by PJ Fernor
He growled and tried to move but Johnny pulled on the cuffs and that made him stop.
“Let’s get this guy settled and we’ll call it a night,” Johnny said. “Mission accomplished.”
As we walked to the front of the gas station, I went to check on the cashier.
He had since called the police, which was fine.
Johnny made a phone call to get a police cruiser to come get Nelson anyway.
I made sure the cashier was okay and then looked around the store.
“Sorry about the mess,” I said.
“As long as everyone is safe,” the cashier said. “And everyone is alive.”
In his right hand, he clutched a rosary.
Ben touched my arm. “Let’s get out of here, Allie Down. You did good.”
“Did good?” I asked. “What were you two waiting for? Nelson to hurt that guy or what?”
“No,” Ben said. “We were just… it’s over now.”
We stepped outside and I stopped walking. “Something is going on here.”
“What?” Ben asked.
“You’re a terrible liar, Ben.”
“What am I lying about?”
“Why are we here tonight?” I asked.
“Johnny called me. He wanted our help. We have nothing going on…”
I shook my head.
“Allie, tell me that didn’t feel good,” Ben said.
“What? Having a gun pulled on me and almost getting stabbed?”
“Not that part,” Ben said. “You caught someone. A bad guy is going to jail tonight because of you.”
“No. He’s going to jail because of Johnny and his connection. I was just… wait a second…”
I looked at Johnny as he stood with Nelson next to his car.
I heard sirens in the distance.
I pointed to Ben.
He threw his hands up.
“The two of you…”
“What?” Ben asked.
“Johnny didn’t need our help,” I said. “You two set this up. Johnny was coming here to bust Nelson and you and he decided to have me come along. So I could catch the guy. So I could feel good about myself. Right?”
Ben slowly shook his head.
Like I said… he was a terrible liar.
Chapter Five
Johnny leaned against his car with his hands in his pockets.
Looking smug as could be.
Nelson had been put into a police cruiser and was being hauled away.
A few other officers were inside the gas station store checking on the cashier and surveying the damage, along with getting the camera footage of me chasing Nelson through the store like a woman chasing her cheating husband down.
Ben was smart enough to stay away from me for the moment.
When I told him to stay, he listened.
Which was good.
As I got closer to Johnny, he smiled at me.
“Got him, right?” Johnny asked.
I swung my right hand and knew it wasn’t my best punch, but a punch was a punch.
I hit him in the jaw and then recoiled my fist to my side because it hurt to punch someone.
I groaned and sucked in the pain.
Johnny turned to his right and put his left hand out.
“Give me one second,” he called out.
“I want to hit you again,” I said.
He took a few steps and shook his head. He looked back at me and flexed his jaw. “You found out?”
“Yeah.”
“Ben?”
“I’m not an idiot,” I said. “There’s no way you would have just sat in a car and watched some guy go rob a store. What is wrong with you?”
“Me?” Johnny asked as he turned. “It was Ben and I together. He called me first.”
“He called you?”
“He was worried about you,” Johnny said. “Me too. The more he started talking…”
“About what?”
“Your last case, Allie,” Johnny said. “That was a tough one.”
“Don’t even go there, Johnny.”
“I just did,” he said. “You can think what you want about me, but I care about you. Okay? We’ve been through some crazy stuff together. And no matter what, you saved my life, Allie.” Johnny touched my arm. “You made a decision that saved my life and changed yours. I know that hits you hard. And this last case… what he did…”
I shook my head. “I’m not a project.”
“Nobody said you were,” Johnny said. “But you got too close and got hurt. You need to face that. And then the guy turns up dead at the end of it all. You never got your closure. And the bigger case…” Johnny half grinned. “Come on, Allie. I know you better than you think. What happened is bothering you.”
I shook my head. “You don’t know…”
“Yes, he does,” Ben said from behind me.
I turned and stepped back, putting both Johnny and Ben in my field of vision.
“You needed a win,” Johnny said. “That’s what I told Ben.”
“I needed someone to talk to,” Ben said. “I hate seeing you like this, Allie Down. I wanted you to feel alive again. To remind you that you’re good at your job. We all have good days and bad. Good cases and bad.”
“So you set this up?” I asked.
“It wasn’t a set up,” Johnny said. “I was coming here tonight to arrest Nelson no matter what. I just figured I’d give you a go.”
“To go after a guy with a gun and a knife?” I asked.
“To be fair, I didn’t know he had a knife,” Johnny said.
“I want to hit you again,” I said.
“You’re not the first woman to hit me and want to hit me a second time,” Johnny said.
“I’m done here,” I said. “Johnny, go home. Ben, take me home.”
I walked to the passenger side of Ben’s car and got into it.
Ben and Johnny shook hands.
Johnny looked at me and winked.
I did not like Johnny Barby most of the time.
