by Mia Ford
“To be honest,” he said, shaking his head. “And I don’t mean any disrespect, but I’ve seen my fair share of dead drunks before. To me, this just seems like another sad case of a man that drank too much and met his ugly fate against a telephone pole.”
“Thank you,” I said, turning to Josie and nodding toward the door.
We left the morgue and walked out to the car, looking around to make sure there was no one following us. I had already made Josie an appointment at the funeral home for the next day so she could begin the arrangements for her father. I knew she was highly shaken, but I also knew that I needed to ask her some questions. I needed to really understand what shape her father was in when he met his end. I didn’t want to rule out mob involvement, but it was looking pretty straightforward.
“Look,” I said, taking her hand. “I’m sorry you have to go through this. If anyone can understand how the death of a parent feels, it’s me, but I have to ask you some questions. They may be hard to answer, but I need you to muster up that strength and give me your best shot.”
“Okay,” she said, sniffling and shaking her head.
“Was your father a drinker?”
“No,” she said. “I mean, he didn’t use to be. The only time recently that I would see him drink was when he didn’t have any money to gamble with. Even then, he wasn’t wasted. It was more like he had a few drinks and then went to bed, tired from the alcohol. Of course, I haven’t been around him when he was out, so I guess anything was possible. Everyone told me one addiction often could turn into another.”
I nodded my head and rubbed my hand down her hair. She buckled her seat belt and sat back as I put the car in drive and pulled out of the coroner’s office. This was definitely a shock and a terrible way to go, but it looked pretty simple. In reality, it looked like Josie’s dad wanted to gamble, but between the mob being after him and his bank account being low, which we checked during the investigation, he decided on a cheaper habit to indulge in. I didn’t know the story behind him stealing a car, but at this point, anything was possible. I guessed he probably felt guilty about his daughter being pinned with a murder she didn’t commit, and it sent him off the deep end. I knew he loved her, he must have, but I also knew as a man, having an addiction and depending on someone else to take care of you probably could easily turn you into a harsh and angry man. It was pretty clear to me that we could rule any mob involvement out of her father’s death. It was a shame that he died in a car accident, but if he really had gone on impact, he might have saved himself a really painful and agonizing death at the hands of the mob. They weren’t known for having mercy for the people they were after, and for Josie’s father, there was no reason for them to be kind.
“I hate to even ask this question,” she said, looking at me. “But what in the world could happen next?”
“Hopefully, we find out what is going on, and we can completely get these charges wiped away,” I responded trying to calm her nerves. “Right now, though, we are going to get some dinner, and when the window is done being fixed, we are going to go home, clean up the dinner we never got to enjoy, and relax a bit. I have some good movies, and we can veg out and just enjoy the rest of the day. I know it sounds hard to do, but you need to relax.”
“Everything in my life has gone to shit,” she said with tears in her eyes. “My whole world is crashing down around me, and I am powerless to stop it. My father is dead, the mob is after me, I’ve been framed for murder, and I don’t have a job to go back to anymore. I don’t even know what to do with myself. I’ve lost everything.”
“Not your entire world,” I said, taking her hand and smiling.
She pulled my hand up to her cheek and rested her face on it. I could feel the tears running down her cheeks, but it was okay. She had been so strong, it was bound to come crashing down on her at some point. All I knew was, I needed to protect this woman in any way I could. She had become my world, and I loved her with all my heart.
“You still have me,” I said, smiling.
She looked up at me and gave me a watery smile, no words escaping her lips. She was so upset, and there was nothing I could do but be there for her. She knew I loved her, and she saw everything I was doing to protect her, but I still felt helpless in the situation. I couldn’t protect her from prison unless I started to figure out the missing pieces. I could keep her safe at my house, but how long would it be until someone came knocking again, and this time, with something way deadlier than a brick? What if someone had been standing outside of the house with a gun? Both of us would have died, and nothing would have ever been figured out.
I tossed the thoughts from my mind as I headed out of West Palm and back toward my house. I really needed a good walk on the beach, but I knew that was no longer safe for us. The security was there to protect us, but they weren’t sworn to take a bullet for us. I needed to get everything together and relax with Josie for the night, clearing my head until I could move on to the next missing piece. That was going to be harder than it sounded, especially now that Josie’s dad, and only witness of alibi, was dead in the morgue. Something had to give, or we were both going to break.
Chapter 28
Josie
It was Sunday, and after everything that had happened the day before, Blaine had given his staff the day off to spend with their families. He, however, posted up at the table and continued to work, making phone call after phone call, getting irritated at the fact that no one was picking up. He wanted to make headway with the case, but he couldn’t seem to remember that this was our problem, not everyone else’s, and most people did not work on Sundays. I tried to coax him to relax throughout the day, but he just wasn’t having it.
