Fifty-Eight
Nancy sat on the cold concrete steps outside the police station, her arms wrapped tightly around herself against the early morning chill. The sky was beginning to lighten, the first blush of dawn creeping over the horizon. But its beauty was lost on Nancy.
Her mind kept drifting back to the scene inside the station, to Paris and Helen. She could still hear their voices as she’d been led down the corridor past where they were in two separate holding cells, yelling through tiny windows at each other.
‘You told me it was fine!’ Paris had screamed, her voice rising with each word. Her usual controlled demeanour was gone, replaced by panic. ‘You wanted me to get big names. You wanted the splash! Not to mention the credit!’
‘Fine? Don’t be ridiculous,’ Helen had fired back, her voice dripping with venom. ‘You were the one who kept promising everything would work out! I’m your biggest victim in all this!’
Paris let out a mirthless guffaw of horror. ‘What?!’
The anger and desperation were unmistakable. It wasn’t just about who was to blame. It was about everything that had led them to this point, all the lies, the manipulation, the schemes that had spiralled out of control.
Nancy had quite enjoyed the brief show. But she wasn’t amused now.
She took a slow, steady breath, her gaze lifting to the sky, worry in her heart. Were they pressing charges against Ari right now? Because Paris wouldn’t hesitate to point fingers, if only to muddy the waters of her own guilt. Nancy could only pray that just this once, innocence and guilt were truly about to matter.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the station creaked open behind her. She didn’t turn around, not yet. She was scared she’d see someone walking out who shouldn’t be.
‘Nancy,’ came a familiar voice, soft but insistent.
Nancy turned. ‘Oh my god. You’re out.’
Ari sat down next to her on the bench in her creased dress, close enough for Nancy to feel the warmth of her body. They breathed together.
Finally, Ari broke the silence. ‘So, how was your interrogation?’
Nancy let out a short laugh, though it was devoid of any real amusement. ‘Best fun since my last root canal.’ She looked at Ari with a little more seriousness. ‘How are you out?’
‘They’re not pressing charges. They didn’t have a clue about the necklace. I guess Paris is frying bigger fish than me right now.’
Nancy’s relief was deep. ‘Thank fuck.’
‘Praise be to fuck, indeed.’ She sighed. ‘I guess this was the best-case scenario. I’m out, you’re out…’
‘And we’re together.’ Nancy’s words came softly, but they carried all the weight of the moment.
‘So… Shall we head back to that hotel in Edinburgh?’ Ari asked, her eyes dancing with mischief.
Nancy found herself blushing. ‘We don’t have the car.’
‘Sod the car,’ Ari shrugged. ‘Not like either of us could drive in this state of exhaustion anyway. We’ll get a cab. And I’ll tip the driver handsomely for the unsociable hour.’
Nancy smiled. ‘OK.’
Ari smiled. Then stopped smiling. ‘Oh. I don’t have my phone. The gorillas took it. I can’t ring anyone or pay for anything.’
Nancy laughed. ‘I’ve got it.’ She pulled out her phone, found a local company and ordered a cab.
‘Feels weird letting you pay,’ Ari said.
Nancy raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, you better get used to it. Fifty-fifty all the way now.’
Ari blinked, surprised. ‘Is it?’
‘Has to be.’ She paused. ‘As soon as I get another job, of course.’
Ari looked saddened. ‘Damn. Gonna miss you behind the wheel.’
Nancy regarded her carefully. ‘Maybe you could drive yourself?’
Ari didn’t say anything, and Nancy wasn’t sure how she’d taken the suggestion. But then she nodded. ‘Maybe I could. Maybe I could do a lot of things for myself,’ she said philosophically. ‘Maybe I should.’
Ari turned to Nancy with a shy smile. ‘One thing I want to check… Given you’ve been sitting outside a police station waiting for me, I was just wondering if that might make anything… I guess what I’m asking is how many rooms will we need at the hotel?’
Nancy could see the vulnerability in her eyes and wanted to get rid of it quickly. She wanted Ari to know she was in this with her. All the way.
‘One room, Ari. Nothing has changed. I still…’ A terrible thought occurred. ‘I mean, if you still…’ Nancy trailed off, her heart skipping in anticipation.
‘I want you,’ Ari said immediately, her voice steady and sure, as if there was no room for doubt.
Nancy’s heart jumped, a swell of emotion rising in her chest. She decided not to look away this time. ‘I want you too.’
The moment was a touch too intense, and the pair started to laugh together nervously. The promise of them was so big, it was nearly overwhelming. But Nancy was ready to stop fighting the inevitable. She was feeling ready for everything she and Ari might be.
Then she remembered something. ‘Oh, you haven’t mentioned the necklace.’
Ari shrugged. ‘It’s time to let that go. It’s been absorbed into the madness. Nothing I can do.’
Nancy coughed sheepishly. ‘Umm, well…’ She reached into her purse and pulled out the necklace.
Ari’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. ‘WHAT! HOW? WHAT?’
‘Paris’s clutch was just sitting on the floor next to her while those security guys wrestled her,’ she said, her fingers playing nervously with jewellery. ‘It was… easy. Everyone was screaming, Cal was crying. It was chaos. After they took her out, I just grabbed it and looked inside. And there it was.’
Ari’s mouth was a circle of joy as she held it aloft. ‘You stole it back? Again? In the middle of that?’
Nancy nodded. ‘I tied it around my neck under my dress so no one would notice.’
Ari’s eyes lit up in surprise and joy, her mouth opening in disbelief for a moment before she let out a laugh. ‘You were wearing that all through your interview?’
‘Yeah,’ Nancy said. ‘I just had to get it to you because I know how much—’
Before she could finish, Ari was reaching for her face, pulling her into an urgent kiss. Nancy’s body responded instantly. After a moment, Nancy realised just how carried away she was getting. She laughed breathlessly as they pulled back, feeling like she could float.
‘We should stop,’ she said, a smile playing at her lips. ‘Before we get arrested for indecency outside a cop shop.’
‘I can pause,’ Ari promised with a smirk. ‘For now.’
Just then, the cab rounded the corner and pulled up.
Nancy took one last look at Ari and then squeezed her hand as they stepped into the car together.
Nancy told the driver to head to Edinburgh, and they’d figure out an address as they got closer. ‘Sure thing,’ he said and pulled out.
Nancy glanced down at Ari’s hand. ‘Hey, keep that necklace safe,’ she said as she buckled up.
Ari clicked her belt in and looked down at the item in her hand. She examined the clasp. ‘Guess I’ll need to find a repair shop.’
‘Can’t hand it to your mother in that condition,’ Nancy noted. ‘Or that’s all she’ll see.’
Ari looked at it again, examining the piece carefully in her fingers. ‘You know what?’
‘What?’ Nancy asked.
‘Kinda thinking once it’s restored, I might just, I don’t know, stick it in the post to her?’
Nancy looked at Ari, astonished. ‘Really?’
‘I still really want to return it to her. It means a lot to her, I think. But trying to get anything else out of all this is… Pointless.’
Nancy smiled. ‘If you think so.’
Ari nodded and looked out of the window, a slow smile on her lips.
As the car began its journey, heading toward Edinburgh and whatever awaited them there, Ari leaned in close, her voice soft but full of certainty. ‘I’m gonna fall for you so hard,’ she whispered in her ear.
Nancy squeezed her hand tighter. ‘And I’ll catch you.’
‘We’ll catch each other,’ Ari said.