“The deputy came inside to find Carter, and when he couldn’t, he went back to tell you that Carter was off, but you were gone.”
“Great then all is settled.”
“No. Not even close. Two motors deputies were inside, and when they left, one of them had to pull over within five minutes of hitting full speed because he was having trouble controlling his steering. I know enough about those bikes to know that stuff like that happens sometimes, but when we pulled the bike apart, it was clear that someone had tampered with it.”
And there it was. The real reason I was sitting in this hard chair. I was thankful the deputy knew enough to pull over, but damn it, the detective was wrong about me.
“Detective Brown, I’m sorry that happened, and I’m glad no one was hurt, but I wasn’t in the parking lot this morning. I didn’t leave my house at all, and the deputy who thinks he saw me and spoke to me is mistaken. I don’t really know what else to tell you.” I picked up the plastic cup of water that had been placed in front of me when I had entered. The water was warm on my lips, but I needed something to ease the burning dryness in the back of my throat.
“May I ask you a hypothetical question?” He raised one eyebrow.
“Sure.” This was not going to end well for me, and I knew it.
“If a customer were to come to you and complain about the steering being off, what steps would you take to troubleshoot it?”
Okay. On the surface, the question was innocent enough, but only on the surface. Under the ambiguity of it, he was asking me how I would mess up the steering. If I didn’t answer, it would only make me look guilty. Carter’s words from the other day replayed in my mind, he already knows the answer.
“Harleys are notorious for getting what is known as the ‘Harley Wobble.’ Several factors could cause that, speed, servicing, or a busted stabilizer, the latter of which could happen because of any number of different reasons.”
“Hmm, interesting, thanks for telling me that.”
I could tell that he wasn’t thankful at all, he was just appeasing me.
“Here’s the problem. I have a respected deputy telling me one thing and you telling me another thing.”
“I understand that, sir, but I’m telling the truth. Don’t you have cameras? Check those, you’ll see that it wasn’t me.”
“That’s a funny thing, it was at the back parking lot, and we don’t have cameras back there. The back perimeter lot technically is not owned by the sheriff’s office so we don’t control monitoring.”
“Are you serious?” He just looked at me as if I were being dense. “Fine. Check the cameras around my apartment. I don’t care. Do your job and stop harassing someone who has nothing to do with any of this. I was at my apartment until you guys came and got me.”
“Is that the story you are sticking with?” the detective asked.
“It’s the truth, so it’s the only story that matters.”
“Miss Scarvoni, this is the second time I’ve seen you in under a week, it better be the last. Next time, I think you’ll be staying until you see the judge.”
What had I said about being at the bottom of the barrel? Oh yeah? Fuck that, I wasn’t close. “Can I go?”
“Yep.” And the way he paused caused me to freeze. “For now.”
“I need to call someone to come get me.”
“We will take you.”
“No. You need to spend every minute you have finding the real person behind this. I’ll call someone.”
The detective stood, his movements had his cologne wafting in my direction, and I swore I would never forget the smell for as long as I lived. He swept from the room, it bombarded my nostrils and made me gag. If I ever smelled it again, I would probably vomit.
I snagged my cell but I wasn’t sure who to call. Stella was at work. Sophie and Carter had taken the girls to Magic Kingdom. Ariel was still on her honeymoon. Besides my mother, who I absolutely positively wasn’t calling, there was only one other person to call. I dialed and let out a sigh of relief when he answered.
“Ian! I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call. I’m at the sheriff’s station. It’s happening all over again. I don’t know what to do...” I found myself babbling as soon as I heard the call connect.
“Whoa, Leo, calm down. Do you need me to come get you.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks. I’ll wait for you out front.”
“Okay. Give me five and I’ll be there.”
I sat outside the sheriff’s station and waited anxiously. I wasn’t sure whether my anxiety was over having to sit at the station or over seeing Ian again. But when his sports car pulled up in front, I jumped to my feet as a sense of relief washed over me.
“Let’s get you home,” he told me as I slid into his passenger’s seat and buckled my seat belt.
“You have no idea how thankful I am that you were able to come pick me up. If I had to stay in there for another second, I would have lost my mind.”
“What did they want this time anyway?” Ian reached over and trailed a finger across my cheek before he moved his hand back to the gearshift.
“They wanted to ask me questions about another bike that had been tampered with. The detective didn’t believe me when I told him I hadn’t left my house in days.”
“What happened to the motorcycle? Is the deputy okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. The detective was vague but it had something to do with the steering stabilization on the motorcycles.”
Ian seemed to think about that for a minute before glancing my way and asking, “Will you do me a favor?”
“Will I regret saying yes?”
His lips lifted into the smirk I loved. “Probably not.”
“Good enough for me. What do you need?”
“If this happens again, I want you to not say anything unless you have a lawyer present. The things they are asking you about? All the motorcycles being messed with and the deputies being hurt? They are serious charges.”
“They are, but I’m not doing those things, so why do I need a lawyer? Honestly, it kind of pisses me off that you would suggest I need one.”