I laid there on the bed, looking up at the clock that read two in the morning. Blaine had finally succumbed to exhausted sleep, and I wanted to make sure he got plenty of it. Me, on the other hand, I couldn’t seem to clear my mind enough to sleep. Everything was running through my head a mile a minute, and I thought maybe I could come up with some kind of solution that was better than turning myself in. I wanted so badly to curl up in Blaine’s arms, but I knew if I didn’t do something soon, he might not be there to cuddle with.
The coroner had been honest. I could tell, and sure, he thought it was an accident brought on by no sleep and way too much alcohol, but I was still unsure. What I was sure of was that his death came at a very opportune time for the mob, and without him there to corroborate my story, it would now be my word versus theirs. It wasn’t safe for anyone If I argued with the mob, especially Blaine. The mob didn’t hold back when it came to offing the families of the people they were after, and Blaine was just as much family to me as anyone else was. I was having a really hard time believing that the mob had no hand in my father’s death. It was just how. That was the question. The mob was sneaky when they wanted to be, though the woman everyone said I murdered was definitely not killed quietly or with discretion.
I was almost glad that I didn’t have any more family close by. I didn’t need more people to worry about on top of what I already had. The school and the kids were protected the moment they suspended me from teaching, and that only left one person in my life, besides myself, that I had to worry about being in danger. I knew if I didn’t turn myself in and take the rap for this murder, many more people would die, starting with Blaine. Blaine was my whole world, and there was no way that I could let him be hurt or killed because of my father’s mistakes. I may not have made the mistakes, but I was definitely the one that was going to be the most affected by it, and I needed to protect Blaine at all costs.
I knew exactly what I had to do, so I slowly pulled the covers back and inched toward the edge of the bed. I stopped for a moment as Blaine sighed and turned over in bed, wrapping the pillow up in his arms. I continued forward, putting my feet on the floor and tiptoeing over to the chair where my clothes were. My hands were shaking as I dressed, and I had to take a deep breath to try to control my emotions. Once I had my clothes
on, I walked out into the hall, slowly closing the door behind me and putting on my sandals. I looked around the living room for Blaine’s car keys and found them hiding under the file on the table. I looked around at the house, knowing I was going to miss being there, but I had to keep Blaine safe, no matter what it took. I walked over to the alarm system and quietly disarmed it, pausing to make sure that Blaine didn’t hear the sounds. As I opened the front door, my body began to tense, feeling absolutely terrified of what I was about to do. I closed the door and locked it, knowing if I didn’t go now, I would lose the nerve.
If Blaine knew what I was doing right now, he would have a complete breakdown, but that was because he didn’t care about his own safety, just mine. Well, I had gotten him into this mess, and I needed to make sure that he stayed safe through it all. There was nothing he could do for me if the mob got ahold of him, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to him, so I was going to turn myself in. Not only would I fess up to the crime, but the bail would be revoked, and Blaine would get his million dollars back. He would be safe, which was the most important thing to me. The plea wasn’t that bad and would keep me out of the electric chair. I would spend ten to fifteen years in prison, depending on good behavior, and then be set free to spend the rest of my life figuring out what to do from there. Hopefully, in that amount of time, the mob would forget about me, if they, or someone else, didn’t get me on the inside first.
I knew that Blaine thought I was much too quiet and fragile for prison, and he was probably right, but I could toughen up and show them that I wasn’t going to be walked all over. I was determined to stay alive and keep Blaine alive. Who knew? Maybe when I got out, he would still be single and open his arms to me again. That was a big if, but I was totally going to have to start making a bunch of those up in my head in order to survive what was about to come. I had fallen in love with Blaine immediately, and since then, that feeling had only grown. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I loved him far too much to allow something to happen to him, and that was how I knew I was making the right decision.
Before I reached the turn, I slowed down and looked out over the dark waters of the ocean for the last time. It was so beautiful and had been my strength as a kid. I wanted to frame that picture in my mind to look at while I was away, so I could find comfort and strength in it. I knew it was stupid, but I was going to prison an innocent woman. I didn’t have the ruthless nature in me that so many other women in the prison would have. I didn’t care about making friends or becoming part of one of the gangs. I just wanted to sit quietly every day for the next ten years and hope for the best to come. My mother was going to have a heart attack when she found out her ex-husband was dead and her daughter was in prison.
It would seriously mess up her reputation at the yacht club.
I sighed as I thought about it, turning away from the beach and heading toward the precinct. There was no one on the road, which was strange, especially when I crossed over into West Palm. I was about two blocks from the police station where I had been taken before, and I stopped at a red light. There were no other cars on the road, but I didn’t mind sitting there and having a few more minutes of time before I was taken back into custody.
As the light turned green, I sighed, stepping on the gas and moving slowly into the intersection. The headlights from a car to my right caught my attention, and I looked over as I heard their engine rev. Before I could even step on the gas, the car was barreling toward me, slamming into the passenger door at full speed. I put my hands up as the airbag deployed, and I screamed as the car slid sideways and then flipped on its side. I sat there for several seconds, breathing heavily. I wasn’t hurt, not even a bruise, but I was definitely shaken up by the incident. I undid my seatbelt and looked around, trying to figure out how to get out. I stood up on the broken window and climbed up, pulling myself through the window on the passenger side. Once I was on top of the car, I sat down, looking around at the mess all over the place.
