by Snow, Lucy
When I thought about it, though, I figured by now, with his military service, Harrison had slept in some pretty sticky situations already. I might get worked up about him spending a night in jail, but I bet it didn’t even make his list of top 10 worst places to sleep.Might even be more comfortable than his bunk at basic training.
I wondered what that kind of training and that kind of service did somebody. Anyone can endure a small amount of discomfort for a couple days, but when you go for years through that kind of stress, seeing combat, seeing all that death and destruction, it must do something to you. No wonder Harrison seemed so different now that he was back.
It was strange, but I thought that being in the military had somehow made Harrison a less violent and more controlled person. I got the sense from him that now he knew the destructive power that he wielded, both physically and otherwise, and was in a much better position to control himself, control his temper, and control how he treated other people.
I wondered how long it had taken him to learn those lessons in the service. On the one hand, I hope those lessons weren’t too difficult, but at the same time, a small part of me wanted him to pay for all the consternation and unhappiness he had caused me and our parents in the past.
I couldn’t escape it. I was mad at Harrison. Sure, he was different now, sure he was sexy and strong and gorgeous and nice and he made me feel wonderful things when he was around, but that couldn’t just erase all that we’ve been through before.
I turned this over and over in my mind until I finally fell asleep. When the sky brightened the next day, under heavy clouds and more snow, my eyes fluttered open, and I rolled around in bed trying to grasp few moments of extra sleep, to no avail.
Even more like a zombie in last night I shuffled around the house, making coffee, and turning on the heat before I froze to death. I longed for the warm blankets of my bed, but new that I wouldn’t find any more rest there today.
I turned on the news and watched the anchors drone on about bad things happening around the world while I drank my coffee and eight a croissant.
I couldn’t do this any longer. Harrison should never have been arrested. All he had done was try to defend me from a guy, a drunk guy, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Yeah, maybe I had let him have a little too much too soon, but that was no excuse. What excuse had done was wrong, and Harrison was right to step in and save me.
But knowing Harrison, he wouldn’t tell them the whole story. He wouldn’t explain himself. Not to the police, not after all of his interactions with them over the years. He might be a different person now, but I had a good feeling that Harrison’s healthy disregard for law enforcement was strong as ever.
No, Harrison wouldn’t tell them anything, even to clear his name. He would sit in silence, maybe answer with a snarky remark, and dig himself an even deeper hole. And the police, good cop or no, would only be too happy to hand him a shovel. That’s what happened when you had a file that thick with the local police.
I had no idea what the police would do in response. I mean, from television I knew they had ways of trying to get people to talk, but this wasn’t so serious as all that, Was it? They weren’t in a put the screws to them or anything, were they?
I was getting in over my head, too many thoughts swirling around and nothing making any more sense. The only thing I knew, was that Harrison wouldn’t explain everything. He certainly wouldn’t tell them why he was following me, but even more close to the point than that, he wouldn’t tell them why he and Steve fought, and why Steve ended up in a mess next to his truck.
If Harrison wouldn’t explain himself, then I would be the one to explain to the police what happened. As soon as the thought occurred to me, I set up and turned off the television. I looked up at the clock, and saw that it was almost 10 in the morning.
I hurried upstairs, and took a shower as quickly as I could. After getting ready, I put on layers of warm clothing and made my way out of the house.
Destination: Summitville police station. If Harrison wouldn’t help himself, I would help him out this time. I owed him that much from what he had saved me from two nights earlier.
Plus, and I never thought I’d hear myself say or think this, I was actually starting to like him.
A lot.
Shudder.
Chapter 17 - The Station
I shivered as I stepped out the front door into the cold Sunday morning. The snow was still coming down, catching itself on my coat and scarf, and holding their for a few seconds before melting. If I stayed out like this for very long the little heat I was generating would soon drench me in formerly frozen snow.
I hurried over to my car, brushing the snow off the windshield with my gloved hand, and unlocking the door. Sitting inside it was no warmer than outside, given that the car had been out in the cold for almost 2 days.
When the engine turned over, I flicked on the windshield wipers, and they strained against the weight of the snow still left on the windshield. Once the heater started up in full blast and the snow began to melt outside, I turned on the lights and pulled out into the street.
Summitville was a sleepy town on the most busy of days, so a Sunday morning was even more empty. I spotted only a few people huddled in their warm overcoats, scarves, and hats, as they trudged their way through the thickening snow. Luckily, a truck had come by in the middle of the night and salted the roads, leaving them relatively free of snow. Still, I kept alert and focused on the road, not wanting to get into an accident even a little more than usual.
The main part of town held only a few city buildings like the fire station and police station, as well as the public school, library, a convenience store, and an old historic building or to. There were more people around here, most stopping in front of the convenience store to buy some last-minute things for the holidays. The library wasn’t open yet.
I pulled into the police station’s small parking lot and parked, the only car not owned by the police.I sat in the car for a couple minutes, gathering my thoughts, getting my story together, and working up the courage to get out. Not just to see the police, but to face the cold again.
