Page 89 of Demo
We come to a stop outside of a door labeled “LOCKUP” and I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m gonna say or do these days. Maybe it’s best to keep the cuffs on.”
Rolling his eyes, the chief unlocks the cuffs anyway and swings the door open with one arm and motions for me to go inside with the other. I step inside and stop in my tracks when I see another delinquent. The chief, also surprised, falters beside me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” The words are his, not mine, as we both look at Monty sitting on a bench, rubbing his wrists.
Chief Scott and I look at each other, then back at Monty. “Not to be unoriginal, but, as the chief asked, what the hell are you doing here?” I repeat.
With a sigh and a glance to the ceiling and back, Monty answers.
“I ran through a stop sign leaving your apartment because I had about 47,000 things running through my mind, and I was distracted. Some Junior Officer Dipshit approached and saw the knife sitting on the passenger seat and deemed it a weapon, and when I told this Junior Officer Dipshit that a butter knife could hardly be considered a weapon and I could do more damage by jamming my thumbs into his eye sockets, he took that as a threat and, well, here I am.”
“Wait,” Scott interjects. “Why did you have a knife on you?”
We all exchange glances, and then my laughter erupts again. I can’t hold it in. I don’t even try.
“This is a fucking disaster,” the chief says. “Both of you, stay put. Keep your mouths shut. And wait for me to come back.”
As he closes the door, rather aggressively, I hear him mutter. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Chapter 24
Nine years ago …
LYZBETH
“Istillcan’tbelievethat guy walked away from that fire unscathed,” Monty shouted over to me from his station.
“I know, right?!” I yelled back.
I had just filed my story about a house fire and was packing up my things to leave when Monty approached my desk, zipping up his fleece and slinging his camera over his shoulder. “You ready, kid?” he asked. Even then Monty looked out for me. In those earlier days, he never left before me if it was dark outside.
“You know I have a key, right?” I said as I stood up and pulled my jacket on, then grabbed my purse. “I can lock up when I leave.”
“Lyzbeth, this city is a cesspool. I don’t care if your car is parked on the sidewalk right outside the door, it’s not safe.”
I digressed as we made our way to the door, exited, and he locked up behind us. We got to my car first. “See you tomorrow,” I said as I got in and started the engine. As I navigated the side streets back to my apartment, my phone started ringing. It was a number that wasn’t saved into my phone.
I pulled into a gas station and answered, “Hello?”
“Lyzbeth?” It was a female voice. Familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Jenny.”
“Oh.”Oh. “Um, hi. What’s …”
“Look, I’m sorry but I just know you’re the only person who can help him through this, and it’s just awful, and I don’t know how to handle it—”
“Wait, hold up.” I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me do it. “What are you talking about? What happened?”
I heard her let out a shaky breath. “Monica died. Knox’s mom.”
I gasped. Clasping my free hand to my mouth, I let out a mumbled, “No!” I could hear Jenny lightly sobbing on the other end of the line.
“What happened?” I managed to get past my shock. I wasn’t even crying. It couldn’t be real.
“They aren’t sure yet,” Jenny said. “They think it was a brain aneurysm. She just collapsed at work.”
