“So, why am I here?” Alice’s mind was still stuck on the police actually finding her ring. Nothing else seemed to matter but that.
“We needed you to ID him. You’re done with step one. Now we’re gonna bring you back to his room and see if you recognize him.” Crighton looked down again at his cell phone and then opened the door for Alice to follow through. “They’re ready for us.”
Two doors down, Crighton and Alice slipped in a completely dark room. Two other men sat watching the three people in the room.
Alice whispered, “Can they hear us?” Crighton shook his head, as Alice spoke up further, “But why are there two people? It was just a guy. Isn’t that a girl?” From the back, she could just see the messy, long black ponytail of a young woman. She was chained to the chair in handcuffs right alongside the man. The two sat in silence, neither looking at one another.
“We think she may be an accomplice. We found her near the safe when we were undergoing our search.” Crighton turned his attention back on the other men in the back room. The larger of the two detectives walked out of their room and reappeared almost magically in the interview area. She could hear him clearly asking the two to turn around and face the mirror.
The man turned first. His dark, tired features coming into contact with the harsh industrial lighting of the room. The woman looked as if she resisted turning. Alice could see her dark eye makeup running down the sides of her face and onto her neck.
Alice took three steps back as the breath from her lungs suddenly failed her. She held on to a table for support as Crighton looked on at her. He walked to her side, helping her find a chair. “You know these people?”
She swallowed hard, not knowing if she wanted to admit it or not. “It’s my roommate and her boyfriend. Caroline and Jace.”
Chapter 9: Shouts at the Door
Why is it sunny? It isn’t supposed to be sunny. It was night. It was late. It was raining. It was anything but this clear and beautiful summer’s day.
Something isn’t right. I’m not in a face up in a puddle. No one is beating me. No one is grabbing at me. Instead, I'm sitting in a red, cushy leather booth looking straight ahead. There are others here as well—people that I recognize like Pete, my aunt, Lucy, Jeffrey. They are all staring at me as I wait like a fool, twiddling the gold ring weighing heavily on my finger.
And then, she sits down. She’s dressed in black, as usual. Her makeup is still dripping down the sides of her face as if she's melting before my own eyes. Her dark maven hair is messy and unkempt. She looks at me with pleading eyes as if to say, “Help me. Please.”
We look at one another for a very long time, each not daring to say a word to the other. Finally, I break the silence, “I’m sorry.” My voice breaks as tears fill the corners of my eyes. She reaches out her hand and opens her palm. I pull the ring off of my finger and place it in hers.
As she stands and walks away, I watch her go. This time, I'm still screaming, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” But she never looks back. She never turns around. And I'm left in the diner, more bruised and broken than I was laying in the puddle in the alleyway with Jace pinning me down.
….
Alice awoke from her dream more terrified and enraged than the night before. After seeing Caroline in handcuffs and hearing that she was accused of such a crime, Alice could hardly believe it. But as she sat there and listened to the detective ask her questions and her straight out deny every single detail, anger had begun to build.
By the time Alice made it back to her apartment, she’d had it. There was no going back at this point, no apologies to be made. By all accounts, Caroline had been a part of it, or she had at least some knowledge of who really assaulted her. Alice wondered what else Caroline was keeping from her—what other horrible secrets she was hiding.
Alice spent the early morning hours tearing through her room, turning over boxes, sifting through the piles of clothing she left on the floor. She found nothing out of place, but destroying her old friend’s room was cathartic, almost like a tame revenge.
When she awoke, she was still shaking and upset. No further contact from Micah had further fueled the flames. At least, she thought, I have the motivation to finish packing.
About half way through her folding and stuffing the last remaining items of her closet into the brown cardboard boxes, she remembered her aunt and her promise to call if something had changed with the case. She sullenly dialed her number, hoping again that it would go to the voicemail. The last thing Alice wanted was to hear a lecture about her love life or how it took way too long for the case to be solved.
She still was not lucky. Her aunt picked up almost immediately. Her voice sounded as exasperated as Alice felt.
“Hi Aunt Lisa; it’s Alice.”
“What’s happened?” Lisa had nothing else to say, no cordial greetings, or even a friendly hello. It was never that easy.
“Nothing has happened.” Alice stopped herself. Of course, something had happened! But it wasn’t as pressing as her aunt’s tone implied it to be. “Actually, there is something.”
“I knew there was. I saw your image in the paper this morning, and I knew you would be in trouble by morning. That asshole roped you into something bad, didn’t he?” Lisa was spitting fire, as if she was being asked to come to Steubenville to bail her niece out of jail.
“Wait… Aunt Lisa… no. This has nothing to do with Micah. The thing about the airport…that was all just a show. Just a publicity thing.” Alice knew there was no use in explaining the situation. How could she ever understand when Alice couldn’t even come to grips with it?
“A publicity stunt? Almost getting arrested at an airport is a stunt these days?”
