Chapter 13 #2
I looked at Kendall, hoping like hell he didn’t move away from me. I couldn’t handle it if he was disgusted—
“It wasn’t enough,” he murmured. “Not by a long shot.”
I sighed. “Thanks, but it’s fine. It got me this place and allowed me to start a new life.”
“So nothing happened to that piece of shit?” Roger said. “He only lost his job?”
“Well… not quite. He wasn’t willing to let things go. After he was fired, he started fucking with me. Sent dead flowers to my parents’ house, slashed my tires, left me threatening voicemails, texted me the rat emoji…”
That got Kendall’s attention.
“Mom urged me to file a police report. That was the last straw for my father. He told me to make other living arrangements, said he didn’t want my shame to impact our family or his career.
Mom told him to go fuck himself, and we both left.
The cops took my report, and there was a restraining order placed against Robin.
I hadn’t heard anything from him since, but I also changed my number, moved in with Max, and, when I decided to move out here, I put the house in an LLC.
I kept my name and face off all the public business records and social media.
I wasn’t hiding necessarily… but I thought I’d left all this behind. ”
“You said the person made a fatal mistake,” Arnie said. He had his arm around Derek, rubbing his shoulder. “What did you see?”
“His shoes. His ugly-ass special edition Allen Edmonds sneakers that he thought made him the shit.”
My oats threatened to come back up thinking of the last time I’d seen them. In his office. One hand on my neck, the other on his zipper. Fighting back. Getting kicked and then stomped to the ground.
“I need a minute.”
Thank God the toilet flusher worked now, because my gut would not be ignored. I waited until I was sure I was done purging before flushing.
“Francis? You okay?”
Poor Kendall. This was not the way I’d wanted our day to go.
I opened the door and covered my mouth.
“I will be after I brush my teeth?”
“The chief is here, when you’re ready.”
“The chief came? Himself?”
Kendall smiled and put his arm around me, leading me toward the stairs. “Remember, this town is small. But also, he’s a friend. He doesn’t tolerate this shit in his town.”
He followed me up the two flights, and when we got to my room, he stopped in the doorway.
“You can come in,” I said.
“I just wanted to give you space if you need it.”
“Only until I brush my teeth. Ugh, I hate puking.” I went into the bathroom and did a thorough tooth brushing and even gargled with some Listerine before coming back out.
Kendall was still in the doorway, his expression distraught.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t going to burden you with all of that.”
When he looked up, his eyes were wet, and he shook his head. “Francis, no. Please don’t ever use that word again.”
I wanted to joke this all away, get back to where we were before I’d opened the front door. Instead, I went into his arms and let him hold me tight.
“Is it too late to climb back into bed?” I asked, my face smushed into his chest.
“We will. I’ll do whatever you want, baby. If you want me here, I’m here. If you want space—”
“I’m really glad you’re here. I’m okay, but it’s better with you here. You know just what I need.”
He kissed my forehead. “You need to eat something, but I get it. Want me to bring you something else? Some crackers?”
“I’ll be okay. I’ll try again after I’m done talking to the chief. Oh my goshness. I can’t believe the chief of the police department is at my house.”
“He would have been here for the social last night, but it was his teenage daughter’s birthday.”
“That’s sweet.” I shook out my hands, trying to relieve all the stress. “Okay. I guess let’s do this.”
“I’m right behind you.”
We re-entered the living room, and Roger was sitting with the police chief on the sectional.
I spotted Derek and Arnie out on the back patio.
I was glad Derek had someone else to comfort him right now, because it couldn’t be me.
I knew he would be upset that he hadn’t been there, hadn’t known what was happening.
He’d come to see me when he heard I got fired, but it was weeks after.
I’d sworn Max to secrecy, even from his brother.
I hoped Derek wasn’t too mad at Max for keeping my situation confidential.
When we approached, the two men stood, and I was surprised to see that not only was the chief younger than I’d imagined, maybe even younger than Kendall, but also that he was Asian. Froggy Buttons certainly impressed me with its bountiful diversity.
“Francis, this is Chief Michael Chen. Mike, this is Francis Liang.”
