by Laura Greene
The voices, Tina thinks as she hears Sue sniffling and pausing to clear her throat, only to sob some more. Tina clenches her fist to her mouth; she is also holding back tears. She is heartbroken for the Graysons; that any parent should have to read a note like this from their child is grueling to her.
Wiping her eyes, glad that she did not wear make-up this morning, Tina realizes that she has just been handed the lead that she has been praying for, something that supports the strange feeling she has had all along - that Anna was coerced to commit suicide. This feeling grew when she read her diary and now she has proof that more than one person was involved. Someone was after Anna, and Tina needs to find out who before they either get another student.
A cold shudder strikes again. Tina doesn’t want to think about it, but she can’t help wondering if the same people who came for Anna are the ones who were in her home last night.
Chapter 3
The toxicology report is in her hand and Tina is walking into Newport P.D. to speak to Olsen. Just an hour ago, she called her boss Tim to explain that given the new evidence from Anna’s parents, she is changing her case from suicide to homicide. The letter is in her pocket and she is determined, just like Anna’s parents requested, to find out the truth.
The last time Tina was at the station was in the middle of the night, questioning Ben and Olsen. She went home, hopeful to get a few hours of rest. She didn’t get any. Now the lack of sleep is getting to her, but the adrenaline of finding a breakthrough in her case is feeding her the fuel she needs to make it through the day.
“The blood tests are back, Olsen, and they show Anna was dosing. And my guess is you were her dealer.” Tina knows the report shows she was only taking focus-enhancing drugs – the lab noted Adderall in her bloodstream. It’s prescription medicine and her parents confirmed she was not on any doctor-prescribed medication. Of the list of drugs found, Adderall is tame and probably something Anna took to help with exam anxiety, but she doesn’t have to tell Olsen that.
Olsen is still wearing the same green sweatshirt and orange highlighted sneakers from yesterday. A night in jail seems to have done him some good. He is looking less like he’s on top of the world and more like a purring kitten that just landed in the big bad jungle. Tina finds that a taste of the real world tames many kids who are too big for their breaches. She watched it work on her spoiled friends when they were younger.
“She’s a nice girl, Agent James, she wouldn’t take anything that would jeopardize her life.”
Noting Olsen’s jump to defend Anna, Tina switches her approach and asks what she really came for, “Why didn’t you tell me that you liked Anna? Is that why you dosed her? Out of jealousy that she liked someone else?”
“No!” Olsen is forceful in his answer and offended at the accusation. That’s all Tina needed to see. “We were friends and I did like her, but nothing happened between us. Okay?”
“Oh come on, Olsen. I have you on twenty-six counts of drug possession. Everything from roofies to PEDs and even crack. Why should I believe anything you say? You had more drugs in your dorm room than the school nurse!”
“She didn’t feel right being with me while she was still with that...” disdain is showing on his face, his neck is about ready to pop a vessel and his jaw is clenched, “with that Dean in the way. She was trying to leave him.”
“The tutor?”
“Yeah… him, preying on girls my age in that library. He should be the one you’re questioning; better yet he should be in prison.”
Tina leans back in her chair. She’s heard enough. And she wishes she hadn’t heard it at all.
A knock.
In comes Deputy Officer McKey, “Olsen’s lawyer is here.”
The interview is over. There’s no way his lawyer is going to let her talk to Olsen anymore without representation present. Every time I get close to the truth, something stands in the way, she thinks.
On her way out of the station, Tina prints off one more file.
Once at her car, she pats around her jacket pocket, takes out her key fob and unlocks her car. It’s already unlocked. This is not good. She is the only soul in the station parking lot. Inside the car, nothing has been touched; it’s as immaculate as she left it. As she sits, she recognizes that everything is alright inside the car and that is what is making this very moment so wrong. Deep worry is heavily laying on her. Tina is someone who normally pays close attention to detail. Was I in such a hurry that I forgot to lock my car? She can’t think of why she would have done it. Did someone break in? A feeling of invasion weighs on her like an anvil. She can’t shake this either.
Her phone rings.
It’s an unknown number.
She answers.
“There is nowhere safe for you to hide. Even at a police station, we will find you.” The voice is muffled and difficult to identify. She can’t even confirm the gender of the caller.
Click. The call ends.
That anvil presses a little harder on Tina’s already tired body. She’s at the station, so she decides to go inside and trace where or whom the call came from.
It’s a burner phone, probably dumped by now. She already has a police detail at her home, does she need bodyguards too now? She feels bare, as vulnerable as a deer at night.
On her drive back to the school, Tina’s heart is still racing as she is thinking of the call. She can’t think of why someone would come after her, unless they are worried she’ll uncover the truth. But Tina is not one to back down easily. No matter what, I can’t let them know that I’m afraid. That’s what they want. She proposes in her heart, whoever they are, I will fight back.
