Chapter 16 Not Easily Thwarted
not easily thwarted
Sariah
Turning, I see the cop, gun pointed at me at point blank range. “On your knees. Hands behind your head. You have the right to remain silent.”
“Renée, walk slowly and take my cell phone from my right coat pocket.” I hold the deputy’s gaze, fighting to calm my racing heart, and speak to Renée.
“Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” The man’s eyes dart between me and my daughter. Assuming correctly that she’s the lesser threat, he holds the pistol steady on me as Renée creeps from my right.
“What are you arresting me for?” I ask the officer, on my knees in my kitchen, completely vulnerable. To my daughter I say, “Hang up my phone from 911 and find the contact labeled Liam Murphy.”
“Mom?” The panic in her voice is palpable. Her fear must match mine.
“Do it.”
“Eluding and resisting arrest,” the policeman says. “You have the right to an attorney—”
Power trip much?
“Renée, tell him who you are and then ask him to come here to make sure Rosie is okay. Or to send Ayla here. You’re safe with them.”
“Mom!” she screams as the policeman moves between us, jostling her aside, to slap cold handcuffs tightly against my wrists, yanking me up at an odd angle. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?”
The ambulance squeals to a stop in the driveway. The red whirling lights and the shadows in their rotating absence add to the macabre feeling inside my home and inside my chest.
“Do it, Née. Please. For me.”
Two EMTs rush in, knocking me over in their attempt to get to Rosie. “What do we know?”
My daughter looks panicked. Terror takes residence in my gut.
“She’s fifty-one. Former smoker. She’s allergic to latex.
” My voice is rising as I’m tugged out of my house, leaving my panicked, vulnerable daughter with two men claiming to be medics and my unconscious mother.
My heart and soul looks back at me, her round brown eyes streaming with tears as she lifts the phone to her face.
Cian
What in the ever-loving fuck? “I was just talking with her.”
“You heard me.” Liam’s voice comes through the phone via the mic in his motorcycle helmet. “I’m en route. Ayla needs to be on her way. Write this down.” He spits out the address I know by heart.
“I know the damn address, Li.” I fidget and want to scream.
“Ci, write it the fuck down.” He enunciates every word like he’s speaking to a child.
“Done.”
“Now give it to Ayla.”
I walk downstairs faster than my body is comfortable moving. My head thumps as blood pulses through my swollen face.
“Ayla,” I holler when I’m on the main floor.
Christian pops his head out of his office, on alert and ready to defend his wife. As if he needs to do that against me.
“Where’s Ayla?”
“With Halley. Why?”
I need her.
“Put me on speaker,” Liam says in my ear.
I don’t argue, too overcome to fight. Holding the phone out between the two of us, I press the audio button until the speaker phone is highlighted.
“Christian. Sariah Ocotea was taken into custody by Morrison police. Can you get her an attorney? I’m heading to her house since her daughter is alone.
Sariah told her daughter to contact me, I’m assuming because Ci is out of commission.
The girl knows about Ayla but nothing about me except she was told to call. ”
Christian and I stare at each other. We know what Liam isn’t saying. Ayla looks like most young, rich women. She’s approachable, beautiful, and has a warm, welcoming smile. If she walked into a house and up to a teenage girl, that child would easily be able to trust she’s safe.
Liam, on the other hand, will roll up on a Harley with pipes. Once his helmet is off, there’s no hiding the shaved head, the unruly full beard, or the pierced eyebrow. Every visible piece of skin is tatted except for his face.
“Renée is thirteen,” I offer to my brother-in-law, shifting my weight from foot to foot.
Christian lifts his phone from his pocket to dial and begins. “Sherman, I need you to get to the Morrison police station now. Wait—” He speaks toward the phone in my hand. “Liam, Morrison PD or JeffCo sheriff?”
“No clue.”
Returning to his call, my brother-in-law continues, “We assume Morrison PD, could be Jefferson County Sheriff. Cover both bases. You now represent Sariah Ocotea. Post bail tonight. Make sure she isn’t mistreated.
” His eyes hit mine and he nods once as if he sees something I’m not saying. “No expenses spared. She’s one of us.”
My shoulders fall from their position at my ears, and I exhale with a gust. I didn’t realize how much I needed that, knowing she would be accepted.
I hadn’t planned on pulling her into the fold like this.
To be frank, I didn’t have a plan. Mostly because I didn’t expect shit this terrible to pop off so quickly after we started.
