Page 55 of Love & Other Disasters

“I don’t think they care about us, Vi,” she whispered. “The only things that detective asked me after you left was about Geoff and The Order.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, he asked about their operations and the farm. How many people live there, names, and what their schedule is like. He asked me to draw a layout of the house and the other buildings on the property.”

Then Violet recalled the random van sitting on the side of the road. That wasn’t a broken down vehicle but a police surveillance van? The authorities had surveillance on the property. That’s why the officers were at the car without their flashing lights. They’d stumbled into an investigation on The Order.

“What is it about you?” Violet yelled. “Do you date the worst men you can find on purpose?”

“God, why do you always have to be such a stick in the mud?” Jill poked Violet’s shoulder.

Violet slapped Jill’s hand away, a fire burning her chest, her exhaustion disappearing, and she hit Jill again. Then they were rapid fire smacking each other’s arms like two battling kangaroos. The man in the other cell yelled. Hands grabbed her from behind and planted her face first against the cell bars. Office Lanky yelled instructions peppered with a few expletives for her to calm down. Handcuffs tightened around her wrists.

J.P. rinsed out the razor and dried off his face, yawning. With another exhausting day ahead, he looked forward to seeing Violet. Although at work, they ignored their personal relationship. His days became about putting out one fire after another. Seeing her across the room made him smile. But if it came down to it, he wasn’t sure he could terminate her employment first. Her potential nudity coerced his promise. But, in the event he broke his promise, that likely wouldn’t help him.

The cell phone rang on his dresser. He expected the call to be from his mom, but the number on the screen was unfamiliar. He almost didn’t answer, but what if it was the lawyer, or even Melvin?

“J.P. it's Jill Murphy, Violet's sister. We kinda need your help."

Her voice sent warning bells off in his brain. “What’s wrong, Jill?”

“Well, we kinda, accidentally got arrested… Can you come get us?”

“Whose us?” If it were her and Geoff, there’s no way.

“Me and Vi.”

“Where’s Violet? I want to talk to her.” His nerves ratcheted up a notch every time she spoke.

“She’s curled up in a ball crying and can’t come to the phone right now.”

He swore. If something happened, he needed to help. “Where are you two?”

“I don’t know, hold on.” Her voice asked someone their whereabouts. “Okay, we’re in McEwen. Hang on he’s giving me the address.”

J.P. jotted down what she said. He barely knew his way around Nashville. He had zero idea of where McEwen was, but he put the address into the phone GPS app watching it calculate the route. He wasn’t making it to work soon. Fine by him, the need to get to Violet was stronger than anything he’d ever experienced. If them getting arrested had anything to do with Geoff, and he bet it did, he’d beat the shit out of Geoff if given another chance.

An hour later, he pulled up to the unassuming, small red brick building and located the side door marked police department. What the hell were Violet and Jill doing out here in the middle of nowhere?

He entered the doors to a small front desk area and behind that a room with six desks crammed together. Across the open room, Jill and Violet sat handcuffed to benches on opposite walls. Both women slouched; neither of them noticed him.

“May I help you,” a police officer approached.

“I’m here for the Murphy sisters.”

“Ah, the boyfriend,” he said.

Did Violet call him her boyfriend? But that’s what Jill already thought.

“Why are they handcuffed to benches?”

“They wouldn’t stop hitting and kicking each other,” he said. “I didn’t have room in the holding tank to separate them, and I didn’t have the heart to handcuff them to the bars.” The officer, his name tag read, Young, waived at another guy and pointed to the ladies.

“What’s the bail?” he asked, hoping he’d brought enough cash.

Officer Young shook his head, “No bail. We picked them up for questioning.”

Questioning about what? He didn’t ask, Violet was on her way across the police station, covered from head to toe in dried mud.

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