Chapter 15 #2
She held her tongue as Jarek took charge of the scene. He walked through the entire sequence of events, including Ray Bond’s admission of guilt. The officers had requested an ambulance for Ray, who was still unconscious.
“The dispatcher heard part of the conversation,” Officer Wynn said when Jarek finished his statement. “Probably a good thing or it would be your word against his.”
“Jarek’s word is all that matters.” Snapping out of her funk, she stepped forward.
“We kept getting found because of Ray Bond. He tracked our phones. I’m sure if you do a deep dive into his financials, you’ll discover he has a significant amount of cash coming in over and above his salary.
He admitted he’d joined forces with Buck Ross solely because he was greedy. ”
“Di’s right. Bond had no intention of letting us live.” Jarek slipped his arm around her waist, hugging her. She was so surprised by the gesture that she didn’t pull away. “If not for Di’s quick actions in taking him down, we’d both be dead.”
“Hey, someone needs to take care of this dog,” an officer called. “He’s injured and looks like he could eat me for breakfast.”
“Rocco won’t bite unless Buck tells him to.” At least, she didn’t think so. She turned to meet her stepbrother’s malevolent gaze. “Still, I don’t recommend removing the gag around Buck’s mouth. Not until Rocco has been secured.”
From there, things happened quickly. Animal control was called to muzzle Rocco and to take him to the emergency vet. When Rocco was gone, the officer removed Buck’s gag. Di braced herself, fully expecting her stepbrother to mention how she’d murdered his father.
Instead, he took his right to remain silent seriously.
She slipped outside and filled her lungs with fresh air. Then she turned and walked away, leaving Jarek and the officers milling about the scene behind. Her temporary partnership with Jarek was over.
If not for the late hour, well past midnight, she’d have called her sister, Michelle. But she wouldn’t wake her sister, Will, and the kids.
A keen sense of loneliness washed over her, but she kept walking. Her apartment wasn’t that far, and she had a key hidden nearby.
No doubt Jarek would return to arrest her the following morning. Until then, she’d sleep with her window open and pray to a God she barely knew for mercy.
“Where’s Di?” Jarek swept his gaze over the warehouse. She was gone. He turned to his colleague. “I have to go.”
“You can’t leave the scene of the crime,” Wynn protested. “Andrews is going to want to talk to you.”
“I’ll catch up with him later.” Jarek didn’t care about Andrews. He needed to find Di. Now that he knew the secret she’d been hiding, he was worried she’d disappear forever. He turned and ran out into the street. He figured she had to have headed north to get out of gang territory.
At first, he didn’t see anything. Then he caught a glimpse of her lithe figure in the distance.
Jarek sprinted after her. His entire body ached from the struggle with Bond, but he ignored the pain, his gaze centered on Di. When he closed the gap, she heard his approach and turned to look at him.
She appeared poised to run, but to his surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she faced him, and her solemn gaze tugged at his heart. She waited until he stopped beside her to say, “I figured you’d wait until morning.”
“For your statement?” He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about that. We can talk to Andrews tomorrow. I’m tired of waiting for him to get his butt out of bed.”
She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I meant to arrest me.”
“Arrest you? For what?” Then realization dawned. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to arrest you for slipping sleeping pills into your stepfather’s bourbon. That was an act of self-defense.”
Confusion crossed her features. “It’s not self-defense.
There has to be an imminent threat of bodily harm.
Bad enough he crawled into my bed, but then he started watching my sister, and I wasn’t going to stand there and let him hurt Michelle too.
If I’m being honest, it was a premeditated strike. Not self-defense.”
Anger hit hard. “That man sexually assaulted you. That’s the very definition of bodily harm. You acted to save yourself and your sister.”
She looked away as if embarrassed. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Her voice was hoarse but steady.
“I can testify to the abuse and to my intent to make sure he slept all night so he wouldn’t hurt me or Michelle, but I can’t say I’m sorry he died.
” She turned to face him. “You might think less of me, Jarek, but I was not sorry to learn he’d died that night. ”
“Di, please, listen to me.” He reached out to touch her arm. She didn’t pull away. “No jury on earth is going to find you guilty of premeditated murder.” He hesitated, then asked, “Did your mother know?”
“About the sleeping pills? She suspected.” Di shrugged. “She made my life miserable, whining about not having enough money after Eddie’s death.”
“No, I meant about the abuse.” He searched her gaze in the darkness. “She knew, and she didn’t stop it.”
Di shrugged again. “They were her sleeping pills. She used them to ignore what was happening. Taking action would have resulted in her losing her meal ticket.” A harsh laugh emerged from her throat. “That was not an option.”
“I’m sorry, Di. No child should have to endure that.” He tightened his grip on her arm. “If you ask me, Eddie’s death is more your mother’s fault than yours.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” she said dryly.
He sighed as snippets of their previous conversations washed over him. Everything made sense now that he understood what had transpired all those years ago. “This is why you kept telling me you wouldn’t become a cop.”
“Can’t be a cop if I’m in jail.” She dropped her arms, ran her fingers through her hair, and stepped closer. “You’re really not going to arrest me?”
“Never. What happens next is up to you.” He cupped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.
“You don’t have to tell anyone about your role in Eddie’s death.
Or you can provide a full statement and see what happens.
The law you broke was giving someone a potentially dangerous drug without their permission.
” With good reason, he thought darkly. “I am sure the statute of limitations has passed, and there won’t be any legal ramifications for what happened.