When Ben got into the car, he started it and drove, without a single word said.
At least not until we got into Sandemor.
“Allie Down,” he said.
“I was wondering if you’d make it the entire time or not.”
“You know I can’t go without talking to you,” he said.
“Right,” I said.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “Not my brightest idea. I was influenced by Johnny.”
“That’s who you called for help?” I asked. “That’s like seeing something on fire and calling a gas truck to come… or something.”
Ben laughed. “I know. That just shows how much I care and how desperate I was. I still am.”
“Desperate for what, Ben?” I asked.
“To see you be yourself again,” he said. He frowned. “You’ve been through a lot, Allie. On top of taking care of Lo. You went from a city cop who was single to raising a teenager and being thrown into the middle of some really tough cases. This last one isn’t going away, is it?”
“It will,” I said. “They all do.”
“No, they don’t,” Ben said. “Don’t try that game with me. Everything sticks.”
“And what sticks with you, Ben?” I asked.
“We had a case my second year on the job,” Ben said. “Young girl was kidnapped. She was the daughter of a prominent businessman. We played out every angle possible and came up short over and over. On a hunch, I went to an old playground and found her. She had been murdered, Allie. Her father did it. Her father had gotten himself wrapped up with another woman who wanted him to kill his own daughter. So he did. I’ll never forget the cold look in his eyes when we arrested him. Relief and evil. I still see that face from time to time. I still see the little girl too. Right behind an old, rusted swing. Curled up… in a dress…”
I reached for Ben’s hand.
“I know why you did it,” I said.
I kept my hand on his until we go
t back to my apartment.
When I climbed out of the car, Ben followed me.
“Hey,” he said. “Am I invited up?”
“Not tonight,” I said.
“So this is you punishing me?” he asked.
“Something like that,” I said.
“Are we good though?”
“Define good,” I said.
Ben sighed. “I wanted you to remember who you are.”
“I know, Ben. It felt good. The bad guys lost one tonight. That’s a good thing for everyone.”
“Agreed. And us?”
I walked toward Ben and moved to my toes.
I grabbed his shirt and kissed him.
Before I could slip away, his hands wrapped around my back and he kissed me.
A much better kind of kiss too.
Deep, romantic, everything we had been holding back for so many years from each other.
We stood outside and kissed like two teenagers making out like they weren’t going to see each other for an entire weekend.
Ben slowed the kiss down to one extra peck and then smiled.
“I care about you, Allie Down,” he whispered.
“I know you do,” I said. “Goodnight, Ben.”
“Goodnight.”
I stepped away and turned to go inside.
I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach.
I guess you could say that Ben and I were officially a thing now.
Chapter Six
Miss Kesslier looked so cozy nestled in my chair. With a pair of reading glasses down near the tip of her nose, her mouth open, she was staring intently at a crossword puzzle.
The glasses were new, along with the crossword puzzle.
A couple weeks ago, she had a hard time reading a recipe after forgetting a few of the ingredients from memory. That set her off into a tizzy that she was getting old and losing her mind.
I tried to tell her that everyone forgets things from time to time, but Miss Kesslier took it to heart.
The next day she had reading glasses and a crossword puzzle book.
The glasses helped her see and the crossword puzzles were going to sharpen her mind.
There was nothing I could do but just smile at her.
She rarely showed any sense of fear, but when she did, she seemed to go in a different direction than maybe what should have been logical.
Meaning an eye doctor could have helped with any eye issues and a normal doctor’s appointment could have helped with any potential issues with her memory.
“I need a five-letter word for come and go,” she said without looking at me.
“I almost got shot and stabbed tonight,” I said.
“What?” Miss Kesslier asked.
She looked at me.
“That got your attention,” I said.
I walked away and heard her put the crossword puzzle book down.
“Allie, get back here,” she said.
I stopped and turned while she hurried toward me to hug me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I had to admit… I mentioned almost getting shot and stabbed because I wanted a hug from Miss Kesslier. I loved the woman. She was family to me. In some ways, she was the only family I had. Besides Lo, of course.
Miss Kesslier was the type of person - and family - where I could take a breath and feel like the world could survive while I took that breath.
She rubbed my back and sighed. “I hate hearing these types of stories, Allie.”
“I know you do.”
“But it’s your job. It’s what you love. I have to accept it.”
“It wasn’t quite as bad as I’m making it sound,” I said.
She broke the hug and held my arms. “How is almost getting shot and stabbed not bad? Did some bank robber squirt you with a water gun?”
I laughed. “No. It was a real gun. And a real knife. I threw a jar of salsa at his head.”
“You threw salsa at someone?” Lo’s voice asked from behind me.
“Hey, Lo,” I said.
She walked into the kitchen with an empty plate and cup.
“Who did you throw salsa at?” Lo asked.
“Ben,” I said. “He was getting mouthy with me.”
