Lumen Cove

by Dianne Frost

  He cut himself off, turning away from her and running his hands through his hair again. When he turned back around Kelsey was looking at him, tears brimming in her eyes but immediately jutted her chin out and blinked them away.

  “I am your student but I also… I also…” She stammered and Alex’s eyes narrowed, heart beat ratcheting up at what she was about to say. She took a deep breath and let it out as she looked away. “I also have some skin in this. I like my eyeballs in my head, thank you.”

  Alex blinked and they stared at each other for a long moment before he shook his head and went around his desk again, gathering the banded stacks of money and putting them in a desk drawer.

  “I have this handled. Thank you for the offer but it’s unnecessary,” Alex said and the formality in his tone made Kelsey grit her teeth.

  “You’re welcome Mr. Danvers. I guess I should be going,” she muttered and turned to snatch her garment bag from the barstool and stomp towards the exit.

  Alex wanted to stop her but forced himself to let her go, holding his breath until he heard the door slam behind her. He released it in a deep sigh, his head falling back against his chair. He felt heavy and exhausted, wondering if he was finally reaping what he’d sown with Kelsey. Even if he believed that, which he didn’t really, he knew deep down it wasn’t going to stop him from texting her later to apologize and ask her to come over.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next morning Kelsey snuck out while Alex was gone for his run and left him a note saying she needed to do some things before school and she’d catch up with him later. She’d lain awake for a long while after Alex had succumbed to sleep, his forehead pressed between her shoulder blades, his warm breath fanning down her spine. She couldn’t stand the thought of Alex losing the Echo Delta but he refused to even consider letting her give him the money. She hadn’t felt this helpless since Gram had been sick and she felt beat up and broken down by it, the weight of it heavier than before from the bitter outcome with Gram.

  She began devising a plan before she even realized she was doing it, her brain falling into a half-drowsed state in which she dreamed she had just robbed a bank and Alex was her getaway driver, waiting for her outside straddling a Harley. She hopped on and they sped away, money slipping out of the bag behind them. She was urging him to stop they were losing the loot, yelling over the roar of the motor, but when he looked at her over his shoulder it wasn’t Alex at all. It was the rat-faced biker named Bobby and she jerked awake then, her back damp with sweat and Alex on his side of the bed, on his back, snoring like a freight train from his packed nose.

  By the time she’d returned to her place, showered and dressed she’d made up her mind that she was going to do it. She knew what she was planning was incredibly risky but didn’t waste any time going about setting it into motion. She didn’t want to wait, fearful that at any moment Alex would hand over the title slip to Samson Grath and there would be no getting it back. She called the school and let the office know she was taking a mental health day, something Miss Minter, her guidance counselor, had told her was perfectly okay and expected given her recent loss. Kelsey still couldn’t believe it’d actually worked.

  She spend much of the morning researching, making notes and phone calls, setting up her dominos so that when she was ready they would fall in perfect order just as she wanted them to. She left Lumen Cove well after the first bell rang at Lambency High, assuring that she wouldn’t run in to anyone who might try to ask her questions and know right out that she was lying.

  She walked to the city building, the early December chill biting even through her heaviest coat. The Lambency DMV was located along with the police station, fire department and post office near the center of town. Ten am on a Tuesday was apparently the best time to go to apply for a driver’s license because she simply had to walk up to the counter and tell Wilma Haine that she wanted to take her driver’s test. After the old woman cooed and hollered to the other older ladies in the back that Kelsey Charming was finally getting her driver’s license she handed her some paperwork and Kelsey took it over to the four plastic chairs that comprised the waiting room, her face red with embarrassment.

  After she’d signed several forms and answered a ten question test which consisted of queries like “What do you do when you approach and intersection that has a Stop sign?” she was ready to move on to the driving portion. She sat anxiously in her little plastic chair and waited for her examiner. Lambency, being as small as it was, utilized the police force for this duty and Kelsey was praying to God she would get Elliot’s brother, Blake, who had been the town deputy for nearly four years now and not Lambency’s newest junior deputy who had failed over half the sophomore class last year in what Elliot’s brother had said was the stupidest spectacle of dick swinging he’d ever seen.