And I’ll be honest, getting the truth out in the open might make you feel better. ”
She nodded. “I already feel better. I guess I didn’t realize how heavy that secret weighed me down until I blurted out the truth to Buck.” She slipped her arms around his waist to hug him, burying her face against his chest. “I expected you to hate me.”
“No, Di, I could never hate you.” He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I love you.”
“Love?” A strangled sound came from her throat. She lifted her head to look up at him. “You can’t love me. We barely like each other.”
The kernel of hope in his chest withered and died, but he did his best to hide his feelings.
“I like you plenty. And I love you even more. But I also understand you’ve been through a lot these past few days.
” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way.
I understand that’s asking too much. But know this, Di.
I will always be your friend. I’ll support you through whatever you decide to do moving forward. ”
“I do feel the same way.” She flushed and sighed. “It’s crazy, but the whole time we were in the warehouse, I felt guilty for dragging you into this mess with me. I knew you would be better off without me.”
She hadn’t said the words I love you, but her admission filled him with hope. “I would rather be with you. Besides, I’m pretty sure it was my idea to be partners.”
A low chuckle escaped her. “That’s true. I only agreed because I wanted inside information only law enforcement was privy to.”
He laughed softly and brushed a quick kiss on her forehead. “I knew that and used it to my advantage. As it turned out, we made quite a pair.”
“Yeah. We are.” Her smile faded as she tipped her head to the side, her gaze serious. “I need to ask you one more question.”
“Anything.” He tightened his grip around her. “I’m here for you, Di, no matter what.”
She bit her lip. “Do you really think God will forgive my sins?”
He knew she was referring mostly to how she’d inadvertently killed Eddie. “Absolutely. I know He will. If you accept Jesus in your heart, believe that He died for us and that He rose from the dead, then yes, I know your sins will be forgiven.”
“I’d like to learn more,” she admitted. “I never felt God’s presence until tonight. And that’s only because of you, Jarek. Because you taught me about Him.”
“Di.” He longed to kiss her but was afraid to cross a boundary, fearing she still had scars from her past. “I love you so much. I’d be more than happy to help you learn more about God and faith. I’m no expert, but we’ll attend church and learn together.”
“I’d like that.” The corner of her mouth tipped up in a half-smile. Then she pulled him close, went up on her tiptoes, and kissed him.
He gently returned her kiss, allowing her to control their embrace. She hugged him hard, and soon their kiss deepened. He tried to show her without words how much she meant to him. They were so lost in their embrace that he didn’t hear Andrews approach.
“Hey! Brooks. I need to talk to you.”
He reluctantly ended their embrace, swallowing a groan of frustration. Keeping Di in his arms, he turned his head toward the detective. “I’ll come to the station tomorrow morning.”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?” Andrews demanded. “You’re accusing a cop of being dirty, and the captain wants answers.”
“And you don’t have the answers because you never really worked the case.
” Releasing Di, he closed the distance between him and Andrews, stabbing the man in the chest with his index finger.
“I’ve solved the case for you. Buck Ross is the mastermind behind the drug trafficking here in Newburgh, and narcotics officer Ray Bond has been helping him get away with his crimes.
Bricks of heroin are hidden in the bottom of the boxes in the warehouse back there, and if you look deeper, you’ll probably find that several other gang members are implicated in the drug trafficking as well.
You can start with a man known as . . .”
“No! Don’t!” Di’s shout interrupted him.
He turned in time to see Lupo standing near the corner of the apartment building with a gun.
Jarek instinctively threw himself on top of Andrews just as Lupo fired.
He and Andrews hit the ground hard. Jarek pulled Andrews’s weapon free from the holster and returned fire.
Lupo went down. Pushing himself off Andrews, he jumped to his feet and ran toward Lupo at the same moment Di did. Upon reaching the young man, they dropped to their knees on either side of him.
“He’s hit in the chest.” Di gathered the lower portion of the kid’s shirt and yanked it up to press the ball of fabric against the wound. “He needs a bus.”
“I know.” Jarek noticed Lupo’s frightened eyes shifted from him to Di. Slowly, his gaze lost focus. Then he stared blankly up at the sky.
Lupo was gone.
Jarek glanced at Di and shook his head. She released the pressure she’d been holding and sat back on her heels. Shaking her head, she sighed. “Stupid kid should have gotten out when he had the chance.”
“Yeah. But he didn’t.” Jarek felt bad, but there was nothing he could do to save Lupo’s life now.
He stood and walked back to where Andrews sat on the sidewalk, looking stunned. Jarek held out his hand. Andrews accepted the gesture and allowed Jarek to pull him to his feet.
“Guess I owe you for saving my life,” Andrews said grudgingly.
Jarek shrugged. “We have each other’s backs when we need it the most, right?”
Andrews flushed and looked away. Then he sighed. “Yeah, but did you have to shoot him with my gun?”
“You took mine, remember?” He handed the weapon back to him. “Better call Wynn and Parker. This is another crime scene that needs to be processed.”
Andrews turned away to make the call. Jarek caught Di’s hand and tugged her close. “I’m sorry we can’t leave yet.”
“I know.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “That’s okay. I don’t mind staying close to support you through this.”
The way she’d echoed his words back to him warmed his heart. He brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “I love you, Di. We’ll get through this, together. Tonight, tomorrow, and whatever comes after that.”
“I love you too.” His heart leaped with joy as she said the words. “The best thing of all is that I’ll never be alone again now that I have you.”
“I love you, so much.” He hugged her again, humbled by her words. The sound of a police cruiser approaching brought an end to their embrace.
They’d be stuck there for a while longer, but that was okay. Jarek knew that, together, they could endure anything.