Major Crimes

by Janie Crouch

  “I know you don’t like to talk about this, but what about contacting Mason’s father?”

  Hayley didn’t even hesitate. “Not an option.”

  Ariel rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t believe that nonsense about Mason’s father being ‘unknown’ like you put on the birth certificate. There’s no way you had some sort of one-night stand and didn’t know the guy’s name.”

  Hayley shrugged. “Yeah, well, we all make mistakes.”

  Cain Bennett had been hers.

  All too soon it was time for Hayley to get back to the Bluewater. Ariel and Mason came inside to get Mason’s normal scoop of Wednesday ice cream in the last few minutes Hayley had of her break.

  Mason sat next to her in the booth and told about his friend he met at the play area.

  “He came over and showed me his red car. Let me play with it,” Mason said between bites.

  Hayley reached over and kissed the top of his head. “Sounds like a pretty good friend you made there, buddy.”

  Mason moved on to talk about his favorite toys at preschool while Ariel and Hayley listened attentively.

  Thank God Mason had taken to Hayley’s presence in his life with such acceptance, that Ariel had constantly shown him pictures of Hayley and had referred to Hayley as his mom, had brought him for visitation in prison when she could. She and Ariel had done their best to make the transition natural and nondramatic. At first Hayley had just come over every day and gotten to know Mason. Two weeks later she moved in to the small apartment with them.

  Hayley knew Mason loved her and that was all that mattered. When it came time for Ariel to go off to school it would be hard, but by then he would be even more comfortable with Hayley.

  She saw Timothy looking over at her and then pointing at his watch. Hayley let out a sigh.

  “Okeydoke guys, I’ve got to get back to work.” Hayley stood up as Mason finished his last bite.

  “I’m going to get this sugar-infested rug rat back home.” Ariel smiled.

  “I’ll hopefully be getting off work at around seven thirty, so maybe I’ll make it home in time for a bath and some book reading.”

  When Mason’s face lit up at her words, Hayley knew she would do whatever necessary to make it happen.

  “I love it when you read me books! The fire truck book! The big banana book! The green ham and eggs book!” He bounced up and down on the seat, and she knew if she’d allowed him to stand on it, he’d be jumping with his excitement.

  “All of them, little man, I promise. Okay?” Hayley laughed and reached down and scooped Mason up in her arms, hugging him probably a little too tightly.

  “You squeezeded me!” Mason squealed, but hugged her back.

  He’d always hugged her back. Hayley was oh so grateful that he’d never turned away from her, even at the beginning. She’d like to think it was because it was his child’s heart responding to her mother’s heart.

  But it was probably just because he was a good kid and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  Hayley set Mason on the ground after giving him a loud kiss. “Get the books out and be ready. I’ll see you tonight.”

  She watched as Mason took Ariel’s hand and they walked out the door.

  “That was an hour and six minutes, Hayley.” Timothy had made his way over while she watched them leave.

  Hayley turned back to the table to pick up the glasses and silverware. “Don’t worry, Timothy, I will make sure I get all my work done.”

  “I agreed to this break every day, but now I’m thinking you’re trying to take advantage of it.”

  Hayley managed to refrain from rolling her eyes. Barely. “It was six extra minutes. There’s hardly anybody in the restaurant and I have plenty of time to get everything done before the dinner rush starts.”

  “Well, I just don’t want six extra minutes to turn into ten extra minutes to turn into thirty extra minutes. After all, we did do you a big favor by hiring you here.”

  Hayley didn’t argue, just continued to clear off the table. Timothy Smittle was getting her labor at less cost than he would have to pay others. She was doing the work of two people and barely getting paid one person’s salary.

  But she didn’t have any other choice, so she would keep her opinions and her arguments to herself. This was temporary. Mason was forever. Whatever she had to do to reestablish herself, to be prepared to take care of him in any situation, she would do it.

  “Someone is coming in the door right now. All the waitresses are on break, so I’ll seat him and you take his order. But don’t do anything having to do with money. I’ll give him his check after.”

  And keep the tip for himself, no doubt.

  Hayley let out a weary sigh. “Fine, Timothy. Just let me go get my apron on and I’ll take his order.”

  Hayley refused to let the exhaustion overwhelm her, even though she felt it much more now that Mason was gone. She would work hard, get through the shift and get home to her baby.

  She grabbed a glass of water for the table where she needed to take the order. She was almost there, pulling her friendly facade over her features, when she looked up at the restaurant guest.

  The water slipped out of her numb fingers and shattered as it hit the hardwood floor.

  Cain Bennett.

  Her eyes ran over his face. Not much had changed in the four years since she’d last seen him. His forceful chin and chiseled jaw were still completed by broad cheekbones, five-o’clock shadow already clear on them even at this early hour. His dark hair was still cut short, but with that rebellious curl that tended to fall across his forehead.

  Those same green eyes with flecks of brown were now full of concern as he stood, staring at her. Cain hadn’t just happened to walk into this restaurant. He was here specifically looking for her.

  Under no circumstance could this possibly be good.

