“Raleigh...”
“Jen, nothing happened.”
Aiden came from behind them. He’d been very taken up with his phone for the past several days, it never left his hand. And Raleigh knew exactly why. It was funny how Cass was in Maine yet they stayed in contact.
“A glass of wine and a movie at your place?”
“You know I don’t drink anymore Jen.” A good friend would know that. She thought slightly pissed off.
“Sparkling cider then.” She stood up and hugged Raleigh. “I know you well enough to know something’s bothering you.”
Raleigh felt very alone since Mike and Cass left. Aiden was in his own world and though he was with her, he was somewhere else.
“Okay,” Raleigh gave in.
*****
Mike planned on dropping Mitch off at home and then heading to his house to relax, but Chance wouldn’t let him.
“Medium well, right?” Mitch yelled from behind the grill.
“However you grill it, I’ll eat it.”
“So, Cass tells me she’s in love.”
Mike wanted to drop his head to the bar countertop where he sat.
“That’s what she thinks.”
“Dad doesn’t approve.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Mike sipped on a can of Diet Coke Chance passed him.
“Uncle Mike!” Tuck came running from his play room. Mike was happy the little guy interrupted. “Play! Come play!” He said excited and jumped up and down.
“What are we gonna play, bud?”
“Paint!”
“Oh, I don’t know if Mommy would approve.”
“It’s fine. It’s the paint that only shows up on special paper. He can’t paint the walls.” She smiled. “Not that you’d do that, huh.” She blew kisses on Tuck’s cheek and he giggled.
“Let’s go,” Tuck said innocently and took Mike’s hand. Mike was glad for his intrusion. It took the attention away from having to talk about North Carolina and also Raleigh. And he loved the little guy.
It was Tuck’s bedtime before Mike was able to slip away from Chance’s interrogation. The reporter in her questioned every aspect of their vacation and where there were gaps in his story, she didn’t miss it.
On the ride back to his house he contemplated calling Raleigh. He’d told her to call him when she had free time, but his dialing finger wasn’t broken either. Mike found his nerve, picked up his cell phone, and dialed her number.
“Green, 2351,” Mike’s dispatch chirped over the radio.
*****
Raleigh looked down at her phone in shock. It was Mike. Her heart stopped for a moment and she considered whether to answer it, or not.
“Who is it?” Jen asked.
Raleigh shook her head and didn’t respond to her. With nerves slightly overtaking her she looked at her phone in utter disappointment. Maybe he was in a bad service area. Or, maybe he didn’t mean to call her. She put her phone down and stared at it hopeful.
“Hullllo,” Jen called to Raleigh. “Who was that?”
Raleigh didn’t answer her.
“It was him!”
“Where’s that wine you were going to bring?” Raleigh joked. “I’ll take a glass now.”
“Stop it. So what happened between you two? Did you ever tell him the truth?”
Raleigh sprawled out on the couch eating her take out. “No.”
“Then what did you spend all that time together doing?” Jen smiled as she stuffed her face with nachos.
“Fine. I slept with him. There, are you happy?” She put her plate down on the coffee table.
“If you were happy, I would be. But you don’t sound happy.”
“It was a week of fun.” She put her head back on the couch. “And that week is over.”
“You really slept with him...” Jen said surprised.
“Yeah,” Raleigh exhaled.
“You haven’t been intimate with anyone since Luke.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“Was it good?” Jen perched herself up very intrigued.
Raleigh covered her eyes. Thankfully, her phone rang again and saved her. Her stomach dropped, but she was soon disappointed.
“Hi Aiden...no, I understand...tell Cass I say hi when you video chat. Jen says hi.” Aiden was supposed to come over and join their date, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. A lax Aiden had its benefits, mainly her ability to eat real food without him plying her full of rabbit food.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“These are for you.” Cass passed Mike an envelope. “I got doubles.”
“Thanks.” Mike put them on the countertop.
“Chicken alfredo and steamed veggies, my favorite.” She went to her father’s side and wrapped her arms around his center.
“My favorite too.” Mike kissed the top of her head and stirred the pasta.
“You take a look at the pictures, I’ll watch the stove for a minute.”
God bless her, Cass could burn a kettle of boiling water. “I’ll look at them after dinner.”
Sunday night dinners had become a tradition for Mike and Cass, when his work didn’t intrude.
“Have you talked to her yet?”
“Cass,” Mike said disapprovingly.
“Fine. Be stubborn,” Cass said. Though she pried, Aiden wouldn’t discuss Raleigh’s personal life with Cass. Cass had been no more successful with her interrogation of Mike.
