“I will. Royal is going to be so pissed. I don't want to be anywhere near the bar right now.”
“Call me if you hear anything from Jackie.” Amelia dug in her purse, it seemed too light without the comforting weight of her gun, but carrying at a time like this seemed like asking for trouble. She found a pen and paper, scribbled down her number and gave it to Claire.
Once the woman was gone, she followed suit. She drove to the apartment that Jackie and Earl had shared, but no one answered the door. A trip to Jackie's mother's house had the same result, but there a curious neighbor came outside and volunteered that she'd seen the woman leaving with a man she didn't recognize and a suitcase. It was the icing on top of the shitty day they'd had before. Danny had been so angry about the pills. He'd hidden it well, but she'd seen it. She'd felt it. And she hated every second of it because she'd caused it. The thing with the pills, well, to her it hadn't been that big of a problem. It could have ended up that way. She'd started to see it herself. She'd slowed down and was beginning to wean herself off so that she wouldn't suffer through withdrawal.
And it would have worked, but then Missy had seen the bottle in her purse. Nosy as always, she'd read the label, said her back was killing her and asked for one. Amelia gave her three. Missy took them all at once that night, washed them down with wine and later that night, told Royal that Amelia had given them to her after he'd had enough of her making a complete and utter fool out of herself. Amelia had been sure that Royal was going to hit her that night. Danny had gotten between them and the two men had exchanged blows. No one had stopped them. At the end they were both bloody and bruised, but the moment had passed. She'd gone through withdrawal after that, suffered through the pain, sickness and humiliation. After she'd come through, she'd hated Missy, when before that night she'd only disliked her.
Amelia still couldn't shake the way Missy hadn't reacted to Harris dropping the bombshell about Royal and Fiona. Maybe she'd just been shocked. Maybe it was paranoia or maybe she'd already known. She was leaning hard towards her having known already, but it didn't make sense. Why would Missy know but not say anything? She wasn't known for being subtle or keeping her cool. After the cops had left, Missy had thrown a fit, even going so far as to declare Amelia persona non grata at the bar, as if she actually had a say in the matter.
She'd meant to tell Danny about it the night before. It was going to piss him off that she hadn't, but she'd just couldn't bring herself to see him get even angrier. She'd put space between them. He'd let her. It was one of the things that they did, one of the ways that they'd made things work between them. She'd meant to get back from the store before he left so she could make him breakfast, but he'd gotten up early. He'd already been gone by the time that she got back.
Amelia didn't know where he'd gone. She didn't know what had happened at the police station, except that no charges had been pressed and Harris was a cunt. The whole purpose of going to see Jackie had been to get her mind off everything else but a friend who needed her. Now she had another weight of worry on her shoulders. When was it going to stop?
A flash of light caught her attention. Amelia checked the rear view mirror with a sigh. The marked car behind her flashed the siren, a male voice spoke over the loud speaker. “Pull to the side of the road.” Apparently, it wasn't going to stop any time soon. With a sigh, Amelia complied and realized the smartest thing she'd done today was not bring a gun along with her. The stupidest thing that she'd done was forget to follow the speed limit.
She recognized the officer that approached. They'd gone to high school together. She rolled down the window. “I know, I was going too fast, Eric.”
“That's not why I pulled you over, Amelia. I'm supposed to take you down to the station. Detective Harris left strict instructions for all of us, which is why I pulled you over to tell you to leave this car here. I called Monroe, he'll be here in a minute to pick you up.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Danny saved my ass once when I got jumped by a couple of guys who really weren't fans of the police. He didn't have to. He could have walked away. I can't stay here and wait with you.”
“Thank you.” Amelia leaned back against the seat. “Thank you so much.”
“Don't mention it. Seriously, don't mention it.” Eric tapped his hand on the roof. “See you around.”
Amelia leaned back against the seat with a sigh as he got back to his car. There wasn't a long wait for James to show up. She recognized his pickup truck, which was a good thing since she certainly wouldn't have recognized him. His hair was longer than she'd ever seen it, and he'd started to grow a beard.
He pulled away with a squeal of tires. “Harris has Jackie and her family at a safe house. She's leaning on her hard,” James informed her. “If she knows anything....”
“I really don't think that she does. Earl was really adamant about keeping her out of things. She came to party and nothing more. I don't even think she knew how to shoot. I can't remember. Look, James, I know that you've always been a friend of the club and that you loved Fiona, but I think that you're jeopardizing any chance of getting your badge back by helping us. I don't want you to lose what you love.”
“I used to think that being a detective was everything I wanted. Now I know that it's not, and I'm not just saying that because they fired me two days ago.” He spoke in a dry tone. “When you called me about Fiona, I did go to my bosses before Nightshade. They told me to leave it alone. There were better things to do than investigate what was probably just another citizen skipping out on their debts. I didn't let it go. I pushed and pushed, and when they still shut me down, I went to Nightshade even though I knew that you were going to be really pissed at me.”
“I appreciate that you tried, I really do. And believe it or not I'm glad that you called Nightshade. I wasn't at the time. I seriously was considering shooting you.” It felt like a life time ago that had all happened. So much had gone on since then.