“Leo, you know better than that. There isn’t a single doubt in my mind that you are innocent. But you also know that sometimes the cops get it wrong. Hell, how often do you hear about someone being falsely convicted of a crime?”
Damn it. Why did he have to be so logical?
“I get that. I do. But getting a lawyer is only going to make me look guilty.”
“Better to look guilty than to spend years in prison for something you didn’t do.”
Double damn it.
“I’ll consider it,” I said, giving him the only assurance I was willing to.
“Thank you.”
It seemed to take forever to get back to the safety of my little apartment, and Ian had just closed the door when I had finally gotten a good look at him, he was hiding something, it was written all over his face.
“What’s up, Ian, you’ve got something on your mind, I can see it.”
“Come sit down.”
His words made bile roil in my stomach but I wasn’t moving until he answered me. “Just tell me, don’t hem and haw.”
“Carter called, it seems that he and Piper have both been ordered to cease all contact with you during the investigation and are supposed to report any sightings of you, this includes near their homes.”
I cupped my hands over my face and took several deep breaths as I analyzed his words. If I couldn’t go near Carter that meant Sophie as well, Piper, their homes… “That means I’m not allowed near you either.”
“Just my house since Carter is my neighbor but I’ll be here every chance I get.”
I sighed. What was the point of getting irate about it? I knew that it wouldn’t change anything. “Kayson will probably get the same warning when he comes home Saturday as well, huh?” One by one, my friends were being taken away from me
. I could feel my world growing steadily smaller and an iron fist gripping me. I was conflicted. I wanted to be the one to protect them, I didn’t want them forcibly ripped from me.
“I’m so sorry. You’re innocent, we know it.” His words were of little comfort.
“How about I take you out to eat?” Ian suggested as soon as I dropped the phone onto the couch.
“No.” My words sounded flat and lifeless. He was going to protest, I could see it in his eyes, so I beat him to the punch. “I don’t feel like it right now.”
They just didn’t get it. They claimed to know that I was innocent, hell I knew that I was innocent, that didn’t mean it didn’t embarrass the fuck out of me. My God, my life was falling apart and it scared me, if this could happen to me then it could happen to anyone. But hell even a few of the deputies that I knew didn’t make eye contact with me when I was hauled in tonight. Guilt by association…for some reason my mother’s voice was echoing in my head.
With a look of sympathy, Ian dropped down onto the couch and dragged me with him. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me into him. “We’re going to figure this out.”
We sat, watching television in the same spot I had been before the deputies picked me up. This time, my couch was three deep, Throttle in front of me and Ian in back. They had made me a security-sandwich. It wasn’t long before I was dozing off in his arms. I was not sure when or even how it happened, but the next thing I knew, I was floating, too exhausted to question the feeling as it triggered a childhood memory. All those sleepovers where Sophie and I along with Ian and his brothers would wait until midnight and then we’d chant, “Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” For some fucked-up reason, we thought we’d be able to lift each other using only our fingertips. But Ian wasn’t carrying me with just his fingertips, he had me wrapped in his strong muscular arms and we were headed toward my bedroom. Then he placed me gently in bed, kissed me on the forehead, and slipped from the room. I wanted to stop him, beg him to stay but stress overtook me and I was out.
12
Ian
“Talk to me, Smalls,” I said, grinning as Carter’s annoyed scoff came over the line.
“Why the fuck are you the only one who teases me because I like The Sandlot? It’s a good movie.”
“Whatever. Why are you calling?”
“We had something weird happen to another bike—” I could hear the tension in Carter’s voice.
“Leo. Where’s Leo?”
“Stop and let me talk. I’m assuming that she’s at her apartment. As far as I know, they aren’t bringing her in because there isn’t enough connecting her to this incident…yet.”
“There isn’t anything connecting her to the others either.” I wanted to throw my phone in frustration. How anyone could think that Leo would tamper with bikes and risk people’s lives was beyond me.
“I agree, I just thought that you should know because, well...”
“What? Fucking spit it out, Carter.” I heard my knuckles crack and looked down and realized that I had my hand clenched into a tight fist.
“They found metal shavings in the oil reservoir. Metal shavings like you’d find in an auto body shop.”
“But Leo works on bike engines.”
“Yeah, but this is one of those things that, depending on the quantity, could be an immediate issue or could take a few months to become a problem. They haven’t been able to connect her to it and another mechanic had recently worked on the bike.”
“I guess I’m not following.”
“If we can figure out how much, I’m talking quantity of shavings then it might be just the nudge the detective needs to look in a different direction.”
“How about yesterday and after the wedding?”
“The night of the wedding, Max’s brake pads were flipped. But the damning part was someone claimed to have witnessed Leo messing with the bikes. They said that they didn’t think anything of it since she was the mechanic. Unfortunately, the report is closed out which means there are still notes to be put into the system. Until then I can’t see who the witness was.”
“You know that it wasn’t Leo, right?”
“I know it wasn’t.”
