Maybe Baby Lite (46 page)

“
That’s fine, just let it
play out on its own.”

“
There’s also the matter
of Charlie’s trial. There is a pre-trial investigation being
conducted. You’ll need to be here during some of that
questioning.”

“
I don’t understand.
There’s no way that I want to be in the same room with that
animal!” I could feel the hysteria rising in my throat.

“
Calm down, Tylar,” Trey
said gently. “There are loose ends to tie up with respect to the
letters he left, the pajamas.”

“
What are you saying,
Trey?”

“
I think we both know that
Charlie's the man from your past, your mother’s boyfriend that
attacked you when you were 13. I think we also know that he had a
hand in faxing that trust withdrawal form from our office to your
mother. He may have conspired with her for a cut of it. What I
don’t understand is why you didn’t tell the detectives the whole
story.”

“
I told them everything
that happened that night. I wasn’t sure that Charlie was connected
to the other stuff,” I lied.

“
Well, I’m sure Tylar, and
I’ve told the detectives as much. There could be further criminal
charges pressed against Charlie, but you'll need to be here as they
review the statements made the days following your attack, in
addition to the evidence I provided them that was left in or at
your cottage.”

I really wished Trey would
just let it be. “When will I have to come back down?”

“
I’m not sure. Someone
from the prosecutor’s office will be in touch with you either by
phone or mail soon.”

“
How's everything going
with you up there, Tylar? Are you feeling well?”

“
Yes, I’ve been really
busy getting the house cleaned and furnished. I’ve got my first
appointment with my OB doctor soon.”

“
That’s good,” he said. I
could tell he didn’t want to discuss my pregnancy in detail. It
made him uncomfortable.

“
How’s Derringer?” I
asked.

“
Aside from missing you,
he's well. A bit testy with Mark, I think.”

“
How often do you get back
to Bristol?” I asked.

“
Not often. There’s really
no need to now. I got your deed in the mail earlier this week. I'll
forward it on to you.”

“
Thanks,” I
replied.

“
Let me know if you need
anything. Take care.”

With that, the call was
over. I finished my Healthy Choice entrée, which was now cold, but
I couldn’t taste it anyway. Trey’s conversation had left me feeling
empty and numb.

My appointment with Dr.
Shelley Hamilton went well. I really liked her; she was young,
probably mid-30s, with an upbeat personality. The doctor went over
some of the details about my first trimester, which had about a
week and a half left. She gave me a prescription for prenatal
vitamins and informed me my due date was May 5th and she'd see me
in another month. I paid the bill and scheduled my next
appointment.

When I got home there was
a letter from the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney at the
Washington County Courthouse in Abingdon, Virginia in my mail. I
was ordered to report to the county courthouse in Abingdon to meet
with police investigators and the C.A. relative to additional
pending charges against Charles Roberts currently in custody. I had
to be there on Friday, November 9th
at 10
a.m.

I needed to call Trey. I
wasn't comfortable going back there and certainly wanted to know
what I could expect at this meeting. I heard his smooth and silky
voice on the other end.

“
Tylar?”

“
Hi Trey, do you have a
minute?”

“
Certainly,” he replied,
“what can I do for you?”

I told Trey about the
letter that I'd received and my order to report to the C.A.’s
office the following Friday. Trey explained that the Commonwealth
Attorney's just another name for a prosecutor or district attorney.
He said that my statement would be reviewed with the detectives and
C.A. They'd question me as to the other events that transpired,
they may show me any videotaped questioning that had been conducted
with Charlie, and get my confirmation as to the validity of his
statements to date. Trey assured me that I'd not have to come
face-to-face with Charlie.

“
Will you be there?” I
asked.

“
I’ve not been requested
to be there. Do you need me to be there with you, Tylar, as your
counsel?”

“
I guess not. I'll be
fine.” I was dreading this; I didn’t want to go back to Washington
County.

“
Are you flying down
Tylar?”

“
I think I probably will.
I don’t want to stay over and it’s too long of a drive not
to.”

“
Let me know your flight
information. I'll pick you up.”

With that, we hung up. I
drove to the local library, and accessed the internet to make
flight arrangements for the following Friday. I texted the details
of my flight to Trey. He texted me back saying that he'd be there
to pick me up. I couldn’t help feeling butterflies at the thought
of seeing Trey again. It seemed like it'd been forever instead of
just four weeks since I'd last seen him.

The flight from Louisville
was my favorite kind: uneventful. I'd bought a bagel at the airport
hoping it would ease my morning sickness. I wasn’t sure if the
queasiness was due to my pregnancy or simply my nervousness about
seeing Trey and dealing with the details of Charlie Roberts’s
assault.

Charlie was charged with
breaking and entering, burglary, and felony assault. My
understanding was that the C.A. was willing to go for attempted
murder, and add aggravated menacing, conspiracy to commit fraud,
and several other charges relating to his involvement in the trust
fund depending upon what Charlie was willing to admit.

The plane landed on time
at Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee. I walked
through the gate area and past the security checkpoint. I heard
Trey before I saw him.

“
Tylar, over here.” I
turned and saw him standing next to the baggage claim area. He was
dressed casually in dark brown trousers and a tan sweater that
accentuated his muscular arms and flat, taught belly. I had a white
oxford shirt on underneath the sweater jacket. I had light gray
tights on with short dress boots. I saw Trey’s eyes flicker over me
almost appreciatively. “You look great,” he said, smiling, holding
me from him so that his eyes could sweep over me once
again.

