Chapter 13 – Presley
PRESLEY
The next day, I spent most of the morning taking my mother to get her hair done.
She couldn’t drive, and Dad and Miles were busy with another one of her projects, so that left me.
Normally, I would have been happy to do it, but I was nervous about the detective’s visit and would have preferred to be at home preparing.
When I got back to my house, I only had an hour and a half before the detective was supposed to come over.
Normally, there wasn’t a lot to do before an impromptu guest, but there was something about Detective Coleman I didn’t like.
As such, I wanted to put away anything I thought gave away too much information about our lives—pictures, school accolades, our favorite takeout menus on the side of the fridge.
I knew I was being paranoid, but self-awareness didn’t change anything.
The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. When I looked at the time, I frowned. It was too early for the detective. Tiptoeing through the house, I peeked out the front window and exhaled in relief when I saw Ink standing on my porch.
“You scared the crap out of me,” I said when I opened the door.
“How? I didn’t do anything,” he said.
I stepped to the side and gestured for him to come in. “The doorbell startled me, and I had a moment of panic because I thought the detective was early. I had to sneak through the house to get to the window to see who it was.”
“The next time something like that happens, look at the camera feed to see who’s at your door. You should have an app on your phone.”
“Oh, I didn’t think about that. It’s still new to me,” I admitted, feeling a little foolish.
“It’s only been a few days. You’ll get used to it,” he said and looked around the room. “Where are your pictures and things?”
I’d been internally defending my actions since I’d been home, so I was ready for his question.
Maybe too ready. “Listen, I don’t know what it is, but something about that detective makes me uncomfortable, and I don’t play around when it comes to my daughter.
So, I put away anything I thought might give away too much information about our personal lives,” I said and waited for him to laugh or criticize me.
He did neither. Instead, a look I can only describe as pure protective determination washed over his face. “He will not bother you or Ariel. That I can promise.”
“Ink,” I started, but my words were cut off when his lips met mine. His hands came up to cup my cheeks as he stepped closer to me.
I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything but melt into him as he consumed me.
He broke the kiss before I was ready and stepped back to meet my eyes. “He will not bother you or Ariel,” he repeated. From the tone of his voice and the resolve in his eyes, I believed him.
At least I did until the rational part of my brain came back online. “You can’t promise that.”
He grinned devilishly. “Yes, I can.” Then his lips were on mine again.
It had been a long time since I’d been kissed, and I was enjoying every second of it. Until the sound of the garage door opening had me jumping away from him and quickly wiping my mouth. “Ariel’s home.”
He nodded in understanding and took a seat on the couch. “Come sit down so it looks like we’ve been sitting here talking.”
Moving to the opposite end of the couch, I covered my face with my hands and mumbled, “I’m not normally like this.”
“Like what?”
“Flighty. Anxious. Paranoid. Well, I mean, I am, but I usually hide it a lot better.”
“You’ve had a lot going on lately. It’s understandable.
” His response made me stop and think. Most of the men I had encountered romantically ran away at the first sign of emotions, but Ink had seen me during some pretty heavy moments and didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
Actually, he seemed to care about my well-being and my daughter’s.
“You’re different,” I blurted.
He chuckled. “Is that a good thing?”
“Yeah, I think it is.” I was going to say more, but Ariel walked into the living room.
She looked around the room and cocked her head to the side. “Where is everything?”
“I put it away because I don’t want that detective to know any more about us than he needs to,” I explained.
“Gotcha. Do I have time to have a snack before he gets here?”
“I think so,” I said.
After she went to the kitchen, I asked Ink, “What do you think he wants to discuss with us?”
“I’d guess he wants to talk to you about Elsie, but you’ve already told him everything you know,” he said.
“That’s what I was thinking, too. I don’t know. The whole thing seems weird to me. Why couldn’t he ask me whatever he needed to ask over the phone?”
Ink glanced toward the front door. “I guess we’ll find out soon. I think I heard a car door out front.”
Grabbing my phone, I quickly opened the security app and tapped the camera. “Yep. He’s here.” I didn’t mean to sound so dreadful, but that’s how it came out.
