by Amy O'Neill
“Hey, baldy, have you seen the rookie?”
Marshall scowled at him and pursed his lips together so all that could be seen under his nose was moustache and chin. “You know Torres, if it was anyone else who called me that I’d throw this piping hot mug of coffee at the bastard.”
Trent laughed and shrugged. “I can’t help it I’m so damn charming.”
Marshall rolled his eyes. “I’m not your type so stop oozing out the BS. As for your partner, he’s in Interrogation Room 3. Something about a possible missing person case.”
Trent swore and headed down the hall. Sure enough, when he walked into the adjoining room and watched through the double sided mirror, Fitzer was sitting with two burly men.
Trent hit the button to hear what was being said. He knew immediately these guys were here for Noelle, unless there was the off chance that another woman from the south was missing. Their thick accents were almost hard to understand at times.
“She’s my everythin’. I don’t know what she done woulda run off fur.”
The younger of the two men hung his head and shrugged. He looked to be a few inches taller than Trent and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds. Trent felt sorry for the polo shirt the guy had squeezed himself into.
Based on his frame, Trent would guess he was a former athlete, more specifically a defensive lineman. Blonde hair hung to his shoulders and looked like it hadn’t been washed in a few days. This had to be Lenny.
The other man patted Lenny’s back consolingly. That man wore a pair of dark slacks, a crisp white dress shirt, and a big shiny badge. His cowboy hat lay on the table along with a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Trent thought southern sheriffs only looked like that in movies like Smoky and the Bandit. Obviously this guy intended to live up to the hype.
“We just want her ta come on home and get things back ta normal. My boy’s been a mess since she took off.”
Even though Trent knew both sides of the story, had these two come in and done the same act in front of him, he would have been suspicious. Lenny made sure to play up the ‘distraught boyfriend’ every time Fitzer addressed him.
“I’m very sorry for you. My partner and I came across Miss Dupre during a breaking and entering call. My partner has seen her since then.”
Trent didn’t miss the flash of anger in Lenny’s beady eyes. “Whatta ya mean he’s seen her?”
Fitzer sat up straighter and tried to cover his slip up, but the way he tripped over his words was enough that the good ol’ sheriff knew he was lying. “I mean we’ve seen her when we did a follow-up in the case. Not that he was seeing her. Not that at all. That would be unprofessional.”
Trent had to stop himself from breaking through the glass and throttling someone, but he didn’t know whether to start with Fitzer or Lenny. Either one would be gratifying enough at this point.
Instead, he took a deep breath, shut off the mic, and walked out to knock on the door of the interrogation room. A moment later, Fitzer peaked out.
Trent said nothing, but his stare said it all. Fitzer looked back into the room and excused himself.
Trent checked to see if another room was open and they went in there to have privacy. Once Fitzer closed the door, it took everything in Trent to not go off like a grenade.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Well, I’m …”
Trent waved his hand and cut Fitzer off. “I know what you think you’re doing. You think you’re letting this distraught man know that his girlfriend is safe and sound.”
Fitzer gave him a dumbfounded look. “Well yeah.”
Trent kicked the chair, pretending it was Fitzer’s face. “Look Rookie, everything isn’t black and white. Maybe in that fancy neighborhood I’m sure you come from, but here in the streets, people lie all the time.” Trent pointed toward the other room, “Like those two.”
Fitzer’s brows furrowed. “How do you know they are lying?”
Trent found it hard to keep his temper in check. He knew it wasn’t because his partner went behind his back, or even that he knew the other men were lying, it was because of Noelle. The protectiveness he felt toward her rivaled that he’d always held for his mother, and Lord knew he’d stop at nothing to keep either of them safe.
“I’ve talked to Noelle. I know the other side of this story. It’s why I didn’t call it in.”
Fitzer’s face fell slightly. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. When the missing person is an adult, you take the time to talk to them, find out what happened, and go from there. What did Boy Wonder in there tell you was the reason she left?”
Fitzer shrugged. “He just said he came home and she was gone.”
“Did he say there was a fight?”
Fitzer shook his head.
Trent leaned against the table and braced his arms near his hips. He clenched his fingers around the edge of the cold metal until it hurt. That helped release a little of the anger he felt. Through clenched teeth he asked, “Did he tell you he gave her a concussion or that he threw her across the room? Did he tell you that she was hospitalized for it?”
Fitzer nearly fell into the chair and hung his head. “No. I never thought it could be a domestic dispute.”
Trent pushed away from the table. He knew he was yelling, but didn’t care. “No, you never thought. Period. Like I said, life isn’t black and white. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better.”
“Now what do I do?”
Trent put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “You’ve done enough. I’ll take it from here.”
Before Fitzer could finish sputtering out a reply, Trent was already out the door and storming toward Lenny. Adrenaline coursed through him and pounded in his ears, drowning out Fitzer’s calls to stop.
As he turned the doorknob, Trent took a deep breath. He looked toward Fitzer, who was already heading toward Marshall’s office.
He swung the door open and let it slam shut behind him. They stood, and he motioned from them to sit back down.
