly as enraged as her husband. “What are you doing?” But she knew exactly why he was here. She cursed herself for not waking Natalie to talk to her earlier.

  Landry stomped over to his wife and motioned angrily at Natalie. “She’s still here?” He snorted. “How’d you manage that after what you did?”

  Adele ignored the venom in his voice and scooped up her son, even though he was getting too tall to comfortably rest on her hip. “Honey, it’s okay,” she murmured against Logan’s cheek as she kissed him.

  The boy sniffed a few times, and Adele bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at Landry in front of him. “Daddy was just playing and got too noisy.”

  Landry looked suitably shamed and lowered his voice. He gave Logan a reassuring smile. “Hey, buddy. Everything is fine.”

  “Logan, can you play in your room for a few minutes and then I’ll come and get you?” Adele set Logan down then reached for his dinosaur and handed it to him.

  “Daddy, play with me.” Logan extended his T-Rex to his father. He hadn’t seen him in a couple of days and his excitement was evident.

  But Landry ruffled the boy’s hair instead and said, “Go to your room and find another dinosaur for us both, and I’ll be in there in a minute. Then we’ll go to the park.” His hand drifted to Logan’s exposed belly. “And pick out a T-shirt too.”

  Natalie watched the exchange, eyes wide and confused as Logan darted toward his room.

  “What the hell was that?” Adele hissed, making sure Logan was out of earshot before she spoke. “Are you drunk?” She leaned forward and sniffed the air, obviously trying to check for alcohol.

  “Are you trying to commit career suicide?”

  When Adele just looked at him, hands on her hips as she waited for an answer to her question, Landry rolled his eyes. “I’m not answering your stupid question. And I don’t need to be drunk to be pissed at you! You didn’t listen to a goddamn word I said!”

  “Umm…” Natalie backed away toward the guest room, wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of a domestic dispute. “I’m just…yeah. I’m going—”

  “Oh, no. You should stay here, Ms. Abbott.” Landry sneered at Adele as he spoke. “Right, Ella? After all, this concerns her more than any of us.”

  Landry blinked at Natalie’s obvious surprise. He turned back to his wife. “Well, well. That’s why she’s still here. You haven’t told her.”

  “Landry.” Adele’s voice was a warning.

  The tall man let loose a bark of unexpected laughter. “You know what’s funny? No, it’s not just funny, it’s hilarious.” He jerked a thumb at Natalie. “I’ve been jealous of her.”

  Stunned, Natalie’s mouth dropped open while Adele’s eyebrows crawled up her forehead and stayed. “What?” they both exclaimed.

  “Why not?” he scoffed. “The last time she was here, Ella, you mentioned her for days after she left.”

  With wide eyes, Natalie turned to Adele. What was he talking about?

  “Landry, we both discuss all our cases. That’s what we do.”

  Landry didn’t just look livid, he looked devastated, and the sight made Adele’s stomach twist.

  “Something was different about this case and you know it. And now she’s back and you invite her to stay in our house? In our house, Ella! Since when do you do that?”

  Adele shot Natalie an apologetic glance then focused on her husband. “Landry,” she tried again, her tone softer. “I—”

  “And I drove by here the other night. You know, to check on things. And you two were up talking in the middle of the night. All cozy in the living room. Arms wrapped around each other.”

  “Are you insane? She’s just lost her brother! I gave her a hug, Landry. I do it all the time!” As Landry’s other words soaked in, Adele’s expression hardened. “Wait. You were spying on us?”

  “It’s my house too,” he reminded Adele bitterly. “That’s not spying.”

  Brown eyes narrowed. “You can’t see inside the living room from the street.”

  He threw his hands in the air. “So what if I got out of the car? I saw a light on in the middle of the night. I wanted to know why.”

  “Jesus, Landry, listen to yourself! You’re being ridiculous.”

  His bristly cheeks were beet red and he laughed again. The sound was high-pitched and out of character. “You’re right! I was being totally stupid. Because if you cared about her at all you would never have ruined the case against her brother’s killer.”

  Dead silence.

  Adele and Landry glared at each other with fire pouring from their eyes.

  “What…” Natalie swallowed thickly before she continued, “what does he mean…ruined the case, Ella?”

  More dead silence.