“Keep me informed every step of the way.” Pulling the phone away from his face, he taps twice before resuming his prior position. “Princess,” he pauses as a small smile plays on his lips. “I need a favor. Cian needs one actually. Can you get to the Green Mountain area?”
I extend the paper with the address in my heavy scrawl.
He pauses to listen and before continuing, “Now please. I’ll send you the address.
I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t critical. Where are you?
” He nods to himself. “I’ll call Jacque to pay.
Call Ci when you get in the car and have the address programmed into the navigation, okay?
And tell Halley we’ll make it up to her.
” The gaps in his call are way too long for my comfort.
“We can chat after you talk with Cian. Love you.”
My wrist must be rotating in the get-on-with-it gesture that’s universally understood because he stares at my hand and raises his eyebrows in rebuke.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“I’m still here, fuckers,” Liam grits from the device in my hand.
Shit. My brain can’t keep up with everything. I swear the meds have to end tonight. I can’t do this foggy shit anymore.
“How far away are you?”
“Turning onto her street. No ambulance in sight. Lots of neighbors milling about. Let’s give them something to talk about.” He revs his engine, and the roar of the pipes vibrates off the hardwood floors.
I back up several steps until my heels hit the stairs and sink to my butt on one of the steps. Eleanor sits between my feet with her back to me, tracking Christian’s movements as he paces and listens.
When the bike cuts off, the Bluetooth does too, and I bolt to my feet as if cut off from all sources of information. It clicks over to speaker phone as the crunch of Liam’s boots stops and knuckles rap on a door.
“Who is it?”
Better than last time. Last time she threw it wide for me and welcomed me in. After everything, I’m glad Liam isn’t getting that greeting. Not because my brother isn’t saving my ass right now, but just because.
“Liam Murphy. I’m Cian’s brother. You called me.”
“Do you have ID?”
What television has she been watching?
“Ya. Hang on.” There’s rustling before a smacking.
“You don’t look like Cian,” the muffled voice says.
“Thank fu— We get that a lot. You gonna let me in?”
“Not yet.”
It takes all the wind in my chest, but I bark a laugh. “Give him hell, Renée,” I mutter.
“I heard that,” Liam replies.
“Who are you talking to?”
“I have Ci and Ayla’s husband, Christian, on the phone.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re worried. And I figured it gives them something to bust my ba— chops over later. You don’t trust me.”
My phone beeps and I lift my head to my brother-in-law displaying Ayla’s name on the screen. He lifts his phone to dial her while I stay with Liam and Renée.
“Do you know where they took your grandmother? Which hospital?”
There’s a long pause before her voice gets even smaller. “No.”
“Princess,” Christian starts. “Ci is on the phone with Sariah’s daughter and Liam. You on your way?” He pauses before asking, “What’s your ETA?”
“It’s okay, Renée. Here’s the deal,” Liam begins. “My sister, Ayla, is on her way. She’s a few minutes out.”
“Twenty-seven minutes,” her husband pipes from my side.
“Twenty-seven minutes out. So, your call. I can come in or I can sit right here and make sure you’re safe from outside.”
“Okay.”
“We’re getting your mom home tonight.”
“She got… arrested.” Her small voice breaks on the last word.
“Eh. It happens.”
Did my brother just go with it happens to soothe a thirteen-year-old?
“Do you remember if the cop had ‘police’ or ‘sheriff’ on his uniform?”
“I think it said sheriff.”
“Did you catch that?” Liam asks us.
Christian pulls Ayla from his ear, flips her to speaker, and starts typing out a text. He responds when he’s done. “I’ve alerted Sherman.”
“Thanks, Renée. The lawyer will start there. The sooner we get her home, the better.”
“How will we hear about RoRo?”
“I haven’t worked that out yet.” My brother, the plain talker. “Have you had dinner?”
“No.”
“You should do that.” To me he adds, “This adulting shit is weird.”
Ayla pipes in, “Honey, will you order a pizza to be delivered and maybe some cookies. Liam, ask her what she likes on her pizza.”
“Renée, Ayla says we’re ordering pizza. What do you like? Pepperoni? Don’t say ham and pineapple? Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. Meat belongs on pizza.”
“She’s a vegetarian,” I offer.
“You’re a vegetarian?” he queries loudly, as if the thought is unfathomable.
“Meat is murder.”
“Oh, Lord. So cheese or veggie?”
“Cheese.”
“And your favorite cookie flavor?” His voice drops, “If she says oatmeal raisin, I’m out. Seriously. Raisins, but no meat. No way.”
