by Wendy Vella
“I need you to come with me now, Piper.”
“I’m innocent,” she whispered as Jack stepped up and hauled her into his arms. “I didn’t do it.”
“I know.” He held her close. “But you have to go with Chief Blake, Pip, for questioning. We’ll be there with you.”
She looked up at him and saw her fear mirrored in his eyes.
She hurried upstairs to change and while she did, her mother stood beside her, a solid presence as she always had been.
“Look after Grace until I return, Mom. Hopefully I won’t be too long.”
“I will, and you’re innocent so everything’s going to be okay.”
“I’m so scared.” Piper shuddered as her mother hugged her. “You really believe I didn’t do it, don’t you, Mom?”
Her shoulders were grabbed and she was eyeballed by a ferocious pair of green eyes.
“Piper Trainer, I raised you and know you better than anyone. You’re honest and loyal, and would rather hurt yourself than anyone else. No way would you poison a person; it’s not in your nature, baby.”
“Thank you.”
She quickly pulled on jeans, a long-sleeved gray T-shirt and thick black sweater, and then her boots.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Joe was roaring at Chief Blake when they arrived back downstairs. Buzz had followed him inside, and immediately came to her side.
“Hey, boy.” She dropped down and hugged him close. She then rose and kissed Grace. “I’ll be back soon, sweetie.”
Luke had been hauled out of his bed, and Bailey was there too.
“Oh God, Pip, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.” Bailey hugged her hard. “We’ll get it sorted, you have to believe that.”
She sniffed and swallowed back the tears. No way was she being driven through town in a police car crying.
“I’m driving her to the station. If she’s not under arrest, I can do that.” Joe’s jaw looked as malleable as granite.
“It’s just questioning, Joe.” Chief Blake sighed. “For pity’s sake, I’m just driving her to the station and then I’ll drive her home again when we’re done. Cut me some slack here.”
“I’m taking her or she’s not leaving this property.”
“Joe.” Piper tried to tell him it was okay, but she couldn’t find the words because she was choked up with fear. “It’s okay, I’m not being arrested.”
“Exactly,” Chief Blake said, reaching behind him.
“You pull out cuffs and we’re going to have a problem,” Jack said, stepping up to Piper’s side.
“Well for God’s sake, like I’d do that to her when I’m not arresting her. You all need to settle down and let me do my job.”
“Okay, so we’ll follow you,” Joe said, taking Piper’s hand in his.
“All right.” Chief Blake gave Buzz a pat, and then walked outside. Joe took Piper’s hand and followed.
“I need you to keep it together, Pip. Answer only the questions Chief Blake asks. Don’t say anything about the bad blood between us and Mary Howard.”
“He knows that stuff anyway, Joe.”
“But this is going to be on file. Anything you say now could be used.”
“If I get charged and go to trial?”
He nodded.
“We need to find out what day they think this happened, and you need to try and remember it, Pip.”
“It’s a terrifying thought if it’s my memory that’s going to save me.”
Joe snorted.
They arrived at the police station and she managed a smile for Dean, one of the officers she knew well because he came into Phil’s. He liked his coffee black and hot, and his eggs sunny side up.
“It’s just questioning, Joe,” Chief Blake said again. “You look at me like that again and I’m locking you up.”
“Then I should be able to be with her.”
“She’s not underage, and you’re not a lawyer.”
“Then maybe we should leave this until I get her one.”
Chief Blake never looked harassed; he was always calm, a fit, healthy man who always appeared in control. Right now he was none of those things, and Piper guessed he was feeling the pressure of bringing a Trainer in for questioning.
“Look, this is not sitting well with me either, but I have to do this. Now you just wait out here and let me do my job, Joe.”
“If you were doing your job she wouldn’t be here!”
“Enough, Joe.” Piper hugged her cousin. “Now sit down, and I’ll be back soon.”
Piper followed the chief into his office.
“Take a seat.” He held out a chair. “You want coffee?”
She shook her head and listened as he reeled off a date that she had to try and remember as being the day she supposedly baked the poisoned donuts.
“Rona told me you went into Phil’s early and baked the donuts, and she said they were done before she arrived.”
“I don’t know, I can’t remember. I’d need to look at my diary. If Rona says so, then she’s right. She remembers most things.”
“Mary told me she put the order through the night before for a dozen donuts, and that you took it.”
“Maybe. I mean, we don’t like each other, but she still phones through her orders and sometimes I answer the phone. It’s weird, seeing as she hates me, but it’s always happened that way.”
“Ava said you gave her the bag that evening when she left.”
“I probably did, but I didn’t put poison in them. I didn’t do this, Chief. I would never do that to someone.”
Piper’s hands started to shake as she realized just how much trouble she was in. She didn’t want to go to jail; she didn’t want to leave Grace or her family. She thought about Dylan then; surely he wouldn’t believe her capable of poisoning his mother, not after what they’d shared? The thought made her stomach churn, because she didn’t think he was one to trust easily, and he hadn’t said he loved her in return. In fact, he’d walked away without looking back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
To say he’d slept bad was an understatement, but rising to the sound of his mother yelling at Charlie loud enough that it reached him in his bed did nothing to improve Dylan’s mood.
