by Ann Raina
Out of the corner of her eye Kyra saw Oliver who was about to leave his house. He stood and gaped at the scene until Chris put his car in gear and took off from the curb. Mr. van Meers stood to her right on the sidewalk, his unruly dog yapping at the leash. Kyra slammed the door shut and rested her brow against the cool wood. "Why on earth did I ever meet with this asshole? God, I'm so finished."
"Yeah, I see that." Julian swept her in his arms when her legs gave under her and carried her to the couch. He put her down carefully as if she could break. She exhaled, glad that the scene was over. Glad to come to rest again though her heart still hammered. "I never held you like this before," he smiled.
"You'll catch a cold." Kyra sneezed again, but did not protest when he pulled a cover up to her chest and tugged it in behind her back. He handed her a hanky so she could blow her nose. "You look like you had a bad day at the pub."
"Hmm, I could live with that."
He touched his chin and cheekbone and flinched. His skin was chafed, partly bloody. "That Chris is quite…"
"An asshole," she finished, sneezing again "God, I'm so glad you brought him to his knees." Her eyes were worried. "But I shouldn't have urged you. I--"
"It's all right." He caressed her cheek with his fingertips, swallowing hard with desire. The longing in his eyes was palpable and she shivered under his gaze. "He needed it."
"You're hurt. So hurt." He shook his head slightly, still smiling, still content to sit at her side. Slowly, irresistibly a smile broke through. "You beat the pants off him."
His fingers traveled down to her chin and throat. "Well, he was loaded for bear, that's for sure."
She closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too."
"I need to call my mom and tell her--"
"Later, Kyra. Sleep."
The hammering on the door shook Kyra out of sleep. Julian still sat beside her, their hands entwined. Her head wanted to explode with the sudden noise, and she coughed bad enough to wince.
"I'll send him away, no matter who." Julian rose.
"Open up! Police!" a voice shouted.
Julian turned to lock eyes with Kyra. "I guess I can't send them away."
"Open up or we break the door!"
"Let them in," Kyra said weakly and struggled to sit up. "I'll deal with 'em."
Julian turned the knob. The same instant the door burst open and three officers in uniform stormed the hall, ESG drawn and ready. Julian stepped back towards the living room. "Down! On your knees!" the first policeman shouted.
Julian raised his hands shoulder high and dropped to his knees. "What's wrong?"
"You're under arrest!" the second officer screamed in his ear. He pulled Julian's hands back and bound them with a plastic strip while the third officer pulled foot chains out of his pocket. "You'll be taken to prison immediately." The chains locked.
"Kyra!" Julian turned to his employer, panic ruling his voice. "Help!"
The officer backhanded him to make him face forward again. "Your time here's over. You broke the program rules."
"No! I didn't." A muzzle with a grating that covered chin, mouth and cheeks was pressed on and locked.
"Wait." Kyra slurred to the officers. The headache made another effort to burst out of her skull and she had to stop and inhale slowly. "What are you doing?"
"Are you unhurt, ma'am?" the second officer asked eagerly, dutifully.
"Why do you take him away? On what charges?" She recognized Officer Pisetti and turned to him, shaking her head, but regretted the motion bitterly. "I don't understand. What's happening here?"
Pisetti's omnipresent smile turned to a frown. He pulled his electronic notebook. "We were called to arrest Julian Bithrell because of extreme violence." He looked up, puzzled. "I thought… We thought you were in danger."
"Who presses charges against him?" she asked through clenched teeth and her gaze found Julian's. He was pleading for help while two cops pulled him to his feet. She had a bad feeling suddenly. The day would get worse than any cold could be.
"A Mr. …um, Chris Balfour. Yes, Balfour." Again Pisetti looked at Kyra as if she should know more than him. "He called and reported on Mr. Bithrell that he attacked him while he wanted to visit his girlfriend. I assume that's you."
Julian was escorted to the waiting police van. He offered no resistance, but glanced over his shoulder, still urging her without words to keep this from happening. He was pushed forward hard and stumbled on socks to the waiting police van.