“Oatmeal with extra raisins,” she shouts through the door before a giggle bursts through on its heels. “Kidding. M&M or S’more’s.”
“Ayla,” the man next to me starts. “Did you catch all that?”
“I like her already,” my sister offers.
“On it.” I flip to DoorDash and find Crumbl Cookies. Insomnia’s are better, but Crumbl is closer so they’ll still be warm when they arrive. I grab an assortment and hit go before realizing my brother-in-law has done the same with the pizzas.
“Liam, meat lovers coming your way. Ayla has pepperoni and black olive.”
“Thanks, Honey.”
“And cheese incoming for the lady who has left Liam outside for nearly twenty minutes.”
“I’m not easily thwarted,” my brother replies.
“I’ll remember that,” my sister adds.
“Are you guys always like this?” the voice through the door on Liam’s phone asks.
“No,” comes from me and Liam. At the same time Ayla and Christian say, “Yes.”
“Weird.”
“Hey, Renée, do you have your phone with you?”
“Silly question to ask a girl, Li,” Ayla says.
“Yeah.”
“If you give Cian your number, he can send you a pic of Ayla. And of the three of us. Just so you know you’re safe. I’ll sit out here all night, I’m good with it, but would that make you feel better?”
“I’m not that foolish. If Cian wants to send me something, he can do it through this gaming app. That way I’m not sharing my number with four strangers.”
“Smart girl,” I say before I can think better of it. “What’s the app?”
She tells me, and I download it, giving access to all kinds of personal data when I do. “You just asked me to share my number with a million strangers, Firecracker. My username is cianmurphyco. When you friend me, I’ll send you pics.”
Yeah, that sounded better in my head than when I verbalized it.
I get a friend request from ISayNay720 with a cartoon avatar. “Are you IsayNay720?”
“Yup.”
I look at my brother-in-law, who’s so fiercely protective of his wife. When he shrugs and nods, I upload a picture of Ayla and me from last weekend and another of the three of us from roughly a year ago.
“Sending.”
“Perfect timing,” Ayla adds. “I’m pulling up now. How long before pizza?”
“Didn’t you just eat?” I ask.
“No. I just ordered appetizers when you, big brother, asked for a favor. I’m starving.”
“Another thirty, Princess.”
“Prepare to show ID,” my brother grumbles to Ayla as she disconnects the call with Christian and is picked up on Liam’s microphone.
“Hey, Renée, it’s Ayla. I hear I need to show ID.”
“He needed to show ID. You have to tell me about the bear story that Cian mentioned.”
“Well, I don’t know which one he’s referring to—”
“Which one?” Liam asks with disbelief.
“What do you mean which one?” I interject.
“Princess.” Christian’s hard voice thunders next to me.
“Oh, the bear incident,” she starts with huge emphasis on the words. “I misunderstood. Well, Ellie and I were out for a hike this past fall. It was late in the season, deep into when hibernation occurs. There should’ve been no bears and absolutely no bear cubs. Those are born in the spring.”
“Really?” a small, rapt voice asks.
“Absolutely. It’s so cold, and it’s hard to have a baby when you’re sleeping. And bears sleep deep, you know.”
“I don’t, but okay.”
My brother-in-law is engrossed in the same story, though we already know the outcome, when his phone vibrates with an incoming call. He rises and heads toward the kitchen.
“So, Ellie and I were out for a hike—Ellie is Ci’s dog, by the way—and this bear cub came bumbling up to us. Like I said, it was the all-wrong season, and he was so cute.”
“Cute,” Liam says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
My thoughts exactly.
“But where there’s a baby, there’s a mama, and that mama bear was grouchy. There are a lot of things in our mountains. Most of them will leave us alone and all of them want to be left alone, but I’ve never been that close to a cub. I can tell you Ellie hadn’t either.”
If she keeps saying Ellie, I’ll be the only one calling my dog by her real name.
“I grabbed my camera and clicked off some shots. The mama bear wasn’t happy about the barking, but Ellie was protecting me.
The mama roared, like shake-your-eardrums roared.
Eventually she grabbed her cub and took off.
We hightailed it out of there. It was a chance encounter, but now my big brother thinks his dog is unsafe with me and my husband thinks I’m a magnet for trouble. ”
“Cian said that too.”
“Oh, did he?”
“Yeah. He said you were the good kind, though.”
Liam’s chuckle rumbles through the line as Christian returns, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Sherman located Sariah, but they’re giving him some trouble.”