even a scratch!” he kept yelling. He was too distressed to hear the explanation from the doctor that the impact with the tree caused massive internal bleeding and there wasn’t anything that could be done for her.
Later that night, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, along with vehicular manslaughter. The nightmare had begun.
Chapter 30
The sound of Lisa’s scream woke Noah from the nightmare. He spotted a pair of headlights following too close behind him. He was in no mood for such a trivial annoyance on
As Samerauk Bridge came into his field of vision, lights flashed behind him.
“Cop?” Noah muttered, unable to think of any violation he might have committed. In his brasher days he would have made a run for it. But he cooperated, pulling off to the side of the road just before the bridge.
Noah took a glance into his rear-view mirror. He recognized Kyle Jones exiting the cruiser and walking slowly toward the Jeep. Jones was known to have a special dislike for drunk drivers, which had put Noah in his crosshairs. He’d heard rumors about Jones planting evidence and doctoring Breathalyzers. It wasn’t their first encounter, but he had a bad feeling about this one.
Noah rolled down his window, and a gust of wind blew through the Jeep. “Can I help you, officer?”
Jones smiled, but didn’t look happy. “Please step out of the vehicle, Mr. Warner.”
Noah began to argue, “I wasn’t doing anything wrong, Jones. I don’t…”
The officer took matters into his own hands. He opened the door, and in one fluid motion, grabbed Noah by his jacket and tossed him to the ground.
When Noah tried to get to his feet, Jones took his nightstick and pounded it into his knee. Noah collapsed back to the ground in agony.
Jones pounced on top of him, pushing his face into the pavement. He forcefully twisted Noah’s arms behind him and handcuffed him. He pulled him to his feet, pushing him face-first against the hood of the car, and grinding his nose into the still-warm metal.
“What the hell are you doing, Jones?”
The officer remained calm, almost trance-like. “You are under the arrest for the murder of Lisa Spargo.”
Noah had watched enough TV to know you couldn’t be charged for the same crime twice. He tried to reason with him.
Jones would hear none of it, again jamming Noah’s face into the hood of the car.
“You took an innocent life, Mr. Warner, and now you must pay with your own.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m crazy?” he repeated with condemnation. “Crazy is murderers like yourself being allowed to drive the streets.”
“You will never get away with this,” Noah shouted as loud as he could. The only response was his voice echoing back at him.
Jones’ expression never changed. “I remove the evildoers one at a time. If they couldn’t connect me to the death of Senator Kingsbury, with every law enforcement official in this country working on it, I truly doubt I’ll be connected to the suicide of a small-time punk like yourself.” His nightstick landed another blow to Noah’s back with a hollow thud.
Noah gritted his teeth. Only the intense pain distracted him from grasping Jones’ insane claim of killing a US senator. “My brother will never let you get away with this.”
Jones laughed condescendingly. “JP Warner is too wrapped up in his own vanity. He will only be concerned how good he looks in the suit he wears to your funeral.”
“He will know I didn’t kill myself.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you attempted to take your own life. The way I see it, on the anniversary of your murderous act, and ravaged by guilt, you couldn’t bear to live another day without your beloved Lisa. And this year you found the guts to go through with it.”
The mention of Lisa’s name shot a warm energy through him. Noah wanted to live. He kicked his leg back like a mule, knocking Jones to the ground. He began running away over the bridge, his hands still cuffed behind his back.
Chapter 31
With Tommy present, Gwen and I remained on our best behavior. We weren’t exactly swapping old stories and falling into uncontrollable laughter, but she hadn’t shoved me to the ground in over an hour, so I considered that progress. But a tense awkwardness still hung in the air. There was too much clutter between us to let down our shields-hurt feelings or wounded pride could surface at any moment.
As nightfall arrived, Gwen dropped Tommy off with his father. Despite having been briefed, I was still surprised at how frail Mr. Delaney looked. I remembered him as the strapping carpenter with the year-round tan from working outside, muscles bulging everywhere. I always wanted to be Mr. Delaney when I grew up. Maybe I still did.
He greeted me like the long lost son and told me how happy that Gwen had finally got rid of the old guy with the funny French name, so that his daughter and me could rightfully be together once again. He didn’t actually say that, but he did give me a warm greeting.
Gwen kissed her father goodbye, and I’m pretty sure I heard her whisper in his ear, “Don’t get your hopes up, Dad, it’s not gonna happen.”
Without Tommy’s presence, Gwen and I returned to silence.
Silence has never been my thing, so I broke it, “I missed this.”
“This?”
“The whole thing-the town, the people, the atmosphere.”
“The smell of cows?”
“I missed
I caught her blushing, but she quickly covered it with the stony look of ambivalence. “What do you want?”
I was still surprised I said it. I didn’t mean to, but my mouth always had a mind of its own. “What do you mean? I thought it was a simple statement.”
“Everything you do is scripted, so obviously you said that because you want something.”
When my critics called me scripted and self-serving, I always brushed it off. But coming from Gwen, it felt like a gut-punch. It was like the girl from Columbia all over again … only worse.
I covered the hurt with a grin. “What I want Gwen, is to win you a stuffed animal for old times sake. I’ll bet Policeman Kyle never won you a stuffed animal at the fair.”
Gwen took a deep breath, before turning to face me. She displayed the look of a doctor who was about to deliver life-shattering news to a patient.
“Listen, JP, this was fun and all tonight. And I’ll even admit it brought back some good memories. But I must be going-Sunday is my big day at the paper.”
She tried to shake my hand. When I refused, she gave me a “your loss” shrug, and said, “Take care, JP. And when you make your next trip to East Dangerous, please try not to get yourself killed. It was actually good to see you again.”
She walked away. But she wasn’t walking out of his life again without a fight. “Do you want to know what I really want, Gwen?”
“You had your chance,” she said, her step never slowing.
“I want a job.”
“That I can’t help you with.”