"No, I'm not. He's a fucking liar." Pisetti frowned harder upon her angry undertone. "He came here, trespassing my grounds and did not leave when I told him to." Kyra ran both hands through her sweaty hair. She felt so sick and weak, but there was no more time for a rest on the couch. "I broke with him more than four months ago and he doesn't accept it. If it had not been for Mr. Bithrell I fear that my ex would have violated me further."
Pisetti opened his mouth, inhaled as if to ask a question, but did not bring it out.
"Yes, Officer Pisetti," Kyra continued, and her voice and eyes were cold, "you're right. I fear he would have tried to rape me." She coughed and closed her eyes for a moment. The headache was at its worst now.
"Oh." Pisetti scratched his brow and looked down at his notepad. It bore no help. He shook his head, undecided what to do. When he looked up he was at a loss. "See, Ms Jennings, it's like this. We have special order to react immediately to calls of violence committed by participants of the program. They are considered dangerous. Prime directive, so to say. So," he shrugged, "I can't do anything about the arrest now. Mr. Balfour reported that he hardly made it to the ER of the nearest hospital. He claims that Mr. Bithrell beat him up so severely that he suffered internal injuries."
"He's an idiot and a liar." Kyra leaned against the doorframe. The doors of the van closed, the officers got in and the van left. "Did you see Mr. Bithrell just this moment? Did you see his face?" Pisetti grimaced. She knew he had seen Julian's face closely. The bruises, the swollen lips, the dried blood. "They had a brawl, yes, but nothing so severe that one of the men would need medical attention."
"You might be wrong on this. Mr. Bithrell is very strong."
"He is strong, but not ruthless."
"That's what you say, ma'am."
Kyra hung her head. "Where do you take him and what can I do to get him out as soon as possible?"
"You ought better think about this again, Ms Jennings. If he fought he is…"
"Officer Pisetti." Kyra's voice dropped low and angry. A cough threatened to ruin her words, but she suppressed it. "Julian Bithrell saved my life once during a burglary. He saved it today because he kept Chris Balfour from getting to me. If he fought he did it because Chris is a stupid son of a bitch, an idiot and a jealous zealot who can't stand that he lost me. I asked Chris twice to leave, politely, but he refused to go. So it was within my rights to show him the door. With a boot if necessary. Mr. Bithrell just leant a hand. So?"
"Now, if it's like this…" Pisetti got more insecure by the minute. "He's been taken to Palmentry."
"That's…that's high security. A nut house." Kyra felt her lungs tighten, which fitted fine since her stomach already cringed with fear. "Why?"
"Um…" Pisetti consulted his notepad again, "because Mr. Balfour claimed that Bithrell had tried to bite him and had shown unrestrained violence. That he wanted to kill him and he could only save himself by escaping with his car."
"Oh, no." She swayed and Pisetti got her arm in time to keep her on her feet. "He's such an asshole. Damn it!" With Pisetti's help she stood again, pressing one hand against her temple. The headache was a bitch, but today she would handle bitches, pains in the ass like Chris and overbearing parents. "All right. Thank you, Pisetti." He turned to leave and she held him back on the porch. "What do I need to get him free again?"
"Off the record?"
"Yeah, off the record, Pisetti. I'm an ex-cop, I know what to use and what not."
"Okay. First
, the best you can get is a witness. If someone else than you can claim that Mr. Balfour wasn't roughed up like he says that would be great. Second, press your own charges at once. If we had known of the trespassing and attempted assault on you earlier, we might have reacted differently."
"Yeah, right. My fault."
"Yep. And third…" He let the words hang in the air for a moment. "See that you go to Palmentry on the double. If he's put through the procedure, I don't know what he'll do."
"You think he'll freak out?"
"I don't know. I honestly can't tell. But I know that I'd jump out my skin if I had to be there." He shrugged and smiled without humor. "Maybe just the mad men can stay calm." He turned and left.
Kyra squeezed her eyes shut for a second. There was point four, which she had to take care of first. She closed the door and took the telephone off the wall hook. Her mom was on the line after the second ring. "Kyra, my love, are you all right?" The sound of deep worry rang with every word.
