Bates snorted, thinking I wasn’t so high and mighty as I thought. “All right. I’ll go have a chat with the parents tonight and see what they want to do.”
“Have you checked out the drug dealers that were killed?” I asked. “Looked into their background? Maybe there’s a clue there.”
“Yeah. I have their rap sheets. Do you want to take a look?”
“Did anything stand out to you?” I asked, not wanting to take a look at all. Why couldn’t he just tell me and get it over with so I could leave this place and go home?
“Actually it did. Come over to my desk and I’ll show you.”
I followed him back, and he shoved an open file into my hands. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but since he wasn’t in a talking mood, I scanned over them just the same. After a minute, I broke down. “So? What is it?”
He smirked and turned the page, pointing at a few lines in the center. “Right here it says they were both brought in on charges of aggravated assault and possession, but all the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.”
“Hmm.” When I didn’t say anything else, he pursed his lips in annoyance.
“See who the arresting officer was? Right there.”
He stabbed his finger on the tiny print at the bottom of the page and the name jumped out at me. “Detective Pete Royce?”
“Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?” Bates asked.
“Yeah.” A surge of frustration roared over me, and I turned to face Bates. “When were you going to share this with me?”
“I just did.”
“It sure would have been nice to know a few minutes ago when I talked to him,” I said, trying not to raise my voice. “So what’s next?”
“I’ll tell Harris when he comes in, and we’ll go from there. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on Pete.”
“Okay. Let me know if you find out anything else.”
“Sure,” he said, thinking he’d already talked to Pete about his role as the arresting officer, since that was the reason he gave for talking to him this morning. Everything Pete said about the drug dealers made sense, and since he’d been working narcotics, arresting them probably wasn’t a coincidence.
But of the two officers, Pete seemed the more likely candidate. Still, it made him wonder about Chloe, and if she’d made a mistake. Too bad I didn’t pick up anything from Pete. It certainly would have helped, and he really thought I might, but now he knew I didn’t always have the answers.
It was time to do some real police work, and let everyone in the department know I wasn’t all I was cracked up to be. Maybe this was a good thing and, once everyone knew I didn’t have all the answers, the whole department, including the chief, wouldn’t rely on me so much. Even better, I wouldn’t be sticking my nose into their business and getting paid for it too.
What the freak! How could he do that to me?
I headed toward the exit and shoved the door open. I couldn’t get into my car fast enough. I managed to buckle my seat belt before the tears came, and I dropped my forehead onto the steering wheel for a good cry. That man would be the death of me. I didn’t know if I could ever go back in there. Maybe I should stop helping the police. If this was what happened, it wasn’t worth it.
A knock on my window startled me and I jerked up to find Dimples staring at me in concern. “Shelby? What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
I sniffed and wiped my nose before nodding. “Yeah...I’m okay.”
He frowned. “No you’re not. Why don’t you come in and tell me what happened?”
“No!”
His eyes widened. “Okay. I’ll come sit by you.”
I opened my mouth to tell him not to, but he’d already started walking around my car. I grabbed my purse and pulled out a tissue to wipe my face and nose. I didn’t want him to see me crying like this, but I couldn’t seem to stop the tears from running down my face. The fact that he was worried about me made my tears flow even harder.
“I’m sorry,” I said, after he closed the car door. “I shouldn’t be so upset, but it’s just been kind of a hard day.”
“That’s okay,” Dimples assured me. “I don’t mind. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s Bates,” I blurted. “He doesn’t believe me, and he’s set me up to fail in front of everyone.”
I told Dimples how Bates talked to the cops without me, and then how he had to hear Chloe’s version of what happened from her because from me it was second-hand and not good enough.
“He acted like I’d left something out...on purpose!” I wiped my nose again before explaining how Bates kept Pete’s involvement with the two drug dealers from me, and how that information could have helped me when I talked to Pete.
“He wants me to fail. I had to tell Bellini I’d made a mistake with my premonitions, since that was the only excuse I could come up with, and Bates found out. He was so happy I admitted to a mistake. It was humiliating! And he was thinking the worst things...like now I would be exposed for the fake I am and maybe it was all for the best. And worse...he’d make sure the chief and the whole department knows about it! He’s trying to ruin me! I can’t stand him, and I don’t know if I can ever go back in there again!”
Dimples murmured consoling words, shocked by the intensity of my feelings. A growing desire to punch Bates in the face rose in him as well. He was thinking Bates was an idiot and didn’t have an ounce of respect for me and all I did for them. Someone needed to set him straight, and he wasn’t going to let it go until Bates apologized to me. How could he say those hurtful things to me? It made his blood boil.
Then it hit him that I’d said “thinking the worst things” not “saying the worst things.” He glanced at me, and his eyes widened. My eyes widened too, and that made his eyes get even bigger. I glanced away and busily wiped my cheeks and nose.
“Shelby?” Dimples said. “What’s going on?”
I sniffed, but still couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Holy hell!” he shouted. “You...you just answered me. How did you do that?”
I jerked to catch his gaze, and my stomach clenched with dread. “Do what? What do you mean?”