“
You, too,” I replied,
smiling, suddenly feeling kind of shy.

“
C’mon,” he took my hand,
“I’m parked right out front.”

I thought there would be a
strained silence between us during the ride from the airport to
Abingdon, but initially, that wasn't the case. Trey wanted to know
all about the house and what I'd done with it so far. He asked if
I'd spoken with any of my neighbors to see if they had heard
anything about my mother. I had not and told him as
much.

“
I don’t get it Tylar, you
puzzle me.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
I don’t understand why
you have no desire to seek justice for what your mother has done to
you.”

I considered this. “Which
one of her crimes should I seek justice against, Trey? When I was
11 and she slept with my best friend’s dad in her bedroom and I
heard everything? When she allowed Charlie Roberts to wander into
my bedroom and assault me? How about when she screwed my boyfriend
on my prom night? What about the lifelong lie about my father being
married to her and then leaving her for someone else? Her stealing
my trust money was minor compared to the years of her neglect,
duplicity, and lack of love or compassion she had for her own
child. What kind of justice will take those scars away?”

Trey immediately pulled
the car over to the side of the road and parked. He unfastened his
seat belt and leaned over to me, taking me into his arms. A flood
of tears to ran down my face. He took my face in his hands and
kissed my tears away. His mouth found mine and in an instant our
lips met with the hunger and passion that was so familiar to me. I
lost myself in his kiss.

“
Oh Tylar,” he moaned,
continuing to press kisses on my lips, my face, and my throat,
“I've missed you so much.”

“
I’ve missed you too,
Trey,” I buried my face in his neck.

“
Why did you leave me,
Tylar?” he asked, his voice husky.

“
I couldn’t be what you
wanted me to be Trey. I didn’t like having an agreement that
prevented us from loving.”

“
But you slept with Mark
and claimed no love between the two of you,” he argued, anger in
his voice.

I suddenly filled with
rage. There were a hundred different things that he could have said
in response to why I'd left him; to accuse me of sleeping with Mark
in a loveless relationship was simply unacceptable.

“
And now,” he continued,
still irritated and totally oblivious to my anger, “you've saddled
yourself with his brat for the rest of your life.”

I pushed him away, too
angry to speak. I accepted that he didn’t know the truth and, had
he known, would likely not have referred to the child I was
carrying as a “brat,” but his insensitivity to the situation in
general was deplorable. A look of surprise crossed his face as I
pushed him away.

“
Let’s go, Trey, I need to
get to Abingdon."

The temperature in the car
immediately dropped several degrees. Trey straightened his sweater,
put the car in gear, and sped back out onto the highway. We drove
in chilly silence the rest of the way. Trey pulled up to the curb
in front of the courthouse and got out. He opened the passenger
side door and helped me out onto the sidewalk.

“
Text me when you're ready
to be picked up. I'll send a limo for you. Good luck, Tylar.” With
that he circled back behind his car, got into the driver seat, and
sped off.

Once inside the
courthouse, I went to over to the witness check-in window. I told
the officer that I was expected for a 10 a.m. meeting with someone
from the CA’s office. He checked a daily roster sheet for my
name.

“
You’re a little early,
Ms. Preston. Please have a seat and someone will call
you.”

Finally my name was called
out from a uniformed officer standing with a door that opened out
into the waiting area. I headed to the doorway and he stood aside
to let me through.

“
This way please,” he
directed, leading me to a conference room off of the
hallway.

“
Good morning, Ms.
Preston. I’m Beth Denniston, deputy C.A. with Washington County,” a
woman said, holding her hand out to me. I shook her hand. “Do you
remember Detective Ryan?” she asked. I nodded, shaking his hand as
well.

“
What we're going to do
this morning, Ms. Preston, is to review the statement you provided
to the detectives on October 5
^th
of this year, as well as go
over some of the additional evidence that's been provided to our
office subsequent to October 5
^th
, okay?”

“
Yes,” I replied
nervously.

“
We understand that you
suffered a head injury, so it’s possible that things could actually
be clearer now than when you initially provided your statement to
the detectives. Just relax, and relate exactly what you remember
about the night of October 3
^rd
of this year to us,
okay?”

I nodded.

“
We're going to record
this interview for the purpose of preserving your testimony for
evidence. We must make sure that you understand that this is being
taped and say so for the record.”

She turned on the
recorder, stating today’s date, time, people present, case number,
and parties to the case. She asked me to state my name for the
record.

“
Tylar Jamie
Preston.”

“
And Ms. Preston, you have
agreed to allow this interview to be taped as future evidence as
required, is that true?”

“
Yes,” I
answered.

“
Okay, in your own words,
tell us what you remember about the night of the attack in your
cottage at Sinclair Stables.”

“
I remember that it was a
Wednesday night. I wanted to stay up and watch the season opener of
a television show. I maybe watched the first 15 minutes of it and
then dozed off. When I woke up later, the show was off and the 11
p.m. news was on. I turned the television off, switched off the
lights in the living room of the cottage, and went to
bed.”

I paused momentarily
collecting my thoughts from that horrible night. “I remember that
the window in my bedroom was opened because it was still fairly
warm out and I liked the fresh breeze coming in to my
room.”

My mouth was getting dry
which often happened when I was stressed or nervous. Detective Ryan
got up and went to a small refrigerator in the conference room,
retrieving bottle of water for me. I thanked him, took a sip, and
continued.