Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
BETH
APRIL
Beth set down her paintbrush and sat back, reviewing her work in progress. Dim lighting filled the small studio space tucked inside the Emerald City Art Gallery. A glance at her watch told her she had been working for the last five hours without taking a break. God bless that hyperfixation.
She had worked in the gallery studio a handful of times since getting over her painter’s block, but still, she found herself avoiding it.
It reminded her too much of Jamie—it was, after all, where they had met.
The rush of memories that came flooding back the first time she set foot in her office again had caught her unprepared, but each time since then, it had gotten easier to keep moving forward.
Her plan for the afternoon had been to swing by and drop off a coffee for Sean while running errands in the neighborhood.
But that stop had turned into a conversation, which turned into him asking her to grab a few things from her office, which had turned into her getting sucked into a painting she had left unfinished the year before.
Beth really should have seen it coming; Sean had the uncanny ability of getting her to do exactly what he wanted, but in a way that made it feel like it was her idea all along.
Beth’s phone vibrated where it sat on the edge of the easel. She smirked, looking down at the screen, where she saw a text from Sean.
Sean 10:15 PM
Still at the gallery? Must be feeling pretty inspired.
Beth 10:16 PM
Are you spying on me via the security cameras? I feel like you set this up. You’re always up to something. But yes. Still here, leaving soon. Don’t worry. I’ll lock up.
Sean 10:17 PM
Not spying, just happy to see you back in your element and of course making me money ;p
Beth rolled her eyes, reaching for the dirty paint brushes she had used over the course of the evening, fully intending to take them to the utility closet to clean up, until she got distracted by her phone ringing. She answered it, preparing herself for more of Sean’s teasing.
“Don’t worry, your gallery is in good hands. I know how to set the security—” She was cut off by Sarah’s voice.
Sarah’s words were clear and quick as she spoke briskly in that no-nonsense, problem-solver way that came so naturally to her. “Beth, it’s me. Lily and Wren are in trouble and are being transported to the East Precinct on Capitol Hill. I called Nell, and we’re on our way.”
Police station? Lily? Nell? Her mind was spinning as she tried to catch up. “Sar, what are you talking about? What’s going on?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Lily called me five minutes ago, saying Wren is in trouble. I told her not to say anything or sign anything until I get there.”
Beth’s pulse quickened, her brain working overtime trying to wrap her mind around what Sarah was saying.
Lily wasn’t the type of kid who got in trouble—at least not this kind of trouble.
She had so many questions, but the one her brain asked first wasn’t one she intended to say out loud. “You called Nell before you called me?”
“What?”
Beth’s words were colder than she wanted them to be, but her tone was an honest reflection of how she was feeling, which was hurt. “Nell. You called her before you called me about something concerning our daughter.”
Beth knew Sarah well enough to recognize her annoyance. “Really? Right now? This is what you want to talk about right now? I just told you our daughter is on her way to a police station, and you want to talk about why I called Nell?”
Beth’s stomach clenched with the realization that Sarah might have a point. She took a steadying breath before responding. “You said the girls are on their way to the Capitol Hill police station? I can be there in ten minutes. I’m at the gallery.”
A quiet filled the space on the line between them for a moment before Sarah spoke again. “I called Nell for Wren. She’s in town, and she knows the ins and outs of the league’s policies. I’m trying to make sure Wren has people in her corner while we figure out what’s going on.”
Well, now Beth felt like an ass. That made sense to her, and it was so like Sarah to think of all the different ways to take care of both Lily and Wren in this situation.
At the same time, Beth had immediately jumped to jealousy before even considering that Sarah might already have a plan she was working out.
“How far away are you?” she asked, flicking off the lights and grabbing her coat.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you at the station.” Beth paused, wanting to be the parent who knew the next step here, but this was outside her area of expertise. “If I get there before you, what do I need to have Lily do?” She tried to hide the note of defeat in her voice.
“I won’t know until I get there. Make sure she doesn’t say anything or sign anything. Assume that anything you say inside the station is being recorded.”
“Got it. See you soon. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Beth slid her phone back into her pocket, typed the code into the security system, then slipped out onto the darkened street, heading toward the police station.