  “Hullo, Kelsey,” a low voice said and she looked up to find Sheriff Lockheed standing next to her, his hat firmly on his head, belly protruding just slightly over his belt buckle. “I hear you’re ready to take your driving test?”

  Jeez was everyone going to make a huge deal of this? She thought but smiled at him all the same and nodded. He smiled back at her turning towards the door.

  “Let’s get a move on then,” he said gesturing for her to follow and her eyes widened.

  “Y-y-you’re going to be my examiner?” She asked looking at him wide eyed and he stopped at the door, his hand resting on the metal bar that made the handle.

  “Yes, ma’am is that a problem? You could wait for Kurt if you’d like…” Kelsey immediately jumped to her feet at the sound of the junior officer’s name and hurried over.

  “No sir, I just didn’t think you… you did these.” Kelsey stuttered and he gave her another bland smile as he pushed open the door for her.

  “Don’t usually,” he commented and Kelsey felt nervous with him behind her. “But the boys are dealing with some altercation over at the Blue Blaze trailer park and I’m holding down the fort.”

  He walked her around the side of the building where a long row of vehicles, ranging from old to new, trucks to SUVs to cars and one of Lambency’s two patrol cars.

  “Here ya go,” The Sheriff said, holding out a set of keys to her and it took her a moment to realize they were his personal set. “Hope you don’t mind doing this in one of the cruisers. Exam car is in the shop.”

  Kelsey had forgotten about that. Some idiot sophomore had somehow lost control of the wheel and smashed into a telephone pole over on Liberty Avenue. Maybe she should wait…

  “It’s not any different than driving a regular car,” The sheriff said opening the driver’s side door for her. “‘Cept maybe safer and has a few more buttons on the dash. I’ll let you play with the siren if you pass”

  Kelsey snorted a laugh and shook her head which made Sheriff Lockheed grin. She folded herself into the driver’s seat and he closed her safely inside. She had a moment of express panic as she placed her hands on the wheel, realizing she hadn’t driven since she’d completed her driving hours for driver’s ed. She literally hadn’t operated a car in over a year. Sheriff Lockheed was climbing into the passenger seat, getting settled and putting on his seatbelt.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” he said and she swallowed hard and pushed the key into the ignition, firing the engine to life.

  Luckily the cruiser was at the end of the parking lot so pulling out was easier than it would have been had someone been parked next to her. She idled slowly to the exit and they were both jerked forward as she tapped the break. She cringed looking over at the Sheriff who seemed unfazed.

  “Take a left on 4th here and we’ll hit a couple of stop signs to get you used to the brakes before I actually start grading. These brakes are touchy.”

  Kelsey did as she was told, rolling down side streets and making complete stops at stop signs. After a few blocks when her stops were smoother the Sheriff informed her that her test had now begun. She swallowed hard and gripped the wheel tightly in her hands.


  “So I hear you and Mr. Danvers have been spending a lot of time together,” the Sheriff said and Kelsey’s head whipped to the side to look at him but he was watching the road ahead of her. “You got a stop sign coming up here.”

  Kelsey looked back and indeed she was rolling towards a stop sign and she had to hit the brakes harder than she would have liked to avoid running it.

  “H-he’s my tutor,” Kelsey muttered, determined to keep her eyes on the road, the wheel starting to get slippery under her sweaty palms.

  “He doesn’t usually tutor,” Sheriff Lockheed mused and Kelsey could feel her heart beginning to race. “‘Course I imagine him making an exception for you was Eleanor’s doing…”

  Kelsey looked at him again but quickly looked back at the road. She knew the sheriff and Gram had been steadies at one point before she’d met Kelsey’s grandfather. Gram had always had a little wistful smile when talking about him and they flirted a little whenever they ran into each other around town. Nothing torrid, just speaking with a familiarity indicative of having known each other for decades. After all the sheriff was married.