Alice knew she had to get to the point, and fast. “Lisa, what I really called about was Dad’s ring. They found the person who robbed me. They made an arrest, and I'll get the ring back after the court case is done. But the police have it; it’s safe.”
The phone went dead silent. All Alice could hear was the sound of her aunt breathing. Finally, she whispered low, “Who? Who did this?”
“A regular from the diner. I know him. He was the boyfriend of my roommate. They were not dating at the time, but I think they arrested her, too.” Alice’s voice shook, as she explained the situation. Having to retell it all had made it seem too real for her.
“Oh, Alice.”
The last thing Alice wanted from her aunt was pity. “I’m sorry, Aunt Lisa. I am. I didn’t know. I really didn’t.”
“You have to be more careful. Between your roommate and that fighter, I have to question who you are letting into your life.” Lisa seemed to jump at the opportunity to lecture her.
“Wait, Micah has nothing to do with this. He has protected me every step of the way. He has done nothing wrong.” Alice’s defenses were on high.
“Nothing wrong? Alice, look at him? What good can you expect to come from this?”
She lowered her voice, “You don’t know him. You don’t know a thing about who he is or what he wants. I love him, and he loves me. And if you cannot understand that, then I guess this is it.”
Lisa paused, struggling to understand Alice’s point of view. The last thing she wanted for her only niece was to see her wrapped up in something like this or a man like him. She deserved better—at least in her mind. “Alice, what would your father say?”
Alice thought about this carefully. Her dad and Micah shared so many traits from loyalty to pig headedness. Both had hot tempers but were prone to loving too much and caring more than they should. She could not imagine what he would say about Micah, let alone about his profession. But something told her that he would be proud of Alice for finding someone who worked to make her happy and who would stand by her through everything.
With those thoughts lingering on her mind, she realized that she had nothing further to say to her aunt. She hung up the phone and quickly dialed Micah. A soft, feminine voice answered the phone. Alice knew exactly who it was.<
br />
“Lucy, it’s Alice. Is Micah around? I need to talk to him NOW.”
“He’s in the middle of a photoshoot. Can he call you back?” She sounded completely disinterested despite Alice’s frantic voice.
“No. I need to talk to him now. This is urgent.” Alice could hear her huff, and the sound of her heels clicking on a hard surface as she walked towards Micah. She whispered something to him.
“Alice? What’s wrong? What’s happened?” He sounded so concerned, it almost killed Alice to bother him like this.
“It’s Caroline… I mean, Jace. I don’t know. Everything’s so messed up. I don’t know what to do.” Her brain became a jumbled mess, as she tried to walk through everything with him. But the names, the important details, all flew by the wayside.
“Slow down, Allie. What did she do? What happened at the police station?” She could hear him moving to a quieter spot, away from the sound of people chattering in the background. It was a completely different scene from last night.
Alice explained what had happened, how Caroline was somehow involved but no one was sure how. She struggled to put the details together, but Micah listened patiently. Only a few times did he interrupt her to mutter some choice words about the situation.
When she finished, he instantly replied, “I’m calling Jeffrey. You need to get out of that apartment now. Go to my place. Lock the doors. Do not go anywhere until I get home.”
“What about Chicago? Your match? Micah, I have to be there. I cannot miss it again. Screw Lucy or the press. I want to be with you. I love you.”
He sighed as he thought about what she said. “I love you, too.” Micah’s voice was oddly calm, almost as if the calm before the storm. “But we have to be real about this. You are in trouble, and you need to stay put. There will be other matches, other fights. Stay home. Please.”
“Do you want me there?”
“Why would you even ask me that? I want you there. I want you here. Now. I want you in this dressing room right now. I want to see you in that dress I bought, and then I want to take it off of you. Slowly. With my teeth.”
Alice giggled. She had to admit to having similar thoughts when she first tried it on. “Then, I'll keep it safe until you return. Two more days. I suppose I'll live through the anticipation.”
As Alice hung up the phone, a knock came on her door. It was too soon to be Jeffrey. There was no way Micah could have gotten a hold of his driver that quickly. The pounding grew louder and louder, as Alice walked slowly to the door, unsure of who else it could be.
A shout rose up, “Alice. I know you are home. I’m coming in. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Alice ran to her bedroom, not realizing that she had left her cell phone on the living room sofa. She quickly locked the door behind her and grabbed the hardest thing she could find. The only thing that could save her had to be her black foldable easel, and she held it high above her head like a baseball bat. She listened as the lock on the door was undone, and the sounds of heels began to click on the creaky hardwood.
Please go away. Please go away. Please go away. Alice chanted it over and over in her head. But the footsteps continued to get closer to her room. They were slow and deliberate, as if they were teasing her themselves.
She heard the voice again. “Please, Allie. Let me in. I'm not going to hurt you.”
“GO AWAY CAROLINE! I’m gonna call the cops!”