Ten minutes later, she pushed through the imposing industrial blue doors of the East Precinct. Her sneakers squeaked from the damp sidewalks as she moved across the lobby floor towards the front desk where an officer was on the phone, talking in a hushed tone.
A moment later, the officer looked up at her as she hung up the phone. “Hi. What can I do for you?”
“Hi, yes, my daughter was brought in—or maybe is on the way here—I’m not completely sure,” Beth said quickly. Trying her best to channel Sarah’s easy confidence that she would no doubt handle this interaction with.
“Name.”
“Lily Gallagher.”
After a few clicks and taps on the keyboard, the officer spoke. “Looks like she was brought in with Wren Parker. Lily sustained a cut to her hand and has been patched up. She’s with an officer, awaiting a written statement. Parker is currently riding things out in our drunk tank.”
The whir of traffic filled the lobby as the doors opened, accompanied by the sound of expensive heels clicking across the tile floor. Beth turned and looked over her shoulder, catching sight of Sarah, flanked by Nell and Nate, moving towards them.
“Where’s Lily?” Sarah asked immediately, placing a hand on the small of Beth’s back.
Beth glanced at Nell and Nate before her eyes landed on Sarah. “I was just getting that information.”
Sarah, never one to waste time, turned towards the officer behind the desk, who was waiting patiently for them. “Hi. Sarah Gallagher. Lily Gallagher is my daughter. Is she being charged with anything?”
“I was telling your wife”—neither Beth nor Sarah bothered with correcting the assumption—“your daughter and Wren Parker were picked up outside of Singergy Karaoke after officers approached out of concern. Your daughter had a laceration on the palm of her right hand, which we patched up. Parker exhibited obvious signs of gross intoxication. We’re waiting on a written statement and your arrival.
Parker is being charged with disorderly conduct and creating hazardous conditions that resulted in an injury.
She is currently in a holding cell and is refusing to say anything until”—the officer squinted closely at the computer screen—“until Sarah arrives. I’m assuming that’s one of you? ”
Sarah nodded in confirmation. “Okay. Thank you. One moment.” She turned away from the desk toward the three of them, all waiting for instruction on what to do next.
Beth watched as Sarah and Nell communicated without exchanging words in a way that made her stomach clench—a reminder of how close the two really were.
“Beth and I…”
Nell nodded before Sarah even finished her sentence, reaching out to give Sarah’s arm a reassuring squeeze, making Beth feel like she should have thought to do that before this moment.
“Nate and I will take Wren.” Nell glanced at Beth, quickly withdrawing her hand, taking a half-step away from Sarah.
“You two can follow me this way.” The officer gestured toward Beth and Sarah as a buzzer rang, unlocking the door, and the two of them moved forward together. “Someone will be out to bring the two of you to see Parker in a few minutes,” the officer called back to Nate and Nell.
Their footsteps echoed down the empty hallway as they followed the officer past the line of plain white doors lining the pale blue painted walls, and Beth felt the reverberation of each step as she moved.
The officer pushed through a heavy door marked with a thick, black number eight to reveal Lily, seated in a windowless interrogation room, perched on a hard plastic chair. She looked up at the movement, Beth immediately taking in her red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.
Lily’s scared voice reached them first. “Mama, Mommy.” She jumped to her feet, sounding so much like the little girl she still was.
Beth reached her first, operating purely on blurred maternal instinct, wrapping her arms around Lily and running a soothing hand over the back of her head. “It’s okay, love. We’re here. Mom and I are here.”
“I didn’t—it was—” Lily hiccuped as she attempted to explain.
“Lily, sweetheart, please don’t say anything just yet,” Sarah said sternly, the three of them taking seats at the table as the officer sat opposite them.
Beth kept her arm around Lily, holding her close as the officer spoke.
“We’re going to need Lily to fill this out for us. It’s a witness statement, her version of what happened, so we have all the facts to issue the citation to Miss Parker.” The officer handed Lily a clipboard.
Lily reached for the pen sitting on the table with her uninjured hand.
Still, before she could even pull the clipboard towards herself, Sarah beat her to it.
She slid the form in front of her, eyes playing over the fine print like a woman used to operating in environments where triple-checking the details was a necessity.