When he rang the doorbell, Ink insisted on answering the door. The detective looked at Ink, then glanced at his notes and the house number. “Hello. I’m here to speak with Presley Calloway. And you are?”
“I’m her guest,” Ink said and stepped back to allow the detective room to enter.
“Well, if you could give us some privacy—”
“I’m staying,” Ink said.
“Miss Calloway, I’d prefer to speak to you and your daughter in private,” Detective Coleman said.
“And Miss Calloway would prefer that I’m present,” Ink countered. “If you want to dictate who is present when you talk to her, then you can do that at the station in the presence of her lawyer. Otherwise, you can speak to the three of us here.”
“There’s no need for all that. I was just trying to respect her privacy,” he said and gestured to the chair. “May I?”
“Yes, of course,” I said. “I’ll get Ariel.”
As I hurried to the kitchen, I wondered what in the hell Ink was doing, because it seemed like he was deliberately trying to piss off the detective. “He’s here,” I told Ariel.
“Yay,” she said dryly. “Let the fun begin.”
“Please don’t be rude,” I whispered. “Ink is doing enough of that for everyone.”
“Oh, maybe this will be fun.”
Sighing, I followed her into the living room to see what hell awaited me. I wasn’t a huge fan of confrontation, and I had a feeling there was about to be a lot of it in my house.
Ink and the detective appeared to be in the middle of a staring contest when we entered the room. Detective Coleman broke away first and nodded at us. “Hello. You must be Ariel. I’m Detective Coleman. I came by to talk to you and your mom about Elsie Nelson.”
“Um, hello,” Ariel said.
“What can you tell me about your friend Elsie?” he asked.
Ariel looked at me as her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “My friend?”
“She’s already told the police everything she knows about Elsie,” Ink said. “It should be in their reports. Perhaps you have a specific question.”
Detective Coleman glared at Ink for a brief moment before he turned his attention back to Ariel. “Do you know where Elsie is?”
“No,” Ariel said simply.
“Did you tell her your house would be empty that Saturday so she could come in and get what she needed?”
“What? No, of course not,” Ariel said.
“I thought you were here to talk to us about the fingerprints you found after the break-in, not to accuse my daughter of facilitating it,” I snapped.
“And for the record, I know Ariel didn’t tell her the house would be empty because the house wasn’t supposed to be empty.
I was supposed to be home all weekend, but my mother had an accident that required my presence. ”
“I see. And what about the cocaine found in the kitchen?”
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but I think you need to leave,” I said.
“There’s no need for that,” he said calmly.
“There most certainly is. First you—” The doorbell ringing interrupted my words.
Once again, Ink got up to answer the door.
When he moved to the side, a man I vaguely recognized stepped inside.
I couldn’t quite place him, but he had an air of authority that couldn’t be missed.
He smiled kindly at me. “Hello, Ms. Calloway. I’m Sheriff Turner.
I knew Coleman had a meeting with you today and wanted to stop by and see how the investigation is going. So, where are we?”
“I believe Presley was about to ask Detective Coleman why he drove by her house so many times yesterday that it scared her daughter. Or perhaps she was going to ask why he just accused her daughter of helping Elsie break into their house, or maybe she was going to ask if he was insinuating she had cocaine in her kitchen last weekend,” Ink told him.
“Well, Coleman,” the sheriff said. “I’d like to hear the answers to all of those questions.”
The tension was so high I was ready to sink into the sofa and disappear into the ether. Ariel looked the same.
Detective Coleman shifted in his seat but otherwise appeared nonplussed.
“As you know, we’ve been actively looking for Elsie Nelson.
When the fingerprints came back as a match to her, I thought she might be in the area, so I was driving around looking for her.
I was under the impression that Ms. Calloway’s daughter was with her grandparents yesterday afternoon, so I had no idea she was even home when I was circling the neighborhood.
As for the accusation, I simply asked if Ariel told Elsie the house would be empty on Saturday. ”
“And the cocaine?” Ink helpfully added.
“I wanted to see if their answers matched the ones they gave us during the initial report. That’s not an uncommon practice,” he said.
“I see,” Chuck said. “Well, what is it you wanted to discuss with them? I’m sure they have things to do, and so do you.”