I love you.
He couldn’t believe she’d said those words to him last night. They’d left him reeling. No one had ever told Dylan they loved him... well, not that he remembered anyway. Maybe his dad, possibly his mom, but his memory couldn’t come up with a time.
Coward that he was, he’d just walked away. Turned and left the woman who had said the three words he’d never believed he’d hear.
Everything was now a complicated mess. He didn’t want emotions confusing what he had to do, but they were, and he’d be lying if he believed otherwise. Piper Trainer made him feel, and more than he’d ever felt before.
A loud bang on his door had him rising. It flew open.
“You need to dress and get downstairs to hear what’s been happening.”
“What?” Before he could get an answer Charlie had stormed back downstairs. She was angry, so he was guessing it wasn’t another illness or injury. Chances were it was to do with his mother and her behavior.
Pulling on jeans and a sweater, he ran downstairs barefoot.
“You don’t honestly believe she’s capable of doing that, do you?” Charlie was yelling at his mother from behind one chair. His mother, who was still weak, but better, was seated across the table from her.
“What’s going on?”
“I told you those Trainers were bad,” Mary Howard snapped at him. “I now have proof, and it’s that bitch you’ve been playing with who’s at the root of it.”
“Piper is not a bitch, and you say that again and I’ll be seriously pissed.”
“Don’t talk to me like that.”
“Then don’t talk about Piper like that,” Dylan countered. “Now what’s this about proof?”
“Piper Trainer poisoned me.”
&nbs
p; He gripped the back of a chair for support.
“What?”
“The results came back, and the poison was in one of the donuts Mom ate. She thinks Piper did it deliberately,” Charlie said.
“I purchased a dozen donuts, and ate two that morning, and nothing else. After that I got sick I was asked what I ate that day, because my blood results came back showing rat poison.”
“Piper would never poison you. She may not like you, but she’d never hurt you,” Dylan said as he tried to grapple with what his mother was saying.
“I know you’ve been seeing her, Dylan! Know that hussy got her claws into you, but now you have to see her for what she is! The rest of the donuts were tested and showed up as having the rat poison in them.”
He stared at his mother as her words slowly began to sink in.
“Chief Blake’s questioning her now, and he’s going to arrest her, I’m making sure of it!”
“No.” The word was hoarse. “She....” His words fell away as he thought about Piper and what he really knew about her.
“Piper would never do that.” Charlie was looking at him, not their mother. “You have to know that, Dylan.”
“I need to go.” He ran up the stairs and grabbed shoes. Minutes later he was running out the door with Charlie on his heels.
“Dylan, you can’t honestly believe Piper would do this?”
“I don’t know what to believe. She hates Mom, we both know that, and is protective of her cousins—”
“No!” Charlie grabbed his arm, making him face her. “You care about her and know she’s not capable of this, Dylan.”
“I don’t care about people.” He lashed out at Charlie with words. “Remember, we’re Howards, we don’t give a shit about anyone but ourselves.”
“No. You’re upset; all this other stuff is confusing you. Piper is a good person, and you know that.”
He shrugged off her hand and got into his car. Turning on the ignition, he put his foot down on the gas. The last glance he had of his sister was to see the devastation his words had created on her face.
He drove to the police station first, because his mom had said Piper was being questioned, and she’d probably know because one of her cronies would have told her. If she wasn’t there he’d go to her house. His head was filled with crazy thoughts of her betrayal and lies. Had Piper lied to him about loving him, or did she think she loved him, and had still poisoned his mother?
He entered the building and went to reception.
“I want to see Piper Trainer.”
“She’s with Chief Blake at the moment,” the woman behind the desk said. “Her cousin Joe will be back in a minute though.”
“I want to see her, not him. I’ll wait.” He paced the small room. Over to the notice board and back to the chairs. He counted ten times before he heard Piper’s voice.
“Dylan!” She ran at him, but his hands stopped her from launching herself into his arms.
“Did you do it?” His voice sounded weird, like it belonged to someone else.
He watched the green eyes cloud over at his words. Her hands fell away, and she stumbled back, away from him. He fought the urge to grab her and haul her close.
“Did you? You hate her enough.”
Almost as if he’d punched her, she seemed to hunch. Her arms wrapped around her middle and the look she threw him was anguished.
“You believe me capable of doing something like that?” She didn’t yell, but her words cut through him like a knife.
“I don’t know you!” It was he who roared. He who gave in to the despair inside him.
She just stood looking at him, and slowly her shoulders straightened. Dylan watched her blink all expression from her eyes. Empty now, they stared through him. Dylan was the first to look away. Her expression made him feel like he’d committed the worst crime in history. But wasn’t she in the wrong? Hadn’t she tried to kill his mother?
“Piper—”
“Go away, Dylan. I don’t want to see you anymore.” She turned her back on him.
