One Love (41 page)

“
So? Lanessa is always on
the go.” Mr. Pellerin looked proud. “My daughter is like a moving
target these days.”

“
But I always depend on
Robyn to tell
me
where Lanessa is. I have the feeling she hasn’t seen Lanessa
in a while.” Mrs. Pellerin glanced at her husband. Her expression
was melting into one of worry.

“
Now there you go. You’d
think Lanessa and Jade were babies.” Mr. Pellerin waved a hand at
her. “What exactly did Robyn say?”

“
She thought Lanessa might
be here,” Mrs. Pellerin said.

“
She stops by here sometimes
for lunch if she’s nearby.” Mr. Pellerin looked at Alex. “Nothing
strange at all.”

“
Robyn said Lanessa
mentioned she might stop by, but maybe she didn’t have time after
all.” Mrs. Pellerin blinked rapidly. “But it was something in
Robyn’s voice. And Nessa’s been so down lately.”

Mr. Pellerin patted her knee. “You’ll
probably hear from Lanessa later tonight, dear. And she’ll be full
of complaints about bad traffic and clients late for
appointments.”

“
Yes, yes of course.” Mrs.
Pellerin seemed to grasp at his words. She smiled tentatively. “I’m
sure she’s just busy as usual.”

Alex could tell that Mrs. Pellerin was
not really reassured. She would not be until she spoke to Lanessa.
The fact that her mother’s instinct was not soothed made Alex feel
uncomfortable. Yet he did not want to upset her or Mr.
Pellerin.

“
Knowing Lanessa, she’s
probably too caught up in business and has forgotten to call.” Alex
smiled at Mrs. Pellerin. “I’ve sat by a phone waiting for her more
than a few times.”

Mrs. Pellerin leaned forward. “Alex,
don’t hold too much against her.” Now her focus shifted. “Talk to
her. I know you two really love each other. Now I--”

“
What did you tell me about
getting in their business?” Mr. Pellerin cut her off. “Leave the
man alone. He didn’t come here so you can lecture him.”

“
Oh hush. I know what I’m
doing.” Mrs. Pellerin was not deterred in the least.

Alex decided it was definitely time to
leave. “Speaking of busy schedules, I have to get going. I have a
meeting at my office.”

“
I appreciate you taking
time to come here, son.” Mr. Pellerin shook his hand and patted his
back. “We know you’re a busy man, too.”

“
Yes, but we need to take
fast action with Metoyer on the prowl. Goodbye.”

Alex chatted with them as they walked
him to the door. He kept up a cheerful face even as the questions
Mrs. Pellerin had repeated in his head. Why would Robyn call
Lanessa’s parents? Why not just wait for her to come back to the
office? He waved to Mr. and Mrs. Pellerin and drove away. When he
was stopped at a red light, he dialed his office number on cellular
phone.

“
Hi, Trina. Any messages?”
he asked his secretary. “Great. Tell Tri-State Industries is back
online. I’ve got another stop, okay? Great, see you soon.” He
punched the off button and placed the small phone in his leather
case.

Alex headed for Lanessa’s office. He
would satisfy himself that there was nothing to worry
about.

***

Lanessa moaned and shifted. Half
asleep, she winced at the pain in her neck. Her first thoughts were
fuzzy, half-formed. Part of her wanted to stay in bed while a voice
in her head told her she needed to get up. For some reason her
pillow seemed especially hard. It was a struggle to get her eyes
open. When she did, the light was blinding. After a few seconds of
blinking, she realized sunshine was in her face and she was not at
home in bed. Knocking came from somewhere to her left.

“
Ma’am, are you okay?” A
tall white policeman stared down at her through the car window.
“Open the door if you can.”

Lanessa gazed around her. She was in
her car. “What in the world...” She tried to sit up but did not
quite make it.

“
Ma’am, open the door,” the
policeman said in a more insistent voice.

“
Alright, alright,” she
mumbled. When she did not move, he knocked again. “I said
alright!”