  “He been acting… unusual lately?” The Sheriff asked and Kelsey adjusted her grip on the wheel, “Take a left turn at this light.

  “Unusual?” She asked easing into the intersection to wait for a break in traffic so she could turn left.

  “Yeah like… I dunno… phone calls during your lessons. Anyone dropping by. Or maybe he seems just more high strung?”

  Kelsey snorted making her left-hand turn onto First Street. “I don’t think he could be more high strung, Sheriff.”

  “Nicely done,” he commented and she let out a slow breath. “So he hasn’t been acting strangely?”

  “No,” Kelsey said immediately. “Why?”

  “Oh just an old bloodhound’s curiosity,” Sheriff Lockheed replied with a wave of his hand. “Heard he was selling his boat…The Charlie Foxtrot?”

  “Echo Delta,” Kelsey corrected before she could stop herself and her cheeks began to burn as she felt his gaze land on her.

  “That’s right,” The Sheriff said his voice sounding pleased. “Said he inherited it from his daddy. A navy man. Echo Delta… E and D. Does it stand for anything? Do you know?”

  Kelsey glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and she knew that lying would be useless. “Edward Danvers. His dad’s twin. He died in Vietnam.”

  “Interesting,” The Sheriff mused once more. “And he told you this?”

  Kelsey let him think she was concentrating extra hard on whether or not it was safe for her to change lanes while she tried to think of something to say. “Yeah, I don’t think he meant to. He has to use a lot of round about ways to get me to understand stuff. Because I’m so stupid with it.”

  “You’re not stupid, Kelsey, you have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. Hang a U-turn up here and we’re gonna parallel park down on Wallin Street. Any of the open spots will do. They rode in silence for a moment. Then, “You ever meet his brother?”

  “Drew?” Kelsey asked and she felt the sheriff look at her again. She gritted her teeth. “Um… Only the once…when he was in our class.”

  Sheriff Lockheed laughed. “Oh boy howdy that must have been a sight to see. Heard he picked on you quite a bit.”

  Kelsey didn’t say anything just made a right turn onto Wallin and eased towards the dry cleaners. There was one open spot.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” The Sheriff said and Kelsey took a deep breath using both her mirrors and her windows to calculate just how much space she would need.

  She eased slowly backwards, turning her wheel and the protractor in her head was sliding past 80 to 70 to 60 as she neared the curb. She stopped and put the car back into drive turning her wheel rapidly, going past 90 to 100 in an effort to be as close to the curb as possible and then straightened out, settling perfectly between Mrs. Shahady’s Lincoln and Old Mr. Green’s dilapidated F150.

  “Very good Kelsey,” The Sheriff said and he seemed genuinely impressed. “Well I reckon you passed. You can take us on back to the station.”

  “I did?” Kelsey asked looking at him open mouthed. The sheriff smiled kindly at her and nodded.

  Kelsey beamed as she pulled carefully back onto the road and had to remain vigilant to not let her excitement weigh to heavy on the gas pedal. She pulled back into the parking lot, into the same spot she’d pulled out of and put it in park, killing the engine. She heaved a sigh, feeling her shoulders relax, opening and closing her hands to work the ache out of her fingers from gripping the wheel too tight. Kelsey moved to open the door but she saw the sheriff’s hand reach out as if to touch her but he didn’t. She stopped and looked at him and his hand retreated, her attention all he was after.

  “Kelsey have you seen Andrew Danvers lately?”

  Kelsey blinked at him, keeping her face as smooth as slate, unyielding. “No, sir. Should I have?”

  Sheriff Lockheed’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally. “He’d been spending a lot of time with your daddy before he disappeared.”

  “He’s missing?” Kelsey asked, trying to sound like this was new information to her.

  The sheriff nodded. “Hasn’t been around for a week or so. Has Sully mentioned anything?”

  “I haven’t seen Sully in a while, Sheriff,” Kelsey said with a bored sigh and the sheriff gave her a small smile.

  “Well, if you do see him, or Drew, please send them my way.”

