by Jack Parker
We paused in front of the first cell, and I shivered. I remembered Luci's words about remaining calm. If I panic, I'm useless. I took a deep breath and held out my hands to Derrick. He unlocked the cuffs, and I stepped inside the steel cage confidently. I would survive this. Luci and Katherine would fix everything.
"Lauren, are you comfortable with Officer…" She squinted at the golden name tag on his uniform.
"Hedrick, Ma'am." Bobby offered politely.
"Thank you. Do you feel safe with Officer Hedrick?" She repeated. I nodded and smiled at Bobby, and he looked at the floor.
"Mrs. Ainsley, either Bobby or myself will be here every night Lauren stays in lock up. I'm well aware of Miss Danes' liaisons and intend to take every precaution concerning that matter. She's made plenty of enemies with broken hearts around here."
"Thank you, Sheriff. That was my only concern for the evening. Lauren, try and get some sleep, Love. We'll be back in the morning."
Sheriff Armentrout nodded and closed the door. I jerked when it slammed shut and turned from the three sets of eyes on me. I bowed my head, arms crossed tightly over my chest, and breathed deeply. I would not die from one night in this cell. When I opened my eyes, they were gone, save Bobby. He sat at the desk across the room and studied me. I tried to smile at him, but the tears stinging my eyes made me turn away and collapse onto the bed. Bobby had taken me on a date a few years ago, right before I'd moved into his father's seasonal house. He'd been sweet, a perfect gentleman. I never went out with him again. I didn't want to hurt him, not to mention, he'd been almost like a brother to me since Ashley and I had become friends.
"Did you do it, Lauren?" His gentle voice floated to me, and I smiled at his country twang. He would have been the perfect boyfriend, the perfect husband, the perfect father, the perfect everything. I would never have wanted for anything and never worried that he would raise a hand to me. I rolled onto my back and scooted my shoulders onto the wall so I could at least look at him.
"Nope. Not that it matters." He smiled and rolled the office chair to the bars.
"It matters to me. You've done a lot of things that people don't approve of, but lying ain't one of 'em, that I know of. For what it's worth, I wouldn't have blamed ya if ya did. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to. He never did treat ya right." He held onto the bars with both hands and looked at me with longing eyes. Why had I let such a decent man get away from me? Even years later after one date, he was still hung up on me. Maybe he always would be.
"Hey, I know I'm not s'posed to, but I told Ash that you'd be here tonight. She's gonna come and see ya." I sat up and pulled the small cot with an aluminum frame to the bars and sat across from him. He truly was a sweet guy.
"Thanks, Bobby." I covered his hands with mine and smiled. "You're a good friend, always have been. I'm sorry that I took you for granted." He returned my smile.
"It's okay. I'm sorry I couldn't protect ya." He dropped his eyes to the floor, and I knew that his guilt was real and sorely felt. "Y'know he whooped and hollered something awful here at the station after you moved out to that mansion?" I shook my head. I didn't know.
"Yeah. We never paid him no mind. We were all rootin' for ya to stay away from 'em. He said Luci assaulted him and tried to press charges, but we wrote it off. He was in her home, y'know. Nothin' we could do." He grinned, and I knew that Bobby was secretly happy that Luci had stood up to him in a way he and his father hadn't.
"Lauren?" His voice became quiet, pensive, and I brushed my thumbs over his knuckles. "Is that why you couldn't ever be happy with any of us guys?" His eyes dropped to the floor again.
"What do you mean, Bobby?"
"I mean, I saw that woman kiss you." His voice was strained, jealous perhaps.
"Bobby, no." I reached through the bars and put my hand on his stubbly cheek. "That's not it. You're wondering why I didn't give us a chance. It's not because I'm gay. It's just… it's complicated." I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "I didn't let our relationship go any further than it did because I didn't want to hurt you. I care about you, but I would have treated you like all the others, you understand. You would have ended up hating me when I couldn't be what you needed. I couldn't do that to you."
"And Ms. Pravitas? People say that Old Jean who lives up in that cabin on the mountain is that way, and they talk about Coach Harper 'cause she never goes out with anyone." He was confused and trying to understand. Sexuality wasn't openly discussed around here, and he was ignorant but searching for something solid and nonjudgmental to grasp.
