Chapter 22
“What the fuck’s wrong with you?” Matthews asks as he and Sherman sit across the table at McGuire’s again.
“What?”
“You look sad.”
“I am.” I nod my head, downing the rest of my full beer.
“Someone die?” Matthews asks, I can read all over his face that he doesn’t give a shit.
Just glance at him while I shake my head.
“Here.” Collins sits down next to me, handing me another beer.
“What the fuck’s up his ass?”
“He and his girl just broke up.”
Cutting my eyes at Collins as he says it.
“Yeah, we could have a club cause my wife left me for a goddamn criminal.”
“Shut the fuck up.” I snap again.
Sherman looks at me, shocked, as he leans closer.
“She had every right to leave your ass. You don’t think I fucking saw the bruises?”
An accusation like this, in public, is unheard of. They look out for their own and would never call one another out about domestic violence.
Darren stands up. “Really? You wanna take this outside?”
“Fuck you.” I stand up, having a couple of inches on him, letting me look down. “I know what the fuck you are.”
“And what’s that?” he laughs loudly.
“You’re a wife-beater.”
His lips curl upwards into a mixture of a smile and a scowl.
“You’re a murderer.”
His face changes into an actual smile now.
“You’re a dirty cop.”
“You shut your fucking mouth!”
“Ironic, that’s the only accusation that seems to bother you.
” Shaking my head and lowering my voice as I see a couple of other people walk up.
“You think you’re a man, but you’re a pussy.
You want me to be afraid of you?” I can’t help but laugh as I shake my head.
“You couldn’t handle half the shit I’ve been through. ”
“You’re a traitor.” He steps closer to me. “You don’t think I haven’t watched you. I’ve seen you slack off over the years, and even letting some things slip for that fucking club.”
“Then tell somebody… fucking anybody.”
Turning around to move towards the door, I stop, making the decision I know is stupid as soon as I decide to do so.
Saying loud enough for everyone to hear, I snicker.
“Ya know, it’s probably best for you that things ended the way they did.
Cause if not, you definitely would have watched your own call another man daddy. ”
And I finish my trek towards the door until I’m shoved out of it and onto the pavement of the parking lot.
“You’re a fucking dead man.” He’s pointing at me as his eyes blaze.
“What do you care? You did it! You got rid of all of them. Congrats.”
“You’re fucking dead.”
I can’t help but laugh as I shake my head. “Do it!” I hold my arms out, daring him.
I hear the hammer of the gun click before he steps closer to me. Holding it up to my head.
“What the fuck?” comes from the door in one jumbled voice as five of our co-workers come out, 3 of them pulling him backwards, and one disarms him.
Collins is tugging me backward toward my truck.
“Pussy.” I shout again as Collins shoves me up against the side of my truck.
“Give me your keys.”
“Why?”
“Cause I’m driving your drunk ass home.”
“Yeah, cause he’s a fucking bitch.” Then shouting across the parking lot again. “He’s a fucking bitch!”
“Shut the hell up.” Collins snaps at me again, but a ping interrupts him as a bullet hits the metal.
“What the fuck?” Is shouted as he just stares at me.
“Keys… now.” He demands.
Rolling my eyes, I move around the front end, just in case Sherman wants to shoot at us again.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? I mean, goddamn, I know you broke up with her, but —”
“This has nothing to do with her.” I snap back.
“Really, so your stepping closer to a gun being pointed at you has nothing to do with Drew Anderson?”
Cutting my eyes at him as he says her name.
“That’s what I thought.”
“I’m just sick of everyone letting him get away with whatever the fuck he wants to.
We’ve watched him fuck over woman after woman over the years.
We all know he beat her, we all know he hit her so hard she miscarried, and we just, what?
Let him fucking do it.” I pause, shaking my head.
“But yes, the not giving a fuck if he shoots me may have something to do with the breakup. You happy now?”
“No,” he shakes his head. “But at least you’re admitting it now.”
“I was so stupid to think that we could ever have anything.” Shaking my head.
“Why can’t you?” he pauses, asking.
“Come on, man, you know why.” I look at him, sighing. “You know it’s not really because of her brother or because I’m this.” Motioning over to my bag with my uniform in it. “I know you know, and I know you figured it out a while back. I don’t know why you haven’t fucking outed me to anyone yet.”
It’s quiet for the rest of the drive as I press my head against the window, looking out.
I can’t help but let a little chuckle out as I remember Z in the exact position so many months ago.
“I’ll pick you up in the morning.” He tells me.
Turning around, I move back up to the house as I sigh. Not wanting to go inside. Not wanting to face every surface that reminds me of her.
“Eli,” he calls back from behind me. “You’re a good person.”
“What?”
“That’s why. You’re a good person, so if you’re willing to go through all of this for it, then there has to be something I don’t see.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s also why you broke up with her.”
“What?”
“You’re a good person, so you don’t want to get her hurt.”
* * *
Excitement fills the station as I walk inside.
The kind of excitement that sets me on edge.
Glancing around, I watch as a couple of my coworkers laugh; clasping hands.
Collins walks up to me with a stoic face.
“What?”
“I was just about to call you.”
“What happened?”
He nods towards the parking lot, and I follow him out, checking to make sure no one’s out here. “Someone jumped Z last night.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they found him in the bathroom unconscious a few hours ago, and rushed him to the hospital. He’s there now.”
“They have something to do with it?” I nod inside.
“Man, I dunno for sure. You know I’m not in their clique, but it sure fucking seems like it.”
I stop, looking at him for a moment. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I know you’d want to know.”
