Page 84 of Deathmarch
Harper trusted Joe to get the job done, but he was still frustrated when he walked into the interview room half an hour later, having emailed all his notes to Captain Bing. Hopefully, he was between training sessions. He was good friends with one of the judges in West Chester, and if he sent the warrant request, it tended to be approved at double speed.
“What is it, Brittany?”
Her always-spotless makeup was ravaged by tears. “You have to promise not to be mad at me.”
He gripped the back of a chair, too wired to sit. “All right. Talk.”
She swallowed and dropped her hands onto her lap, lowered her gaze. Mumbled. “I drove the black SUV the night of Allie’s stupid performance at the Historical Society.”
Harper leaned forward. “What did you say?”
She looked up, her eyes begging. “I think she came back here for you. I saw her at Finnegan’s on Monday. She’s trying to get you back, Harper.”
That ephemeral thought Harper had been chasing clicked in his brain, and he cursed himself for it not clicking sooner. Jason Allen, the guy whose SUV was “borrowed” that night, was visiting his grandparents who lived next to Brittany’s parents. “Of all the idiotic…”
“You promised you wouldn’t be mad! I didn’t plan it, all right? Dad confiscated my keys because Kennan told him I drove drunk Monday night. And the SUV in the driveway next door wasn’t locked. I just wanted to hang with Zoey for an hour. Nobody would even have known I borrowed the car. But then I saw you walk Allie to the B and B. And you didn’t go in with her, but then she ran back out for you, the little conniving…”
She trailed off at Harper’s hard look, continuing with “And I just—I wanted to scare her so she’d freaking leave already!”
Harper was gripping the back of the chair hard enough so he wouldn’t have been surprised if his fingertips left imprints. He relaxed his muscles and drew a deep breath. “One of these days, Britt, somebody is going to have to have a serious discussion with you about you getting your act together and maybe becoming a decent human being. But I can’t be that man today. I don’t have the time. Do you have your phone?”
She nodded.
“Call your father and tell him to call his lawyer.”
“But I didn’t mean to hit her! And I came to tell you because, see? No need for her to live with you. She’s in no danger from anyone. I only hit her by accident, and I won’t do it again. I swear. She’s safe. She can move back to the B and B. Or move along.” Brittany offered a tremulous smile as she reached for him. “I apologize. So now you have to forgive me, right?”
He stepped back. “Not how criminal law works.”
“Maybe Daddy could talk to Captain Bing?” She finally reached for her phone. “Will you stay with me until he gets here with the lawyer?”
“I don’t have any time for hand-holding. I’m investigating a murder. Ready or not, looks like today is the day you’re going to have to grow up, Brittany.”
* * *
“I guess some people never change,” Allie told Harper over the phone, halfway down the stairs. Her head had been hurting half the night, so she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. She was desperate for another cup of coffee. “I’m glad to know who it was since I’m moving back to the B and B today.”
“No.”
“Isn’t it a shame I don’t take orders?” Not even from a man who could make her go cross-eyed with a kiss.Especiallynot from a man who could make her go cross-eyed with a kiss. “My ankle is better, and now we know Zane isn’t stalking me.”
She gripped the railing and went slowly, one step at a time, down the stairs. She managed. Putting weight on her ankle didn’t pain her nearly as much as it had right after the accident. Her hobbling progress made her feel oddly exhilarated. “You realize I haven’t been out of your apartment since Thursday night? I’m starting to have cabin fever.”
“I’m going to arrest Brittany,” he sounded pained, “after the official recorded interview I’ll conduct once her lawyer is present, but she’ll be bailed out immediately.”
“That’s fine. I’m not scared of her.”
“You should file a restraining order, regardless. And while you’re at it, we’ll file one against Zane too.” He paused. “Why are you not mad at Brittany?”
“I am. But at the same time… She’s stuck in her high-school-mean-girl phase. My life is fine, despite a couple of recent setbacks. What is her life going to be if she keeps this up?”
Allie made it to the bottom of the stairs and out the door without trouble. She just needed to walk around to the front. Most important thing was not to slip.
Only a handful of cars sat in the lot, including a brown bread-delivery truck advertising Italian loaves and French baguettes on the side. She stopped for a second to lean against the building, turn her face to the winter sun, and just breathe some fresh, nippy air, telling Harper, “She was a bully ten years ago. She’s still a bully. And now she’ll have an arrest record. I wish she had just one person in her life who would have a serious talk with her.”
“She’s going to have that talk today. I’ve never seen this side of her.”
“Yeah. I can guess which side of her you saw.” Allie hobbled forward. “Anyway, I’ll think about the restraining orders. But I really think it’s safe for me to move back to Shannon’s.”