“I bet he was getting mouthy,” Lo said. She puckered her lips and kissed the air. “Oh, Ben… my sweet Ben… I love you, Ben…”
She kept kissing the air.
Miss Kesslier giggled.
“I don’t think that’s funny at all,” I said.
“What? That you’re in love?” Lo teased.
“You’re grounded for a year,” I said.
Lo laughed as she rinsed her plate and cup and put them in the dishwasher.
That simple task alone was a feat of epic proportions for her.
And me.
She washed her hands and slipped by me with a sly smile.
“Goodnight, Lo,” I said.
“Yup,” she called out.
She shut her bedroom door and I looked at Miss Kesslier.
“Yup?” Miss Kesslier asked.
“I get her to wash her dirty dishes and then something else slips on her,” I said. “Teenagers suck.”
“Seems that way,” Miss Kesslier said. “I used to get hugs.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Don’t you dare. She’s doing her thing. How’s the new doctor working out?”
“Dr. Deb Leight? She’s good. Poor woman was tortured by me.”
“Rightfully so,” Miss Kesslier said. “After what you went through…”
I nodded and swallowed down all the emotion that came with any mention of what had happened.
Lo needed someone to talk to. That fact that I messed up and let her see Dr. Jerry was something I’d have to live with for the rest of my life.
This time, I made sure to find someone real.
I explained to Dr. Leight about what happened, and she was more than willing to show me all her degrees, college transcripts, and put me in touch with several people who could verify that she was, indeed, a real doctor.
She was a stern woman but knew how to get to the point.
She reminded me of myself.
Nothing fluffy and funny about the seriousness of mental health.
That’s where Lo had a problem.
Lo wanted to joke and laugh things off, but Dr. Leight pushed at her to talk.
Plus, no matter what, Lo was a moody teenager. That came with the territory.
“I better get going,” Miss Kesslier said. “You look tired. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Like Ben told me… we got a bad guy off the street. That’s all that counts right now.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Miss Kesslier said. “Try not to get shot and stabbed, okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Did you really throw salsa at someone?”
“That I did,” I said. “Sometimes you have to improvise. It worked.”
“Someday we need to have a ladies day and night or weekend. Just us. We need to share some stories.”
“I would love that,” I said.
“I wish Lo was a bit older to be able to hear some of the stories I have.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, nothing,” Miss Kesslier said. “I mean, off the top of my head, I can tell you the story of the night I stopped at a biker bar to use the bathroom and ended up engaged and setting the bar on fire. Literally.”
I laughed. “I have to hear that one.”
“For another time,” she said. “I’ve been proposed to roughly a dozen times. Engaged seven of those times.”
“You never fail to amaze me, Miss Kesslier.”
“When are you going to call me by my name?”
“Allie,” I said.
“Allie and Allie,” she said. “We could be a TV show. You’re the detective. I’m the one who sits at home and does crossword puzzles.”
�
�You also solve the crimes,” I said.
“Yes,” she said. “Okay. We’re going to plan a weekend away. And we’re going to bring a lot to drink. We’re going to write a TV show.”
“And you’re going to tell me some of these crazy stories,” I said.
“Yes. I love it.”
Miss Kesslier winked at me and turned.
She stopped in the living room to retrieve her reading glasses and crossword puzzle book.
When she opened the door, I called out, “Visit.”
She looked back at me. “What?”
“A five-letter word for come and go,” I said. “Visit.”
Miss Kesslier smiled. “Thanks, Allie.”
She left and I called it a night.
I showered, crawled into bed, and thought about sending Ben a text.
I was still a little annoyed with him.
Even if it came from a place of caring.
I went to sleep with a smile on my face.
And I woke up to the sound of Lo screaming at the top of her lungs.
Chapter Seven
The scream brought me out of a sound sleep and right into a panic.
I reached for my phone, wishing it were my gun.
Last night I forgot to set my alarm and I was waking up late.
Which meant whatever danger Lo was facing should have been for me.
I kicked my way out of bed and in the fastest motion I had ever made, I had my gun in my right hand and tore open the bedroom door.
I made it a few steps before I saw the pantry door was open, which took up half the hallway.
I hurried around it and saw Lo standing in the pantry.
She looked back at me, then at my gun, and she covered her mouth.
“Lo…”
“This is sick,” she said.
“I thought something happened to you.”
“It did,” she said. “And you can’t let it go.”
Lo hurried from the pantry closet and went into her bedroom.
The door slammed so hard, I thought the entire apartment building was going to shake.
I looked at the blanket on the floor and shook my head.
“You failed me,” I whispered.
I crouched down, grabbed the flannel blanket and threw it back over the large whiteboard I had put in the pantry.
Lo had seen the thing dozens of times, but knew not to mess with it.
I told her it was something work related and to leave it be.