Across The Hall (47 page)

only me. “Worrying isn’t going to help anything right now. Quinn knew exactly what he was doing. Beau deserved it, al of it. You know that, right?” I

swal owed and nodded. I felt my eyes fil with tears and tried to blink them away. He rubbed comfortingly along my knee as he continued his voice

stil low and soothing. “You’re worrying about al the wrong things, Sylvia. Trust me on this -- no one is in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as

it is. Don’t add to it with total y unnecessary worries.” He pul ed me to him, his strong arms wrapping themselves around me, sharing his strength

and optimism with me. He whispered in my ear, “You are worth it.”

I smiled at him the best I could. His words had the intended effect. I leaned against Kai as I waited. I tried to block out al unnecessary thoughts

and worries. I just focused on tiles on the floor and counted them. I was on sixty-four when Reed burst into the room, fol owed by Kerri.

“Have you heard anything? How’s Quinn? Did someone make him their bitch yet?” Al our eyes flew to Reed. As Kerri flicked his ear. “Jesus,

baby. That hurts.” He whined as he rubbed his ear.

“We don’t know anything yet. Have a seat and wait with us.” Sloane motioned to the chairs across from us.

Kai stood. “I need to use the restroom. Sylvia, would you like to come with?”

I didn’t know what else to do so I fol owed her. I didn’t have to go but I did splash cool water on my face and wipe it off with the rough paper towel.

I looked horrible. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. I had a crease across my brow that I knew wouldn’t disappear until I saw Quinn

again. I turned from the mirror and my self-examination as I heard Kai flush. She stepped out and washed her hands before enveloping me into a

hug. Her tiny little arms could hug something fierce.

“Thanks, Sylvia. I needed that.” It was more like she knew I needed that. “Marie and Alex should be here by now. Let’s go see if they can find out

anything.”

We walked back out and I overheard Sloane saying, “He messed him up real bad. I don’t think it’s going to be good.”

Kerri hissed and jerked her head in my direction. They al stared at me and I remained frozen. Before I could do anything, the door to the back

opened and a young, blond officer stepped out.

“Sylvia O’Mara?” he cal ed out loud and clear.

Al eyes were on me. I swal owed and stepped forward. “That’s me,” I whispered.

He smiled at me warmly. “Miss O’Mara, I need to talk to you. Wil you please come with me?”

I nodded and fol owed him beyond the doors, which closed behind me. I wondered what he needed to talk to me about. I looked around as I

tagged along behind him. I was looking for Quinn. I knew he had to be here somewhere. I didn’t see him before the officer stopped and motioned to

an open door. I entered the little room, which I knew from having grown up a cop’s daughter was an interrogation room. I never feared the police,

and I wasn’t afraid of them now. I was just worried about Quinn and wanted to know what was going on with him.

I sat down on the chair he motioned towards. I waited patiently for him to take his seat and get started.

“Miss O’Mara, I’m Officer Francis.” He reached over and held out his hand. I tentatively shook it.

“Sylvia, please,” I corrected him. He nodded.

He was young. He couldn’t have been much older than I was. He was blond, with sharp angular features. Yet he was pretty. Almost feminine in his

features. His eyes were pale blue and kind, yet cautious.

I settled back in my chair, crossing my arms in front of me as I waited for him to begin.

“Miss...Sylvia, I need to record this.” I nodded as he pressed the button on the recorder. “Do you know Beau Dalton?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know Mr. Dalton?”

I bit my lip, not wanting to admit it. “I dated him briefly.”

“What can you tel me about your relationship with him?”

I told him how I’d met Beau, and how he became increasingly possessive towards me. I told him of how he’d grabbed me that Monday after I had

stayed with Quinn and threatened to end Quinn. I relived Hal oween and al that he had said to me.

He asked me some questions about Beau’s activities and if I ever saw him do anything il egal. I told him about the beating he gave the man at the

bar, but that I hadn’t witnessed any il egal activity. He asked about the few friends of Beau’s that I had met, and if I knew where any of them could be

found. I wasn’t much help with that, since I didn’t even know where Beau lived.