“No, you don’t get it. I know it wasn’t her. I was with her.”
“I know. Sophie told me.”
“Should have guessed.”
Carter let out a low chuckle. “By the way, yesterday a deputy reported that Leo was outside the station and when asked what she was doing she said that she was waiting for me. Then a few minutes later, one of the motors deputies left the station and realized that his bike was acting up. The steering stabilizer had been busted.”
“Carter, I seriously doubt Leo was at the station.”
“Me too.”
“Thanks, Carter, I owe you. If you hear anything else please tell me. Someone is trying to hurt you all, and we both know that it isn’t Leo. I’m sorry, but if the fucking lazy-ass detectives aren’t going to look beyond one woman, then I will.” I disconnected and slid my phone into my pocket and then powered down my computer.
I was halfway to the exit when Taylor stepped in front of me.
“Are you leaving, Ian?”
“Yes, just take a message and I’ll handle everything tomorrow.”
“But—”
With my back already turned to her. “Not now, Taylor.” And then I was gone. At this rate, I was going to use up my vacation hours, but I didn’t care. Leo was important to me, and she was triggering every protective bone that I had in my body.
When I parked in the lot in front of Leo’s apartment, a weird vibe crept over me. I hated it. She didn’t belong here. Leo was family, so she belonged with family. My family all lived within a one-block radius, and until this moment, I’d never stopped to think about just how far removed Leo was. I would guess Stella was the same, but she was around so much that I almost never thought about her actually having her own house. But Leo drove home to this lonely dreary place. The problem solver in me wanted to solve this problem after, of course, I solved who was trying to frame her.
I slid out of my suit coat and tossed it into my back seat. I added my tie to the pile and then grabbed my duffle bag, which held a change of clothes I always kept in my car for the gym or last-minute decision happy hours.
It took several hearty knocks before she answered, looking a little frazzled.
“What are you doing here?”
“Who is it, Leonora?” an unfamiliar woman’s voice asked from deeper inside the apartment.
“Come on in.” Leo stepped back, and I walked in to face an older, bitter-looking, version of Leo.
I held out my hand. “You must be Ms. Scarvoni. I’m Ian Christakos; it is so nice to meet you. I was just coming by to check on your daughter.” Since no one corrected me, I figured that I was right.
“Gee, Leonora, lose one job and pick up another? Service calls? I told you that the way you dressed would give men the wrong idea.”
What the fuck?
“Umm, I think you have the wrong idea. I’m Sophie Lang’s cousin. I was on my way home, she asked me to stop by and check in on Leo.”
“Humph.”
The woman didn’t even try to apologize before she turned to Leo. “I’m glad you weren’t killed. You aren’t ready to be judged. I’ll get out of here. Would you like to walk out with me, Mr. Christakos?”
“No, Ms. Scarvoni, I just got here, and as I said I wanted to check in on Leo, see if she needed anything.” I directed the last part directly to Leo.
“Humph. She really shouldn’t be left unchaperoned, she’ll never find a husband.” Leo’s mother stood at the door giving both of us the evil eye and then left.
Once the door was closed and she was clearly out of hearing shot, Leo turned to me. “Well, now you’ve met my mother, aren’t you fortunate.”
I wasn’t sure what possessed me, but I reached forward and ran my thumb against her lips, my fingers cupping her face. “Yeah, I am,
she made you.” I lowered my mouth to hers and gave her a gentle kiss. “Does she normally stop by?”
“She does a drive-by is probably a more apt term. If I’m home then I get a pop-in visitor. If I’m not home, she will call and inform me that I missed her. If I don’t answer, she hangs up and calls again and again and again. What makes it even more endearing is that she does this at random times. It can be seven in the morning and eleven at night.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Oh, it’s a blast.” She eyed my dress shirt. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I was hungry and thought maybe you would want to join me for an early dinner.”
I didn’t wait for her answer before I scooted past and found my way to her bathroom to change. When I emerged a few minutes later, I grabbed Leo’s hand and tugged her toward the door.
“You don’t have to take me out.”
“I know I don’t. I want to.” I gave her an easy smile. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Pizza?”
“Pizza it is.”
We ended up driving to Tony’s, which was a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria that also happened to have the best food on this side of town.
“So tell me, what was it like growing up with Ruth as a mother?” I asked, still finding it hard to reconcile the Leo I knew growing up with the Leo sitting across from me.
“Hard.”
“In what way?” I took a bite of the pizza and chewed slowly as I waited for Leo to explain.
“My mom was so afraid that I’d turn out like her, that she dressed me as atrociously as she could. She never cared that it set me apart from other kids my age and made me a constant target.”
“Really?”
“More or less. When she was pregnant with me, she turned to the Bible for guidance, but she went a little overboard. I was never allowed to wear makeup or cut my hair and every Wednesday and Sunday she demanded I attend church with her. I wasn’t allowed to play sports or date, not that anyone would have wanted to date me considering how she made me dress.”
Often (Iron Orchids Book 4) Page 9