7. Casey
How couldI forget I’d seen someone get shot?
Had I seen that though? Wasn’t there a possible body bag? God, my head was all over the place. As I flipped through the pictures I’d uploaded to my laptop, my head started to hurt.
I rubbed my temples. Maybe looking at these while we drove to the Sheriff’s Office wasn’t a good idea. Maybe I was just getting car sick?
“What’s wrong?”
I think I saw some bad shit go down, but I’m not sure I wasn’t just hallucinating or something.”
“What do you think you saw? Are you remembering something you didn’t tell us about yesterday?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he navigated the small town traffic. My minivan was not as big as his Jeep, but driving a vehicle you aren’t used to can play with your head.
“Yes? Maybe?”
When the Sheriff’s Office came into sight, he relaxed. With us safe, parked in the lot, he turned in the seat to look at me.
“Close your eyes and think back to the beginning. You decided to climb that tree, to see over the wall. Start there. What did you see first? Do you have a picture to reference? Something that matches up with that memory?”
I let out a long breath, clearing my lungs, then I slowly inhaled. My eyes closed, and I followed his instructions.
“It’s easy to forget facts when your body and mind are stressed. You lost blood, the elements were toying with you. Don’t feel bad, okay, just try to remember back to that first moment.”
I replayed the events. The boxes being unloaded. The black bag. The fighting. The argument and the man pulling a gun. The flash of the bullet firing.
My eyes flew open as a gasp escaped me. “My God. He did shoot him.” Tears blurred my eyes. “How could I forget that? We need to alert someone!”
“Whoa. Hey. Deep breaths, baby. Calm your voice before you scare Penny. Okay. We’ll let the right people know. I promise.”
I looked back to where Penny sat, snoozing in her car seat. “It’s been three days!”
“Case, sweetheart, take a deep breath. You’re going to pass out if you don’t.”
“Fuck.”
My hands went over my face as I tried to get a grip on the emotions rolling through me right now. I was not proud that it took so long, but finally, I sat up fully, wiping my face.
“I’m sorry.”
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.” He leaned in and kissed me softly. His touch did help me calm down a little more. “If you’re ready, let’s go inside and give everyone a rundown of events.”
“You know, I’ve never had a FUBAR case before. Over two years, it’s been easy enough. Straight to the point, in and out. And this one…” I used my hands to mimic an explosion.
“Trust me when I tell you, we all have at least one. My last one, my guys and I watched a number of people be shot. Cars wrecked. It was a cluster fuck of epic proportions. It happens.”
Heading inside, I knew this was going to be a long afternoon. There was so much to go over.
I was right. A little over two hours had passed since coming in, and I was mentally exhausted. Drained. Just done for.
“I swear, I’m regretting taking this case so much.”
“I’m sure you are, but I’m not. I get to kick some ass now.”
A blonde woman walked in. She had on leather pants, a black tank top, and was all smiles.
“Stella, you’re as violent as ever,” Phoenix chuckled, coming in behind her.
“Pops, Casey, got some news.”
“What?” I sat up, scrubbing a hand over my face.
“I got a hit on two of the men you got pics of. Orson Cory and Jude Emerson.” He laid the pics out on the table. “They’re wanted for questioning on a robbery case in San Antonio. They’ve both got warrants for bail jumping in Dallas and?—”
“They’re wanted in three other states for similar charges.”
“We,” Phoenix started, “tracked them down to a house out off a rural road. They’ve got access to the National Park, so we have to play this right. If they get out into that, we could lose them.”
“What do we need to do?” the Sheriff asked, his arms resting on the table.
“Don’t get in my way,” Stella responded, grinning.
“You really are a scary woman.”
“Eh, I like being able to knock assholes off their high horses.” She shrugged. “Plus their rap sheets. They’re far from nice, decent men.”
“You could get hurt,” I said, sitting back in the chair.
“I could also get hit by a car crossing the street. Don’t worry, there’s a whole team of us. Trace and Chip will go in first; Phoenix, Tank, and I get to go in and play clean up.”
“I have the paperwork. We are a go for Cory and Emerson. This man…” Trace said, walking in and sliding a photo across the table. My hand went out as I got a look at it. “He’s the one pulling the strings. The house is in his name. He’s got a sheet as long as I am tall. According to what Derek found, he’s been out of jail for about five months. Looks like he’s up to his old ways.”
“Manny? What the fuck?”
“You know that man?”
I looked up, every eye was on me. My stomach churned as I watched Tripp’s features harden. He got to his feet, the chair pushing back to hit the wall.
“I’m going with you.”
“Uh, I don’t think so, hoss. You’re not licensed to work here.”
“No. Don’t.” I stood, leaning across the table to place my hand on his. “He’s not worth it.”
“I’m going. That bastard is mine.”
“Someone needs to tell me what’s happening here,” the Sheriff stated, standing.
I could feel the warm tears falling down my cheeks. If Tripp went after Manny, he’d—oh, I couldn’t even think about it.
“That piece of shit is the man that beat her, tortured her for years.”
I swallowed back a sob. “It’s over. I’ve not seen him since that last time. Please don’t do this.”
I wobbled; my ankle hurt too much for the way I was standing.
“What’s the list of charges?”
“They span back about nine years,” Phoenix said, his eyes scanning the paperwork before him. “Drugs. He spent time before a few judges on that charge. There are a few assault charges, all of which were dropped. The victims retracted their statements. They made a ‘mistake.’ We all know that means they scared them into silence.”
