by Combs, Sasha
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1000
The buzzer to her apartment steadily rang as if the person on the street had permanently wedged their body up against it. Linda had just stepped out of the shower and while still wrapped in her large towel...she threw her aching tired body on her bed. After the night she had, she was still trying to wind down.
Billings had done as everyone expected...he wouldn’t talk until his attorney arrived. When Mike had gone to retrieve her coat, the police had already been standing outside listening and he’d been arrested while she remained confined with Charlie and Billings. Like Billings, Mike had been as quiet as a mouse and had been refusing to say a word without an attorney present. She’d heard things like a plea bargain if he talked about any other illegal activity within the department...and the thought of that sickened her to the core.
When Charlie had been questioned...he had been the most vocal. Since he really had not done anything to cause Elizabeth’s death...more than likely his charges wouldn’t be as harsh as Mike’s. Linda had wanted to share some of the details in Elizabeth’s diary with him because after flipping through it while she sat in the parking lot outside of the precinct; Linda now believed that Elizabeth had really fallen in love with ‘cry baby’ Charlie Billings.
That was the nickname she’d penned for him in her diary.
Rolling out of her bed...because she couldn’t stand the sound of her buzzer any longer; Linda pushed the button opening the front door to the building without taking the time to see who was calling on her. It was too soon for her friends Maxie and Corey to be back in the city. Except for her brother, they were the only two people brave enough to come to her place without calling first.
As she zombie walked back to her bedroom; she convinced herself that someone in the building had locked themselves out and by pushing on the buzzer they knew if they annoyed her long enough; she would let them in without question.
As she entered her bedroom...throwing her tired body back onto her bed; she knew within minutes, if left undisturbed she would be diving into the deepest of deep sleeps. But there would be none of that because not to long after she’d pushed the buzzer, Linda was startled by light tapping on her door. Moaning very loudly, she muttered a curse while making her way over to the door to see who was on the other side.
The latches, and turning of keys could be heard as she attempted to open her door. She didn’t know if this was such a good idea...especially because they’d not had the chance to talk. When she pulled the door open, Linda suddenly realized she’d not put her robe on when she came to answer the door. She’d been so tired and exhausted...the way she was dressed...or wasn’t dressed didn’t even begin to cross her mind.
“Did I wake you?”
Hayford looked liked he’d just had eight hours of sleep. She knew he’d been up just as many hours as her and while she’d been at the precinct wrapping up her case...he was sitting at his computer, writing his story about Elizabeth Van Wilson and her alleged murderers.
Stepping aside to let him in, she grunted something while making her way towards her bedroom to put on her bathrobe.
Linda’s eyes were beet red due to her being bone tired. She knew no amount of makeup this morning would make her look presentable. After leaving the department to go home, she’d still been wearing the black revealing dress from Elizabeth Van Wilson’s closet. When she’d been emptying her purse, just before going to the evidence room; it never occurred to her that she was wearing a garment that didn’t belong to her. When Linda dragged her body into her apartment; she’d slipped out of the expressive garment and laid it on the chair in her bedroom. After showering then collapsing on her bed; it wasn’t until she saw Hayford this morning, that she’d been reminded of his involvement in solving the case involving Elizabeth Van Wilson.
Walking back into the other room where she had left Hayford; Linda could smell fresh coffee brewing. Hayford was coming from her small kitchen with a coffee mug in his hand. She knew she’d not left him alone long enough to brew a pot of coffee...then she recognized one of the containers in his other hand that held the hot brew. Hayford had stopped by the local coffeehouse around the corner from her apartment. When Linda had opened the door to her apartment to let him in, she’d not noticed that he was carrying a bag with the two cups of coffee.
Hayford placed her mug and his Styrofoam container down on her coffee table just before crossing the floor to stand in front of her. His forehead wrinkled with lines of worry, then his eyebrows furrowed with anger. Slowly, he lifted his clenched hand from his side, then softly glided his finger down the side of her face. Without any heels on, his height towered over her and it had not been until their time spent together tonight that she’d noticed the piercing blue color of his eyes. In the past when she would look at him, her eyes never stayed on him for long. When he had stared at her while they’d been in her department and when he averted his gaze while sitting in the chair next to her in his uncles home office; Linda had looked deep into his eyes on several occasions and when they made love, she committed the color to memory.
“Does this hurt...?” his voice nearly cracked when he said that and at first Linda didn’t know to what he was referring to. From the moment the police officers stormed into the library to escort the chief and his son quietly to the station; Linda had not thought about the abuse she’d suffered by the hands of Mike and Chief Billings. She had watched as her father grimaced when she looked up to see him standing along side of her desk in her cubicle. She admired him for his restraint because not once did he remark about the bruises on her shoulder or her face.