After I told him about Thanksgiving, Officer Francis asked me some questions about that and if I knew my dad had run a background check on

him. I told him I did. He asked why I didn’t contact the police when I knew that he was wanted. I became concerned that I was in trouble for not

having done that. I explained about my father’s death and he seemed to understand. He asked me if I’d had any contact with Beau since then. I

pul ed out my phone and showed him the texts he sent. Lastly, I told him about Beau showing up at work that day, and how he’d hurt my arm and

what we’d talked about.

He had me show him the bruises and then went out the door. He came back in with a female officer, who was holding a camera.

“Sylvia, we need to take some pictures of the bruises.” I held out my arm and let them get what they needed.

When the pictures were done, the other officer left and Officer Francis sat down across from me again.

“How do you know Quinn Lobato?”

“I’ve known Quinn for years. We dated in high school and this fal he moved across the hal from me. We recently started dating again.”

He asked me more questions about Quinn. How Beau and Quinn acted towards each other and if Quinn had ever acted violently before.

By the end, I was frustrated with the questions. Quinn wasn’t the bad guy in al of this.

“I don’t understand why you need to know al of this. Beau is the one who has been harassing me. He’s the one who kicked in the door and

started al of this. Why are you questioning me about Quinn? Quinn was only protecting himself.” I snapped my jaw shut and waited for an answer as

I tried not to grind my teeth.

Officer Francis just nodded his head and smiled sympathetical y. “I know, Sylvia. We just need to make sure we cross al our t’s here. We want to

put that scum Dalton away for a very long time, and we want nothing coming back to potential y hurt Mr. Lobato.” I was relieved that at least they

seemed to see that. “One last question, Sylvia. Do you recognize this?” He held out a little evidence bag with what appeared to be my pendant in it.

I picked it up and looked it over careful y. “This is my pendant. I’ve been looking for it.” I looked back at him in confusion. “Where did you get it?”

“It was found on the floor in the hal of the apartment complex. It’s believed that Mr. Dalton had it in his possession. Did you ever at any point give

this to him?”

“No,” I gasped. “I never gave this to him. I noticed just a couple days ago that it was missing. I’ve been looking al over the apartment for it. It

belonged to my mother. Can I have it back?”

“Yes, but not right away. Right now it’s evidence. We think that Mr. Dalton may have broken into your apartment and taken it. Has there been

anything else missing?”

“Oh my God. He was in my apartment?” A shiver of fear passed through me, leaving me cold al over. “How many times?”

“We don’t know. We were hoping you could help us with that.”

I had nothing to add. It could have been at any time. I spent a great deal of time at Quinn’s recently, and at his parents’ house. I thought back to

the day we’d picked Kai and Sloane up from the airport, and how I had the strangest feeling when we came back from the grocery store. He must

have been in my apartment that day.

He held out his hand to me again and I shook it. “I think that is al we need here, Sylvia. Either the police or an Assistant District Attorney wil be in

touch with you regarding this case. Here is my card. If you think of anything else or notice anything else missing, cal me. I’m sorry for the

circumstances of our meeting, but it was nice to meet you.” He got up and walked to the door. I fol owed, but stopped just outside of it.

“What about Quinn? Is he done? Wil he be coming home with me?” I was stil afraid that they were going to keep him.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure someone wil be able to tel you something soon. I wouldn’t worry too much, though. It looks like he did al of us a favor

taking Beau Dalton off the street.”

He led me back to the waiting room. Everyone was there, joined by Alex and Marie. Marie rushed up to me and pul ed me into her arms as she

rocked us sideways. When she pul ed away, she reached down and captured my hand, pul ing me over to the chair next to her.

I looked around at al of them. “Anything yet?” I didn’t know why I even bothered asking. The bleak looks I was given in return were al the answer I

needed.

“We were hoping you would be able to tel us something,” Alex said. “What did they talk to you about?”

I fil ed them in on the questions that Officer Francis had asked. I also told them that he didn’t seem like they were going to keep Quinn. We waited

a little longer. Final y, the door opened and I heard one of the sweetest sounds in the world to me - Quinn laughing.