Lanessa wanted to close her eyes and
go back to sleep. Maybe the spinning and pain behind her eyes would
go away. Obviously the policeman would not allow her peace. It was
a struggle, but she managed to get up from the seat. She unlocked
the door and swung it open.

The spinning got worse.

“
I don’t think standing up
would be a good idea.” Lanessa’s stomach churned. “Just give me a
minute.”

She looked down at her clothes. Her
blue and green pants set were wrinkled. Lanessa glanced up to look
at herself in the rearview mirror only to find she was on the back
seat. Now she was really confused.

“
What happened?” Lanessa
rubbed her face in an attempt to clear her head.

“
Ma’am, have you been
drinking?” The officer scrutinized her from head to toe.

“
No, unless you count ginger
ale and club soda. Something’s wrong.” Lanessa tried to remember
where she’d been.

“
Let me see your driver’s
license and registration, please,” the policeman said.

Lanessa took deep breaths to steady
herself. “Is that it? I’ve been robbed and left for dead? I can’t
find my purse.” She looked around her. The fog inside her head was
very persistent.

The policeman gave a grunt of
impatience. “Can I look inside the car for your registration and
purse?”

“
Yes, please.” Lanessa
gripped the gray cloth upholstery of the car seat. She had to get a
handle on what was going on.

After a few minutes he found her purse
under the front seat. He handed it to her then searched the glove
compartment. Once he found her registration and proof of insurance,
he stood reading them for a moment.

“
I’ll be right back. Just
stay in the car.” The policeman walked to his patrol
car.

In the ten minutes he was gone,
Lanessa had a chance to look around. Her car was parked along a
side street in front of what looked like an abandoned building.
Several curious people stood at a distance watching.

“
Where is this? What
street?” she called out to a thin, hard looking woman holding a
smoking cigarette between two fingers.

“
Easy Town,
49
^th
Street. Baby, musta been some party you was at.” The woman let
out a guffaw.

“
I wasn’t at a party. At
least I don’t think so.” Lanessa ran the fingers of one hand
through her hair.

The woman looked at the policeman.
Seeing he was intent on his task she moved closer to the car. “Good
thing you wasn’t drivin’ when he caught ya. Course them trashcans
done for. Old man Kent gonna be mad as hell ‘bout his mailbox,
too.”

It was then that Lanessa noticed three
smashed aluminum trashcans. They lay several feet from the front
bumper of her car. She felt a jab of fear.

“
Was anybody hurt?” Lanessa
throat closed tight so that her voice rasped.

“
You clipped Chantel’s cat
looks like.” The woman pointed to a young girl holding a dirty
brown lump of fur.” Ain’t too many gonna feel bad if that mangy
pest dies. My name’s Edna, by the way.”

Lanessa gazed into the hostile eyes of
Chantel. “Oh God,” she whispered.

“
Child, don’t get upset.
Half the time she didn’t feed the damn thing.” Edna cackled.
“Chantel just likes hating folks.”

“
I’ve got to think, got to
remember what happened,” Lanessa whispered. She clutched her
forehead with one hand. The pain seemed to sharpen with the effort
to think clearly.

“
By the looks of this car
and your expensive clothes, you can afford a sharp lawyer. No
public defender for you. Even better, can’t nobody prove you done
it,” Edna said in a cheery voice.

Lanessa gazed at the woman. Edna could
have been any age between thirty and fifty. She recognized the
signs. Edna was a heavy drinker.

“
Don’t let him bluff you,
girl.” Edna gave a sharp nod toward the policeman. “He ain’t got
nothin’ on you. I know.” She winked at her.

Lanessa was more interested in how
she’d gotten here than proving her innocence. “Did you see me drive
up?”

“
Nah, heard the crash though
I think. Didn’t even look outside. Round this neighborhood ya
liable to hear anything.” Edna grinned. “Hell, me and my old man
cause some racket every once in a while.”

Lanessa frowned. “About what time was
it? That you heard the noise I mean.”