I knew that trying to prepare for something like the cold, and the police, would make either of them worse, than just getting up and going after them. But at the same time, it felt like that extra couple minutes of preparation would come in handy.
I was wrong about that, at least with regards to the cold. Opening the door through a blast of frozen air at my face, and I very nearly closed the door again to take refuge in the warm cabin of the car. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay here forever; I had work to do, and Harrison needed the help of someone with a clearer mind, and more appreciation for the work the police did keeping people safe.
So I kept the door open, and got out of the car, Bracing myself against it as I looked back and forth. I wasn’t embarrassed about being here, and I didn’t even think anyone would recognize me, something made me check and see if anyone else was around, or watching.
They weren’t. I locked the door and made my way into the police station, hoping it would be warmer than outside. It must be, right? Even for a police station, full of hardened criminals, they had to at least have the heat on, right?
Thankfully, warm air escaping from the open doorway greeted me and pulled me in, inviting me inside with its promise of, you know, not killing me. I stepped up to the front desk, and spoke to the attending officer.
“I’d like to see, uhh, officer…” I started, before realizing I didn’t know his name. I fumbled around for a second, as the officer on duty watched me without saying a word. Finally, I remembered I had his card in my bag. I pulled it out after a few seconds of searching, and presented it. “Officer Stallman, please.”
The officer on duty was a young man, a few years older than me, with a curious look on his face mixed with boredom. I could understand, I had a hunch manning the front desk at a tiny town’s police station on a Sunday morning was not exactly his idea of an
exciting time. Or anyone’s, for that matter. He seemed pleased that I actually knew who I wanted to speak to. “Officer Stallman? Just a moment. I’ll check to see if he’s around. What’s this in regards to?
I hesitated again, Turning my head back and forth to make sure no one else was within earshot, all of a sudden shy and embarrassed. “He,” I trailed off before finding myself, “he arrested my step brother last night.”
“Okay, you mean Harrison Troy, right?”
“Yes that’s the one. Harrison Troy. Is he still here?”
The officer looked down at his paperwork. “Yeah, Harrison Troy spent the night with us. He’s still here. Let me call Officer Stallman and he can come out and speak to you. Why don’t you have a seat?” with his eyes he indicated the bench near the doorway, off to one side.
I thanked him and went to sit down, sitting up straighter than I usually would.Police stations did weird things to people. I felt like acting more formal than usual.
After a couple minutes of staring at the wall in front of me, Officer Stalin came out, looking much like he did the night before at our house. “ Ms. Troy?”
I stood up, brushing my jacket down before meeting his gaze. “It’s… it’s Gold, actually. Laurel Gold.”
“Miss Gold, yes. You and Harrison Troy are… Stepsiblings?”
“That’s correct. If you still here? Can I see him?” I needed to make sure Harrison was okay.
“Yes, he’s still here. We’re talking to them now. He’s fine.” Officer Stallman sounded gruff, but reassuring at the same time. Of the three police officers I dealt with so far, he was definitely the one I enjoyed speaking to the most.
“Harrison didn’t do anything wrong on Friday night,” I blurted out, wanting to get right down to business and set the record straight.
Officer Stallman shifted back on 1 foot, his arms wrapping around his strong chest. “He’s not exactly making it easy for us, Miss Gold. He won’t say a word, or rather, nothing of substance. He’ll talk back and forth with us, make bad jokes, but when we try and ask him about Friday night he just clams up. He sits there with a smile on his face, saying nothing.”
I couldn’t help but smile, just a little bit. “That sounds like Harrison, all right. As soon as things get serious, as soon as there’s some authority around, you’ll close right up. I think he considers it his civic duty to resist talking to people like you.”
Now it was Officer Stallman’s turn to smile. “Well, with the size of the file we have on him in the back, I’m not too surprised at the attitude. But, this gold, he’s really not helping himself. The other party gave a very detailed statement about what happened, and we would really love to hear his side of the story. At least so we can figure out, or try to, figure out what really happened that night.”
“Can I help?”
Officer Stallman got serious. “Can you convince him to talk? Can you get him at least to tell us a little bit? We’re grasping at straws here.”
I shook my head. “No one can get Harrison to talk if he doesn’t want to. To our parents eternal consternation.”
Officer Stallman smiled ruefully. “I know the type. My son is just getting to that phase.”
“And Harrison never left it.”
“That bodes well for me, both at work today and till my son is 18.”
“You have a good way with people I think you’ll be OK.”
“Thanks. You mentioned helping, how do you think you can help? I’m open to anything at this point. I just want to get this thing squared away - I’m missing time with my family.”
My mind to a blank, and I stood there in front of him, not sure what to say. I wanted to help but… suddenly I knew what I could do. It was so obvious! “I can tell you my side of the story, right? That should help, no?”
Officer Stallman’s eyes widened. “You were there? You saw the fight?”
“Of course I was there. They were fighting over me.”