Mike was interrupted when he tried to call Raleigh the first time by his dispatch. They had a “hot” call for him. A poaching incident in progress. He tried calling her back the following day, but it went directly to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message afraid of what he might blurt out in his nervousness. She didn’t return either of his calls. He took that as a sign that she wasn’t missing him quite as much as he missed her.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
“I’ll get it.” Cass went to the living room and answered the door. “Hi Ben. Dad’s in the kitchen.” She motioned for him to follow her.
“Hey Mike.” Ben stood in full uniform in the doorway.
“Ben, what brings you out here to the boonies?”
“I have some news, but it can wait. I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”
“No, no. We’ll set another place, join us.” Cass opened the china cabinet.
“Mike’s famous chicken alfredo, I won’t turn that down. Better than my usual bachelor food.” Ben smiled.
“What news?” Mike’s tone turned serious.
“A kid came forward and said two boys he goes to school with admitted to causing an accident where a cop nearly got killed. They said it happened on Moose Lake this past summer. They’re our boys Mike.”
Mike dropped the spoon in his hand.
“What are their names?”
“Jason McAvoy and Tyler Thomas. They live in Milton, sixteen years old, no history, outstanding students.”
Cass took a seat.
“Have you arrested them?” She said upset.
“We’re planning on visiting them in school tomorrow and calling their parent in. We don’t want to give them time to put their stories together.”
“I’m coming,” Mike said.
“Not a good idea. We’ll keep you in the loop, but you’re too close to this.”
“You’re right I’m close. It’s about me. They nearly killed me. I’m coming,” Mike said.
Ben shook his head, but would give him time to cool off. Mike finished cooking dinner in silence and Cass sat in the living room, feet propped up on the couch with Ben.
“Want to see the pictures of our trip to North Carolina?” She asked trying to entertain Ben.
“Ah, sure.” Mike flipped through the pictures then suddenly stopped and stared wide eyed.
“That’s Raleigh Jo Dawson, the race car driver. Can you believe we got to hang out with her all week,” Cass beamed.
“I don’t believe it—” Ben’s mouth gaped. “Raleigh Jo Dawson.” He s
et down the rest of the photos and inspected the one in his hand closely.
“That’s Jen,” he said breathlessly.
“No, that’s Raleigh.”
“She lied. The—” Anger was latent in his voice, but he stopped his need to use profanity in front of Cass. Ben rose to his feet as Mike finished putting their dinner on the table.
“Development number two.” Ben pried his eyes from the photo. “She lied about who she was.” Ben passed Mike the photo.
“Who lied?”
“Jen, a.k.a. Raleigh Jo Dawson. I didn’t place her when I saw her at the scene for that blink of time before she disappeared. She was covered in blood and had short hair. It didn’t look like her. I wouldn’t have recognized her if not—if not for seeing a photo to compare. The woman at the scene wasn’t this so called Jen, it was her.”
Mike took the photo from his hand.
“That’s not possible. It was her friend Jen.”
Ben pointed at Raleigh, who in the photo had her arm around Cass.
“It was her man, I’m telling you. She lied and I’ll be calling her about that shortly. False swearing. I’m throwing her ass in jail.”
“Wait.” Mike needed time to process all the information Ben threw at him. “She’s the one who called for help, she’s the reason I got help. Liar or not, you’re not arresting her.”
Ben stewed. Nothing pissed him off any more than a liar. Cass came in from the living room.
“Dinner smells so good Dad.”
Mike and Ben stood still and stared at the picture with stone faces.
“Why are you guys looking at that photo like that?” She asked.
“Let’s talk about it later. Let’s eat before it gets cold.” The three sat down to dinner and ate in relative silence. Mike’s head spun over the developments. More so that Raleigh was the one who saved him, not Jen. It made more sense when he looked back. It explained why Jen was so closed off and unattached.
*****
Mike told Cass after Ben left. She was in shock more so than Mike. The first matter of business she attended to was to call Aiden and find out if he too had been involved in the sham. He had to be.
“Did you know?” Cass yelled.
“Cass, calm down,” Aiden said confused. “I have no bloody idea what you are talking about.”
“That JEN wasn’t Jen, it was Raleigh. You knew! Why would you lie about that?”
“I didn’t lie about it. I didn’t know about it until you flew out here, then I pieced it together. She lied to me too! I didn’t lie, I never lied. It didn’t involve me. It didn’t involve us. I merely didn’t get involved in the semantics of it all.”
“Semantics? What semantics? You all lied! Why couldn’t you tell us the truth? I don’t understand.”
“You need to talk to her. I had no part in it, you have my word.” Aiden exhaled deeply
Cass went silent on the other end.
“Raleigh has a fear of the press.” Aiden said knowing he was saying more than he should. “I believe she lied to protect herself from being the 6 o’clock news and to save your father from that as well.”
