What I’ve seen I like. He’s an ex-marine officer...of course, you know that.” He placed his clipboard on the seat between them. “Look Miss Reid, you must be tired. If you’d rather do this statement later, you could come over to the sheriff’s office first thing in the morning.”
“Call me Sandy. No, it’s okay. Go ahead and do your job.”
“You wanted to make a phone call...go ahead.
“It’s private. May I get out of the car for a minute?”
“Sure.”
She phoned Jamie at her friend’s and explained Jamie’s mother was involved in a shooting, but was okay. They’d keep her in jail at least overnight. “I’ll try to get her out tomorrow. You stay there and keep your mouth shut, okay? I’ll pick you up in the morning. You were very brave to trust me on this.”
“We heard all the sirens down the block. Someone said some man was shot. Was it that Toby?”
“I’ll explain everything tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
“Do I have to go to a foster home?”
“If all goes well, your mom will receive probation and you’ll be back in your old room. I hope she’s learned her lesson. You’re the one who saved her, she’s very lucky to have you. In any case, I’m your advocate, right?” Sandy started to add she’d love to have such a smart cookie as her own foster child, but such a statement was not to be made lightly.
“Now this will be in the papers Jamie, so if any of your friends ask or make fun about any of this, just play dumb. You don’t know anything. People go absolutely nuts when they hear about this kind of stuff, so not one peep out of you or it could ruin your mother’s chances for probation. Okay?”
“Geez Sandy, I got it. And Sandy, when this is over will you take me for a ride in your little red car so my hair can blow around like yours?”
“Sure, Sweetie, I’ll pick you up in the morning. Bye now.”
Sandy gave the detective whatever information he needed for his report. Almost an hour later, he closed his notebook, “That’s it for now. Here’s my card. Call if think of anything or need anything. Want me to take you back to you car or wherever?”
“That would be nice. Thanks.”
“You asked me about Detective Pomar...he’s being interrogated as well. We’re still totaling the procedural violations against him.”
“Give him a break if you can. He didn’t cooperate with me.”
“So you forced yourself into his vehicle?”
“No, but he challenged me at every turn and was still at his vehicle when the shot rang out. He had no choice about getting involved at that point. I’m to blame for all his problems.”
Triney drove her to her parked car. When he left, she phoned Chip immediately. They had become acquainted while opposing each other after he arrested her brother for the murder of a Florida State Senator. She’d established an uneasy rapport and won him over eventually. He jeopardized his job to help her as he gradually became convinced State Attorney Moran was on the wrong track. Even saved her from drowning when a suspect unexpectedly turned on her. She and her precious MX-5 ended up overturned in a roadside drainage canal. After she cleared her brother of all charges, their friendship had progressed to steady dating and occasional sleepovers. “May I stay at your place tonight? I’m still hearing gunshots and sirens in my head. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Sure, are you okay?”
“For the last hour I sat in a county detective’s vehicle giving a detailed statement.”
“Which county detective?”
“Triney.”
“How is Triney? I’ll have to tell you about him sometime.”
Inside of ten minutes, she was at Chip’s front door. He held her tightly for a moment. “You’ve really been through it. Were you ever in danger?”
“Abby Olin had just killed a man and then pointed her still smoking .38 revolver at me. Does that count? Fortunately, killing me wasn’t part of her plan. After the excitement of the police arriving and all, I’m exhausted.
”You’ll have to tell me the entire story sometime. How’d Triney treat you? Did you win him over in the first two minutes, or did it take five?” She headed for the bedroom. He followed her. “You want a drink or something?”
“I want sleep.” She began to undress. She kicked her shoes off. “Triney seemed okay. Should I not like him?”
“You know, years ago he had a football scholarship up at Florida State. Got kicked off the team in some campus-wide cheating scandal. No more scholarship and that meant no money to finish school. Tough deal for a black kid trying to be the first in his family to go to college.”
He watched as she shook off her top and pulled off her jeans. She sat on the edge of the bed in her underwear, rubbing her feet.
“So he overcame all that?”
“Here let me do that.” He knelt down in front of her and began massaging her feet and ankles. “Now he speaks to youth groups around South Florida about learning a tough lesson, ethics versus youthful exuberance, and that sort of stuff.”
“Oh God, that feels great.” She leaned back on the bed. “So he’s one of the good guys.”
“Did you hear your old nemesis Moran has a call out for you?”
“God save us all from state attorneys. What does Little Bonaparte want?”
“You were just involved in a shooting. He wants to hassle you about it, of course. You should wait until Jerry Kagan can go with you.”
“I don’t need help from my attorney. I haven’t done anything.”
“I never thought I’d hear such a statement coming from a potential lawyer. You’d never give such advice to anyone facing a state prosecutor.” He kneaded the bottoms of her feet with his fingers. “Get undressed. I’ll give you a massage.”
“Oh, no. You don’t know the difference between a massage and foreplay.”
“No, you said you wanted sleep. That’s fine with me.”
“Okay...but I’m staying on my stomach. Just do my legs...my thighs.” She slipped off the underwear and stretched out face down on the cool sheet. She let out a loud sigh. “Oh...I could fall asleep...just like this.”
He began kneading her thighs slowly. Stroking deeply up and down each leg. He lifted each leg slightly to press his fingers and knuckles in the strong muscles of her calves. Followed by long continuous strokes down the back of each leg with both hands from her upper thighs to the bottoms of her feet. Without breaking contact, he rubbed gently along the insides of her thighs.
“Spread your legs.”
“Now there’s a phrase a woman doesn’t hear every day,” she mumbled.
“Just so I can do it better.”
“My legs are fine just as they are, thank you very much. You can stop now. It did the job. I’m relaxed and can fall asleep.”
“I’ll let you sleep now...wait a second.” He went to the armoire and brought back one of his T-shirts. “Here sleep in this. Goodnight, Honey, I’ll sleep in the other room so I don’t disturb you.”
“No, I want to know you’re beside me. That’s why I’m here. I’d say hold me, but I’m not that bad off. Just a bit shaken.”
She put on the T-shirt, rolled away from him, and curled up. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Then she raised her head, looked back at him, and gave him a smile. “We’ll have a sunrise serenade.”
“Can’t, I have to go in early tomorrow. Anyway, I don’t expect to be repaid for my massage service.”
“Yes, you do. How about this, after your morning shower come in and nudge me.”
“I won’t have time.”
“You’ll take time for this. I’ll be fast.”
“Oh...that’s different. We could make it part of our every-morning routine. Like morning coffee.”
“Forget about that.”
“Maybe you’ll like it.”