At the school, Tina runs into more backlash. Waiting for her in Amy’s office is Senator Hunt – Olsen’s dad. Great, just what I need. Reluctantly, she walks into the ambush. To her, this is just the unsavory part of the job – dealing with angry family members who think the law applies to everyone but them.
She has barely entered Amy’s office when a commanding voice comes. “Agent James,” the Senator begins, “you’re new to the town so I’ll try to be cordial.”
Amy is quietly standing next to her achievements display, fidgeting with her hands. She would return to her desk if the senator had not colonized it just prior to Tina walking in.
Tina can already tell she’s not going to like the trajectory of this conversation. She could summarize it in a pithier manner. My town, my rules. He’s not the first to spread his weight around.
“In my town,” Tina tries to hold back the ‘I knew it’ smile, “we expect leaders, law enforcement and government officials to work well together. So imagine my surprise when I found out that my son was in jail without my knowledge or consent. Where you come from, you might work alone, but here we work as a team. Are we clear on that?” He is now standing hovering over the desk, though composed. His eyes are bulging out, though his voice is tender.
And here Tina thought this was going to be a conversation. “So, Senator, you want me to lay aside the law which I swore to uphold when it comes to family and friends? Why even have the law? Now your son is in jail on 26 counts of drug possession among other charges. Just like I don’t come to you and give you parenting advice, I expect you to not give me law advice. Now, are we clear on that?”
She walks out of the room, leaving Senator Hunt to shout remedial threats and insults. Tina can’t stand it when those entrusted to serve and protect abuse their power.
It’s strangely satisfying to walk out on the senator like that for Tina. Despite the momentary victory, Tina is well aware that she has made enemies too quickly in Newport. Any of them could be after her and apparently they are: first her home, then her car, and now at the school. Her lingering question is, who made the call? As much as she wishes it weren’t true, she no longer knows who she can trust.
Chapter 4
“Word on the street is Olsen will be out in no time!” Nick says with some reserve in his voice. Tina understands his reticence; he was a
fter all the one who rather uncharacteristically knocked Olsen off of his feet in their grand chase last night.
Now they are standing at the same spot where they met on her first day – the courtyard fountain. No flowers are in bloom since it is still winter, but the serene water from the fountain is flowing, and this afternoon, she is glad for a brighter sky above even though the sun remains tucked away from view in the safe haven of light gray clouds.
“I just left Amy’s office. Word travels that fast?” They hug. Tina is feeling more comfortable around Nick. Normally, she takes her time with guys. Maybe it’s because he is a religious figure who means what he says, or maybe it is because he is kind and friendly to her.
“The people of Newport are very good at keeping secrets and even better at getting them out upon request.” Nick chuckles, revealing a faint dimple on his right cheek. Tina hasn’t noticed it before. The depression is faint enough to give the impression of a dimple, yet leave the admirer wondering if it is really there or a figment of their imagination. Admirer? Tina did not expect to refer to herself as an admirer, she doesn’t know Nick that well yet.
He catches her staring at him and she quickly turns away from him to seek anything else that might captivate her eyes. Her cheeks warm up. This makes Nick chuckle even more.
“Easy for you, your cheeks are not captive to this dreaded curse called blushing,” Tina says, trying to cover her rosy cheeks.
“Oh, I blush. Especially when I’m around you.”
I think he just flirted with me. Tina is both surprised and too tired to figure out if he is really into her or not. Focus. Immediately she changes the topic, not realizing that while she was engrossed in all the flirting, she forgot a very important point that she wanted to discuss with him. “I didn’t get to thank you for helping me out last night. That was really sweet of you.”
“Yeah, we make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Nick stands tall, his broad shoulders towering above her but not menacing towards her. They are more… protecting.
Tina doesn’t want to say it out loud and admit it yet, but he’s right, they do. She smiles shyly.
“So how’s your case going?” Nick says, seeing that he’s making her a little uncomfortable with his advances.
Tina is grateful for it. “I’ve been occupied with some unknown home and car invaders. It seems someone is trying to intimidate me.”
“Well, that’s very foolish of them. They obviously don’t know who they are up against,” Nick says, offering a compliment. Tina’s cheeks, which were cooling down, start warming up again.
“Thanks.” Tina brushes back a few strands of hair that have moved in front of her eye back into their place. “I wish I knew who it was. At least for now, with Olsen in jail, I can rule him out.”
Of all her current worries, the one that haunts Tina the most is the thought of a girl losing her life on her watch. It would be unbearable for Tina. A fear that she thought she had buried long ago permeates her mind as she thinks of her childhood friend, Casey, who many years ago went on a trip to the beach with Tina and her family. It was a warm summer’s afternoon and they had just passed through Sandwich town to eat the best ice cream in the area. Two scoops each of their favorite assortment was enough to make the trip worthwhile. What Tina and her parents did not know and were about to find out, was what that beach was known for.