"All right?" At least ten answers wanted to press through her throat at the same time. She found it hard to swallow all of the accusation, anger and sheer outrage to say, "I am not all right, mom, and you have a lot to do with it."
"Oh, my dear, are you hurt? Did that awful crook hurt you?"
"If you mean Chris that shithead Balfour by that, then, yes, he was out to hurt me!"
"Kyra, how can you say that?" Kyra imagined her mom to widen her eyes and turn to her husband for help like she had done for three decades. "I thought it would be best to send Chris to you. For help. To handle that criminal."
"Oh, right! Can the overbearing care, mom! I can't stand it! I took the responsibility for Julian Bithrell so don't fuss with it!" She coughed and needed a moment to catch her breath.
"Yes, I know all that," Lara stepped in the pause, quietly, and oh so understanding. "So I thought that you would welcome Chris rather than me. I wouldn't be useful if that man turned violent."
"He's not violent, mom and he saved my life five weeks ago. So how dare you…"
"She's out of her mind," Lara said and handed the receiver to Milton.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Ky, what happened?"
Kyra gave a short overview of the incident with Chris and Julian and closed, "And now Chris presses charges against Julian for grievous bodily harm. Says he was attacked! Don't gimme shit, dad, did you initiate this? Did you tell him what he must do to cause the utmost harm? For I can't imagine that a manager of a medium stationary business knows what he has to tell the cops to get the other into a high security nut house!"
Milton sighed. "Ky, darling, calm down."
"I won't calm down until Julian's here again!" She wanted to stomp her foot on the ground, but she sat down on the couch instead. She hated her body for being weak. It was the worst time.
"Please, be reasonable. You've seen that Bithrell is a convict and he acted like one. He doesn't deserve to stay at your home. He's just too dangerous. If you want to join the program another time you should--"
"Cut the crap, I'm not in the mood for a lecture. Chris overstepped the line. He wasn't welcome, and now he's pissed off that he got the boot and wants to accuse Julian. I want you to pull strings to get Julian out of Palmentry. Right now. Today."
Milton's voice was cautious. "That's not what you should do, Kyra."
"It's what I'm going to do. And you know what?" She coughed so badly she cringed on the couch.
"Kyra, you sound very sick. You better stay home and I…"
"No!" She shouted and her sore throat reminded her to keep it quiet. If she could. "You either tell Chris to drop charges or I will press charges against him for trespassing and bodily injury."
"You said he fought with Bithrell so why the charges of assault? Against that convict?"
"No, against me."
"Kyra!"
"I will do it, dad. And believe me, everyone knows how obnoxious he is. He came to my shop, he followed me where I ran. He couldn't be more obtrusive if he camped in my garden! So you can either talk sense to that idiot or I'll do it my way."
"You'd ruin his career!" Milton roared, but Kyra shook her head though he could not see it.
"He should've thought about that before. Now I don't care."
"You cannot stain his reputation for the sake of a criminal!"
"Why can Chris spoil Julian's life? He has only two months to go. And now he's in a cell because that asshole reported on him! He did the worst he could, dad. He didn't just claim that he had a fight with Julian, but gave the impression that Julian's a lunatic."
"Now, obviously he is." Milton tried to rein his temper and Kyra heard his heavy breathing. "And you are blind. I cannot call it any other way."
"Make your choice. Chris is your baby, not mine." Milton breathed so loudly and deeply that Kyra thought she could feel the soft wind reaching her through the phone. "Dad, please, you stand for truth and honor. How can you just look away and let it happen? How is it possible that you dislike Julian so much that he's worthless in your eyes?" Another long pause followed. Kyra crossed her fingers that she had judged her dad right.
It took Milton an effort to come up with, "Yes, yes, I will talk to Chris."
"And you'll call Palmentry and tell them that the charges are off. I want him prepared for release the moment I get there."
"Kyra, you demand too much! He's put through the procedure and I bet that the paperwork's not even done yet!"