More silence.
“It would be easier to stay mad at you if you didn’t have that cute accent,” Cass eased her anger.
“I’ll use it to my advantage,” he paused. “How has Mister Kerr taken the news?”
“He’s been on the back deck for the past hour staring at his phone. I think he’s trying to build the nerve to call her.”
“Should I forewarn her?” Aiden asked.
“No. This is between them,” Cass said surprisingly stern. “They need to make it right. This is the one time I won’t meddle.”
“I agree.”
“You are supposed to agree. Women are always right.” She chuckled.
“I’ve learned that.”
*****
Mike stared at his phone and the moon alternately. The connection they shared made sense now. The way her voice soothed him—it was her voice. The way she looked at his scars was—it was because she had seen them before. He sighed deeply and dropped his head between his knees. He felt guilt for the way he’d judged her and treated her the first days of his vacation.
Mike knew what he was going to do. And it wasn’t going to be a phone call.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
On one side of the table sat State Trooper Ben Thomas and Game Warden Charles McAfee, on the other sat Tyler Thomas. Tyler was visibly disturbed. His hands moved nonstop, his lip twitched, and his knees shook the table. Mike stood on the far side of the room with Tyler’s very upset father.
“Tyler, take us through what happened that day,” Ben said. “Starting with what caused the accident.”
Tyler look anxiously at his father who nodded indicating he needed to tell the truth. Inhaling a deep gulp of air, Tyler tried to speak, but became tongue tied.
“Tyler.” Kip said sternly.
“Oo-kay.” Tyler stuttered. “We’d be—been fishing on the lake and—and lost track of time. Jason had to be to work...” Tyler’s memory went back to that day, a day he’d never forget.
Jason’s blue late model Civic screamed down the rutty dirt camp road. Ninety miles an hour was out of control and Tyler knew it, but he wasn’t going to argue with Jason. When they rounded a slight corner, the car fishtailed and Jason fought to control it.
“Truck!” Tyler yelled holding the handle above his seat with one hand, pointing to the truck with his other. They were in the wrong lane of the road and had no time, or control to change what was about to happen.
“Hold on!” Jason yelled and he fought to keep control. Ten seconds later, the Civic came to a screeching halt and Tyler opened his eyes. They were stopped in the middle of the road, the truck nowhere around.
“Oh fuck!” Jason yelled looking in the rearview mirror. Tyler cranked his head around to see the truck in the trees. Nothing more than a twisted shard of smoking metal, the boat it towed upside down and tossed a distance away.
Jason threw it in reverse and stepped on the gas.
“Oh my god,” Tyler said in shock. “It’s a Game Warden.” Tyler bailed out of the car and barreled down the embankment.
“Call 911!” Tyler yelled to Jason. Jason didn’t listen and followed him down the hill.
“Mister, mister, wake up!” Tyler yelled inside the broken window and shook his limp shoulders. “I think...I think he’s dead.” Tyler said in shock.
“No, no, no...he can’t be.” Jason tried to open the door but the bent metal wouldn’t budge.
“Call 911!” Tyler yelled. “Get your damn phone!”
“We can’t!”
“Are you crazy?” Tyler pointed. “Get the phone.” Tyler tried to open the back door, but it too wouldn’t move.
“He’s already gone. If we call for help, they will arrest us. Our lives will be over man.”
“No! Your life will be over!” Tyler pointed at Jason.
“You’re as guilty as me,” he said calmly. “We need to get out of here. Come on.” Smoke billowed up from the engine.
“Come on!” Jason yelled loudly.
“Shit!” Tyler took one fleeting look at Mike then followed Jason back to the Civic.
Ben and Kip stared coldly after Tyler finished his story.
“We thought he was dead.”
“He wasn’t,” Kip said unforgiving.
“Wait,” Ben said. “There’s one detail about your story that doesn’t fit. You two didn’t pull Sergeant Kerr from the truck?”
“No. We couldn’t get the doors open.” Tyler wiped tears from his eyes.
“I’m sorry sir, I’m so sorry.” He looked at Mike. “If I’d known you were alive I swear I wouldn’t have left.”
“If you didn’t pull him out of the truck, who did?”
“I, I—I don’t know. I wish we’d known, if we did we would have tried hard—harder.”
Mike looked at the boy confused. The only explanation as to how Mike was pulled from
the vehicle was that whoever forced him off the road at least took the time to extract him from the burning heap of metal. The only heroic action of the cowards. But that theory was out the window. Raleigh found him outside the truck…she didn’t pull him out. All she did was call 911. That was her story. If that was the case, how did he get out? What reason would she have to lie about that? Mike’s head reeled.
A Courtesy Call (Green Division Series Book #2) Page 13