Chapter Nine
Rick
The moment Rick glanced over and saw Kaylee was gone, he flew out of his seat and took off out of the police station, ignoring Paulette’s and Walter’s voices calling after him.
He’d parked his car behind Kaylee’s by the coffee shop, and if she were trying to leave town, that would be her first stop.
He’d stayed there, leaning against his car like an angry parent waiting to berate their kid for breaking curfew, when an unknown number called his phone.
“Hello?”
“I have Kaylee.” He immediately recognized Paulette’s stern voice, remembering that he’d given the chief and Paulette his card at the station. “She was trying to leave her place.”
“Where is that?”
“Twenty-twenty-three New Year’s Lane.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said, putting the address into his phone’s GPS and hoofing it the five minutes to her cute little white house with its small square lawn and one-car attached garage.
Kaylee was sitting on the bottom step of her porch with a duffel bag to her left and what looked like a pink pet carrier to her right.
Paulette stood over her, and it appeared like the two of them were arguing. When he got closer, he heard Kaylee say, “This is false imprisonment.”
“You’re not being imprisoned. If anything, you are being detained.”
“Either way, you are violating my rights. I haven’t committed any crimes—”
“What about assaulting a federal agent or car theft?” Rick asked, crossing his arms in front of him as he pulled to a halt halfway up her walkway.
“Assault? It was just MiraLAX,” Kaylee said, her cheeks brightening to a vibrant shade of pink.
Rick’s jaw clenched. “Right. What did you do with my car that you took off in, anyway?”
“I left that in a national park two states over.” Kaylee flashed a wicked grin his way, her tone sugary sweet. “I don’t know why you’re holding a grudge about a little stool softener. I just noticed you were taking a long time in the bathroom and figured I’d help you get regulated.”
The fact that she could crack jokes at his expense after Rick thought he might combust from the pain that night was diabolical.
He’d been writhing on the toilet, sweat trailing down his forehead, when he’d heard the front door open and close, and he’d known what she’d done.
There was nothing he could do except ride it out, and when he could finally get off the toilet and get his phone, Rick realized she’d taken it and done something with it, although he never figured out what that was.
He’d had to make his way to the front office of the motel to call his boss, which had been more humiliating than being left with debilitating diarrhea by a woman he’d had incredibly wrong feelings about.
Who he’d almost kissed only hours before she poisoned him.
“You think you’re funny, but you’re going to have to make a lot of lattes to replace the vehicle and pay back the wasted work hours spent looking for you.” He reached down, picked up the bag and the carrier, surprised by how light the latter was, and headed back down the walkway.
“Where are you going with my stuff!”
“To my car,” he said calmly, lifting the carrier higher. One black, beady eye stared out at him through the mesh, black hair curling over his forehead like an eighties rock star.
“A fucking guinea pig?” Rick grumbled.
“Put my things down! If you want to charge me, fine! Paulette will throw me in a cell, and you can see if they will extradite me back to California for grand theft auto, but until then, you’re not going to bully me into a death sentence!”
Rick stopped, spinning around on her. “You’re telling me this is better? Running for the rest of your life and hoping no one recognizes you?”
Kaylee took a step toward him, holding her arms out. “Beats the alternative of sitting in a car with you for thirteen hours as I contemplate how Ansel is going off me!”
“Stop it, both of you!” Paulette glanced toward the street, and Rick realized a couple teens were recording them. Kaylee paled, and he met her wide, frightened gaze, her fear seizing his gut like a sucker punch.
Rick set her bags down gently, jogging toward the teens with his hands out, telling himself this was about protecting his witness and not because he hated seeing her so terrified.
He stopped in front of them, nodding his chin toward the cell. “I’m going to need you to delete that video.”
“No way!” the kid in the hat protested. “I know my rights, and you’re harassing Kaylee! The world is going to know about it!”
Rick put his hands up, keeping his voice calm. “It seems like you care a lot about her. If that’s the case, don’t post the video.”
“Why not?” the other kid asked, his fluffy hair nearly covering his eyes, resembling a llama.
“Because posting the video will put her in danger.”
The kid with the hat had his phone up as if it were a shield. “How will it put her in danger?”
“I can’t give you specifics, but I’m not lying to you.”
“Is she, like, in witness protection?” Fluffy Hair persisted.
“Again, I can’t tell you anything else.” Reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, he opened it up and pulled out two fifties, holding them up for the kids to see. “Please, delete the video.”
The kid flipped his phone down and pulled up his camera roll. Rick released a breath when he saw the video was gone. “I did.”
Rick slapped the money into his hand. “Thanks for your cooperation, guys.”
“Sure.” They passed by him in front of Kaylee’s house and hollered in unison. “Bye, Kaylee.”
She gave them a weak wave, and Rick returned to her and Paulette, noticing how pale Kaylee was.
“Did they delete it?” she whispered.
He nodded. “Do you see why it’s so important to come with me? You aren’t safe here.”
Paulette cleared her throat. “I take offense to that. We are more than capable of protecting Kaylee.”
“Not against these men. They are ruthless, cold-blooded murderers. They won’t hesitate to bulldoze through everyone in this town to get to her.”
“Can I go back inside, Paulette?” Kaylee asked, twisting her hands in front of her.
“Sure, sweetheart,” Paulette said gently as if she were comforting a child. “But stay put, all right? Whatever else, I don’t want to have to put you in handcuffs for an extradition order.”
“I understand.” She sounded so defeated, Rick almost choked on his guilt.
What do you have to feel guilty about? She’s the one refusing to do the right thing.
And he wasn’t wrong about this town. They needed to be someplace where invisibility and anonymity were possible. Not in freaking Stars Hollow!
Rick realized his inner thoughts kept returning to his comfort show and decided he needed to expand his viewing queue.
Kaylee picked up her pink carrier, but before she could grab the duffel, Rick snatched it. Her gaze flicked up to meet his.
“I can carry my bag,” she snapped.
Rick grinned. “Just being chivalrous since we’re going to be roomies for the time being.”
If metaphorical daggers could skewer, he would be a dead man. “Excuse me?”
“While Paulette might believe you, I don’t. So, you’re not leaving my sight for any reason. That means after Paulette takes the boot off my car, you and I are going to retrieve it, come back here, and you get yourself a houseguest.”
“Hell no!”
“Don’t worry,” he said with a wink, “I’ll sleep on your bedroom floor if there’s only one bed.”
Kaylee swirled toward Paulette, who was standing outside her Razor, watching them. “Can’t you do something?”
“Sorry, honey, but if I were in his shoes, I’d do the same thing.
” Paulette came around the front of the vehicle and thumped him in the chest hard.
“Be a gentleman and sleep on the couch. And y’all better not make me come back here tonight.
I got plans when my shift ends, and it doesn’t involve the two of you killing each other. ”