"It's Chris's fault not mine so I want Julian out before he really gets mad! I know I would!" She did not wait for his reply, but hung up on him. Her heart raced. If she did not calm down and take a rest she would collapse before the day was done. She called Oliver on the emergency cell phone and ordered him back home. She needed a driver and a witness at the same time.
CHAPTER 17
They took Kyra's Grand Cherokee and Oliver fumbled with the lights, the mirrors and the seat adjustments. He looked positively grumpy before they left the entrance. There was a dew of sweat on his brow. He mumbled to himself, shook his head and twitched as if he was itching.
"You're so shook up. Why?"
Oliver took a deep breath, turned at the light to head for the northbound highway and glanced at her. "I don't like prisons, I told you," he said quietly through thin, pale lips. "I only do this for you. And only this once."
"I'm grateful you're here, Oliver."
"I can't believe I do this for a convicted criminal." He took another deep breath, adjusted his hands on the wheel and gazed at the mirrors. "How can you drive this thing? It's like driving a truck!"
"You get used to it."
Another glance. Mocking. "The way you slump in the seat right now leaves me wondering how you manage to reach the pedals."
"Thanks. Stop picking at me while I can't return the favor." She sneezed and pulled out the umpteenth hanky this day. "Don't try the highway. It's jammed at this time."
"I shall drive through the suburbs with this thing? Are you mad?"
"If I am they'll keep me at Palmentry."
Oliver virtually cringed behind the wheel. "A nut house. I can't think of going in there. Can I wait in the car, maybe?"
"No, you can't. I raised heaven and hell to get the officer in charge there and if you don't show up and testify that Mr. Balfour was fine when he left I can't take Julian with me."
"He wasn't exactly fine, was he? More like roughed up or handled without care."
"Don't give that shit to the officer or your bravery dies on the doorstep. I want him back, Oliver. Chris cheated and I so don't like to see him win."
"But he used his fists."
"Chris started it."
"And Julian punched back like hell."
"They both fought. They both hit. So what? Only because Chris is a respectable citizen and Julian is not, can he press charges and Julian gets taken to an asylum? That's not fair."
Oliver grinned. "Tell me, would you really accuse Chris of attempted rape?"
"Yep, I would
."
"To help Julian?"
"What's that question? He was up the stairs. How the hell shall I know what he was up to?"
"Oh, come on," Oliver said, giving her unbelieving eyes. "We both know that Balfour's a lot, but not a rapist. But your rambling gives the impression that you…might be interested a little bit more in Mr. Bithrell."
She wiped her brow and pushed back her hair. "You can't imagine how empty the house was. So suddenly. I feel like…"
"Robbed."
"Yeah." She glanced at him while he changed lanes to avoid the entrance to the highway. "I so want to keep him, but I know he'll leave."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Why should he stay?"
"Why not?"
"I don't give in to hope, Oliver. I want him to stay, but…seen with a more reasonable eye, we don't fit."
"Oh, Jesus H. Christ! Since when in God's creation was it necessary that you come from the same roots? Only because you piss on ice doesn't mean that he must do that, too."
"I don't piss on ice," she corrected and they smiled at each other. "But I get the idea."
"Yes! He has written I want you all over his face and it's you who's so damn reluctant to give him that! I bet you can take him, body and soul, and he'll be with you for good."
"I'm not sure I can trust him."
"Well, for not being sure you do a lot, Kyra."
"If you were treated unfair you'd want somebody to help you, right? And it's not that easy. It wasn't like Julian and Chris got into a fight the moment they saw each other. I virtually begged Julian to help me get rid of Chris. Can you imagine that I was sick to the stomach the moment Chris tried to get upstairs?"
"He's been a pain in the ass for some time," Oliver nodded. "He's only making it worse."
"Yeah." She gazed out of the window. Her voice was small and uneasy when she added, "And I bet my dad helped him."
"What?" Oliver turned the wheel to the right and got a wild honking behind him. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, thank you all!" He cursed, returned to the correct lane and gazed at Kyra again. "How should your dad help your ex?"
"How should Chris know what he had to tell the police? Listen, Chris did not only tell them they had a fight--which would've been bad enough--but he told them that Julian tried to bite him and…that he had tried to kill him."