Arrested Romance (Oak Spring Series Book 2)

by Sherri McDuffie

  “You don’t want to know. Who else do you need to call?”

  He took a deep breath and turned around. “I guess that’s it. I imagine Derik has already called Kelly, and a lawyer.”

  Mikki sat down. “I can’t believe this mess, and it’s all because of you.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” After rocking on his toes another time or two, he said, “I guess we need to tell Stover we’re done.” He went to the door and stepped to the front desk. Mikki was right behind him.

  “You can let Chief Stover know we’re through with his office,” Pete said.

  The heavyset woman behind the desk hit the intercom. “Office is all yours, Chief.” She went back to work without looking up.

  A door down the hall opened, and Stover walked out. He motioned toward his office, and Mikki and Pete followed him back inside. He closed the door and went to his chair.

  “So, do I get to talk to the boy or not?”

  “Not now. His lawyer is on the way.”

  The chief groaned and put his feet on the corner of his desk. “What is it with everyone? Larson lawyered-up, your nephew lawyered-up, and Stone lawyered-up. The only one I can talk to is Larson’s buddy. I can’t even talk to the boy who was with them without his parents.” He threw his hands in the air and said, “Hells bells, I would love to get someone to tell me what the heck is going on.”

  “Derik called a lawyer? Good, I thought he would. Is there any way I can talk to him?”

  “Might as well, no one else can.” The chief hit a button on the bottom of his desk phone and said, “Can someone show Sheriff Foster to interrogation?” He cupped his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

  “Actually, I would like to see Austin first.”

  Stover waved a hand toward the door without opening his eyes.

  An officer came to the door and said, “Come with me, Sheriff.”

  Pete looked at Mikki, and she shook her head. “You go ahead. I’m going to step outside and try to call Kelly. I imagine she needs to vent.”

  “I want to see my nephew,” Pete said to the man in front of him as they left the office.

  They stopped in front of the first room in a long hallway. “Your nephew is in here, and your friend is in the third one down,” the man said. Pete opened the door and stepped inside. Austin was sitting in one of the two chairs in the room; his legs rested in the other. He was playing a game on his phone. A large plastic cup and brown paper bag were on the table.

  “Hey, Uncle Pete. Are we going now?” He sat up and put his feet on the floor.

  “No, not yet. We have to wait for your lawyer to show up. He’ll be here in an hour or so. How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay. They got me a burger and even let me have my phone, but they said I can’t make any calls.” When Pete sat down, Austin said, “So what’s going on?”

  “Well, they’re trying to charge you with auto theft, but I don’t think they can make it stick. We’ll know more when Keaton shows up.” Pete rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. He stared at the floor a moment and said, “I talked to your mother. She’s on her way.”

  Austin groaned. “I’m going to be grounded for the rest of my life.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Chapter 51

  After Pete talked with Austin, he went to the room where Derik was being held. When he opened the door, his friend was sitting at a small table, drumming his fingers on the chipped top. There was an empty chair against the wall. He looked at Pete but didn’t speak.

  “How are you doing?” Pete said, pulling the seat to the table and sitting down.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “Stover said you called your lawyer.”

  “Yeah, I thought that might be a good idea, considering the circumstances.”

  “Have you talked to Kelly?”

  Derik laughed once. “Oh yeah.”

  “How did that go?”

  He looked at Pete and said, “How do you think? It was like any normal, everyday conversation. Hello, honey. How are the kids? By the way, I’m under arrest for stealing a car, child endangerment, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I might be a little late for dinner.”

  Pete ducked his head and bounced his foot that was resting over his knee. “Sounds better than the one I had with Austin’s mom.”

  “I bet. At least I get to kiss and make up with Kelly. You can’t do that with your sister.”

  “What can I do?” Pete asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just waiting for my lawyer to show up. He thinks he can get me out on bail. Hopefully, once we explain everything, the charges will be reduced or dropped completely. How’s Austin?”

  “He’s good. They gave him his phone, and he’s playing games. Keaton is coming up. I’m hoping I can take him home, or back to Mikki’s.”

  Pete drew circles on the table with his finger. The room was quiet except for the voices of people walking in the hall or an occasional telephone ringing.

  “I’m really sorry,” Pete said. “I had no business getting you involved.”

  “This wasn’t your fault. I’m the one who decided to follow the truck. It was a bad decision on my part, especially when I had Austin with me. I should be apologizing to you.”

  The men fell silent again. Derik drummed his fingers; Pete drew designs.

  “Man, that was a nice car,” Derik said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. He has her humming like she’s brand new.” Derik smiled and began drumming his fingers again.

  The men sat a few minutes, and Derik said, “Did you ever get arrested?”

  “Yes.”

  “What for?”

  “When I was about Austin’s age, a group of kids and I snuck out and spent a few hours going around the block taking the patio furniture off everyone’s porches and switching them around.” He shook his head at the memory. “The next morning it was like a mile-long yard sale. Everyone dragged it all to the curb and waited for the owners to claim their stuff.” He looked at Derik. “How about you . . . I mean before now?”