"It's not really like that with me and Luci. I don't know anything about the ins and outs of being gay, but when I look at Luci, of course I see her beauty and I know that she's a woman, but it's more than that. It's like she gets me, more than anyone else I've ever met. When I look at her, I'm not thinking about her being a woman or older or rich or anything like that. She's just Luci, y'know. She's the person who understands me better and deeper than anyone else. It doesn't feel wrong. Actually, everything feels right when I'm with her. You understand?"
His jaw muscles clenched and he pulled away from my hands and rolled a few feet away from the bars. My heart hurt along with his. Bobby deserved the best woman this world had to offer him, and I wasn't it.
"I understand. I felt that way with you. You weren't hung up on the stupid stuff, and you never minded jumping in to help Pop on the farm." Unshed tears made his eyes glisten in the dim light. I searched for words that would ease his pain, but none came. The door at the end of the hallway clicked shut, and Bobby sniffed and blinked away the tears. Ashley was here.
"Hey, Sis." He stood and hugged his sister. He leaned over and nuzzled her belly. "Hey little niece or nephew!" My heart broke. Why did I let such a good man go? If I was married to Bobby, no one would blink when I said that I didn't kill my father.
"Hey Ash." I tried to smile but I think it came out as a grimace.
"You okay, Lauren?" Bobby unlocked the cage, and she stepped through immediately and took me in her arms. I tensed at the contact. Why was she so kind after I'd treated her so poorly the last time we spoke weeks ago?
"I'm fine," I said as Bobby locked the door behind her.
"I'll be over here at the desk when you're ready to go, Sis." She nodded, and he rolled the chair back to the desk.
"I'm surprised you wanted to see me after the way we left things." I sat on the bed and stared at her belly. "You're about ready to pop." She laughed and rubbed her hand over her baby bump.
"Yeah, doc says another two months. The rascal won't roll over so we can see if it's a boy or girl." I smiled at her obvious happiness. Maybe Daniel had changed. I prayed he had. Her expression turned serious as she sat on the cot beside me.
"I wanted to see if you were okay. And I know you don't want to hear it, but I got more to tell you about Luci." I sighed.
"Ash, enough with that. I told Luci about the file. I trust her. That's all that matters." I stood and paced the floor with my hands on my hips.
"Just listen. I think she killed your dad." I stopped abruptly and fixed my angry gaze on her face. "Back when she was in high school, she was suspected when one of her classmates turned up dead."
"That's ridiculous! And even if she had, do you seriously want someone to be punished because the world was short a man like Patrick Danes?" I whispered harshly, not wanting Bobby to overhear. He was a cop after all.
"It took me a while to find it because she changed her name, but look." She pulled a newspaper article from her purse. She had printed it from an Internet page. "That's Luci." She pointed to the picture at the top of the article, which was dated 4 February 1989. It was a very young Luci, but the blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes definitely belonged to my beloved friend.
"It took me forever to find it because it wasn't originally published on the Internet, so I had to dig in the archives that had been scanned in, and actually called the newspaper office in England twice and Luci's old school once before I found what I was
looking for."
"It only says that she was present at the death. It doesn't say she killed her. Ash…" I scratched my forehead and sighed. "What exactly are you trying to prove? This is probably why Luci changed her name. She was traumatized and didn't want it following her around. Good God, just let it go, already." I balled the paper and threw it on the bed beside her. She snatched it up, smoothed it out and shoved it back into her purse.
"I'm trying to save your life." She stood and grabbed my shoulders. "Why won't you let me help you?"
"I don't need your help. Not like this. Look, Luci got me a lawyer. They're going to fix all of this. They really don't even have enough evidence to arrest me, okay. So, just back off." I smacked her arms away and retreated to the far corner of the cell as far from her as I could run.
"You need to tell Derrick and that detective that she did it, Lauren, or you are going to go to jail for good." Fear flashed through her eyes and laced her desperate words, but I didn't care.