“He…” I fell back into the chair. Nine years. That meant he was like that while we were together. How did I not know? “Nine years?”
“Yeah.”
“How was I married to him and didn’t know any of that?”
“You were married to Garcia? Damn.”
“What? No. Manny Johnson. This man.”
“Yeah, him. That’s Emanuel Garcia.” Trace slid a paper across to me. It was a picture of his driver’s license. I looked at it then back to the people watching me.
“I was married to this man for four years. He traveled for work. Said his family was dead. He was an only child. We were married in a civil ceremony with only two witnesses.”
“When?”
“He’s been gone for three years. I have the signed divorce papers.”
“That makes him married to two different women under two different names. What a scumbag.”
How—how had any of this happened to me? Was I that clueless? A doormat for real.
God, what an embarrassment I must be. At least I got out when I did. But had he just let me go? That wasn’t like him. I hadn’t seen it before; I was just glad to be free.
I turned to look back at Tripp; he stood stock still, his body ready for a fight. I knew that look on his face. The set of his jaw. He was the reason he’d left me alone. The reason those divorce papers showed up so quickly.
As if I needed another reason to love him.
Love.
I stood, determined to get out of this room. It was hard to breathe. The room around me shifted, and everything went black.
The sharp odor under my nose had me sitting up.
“She’ll be fine.”
My eyes focused, and I watched the doctor, Shelby, digging in her bag.
“Welcome back. Do you have any pains? Aches of any kind? How’s your ankle? Your leg? Mind coming over to the office so I can check your stitches?”
“Um…what happened?”
“You scared ten years off my life, that’s what.” Tripp squeezed my hand. His warm lips pressed to my forehead seemed to wash away some of the worry swamping me.
“I was told you got some rather shocking news. I think that and maybe low blood sugar caused you to tumble over. Drink this bottle of juice.”
My head was spinning again. “Wait. What’s wrong with my stitches?” I looked down to find blood on my pants. “Aw shit. Is the universe out to get me this month or what?”
“You probably popped a stitch or two. Let’s go get you checked over, then I’m taking you and the baby home.”
“Penny! Where’s she?”
“Whoa, she’s okay. She’s in the other room with the deputies, playing with her blocks.”
“I still can’t believe the last half hour is real.” I met Tripp’s gaze.
“I know. The only thing to do now is to move forward. It will eventually be okay.”
“Right.” I let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Jesus, take the whole bag of dicks. I’m so over this shit.”
Shelby burst out laughing. “That’s a new one. Mind if I borrow it?”
“Oh,” I laughed softly, “No, not at all.”
“Come on, let’s get you to the doctor’s office.”
I didn’t know why I felt embarrassed by what had happened today, but there it was. That sinking feeling in my gut. Everyone was so nice, it made it worse.
I’d spent years with someone—I didn’t even know who he was. The man I knew—how could things go so wrong?
The trip from the Sheriff’s Office to the doctor’s office was a quick ride. Once in the room, Tripp helped me balance and get my pants off. Whoever invented yoga pants—genius.
Thankfully the damage was only a few busted stitches. Shelby got the pieces out and gave it a good once-over. Her frown had me sighing.
“Let me guess, that slight redness means infection?”
“You told me it felt fine and it wasn’t red,” Tripp admonished, scowling.
“And it was, but I did notice this morning that tiny spot right there.” I used my nail to point at it.
“I’m not sure it’s infected; it doesn’t feel hot, and you’re not running a fever, but I would like to remove the stitches there and reopen that spot.”
“Is that going to hurt her?”
Tripp’s overprotectiveness warmed my heart. I reached out and took his hand with mine. He instantly interlocked our fingers.
“I’ll numb the area and honestly, yeah, it’ll hurt a little once the Novocain wears off. Nothing more than it did initially. Soft spots can lead to worse cases if we don’t treat it. It’s more than likely a spot that gets perspiration on it. Your things naturally press together when you’re sitting. So it might rub as well.”
“Should I start wearing shorts, at home, I mean? And maybe leave it open, without the bandages, while I’m inside?”
“If you can, yes. The air will help keep it drier.”
“Okay, I can do that. I won’t be going back to work until this is healed, so that’s doable.”
I laid back on the table, talking with her as she worked in my gash. My mind was literally rolling all over the place. It felt like there was a squirrel in there running amuck. Closing my eyes, I tried to let it settle.
“How are we doing?”
“I’m fine, just trying to calm my brain down.”
“I have days like that. I’ve found that if I retreat to a quiet place in the house, pop in ear buds, and listen to music or a podcast, I can rein it all back in.”
“I’ll have to try that. I like audiobooks. With a little one, it’s hard to always sit and read. If she gets quiet and falls asleep, I usually do too.” I smiled.
“I’ve had so many people say to sleep when the baby does. Some say that’s when you should get things done around the house. Let me tell you, you do what works for you. I’ve stopped worrying about the messes. We do a reset at night once they’re in bed. Then do it all over again the next day.”
“That’s about what I do. If she’s awake, the moment I put something up, that’s what she wants and all of my cleaning has been wasted.” I laughed softly.
“Parenthood at its best.” She stood, pulling off her gloves. “All done. Same rules as before. If you see the slightest color change, come back in. There’s a chance that there is a tiny piece of debris in there working its way up.”
“Yes, sure. Not a problem.”
Ten minutes later, I was dressed and heading back out to the Jeep with Tripp. We had to stop by the station and pick up Penny, then we were going home. I needed this day to end, post haste. Tomorrow would be a new, brighter day.
Right? It had to be; I’d stand for nothing else.