by Gregory Kay
His meaning was unmistakable, and Fiona looked right into his eyes, reflecting back the hint of challenge she had seen there. It was time to lay the cards on the table.
“My job is to get to the truth,” she said flatly, stretching the re-growing tension between them until it was as taut as piano wire.
“Good,” he told her with a curt nod and a cold tone, “As long as that’s what you intend, we’ll get along fine. Fair warning, though; I’m not going to have these kids and their families, or the people in this county, be made to look like fools just to sell newspapers.”
“As long as they’re not fools, I won’t make them look that way!” she declared sharply, causing Luke to glare at her and reflexively begin to respond in kind, but he suddenly stopped. After a handful of seconds, he said, “I can’t argue with that, but I do want one thing from you. I want your promise, your personal and professional word of honor, that you will do exactly that: just tell the truth, the real truth, whatever it might be.”
The ball was back in her court, and it was her turn to catch herself before she lashed out emotionally. After all, what he was asking for was nothing more than what she wanted herself.
“That’s the reason I came down here; you have my word. Pax?”
His grin was back, and there was a real respect in it this time, along with a very thin, cautious, but still perceptible level of trust, both of which made her feel really good inside, good enough to smile back at him in return.
“Pax,” he told her, then added, “By the way, when I asked that same question, they both volunteered for breathalyzer and drug screens; they came up completely clean. The breathalyzer results are in the report, but I can’t release their actual medical reports on the urine and blood tests without their permission due to HIPAA regulations. Still, I don’t think either of them will mind me telling you those tests confirmed they don’t use dope of any kind, not even weed.”
“Good. I’d like to visit the site first, then interview them.”
“We can head for the site as soon as you’re ready. Johnny will be at football practice, but we can try to catch him as soon as it’s over. I’ll introduce you to him and tell him you want to ask him some questions, but it’s up to him if he wants to answer.”
“What about Alison?”
“She’s only seventeen, and still a minor; Johnny’s a year older. I’ll have to ask her parents if they’re willing to consent to her giving an interview. That could be a problem, unless...” His voice trailed off and he looked at her thoughtfully for a minute. “How well-versed are you on the paranormal, really?”
That one stung, and it showed.
“I’m the assistant paranormal editor for one of the biggest papers in the country, so I’d like to think I know a little something about it!” she hissed.
Luke showed her his palms and a pair of knitted brows.
“Would you please just settle down? I’m trying to help you here!” he barked back, “I was trying to say, before you jumped down my throat, that if we emphasize the paranormal investigator part and deemphasize the reporter part, I just might be able to get some people to talk to you who wouldn’t do so otherwise.” Shaking his head, he added, “Are you always like this? God, it’s like trying to pet a damned porcupine!”
The blood rushed to her cheeks, and it felt as if her face was on fire with embarrassment. Her eyes seemed irresistibly drawn downward toward her lap, and she whispered, “Sorry.”
Seeing how genuinely contrite she was, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed himself, and reached across the desk, laying he fingertips on her wrist.
“And I’m sorry I yelled back at you. Look, I’m coming off midnights, plus I’m a police officer, so I’m just not used to putting up with a lot of attitude from people, that’s all.”
“Attitude is all I’ve ever had to rely on,” she told him truthfully, and when he asked her why and seemed so genuinely curious, it was as if a dam had broken, and once it started, there was no stopping the torrent of words and frustration that came flooding out. Something about him actually seemed to be drawing it out of her, like he was employing a psychic pressure she couldn’t resist. Fiona was sure later it was just the cumulative result of stress and fatigue, but it swept away the part of her that was loudly demanding she for God’s sake shut the hell up, and not spill her secrets, her whole life story, out to this stranger. She suddenly had to talk to somebody or she was simply going to explode, and something indefinable about this deputy seemed to leave her with no choice.
Over the next several minutes Fiona told him about what it was like being the smallest in class, about her Uncle Pat and what had happened to her position at The Arrow, about her discovery of Cliff’s infidelity only a few nights ago, the run-in with her boss yesterday morning, and the ticket and wrecking her car before the next day even dawned. She was shaking by the time she was finished, and rubbing furiously at her watering eyes. She was even more embarrassed now at having exposed her innermost frustrations and had no idea why, and felt almost like she had been sleep-walking and had abruptly woken up stark naked in the middle of Times Square.
What the hell did I do that for? Damn it, I’m such an idiot!
“Fiona,” Luke said quietly as soon as she finished, “I don’t mean to offend you, but would it be inappropriate if I offered you a hug? You really look like you could use one right now.”
She nodded jerkily, not trusting herself to speak, and an instant later she was standing with her face pressed against the deputy’s broad chest, and his big arms wrapped protectively around her felt surprisingly good, so much so that she actually let herself sob, if only two or three times. Luke didn’t stroke her or pet her, but simply held her and rocked her gently, moving almost imperceptibly back and forth like an incredibly slow dance in an impossibly limited space, and both of them were surprised at just how good it felt. When he sensed she was ready, he let her go.