Steam came out of the hood of the other car, but I couldn’t see the driver. I had to sit there for a few minutes to collect myself, feeling like I had just been hit by a freight train. Part of me was pissed. Why would that car speed up when they saw me passing through the intersection? I had a green light, and they weren’t there when I went to start across. They had hit me at full speed, enough power to roll Blaine’s car. I took in a deep breath and looked around for anyone who may have witnessed the crash, but the streets were empty, and all that was around us were shops with all their lights off. I scooted to the edge of the car and carefully lowered myself down, trying to avoid the broken glass everywhere. Everything was a mess, but at least, I had made it through it with barely a scratch. I hoped that Blaine wouldn’t be mad when he found out about the car. I reached down to grab my cellphone but realized it was still in the car.
I needed to check on the other drivers. No one was moving or getting out, so I wanted to make sure they didn’t need immediate assistance. I walked around the car, took one step forward, and froze. The car door flew open, and I could see a black boot emerge from the passenger side. Everything from that point felt like it was going in slow motion. As the person stood up from the car, I recognized them immediately. It was Harry, and she had the evilest smile plastered across her face. For several moments as she walked toward me, I felt like my feet were glued to the cement. The driver got out, shaking me from my stare, and I turned and started to run down the street.
I thought I was a good distance from Harry, but I was wrong. I yelped as she grabbed my shoulder and dragged me back, putting her hand over my mouth and her arm across my chest. As she pulled me back to the scene, another car’s tires screeched around the corner and stopped in front of us. Harry dragged me to the back of her vehicle and popped the trunk while the first driver limped into the car. I struggled to get free, but she was too strong. Before I knew it, she tossed me into the trunk of the car and smiled as she slammed the lid.
I looked around me, but it was so dark. Immediately, fear flew through my body. The adrenaline was gone, and I was absolutely terrified. I screamed loudly, but I knew the metal doors of the trunk muffled the sound. I kicked at the trunk, but it was no use. It was not going to budge. So that was it. I had made it so close to fulfilling what the mob wanted, but they caught me before I could make it. I was in some serious trouble, and no one knew where I was.
Chapter 29
Blaine
I opened my eyes and looked out the window, laying there for a second, just taking in the fact that I felt so much better. I had really needed a good night’s sleep, and between the fact that I hadn’t slept in days and knowing there was security watching the house, I felt comfortable enough to drift off. It had been amazing to wake up feeling strong and ready to face the day. I rolled over in bed to kiss Josie good morning, but she wasn’t lying next to me. I sat up quickly, startled by the emptiness I felt in the room. It was early, even earlier than my alarm was supposed to go off, and I knew there was no way she was awake yet.
I jumped from the bed and threw on my slippers, peeking in the bathroom to see if she was in there, but the lights were off and it was empty. Her clothes were no longer folded and sitting on the dresser, and fear started to creep over me. I walked out into the house and checked every area I could, hoping she had just found something to keep her mind busy. The kitchen was empty, the living room was empty, and there was no one in the spare bedrooms. I walked out of the hallway and over to my table, picking up the folders and searching for the keys to the car. They were gone.
I grabbed my phone from the charger and dialed Anderson at work. I wasn’t surprised that he was already there since he kept earlier hours than even my father did when he was alive. I waited as the phone rang and let out a breath when he answered the phone.
“You’re up early,” he said.
“Josie is gone,” I said, slightly panicked.
“What?”
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“I woke up this morning, and she was gone, along with my car,” I said. “Can you send out one of the investigators to look for her? I’m going to go searching as well.”
“Yes, I’ll call them right away,” he said, sounding more awake.
“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything,” I said before hanging up the phone.
I jogged back to my room and pulled clothes out the drawers, throwing them on and brushing my teeth really fast. I pulled on a pair of sneakers and grabbed the keys to the SUV I barely ever drove. I went into the garage, uncovered it, and jumped inside, turning it on and taking in a deep breath. I couldn’t believe she was gone, and I had no idea she even left. How did I sleep through her getting dressed and taking the car? The thing definitely wasn’t quiet.
I headed over to her house, but it was still empty. I then drove over to the school, but no one had heard from her or seen her anywhere near the grounds. I drove around to different cafés and then over to the beach, thinking maybe she just needed to be alone. The security at home said my car was gone after they came back from switching shifts, so she snuck out between the guards’ watch. I was so frustrated, and I had no idea what to do. I pulled back in front of her house and put the car in park, trying to think of where she could possibly be. She wasn’t anywhere she normally would go, and it was the first time since everything happened that I felt like I wished I knew her a little better. Then, maybe I would have an idea of where she would hide out.