23 Miles

by Renee Mackenzie

  She was irritated that she’d spent the gas and time to go to Grafton to the dental office. Then she thought about how she’d never have to step foot in there again, never have to hear the dentist’s condescending voice or catch Sally’s suspicious glances in her direction again. But what in the world would she do now?

  †

  When the phone rang, Talia jumped.

  “Relax,” Agent Gish said. She counted down on her fingers from three. When no fingers remained up, Talia picked up the receiver and the technician simultaneously pressed two buttons.

  Her hand shook slightly as she answered the phone. “Hello.”

  “Tali.” Brian’s voice filled the room.

  “Brian. What’s going on? I tried to call you but the guards wouldn’t let me talk to you.”

  “Oh. Yeah.” He laughed. “I’ve been transferred.”

  “Transferred? Where?”

  “Who’s there with you, kiddo?” he said, changing the subject.

  “What do you mean?” Talia looked at Gish.

  Gish gestured with her hand for her to keep him talking.

  “Who is with you?”

  Agent Jackson looked out the side of the blinds.

  “No one. It’s just me.”

  “You have a tell, you know.”

  “I have a what?”

  “A tell. Something you do that lets me know you aren’t being totally honest.”

  “I do not,” Talia said. She knew she sounded defensive.

  “Your voice gets slightly higher when you lie. It always has. That’s why you were never all that good at it. Well, except for that story about the Gypsies. That was pretty impressive.”

  “Brian,” she interrupted. “Where are you?”

  “Talia,” he mimicked her tone. “Who is with you?”

  “No one,” she said, lowering her voice.

  He laughed. “Nice try. If I were to come to your door right now, what would I find?”

  Talia heard a ding in the background.

  “Got to run, sis.”

  “But, Brian—”

  “Tali-Ho,” he interrupted.

  Talia listened to the dial tone for several moments before Agent Gish said, “Okay, you may hang up now.”

  “Damn,” the technician mumbled.

  “Do you really think he knows you’re here?” Talia asked.

  “He probably just assumes. There’s no way he knows. Not for sure, anyway,” Jackson said.

  Talia thought back to when she and Brian were kids. Once when she’d been put on restriction, Brian called her from various places throughout the weekend. He said it was because he missed her, but it had felt much more like a taunt to Talia. She’d been put on restriction because her dad had caught her stealing her mom’s diet pills and she was still on restriction when her dad died.

  †

  Shay parked her truck in the back of the lot at Talia’s apartment building. She was so relieved that the FBI had agreed to let her go to Talia’s. Parker promised to increase patrols around the bar while Shay was gone and she trusted he would. Her friend, Brenda, was feeding Poke for her.

  As she walked along the sidewalk, Shay thought again about the incident on the parkway with Jeffrey. It had been weighing on her since it happened and she felt guilty that she’d put them both in a dangerous situation. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking at the time, other than ‘How dare you threaten someone I care about.’

  So there it was, an admission to herself that she cared about Talia.

  She knocked on the door, and sensed someone looking at her through the peephole before the lock disengaged and the door opened. Shay was surprised by all the electronic boxes with lights and wires coming out every side, even though Talia had described it to her. It seemed also like people were all over the apartment.

  Talia was on the sofa with Agents Gish and Jackson. In front of them on the rough wood of the coffee table, they had a spread of food from Taco Bell.

  “Sit,” Talia said as she scooted over to make room. “Pull up a taco and make yourself comfortable.”

  Shay smiled. She was glad Talia seemed to be holding up under the circumstances.

  Once all the tacos and burritos were consumed, Shay let Talia lead her away from everyone and into the poem room.

  Shay immediately noticed the mattress in the corner of the room.

  “The agents take turns, in shifts, sleeping in here,” Talia said. “I wish I could fast-forward to Brian being found and Jeffrey going to prison so I can relax.”

  “I know,” Shay agreed. She turned to face Talia and placed a hand on the side of her face. “You look tired.”