I accepted the hand he held out and shook it. “I’m so sorry to have interrupted your morning.”
“Nonsense,” he said, waving away my apology. “We don’t put up with this behavior in our town. Now, I’ve got my techs out there documenting everything, and I have some news for you, but Kenny tells me you have an idea who might be responsible?”
“The short version is that I have a restraining order against my former boss. My attorney filed a change of address to the order with the court when I moved, to include this address. I sent your department a copy.”
“I will certainly verify that, but what makes you think this was your former boss?”
Kendall put his arm around me, and his presence helped keep my shoulders from climbing to my ears. Chief Chen’s gaze softened at the gesture as well.
“We watched the video feed, and I recognized the shoes. They were supposedly special edition designer shoes from one of his clients. One of a kind.”
He wrote on a small notepad, and I recalled thinking it was funny that even the chief used a little notepad like the cops on TV.
“I’d like to take a look at the video in just a minute, but I have a piece of information for you as well.”
I sat up taller and exchanged a look with Kendall.
“Last night, one of my officers pulled over a car that was speeding through town with no headlights. The car had no plates, and when the officer asked the driver to step out of the car to conduct a field sobriety test, he resisted, and a picture fell out of the vehicle. It was a listing for your house, with the address circled, and someone had scribbled ‘rat’ on it.”
I swallowed back more bile. I didn’t know what to say.
As if he understood my reaction, he set his notepad down and folded his hands between his knees.
“Mr. LeBlanc is currently in our holding cell awaiting transfer to the county jail. We had enough to charge him with resisting arrest and assault on a police officer before coming out here this morning, but I’d appreciate that video footage. ”
The air whooshed out of me, and I leaned into Kendall. “Thank you. You can have whatever you need.”
Chief Chen smiled and patted Kendall on the knee. “I’m sorry this happened, Francis. I want you and every member of our community to feel safe in Foggy Basin. I will do everything in my power to be sure that no one bothers you again.”
I pulled up the footage on my phone and sent him the videos, as well as another copy of the restraining order, just in case.
“Thank you. I hope the next time we meet is under better circumstances. I plan on bringing my wife to your next dance social. She was disappointed to miss this time, and our daughter is looking forward to the painting class next week.”
“I really appreciate you coming out. I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family.”
We shook hands, and he assured me the techs would be finished processing the scene out front shortly. “Detective Duarte will be in touch with any follow-up.”
Kendall walked him to the front door, and I exhaled. My hands had stopped shaking, and I was ready to try breakfast again.
I was serving up more oatmeal when Derek came in from outside with Arnie. He came straight at me with a hug, and I set down my bowl to return his embrace.
“I understand why you didn’t want to talk about it, but, Francis, I would never turn away from you. You have to know that.”
I patted his back. “I do. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for anything,” he said, holding me at arm’s length. “You’re my best friend. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“You would have been if I’d asked.”
The guys came in, and Kendall paused a few feet away.
“Thank you for calling Chief Chen,” I said. “Derek? Will you walk with me to see our moms?” I approached Kendall and gave him a loose hug. “I’ll be back. I just want to assure them.”
“Go around from the back door? I’m going to get the porch cleaned up. I don’t want you to have to see it again.”
I hoped it wasn’t because he thought I couldn’t deal with it. I’d yelped when I opened the door because no one expects to see an eviscerated rodent on their porch first thing in the morning. “Thank you, but you don’t have to—”
“I know you can handle it,” he said softly. “I just don’t want you to have to. Is that okay?”
“I appreciate it. Thank you. We’ll be back shortly.”
I took Derek by the arm and led him out through the mudroom. He was still a bit glum after the morning’s disturbance, but I needed to get us both out of our moods.
“How was the sandwich?”
“Hmm? Oh! Oh, God, Francis.” He pushed me away, but then he laughed, only it wasn’t with the type of floating-on-air joy I felt after a night with Kendall.
“Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry. I was just teasing.”
He sighed and kicked at a rock. “I’m fine. It was incredible. And scary. And I’m even more confused now.”
I put my arm around him and rested my head against his as we walked. “Tell me all about it.”