Law and Author (24 page)

“That would be lovely. And on the way back, can you bring me an itty bitty glass of something stronger than tea?”

NONE SO BLIND—
BARBARA FRADKIN

L
izzie had filled Teensy in on all that had happened before the others made it back from the hospital. They were now all seated outside on Molly's patio, lemonades in hand. Darla, her right hand bandaged, held her glass with her left one.Molly and Bob sat flanking her. Lizzie sat across from them.

“So, Darla,” Bob was saying, “you'd better tell us all about it. And I mean, all.”

“Wait a sec,” Lizzie said. “First of all, I want to know how that USB stick got in my handbag.”

“Your purse was just sitting there that morning I stopped by to see you, so I dropped it inside. I thought it would be safe and I could get it later.”

“Why's it so important? What's on it?” Bob wanted to know.

Darla winced as she moved her injured hand. “It belonged
to Rafe Shannon. Wade stole it from him. I'm guessing that he killed him for it.”

Lizzie kept herself from jumping in with the real story. She glanced at Teensy and gave a quick shake to her head. Teensy winked back.

“Do you know what's on it?” Bob persisted.

Darla shook her head. “Not really but I'll bet it had something to do with Rafe's drug ring.”

“He had a drug ring going?”

“I heard he was trying to get one started.” Darla bit her bottom lip and looked like tears would flow any second. “I didn't know anything about any of this when I came here, I promise.”

“Why don't you start at the beginning?” Molly asked gently.

Darla looked at her a moment and then nodded. “Okay. The truth. When I came here it really was to try to find my granddaddy. I was real curious, you know? And I felt like no one wanted me. Mama had just kicked me out. And also, I was real scared because I needed to get money to pay off my gambling real fast. Last time Rafe and I had a talk”—she used her hands to provide the quotation marks, wincing as she flexed her bandaged hand—“he called it my last chance. He said next time I'd be real sorry if I didn't have the money. So I ran away.”

She looked at Bob. “I admit, I was hoping you could give me the money. And then when I saw Molly's place and how much money she must have, I thought, this could be it.” She glanced at Molly. “Sorry but that's how it was. I was desperate.”

Molly nodded but her face remained impassive.

“How did Wade become involved in all this?” Lizzie asked.

“He followed me. He said he was real worried about me.”
She started crying. Molly leapt up and got a box of tissue from the kitchen.

“Now you just take your time, honey. We want to help you.”

Darla nodded and dabbed at her eyes, and blew her nose. She shifted in her seat.

“When did he really get here?” Bob asked.

Darla gulped. “He got here the same day as me but later that night. I'd phoned him to say where I was staying and he just appeared.”

“So he'd been here the whole time?” Molly asked. Lizzie could tell she was trying hard not to let any emotions show.

“Uh-huh. He stayed in the room because he said he didn't want it to get back to either of you. But then he saw Rafe Shannon coming out of one of the rooms next morning. He knew him but I'm not sure if he knew he'd be here or not. Wade says not but I think he really did, because he knew what Rafe was doing here.”

“Drugs,” Bob said.

“I guess.”

“Did Wade want a part of the action?” Bob asked.

Darla nodded. “He said that Rafe had hired him.”

“When did he say that?”

Darla shrugged. “I don't know. It was last week. Maybe the same day I saw Rafe in town. That's it. I was so upset and I told Wade all about him and he said it would be all right because Rafe and him were now partners.”

“Then why did Wade kill him?”

Darla shook her head and the tears started flowing again. “I don't know. That's all I know, honestly.”

Again, Lizzie didn't volunteer what she knew. There was more that needed telling and she wondered if Darla would do so. Mark said when someone used the word “honestly,” it usually meant the opposite. What was she hiding?

So she asked. “What aren't you telling us, Darla?”

“Lizzie.” Bob's voice held a bit of a warning.

“Oh, come on now. Surely, you can tell she's holding something back.” Bob might have a plan to ease the information out of her, but Lizzie was losing patience very quickly. A lot had gone down in the past couple of hours and the realization of just how dangerous the entire situation had been was finally sinking in. She hugged herself and bit her bottom lip so that she wouldn't say any more just now.

Darla stared at her, tears forgotten. “Okay. Wade did tell me that Rafe was starting up a drug network and that Wade would be his right-hand man. The USB stick had all the contact information on it. After that beating he gave me, I took it to keep him away. If Wade swore to leave me alone then I'd give it back to him.”

“And you think he'd stick to his word?” Bob asked, sounding as skeptical as he looked.

“What else could I do? After the last time he beat me up and all.” She glanced at Lizzie with pleading in her eyes, and Lizzie realized she would be sticking to that story. No talk about the plan they'd hatched. No mention of there being only one true beating.

“I wanted nothing more to do with him especially after all he'd done, but there's something that just keeps pulling me right on back to him,” Darla continued. “Ya know? I had to make him stop doing that to me. I know I'm too weak to stay away. And then there's the part of me that wonders, like, what if he's the only chance I get?”

“At what?” Molly asked.

“At love,” Darla whispered through fresh tears.

Lizzie couldn't help rolling her eyes. She glanced around. Fortunately, no one had seen her do it. She realized there wasn't anything she could do to make Darla tell the entire truth.

Molly moved over to sit beside Darla and put an arm around her shoulders. “That's not true, Darla. You'll have a lot more chances if you just let yourself be open to them. I promise.”

Darla hiccupped just as Mark came around the corner of the house.

“I see you've already gotten the story out of her,” he said to all.

Bob stood up and walked over to pour another drink. “Not all of it. And it's not a pretty story.”