“Okay, that’s enough of that. God,” she said, wiping at her face and thoroughly disgusted with herself, “I can’t believe I did that! That is so not me!”
“Sure it is,” he told her with an easy smile as he retrieved a tissue out of the box on the sheriff’s desk and handed it to her, “That was the real you. Your mask just slipped for a minute, that’s all.”
Fiona took the tissue and cocked her head, looking at him curiously, unsure if he had just complimented her or insulted her.
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged.
“We all wear masks; most of us have a whole wardrobe full of them, and we switch out throughout the day. We have one we put on for family, one for friends, one for strangers, one for work, and one for ourselves. That last one is the most valuable, because most of us don’t want to see what’s underneath, what’s really there. Sometimes I think our masks are the only thing that keeps us sane.”
She considered that concept for a minute.
“I can’t really argue with that, but I never thought about it that way. That was really profound.”
Luke's grin returned, and he thanked her for the compliment before saying, “You know what else is profound?”
“No, what?”
“The fact that we’d better get on the road if we’re going to accomplish everything you want to do. Wait,” he added, then took the tissue from her hand, “You’ve got a little spot of mascara smeared right...” He dabbed at her face, just under her left eye. “...there; got it.”
Realizing the effect her momentary breakdown must have had on her appearance, she tentatively asked, “Do I look okay?”
This time his grin showed white teeth.
“You look great. Now, let’s go.”
The casual compliment and the sincere tone of its delivery made her feel good, much better than it really should have, she knew.
I’m just tired; that’s all it is.
Luke opened the door for her, and they got in the same cruiser he'd used to pull her over the night before, but they hadn’t even gotte
n out of the parking lot when Fiona’s cell phone rang. Fishing it out of her purse, she muttered, “If that’s that bastard Sidney, I’ll kill him!” making Luke’s grin broaden as he pulled out onto Viand Street. From the corner of his eye, he saw her visibly relax when she checked the caller ID before putting it to her ear.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Fiona, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said with a smile.
“No problems, then?”
She hesitated; there were plenty of problems, actually, but she wasn’t in the mood to discuss them, especially in the confines of the car with Luke.
“No, everything is fine.”
“I just wondered. So, speeding and wrecking your poor Uncle Pat’s Jaguar is not a problem now?”
Oh shit! She knows!
“Mom, listen – “
“I had to read it in the online edition of the local paper down there! So when did you plan on telling me?”
“Look, I didn’t want to worry you – “
“You don’t want to worry me, so you drive like a maniac and nearly kill yourself! What’s wrong with you?”
Her mother was shouting, and she knew, as close as he was, Luke could hear every word on both sides of the conversation. She blushed dark red.
“Mom, it wasn’t that bad – “
“Not bad? You could have been killed!”
Suddenly she felt Luke’s hand on hers beside her left ear.
“Here; give me the phone.”
Fiona started to say ‘no,’ but was so startled by his action she couldn’t quite get the word out, and she released it to him before she realized what she was doing.
“Hello, Mrs. Pelligatti?”
“Who is this?”
“This is Deputy Luke Carter of the Mason County Sheriff’s Department, ma’am. I’m the one who handled your daughter’s accident last night.”
“And you’re still with her? Has she been arrested?”
He chuckled, “No ma’am, she’s fine, and she’s done nothing to be arrested for.” He took his eyes off the traffic for an instant to silently mouth, not yet, anyway, and wink at Fiona, who was still sitting open-mouthed, staring at him. “I’m her assigned driver. Since she’s from an important paper like The Arrow, our local government is giving her the VIP treatment. I’m her chauffeur until her car gets fixed.”
“They’re doing all that for her?!”
“Yes ma’am. Some of our local bigwigs have read her articles, and are real fans.”
“That’s...great! I’m so proud of her!”
“Here, I’ll give her phone back and you can tell her that yourself.”
Mrs. Pelligatti wasn’t quite so easily distracted, however.
“Wait. While I’ve got you on here, I want to know the straight story on this accident. Is my daughter really okay?”
“Yes ma’am, she’s fine. She was a little shaken up, of course, but that’s to be expected. I don’t even think she got a bruise.”
“How fast was she going?”
Fiona was anything but the begging kind, but Luke could tell she was close when he saw the look in her eyes, her teeth biting her lip, and her hands unconsciously clasped together as if in prayer.
If she finds out I was speeding again, I’ll never hear the end of it!
“I was about a mile from there when the accident happened, but it appears she was doing somewhere close to the speed limit, about fifty or fifty-five. You don’t have to be speeding to hit deer down here, ma’am; we’re overrun with them. I’ve had law enforcement vehicle training, and I’ve still killed dozens myself.”
“But your local paper’s online edition said she got a speeding ticket!
“That must be a glitch in the automated system we use to communicate with the media, ma’am; she hasn’t got any speeding tickets on file here. I was the one working that road, and if she had gotten one, I would have been the one who gave it to her.”
