Thin Ice

by April Cronin

  Harmony offered him something to drink, but standing in the living room, Lupus leaning heavily against his legs as he rubbed the sweet spot behind the big dog’s ears, Peter shook his head.

  “I need to be going. I am to meet with some people this morning.”

  And there it was. The thing that had been hanging silently between them all night.

  Though neither of them had wanted to acknowledge it, it didn't change the fact that there was something they needed to talk about.

  “The police?” Harmony asked, though honestly, she didn't want to know if she was right in her assumption.

  Peter nodded. “I am very sorry Harmony; I wish I could tell you more.”

  “Why can't you?”

  “I do not think you would understand.” He thought about it for a moment though, “It is, very complicated matter.”

  “Are you in trouble Peter?” Harmony dared to ask.

  “I do not think so.” He leaned forward then, kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I must go now. May I call you later?”

  “I'm closing tonight. Call me in the morning.”

  He nodded, a sad smile forming on his lips.

  She walked with Peter to the door, opening it for him and watching as he walked down her driveway and slid onto the back of the Ducati. With a last smile in her direction, one she assumed was meant to put her at ease, though it did nothing to that effect, he pulled his helmet on and started the bike, carefully backing out of the drive and cruising down the road.

  What are you hiding Peter? She silently asked herself.

  Peter met with Jean, Detective Allen, Simms was thankfully absent, and the district attorney, later that morning in Erin Paulino's office, where they informed him, that pending the results of the rape kit, they would decide whether or not to pursue charges against him.

  The DA asked that Peter put off his upcoming travel plans to Russia, at least until the forensics came back, which given the nature of the case and those involved, he had a rush put on them, though he was told it would still likely be a couple of weeks yet. And with that, the DA, a formidable looking man in his early fifties, with obvious Italian roots, excused himself.

  Allen assured Peter that all would continue to be kept quiet on his end. Aside from his partner and the DA, the sheriff was the only other one in the loop. No one else knew of the claim against Peter, only that a case existed in which a girl was claiming to be assaulted by a young man.

  He was then very frank with Peter, telling him that in all likelihood the DA would decline to press charges at all, unless of course, the results of the rape kit showed something definitive. After all that had happened in the past year, cases like these were being prosecuted less and less.

  Without definitive proof, it was hard to tell just who the victim was, and any DA worth his salt was reluctant to trot out a case that could so easily go either way. Especially one like this, when the Defense Attorney would surely make mincemeat out of the prosecution’s case, being as it was riddled with holes and reasonable doubt.

  Though he didn't disclose to Peter the nature of his second interview with the claimant and her witness, nor that of his interview with Andre Lepowski for that matter, Allen had serious doubts about the young lady’s accusation. Confronted with her encounter with Lepowski, and the damning things they had talked about, she had stuttered, stumbling all over herself as she backtracked and tried to make excuses.

  She all but claimed being raped by Andre, saying the scoundrel had seduced her. But Allen wasn't buying it. Though he had a pretty good poker face if he did say so himself.

  Alone with the witness, Cassie, afterward, an even clearer picture began to form. The friend's story changed in subtle ways, and at the mention of a grand jury and the possibility of an indictment, if she lied, the young woman had paled completely and almost fainted. He'd left her then, having given her something to think over.

  Allen didn't tell Peter any of this of course, in the event that something had happened, he wouldn't put too many ideas in the young man's head, but he did his best to comfort him, as Peter seemed genuinely upset by the entire situation. And why shouldn't he be? His career, his entire life was on the line here. He should just be glad that DNA testing existed and they no longer just took women at their word.

  He informed Peter that his partner was meeting with the girl and the DA as they spoke, that was why the DA had left when he did, and that they would tell her pretty much the same thing, it all came down to the rape kit.

  Peter felt a little less dire as the detective left. As though he could breathe again, just slightly. His lawyer did her best to assure him that the results would absolve him. DNA didn't lie after all. She did, however, warn him that this wasn't likely to go away. Even if the DA denied pressing charges, the woman could still attempt to sue him.

  Of course, that did nothing to ease the tension he was already feeling. On top of it all, he had to meet with the head of the Slashers organization, and Bettman was sure to be there as well. The NHL was surely growing tired of these accusations, Peter only hoped they didn't choose to make an example out of him.

  Another Stanley Cup tainted.

  Jean would be there for him though; she had told him as much. Holding his hand the entire time if he'd like is what she said. Peter thanked her for it, and left the office.

  With so much negativity on his mind, Peter headed for the practice rink, where he met up with Andre and Donovan, as well as a couple of the other guys still hanging around town, and together they took to the ice. Peter shot one puck after another into the net, pelting them with such force and accuracy he didn't miss even one. Denver Collins, their backup goalie, who himself had just flown in from Canada, never even had a chance.

  Having taken notice of his foul mood, and in no better ones themselves, Donovan and Andre drew him aside once everyone had hit the showers and dressed afterward.

  “You alright Peter?” Andre asked, his hand resting on Peter's shoulder.

  “What you think?” Peter sighed, taking a seat on the bench in the center of the locker room.