Caroline snickered a bit, “No, you’re not. You left your phone out here on the couch. You cannot stay in there forever. You’re gonna have to come out and talk to me.”
Alice leaned against the wall, hitting her head in frustration against the drywall. She stood up and slowly opened the door, just enough to get a glance at Caroline who was leaning up against the side wall. Caroline spotted the opportunity instantly, as she leapt at the door, forcing it open.
Alice paced backwards, unsure of where to go or how to fight her way out, but she would be damned if she was to spend a minute more in that room. She ran straight at Caroline, smacking into her and pinning her against the wall of her own room. Caroline’s head swung back like a ragdoll. Her hands flew up pushing Alice away from her, as Alice skidded across the room and further away from the door.
She used her arms to push her towards where she had dropped the metal easel, but Caroline was quick to recover. She got there first, holding Alice in her place, preventing her from grabbing the one weapon in the room. Alice remembered a trick Micah had taught her with pin downs. She swung her hips forward violently, rocking Caroline as she grabbed her leg to take her down again. She could hear her body slam up against the floor.
Caroline let out a loud yelp, as Alice limped towards the door. Before she could make it half way through the living room, Caroline was back, pushing her to the sofa. Her elbow and forearm leaned up against her neck, choking her.
Caroline screamed at her, hoarse and rough, “Will you let me talk? Will you!”
She released Alice’s neck just enough to hear her spit an answer out, “Talk? Why in the hell would I want to talk to you, Caroline? So you can tell your asshole boyfriend so he can beat and rob me again? Or perhaps you can call Micah’s old coach and get our conversation in the papers.”
Caroline suddenly released her entire body, falling backwards into the couch, tired and defeated. She pulled her legs, one which dripped blood from an open cut, to her chest. “I just want to talk, Alice. I don’t want to force you to listen to me.”
Without turning towards Alice, Caroline listened for something, anything. But Alice did not dare move from her spot. Even if she could, she couldn’t get far with the pain shooting through her hip and thigh.
Caroline continued, “I was the one who called in Jace. I was the one who left the tip.”
“How in the hell do you think I’ll ever believe that?” Alice was completely skeptical.
“Why do you think I’m out? The cops tracked my phone and saw I made the call. They let me go for a reason. I didn’t just break out of prison. I’m smart, but I'm not that smart.” She laughed at herself, forgetting the situation. “Look. I was going through Jace’s stuff. I thought he was cheating on me with Cara from the diner. I found a little safe in the back of his drawer, and I opened it. When I saw your ring and your ID, I called the cops as soon as he fell asleep.”
Alice’s head was reeling. Her story was not exactly improbable. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“When I saw you that day at the diner, I was, I don’t know. Jealous. You looked so happy, and here I was dating a guy who beat the shit out of my best friend over a stupid ring. When the cops came that night, I was trying to show them where the ring was. I wasn’t trying to hide it. I swear.”
Alice watched as Caroline made a cross over her heart, something so childish and innocent. But Alice wanted more. She couldn’t let Caroline get off that easy. “What about the press, the calls to Micah’s coach so he could rat us out to the press? Did you tell Jace how to do that? He’s not that smart or cunning.”
“No. I called Dean and the other guys from the press. I needed the money, and I… I was stupid.” Caroline’s voice became uneven as she confessed. Tears began to stream down her face once more, following the same tracks from the last time Alice saw her. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I just thought they’d get their story and move on.”
Alice looked at her for the first time. She looked frail and tired, not like the rough and tough Caroline that she had known the last three years. This was a person who was broken and destroyed. Alice ran her fingers through her hair and sat up next to her, placing a hand on her heaving back as she listened to Caroline sob through more apologies.
The two were interrupted with the sound of the apartment door crashing open. Both spun to look at who dared enter.
“Miss Cross!” Jeffrey called, racing into the living room. “I’ve been trying to call you for the last twenty minutes.”
“I’m sorry, Jeffrey. My phone was on silent. I didn’t see.” Al
ice attempted to make an excuse to cover up what had happened. But Jeffrey could see Caroline, the blood on her leg, and Alice’s beat up body.
“It’s time to go. Mr. Anderson wants you at his apartment immediately along with the rest of your belongings.” Alice pointed Jeffrey towards her room where he grabbed several of the boxes in his arms.
Caroline studied Alice sadly, wanting to say more but knowing it was not possible. Jeffrey waited by the door for her to follow. But Alice hesitated, refusing to get up from the sofa. “Jeffrey, can you give us a second?”
“Miss Cross, I have my orders. I'm supposed to escort you out of the building.”
“I know, I know. But I’ll be down shortly.” She looked at him longingly, hoping he could see that she would be fine now. He turned and walked down the steps. The two girls listened to his heavy footsteps track down the three flights of stairs.
Tapout (The Submission Fighter Book 3) Page 7