I don’t know how to ask him what I need to do next; I just stare at him.
He sighs. “Man, I joined the force to help. I wanted to be a good guy, and now I just feel like I’m fucking surrounded by corruption. If I wanted corruption, there’s other, more profitable ways I could have done that.”
“There’s no such thing as good guys.”
“What?” he asks me, confused.
“Good’s relative. Depends on who’s telling the story. We’re all bad guys from someone’s perspective.”
He looks at me before nodding his head.
“Cover for me?”
“Yeah.” He nods again before I’m moving across the parking lot, still in uniform, and to a cruiser.
Walking into the hospital, I move over to the reception area.
“I’m trying to find the room for the inmate who was brought in last night.”
The nurse looks up at me, questioning for a moment.
“It’s fine, Lynette, I got it.” I hear a familiar voice say. “Elias.”
“Wait, you’re Elias?” the nurse gasps as she looks up at me.
“Yes…”
“She’s very protective of their kids. Loved Caroline.”
“I did too.” I tell her.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” She smiles. “You’re a cop now?”
“It appears that way, right?”
Slowly, she nods her head as I say it, as if she completely understands. As if she’s the only one who sees through every inch of this facade.
“Come on, I’ll show you up.”
“Uh, before we go. I called Zeke. He and Tate are on their way.”
They both nod their heads. “We’ll keep them out of there.” Dan tells me. “You wanna see him before they get here?”
“How bad is it?”
“Could be better.” He tells me. “Definite head trauma, although I don’t think it’s as bad as it could be, not permanent.”
I nod again.
“I’ll wait for them at the front.”
“Okay, we’ll make them leave. Tell them we need to run some tests and he needs privacy.”
He nods his head before telling me the room number and motioning to Lynette to follow him.
“Thanks.”
* * *
I watch Zeke rush from the cruiser up into the building.
I’m not expecting my phone to ring a couple of minutes later.
“What?”
“Come up here.” Tate says.
“Alright.” I nod, pushing out of the driver’s seat, locking the car and walking into the building.
The receptionist looks exhausted as she glances at me and just nods back down the hallway.
Pushing the door open, I look at them and nod.
“He’s a cop?” Sherri asks.
“Trust me.” Tate says before she motions for me to come over and sit. “I have a plan to get him out, and I need your help.”
“Okay, what?”
“I need you to let word get to the DA how I know Zane, that I’ve seen him be violent, that when I met him he held me at gunpoint.”
“He did what?” Sherri and I shout.
“Calm down, it was right after they died, and I was lost on the compound.”
We both nod, understanding.
“Why would I do that?”
“He refuses to let her testify.”
“Why?”
“Because they’ll pick apart my life and make me look bad. How I left my husband and immediately went to Zane.”
“Make them question your character.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. But just having the DA ask you questions, what does that do?”
“Because then I can cross-examine.” Sherri explains.
“And lead them to the information you actually want everyone to know.”
“Precisely,” Sherri nods.
“Let the jury know he’d rather go to prison than let me go through that, how Darren’s the arresting officer, and how he has a motive to set Zane up.” Tate tells me.
“What motive?”
“That I’m in love with Zane, that I’ve been since I met him, that Darren most likely knew that.”
Slowly I nod my head as I look at her. “He’s not gonna like that.”
“He’ll live.”
“Why do I feel like I’m not gonna like it what’s next?”
“Cause you won’t,” Zeke scoffs.
“If I make Darren mad enough, he’ll follow me.”
“No.” I shake my head quickly. “No. Not happening. Z will kill me.”
“Not if you’re the one who pulls him off.”
“What?”
“After I testify, I’m sure Darren will be mad.
We won’t have to do anything more. He’ll follow me, I’ll meet with Liz —” she stops as Zeke shakes his head no.
“No, someone else for dinner or something. Walk outside to make a phone call,” she air quotes phone call, “and I’m positive that’s all it’ll take. ”
“You sure?” Zeke asks.
“Yeah,” I mumble as I look back up at them.
“He’s been unhinged since she left. He shot at me the other night and has come at me a couple other times because I knew you guys.”
“Yeah. You and Collins need to be waiting in the diner.”
I pause as she mentions him.
“We can trust him.” She says
“How can you be so sure?” Zeke asks for me. “I barely trust Eli.”
She laughs, nodding again. “He stuck up for me a few times from Darren. Maybe the only other person besides Eli who said anything.” She laughs, looking down. “And I know we can trust Eli.”
“Thanks, Tate.”
“How can you be so sure?” Zeke snaps back.
“Who do you think told Zane I was getting married and tried to get him to talk me out of it?” She looks at me for the first time, acknowledging what I did. “Thank you for that.”
“What?” Zeke snaps now.
“He told me if I ever left him, Zane would never see the light of day again.” She pauses, looking down.
“That’s why we have to get him out. If Darren attacks me in addition to the hospital records I kept.
They have to show that he’s violent enough.
And has enough motive to pin it on Zane.
Plus, Stu had stood up for me right before all of this. ” She looks down.
“Tate, it’s not your fault.” I tell her, leaning in so she can tell I’m serious. “Darren’s always had a bug up his ass about Z.”
“What?” everyone in the room looks at me.
“He tried to arrest him a few times. And every time he couldn’t, it would piss him off more. Z didn’t even care that he was after him, because he didn’t give a shit. He never looks over his shoulder because he thinks he’s that good.”
“Thinks?” Sherri asks.
“I mean, they haven’t found anything yet.” I shrug, not telling them that there’s been a few times I’ve concealed evidence at a scene so it didn’t point back to him.