  Andre and Donovan exchanged glances. “I think I'd like to ring that little bitches neck.” Andre finally said, his voice a low growl.

  Donovan nodded in agreement. “Is there anything we can do for you Pete?” He asked.

  Peter shook his head.

  They both hated to see their friend this way. Andre and Peter had been pretty close the past two years, and it really got to him, despite Peter's shyness with the women, he wasn't usually so quiet with his friends. Even if he didn't understand everything they were saying, he had no trouble breaking in on a conversation. So to see him so sullen, it made Andre want to take that little slut by the hair and give her a good shaking.

  Anger welling up in him, Andre lashed out, kicking a trash can, nearly sending it flying across the room. “Fucking bitch.” He spat.

  Peter looked at him and smiled, Andre often showed just how much maturing he still needed to do, and it never ceased to amuse him. That's why Andre was such a good instigator out on the ice, he never backed down from a challenge or a fight.

  Peter broke into a laugh, the other two men following suit, and after a time, when their anger had somewhat dissipated Donovan spoke again.

  “I uh, I'm having a party tomorrow night.” He rubbed the back of his neck, not sure if this was the right time or not, but hoping it might be just what they all needed to somehow forget about this mess, at least for the time being, since there was nothing any of them could do until the forensics came in. “Just a casual barbecue, a housewarming party kind of thing. Dean and Abby get in tonight, so I figured the timing was good.”

  Peter was nodding, already accepting before he was even asked. “Is okay if I bring a date?” He cut in.

  Donovan smiled, “Of course man. This wouldn't happen to be the Harmony I keep hearing so much about would it?”

  Blushing, Peter nodded again, “Da.” he confirmed.

  “Alright, yeah,
bring her. I'm sure Lacy and Abby are both dying to meet her. Everyone who's in town will be there, just bring some beer, I'll provide everything else. It'll be fun.” Donovan excused himself then, slapping Peter a high five and waving to Andre, who was still picking up the trash he knocked all over the place.

  After righting the trash can and throwing the last piece of refuse into it, Andre sat beside his friend, smacking him on the back, “we're going to get through this Pete.” He assured him, “after what I told those two detectives, no way they believe that little bitch.”

  “And what did you say to them?”

  “The truth. She set you up man.” Andre's hands tightened into fists, every time he thought about that stupid girl and her lies, he wanted to pound something. Hard. “Once that kit comes back and proves you're innocent, you should sue that stupid little bitch,” he growled.

  “Net,” Peter said, shaking his head. “I just want it to all go away.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm really sorry she's putting you through this Pete.” He squeezed Peter's shoulder, getting to his feet. “If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know.” He said, headed for the door.

  “You have done enough already by speaking to the police.”

  “Yeah, I guess. It just doesn't feel like enough.” Andre shrugged. “I'll see you tomorrow night.”

  Peter sat for a moment longer, thankful for his friends. Not one person so far had asked him if he had or had not done what he was being accused of. They were so sure of Peter, he only wished Harmony would act in the same manner once he finally told her.

  Amanda Orsini was pissed. No, make that livid. The female detective, Simms, and some old guy, who'd introduced himself as the district attorney, had just come and talked to her.

  She'd been told that based on the evidence so far, which was purely circumstantial at this point, they would not be pursuing charges. The DA said that if the results of the rape kit turned up definitive proof to substantiate her claim, they would take it to the Grand Jury, but otherwise, he just didn't see the point of putting her through a trial when the outcome was so risky.

  Yeah, right. Because he cared about her and her welfare. He probably just didn't want to lose, couldn't risk tarnishing his spotless record so far. She'd been warned about this. Her cousin was a tax attorney, and she'd just talked to her about it this morning. Her cousin had given her the heads up on the good ole boy DA, he was a stickler for turning down cases he couldn't win. Or taking them to the Grand Jury so that the heat didn't fall on him when an indictment wasn't made.

  Of course, she hadn't told her cousin what was going on, not fully anyway, just that a friend of hers had been assaulted, but that the evidence in the case was a bit mucked up. After she had been warned about the DA's antics, her cousin had said she should just skip a trial and play it all out in front of a civil judge, they would probably be more sympathetic to her friend's plight and the burden of proof was a lot less.

  Not to mention the fact that if she went to trial and lost, it would be that much harder to pursue monetary damages later on.

  Amanda would have given that a lot more thought, because she wanted to avoid a courtroom at all costs, but once the DA opened his stupid mouth and told her he wasn't pressing charges without a smoking gun so to speak, she thought differently. Even that damn female cop was looking at her suspiciously now. Since that interview yesterday, when she'd had to admit to sleeping with Andre, the woman had pretty much stopped believing her, having completely lost her sympathetic edge. Now she just looked like some slut out for a payday.

  Which she was. But they weren't supposed to think that.

  Amanda all but kicked the cop and the DA out on their asses, letting them both know how pissed off she was, and threatening to sue the city for their negligence. Not that she thought she had a case, but let them chew on that for a while. After which, she immediately got online and found herself a list of the best attorneys in town. She'd have to find herself one that didn't collect unless she won her case, but to hell with it, she was going to sue the pants off of Peter.