“Oh thank God! I worry, you know? And she gets absolutely crazy sometimes, especially when she’s stressed-out, and she just broke up with her boyfriend...oh no! She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”
Luke looked at Fiona again, enjoying the changing shades as her face grew redder by the second.
“No ma’am,” he assured her mother, “Especially considering how long she’d been on the road and the sentimental value of the car, she held up very well. She’s a credit to her raising.”
“Thank you, Deputy Carter; that’s such a relief. I’m a mother and I worry, you know?”
“Yes ma’am, but you have nothing to worry about; she’s in good hands, if I do say so myself.”
He said it with another chuckle, and she heard her mother laugh out loud.
“I really think she might be. Tell me something, Deputy Carter – ”
“You can just call me Luke, ma’am.”
“Alright then, Luke.” The voice dropped to a whisper to prevent her daughter from overhearing. “Are you married?”
The obvious purpose of that particular question tickled him.
“No ma’am.”
“Uh-huh...” Her voice was so full of unmistakable meaning Luke had to bite his lips to keep from laughing. “Would you put my daughter on again, please?”
He said, “Sure,” told her goodbye, and gave Fiona her phone back.
“Okay, Mom, you’ve spoken to the police and you can see I’m fine. Now if you’re through embarrassing me...”
“Is he good-looking?” the voice whispered.
“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb; who do you think, girl?”
Glancing at Luke again, she quickly looked away when she saw his eyes flickering toward her.
“Mom! I...yeah...I mean I guess so.”
“You guess so.” That was followed by a giggle. “I’ll bet he is; he’s got a nice, deep voice too, with such a sweet Southern drawl to it. He likes you.”
Her eyes widened.
“What? No he...” Her voice trailed off as she glanced at him again. Does he? Why would he, especially since I was a total bitch to him earlier! She settled on, “Why on earth would you think that?”
The tone of satisfaction was so plain it carried all the way from New York.
“Because he’s already lying for you.” Fiona gaped, and the voice went on, it's volume rising once more so the man in the car could hear. “Think about it, dear, and be sure to call me tomorrow. If you forget, I’ll just have to look up Deputy Luke’s number and call him instead to see how you’re doing; I’ll bet he and I could find lots to talk about. Bye.”
“Mom!” Fiona screamed so loud and unexpectedly it made Luke jump so hard the cruiser swerved slightly, “Don’t you dare! I mean it! Don’t you...” She finally shut up when she realized she was talking to dead air.
“Oh God!” she exclaimed, dropping her phone in her lap and clamping both hands over her face, “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my entire life!”
“If a phone conversation with your mother is the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you, you should consider yourself lucky. Besides, she means well. I like your mom; she seems like a very nice lady.”
Fiona glared at him, although she wasn’t sure yet if she was angry with him for taking the call or grateful to him for taking some of the pressure off her. It could go either way, but his infectious, self-satisfied grin inevitably slid him over to her positive side...not that it could keep her from making the obvious smart-ass comment that was just itching to get out.
“Oh yeah? Well that ‘nice lady’ knows you were lying to her!”
With a perfectly cherubic expression that looked completely ridiculous – like the cat that ate the canary! – Luke asked, “When did I lie to her?”
“Just now!”
“Did not.”
Her jaw dropped.
“I’m sitting right here! I heard you!”
“Nope. Oh, you heard me, but you didn’t actually listen to what I was saying. You we
re going about the speed limit when you hit that deer, right?”
“Yes, but – ”
“And you don’t have a speeding ticket on file, because I took care of it before we left the office. Remember, I didn’t say you never had one, only that you didn’t have one.” With both hands on the wheel, he choppily moved both index fingers alternately up and down to emphasize his point. “Two entirely different things.
“As for the Mayor and County Commissioner being fans, they obviously know The Arrow and have almost certainly read it; being from Point Pleasant, home of the legendary Mothman, they’ve at least skimmed the paranormal column, meaning they’ve seen your work. They also bought your lunch and gave me to you for the duration of your stay. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a fan to me!
“And, as far as the deer are concerned, I have killed dozens of them...with rifles and bows. I never specified with a car now, did I?”
“And that’s not lying?”
“No ma’am, that is not lying; that is merely a strategic redeployment of the truth.”
Fiona laughed so hard at his phrase her belly hurt, but then she thought of something else that quickly made her humor fade away.
“But what about that other thing?”
Looking at her curiously, he asked, “What other thing?”
“About me not giving you a hard time,” she said uncomfortably in a tiny voice, hating to admit what she knew was true, “I...I’ve been pretty shitty to you a couple of times.”
Without thinking about what he was doing, Luke reached out and took her hand from her lap, squeezing it reassuringly.
“Hey! That wasn’t a strategic redeployment at all; with all the stress you were under, that was the absolute truth.” He shrugged. “Yeah, we’ve both had a couple of rough spots, but so far, on the whole, it’s been a real pleasure working with you.” He gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go, then grinned even bigger as his shoulders went up-and-down again. “Of course, that’s only been an hour or so, but...” He winked again and made her laugh once more.
It’s been a long time since I laughed like this. This guy is actually fun!