  “Nope, this is it. I wanted to make sure and do it right the first time.”

  Chapter 52

  Pete was walking out of the interrogation room when the door at the end of the hall opened. Dr. Cook walked in, escorted by two uniformed officers.

  “Get your hands off me,” he said. “Do you know who I am? I’m Dr. Nathan Cook. I want your badge numbers. Do you hear me? When do I get my phone call? I know my rights. I get one phone call.” He walked into the room the officer pointed to and saw Pete and Derik standing in the adjoining doorway.

  “That’s him! That’s the Neanderthal who ran me off the road and almost killed me.” Cook pointed his chin toward Pete. “I want him arrested. You saw what he did to my car.”

  Chief Stover walked up beside Pete. “Do you know him?”

  “Yes, he’s a doctor at the hospital in Oak Springs.”

  “Yes, I am, and I want that man arrested for kidnapping. He handcuffed me to my own car, and then kidnapped my date. Who knows what he did to her.”

  Pete leaned against the door frame and folded his arms. “If you look in the glove box of his car, you should find an envelope, which I suspect is full of money. I watched this man take it after handing something to Larson, and I bet Larson has a handful of prescriptions in his pocket. Unless he hid them in his truck or tossed them out the window.”

  “He put that envelope there. How would he know it was in the glove box unless he put it there to frame me?” Cook said.

  “I had him put it in there. My fingerprints are nowhere on that envelope. If you dust it, you’ll find both his and Larson’s prints.” Pete said.

  “N
ate, are you okay?”

  Everyone turned to watch Mikki coming down the hall.

  “Mikki, you escaped, thank God. I was trying to explain what this man did to us. You can tell them.” Dr. Cook looked at Chief Stover and said, “This is my girlfriend. Ask her. He forced her to leave with him. He kidnapped her.”

  Mikki stopped and shook her head. “Nate, I’m not your girlfriend.”

  Pete put his arm around her shoulder. “I told you, she’s my wife.”

  Mikki pulled away. “And I told you to stop saying that.”

  Everyone looked from Mikki to Pete and back.

  “You two are married?” Stover said.

  “No!” Mikki said.

  “Yes,” Pete said with a grin.

  “Hells bells,” the Chief said. “Are you two married or not?”

  “No, we aren’t. There was this charade of a ceremony at a rundown bar between here and Oak Springs. It was just a bunch of drunks acting stupid.” She glared at Pete. “We are not married.”

  “Did this happen to be at Buck’s Place?” Stover asked.

  “Yes, how did you know?” Mikki said.

  “That guy has been stirring up trouble ever since he became justice of the peace. Rumor has it that one time those guys got together and had him marry Tom Bradley’s pig to Harold Butcher’s goat.”

  The woman at the front desk came around the corner with Gil Keaton behind her. “Chief, the boy’s lawyer is here. Is it okay for him to go in now?”

  Stover pointed to the two officers. “Take the doctor into room four. I’ll talk with him in a few minutes.” He looked at Pete. “Do you want to be present when your nephew talks with his lawyer?”

  “Yes, I do.” He offered his hand to the lawyer. “Hello, Gil. Thank you for coming. He’s right in here.” He pointed to the room where Austin was playing on his phone.

  “You have a call on line two,” the woman said to Chief Stover. He turned to Mikki. “Come with me. You can wait for the sheriff up front.”

  Pete watched her walk away before opening the interrogation room door and saying, “Austin, Mr. Keaton is here. He wants to talk to you.”

  Chapter 53

  Austin sat on the short Naugahyde sofa, playing on his phone. Mikki sat beside him, flipping through a magazine she had picked up from the table in front of them. Pete stood at the window of the station’s small waiting area with his hands in his pockets, rocking on his toes.

  “How much longer do we have to wait?” Austin said, not taking his eyes off his screen.

  “As long as it takes. We’ll leave when Derik’s lawyer is finished talking with Chief Stover and I know what’s going on,” Pete said. He continued to stare out the window and rock.

  Austin sighed and went back to his game.

  The front door opened, and a woman in a royal blue satin dress walked into the lobby. Two men in black suits followed her. Her white hair was pulled into a tight twist, showing off diamond studded earrings that coordinated with her bracelet. The fur collar on her jacket mingled with the fur on the ears of the brown and white Papillon she carried under her arm. The stones in the dog’s collar matched the sparkle of the jewelry around her own neck. Her heels clipped on the tile floor as she approached the desk.

  “I would like to see whoever is in charge, immediately.”

  The woman behind the desk said, “That would be Chief Stover, and he is with someone right now. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “You are holding my grandson, Franklin Tobias Wingfield the third.”

  Austin’s head popped up when he heard the name.

  The woman continued, “I’m Deloris Wingfield, of the Montgomery County Wingfields. This is our attorney, Mr. Gerald Madden, of Madden, Tyler, and Peterson. I demand to see Franklin at once.”