“You have to understand that—”
She spun to face him, her eyes fired with anger now.
“I understand that the man I love believes me capable of murdering his mother. I understand that you could never have felt the same way as I do, because if you did, you would not have believed me capable of such a thing... even if the odds are stacked against me.”
“Piper—”
“Go away,” she said in a slow, precise way. “And never, ever speak to me again.”
The last word wobbled, and Dylan watched as she bit her lip. She turned her back on him again and kept walking, back through the door she’d just left, closing it softly behind her.
Dylan went to follow but when he opened it, a man stood there.
“You can’t come back here.”
“Piper. I need to speak to her.”
“She’s busy right now, and from what I just heard doesn’t want to speak to you.”
Small towns, Dylan thought. They circled the wagons in seconds if one of theirs was threatened, even if she was suspected of poisoning.
He didn’t speak, just turned to go. The cloud of pain and anger that Piper could have done this to him, to his mother, was clearing. Suddenly he had doubts.
Gulping in deep breaths as he left the building, he tried to think clearly.
“Dylan!”
Joe Trainer and his brothers were approaching.
“How is she?”
He didn’t speak, just kept walking.
“Don’t tell me you actually believe this BS?”
Joe grabbed his arm, his grip fierce. Dylan shook it off and faced him.
“She had motive.”
“Fuck motive!” Joe roared. “She’s had motive for years and never acted on it. Your mom has been buying a dozen donuts every week. Why now? And fuck you too for believing her capable. I thought she meant something to you. Thought you two had a thing.”
“The facts point to her.”
“Anyone could have put that poison in there, and you should know that. Know that maybe whoever did this is setting her up to get at you.”
“Your cousin made those donuts!” Dylan roared back.
He didn’t see it coming because he’d raised his eyes briefly, but the fist he took to the jaw sent him backward. He hit the wall, but didn’t drop.
“You’ve been in the city too long, Howard, if you can’t see a real person when she’s standing in front of you. Someone who would walk through fire for those she loves. Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
He looked from the fury of Joe to his brothers, who’d watched the entire incident in silence. Their anger was equally as menacing.
“Come on then, city boy, if you want to have a crack at me, take a swing. I’m in the mood,” Joe growled.
“No fighting!”
Chief Blake appeared.
“No fighting,” he said softly. “Piper doesn’t need this, and it’s not solving anything. Dylan, you go on now and get out of here, before these Trainers get off the leash and rip you apart.”
“They could try,” Dylan growled. His face ached like the devil, and he wanted to fight. Needed something to take the anger and tension from inside him.
“Whenever and wherever you’re game, city boy, you just let me know. I know you have my number, because that’s what we share with people we once considered friends.”
Dylan walked to his car and climbed in, then fired it up. Bracing his hands on the steering wheel, he leaned in and tried to think. Tried to get some clarity. He was good at that usually. Dissecting things, breaking them down until he had answers. All he could see was the absolute despair on Piper face when he’d doubted her.
Know that maybe who did this is setting her up to get at you. Joe Trainer’s words finally took hold inside his head.
Was that what this was? Had whoever was after his family decided to come at him through Piper? He hadn’t even thought of that angle, b
ecause he’d let emotion rule his head.
Looking at the building she was in, he fought the urge to go back inside. He didn’t care that her cousins were in there; if he wanted to see her, he’d do what it took to get there. But he doubted she’d want to see him again
His head hurt from all the thoughts churning around inside it.
Was Piper guilty? Or was she just another pawn in the game someone was playing with him?
Resting his jaw on the cool glass of his window, he tried to get some relief from the ache. Joe’s punch had been a good one.
He had doubts now that reality was setting in. When his mother had told him, the anger had robbed his sanity. He’d lost the ability to think clearly, but now... hell, now he had a feeling he may be wrong, and after what he’d just done, it was fair to say that if he was, he was in a pile of shit.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Piper sat at the kitchen table surrounded by her family. Dylan believed her guilty of poisoning his mother. The pain was so fierce she hadn’t even been able to cry. She’d finally given her heart to a man, and the rat believed her capable of trying to kill his mother.
“Bastard!”
“What?” Luke looked her way.
“Nothing.”
The pain eased away, and in its place came white-hot rage, an all-consuming anger that had her wanting to track Dylan Howard down and hurt him any way she knew how, just as he’d hurt her.
“There you are!” Maggs came running inside. “What the hell’s going on? I just saw Fin at the ranger station and he told me you’d been taken in by Chief Blake for questioning because Mary Howard was poisoned and they think it was you.”
“What were you doing at the ranger station?” Piper asked.
“Milly ordered a piece of art for Bart for their anniversary and I was delivering it.” She hurried to Piper and hugged her. “Christ, girl!”
“I know.”
“I can’t believe that bitch would think you’d do something like that.”
It was humbling how her people believed her without a second’s hesitation. Not Dylan though; he thought her guilty.
Bastard.
“The evidence is weighted pretty heavily to suggest that maybe I did.”