“I said your name in my mind, and you heard me! You answered me!”
“I don’t think so...you know that’s not possible, right?”
His eyes narrowed, but he wasn’t going to back down. “No it’s not, but you can do it. You just did.”
I let out my breath and closed my eyes. There was no way I could undo this, but I hated telling him the truth. “Um...there’s a reasonable explanation.”
“Like what?”
“It’s complicated.”
“No it’s not. Just tell me the truth,” he said. “I’m your friend. We’ve been through a lot together. I’m not going to tell anyone. I just need to know.”
“But...I can’t tell you. It will change things, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.” It freaked me out to have one more person know my secret, even if it was Dimples.
“Okay...fine. Don’t tell me. But you know I know, right? Even if you won’t say the words.”
“Can’t you just let it go?” I begged. “Pretend that what I have are premonitions...like you’ve always believed?”
He pursed his lips, not sure why it was so hard for me to admit. It was pretty damn awesome, and he wasn’t going to act like he didn’t know. He couldn’t. “Sure...whatever you say...but now that I know, it all makes sense. I guess it does sound a little crazy, but now I finally get the whole premonitions thing. You’ve been reading minds. It’s...really quite remarkable. When did it happen? Have you always been able to do it?”
He wasn’t going to let it go, so I huffed out a breath and answered. “No. It started the day of the bank robbery in the grocery store. I got shot in the head, remember?”
“Oh...yeah...sure I remember.”
“Right. Well, after the doctor finished stitching me up,
I started to hear what people around me were thinking, but I didn’t know that’s what it was at first. I thought maybe I was imagining things. When you and Detective Williams came to the house the next morning, I heard everything you were thinking, and that’s when I knew for sure. It was quite a shock.”
“Yeah...I’ll bet.” Dimples began to think about all the times I’d helped him after that and, suddenly, it all fell into place. “Now it makes total sense. I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out before. There were a few times I thought about it...but I always brushed it off.”
“That’s easy to explain,” I said. “Because reading minds isn’t possible.”
He nodded, a dazed look in his eyes. “Wow...this is incredible.”
“Um...now that you know...there’s something I have to ask you.”
His gaze caught mine, and his eyes cleared. “You need me to keep this a secret.”
I let out my breath and nodded. “No one can know. Not the police, not Billie, not anyone.”
“What about Chris? Does he...”
“Yeah...he knows. It’s not something I could keep from him. Believe me, it’s been hard on our marriage, but we’ve managed.”
“Yeah...I’ll bet,” Dimples said, thinking about how hard it would be to know your wife could read your every thought. “Wow. Un-freakin-believable.”
“I hope this doesn’t mean things will get awkward between us,” I said. “Really...just keep thinking about it like I have premonitions, and it won’t be too much different, right?”
“Okay...I’ll try doing that.”
“Good, that’s great. It should work out fine. And be sure not to tell anyone. Okay?”
He glanced at me in awe and shook his head. “I wouldn’t dream of it. They probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.” He thought about that for a minute then took a breath. “Well, I’d better get going. I was just stopping by to check on the investigation. So...you think Pete’s the cop?”
“I don’t know. Now that I know he knew the drug dealers, I’ll have to take another shot at him. Maybe I’ll hear something more useful next time.”
“That makes sense. Okay...I’ll let you know what we decide to do next.”
“Okay. Oh...how’s Billie doing?”
“Better. Her parents are here, so that’s good. Her mom’s a lot like her.”
I snickered. “Pretty bossy huh?”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling. He opened the door, then glanced back at me, marveling all over again. “Uh...see ya.”
He shut the door, and I watched him walk into the station. I sat for a few more minutes in a worried daze. Dimples knew. I didn’t know if it was good or bad. It might change things between us, more than I liked to admit, but he was my friend. I trusted him. He’d been there from the beginning of this whole mess. It should be fine. At least, I sure hoped so.
The drive home passed in a blur with me worrying about the whole debacle at the police department, and Dimples knowing my secret. The pull to get home, where I was safe and sound, ached in my chest. As I pulled into my driveway, relief poured over me. Maybe now I could relax.
I checked the time and found it was almost three-thirty. Dang! My kids would be walking in any minute now. I hurried into the bathroom to freshen up my face and gasped at the damage: streaks of mascara and red swollen eyes. I couldn’t fix this. I’d just have to wash my face and start over.
The cool water felt amazing on my hot cheeks and lessened the swelling around my eyes. Inhaling the fresh scent of my moisturizer soothed me, and I decided to forget putting on more make-up. The day was nearly over anyway, and I wasn’t going anywhere else tonight.
Downstairs, the door opened, and voices filled the house. From the noise, it sounded like lots more people than just Josh and Savannah. I frowned and hurried to the kitchen where they were congregating. Two of Josh’s friends sat at the kitchen table while Josh got out the milk.
“Oh, hey mom,” he said. “I thought we’d have a snack before we played some basketball.” He glanced at me, and his brows drew together. I looked washed out and pale, like I was really tired or something. I usually looked lots better than this. Was something wrong?