  Kelsey looked at him and his eyes felt as if they were scanning her, every secret she had laid bare for his perusal and she swallowed hard, turning away from him to push open her door. She was walking back towards the DMV office, feeling him behind her still but he was silent and she marveled at how such a large man could make no sound when he moved.

  “Wilma, get Miss Charming here set up with a temporary license.” They approached the counter and the group of office ladies cheered lightly. Kelsey felt embarrassed. “Kelsey, would you mind doing me a favor?”

  His voice was low and he’d leaned a fraction closer to her so she could hear him. Kelsey didn’t turn her face towards him, just nodded. “Tell Alex - Mr. Danvers - tell him that if he finds himself in a sticky situation he should call.”

  Kelsey looked at him then, letting her brows draw in confusion but the sheriff simply looked at heBlaker and after a moment she nodded. The sheriff smiled and patted her lightly on the shoulder before he turned and ambled his way over to the door and Kelsey didn’t like humoring look he’d given her. As if he knew she was lying and all he had to do was wait for her to trip up and then he would have Alex, and her too.

  “Kelsey! Lovely to see you!”

  This was Mr. Ludlin’s standard greeting every time he saw her. Except for the first time when it was “Kelsey. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Mr. Ludlin was the only probate attorney for fifty miles so he stayed pretty busy but he managed to always treat Kelsey as if she were his only client. His secretary would turn from her desk to holler through his open door, “Lud, the Charming girl is here,” which was her cue to go ahead and enter. Mr. Ludlin always stood as she entered, holding his tie against his chest so that it didn’t smudge any of the paperwork in front of him. He was a tall, lean man of 62, bald except for a horse shoe of snow white hair around his head that he kept trimmed and neat. He wore a suit every day but it was always rumpled beyond fixing and he was constantly misplacing his glasses.

  “Hi, Mr. Ludlin,” Kelsey said, shyly as she shuffled into the room and took her usual seat in front of his desk.

  “How can I help you today?” he asked folding his hands on his desk and Kelsey chewed on her bottom lip as she tugged a folded piece of paper out of her jacket pocket.

  “Well… I’m going to be going to college next year…” Kelsey said unfolding the paper and Mr. Ludlin nodded.

  “Have you decided on a school yet?” he asked, reaching across his desk for some paperwork. “I can get the process rolling on tuition.”

>   “No, no,” Kelsey said waving a hand. “I’m still waiting to hear back from a few places. Um, I wanted to buy a car.” She winced looking at him with hesitation and his eyebrows raised leaning back in his chair.

  “What kind of car?”

  “Well, actually an SUV,” she amended and handed the paper to him across the desk. He looked it over as she rapidly began to explain. “I found this one in Mobile. I already called the dealership and they said if I came in with cash I could have it for eight thousand instead of ten-five. That’s a really good price for a CRV and the 2010 model was one of the highest rated in safety for its class. And it has a great consumer report score and relatively low-milage. And it has a backup camera so I don’t hit anything. And I like the color.”

  Mr. Ludlin regarded her over the rim of his glasses and tried to suppress a smile. “You’ve done your research,” he said setting the paper down. “Does the quoted price include title, tax and registration?”

  Kelsey gulped. Shit. “Um…”

  Mr Ludlin nodded. “How are you going to get there to pick it up?”

  “Oh, I’ll have Elliot or Logan take me,” Kelsey said with a wave of her hand. “Or take the bus.” She gave a careless shrug of her shoulder.

  “How do you plan on getting it back here?” Mr. Ludlin asked, leaning back in his chair and regarding her curiously. “Last I heard you hadn’t gotten your driver’s license yet.”

  Kelsey grinned pulling out the little folded piece of paper that was her temporary license. “Just got it this afternoon.”

  “Well it sounds like you’ve got everything all planned,” Mr Ludlin said, folding his hands behind his head and regarded her critically. Kelsey sat very still. “I suppose we could loosen the purse strings for this…”

  Kelsey wiggled excitedly in her seat but not for the reason Mr. Ludlin thought. Her plan was falling into place exactly as she needed it to.