“Gentlemen, there has been a misunderstanding. Though my partner contacted you and I understand you have traveled quite a ways to get here, Ms. Dupre has stated to me that she does not wish to be contact by either of you.”
Lenny’s rage was visible in the reddening of his face, but his father held him back. The older man spoke. “I’m Frank Dunlap, this is my boy Lenny. Can you at least tell us how she is? I know she’s got folks back home worried sick about her.”
Trent ignored Frank’s outstretched hand. “I’m Trent Torres. As my partner stated, we answered an erroneous breaking and entering call, at which time we met Ms. Dupre. When I saw the bulletin for her I contacted her right away and she was adamant that she does not want anything from you, either of you.”
Trent glared at Frank and then at Lenny. It took everything in him to keep his cool.
“Now, Son, did Noelle also tell you she recently had some head trauma? She ain’t thinkin’ clear.”
Trent leaned down and braced his arms on the table. He was mere inches from Frank. For several seconds they stared each other down.
“I’m not your son. And yes she did tell me. She also said your boy here was the one that gave it to her.”
Frank turned as red as Lenny. The tension in the room was escalating by the minute and Trent felt like one of them could blow at any second.
Frank was the first as he stood up fast, his chair skidding backward against the wall. He shook one of his fat fingers at Trent in indignation. “Look here ya smart mouthed bastard, I don’t know who the hell ya think ya are, but I won’t …”
Trent stood up coolly and tapped his name badge. “I told you, my name is Trent Torres. I don’t know who you think you are coming in as a man of the law and defending a boy that likes to beat women.”
Lenny stood now and took a swing across the table, missing Trent by at least a foot. Trent never flinched.
As Lenny reared back to take another swing, his literally spit out his next wor
ds. “You can go screw yurself. I’m man enough to kick your ass.”
Trent nodded sarcastically. “Oh, right, because real men use violence to solve their problems. Seems in your case, though, it’s more an intimidation thing. But do you seriously think I’m scared of you?”
“You damn well better be!” Lenny was fuming so bad that there was a spray of spit with every word he said. He lunged across the table again and Frank had to grab him by the belt loop to hold him back.
“Calm down, boy. He wants to piss you off. This big city cop probably has someone on the other side of that mirror watching and recording for a confession.”
Trent laughed. That would have been a pretty good idea had he not been so consumed by his anger to get to Lenny. “You watch too many police dramas. Maybe you should spend more time earning that badge of yours and upholding the law by arresting low life punks like Lenny here.”
“I’m gonna kick …”
Frank slapped Lenny upside the back of the head before he could finish his threat. “Shut up, boy. Don’t give this know-it-all a reason ta arrest yur ass.”
Trent shrugged and smirked. “All I have to do is make one phone call to Noelle. If she files a police report I’ll be more than happy to handcuff you.”
Frank seemed to get full of himself as he put his shoulders back and stuck out his pot belly. “It’s outta yur jurisdiction. You can’t do shit. ”
Trent opened his mouth to make a retort, but the door opened with a bang and Marshall barged in. “Torres, get your ass in the hall.”
Trent motioned toward Lenny and Frank, “But I’m in the middle of something.”
Marshall squinted and pointed his finger toward the hallway. “You’re about to cross the line. Get your ass out here.”
Trent glared at the two other men as he exited the room, biting his tongue the whole time. Marshall pushed him on the shoulder, “My office. Now.”
Fitzer went into the interrogation room as Trent walked ahead of Marshall. “The rookie shouldn’t have called …”
“Torres, it’s in your best interest to not say another word.”
Trent waited until they were closed in Marshall’s office. “Fitzer should have never called in on that bulletin.”
“You’re right. You should have called.”
“I wanted to talk to Noelle, er, Ms. Dupre, about it first. She doesn’t want them to know where she is.”
“Why not?”
Trent clenched his teeth and flexed his jaw. “She hasn’t given me the okay to discuss it. I am respecting her privacy.”
“Respect your job. As an officer of the law, it is your duty to help assist, to protect and serve, your community. One call from you would have let them know she was safe.”
“I am respecting my job. You just said it, my job is to protect. I'm doing that by abiding by Noelle’s wishes and not letting either of those two guys near her.”
Marshall eyed him, but Trent refused to back down and he knew Marshall could see it. “Did you tell them she doesn’t want to see them?”
Trent shrugged. “Yeah, more or less.”
“What else did you say?”
Trent pursed his lips. “Nothing. Are we done here? Because I have a rookie I’m supposed to be training.”
Marshall folded his hands in front of him on the desk. “Yeah, we’re done. Fitzer is telling them to leave. We watched from the other room.”
Trent smirked. “I was so livid at him I didn’t think about it until the dad mentioned it.”
Marshall nodded. “Oh you were thinking, just with the wrong part of the brain. Your reaction was obviously personal, but we both know you can’t be a good cop and add your personal feelings in the mix. It clouds your judgment. From now on, it’s by the book.”
Trent nodded his head in agreement. “Got it, by the book.”
Trent closed the door behind him and watched Fitzer escort Lenny and Frank to the front lobby, neither of them looked happy.
Trent took a seat at his desk and dialed Delphine’s number.