Stepping outside of his reach; Hayford’s hand remained suspended in midair...he watched as Linda averted her eyes in an aimless direction; preferring to look at the floor instead of directing her attention on him. The black and blue imprint of a large hand could be clearly seen on her face. His eyes traveled from her cheek down her neck where even her robe couldn’t cover up the scratches from where Mike had pushed and manhandled her. Hayford took in a deep breath of air while forcing his eyes shut for a steadying moment. He knew what she’d endured wouldn’t be pretty but Hayford hadn’t prepared himself for seeing her scars up close.
Accepting that he might have to take a different approach; Hayford walked the short distance to her coffee table while saying...
“I brought us some coffee...but I would have brought chamomile tea if I’d known you were trying to get some sleep.”
Sitting on the couch while making himself comfortable; Hayford reached for his cup of coffee just before he stretched out his long legs underneath the table. Tipping the cup to his mouth; Hayford peered over the lid as he slowly took his first sip. To look at him one would think he’d been formally invited to her place and Linda didn’t know what to make of this.
“What are you doing here Hayford...it’s late...”
She’d said this before realizing that is was morning. Hayford smiled while still holding on to his cup.
“Like I said...I didn’t think you’d be asleep. After your big arrest last night...I thought you’d still be up celebrating.”
Hayford had not missed the fact that Linda didn’t respond to his question addressing the bruises on her face.
“Fine” he had thought to himself “two can play that game.” However, on the inside he knew if he focused his attention on her scars, no amount of aversion on her part would prevent him from getting his questions answered.
Linda was still brooding over the fact that Hayford had been the one to phone in the Calvary. She had wanted somehow to get herself out of the quicksand she’d mistakenly fallen in...but like most of the events last night it had been Hayford swooping in to the rescue.
Linda sounded tired but she summoned up enough energy to say...
“Why would I be celebrating alone? Besides, tonight was a team effort. In fact, it wasn’t my arrest...I didn’t call the police.”
Placing his coffee on the low table in front of him; Ha
yford patted the area next to him on the couch. He understood Linda’s reason for being so cold towards him and he knew if he were in her position, he’d be feeling the same emotional betrayal.
Linda folded her arms, while remaining where she stood. If falling on her face wasn’t a high probability she was certain she would stay put until Hayford left. As it was, she was completely exhausted and she could barely keep her eyes open. Yet, even though she was tired...and her knees were aching from the fall she’d experienced after Billings had knocked her out of her chair. Linda released a long low sigh through pursed lips as she crossed the room to join Hayford on the sofa. She reminded herself...she wasn’t giving in to what he wanted...Linda was sitting because sitting was what her feet were telling her was the best thing to do.
Hayford rested his arm along the back of the couch; repositioning his body to make it easier to see her face. He slanted his head and took in her view with a side long glance. With a half smile on his face he said...
“With all you went through last night...you still look beautiful.”
Frowning, then shaking her head shyly; she couldn’t believe he was flirting with her. Linda’s body had been tight and guarded when she joined him on the sofa. But after his flirty comment, she could feel the muscles in her shoulders as they slowly uncoiled, allowing her back to slump into the curve of the sofa.
Hayford reached his hand across the couch...taking Linda’s fingers into his. His face took on a serious expression when he said...
“Tonight couldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you Linda.”
“I’m not so sure Hayford. You held all the keys that allowed me to get the job done.”
“I only did what was necessary...no more than any other detective would have done to help you with this case.”
Linda looked down at their joined hands. She knew Hayford was right...but things being as they were at the time; Linda had not been able to rely on anyone other than herself. If she knew that she could count on the men in her department; she would have called whomever she thought could help her. But she knew, the moment she received the call from her boss while still in her apartment; the homicide case was hers and hers alone.
Looking at Hayford, she said...
“Where did you disappear to after the police arrived?”
When the police had been waiting on the other side of the door before coming into the library, to read the chief and his son their Miranda Rights; the detective in charge of the officers had not wanted to make a scene. So, they all left the mansion through a rear exit...riding in limos and squad cars to the station. To avoid any unwanted attention; the police vehicles rode silent, refraining from the use of sirens or flashing lights.
After arriving at the police station, Linda had noticed Hayford wasn’t with the entourage that had left the mansion in a quiet rush. She had thought he’d been swept up with the flurry of activity while leaving...and she’d not looked for him until things had settled down at the station.
When she ate her breakfast at her desk with her father, that had been her only quiet moment. As the clock slowly ticked by, she was summoned to endure another round of questions from the district attorney. Once that was behind her, Linda had thought that she’d cleared her last hurdle because she was exhausted but her weary eyes didn’t stop internal affairs from satisfying their curiosity. Now, as she sat on her sofa replaying events; Linda believed Hayford had gotten just what he wanted for the night...an arrest for his good friend and a byline for himself.
Hayford was still holding her hand when he said...
“I know how things have been for you on your job Linda. I know they haven’t been so willing to accept you and it wouldn’t have been any easier for you if I were to hang around. That’s the reason I didn’t come to the station. I didn’t think you needed me there to further complicate things.”
