Three For The Road. Shannon Waverly
He wasn’t sure why he asked, except that she was the source of that irritation.
The policeman grimaced. “Not too happy. Friend of yours?”
Pete cocked an eyebrow.
The officer laughed. “Didn’t think so. She asked for tea this morning. Earl Gray, to be exact. With honey and lemon. That was after she insisted someone go feed her cat.”
Pete shook his head, lips pressed tight to show he commiserated with the young man.
“Were you able to tow her RV?”
“Yep. It’s at Bernie’s, too.”
“Is it going to be laid up long?” Somehow, the thought of her spending any significant time in this town, with Sonny on the loose, made Pete uneasy.
“Naw. Nothing wrong with it. She just got it stuck in a ditch.”
Pete sipped his coffee, keeping his eyes down and his thoughts to himself. They weren’t kind. They weren’t too politically correct, either.
“Well, you go ahead and finish eating. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
The young officer was closing the door when Pete said, “So, did you get it for her? The Earl Gray, I mean?”
The officer’s mouth twitched. “What do you think?”
“I think... I’m glad I won’t be seeing her after today.”
The lock slid shut to the sound of the officer’s laughter. Then he said, “Hey, Sonny, rise and shine. Billy, get up, let’s go.”
* * *
THE DISTRICT COURTHOUSE was a three-minute cruiser ride from the police station. Mary Elizabeth was sitting with her police escort in the second row of folding chairs, chewing on her lower lip and wondering how her cat was, when the stranger from the night before walked in. Her whole body seemed to rise a little when he did.
She’d been waiting for him to make an appearance. The previous night, lying sleepless in her cell, she’d thought a lot about what he’d done for her, coming to her defense the way he had. It was enough to make the most hardened cynic have faith in mankind again. Yet she hadn’t even had a chance to thank him.
She was reluctant to admit it, but there was another reason she’d been keeping an eye out for his arrival. She just wanted to get another look at him. Even last night, under the most stressful conditions, his looks had been distracting enough for her to take notice.
He walked with his police attendant down the aisle that divided the seats. When he got to Mary Elizabeth’s row, he paused, his steely blue eyes meeting hers as if perhaps he’d been curious about her, too, this person he’d risked life and limb for. He didn’t look any happier now than he had last night.
She knew she looked awful. She was frightened and embarrassed, and had been that way all night. Now her eyes were bleary and her skin was dull. Her clothes had seen better times, too. Instinctively, she ran her shackled hands along her linen walking shorts in a futile attempt to iron out the wrinkles.
But if she looked bad, the dark-haired stranger looked even worse. Noticing his bruises, her expression crumpled. I’m sorry, she wanted to say, and hoped her eyes conveyed the message.
If they did, her apology fell on stone. He merely scowled and turned his head.
Another time, another place, perhaps she wouldn’t have minded. But here, today, it would’ve been nice to have a friend. She felt rather out of her element. Never having been arrested before, she didn’t know what she was doing.
She’d thought of hiring a lawyer but had been told it wasn’t necessary; her case was too small. Which was just as well since she couldn’t afford a lawyer, anyway. Still, she felt vulnerable without defense, helpless without someone to negotiate this unfamiliar system with her.
What if she was found guilty? She’d have a criminal record then. What would that do to her future? To her chances of getting a job? Decent housing? And what if Charles found out? He’d never let her live it down.
With hands that shook visibly, she pressed at the wrinkled linen again as if doing so would iron away those problems. When her hands reached her knees, she surreptitiously tugged up her saggy tights. Just as surreptitiously, she glanced at the tall, loose-limbed stranger, slouched in his chair across the aisle.
He looked so calm, so capable and impregnable to injustice. She’d bet he would never allow anyone to pin a guilty verdict on him if he was innocent. Maybe she should take her cue from him. Maybe the time had come for her to accept that she was truly on her own and no one was going to watch out for her but herself.
Pulling in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and waited for her case to be called.
“Who’s the judge today?” Pete asked the policeman sitting beside him.
“Gertrude Collins.”
“Collins,” Pete repeated. He sank lower in his seat, giving Mary Elizabeth a dark sidelong look. Nothing had gone right since running into that woman.
She was called first. Pete watched her walk up to the bench, her spine straight as a poker, her mouth tight with righteous indignation. Her charges were read and then the judge asked how she pleaded.
Lifting her chin, but not so high that her invisible crown slipped off her head, she said, “Not guilty.” Pete exhaled a long breath through his teeth.
He watched the judge confer with her and the police prosecutor—explaining the options, he guessed. Cases as small as theirs were usually taken care of immediately and on the spot. Court dockets were too overloaded to make a production out of every case that came through. Besides, she was obviously guilty—they all were—and six policemen and a bar full of witnesses could testify to that fact.
But after a long deliberation, she still insisted she wanted to fight the charges. Pete heard the officer beside him sigh. He saw the judge sigh. Three people in front of him looked at their watches.
“Could I have the other defendants in this case?” The judge motioned for Mary Elizabeth to stay.
Pete was escorted up to the front of the courtroom, with Sonny and Billy close behind. Sonny and Billy were greatly subdued this morning. They stood before the judge as docile as lambs, like Pete, knowing that cooperation was the name of the game here, the key to getting out quickly.
Their charges were read: property damage, public intoxication, and assault and battery with dangerous weapons—the weapons being the broken bottle Sonny had wielded and the chair used by Pete. After spending a few minutes plea bargaining with the police prosecutor, who in turn conferred with the judge, they were each found guilty of simple assault and fined one hundred and fifty dollars. They paid their fines, along with the towing charges for their vehicles, and were told they were free to go.
The judge then looked at Mary Elizabeth, her expression seeming to say, Got the picture?
Mary Elizabeth swallowed.
Sonny and his buddy took off as soon as their fines were paid. Pete was pocketing his wallet and thinking of doing the same when Mary Elizabeth turned her eyes on him. He’d noticed they were an unusual shade of warm coffee-brown, and right now they were very large and very lost.
He tried to look away. He didn’t like her kind, he told himself. He’d dated a few princesses in his day and found them dull and patronizing. The dull part he could excuse...
Still, there was a bruised look in those eyes that appeared too real, a vulnerability he never would’ve associated with her.
He caught himself up short, just as he was sliding into sympathy. Aw, no. He wasn’t going to fall for that trap again. That’s the way things had started with Cindy. He gave his shoulders a flexing roll and set off for the door.
But halfway there he paused. Behind him, Mary Elizabeth was asking the judge to clarify