  Chapter Three

  Cain approached Hayley slowly, both arms outstretched. Not unlike how he had approached traumatized victims in the past.

  Because that’s exactly how Hayley looked: traumatized. Hell, she hadn’t looked this drained even in court four years ago.

  Now her brown eyes had shadows under them, outlining an obvious exhaustion. She looked like she could gain another ten pounds and still be a little underweight.

  And she was staring at him with something akin to terror in her eyes.

  Cain hadn’t expected her to be happy to see him, but neither had he expected her to look like she was carrying the world’s weight on her shoulders. A sort of panic itched at his gut.

  He took a step closer. She took a step back.

  “Hayley, what the heck happened?” The manager rushed out from the back. “Get something to clean that up.”

  The man turned and faced Cain. “We’re so sorry about this. I’ll get you another—Cain? Cain Bennett?”

  Cain dragged his eyes away from Hayley to look at the man who knew his name. “Yes?”

  “It’s Timothy Smittle. We went to high school together, remember, man?”

  “I’ll go get a mop,” Hayley murmured before turning and almost running into the kitchen.

  Timothy hooked a thumb toward Hayley’s retreating form. “And of course, you remember Hayley Green, right? You guys were all hot and heavy back in the day.”

  “Of course.” Cain slowly sat back down in the booth, eyes fixed on the door Hayley had exited through.

  Timothy slid into the booth across from Cain and lowered his voice even though there was no one else around. “And I guess you heard about the law trouble Hayley got into a few years back. That was after you had already left. She did some time at the Georgia Women’s Correctional.”

  Cain just nodded.

  “When she came back around here begging for her old job, I figured it was the least we could do. You know, si
nce we all went to high school together.” Timothy sounded very pleased with himself. Like he was collecting bonus points or something.

  Cain’s eyes left the door and moved to Timothy. “She helped you with your bookkeeping in high school, right? Is that what she’s doing now?”

  Timothy smirked. “Are you kidding? We couldn’t let her near anything having to do with money.”

  Cain’s lips pressed together although he knew he really couldn’t blame Timothy. “So she’s what, waiting tables?”

  The thought of someone with Hayley’s intelligence and skills waiting tables was difficult for Cain to swallow, but he guessed he shouldn’t be surprised. Right now her job options were probably limited.

  Timothy shifted a little uncomfortably in the booth across from Cain. “Um, well, that also involves money, so no. Mostly she’s, you know, helping out doing other things.”

  Before Cain could press about exactly what those “other things” were, Hayley came back out with a broom and mop and began cleaning up the glass and water she’d spilled.

  “I can help.” Cain slid to the edge of the booth ready to stand.

  Timothy laughed out loud. “No, Cain. You sit down. It’s Hayley’s job.”

  Hayley didn’t look up from what she was doing, but Cain could see the flush spread across her cheeks. She quickly swept up the glass and mopped up the water.

  “So, how have you been, man?” Timothy asked, as if they’d been best buddies in high school. Cain barely recalled talking to the other guy at all. “You went on to play ball in college, right? After leading us to the state championships?”

  “Yeah, for a couple of years. Then I blew out my knee. Nothing to stop normal life, but effectively ended my football career.”

  Hayley had finished cleaning up and Cain could tell she was hesitating about whether to stay nearby or to leave. Timothy noticed it, too.

  Timothy waved a dismissive hand in Hayley’s direction. “You can go do your work in the back. I’ll take Cain’s order and get him what he needs.”

  Hayley still wasn’t looking at Cain, but he didn’t want her to leave. “Actually, I’m here to talk to Hayley.”

  Timothy stiffened. “Oh. Actually, Hayley just took a break with Ariel and the kid, so she doesn’t have another break for a few hours.”

  Cain looked around, noticing that Hayley became even more tense with Timothy’s words. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and the place was nearly empty.

  “It doesn’t look like you really need her right at this second. I just need to borrow her for a few minutes.”

  Timothy turned to glare at Hayley as if she had planned this. “Actually, during the downtime is when Hayley does most of the dishes and cleaning in the back. Then she helps out in front during the rushes.”

  Hayley was the damned dishwasher?

  “It’s fine, Timothy. I’m not going to take another break. I don’t have anything to say to Cain anyway.” She still wouldn’t look at him.

  Cain had figured it would come down to this. Taking out his Omega Sector credentials, he turned back to Timothy. “This is law enforcement business. Hayley isn’t in any trouble and isn’t wanted by the law, but I need to talk to her about a few things. I’d appreciate it if we could have your cooperation.”

  He saw Hayley stiffen further out of the corner of his eye.

  Timothy stood. “Well, I don’t want to get in the way of the law, but really we don’t pay Hayley to sit around and talk to old boyfriends. I’ll go get you your water.”

  Timothy left, shaking his head. Hayley finally looked at Cain. “Yeah, this isn’t a good time. I’m working.”

  She seemed genuinely nervous about being here talking to him. Maybe she was afraid she was going to lose her job. Such as it was. “I can come to your house later if you want.” He had her address from her parole file.

  “No,” she immediately said. “I don’t want you coming there.”