  Chief Stover stepped into the hallway, followed by Derik and his attorney. “What’s going on here?” he said as he approached the front desk.

  “This is the grandmother of the boy in room two.”

  “I’m Chief Stover. We’ve been waiting for his parent or guardian to show up so we can talk to him.” He looked at the man to her left and said, “Are you his lawyer?”

  “Gerald Madden,” the man said. “Have you talked to the lad yet?”

  “No, sir. I’m aware of the law where minors are concerned. If you would like, I’ll show you where he is.” Stover looked at the woman and said, “I assure you, ma’am, your grandson is just fine. He’s waiting in one of our interrogation rooms.”

  She turned to the attorney. “Go do whatever it takes to get Franklin out of this dreadful place.” She looked around the room and wrinkled her nose. When her eyes landed on the people in the waiting area, she stiffened her back and turned her attention to the dog in her arms.

  “Come this way,” Stover said and led the man down the hall.

  Derik and his lawyer, Lloyd Overby, joined the others in the waiting area. Overby let out a low whistle. “That’s Gerald Madden. He is one of the top lawyers in the state. And one of the highest paid, I might add.” He shook Derik’s hand. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Don’t worry, we’ll get this straightened out. In the meantime, try to stay out of trouble.”

  They all laughed and waved goodbye when the man left the building.

  The door to the holding room opened, and Frankie and his lawyer stepped out with Stover behind them.

  The woman turned and passed the small dog to the man standing to her right. She took Frankie’s face in her hands. “Oh, Franklin, you poor thing.” She kissed the air beside each cheek. “Did they hurt you, darling? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Grandmother. “Where is Father? Did he come?”

  “I’m afraid not. He has a meeting he’s preparing for.”

  Frankie tried to look around her. “Is Mother in the car?”

  “No, darling. When she heard about this dreadful situation, she came down with another one of her migraines. She had to schedule a full body massage and call her doctor. The poor dear has taken to her bed again.”

  She looked at Madden. “I trust you have handled everything and we are free to go?”

  “We do need your signature before you leave,” said the clerk behind the desk. She slid a paper across the counter and offered the woman a pen. The man with the dog pulled an ink pen from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it, signed, and then returned it to him.

  Mrs. Wingfield retrieved the dog and kissed it several times on the head. “Shall we go? All of this is upsetting Bella.” Before anyone answered, she led Frankie toward the door, with the two men close behind.

  Frankie spotted the group of people in the recessed waiting area. When his eyes locked with Austin’s, he straightened his back and shook his grandmother’s hand off his shoulder.

  “See you later, Franklin,” Austin said.

  Frankie blushed and narrowed his eyes. He hurried out of the building with his grandmother’s entourage.

  Chapter 54

  Pete looked at Derik. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes, let’s get out of here.”

  The four walked to Pete’s truck. He opened the front passenger door and held it for Mikki.

  “I’ll sit with Austin,” she said. Pete sighed and watched her climb into the backseat.

  Derik smiled and slid into the front seat. “Thanks.”

  Pete slammed the door and went to the driver’s side. As he started the pickup, he looked at Derik. “How mad is Kelly?”

  “She isn’t happy.” He gave a little chuckle. “I guess when you drop me off at the house you need to wait and see if she’s going to let me in.”

  “She’s at my house,” Mikki said. “She told me she would meet us there as soon as she found a sitter.”

  “
That’s good,” Pete said. “That means she won’t yell too loud if there are others around.”

  Derik laughed. “True, but it also means she has the whole ride home to chew my rear.” He patted his shirt. “Does anyone have a pen and paper? I need to write down some things Overby told me before I forget.”

  Mikki reached in her purse and pulled out a small spiral notebook. She took a pen out of a side pocket and passed them to the front seat. “Here you go.”

  When they turned into Mikki’s drive, there were two cars in front of the house.

  “It looks like Lisa is here, too,” Pete said.

  Austin unsnapped his seatbelt. “Cool, I’m going to show her the pictures of that Camaro.” He jumped out of the truck and ran across the lawn.

  Each of the adults took a deep breath and followed him inside.

  Lisa and Kelly were sitting at the table when the group walked into Mikki’s kitchen.

  “Well, well. The jail birds are home,” Lisa said.

  Pete went to his sister and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, really. You know I would never put Austin in danger.”

  Lisa stood and placed her fists on her hips. “Danger? Danger? In the few weeks you’ve had him, he’s been arrested for dealing drugs and auto theft. What’s next, murder?”

  “Lisa, please let me explain.”

  As she walked toward Austin, she said, “Oh we’re going to talk, trust me. I have plenty to say to you, but first I want to see my son.”

  Mikki rubbed her forehead. “I’ll give you guys a chance to talk. I’m going to turn in.” She went down the hall toward her room.

  Kelly stood. “That sounds like a good idea. I think we will get out of your way, too.” She hugged Derik. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” He kissed her and said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Let’s go. You can tell me all about it on the way home.” They waved goodbye and left the house.