Mark shook his head. “I sent someone over to the hospital to escort her to the station to give her statement. It's customary to tell the police first.” He looked pointedly at Bob, who held his gaze. Mark sighed. “Okay, let's hear it from the start.”

“Again?” Darla sniffed.

“Yes. And then you'll be doing the same thing at the station.”

“Maybe I can bring her in tomorrow to do that,” Bob stated.

Mark exchanged another look with him. “That will work. But I want to hear what you have to say while it's still fresh in your mind.” Mark pulled out a small tape recorder from his pocket. “And, I'll just tape it in case you need refreshing tomorrow.” He leaned over and put it on the wicker patio table in front of Darla.

Darla looked at it and then at Bob, who nodded. She went through what she'd already told them in a much stronger voice this time. The story remained much the same, Lizzie thought.

When she'd finished, Mark shut off the recorder and accepted a glass of lemonade from Molly.

“I need to use the restroom,” Darla said and hurried inside.

Mark waited until she disappeared from sight. “That pretty
well fits in with what Wade told us. There are some parts she doesn't know, or doesn't want to admit to knowing.”

“That's hardly a fair comment,” Bob said.

“That's how I see it. You're thinking as a granddaddy, not as a cop. Now, do you want to hear or not?”

Bob settled back and crossed his arms over his chest. He obviously didn't like being reminded he wasn't a cop anymore.

Mark nodded and took a long drink before talking. “It seems Rafe Shannon, among his many other jobs, has been running drugs for one of his bosses in the Atlanta area. I guess he had bigger plans and had been buying up drugs for some time now, hoping to start his own little drug kingdom throughout some of the smaller towns here. He found out about Eddie Riser and arranged to meet him and sell him some drugs at a better rate than Eddie's old supplier.”

“I wonder what made him choose Ashton Corners?” Molly asked.

Mark looked uncomfortable but finally answered. “Apparently Rafe had told Wade it was because of the cops here and having family in the right place when the going got hot.”

Bob looked puzzled. Lizzie knew better than to say anything. Let Mark handle it.

“It's a long story and one that doesn't need to be told here. Wade was pretty willing to talk to us. I think he's realized it can't get any worse for him. For starters, that USB stick holds the plans for Rafe Shannon's new drug ring. He saw himself as quite the drug lord and Ashton Corners was to be his first foray into a network. He brought Wade on board as his second in command.”

“But I still don't understand why Wade killed him,” Bob said again.

“He swears he didn't do it. What he will admit to is having gotten into an argument with Shannon the day before over Wade's cut. So Wade was already mad at him, when Rafe said he was coming over here to talk to you, Molly, and get you to pay off Darla's debt. Wade got angry and followed him. But he found Shannon already dead so he got out of there in a hurry.”

“Eddie Riser had beat him to it,” Lizzie added.

Both Bob and Molly looked shocked.

“Do you believe him?” Bob asked.

Lizzie filled them both in on what had happened at her house. Molly reached over and gave Lizzie's hand a squeeze when she'd finished. “I'm so thankful you're okay, honey. And, you had no idea, Mark?”

Mark shook his head. “I can't believe that guy. He sure had us fooled, although we had begun wondering how the guy in charge could be so slick and keep such a low profile.”

“You mean, it was Eddie Riser's business? That punk?” Bob asked.

“Right. He even had the other guys on his team believing they were all answering to someone else. Pretty smart, actually. Until Rafe Shannon wanted in and then there was only one way this would play out. And once Wade tried dealing himself in with Riser and told him about the USB stick with all of Shannon's business info on it, Riser saw a way of making even more money.”

Darla came back outside at that point. She looked at Molly. “Wade said he didn't want Rafe screwing up a good thing. Wade had already decided I should ask you, even beg you, to pay the debt and maybe even get a bit more out of you.” She started to cry again.

Molly looked stunned. Even Bob didn't seem sure what to say.

Darla sniffed and blew her nose. “Am I in any trouble with the law?” she asked Mark.

He shook his head. “Not unless it turns out you were really involved with the entire plot.”

She blanched and cried out.

“I'm not saying I believe that, Darla. Seems to me your biggest trouble is here with your granddad and Molly.”

Darla lowered her head, which made it difficult to clearly hear what she next said. “I know. I'm really, really sorry. I wouldn't blame you two if you kicked me out right now and never spoke to me again.”

No one said anything for a few minutes. Lizzie had a feeling that this was the real Darla speaking, not someone trying to play an angle. She wondered if Molly and Bob felt the same thing. She was still upset with her, though, for not telling the entire truth. But who knew, that might eventually come out, once Darla settled into a new life. She could only hope so. Secrets were not a good basis for any relationship. But she also knew it wasn't hers to tell.

Bob cleared his throat. “I'm not saying I'm not disappointed in you, young lady. But I do understand where you're coming from. But you know, you can't go around playing the ‘poor me' card all the time. You have to take responsibility for your life. So, I'll make you a deal.” He waited until Darla looked at him before continuing.

“You go on home to your mama and I'll come with you. It's time I got to know my daughter, after all. And I want you to find a job, a real job and to put some effort into doing it real good.”

“You said you wanted to work in a veterinary office, didn't you, Darla?” Lizzie asked.

Darla nodded. Bob looked surprised.

“Okay then, that's a plan. You find that job and I'll pay
off your gambling debt. Then you make regular payments to me out of your paycheck until the debt is settled.” He held up his hand before she could say anything. “It's strictly a loan and we'll draw up the papers all legal like. You have to take responsibility for this, Darla, but I'll be there for you.”