“Seaside Escape, how can I help you?”
“Hey, Del, it’s Trent.”
“Geez, you’ve been gone an hour and already you’re calling for Noelle.”
Trent shook his head, even though he knew Delphine couldn’t see him. “No. I’m calling for you. I need a huge favor from you.”
“You sound as serious as a heart attack. What do you need?”
“Keep Noelle hidden today.”
He could hear the confusion in Delphine’s voice. “Why? What’s going on?”
Trent filled her in quickly, a moment later she was letting out curses.
“Delphine, please keep her out of sight until I can get there. I don’t get off until after five. I’ll come straight there and get her.”
“Do you want me to tell her what’s going on?”
“No, absolutely not. She’s gonna think I went behind her back.”
Delphine tsked. “That is gonna be her initial thought anyway. What are you gonna do when you get here?”
Trent sighed. “I’ve got no clue; getting her somewhere safe is all I know.”
He hung up a moment later as Fitzer returned. Without saying a word he grabbed his hat and sunglasses, and then headed for their patrol car. Within a second he heard Fitzer’s shoes hastily following him.
“Trent, I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about calling the Dunlaps. But in my defense, you never told me you knew not to call them.”
Trent flung the driver side door open and put on his shades. It pissed him off more knowing the kid had a point. “Did you learn any lesson today?”
Fitzer nodded, “If the bulletin is for an adult, make sure to clarify their wishes before contacting anyone else.”
“Anything else?”
Fitzer looked at him over the roof of the car. “Everything isn’t always black and white. I got it Trent, I got it.”
Trent got in and closed the door, “Dear Lord I hope-to-hell so. Please tell me you didn’t tell dumb and dumber where to find Noelle.”
Fitzer fastened his seatbelt and shook his head. “Nope. I knew you would kick my ass and though those two were intimidating, having to be your partner for the next year was enough incentive to keep the peace with you.”
Trent pulled out on the main road and nodded. “At least you learned that lesson without me having to say anything.”
He looked at his watch and prayed Delphine was keeping a close eye on Noelle. Trent had a feeling today was going to be a long day and until he could see Noelle safe and sound for himself, time was gonna crawl.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Noelle put her hair up in a ponytail and checked herself out in the mirror. Lightly, she touched the tinted mark on her collarbone and remembered Trent’s mouth leaving the love bite just a few hours before. Even though she was alone in the room, she still blushed, not used to this feeling – this genuine happiness.
The day was bright and sunny, just as Noelle felt inside. She hummed to herself as she walked to the office. Being a Saturday in early November, the resort wasn’t even at half occupancy. The majority of those in-house would be checking out tomorrow, so today would be light, only having to replenish and tidy up instead of a full service cleaning.
Delphine was on the phone when she walked in. From her expression, Noelle could tell she wasn’t happy about something. She kept walking, straight to the supply room.
The industrial-sized washer was vigorously spinning a load of sheets and the smell of bleach hung heavy in the air. Noelle began loading her cart with fresh towels and a roll of clear trash bags.
A moment later, Delphine poked her head into the room. “Hey, why don’t you take the day off today? Go relax in your room or something.”
Noelle looked at her and questioned, “Is everything alright? You seemed agitated when I got in.”
Delphine let out a heavy sigh and puckered her lips. “Yeah I’m alright. I just think it would be better for me to do the rooms tod
ay. I got some steam to work off. You go enjoy your day.”
Noelle opened the dryer door and pulled out the load of fitted sheets, putting them in a large canvas bin. “Thanks for the offer, but sittin’ in my room all day doesn’t sound like much fun. Besides, look at all this laundry. I’ll stay here and do this if you wanna clean the rooms.”
Delphine seemed to mull it over. “I don’t want you in the front. Stay back here if you want. I got plenty of books on the shelves in the lobby, or there’s some DVDs in the TV stand over there.”
Noelle nodded absently as she began to fold a twin sheet. “Alright. Can I ask why you don’t want me in the office? I mean, I thought you wanted me to learn to wait on guests.”
Delphine shrugged. “Yeah, well today isn’t a good day. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Noelle nodded. “Okay. Are you sure you don’t wanna talk about whatever’s going on with you?”
Delphine shook her head and grabbed a handful of miniature shampoo bottles from the box in the shelf. “I’m sure. Besides, you gotta tell me about your night.”
The blush was immediate, giving Noelle away, but she still played coy. “Why, whatever do you mean?”
Delphine laughed and shook her head as she dropped the bottles into the tray on the cart. “Don’t give me that crap. I saw lover boy coming out of your room this morning.”
“Oh.”
“’Oh’ is right!”
Noelle nearly gushed. “He’s so great. I don’t know what the hell I was thinkin’ before. I mean, the last thing I need is another man to deal with, but Trent is different. As hands-off as I wanted to be, I can’t help but want to let him in. He’s so easy to talk to. I just don’t know how to explain it.”
Delphine took a seat at the small table and patted the opposite chair for Noelle to take a seat. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I know he can be charming. I also know that underneath that playboy exterior is a good-hearted man. I hope you know he would never do anything to hurt you.”