  “Okay.” He held his hands out in a gesture of peace. “If you don’t want to talk here and you don’t want to talk at your home, maybe we can meet for dinner tonight?”

  She shook her head again. “I can’t. I’m working here until seven thirty and then I have to go straight home.”

  Cain refused to let himself get annoyed at her avoidance. “How about early tomorrow, then? What time does your shift start?”

  “Seven a.m.” She shrugged.

  He felt himself stiffen. “Did you begin working today at seven a.m. also?”

  She shrugged. “I’m working a lot of hours this week.”

  By the look of her exhausted face and the weight she’d lost, it had been more than just this week that she’d been working a lot of hours.

  “What are you doing here, Hayley? Why are you working here?”

  Her eyes narrowed at him. “Believe it or not, there’s not a lot of options out there for an ex-felon with no college degree. Especially since a condition of my parole is that I’m not allowed near a computer for more than two minutes at a time.”

  She stuck out her ankle and pulled her khaki pants up just a little bit. Cain could see the electronic monitor strapped around her slim leg.

  “It’s a prototype. Lets everybody know if I’m a naughty girl. So when Timothy was nice enough to give me a job—albeit, washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen—I took it.”

  Even after she’d refused to see him while in prison, he’d tried to keep tabs on her from a distance. Life in a minimum security facility wasn’t terribly difficult, not like a medium or maximum security facility, but it still wasn’t freedom.

  He had to admit he hadn’t really thought about what her life would be like once she actually was released. That the agreement of her parole might stop her from using her natural abilities and skills.

  And so here she was with her genius IQ and incredible computer aptitude, washing dishes and mopping floors.

  Guilt started to eat at him, but Cain squashed it down. Hayley had broken the law. Cain had been doing his job when he arrested her. But allowing them to get physically involved while he was on the case had been the biggest mistake of his professional life. Something he would always regret. The one thing he couldn’t blame Hayley for hating him for.

  Hayley was still standing there when Timothy brought the glass of water back out. “Do you want to order anything?”

  Cain turned to Timothy. “No, I’m just going to steal about five minutes of Hayley’s time. I really appreciate it, Timothy. For old times and all.” He smiled at the other man.

  Feeling important again, Timothy grinned back. “It’s no problem. Anything for Gainesville’s greatest high school football star.”

  “That was a lot of years ago, man. And I was far from the greatest.”

  “Not to those of us who stuck around here.” Timothy turned to Hayley. “We’ll just count your break as an hour and a half today, cool?”

  Hayley’s lips tightened, but she nodded. Timothy walked off again.

  “What do you want, Cain? Why are you here? How long have you been here?”

  “Been here in town?”

  “No, here at the restaurant.”

  “I just walked in a second ago. Why?”

  Hayley studied him for a minute, looking relieved. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. But what do you want?”

  “Why don’t you sit down? You look like you could use a few minutes’ break.”

  Hayley’s eyebrows arched but she did what he asked.

  “Do you need something to eat?” he asked. She looked like she hadn’t had a solid meal in months. “I could order something for us both.”

  She ignored his question. “Why are you here, Cain? I know it’s not to have a meal. I know you’re not stupid enough to come back here for a social visit.”

  Cain could feel a muscle tightening in his jaw. “No, I’m
here on business.”

  He could see her visibly tense. “I haven’t done anything that violates my parole. Haven’t broken any laws.”

  Of course that was why she would think he was here. Why wouldn’t she? “No. When I said I was here on business I didn’t mean to arrest you or anything like that. You’re not in any trouble.”

  She still didn’t relax. “Fine. Then what did you need to talk to me about? I need to get back to work, Cain. Some of us get paid by the hour.”

  “And how many hours a week do you have to work here to make ends meet? You look tired.” He touched her hand lying on the table before he could think better of it.

  She snatched it away as if she’d been burned.

  “No.” Her voice was hoarse. “You don’t get to be concerned about me. Ever. You gave up that right four years ago.”

  “When I had you arrested? You were guilty, Hayley. Guilty of using your computer skills for hacking.”

  She laughed, but the sound held no amusement whatsoever. “You know what? I’ve had a long time to think about this. To categorize and figure out exactly how I felt about everything that happened with my arrest and incarceration. You were a federal agent, I was a criminal. It was your job to catch me—I’ve never blamed you for that.”

  She slid to the edge of the booth. “When those cops barged into my apartment to arrest me, I wasn’t surprised. I think I’d always known I would eventually get caught.”

  Cain wanted to feel relief that she didn’t blame him. That she understood he’d been doing his job. But he knew there was more.

  She stared at him. He almost wished it was with fury rather than the exhaustion that seemed to blanket both her body and spirit. “Then I saw you. Realized you were the one in charge of the investigation. Realized you had deliberately used the feelings we had for each other, the connection we’d always had, to get close to me.”

  He started to interrupt, but she held out a hand to stop whatever he might say.

  “You seduced me in order to arrest me, Cain. And it nearly cost me everything.” Hayley stood. “So whatever business it is you want to talk to me about? Forget it. We have nothing to say to each other.”