“
I dunno. Coulda been close
to midnight.” Edna took several steps back. “Here he comes.
Remember, don’t let him bluff ya,” she mumbled.

“
Ms. Thomas, you have one
conviction for Driving While Intoxicated. Were you drinking last
night?”

“
What’s your name?” Lanessa
squinted in the late afternoon glare.

“
Officer Robertson. Can you
tell me where you were going?” Robertson opened the driver’s side
door and scrutinized the car’s interior.

“
Officer Robertson, I was
not drinking. And I don’t remember anything. I must have been
robbed or something.” Lanessa tried to grab hold of an image but it
slid away too fast.

“
Is anything missing from
your purse or car?” Officer Robertson looked down at
her.

Lanessa took the leather wallet from
her purse. A twenty-dollar bill and all her credit cards were
there. Her cell phone was still in a pocket. She glanced around the
car.

“
No, nothing’s missing. I
don’t understand.” Lanessa closed her eyes.

“
Ma’am, if you’re having
blackouts, you need to get treatment.” Officer Robertson’s voice
droned on warning her about the dangers of mixing alcohol and
driving.

To Lanessa his voice was background
noise to her own thoughts. She was desperate to figure out what had
happened to her. The unknown, a vast blank when she tried to recall
where she’d been, terrified her more than she could say. But
somehow she was sure of one thing; the obvious answer was not the
right one. At least not an answer that she could face.

“
No, no, no.” Lanessa hit
her knee with a fist. “I wasn’t drunk. I’ve been dry for...” Her
voice faded.

“
Let’s be frank, ma’am. You
smell of whiskey and I found you passed out in your car. And right
next to it we’ve got smashed up property.” Officer Robertson swept
an arm out. “Look at how this vehicle is parked.”

Lanessa could not deny the evidence.
The Concorde was half in the street and half in someone’s front
yard. She gazed around. There was no reason she would have chosen
this route to go home. This neighborhood was miles away from her
house. Even in her worse drinking days, Lanessa never slept in her
car. A hard core of resistant to the obvious formed inside
her.

“
I can’t explain all this
now. But I wasn’t drinking. I’m sure of it,” Lanessa
said.

“
Right.” Officer Robertson
sighed in resignation. He wore a “seen and heard it before”
expression. “Listen, I’m going to cite you for public drunkenness
and simple damage to property.”

“
I didn’t do--” Lanessa
shook her head. A sharp stabbing pain was the result. “Lord!” She
winced.

“
Let’s see if you can safely
drive home.” Officer Robertson took no notice of her protest or
distress.

For another twenty minutes he went
through what Lanessa assumed was police procedure. Another officer
arrived and questioned onlookers. Meanwhile, Officer Robertson put
her through several tests to see if she was intoxicated. The owners
of the trashcans and mailboxes made it clear they expected to be
reimbursed. Lanessa watched it all as though it was happening to
someone else. Nothing about the scene seemed real. Finally Officer
Robertson held out her license and registration. Lanessa took them
from him. Then he tore a sheet off a small pad.

“
Here’s your copy. Please
note the date and time you have to be at City Court. If you do not
appear, the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest. Do
you have any questions?”

Lanessa started to shake her then
stopped. Pain throbbed behind her eyes. She had to take deep
breaths before speaking. “No.”

Robertson walked away. He went to the
other officer a husky black man. As Officer Robertson spoke, the
black policeman occasionally glanced at Lanessa. They both seemed
to have delivered their own verdict about her. Lanessa felt very
alone. Edna eyed the men with a scowl as she approached Lanessa.
She had a glass filled with water and ice cubes.

“
Here ya go, girl. Might
help a bit.” Edna spoke with authority. “Drink it up. You gotta be
thirsty.”

Lanessa’s throat was dry. She felt a
rush of gratitude that she could not express. “Thanks,” was all she
managed.

“
Nah, we ain’t total animals
round here.” Edna lifted her chin.

“
You’ve been so nice. I
really appreciate.” Lanessa’s eyes filled with tears and her hand
holding the glass shook.