Detective Coleman turned his attention to me. “As I said on the phone, the fingerprints came back with a match for Elsie Nelson. Other than her relationship with your daughter, can you think of any reason she would target your house?”
I shook my head. “No. I have no idea why she broke into our house.”
“Um, what do you mean by her relationship with me?” Ariel asked. “We weren’t friends.”
Detective Coleman straightened in his seat. “Oh? So, you two didn’t get along?”
“We didn’t even know each other until we were assigned as partners for a school project.
We exchanged phone numbers, and she came over a few times to work on it.
That was the extent of our relationship.
I thought it was weird that she messaged me and asked me to pick her up from a party, but my mom taught me about the dangers of driving under the influence, so I thought I should go get her,” Ariel explained. “I told this to the other officers.”
“You did,” Chuck confirmed. “I read the reports myself. Everything you just said was in there.”
“Did you and Elsie always work on your project here?” Detective Coleman asked.
“No, one time we went to the library.”
Chuck loudly cleared his throat.
Detective Coleman nodded and wrote something inside the file folder he was holding. “Well, I think that’s all I need. Thank you for your time.”
“Head back to the station and wait for me at my office,” Chuck said. “I’ll be a few minutes behind you.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Detective Coleman said as Ink opened the door for him.
Once he was out the door, Sheriff Turner exhaled heavily.
“I’d like to apologize for Detective Coleman’s behavior.
When I get back to my office, I’m removing him from this case and anything else connected to Elsie Nelson, as well as implementing other disciplinary actions I can’t discuss.
Regardless, if you see Detective Coleman in your neighborhood or if you have any problems with him, please call me,” he said and handed me his business card.
“I don’t take kindly to members of my team harassing and bullying innocent civilians.
That goes for you, too,” he said to Ariel and handed her his card.
“My personal cell phone number is on the back. I know you younger ones like to text, so you can do that instead of calling if that’s what you prefer. ”
“Thank you,” Ariel said. “Is someone still going to look for Elsie?”
“Yes. We have several people actively working on her case, but Detective Coleman won’t be one of them anymore. He’ll be replaced with another detective, so she’ll still have the same amount of people trying to find her.”
“I didn’t know her well, but I hope she’s okay.”
“Me, too, sweetheart. Based on the things she took from your house, I’m thinking she’s scared and hiding somewhere. Maybe camping in a wooded area. Since we have a lot of places like that around here, it might take us a while to find her, but we’ll do everything we can to bring her home.”
“Thank you,” Ariel said.
“My pleasure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a naughty detective to scold.”
Ariel giggled, and the sheriff smiled.
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. Then he turned to Ink and lowered his voice. “I appreciate you letting me know Coleman was being a dick. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Chuck,” Ink said and shook his hand.
I waited until the sheriff was gone to give Ink a pointed look. He shrugged. “Told you he wouldn’t be a problem for you and Ariel anymore.”
“Right, but you didn’t tell me his boss was going to show up here because you told on him.”
“I can’t give away all the surprises. Where’s the fun in that?”
“Wait,” Ariel said. “You set that up?”
Ink shrugged. “Not exactly. The Blackwings have a good relationship with the sheriff. I just mentioned that your mom had some concerns since a new detective was working on your case and insisted on speaking with you and your mom in person. He took it from there.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I feel a little better about potentially pissing off the detective now that I know his boss is aware of the situation.”
“You didn’t piss him off,” Ink said. “If anyone did, it was me, and I don’t give a fuck if he’s pissed at me.”
“Yes, well, you have a motorcycle club at your back.”
He gave me a pointed look. “So do you.”
“Mom, did you forget to tell me something? Is Ink my new daddy?” Ariel asked, causing me to splutter and Ink to laugh.
Ink didn’t miss a beat. “Who’s hungry? How about I take my new family to dinner?”
“Dinner!” I gasped. “We’re supposed to be having dinner with Dice and Daphne tonight. I completely forgot!”
“And I completely forgot to tell you they need to reschedule because London is sick.”
“Oh no. What’s going on with her?” While I was relieved that dinner was canceled, I didn’t like that it was because their baby was sick.
“I’ll tell you about it in the car,” Ink laughed.