Hayford straightened his leg on the couch and when he did this, his change in position brought him closer to her. Looking into her eyes he said...
“From the moment we entered the mayor’s mansion, I kept my eyes glued on you. You knew my objections to your plan but I did as I promised I would. I kept my distance from you. It wasn’t easy with the party being so crowded but I could see every step you made. Periodically people that I knew would come up to me to talk and it was clear that our deception had been working. My friends believed, since they didn’t see a woman on my arm; they assumed that I came to the party alone.”
Hayford had begun toying with her fingers in between his thumb and forefinger. His gentle stroking was soothing and his warm even tone had made her feel protected. Continuing, Hayford said...
“When you approached Charlie on the dance floor, I had watched to see how he would react when you had whispered in his ear. At first I thought he would confess right there on the spot...but when you led him off the floor, I began to panic because I knew that you’d left your weapon underneath the seat in my car. Following you two to the library had been tricky because the corridor you choose to use had been secluded. Once I realized you’d taken him to the library...I chose to listen in on the second floor.”
“Second floor...?” Linda’s voice was filled with inflection because, until now, the second floor of the library had been a mystery to her.
“You didn’t know that the library has two floors?”
Shaking her head she said...
“No...I didn’t even know that we’d end up in the library. When I chose that hall to walk down, it had been because I was trying to find a quiet part of the house where we could be alone to talk.”
Hayford felt a rush of panic...the cool foreboding feeling embraced him from his head down to his toes. He had thought Linda went in that direction for him to follow her. And he had believed she chose the library because she knew it had more than one level.
Looking back at her, because for the few seconds that he pondered on this; Hayford had been looking off in the distance. To close...he was telling himself...last night she’d been playing it too close to danger. Hayford knew most people in her profession took risk...hell he thought to himself, he took risk everyday. But he didn’t like the idea of Linda taking chances that just might push her over the cliffs edge. Looking at her he said...
“Linda...I was up on the second level. I heard everything that was being said. When I realized that Charlie was going to confess, I dialed my editor for him to record the entire conversation. When Mike slapped you, that’s when I began to fear for your life. I left the loft of the library...taking the backstairs to the main floor...and while I did this, I called a friend that I knew I could trust.”
When Linda had seen a tuxedo clad Detective William Stone with the other officers as they made their entrance, she had suspected that Hayford had made the call that spearheaded her rescue. But during her brutal beating and the sketchy confessions made by Billings, Mike and Charlie; while they slapped her around and spilled their guts...Linda didn’t know that Hayford and his editor had been listening in.
“How do you know Detective Stone?”
Her eyes narrowed in on him because it was no secret. Hayford knew countless cops on the force and he had connections at every precinct. It didn’t matter what division they worked in and their pay grade wasn’t a factor because Hayford was just one of those guys most people didn’t mind being around. But for the sake of clarity she just felt the need to know his connection to the detective.
“Stone and I are good friends. There aren’t to many cops that aren’t dirty and Stone is one of the good guys. I didn’t know he’d be at the party and when I called him...I was kinda glad that he was. He made a call to his department indicating that you were questioning a suspect and he needed backup just in case. I didn’t want my name to be mentioned...so when they went in, once I saw for myself that you appeared to all right...I thought it best if I just fade into the background.”
Linda’s head was still hanging low because even after hearing him, she still believed this wasn’t a collar
she’d gotten on her own. She could feel Hayford’s fingers as he lifted her chin to look at him. His eyes carefully scanned her face...then he slowly leaned in to kiss her bruised cheek. Closing his eyes, Hayford inhaled her scent, just before he straightened in his seat. They were looking into each others eyes...then simultaneously, what they’d shared tonight came flooding back like a pleasant memory.
Blood rushed to her cheeks turning them cherry red. Blood rushed to the lower half of his body making him feel the need to readjust his pants to accommodate the lengthening of his sex. Hayford’s thumb traced a steady line up and down her neck. He wanted to kiss her there but he knew Linda still had a myriad of questions.
Looking off in the distance he could see her large bag resting up against the wall near her front door. He stared at her and said...
“Did you turn Elizabeth’s diary in as evidence?”
Linda nodded. “Yes...it holds crucial evidence. I didn’t get to read all of it but I believe if she and Billings had more than one encounter, Elizabeth would have documented that in her diary. We’ll need to tie in the importance of Billings trying to protect his son from Elizabeth. Mike and Chief Billings are good friends, so it won’t be to difficult getting a jury to understand how he would be willing to do whatever it took to impress his boss and his friend. Elizabeth’s diary holds the key to much of what the district attorney will be trying to prove in this case.”
“I wish I could have gotten to you first. I would have told you about the taped confessions. There’s a whole lot of dirt in her diary... Many people will be needlessly hurt if it’s read aloud in open court.”