I jumped up and headed towards the door, and there he was. His head was thrown back and he was laughing a real laugh -- not a fake, just-to-

be-polite laugh. It made me simultaneously happy and relieved, yet it pissed me off, too. We were al out here worried sick over him, and he was

standing there laughing with the officers. I cleared my throat and he turned to me. Whatever anger I held evaporated instantly from the heat of his

gaze. Those eyes penetrated me and I melted. I threw myself at him. He caught me and staggered back just a bit.

The officer next to him made some comment and everyone laughed. I didn’t hear what it was, and I didn’t care. I had Quinn safe in my arms. His

hard chest was pressed against mine, and his arms tightened around me. It was heaven. I didn’t want to let go. But when he relaxed his hold on me,

I let my arms loosen as wel . I couldn’t bear to release him completely, though. I looked up at him and he smiled down at me.

That’s when I noticed the bruises along his neck. My eyes went wide in shock. Kai and Sloane had both said he wasn’t hurt, yet he had marks on

him. I reached up and gently touched them.

“What...” I whispered, but Quinn cut me off.

“Don’t worry about it. I wil tel you later. Let’s just get out of here.” He looked around at everyone then. “Dad, thank you for sending Randy in.” He

let go of me and reached over to Alex and Marie, hugging them both.

“Son,” Alex returned the hug. “What is going on?” His concern prominent in his voice.

“I’l tel you al about it at home. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Reed and I wil pick something up for supper and meet you al at your place.” Kerri suggested.

“That sounds great. Thank you, Kerri.” Quinn gave her an appreciative grin. “Dad, can we ride with you?” I was happy that he included me in that.

There was no way I was letting him out of my sight anywhere in the near future.

The ride home was much shorter than the ride there. I stayed in Quinn’s arms the entire car ride back. We each shared our stories of what had

happened with Beau. I felt Quinn tense up as I told them about Beau showing up at work and what he had said. Quinn muttered something under his

breath that I didn’t quite catch, but it was something about breaking his neck when he had the chance. I felt the same when Quinn told about Beau

kicking in the door and taking a swing at Quinn. I asked about the bruises on his throat and he explained that Beau had choked him. Both Marie

and I gasped, realizing that we could have lost him.

We went to Quinn’s place instead of mine. I didn’t want to go there yet, and Quinn was just fine with that. Kai and Sloane fol owed after us. I retold

my time with Officer Francis to Quinn. The others listened patiently. Soon Reed and Kerri showed up with pizza. Marie and Kai got out plates and

drinks from the fridge and everyone grabbed a slice and settled in, waiting for Quinn to begin.

I couldn’t eat. I stil felt uneasy and slightly sick over al of it. I sat next to Quinn and sipped at my beer, anxiously waiting to hear about his time at

the police station. Quinn, on the other hand, didn’t have a problem with eating. He was relaxed and joked with Reed and Sloane while he ate. His

easy manner should have helped put me at ease, but I just couldn’t calm down until I knew for sure that everything was alright.

Final y, Alex asked. Quinn’s eyes flashed something as he looked at me, but the look was gone as quickly as it had appeared. He put his plate

on the floor and kicked his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. He already had his arm draped over me, but he pul ed me closer to

his side as he sighed. I got the feeling that he just wanted to put it al behind him.

“First, let me reassure you al that it should be just fine. The police or the Assistant District Attorney may contact some of you just to find out how

Beau acted around Sylvia and me.” Everyone nodded. They had expected as much. “They basical y asked me what happened today and I told

them. He kicked the door in and took a couple swings at me, which I avoided. I tried to sweep his legs out from under him. It didn’t work, and he

choked me and got a punch in that I deflected. I’m not sure what al else happened. It just went so quickly. I got a couple kicks to his knee, the punch

to his nose and then one to the sternum and that’s when he went down.”

Quinn calmly relayed it al like he was talking about something he had watched on TV more than something he had been involved in. He shrugged