  “I am,” Talia said, briefly placing her hand over Shay’s.

  Two more agents came into the apartment and joined Gish and Jackson at the kitchen counter. They spoke in low tones.

  Talia watched the agents from the doorway. “I wonder what’s up,” she whispered.

  When Gish looked up from the files and raised an eyebrow, Shay said, “I think we’re about to find out.”

  “Ladies,” Jackson said.

  Shay and Talia left the poem room and followed the agents to the living room.

  “The ballistics came back on the gun from your car,” Jackson told Talia. He nodded toward the sofa and Shay and Talia sat close together.

  Agent Gish sat on the other side of Talia and Jackson stood on the opposite side of the coffee table.

  “We found a match to a homicide on the parkway five years ago,” Jackson said.

  “A homicide on the parkway?” Talia asked. “I’ve never heard about a homicide there before Allie and Diane.”

  “It had originally been reported as an automobile accident. By the time it was discovered the victim had been shot in the head…well…I guess the media had moved on,” Gish said.

  “Who was the victim?” Shay asked.

  Talia grabbed her hand.

  “A woman named Bernadette Harris.”

  Shay looked at Talia for any sign of recognition. Talia shrugged.

  “She was a transient with a long history of drug-related arrests. It was assumed her murder was a drug deal gone bad.” Gish reached into the folder on the table and pulled out a mug shot.

  To Shay, the woman looked well-worn but not unattractive.

  Talia gripped Shay’s hand tightly and Shay watched as the color drained from her face.

  “You know her?” Shay asked.

  “That’s Bernie. Oh, my God,” Talia whispered.

  “How do you know Bernadette Harris?” Jackson asked.

  “We—ah—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “No, no, no.”

  “Talia,” Shay said, her voice gentle. “Do you want me to go in the other room while you talk about this?”

  “No,” Talia pleaded. “Please don’t go.” She looked around the room at the other agents and officers and the technician.

  “How about we all take a break,” Jackson said to the others. “Let’s get some fresh air.”

  Talia, Shay, and Gish stayed on the sofa as everyone else filed out of the apartment. Shay still held Talia’s hand but Talia was focused on the grain of the boards of the table.

  “I met Bernie at the beach in Yorktown,” Talia said, her voice catching. “We drove around the battlefields in her beat-up Nova while we got stoned.”

  Gish leafed through the report, read a page, and nodded. “She was found in a Nova that had been stolen.”

  “After dark, we went to the parkway and parked at the overlook at Ringfield.” Talia glanced at Shay then stared down into her lap. “We…ah…we had sex. It was my first time with anyone. She rocked my world and then never called me like she said she would.”

  Shay swallowed past a lump in her throat.

  “I thought I’d done something wrong or wasn’t good enough.” Talia let got of Shay’s hand and wrapped her arms around herself.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes. “So that was a federal case since it was on the parkway?” Shay look
ed at Gish as she spoke. “And nothing else was ever done about it because she was some druggy dyke?”

  Gish took a deep breath. “It wasn’t my case. I don’t know the details of the investigation.”

  Shay shook her head dismissively. “Were there any prints on the gun?”

  Gish nodded. “They matched Jeffrey Gardner.”

  “Shit,” Shay muttered.

  “An APB has been issued,” Gish said.

  “How did Jeffrey’s gun end up in Brian’s car?” Talia asked.

  “Maybe after Jeffrey killed Bernadette, Brian decided to keep the gun for collateral. Or for blackmail,” Shay said.

  Talia leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. “Oh, dear God.”

  †

  Talia stood in the poem room and stared at “Soul Dancing” while she waited for Shay to get out of the shower. She was so glad Shay was staying with her for a few days. She loved how Shay showed no sign of judgment over Talia’s admission to having sex on the parkway with someone she’d just met.