“Of that I had no doubt.” James laughed. “We need to take this to Royal, there's no way around it.”
“I'll do it. Hey, how did you know that Harris has Jackie?” Amelia shifted in the seat, really took a good look at him. Under the new beard and longer hair she could see that he wasn't sleeping much, the bags under his eyes were almost as impressive as the ones underneath hers.
“As it turns out, I've got a few friends who don't give a shit about the rules right now. Things in the department are tense. They've been tense for a while. I don't see them getting better. Maybe some people are getting tired of it. I was surprised when Eric called me, though.”
“Eric let me go because Danny saved his ass once. Nightshade has done a lot of good around here. Maybe that's another reason your friends are reaching out to you with information now.” Amelia said. “You know, I can remember that his name was Eric but for the life of me I can't remember his last name.”
“Jones.” James told her. “And you're probably right. There are likely others who will be willing to help out.”
“Can you find out where they're keeping Jackie?” Amelia questioned.
“Why?”
“Because the last thing that Harris is going to expect is for me to show up there. It might rattle her.” Amelia could only hope it would; Harris didn't really seem like the type to get rattled easy, but she had to try.
“Or piss her off, and it doesn't really matter anyway because there's no way in hell Nightshade is going to sanction sending you to Harris like that. We need to find somewhere for you to lay low. I'll talk to the club, see what they want to do.”
Laying low was the last thing that Amelia wanted to do, but James was right, it was the only thing that she could do. “Take me to Mrs. Washburn's house,” Amelia told him. “It's by the bar, so I'll be close. It's been empty so long that no one will think to look for me there. She used to have this little reading room. It was this cozy little nook with no windows and a door. If I'm there after dark, I can use a light and n
o one will see.”
“That's a good idea. You got a key or something?”
“I know where there is a key, and if it's not there, I can pick the lock,” Amelia told him. They rode the rest of the way in silence. Amelia knew that running to Mrs. Washburn's house, as she always had, was a temporary solution at best, but for now it worked. She needed to get her bearings and figure out what to do with deal Harris. More than anything, she just wanted Danny because with him she could always make sense of things.
James left her at the house with his tablet and the impressive library he had on it to keep her company. For the first few hours Amelia did read, enjoying a Stephen King novel that she'd read at least a dozen times before, but still, she enjoyed it. Her attention began to wander as her phone didn't ring. Why hadn't Danny called yet? Truthfully she'd expected that he'd just show up.
It was starting to grow dark. She'd left the door to the room open for light but now unless she pressed the tablet so that it glowed, she couldn't see a thing. The couch that she remembered as being quite comfortable wasn't any longer. Amelia shifted restlessly, trying to find a spot that suited her, but there was none.
She'd never been afraid of the dark, but right then she was. The sound of every passing car made her jump and had her heart racing. The longer she sat there, the worse that it got. Amelia gave up trying to lie down on the couch. She sat up, wrapped her arms around herself and tapped her foot on the floor. It was something she'd done since she was a girl. There was comfort in it, but that comfort vanished when she heard the back door to the house open.
Fear flooded through her; she was hot and cold at once. Her hands trembled as she rose to her feet, careful not to make a sound because whoever had come in hadn't made a sound. It was only the occasional shuffle of feet against the floor. Amelia looked around for a weapon; whacking someone with the tablet James had left her wasn't going to be very impressive. The lamp that she grabbed probably wouldn't be very impressive, but it was heavy, made of some sort of metal. She held her breath as she heard the person moving closer.
Amelia didn't think, she just acted as the figure came through the door. She heard the lamp connect with a solid thump. “What the fuck? You crazy bitch!”
“Fuck you, Train. What the hell are you doing here creeping around in the dark?” Her heart was still racing, and she had the lamp in her hands and no intention of putting it down.
“I was the only one who could get away. Been riding around for two hours to confuse the cop following me and in thanks I get smashed in the fucking head. Nice. Really nice.”
“They're following you?”
“They're following all of Nightshade.” He told her. “Got some shit for you, including a clean phone so that you can talk to Danny.”
“Thank you.” Amelia's eyes were adjusted enough to the dark that she could make out the shape of him. “If you step inside a little, we can shut the door and use the light. You did bring something for light, right?”
“Couple of candles and a flashlight. All we had at the bar. No need to use 'em until I'm gone and I'm going. Got to say one thing to you first, though. And you need to put that lamp down.”
“Say what you've got to say.” Amelia prepared herself for the inevitable argument and set the lamp down.
“I don't like you. Never have. Probably never will.” Train wasn't one to mince words, ever.
“I already know that, Train. I'm not as stupid as you think I am.” Amelia had no delusions about how he felt by her. He'd never been shy about it, which had caused more than a few scuffles between him and Danny.
“Shut your mouth and listen. That cop bitch has it out for Nightshade and she's going to do whatever it takes to fuck us. I don't care what she says to you, you better not say a word about the club, or you'll be as fucked as your little blonde friend.” Train didn't make idle threats. He was capable of just about anything. She'd heard stories of things that he'd done in defense of Nightshade. From all accounts, there wasn't much that he wouldn't do.
