View Park. Angela Winters
already on his last nerve thanks to Haley. He was willing to forgive the fact that Steven somehow got his father to delay this interview for three days, even though he knew it was going to hurt his case. He was willing to forgive that he had to come to the Chase mansion to do the interview instead of her coming down to the station like everyone else. What he wouldn’t forgive was Haley’s attitude and the fact that her mother encouraged her self-pity by wrapping her arms around her like she was a helpless baby. Only Steven seemed to put forth any attempt at cooperation.
“I can’t remember!” Haley slammed her cup of coffee on the table. What did these people want from her?
“I’m not asking you to remember exactly,” Sean said. “Just estimate how far away the boat was or what you could see of their faces through the binoculars.”
“I couldn’t see their faces at all.” She smirked. “See there, I helped you.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Sean met Janet’s angry glare with one of his own. He didn’t care if he made her angry. Neither Janet nor the princess understood what was really going on here.
“She’s doing the best she can,” Janet argued.
“She’s gonna have to do better,” Steven said.
Haley glared up at her father, certain this man hated her. Maybe it was Leigh’s return that had turned him so cold to her these past few days. He seemed impatient and unresponsive, but she wasn’t going to let him get to her. She turned back to Sean. “I’ve told you all I know. Why aren’t you asking Jack? He was there, too.”
Sean wanted to strangle her. “You had to have seen something, like a design on the boat or outstanding physical characteristics of the shooter.”
Haley felt her mother squeeze her hand and it urged her to try to play along. “I think they were white, but they could’ve been Latino. It was hard to tell. That’s it. I don’t remember anything about the boat.”
“We’re going to bring you a book and we’ll need you to see if you recognize any of the boats.”
Haley leaned forward with fire in her eyes. “Aren’t you listening to me? I didn’t pay attention to the damn boat.”
Sean refused to even blink. He had dealt with murderers, rapists and thieves. He wasn’t going to let a spoiled brat make him lose control.
“Haley, calm down.” Steven leaned forward, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged away.
“I’m through here.” Haley got up and began walking away. Let the detective deal with that.
“Haley,” Steven called after her. “Get back here right now!”
Haley turned around. “Don’t yell at me!”
Steven didn’t hold back. “He’s only trying to help you!”
“They’re trying to scare me!” Haley pointed at Jason, one of the goons her father had following her around everywhere standing in the corner. “I don’t need him or the police stalking me. And I certainly don’t need your fake attention, Daddy.”
“Haley.” Janet’s tone was harsh for the first time that morning.
“No, Mom. He doesn’t need to bother with me. His favorite daughter is home now.”
As she stormed out of the room, Sean threw his hands in the air. It was like watching a freaking soap opera. “Mr. Chase, we can’t help protect her if she’s going to be—”
“A spoiled brat?” Janet asked, standing. “That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?”
Sean chose not to respond. He was more interested in the large man who had been standing in the corner and was now leaving to follow Haley. He was at least two hundred fifty pounds with a neck the size of a normal man’s thigh. Sean had a sense about him. It was how he had gotten so far in his career, faster than anyone in the history of the Los Angeles county police. When something wasn’t right, it just wasn’t.
“Hold on, Jason.” Steven waved the man back and introduced him to Sean as one of the two bodyguards he hired for Haley from the Attaché security agency.
Sean gave the man an icy greeting who returned it likewise. He waited until he was out of the room before questioning Steven on the choice.
“We’ve used the Attaché company for myself a few times.” Steven appreciated the young detective’s concern, but he shouldn’t assume a man like himself hadn’t done all the necessary research. “They’ve been here since Sunday and they’re doing a good job.”
“How many people know about them?” Sean asked.
“My husband knows what he’s doing.” Janet was on edge and needed a Valium. “Are you finished here?”
“Things have changed a little.” Knowing this moment would come eventually didn’t make it any easier for Sean. “The department did everything it could to keep this a secret, but—”
Janet gasped. “Oh, dear God.”
She had allowed the few days passing to give her hope, but she was asking for too much. As Sean showed her the rolled up issue of South L.A. magazine she squinted as if it was the glaring sun. It was worse. It was a picture of a wet Haley getting out of the back of a squad car in front of the police station with Congressman Flay clearly visible right behind her. Big bold letters atop read: “Another Chase Scandal!”
In seconds, Steven was in Sean’s face, bearing down on him. “I thought I discussed this with your father.”
Sean stood strong against the formidable man even though his stomach was tightening. “Sir, the chief of police made sure information on the incident was sealed. The article just speculates based on the photo.”
“So what does this mean?” Janet asked.
“It means,” Sean began, pulling himself together after Steven finally backed down, “that whoever went after Haley and Jack last Saturday, is probably checking around to see who is saying what. This might give them some ideas.”
Janet and Steven looked at each other, able to speak without words after so many years together. Steven reached for her, wrapping his arm around her and squeezing tight. She had to know he would never, ever let anything happen to their baby.
Sean suddenly felt as if he didn’t belong in this scene anymore. “Can I check Haley’s room?”
“Take a left at the top of the stairs,” Steven answered. “It’s at the end of the hallway.”
Leigh nodded to the detective as he left the room. She stayed at the edge, staring at her parents as they held each other. With so much to doubt in the world, the strength of her parents’ marriage and love for each other had never been one of them and it was the foundation for everything Leigh believed in. Strong black love. It was what kept her strong when she had been immersed in so much suffering the last year.
She didn’t want to interrupt them, but she needed to reach out to them. She had been doing everything she could to lay the groundwork these past few days, trying to build up her confidence. Looking after Haley had distracted her a bit, but she was clearly on course for her goal. This was the next inevitable step and from the looks of things, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
She cleared her throat, entering the living room. “What’s going on?”
“We have everything under control,” Steven said. “It’s going to be all right.”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what I plan to do now that I’m back.”
Janet was grateful for some good news. “You don’t have to pick the practice you want to join yet. We know you’ll make the right choice.”
Leigh produced a weak smile. “I hope you mean that.”
Janet’s