If Angel was bothered by the question, she didn’t show it. Instead she happily munched on her sandwich and waited until she was done swallowing to answer. “Drunk driving. It was absolutely stupid ... and reckless ... and I don’t know what I was thinking.” She shook her head. “I was at a party and I made the mistake of having more than I should have. I could’ve called an Uber — which is totally what I should’ve done — but I was so drunk that I thought I was fine. Has that ever happened to you?”
“Honestly, no.” Ivy sent Angel a rueful smile. “I’ve never been much of a drinker. If it’s any consolation, I can see that happening, though.”
“Well, it was moronic. I should’ve just Ubered to the party and then Ubered back. Instead, I went to the party, convinced myself that I would just have one drink, and completely fell off the rails. I had no business on the road.”
Ivy decided to adopt a philosophical approach. “At least you realize that now.” She hesitated and then barreled forward. “Was anybody hurt?”
Angel shook her head. “No. I got really lucky. I barely made it three blocks before the cops stopped me. I know it sounds weird, but I’m actually glad I was caught. It was a wake-up call of sorts. I can guarantee I’ll never do that again.”
Ivy was relieved to hear it. “That’s good.”
Angel took a moment to study the woman beside her. Ivy was striking, high cheekbones and a full set of pouty lips setting off a beautiful face. Her hair was long and brown, pink highlights setting it off, and she resembled a model more than a chain gang member ... at least by Angel’s way of thinking. “What did you do?” She almost looked nervous about asking the question, which made Ivy believe she’d heard the same set of advice that had made her antsy before starting off with the group.
“I broke into a woman’s house,” Ivy replied, focusing on her green capri pants. She’d given a lot of thought to how she was going to respond should the question be asked and she opted for the truth. “There was a woman tied up inside, and instead of calling the police to rescue her, I broke in and set her free myself.”
Angel was scandalized. “You got busted for that?”
Ivy held out her hands and shrugged. “I broke the law.”
“But ... you saved a woman’s life.”
That was the argument Ivy made when she was trying to keep from getting punished. Unfortunately for her, in order for Jack’s case to remain on track for prosecution, she had to take her licks. Since a murderous woman with mental problems would be free to roam the streets if she didn’t accept her punishment, Ivy had knuckled down ... and felt sorry for herself ever since. She didn’t want to admit she was feeling put upon, but it was written all over her face whenever Jack took a moment to make sure she was okay.
“That is just ... so wrong.” Angel shook her head and then, to Ivy’s surprise, snapped her fingers to get the attention of two women who were sitting on the ground about seven feet away. “Did you guys hear why this chick is here?” She jerked her thumb in Ivy’s direction. “She actually saved a woman who was being held captive and got punished for it.”
The older of the two women on the ground didn’t look surprised. “No good deed goes unpunished,” she intoned, shaking her head. She had pretzels she was munching on as she thoughtfully studied Ivy’s face. “Wait. I think I read about some of this in the newspaper. This was in Shadow Lake, right?”
Ivy nodded. “Yeah. It was all over the newspapers.”
“That totally sucks.” The woman raised her fist into the air. “Don’t ever let ‘The Man’ keep you down.”
“Don’t get excited, Betsy,” Greg called out. His back was toward the woman, but he was obviously aware something was happening. “You know what happens when you get excited.”
“Yes, small children scream and shout,” the other woman called out. She looked to be in her thirties and was more blasé about the entire thing. “Perhaps we’re fine with that because we don’t like small children, Greg. Have you ever considered that?”
“It’s Mr. Decker to you, Alison,” he yelled back. “We’re not friends. I’m your boss.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Alison rolled her eyes. “Have I mentioned how much I love community service?”
Ivy pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing. She didn’t figure jocularity was a good look when she was supposed to be repaying her debt to society. Still, she found she instinctively liked the women ... even if Jack repeatedly warned her it was a bad idea to get close to people serving with her.
“This is Alison Bertrand,” Angel offered by way of introduction. “She’s here for credit card fraud.”
“I got two credit cards in my mother’s name to help her pay her bills after she was injured in a car accident,” Alison explained. “She got mad when she found out what I did and reported me so she wouldn’t have to repay the bills ... even though I was already paying the bills.”
Ivy hesitated. “That’s ... awful. I’m so sorry.”
Alison shrugged. “What are you going to do? My mother says she thinks this will help me build character. She thinks I need to learn values. Honestly, the only thing I’ve learned from this is that next time I’m going to let her lose her house.”
“I can see that.” Ivy flashed a smile even though she was determined to keep a straight face throughout. “That really sucks. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“You and me both.” Alison dug in her lunch bag and pulled