Her parents had told them to stay close to the shore as any caring parent would have said. They didn’t think they had gone that far or that deep into the water. Perhaps it was the current that drew them in deeper as they played Tag. The girls were only nine, but they were no strangers to the ocean – they grew up having many trips to the beach.
While Tina and Casey were playing in the water, a shark surfaced and mauled flesh off Casey's left arm.
At first, she did not scream. She just stared at Tina and bled out. It wasn’t until Tina sent a piercing, shrill scream into the air to alert her parents of the danger that Casey snapped out of her trance and screamed in anguish. Tina didn’t move; she just screamed as a pool of blood covered the space around her. She was too afraid to do anything. The one thought that raced through her mind was, I can’t lose someone I love.
Thankfully her parents swam to them in record time and drew both girls to the shore. Tina could have been a surfing board being carried back to the shore, she was just as mute nestled in the arm of her mom. With no delay, her dad ripped his shirt off and wrapped it around Casey. Her mom gathered towels and blankets to wrap around her and her friend who were still in shock.
A bystander at the beach had already called for an ambulance by the time they reached the shore, so it wasn’t long before Casey was driven to the hospital safely.
That fear that is penetrating her bones now as she thinks of her assailants possibly going after yet another innocent girl at the school is the same trepidatious fear that overwhelmed her so much that she didn’t do anything to save her friend Casey but scream. She vowed then that she would do everything in her power to protect the vulnerable. Again she ponders, how did they know how to get into my garage; was it Dale?
“Don’t look now,” Nick says, as he looks past Tina to the hallway leading to the front door.
“Why is he here?” Tina says as she turns to find her other worst nightmare, Olsen, has returned back to the school, and so has his roommate, Ben. Annoyed at how easily the justice system is undermined in Newport, she says, “Can’t Amy suspend him for a few days?”
“With no charges, no. But don’t take it personally, it’s not the first time he’s been let out with no more than a slap on the wrist.” Nick says this, but as if betraying himself he shifts his body from one side to the other in discomfort. He had also hoped for a little reprieve from Olsen after the news came out that he was dealing drugs to other students.
In almost one swooping motion, Tina rises to her feet, determined to try and talk with Olsen. She seemed to be making progress with him earlier at the station; she can hardly believe that was just less than two hours ago. It’s apparent his lawyer was not there to simply converse with him after all. Just as the senator said as she was walking out of Amy’s office, “Mark my words, my son will be out before the sun goes down.” Tina had wondered if he could really make it happen, though she tried not to concern herself too much with it. With Olsen parading himself a few yards from her, Tina thinks, that means, Olsen’s dad was not making idle threats. Her dread is setting in again.
Chapter 5
Before coming to Hartford Tina had not handled a case requiring her to be around minors, but Tim had full confidence in her ability to handle what he referred to as, “a doddle”. She, on the other hand, is not so sure doddle is the appropriate word to describe this case: her two and only convicts, who she just arrested last night, are back on the street – back in the hallway, to be exact.
In the few days that she has been at Hartford, Tina has lost sleep, lost suspects and she has even lost a fiancé, and now she is questioning if she’ll ever have kids of her own. Do I even want kids? It’s something she has never given much thought, allowing society to safely burden her with its own expectations. Given her unpredictable career choice and failed relationships, she makes no abrupt decisions but tables the topic, hoping for a better day when her life will be more stable. Will that day ever come? What irks Tina is that the flicker of desire to be a parent, however minute, is becoming more of a distant dream than a tangible reality.
“Detective,” Olsen says distinctly from among the chitter chatter of oohs and ahhs of his classmates surrounding him in the hallway, “you must be surprised to see me.”
While Tina was making her way inside to the crowd from where she sat talking with Nick in the courtyard, Olsen was parading himself to his classmates with a smug grin from ear to ear like a high-profile escaped convict just reunited with his gang.
At first it sickened Tina and now, after meeting Senator Hunt earlier in the afternoon, something is changing in her. She can’t help but
wonder if Olsen is really the culprit or a victim of his circumstances. This was the case among her family’s circle of friends. Growing up in Boston, she saw many teens act out to gain attention from their parents, only to be enabled further. By the time they were adults, some had been in jail more often than they attended school, while a great many numbed their pain with drugs. Maybe this is why Olsen rubbed her the wrong way at first – he reminded her of a dark past that Tina thought she had safely escaped. The more she thinks of her old friends, the more Tina is impressed to help Olsen before he turns into another statistic. She’ll figure out how to help him over time, but right now she needs to be a detective.
“Can we talk in private?” Tina avoids making a scene. She gently guides him through the crowd and further up the hallway, making sure they are a fair distance from his friends. They arrive at a quiet corner, just inches from the locked stairwell where her and janitor Charlie climbed last night.