Page 37 of Bad Seed

She thought of all the fine food she’d had from room service, as well as the fine food she’d rejected, then sat down and ate without tasting, refusing to cry. Refusing to feel sorry for herself. Instead, letting all of that fuel her rage. Justine accepted that she’d never finished what she started, but all that was about to change. Before she died, she would make her parents pay—and maybe she’d add Brendan Pope to that list. If he hadn’t been so mean, none of this would have ever happened.

Hours later, she was on her bunk, lying on her back and watching the second hand sweep around the face of the clock on the wall across from her cell. She’d watched every minute pass for the last five hours while playing out payback scenarios in her head, when she heard the jailer’s keys jingling.

She sat up as the door opened. The jailer and the police chief walked in. She watched them approach without moving. Staying silent. Waiting to find out what kind of hole they were going to drop her in when the jailer unlocked her cell. Suddenly, the chief was standing between her and freedom.

“Your mother is here,” he said. “The fines and cost of damage you incurred have been paid. It does notprevent anyone you injured from suing you personally, but in the eyes of the law, you are free to go.”

Justine was shocked. Her mother had come through! She swung her legs off the bunk and stood, then walked beside the chief all the way to the lobby without speaking. They stopped at the front desk, watching as the desk sergeant returned her personal belongings.

She went through her purse, checking the contents. Makeup, a couple of condom packets, a maxed-out credit card, and no cash. She opened the big paper bag they’d given her and pulled out the white faux fur jacket she’d taken off in the bar, then put it back on and signed the receipt sheet.

“Is that it?” she asked.

Chief Warren nodded. “Yes, ma’am. That is all.”

Justine slung her purse over her shoulder and walked out into the cold mountain air.

The moment Karen saw Justine exit the station, she started crying, jumped out of the car, and opened her arms to hug her. Justine stood within her mother’s embrace without responding.

“Oh, honey! Bless your heart! It’s cold out here. Let’s get into the car where it’s warm,” she said.

Justine slid into the passenger seat and went into attack mode, pitching her voice to something between a pitiful whine and unforgivable accusation.

“You both left me in jail. You didn’t show up for court. I thought you didn’t have the money,” Justine said.

Karen blinked as her empathy faded.

“Where the hell is my ‘Thank you, Mommy’? It takes a hell of a long time to drive from Dallas to here. You’re the one who was bawling and begging when you called, telling me you didn’t know when you’d be arraigned, which means neither did I. I got here as fast as I could…and you’re right. I didn’t have the money to pay for this ridiculous mess you made. But your father did, and I just traded three months of my alimony…the money I live on…so that your father would give it all to me now in one lump sum. I just got you out of jail with my rent and food money, you ungrateful little bitch.”

Justine shrugged, quickly reassessing her attitude. She didn’t want to be kicked out of both parents’ homes.

“Sorry. I’m going to have PTSD from that jail.”

“It won’t compare to the PTSD you have given your father and me for the last ten years. Stop making everyone else at fault. You’re the one who’s responsible. And as usual, you’re also not the one paying to fix it.”

Karen started the car and began backing up, and then as soon as she could, made a turn and headed toward the highway.

“Wait! Where are we going?” Justine asked.

“Dallas,” Karen said.

“I need my things! All my clothes!” Justine cried.

“They’re in the trunk. Your father had them packed and waiting at the front desk. He is so done with you…with the both of us,” Karen said.

Justine glanced at her mother, saw the tears on hercheeks, and then looked away. It was going to be a long trip home, but at least she was getting out of this hillbilly town, once and for all.

***

Harley Banks had unpacked and was in the bathroom trying to do something with her hair. After she was satisfied most of the wild curls had been tamed, she peeled the wrapper from a fresh bar of soap and washed up, then opened the little bottle of hand lotion and rubbed some into her skin. It didn’t have much of a scent, but it served its purpose.

After that, she went straight to the computer, logged on with her new password, and made a quick check of all of the links on the site, then logged back out again. She needed to see the hotel in its entirety and what it had to offer before she began digging into the business side.

She reached for the hotel brochure, absently scanning the listed amenities, then studying the little map to locate the gym, hair salon, coffee bar, and gift shop, then how to get to the main dining area of the hotel.

One of the photos on the brochure was of a bathroom with luxurious amenities, even a close-up of the cute little woven basket containing extra soaps, small bottles of shampoo and hand lotion.

Harley glanced at it, and then paused and looked at it again. All of the comped toiletries in the photo hadthe distinctive Serenity Inn logo—pine trees and the image of a mountain on the label.

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