  She thought about Brian’s hatred for Ms. Simmons, the gym teacher he had tried to get her to lie about. He was so vehement in his disgust with her that Talia was surprised when he let it drop after she ran away and came back with the Gypsy lie. After that, Talia could never look Ms. Simmons in the eye. Even though she didn’t go through with the story, she still felt immense guilt when she saw the teacher. Maybe that was why Brian backed off, because she was no longer a threat to Talia’s sexuality since Talia had totally withdrawn from her?

  She jumped when the phone rang. She went into the kitchen, and on Agent Gish’s count of three, Talia answered.

  “The strangest thing happened. I was kidnapped by the CIA and brought to an undisclosed location. I think they are going to try to recruit me as an operative. Do you think I should accept when they do?”

  “Brian, where are you?” Talia asked as she glanced at Agent Gish.

  “That’s where the ‘undisclosed location’ part is key, my dear. Please, sister, keep up.”

  Talia recognized the voice, but not the words. Where was the ‘Tali’ and ‘kiddo?’

  “Are you there?” Brian asked.

  “Tell me what happened.” She just wanted her brother to be honest with her once. She wanted him to tell her that he tried to keep Jeffrey from killing Bernie, or that he didn’t know about it until after the fact.

  “You aren’t alone, are you?” He lowered his voice. “I think we are all being watched.”

  “Brian, what’s going on?”

  “You tell me.”

  “Where are you? Are you safe?”

  “Of course I’m safe. Are you?” He cleared his throat. “I will keep you safe. I will protect you even if it means protecting you from yourself.”

  “What does that mean?” Talia asked.

  A bell rang. “Oops, got to go.”

  “Brian, wait,” Talia pleaded, but the line was disconnected. She turned toward the technician. “Was he on long enough that time?”

  The man looked at Gish and shook his head.

  “He really does know we’re here,” Agent Gish said. “And he’s using a timer to keep from getting distracted and staying on the line too long. Damn it.”

  Talia turned toward movement in the doorway of the kitchen where Shay stood looking concerned. Wanting to lighten things up, Talia struggled to find something clever or cute to say but she came up empty.

  There was a knock on the door and Agent Jackson let one of the local cops in. His arms were loaded down with Farm Fresh grocery bags. “Hope you don’t mind, but I can’t eat any more Taco Bell, pizza, or fast-food burgers. This job is gonna kill us all at this rate.”

  “What do you have?” Agent Gish asked. “And can you actually cook, because if not, we’ll all starve.”

  Agent Jackson laughed. “Just so you know, sticking some frozen Salisbury steak in the oven isn’t actually cooking.”

  The county guy, Officer Ramos according to his name tag, laughed. “No, sir, I’m going to whip up some chicken enchiladas that will be so good you’re gonna cry when they’re gone.”

  “Bring it on,” Jackson said.

  Talia turned to Agent Gish. “We’re going into the other room. Make sure the guys save us some of the enchiladas, okay?”

  “I’ll try,” Gish said, “but you’ve seen them eat so I can’t make any promises.”

  They went into Talia’s bedroom and shut the door. “I’m so used to living alone that having all these people around all the time is driving me a bit batty.”

  Shay took a step toward the door. “Should I leave? I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about adding to the chaos.”

  Talia reached for Shay’s hand. “No, I want you to stay. It’s everyone else I wish weren’t here.”

  “They are all trying to keep you safe.” Shay squeezed her hand.

  “I know and I do appreciate it. I’m just ready for life to get back to normal.”

  “It will.” Shay looked down at the floor. “I guess we need to talk once again about sleeping arrangements?”

  “Yeah,” Talia laughed. “I guess we do.” She led Shay over to the bed and they sat on the end of it. “I vote that we sleep together in my bed.”

  Shay coughed.

  “I mean sleep. Just sleep. Anything else would be too weird with everyone else here.”

  “Yes, it would. I wouldn’t even think about—okay, maybe I would think about it, but that’s all.”

  “That settles it?”

  “Yes, that settles it,” Shay agreed.