"I'm not going to jail, for god's sake. They're fishing in the dark with any bait they can scrounge up on the hook, Ash. They ain't got shit." Bobby looked over from the desk at our raised voices but didn't move.
"Either you tell them, or I'm showing them this." I glared at her.
"You wouldn't." I wanted to believe that Ashley would not let her jealousy of Luci ruin the woman's life and reputation, but I was skeptical.
"I already put an envelope in Derrick's mailbox when I came in here tonight. If you promise to tell him, I'll take it out on my way home. If not, I'm leaving it there." Her voice was dead serious and threatening.
"I'm not turning on Luci! Are you seriously so incredibly jealous of her that you're willing to destroy her reputation?" Anger burned in my chest and flushed my face all the way to the tips of my ears. How dared she?
"Jealous? I'm not jealous of Luci! I'm afraid for you!"
"Bullshit. I left the diner and moved up in the world, and you're stuck at the same place you'll always be. You think Luci replaced you as a friend. Y'know what? Maybe she did because she certainly isn't willing to ruin anyone's life to set me free. She's doing it the right way," I yelled. I didn't care. Bobby hesitantly approached the cell, keys in hand.
"Okay, you're right. I am a little jealous," Ashley admitted, and I leaned back into my corner. "I miss you, Lauren. Everyone misses you. Even people who used to complain about you at the diner miss you. But that's not why I'm telling you all of this. I'm trying to protect you." Her words were sincere, and they calmed my anger slightly.
"You can't protect me, Ashley. You couldn't protect me when Dad was beating the shit out of me every night, and you can't protect me now. Luci can. Let her do it. If you care about me like you say you do, just leave it alone. Please." I was begging. I knew I was begging, but I couldn't stop.
"Bobby," Ashley beckoned her brother. He jumped forward and unlocked the door. "I'm sorry, Lauren. I can't. You'll thank me one day." She walked briskly down the corridor and disappeared. I ran to the side of the cell closest to the desk.
"Ashley!" I yelled. "Don't do this!" I shook the bars and frustrated scream, but the bars did not give a centimeter nor did Ashley. "Damn it!" I kicked the cot and sent it crashing into the cinderblock wall across the room.
"Lauren, settle down. What on God's green earth was that about?" I adjusted the mattress and flopped onto the cot.
"Nothing." I pulled the pillow over my face and prayed for sleep to kidnap my mind for a few hours. Bobby's boots tapped quietly on the cement floor as he returned to the desk. I didn't want to talk to him anyway.
A tear leaked out of the corner of left eye, but I dared not wipe it. He didn't need to know that I was crying. I repeated over and over in my head that I would be fine, that Luci and Katherine would save me. Over and over. I will be okay. Luci will save me. I will be okay. Luci will save me. I will be okay. Luci will save me. That was my last thought as I gratefully sank into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER 14
I jerked awake when the metallic clanking of the cell door being opened echoed through the empty block room. I tumbled onto the cold concrete floor in a tangle of sheets and legs. Derrick watched me disentangle myself with an amused smirk.
"Mornin,'" he offered and held out a foam box and coffee cup. "Brought breakfast from Barb's. C'mon." He jerked his head towards the cell door and left it open as he walked towards the desk. I groaned and rubbed my hands across my face.
"Where's Bobby?" I croaked as I pulled myself to my feet, using the cot as leverage.
"Sent him home about an hour ago." I wobbled to the desk, not quite balanced yet from the abrupt awakening, and plopped into the desk chair. "Wasn't sure how you liked your coffee, but Barb said she fixed it right."
I sipped the hot liquid and leaned back in the chair as the sweet, milky coffee soothed my sleepy eyes and achy muscles. "Thank you, Barb." I took a longer swig and sighed. "I'd forgotten how much I loved her coffee." I sat the cup down and opened the to-go box to find biscuits and sausage gravy. I almost groaned with delight. I loved Barb's biscuits and gravy. I grabbed the plastic fork from the desk and poked the handle through the end of the plastic wrapping.
"Lauren, I need to ask you a few more questions." Sheriff Armentrout sipped his own coffee and sat one hip on the edge of the desk.