Officer Stallman took this information in such a way that spoke volumes. He didn’t know I was there Friday night. Steve must have told him quite the story. “This changes everything. I need to take your statement, Miss Gold. You have a few moments? Please come with me.”
Without waiting for my reply, Officer Stallman turned and walked back towards the front desk. I followed, and saw him tell the officer on duty we were going to use a conference room before leaving me back into the offices.
The offices looked less like something out of a TV show or movies, and more like any random office in any random building. Officer Stallman guided me into a conference room third from the end, and offered me a chair to sit down. He closed the door behind us and sat down at the other side of the table.
The room was small, fit for only four people maximum to sit inside. Between us was a rectangular table with a recording device sitting off to one side.
“Can I get you a drink? Coffee, soda, water, anything?”
“Just water for me, thank you.”
“Stay right here, I’ll be right back. I watched as Officer Stallman stood up and left the room. I looked around the blank walls, and saw a camera in one of the corners looking down at the table and anyone sitting at it. Now this part was more familiar. My television cop show experience would come in handy here.
A couple minutes later, Officer Stallman came back in carrying two paper cups full of water. He set one down in front of me and sat back down himself, taking a long sip before focusing on me.”Okay, Miss Gold. Please start from the top and tell me everything that happened Friday night. Bear in mind,” he leaned forward and turned on the recorder, “that I am recording your statement for the record. Do you understand?”
I sat straight up, putting my hands both on the table, ignoring the couple of water in front of me. “Yes, officer, I understand.”
“Then, for the record, this is the statement of Miss Laurel Gold. The night in question was Friday, December 20, 2014. Officer Sam Stallman in the room. Please proceed, Miss Gold.”
I started telling my side of the story, starting from leaving Harrison’s homecoming party at our parents house with Maggie. From there, I talked about the Crown. Officer Stallman stopped me in a couple places to confirm some times and specific locations, but for the most part he let me speak.
After describing getting to the Crown, I moved things along till I got to meeting Steve.
“I’m going to stop you right there, Miss Gold, if that’s alright,” Officer Stallman said as he sat up in his chair. I nodded. “Describe Steve Clausen for me. Tell me what you thought of him.”
I described Steve physically. “He was really cute. You know, the all-american look? That’s exactly him. I liked him at first sight, though I don’t normally go for that type.” I felt my cheeks blossom. “Oh, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that kind of stuff.”
Officer Stallman waived his hand away. “Don’t worry about it, say whatever you like, whatever comes to mind. Please continue, you’re doing fine.”
“Okay,” I said, buoyed by his kind words. “ We met at the bar, and then he came to the table Maggie and I shared and sat down with us for a few minutes. We talked a little bit, seem to be getting along pretty well, and…” I trailed off, getting to the part of the story that was a little embarrassing.
Officer Stallman reached over and paused the recording, before leaning forward and fixating on me. “This gold, I can tell you’re hesitating because you don’t want to say anything embarrassing. Let me tell you right now not to worry about that. I understand that everybody does things that they are sometimes not proud of. I’ve done them myself many times.” He grinned. “No one else will hear this recording, except officers doing their jobs. We are not here to embarrass or shame you, we just want to know what happened.”
I sighed, feeling so relieved. That really took a weight off. I nodded to Officer Stallman, and he on paused the recording. “We were getting along pretty well, and then he invited me out to his truck to get something.”
&nb
sp; “Did Mr. Clausen say what he was getting from his truck?”
“No he never said what it was.” I paused. “I kind of got the impression In the moment that he really just wanted to get me away from Maggie and the crowd at the Crown.”
“And how did that make you feel?”
“I was fine with it. I liked him. I wanted to be alone with him.” Officer Stallman’s reassuring words from a minute ago rang through my ears. If I really wanted to help Harrison, I would tell the truth and not be afraid of any potential embarrassment. It wasn’t like my statement was going to be shared on Facebook or anything.
I kept going with the story, describing how Steve and I stepped outside, away from everyone else, kissed a little against the side of the building, and then walked towards his truck. I wasn’t afraid anymore, I told Officer Stallman how excited I was to see where things would go with Steve.
“When we got to his truck, he looked around for some stuff in there, or at least pretended to. Then he…”
“Please be frank, Miss Gold. Tell me everything that happened next.”
“He pressed me up against his truck and we started kissing again. It felt really good, and I was enjoying myself, at first.”
“And then?” Officer Stallman was interested, but not in a lewd way at all. He just knew that my statement was getting to the important parts.
“And at first I was okay with him being a little aggressive.” I described how he touched me. “And then I asked him to stop.”
“And what did Mr. Clausen do?”
“He didn’t stop. He kept being just as aggressive with me as before. I didn’t like it, I wasn’t having any fun anymore.”
“Please continue. Where do need to take a break?”
“No, thank you, I’m fine. I’d like to keep going.” Officer Stallman nodded and I continued, Describing my attempts to get Steve Clausen off me, And how unsuccessful I was. “And then, someone else showed up.”