  It took her about an hour, but she finally found a lawyer, and that out of the way, she turned her attention to the local media outlets. Come Monday morning, she wanted this all over the news. The paper, social media, whatever it took. Amanda knew there was no better place to convict a person than in the court of public opinion.

  She'd ruin him yet.

  Despite the unspoken words between them earlier, Harmony had been floating on cloud nine all day. Her stomach fluttered every time she thought of Peter, or of the night they had shared together. Thankfully though, she was good at multitasking, because she had a lot to do.

  With a call from Maclavoy's office, informing her that the papers were drawn up and would be sitting at her lawyer’s office on Monday morning, waiting to be signed, Harmony had gotten her butt in gear, getting things done at work left and right.

  She'd promoted one of her current shift supervisors to Assistant Manager, then promoted Kate to shift supervisor, and one of the part-time cashiers into a full time lead position. She'd still have to hire a couple of extra employees, but at least all of the internal stuff was done.

  Peter called her later that night when she had gotten home, apologizing for not waiting until the morning, but once he invited her to a cookout at his teammate's house the next night, letting on how much he had missed her today, she quickly forgave him. Harmony found that thickly accented voice hard to resist, even if she was dead on her feet.

  Peter was certainly a special kind of guy. They'd only known each other for a couple of weeks now, but she felt like she knew all there was to know about him.

  Well, maybe not everything.

  Harmony couldn't contemplate what it was that he was so reluctant to talk to her about. She ran her conversation with the police over and over in her head, tossing it around at different angles, but nothing clicked.

  How had he seemed? Was he dressed weird? What? None of that made sense.

  She needed to let it go. It must not be as serious as it seemed, for surely he would have told her otherwise. No. Peter had asked her to trust him, and she would. Tomorrow they would go to this Barbecue at Donovan's new home, she'd meet some members of the Slasher's team, their wives, and girlfriends, and she'd have a good time. And that was that.

  Chapter 11

  Reprieve

  With his meeting with the NHL commissioner put off until Monday, Peter decided to forget about things for now. He let Sadie out, fed her, and once she arrived, Harmony and Peter set off to Donovan's place.

  It was a nice area. Just outside of Savannah in a subdivision called Wilmington Island, Donovan and Lacy had bought a nice five bedroom three bathroom house. Of course, Peter had no idea what they needed all that space for, but he figured since Donovan already owned two other homes, he knew what he was doing. The house was a two story colonial with an expansive front porch, and immaculate landscaping.

  Having gone with Donovan a couple of times to his parent’s place in Thunder Bay, Canada, Peter knew his mother had a green thumb, and obviously Donovan had inherited it. The flowers and shrubbery around the house were beautiful, and Donovan had bragged about doing all the gardening himself during practice, he'd, in fact, ripped up all the old stuff as soon as they bought the place, so Peter knew this was his handy work.

  As he knocked on the door, Harmony pressed to his side, though nervous she was not, wasn't in her nature to be nervous when meeting new people, they were quickly greeted by Donovan himself, and a large black dog that was supposedly still a puppy as it bounded through the foyer and jumped at them repeatedly.

  Lacy came rushing after it, “Moose!” she yelled. “Knock it off you bonehead!” Then she turned her attention on Peter and Harmony, her green eyes alight with laughter. “Sorry about that, he's still a puppy.”

  Donovan laughed, looping an arm around her and pushing Moose back with his foot. “Don't believe that garbage, Moose is almo
st a year old, he just doesn't listen. Or rather, he has selective hearing... like someone else I know.” Donovan joked, looking sweetly at Lacy and jarring her within his embrace.

  Lacy slapped him in the chest, huffed indignantly and then motioned for Peter and Harmony to come in. “Let's get inside, it's hot out here. Come on.” she said, “I'll show you around.”

  Once inside, introductions were quickly made, the women hugging, and the men staring sheepishly at one another, and then Donovan gave them a little tour, Lacy wandering off in the direction of the kitchen with Moose hot on her heels.

  Of the five bedrooms, the master was the only one on the ground floor, and it was quite large. The bed a California King, the rest of the furniture likely antiques as Donovan's mother had also passed on to her son a keen eye for such things. And the bathroom was completely dismantled. They were told that renovations were under way one bathroom at a time, the powder room off the living room already complete, they were installing new vanities in the master, a walk in shower and a soaker tub, as well as a separate closet for the toilet, complete with a TV built into the door.

  Donovan and Peter exchanging glances at the mention of the TV, he had a TV built into both of the bathroom doors of his condo, and confessed that it was like pulling teeth to get Lacy to agree to a TV in at least the master, though she flat out turned the idea down for the remaining two and a half.

  The rest of the downstairs comprised of a gourmet kitchen, the selling point of the house with its cherry cabinets and uniquely colored granite in addition to the top of the line appliances. There was a formal dining room and a small eating alcove opposite the dining room on the other side of the kitchen, as well as a large living room and a sunroom that led to the open lanai and pool beyond.