"I figured." I didn't bother looking up at him and cut into one of the biscuits. I groaned out loud when the salty gravy and buttery biscuit met my tongue. "Oh my god, I need to go to Barb's more." Derrick shook his head and then tipped his plastic thermos up for another swallow.
"Got an interesting package this morning about your boss. I didn't know my boys were running checks on her and I'm going to talk to 'em about it, but it was an… enlightening read." I shoved another oversized bite into my mouth and chewed, waiting for him to finish.
"Y'know, if you said that Luci killed your dad and asked you to cover it up, all of this would go away." The food turned to ash in my mouth and I swallowed roughly, nearly choking on the amount of food I hadn't chewed.
"No," I said simply and washed the bad taste out of my mouth with coffee.
"Lauren, I know you are close with this woman, but something ain't right here." He was fishing, trying to get me to say something incriminating about Luci.
"You got that right. You people thinking that this is murder instead of an accident is the problem," I snarled and stood, grabbing the coffee. I would sit in my cell and rot before I betrayed Luci, not after everything she'd given me.
"It's not just that, Lauren." Derrick followed me as far as the cell door and leaned against the steel. I sat on the on the cot and leaned against the wall, glaring at him.
"I'm sorry, but I got a dozen witnesses saying how upset Luci got the day after Patrick did that." He pointed to his own forehead, indicating my scar. "And I know how intense feelings become when people get… intimate with you."
"Intimate. For fuck's sake, Derrick, Luci and I aren't intimate. She's a friend, a good one. She kissed me right here." I touched my cheek beside my lips. "Now, that hardly qualifies as intimate. Doesn't your wife kiss her friends on the cheek sometimes, liiiiike say when they are accused of murder and in handcuffs?" I gulped the coffee as I tried to calm my racing thoughts.
"Okay, okay." He held up his hands. "Calm down. I'm just trying to help you out. For what it's worth, I really don't think you did it."
"Derrick, I'm telling you for hundredth time that it had to be an accident. If you take this case in front of the magistrate, you're going to get laughed out of the courtroom. Just let it go. Even if someone did kill him, should they have to suffer because they did the world a favor and took Patrick Danes out of it? Think about it."
He did, and I pressed forward. "Hell, even Bobby said last night after you went home that he wished it had been him that killed him. Are you going to start accusing your officers next? How about Barb? That woman has been like a mother to me for years. Did she get mad and blame him for me quitting the diner and w
orking for Luci? He was the reason I left her. Everyone knows that, and Barb has been known to be violent towards drunks. I've seen her throw more than one out her door. Are you going to suspect every person I've ever slept with? When you get a completed copy of that list, I would like to see it because I only remember half their faces and even less of their names."
He chuckled and shook his head before tipping his thermos into his mouth. "You shoulda gone to law school. Those are the exact points Mrs. Ainsley is making upstairs."
"They're here?" I stood and straightened my clothes. "Guess it's time for me to go upstairs then."
"I reckon they'll be down for ya any minute now. And you're right. This case won't make it to court, but Green has a stick up his ass about it. We're just going to have to let it run its course. For all my opinion is worth, I don't think he died of natural causes, but no one is going to prove murder, not with what we've got. Especially since our prime suspect has an airtight alibi." He pointed his thermos towards me and then took another swig.
"You don't like him, do you?"
"Not one little bit." He grinned around his thermos as he took another drink. "C'mon, finish your breakfast." He held out his arm and guided me through the cell door.
"Wait. That's it?" I sat in the chair and stared up at him in astonishment. "What about all that crap you were spewing about blaming Luci?" Something didn't feel right.
"Well, I suspect Green is handing her an arrest warrant right now. I said our prime suspect had an alibi. I didn't say all of 'em did." He held up his hands again before I could explode into a rant. "Just wait, I had to turn that evidence over to Green. It's my job, but like I said, all we have is circumstantial evidence. There is no trace of anyone else being in that house at the time of the fire, no vehicle tracks outside the house or on the driveway, no foot prints at all except Patrick's. There were a few spear marks in the ground that led to the river, but I know he spear fishes quite a bit, so that wasn't surprising. With your daddy's age and his drinking habits, he very well could have died in his sleep like you said."