  Heart in her throat, Adele opened her mouth but it was Landry who spoke. “Detective Lejeune, here, thought she’d play Superwoman and right all the wrongs in the world herself!” he thundered. “Of course, she didn’t actually right anything. Instead, she just made everything worse.”

  Adele sighed and rubbed her forehead with both hands. “You can be a real jerk when you want to be, Landry.”

  “Me? I begged you to tell me before you did anything stupid. I begged you and you were too stubborn to listen.”

  “I tried to tell you!” Adele’s volume matched her husband’s. She pointed an accusing finger at him. “I couldn’t find you because you didn’t want me to find you.”

  “My brother…?” Natalie’s voice was soft and puzzled and didn’t penetrate Adele and Landry’s shouts.

  “Landry, I ran after you at the courthouse and looked for you the rest of the afternoon. Your phone was off, and nobody knew where you were!”

  “I got called in for damage control while you were still spilling your guts to The Rat Squad,” he shot back. “And this morning it’s already all over the station!”

  Adele groaned loudly. She knew her accusations wouldn’t stay quiet for long, but they couldn’t have had time to even start investigating. “How?”

  “Morrell’s partner, that stupid fuck Hobson, shot off his mouth about being called in for questioning when he came off the nightshift and it spread like wildfire.” His eyes flashed dangerously. “You didn’t trust me to wait. I can tell.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t.”

  Adele saw her words stab Landry right in the chest, felt it as keenly as if the knife were twisting in her own. What she said was unequivocally true, and she regretted it instantly.

  “Landry, I couldn’t wait to say something. I’d already waited too long. Please understand. When I couldn’t find you, I called the prosecutor. He told me that Crisco’s attorney called him right after the arraignment. He thought he was going to have to drop the charges and, instead, Crisco’s lawyer proposed a deal. Life in prison, if the death penalty was off the table. The prosecutor agreed on the spot.”

  Landry shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. Adele could see shutters going up behind his eyes. “No shit, Ella. Putting bad guys in jail is his job.”

  “I needed to say something fast, or it would have been too late. I couldn’t know when they’d schedule the actual sentencing hearing.”

  “Nothing happens that quickly,” Landry ground out.

  “Everything is happening too quickly!” Adele’s cell phone rang. She snatched it up from the coffee table and saw that it was her lieutenant. With the push of a button she sent the call directly to voice mail. She threw the phone on the sofa and watched angrily as it bounced on the floor. Adele was going to be yelled at over and
over again today. “Landry—”

  “My brother’s killer?” Natalie tried again. “I don’t understand why the case is ruined if there is a deal.” But Adele and Landry were only focused on each other. “Hey!” Natalie finally shouted, coming to stand directly between the detectives.

  Landry looked at Natalie as though he just realized she was still in the room.

  The tension in the air was thick and dangerous, and Natalie instinctively shifted to the balls of her feet. “Now, someone please tell me—”

  “Daddy!” Logan burst into the room, two dinosaurs held awkwardly in one hand, wadded shirt in the other. “I’m ready!” The smile slid off his face at the sight of the livid expressions and rigid bodies around him.

  “C’mon, son,” Landry said. He took the shirt and toys from Logan with one hand and grasped the boy’s small hand with his other. When he spoke again his voice was barely above a whisper, betrayal carved into every word. “You don’t know what you’ve done, Ella. I don’t care what you think you know, you don’t. It was naïve and reckless and selfish and it’s going to hurt us all.”

  Every word felt like a slap to the face and Adele flinched at “selfish.”

  “Ms. Abbott?” Landry’s gaze slid sideways.

  But Natalie’s worried stare was glued on an ashen Adele. “Yeah?”

  “I’m truly sorry about your brother.” With that, Landry lifted Logan into his arms and strode out the front door, which was still hanging wide open.

  Adele dropped back onto the sofa, her face in her hands as she tried not to cry. “Shit.”

  * * *

  Natalie slowly crossed the room and shut the door, as much to give Adele a few seconds to collect herself as anything. When she turned back the detective was staring at her, eyes glittering, and obviously upset. “I know he’s your husband and all, and I don’t really understand what’s happening,” she sat down next to Adele, “but I’d sort of like to punch him in the nose.”

  Adele let out an unexpected burst of laughter. “You and me both.” Then she sighed. “But I think I’m the one you’ll want to hit after I explain what’s going on.”