“I got something in my eye, so I had to wash my face,” I said.
Josh stilled, thinking I’d answered his question without him saying a word.
“There’s some cookies I made in the freezer,” I said. “Do you want some? We can thaw them out in the microwave. They’re peanut butter.”
Enthusiastic agreement came from everyone, and I quickly opened the freezer to pull them out. After a quick zap in the microwave, they were perfect for dipping in milk, and none of the boys gave me a second thought after that.
Whew! That was close. Thank goodness for cookies and milk. Of course, putting up my shields would have been much better...and smarter. Savannah walked in and blinked to find the boys at the table. She hesitated a moment before going over for a cookie. Her gaze lingered on Cole, and I caught the unmistakable surge of desire flickering over her. She liked him...a lot...as in a huge crush.
Holy cow! I did not want to know that, but now that I knew, I had to know if Cole looked at her like that too. I listened carefully, but only picked up that he noticed her, but as Josh’s kid sister and nothing more...for now.
Relieved, I let out my breath and asked about her day. That seemed to break the spell, and soon the boys had gone outside to throw some hoops, and Savannah was talking a mile a minute. “So we’re going to Aikido tonight, right?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Yes we’re going.”
“Good.” She smiled, thinking how great it was going to be. “I’d better get my homework done then.”
I cleaned up the table and ate a cookie for courage since it was time to call Holly and let her know I’d failed to find the cop.
“Hey Holly,” I began, trying to keep my voice upbeat. “How’s it going?”
“Good. I think Chloe’s going a little stir-crazy though. Did you find him?”
“Not yet. After we left your house, I went back to the precinct and managed to talk to both cops, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. I mean...I know it’s not one of them, but I don’t know for sure if it’s the other one. It could be, but I just don’t know yet.”
“Oh...that’s not good.”
“I know...I’m sorry. I think if I talk to him again, I might know more.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “So...what happens next? You’ll talk to him tomorrow?”
“Yeah. This time I’ll be better prepared. I think if Bates hadn’t left me out in the first place, this could have been resolved by now.”
“Yeah...what’s up with that guy? He’s a real jerk.”
I told her what happened with him after the interview and how mad it made me. Talking to Holly was always good therapy, but I had to be careful since Chloe was involved. “I left before Dimples got there, but I saw him in the parking lot. He was going to talk to Bates and decide what to do next. He should be calling Scott tonight. Scott might want to take Chloe home to his house.”
“I’ll give Scott a call and see what he thinks, but if you just need one more day, I’d feel better about keeping her here.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. “I hope I can figure it out by then, but if I can’t, maybe he should take her on a long trip or something.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “I’ll call you later and let you know what’s going on...and...thanks for everything you’re doing, Shelby. I don’t know what we’d do without you. Really, I couldn’t have a better friend.”
“Oh...well, it goes both ways. You know I’d do anything for you. I just wish I had more, but I promise to keep at it until I find him,” I said.
“I know you will,” she agreed.
We disconnected, and my lips turned down. I hated not knowing more. With my skills, I should have solved this case by now. I knew Holly would keep Chloe at her house as long as she needed to, but I also knew the longer she sta
yed, the more risk there was of someone finding out. Maybe Scott should take her on a trip somewhere.
***
Later that night, I soaked in the bathtub with my aromatherapy bath salts. The soothing scent of spearmint and eucalyptus helped relieve the tension, and the hot water helped my sore muscles after my Aikido lesson. I had to admit that taking Aikido was great for me...probably because I got to throw people around. Also, Holly had called to tell me they were keeping Chloe at her house, which I thought was a good idea. So, at least for tonight, things were under control.
After we went to bed, I finally had time to tell Chris all the details about my horrible day, ending with Dimples finding out my secret.
“Oh no,” he said. “How did that happen?”
“Well...I was kind of crying, and pretty upset when he got in the car. I guess I slipped up when I was explaining what was going through Bates’ mind.”
Chris’ eyes widened that I could make such a huge mistake, and he couldn’t constrain his disappointment that I had let Harris find out. I should have been more careful.
I tried not to feel bad, but after everything else, his censure hurt. “I know it’s my fault, but it’s not like I did it on purpose.”
Chris sucked in a breath. “I never said...oh...yeah...sorry.” He sighed and rubbed his chin, wishing I hadn’t heard that. He certainly didn’t want to dig a hole he couldn’t get out of. Oops. Now I’d heard that too.
“Shelby...sweetheart...it will be fine. I’m sure you were upset and didn’t mean for it to happen. I trust Harris. He was bound to find out sooner or later. Heck, I’m surprised he hadn’t figured it out before now. So it’s okay. He won’t tell anyone. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah...it’s okay.”
“Thanks honey,” I said and snuggled up next to him. “That makes me feel better.”
He pulled me into his arms and kissed me soundly, thinking he knew of a great way get my mind off my troubles...and keep himself out of the doghouse.
“Chris!” I swatted him.
“Hey...you can’t blame me. Besides, I think it’s working pretty good.”