  Talia inhaled deeply. “Do you smell that?”

  “How could I not? Wow! It’s going to be delicious.”

  “Maybe we should go back out there to keep from missing it,” Talia said.

  “Yes, let’s. I haven’t seen them eat but I’ll take Angela’s word for it.”

  “So, how do you know Angela Gish?”

  Shay pursed her lips, then smiled. “Well, we were both at a crime scene one night. My gaydar was pinging all over the place. Later when she was at the station picking up a perp, I let out a hint or two about us both being family.”

  “Why are you blushing?” Talia asked.

  “Because my gaydar was wrong, and she didn’t have a clue as to what I was talking about. Then it finally sank in, and let’s just say it was a bit awkward.”

  “But then you two became good friends and laugh about it all the time?”

  “No, then I saw her outside the FBI field office in Norfolk when I went to talk to Agent Jackson after we found the stuff stashed in your car. We recognized each other and got to talking.”

  “So, she forgave you for your broken gaydar?”

  “Nope.” Shay chuckled. “She told me that she’d come out to herself a couple of months after that little incident. She was gay but she just didn’t know it yet.”

  Talia laughed, then sniffed the air again. “We can’t take the chance of missing that food.”

  “No we can’t,” Shay said as she followed Talia out of the bedroom.

  “Damn, they did come back out,” Jackson said. “That means we have to share.”

  Thirty minutes later, Officer Ramos was spooning out chicken enchiladas and smiling at all the compliments. Talia dipped a forkful into a smidgen of sour cream on her plate and stuck it in her mouth. After swallowing, she said, “I hope this doesn’t ruin me for Taco Bell. Hey, Officer Ramos, do you want to come over and cook for me once a week?”

  Talia couldn’t help but adore the blush from Ramos or be aware of how Shay put her hand on her shoulder in what Talia hoped was an effort to stake her claim.

  When everyone finished eating, Talia made them leave the kitchen so she could have some alone-time with the dishes. Several people offered to help but Talia shooed them out. She took her time, enjoying the comfort of the sudsy, hot water as she scrubbed sauce off the plates and forks. When she finished, she met Shay back in the poem room.

  “Dee w
ants that red “No” poem we talked about,” Shay said. “Everything went a little crazy so I forgot to tell you she said she wants to buy one for the bar, and something else for her home. She’ll let you know which one for her house later.”

  “Oh, wow.” Talia traced the word ‘woman’ with her fingertip on the canvas Dee wanted for the bar. “That’s great.”

  Jackson cleared his throat in the doorway. “I was thinking about crashing in here for a few hours—”

  “Oh, I am so sorry,” Talia said.

  “I meant to tell you that I think your poem things are really cool,” Jackson added, blushing slightly as he spoke.

  “Thank you,” Talia said, smiling as she turned to leave. “I appreciate you saying that.”

  Talia shut the bedroom door behind her, then joined Shay on the end of the bed. “What’s new with Kate? Has her mother called her or anything?” she asked.

  “No, not since the last time I talked to Kate,” Shay said. “She did tell me that April checked herself into the hospital.”

  “Oh, thank God. Now she can get some help.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I really was hoping that Kate, April, and their mom would connect for more than just that one day.”

  Shay pulled her close. “You are one of the most compassionate people I know.”

  Talia smiled and let her body melt into Shay’s. Nothing had ever felt so good but she abruptly pulled away.

  “Something wrong?” Shay asked.

  “I…ah…I don’t think I should be touching you in any capacity before crawling into bed with you.”

  Shay nodded. “I do believe you’re on to something. Are you tired now?”

  “A little. But maybe not tired enough to be able to fall to sleep right away.” She glanced toward the dresser. “You want to play cards? We could get ready for bed, then play cards until we’re really tired.”

  “Okay. What should we play?” Shay got up and walked to where her overnight bag sat in the corner. She pulled out a pair of boxers and a T-shirt.