“Jackie doesn't know enough to do any harm. Earl saw to that.” Amelia reminded him. “You know that.”
“If that's the case, why are they so far up our asses? And why is Jackie tucked away nice and tight? She knows something, and now Harris knows it. This isn't a game. This is the life. So if you're going to cut and run on your husband again, it'd be really great if you could just do it now.” Without another word he turned and left.
The fact that he'd even think she'd rat on Danny or Nighshade infuriated her. Amelia grumbled to herself as she shut the door and unzipped the backpack he'd handed her. After she found the flashlight she looked for the phone and dialed the only number programmed in.
When Danny answered she felt tears sting her eyes. “Hey, Baby. How are you holding up?”
“I'm not.” Amelia replied. “What the fuck is going on?”
A heavy silence followed. Finally Danny cleared his throat. “I can't go into the details but I need you to trust me.”
“I thought that these lines were secure. Isn't that why you send me the phone?” Amelia was confused.
“The lines are fine. I just can't tell you what's happening. It's club business.” Danny said shortly.
Club business? He was pulling the club business line on her now? “I am not Jackie. You don't pull that club business shit on me.” And that had been the way it was since they first got together. She'd never been in the dark. It was one of the few things that she insisted on.
“I do now. It's how it has to be. Do you trust me or not?” It was a loaded question, because there was a part of Amelia that hesitated to trust him and he knew it. It was the part of her that remembered the pain of being served the divorce papers and completely iced out of his life. “Amelia?”
“I trust you.” Amelia shut her eyes and hoped that it was the right call. A large part of her feared that it wasn't. Feared that she'd once again end up not only alone but broken. There would be no picking up the pieces if she broke again.
<#<#<#
Amelia hadn't felt butterflies in her stomach like this since she was in the eighth grade and singing a solo at the Spring Choir. She felt like everyone turned to stare at her as she walked into the police station; maybe they did. It didn't matter. She walked over to the first uniformed officer that she saw. “I need to see Detective Harris, please.”
The man looked at her, blankly at first but seconds later recognition dawned. “Amelia Mason. We've been looking for you.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to correct him, she was Amelia Benson, but she didn't. “Have you been? I didn't realize.” The lie rolled off of her lips effortlessly. “I guess you should get me to her.”
“Come with me.” She followed him down the hall and to an elevator. They got off on the second floor, and she was put in a windowless room with only a scarred metal table and two chairs in it. One wall was glass, obviously an observation mirror. Amelia sat, stared down at her hands and hoped like hell that Danny knew what he was doing by sending her into the lion's den.
James had taken her idea of going to find Jackie to Nightshade and they'd flipped it. They didn't want Harris rattled. They wanted her to think that she'd won. Amelia played the conversation with Danny over and over again.
It seemed to take an eternity, but finally Harris strode into the room a few minutes later, her trademark smug smile on her face. “Mrs. Benson, I've got to say that the last thing I expected was for you to walk in here. Care to share why?”
Amelia took a deep breath. “I want to know what happened to my family. I want to know exactly what happened to them and I want to know now.” She folded her hands on the table. “I'd like you to tell me.”
“And what do I get in exchange?” Harris took the seat across from her.
“What do you want?” Amelia had a good idea what the woman wanted, but she was going to play dumb, dumb and scared, though the scared part wouldn't really be too much of a stretch. She was terrified; there was so much riding on her
ability to convince the woman in front of her that she was willing to turn on Nightshade.
“You're a lot of things Amelia, but stupid is not one of them. You know what I want.” Harris leaned forward, a gleam in her eye. “I want Nightshade.”
“Why? Why are they so important to you? What makes them special?” They were the questions that Danny had told her to ask. A clear reason as to why Harris was so focused on them might give them what they needed to get her to go away for good. Nothing in her past had shed any light on the matter, no matter how deep Ace dug.
“They've left a trail of blood and bodies behind them. They're not special. They're sociopaths and don't deserve to be on the streets. You want to know what happened to your family? That knife, the one that they all carry, was what took their lives. Tests confirm it, even though it was cleaned pretty well, but not well enough to get rid off all the blood. We found other knives in the safe at the bar so we know that they mean something. We know that someone is missing their knife.”
“So why haven't you arrested anyone?” Amelia questioned. “If this is just about cleaning up the streets, why not make the arrests? You don't have any proof, do you?”
“We don't have enough evidence, but we're almost there.” Harris replied. “Once the evidence takes shape, we will be there.”
Amelia kept her eyes on Harris. She didn't blink. She didn't fidget. “What happens when you get there?”
“We press charges.” Harris replied in the condescending tone that some people used for small children or really stupid people.
“What charges? Murder? You can't charge them all with it.”
“We'll get them all, Amelia, because that's what they deserve for all the hurt they've caused. They've hurt you. You spent the last seven years barely scraping by without a friend you could reach out and touch because Danny being part of Nightshade got him locked up. Got him taken away from you and then he threw you aside. The same thing will happen again, if you let it. I can help you stop it.”
Make It Right Page 14
