Somewhere in My Heart (4 page)

Jenna nudged her, “Are you going to show me around, or are we going to sit here all day?” 

Billie stated, “I’m thinking of giving you a tour of the lake, so I can drown you in it!”

While Billie was taking Jenna everywhere she could think of, they ran in to Brook and Shane.  They received an invitation to hang out with them on their set in Nashville.  Billie was excited about it but was beginning to worry about the performance of her ‘boyfriend’ that night. She couldn’t find Chris anywhere.  But, he soon found her.  She asked him where he had been after she introduced Jenna.  He said, “Taking care of unfinished business.  Now, I have to get to work on my rehearsal for tonight.” 

When he walked away, Jenna questioned, “Is he always that brief, of rude?”

Billie answered, “When he has a lot on his mind, I just leave the conversation, or lack of it, to him.” Billie went to her room to get her camera.  She noticed Chris’ cell phone kept getting calls.  She couldn’t believe he had left it behind.  She looked at the number on the screen, but didn't recognize it.  It was a local number.  She ran in to Andy and asked him to give the phone to Chris when he saw him. 

Andy asked, “Is Chris a friend of Ben’s?” 

Billie wondered, “Why?” 

Andy informed, “This is Ben’s phone number.” 

Billie told Jenna about it.  Jenna grilled, “Do you think Lana is talking to Chris now?  She might want him back.” 

Billie objected, “I don’t think she does.  It must be something else because I’ve heard the words from her mouth that she was fed up with him. I didn’t believe she was telling the truth about Chris, but I’m beginning to see things in a different light.”

Jenna asked, “Has he beaten you?” 

Billie insisted, “No.  I don’t feel threatened by him, yet.  I’m not worried about that because I won’t be around to find out if he can be abusive.” 

Maria entered and said, “Where are you going?” Billie was aware of Maria’s loyalty to Chris as a friend.  But, she was also her friend and had deep trust with her. She let her in on it.  All she said was, “Whatever you think is best for you, then I am for it.”  Billie was relieved.

Time flew as the stage was set.  The opening acts were of various forms of country music.  Some where a mixture of bluegrass and country, while the rest were rock/pop and country.  Billie was enjoying every performance.  She cheered on Bobby and so did Jenna.  Chris showed up around the time Maria was performing.  Billie claimed, “It’s about time you got here.”  Chris said, “I was talking to Joy Edwards.  We might be doing a duet together soon.” 

Jenna remarked, “That’ll sell…country’s Barbie and Ken.”  Billie and Jenna laughed, but changed emotions when he got up and left again.  As he was leaving, Maria started her show. One of her first songs was about an alcoholic killing his wife in a car accident.  Chris made his exit during Maria's standing ovation. Billie didn’t notice him leaving, but Jenna did.  She pointed it out beyond the fireworks.  Jenna ended up witnessing a little bit more.

Chris came back just in time to go on stage.  He was acting extremely different. Billie had watched him transform in to many different attitudes, but this was one she had never seen.  He left the stage in a hurry.  Then, Andy was last to perform.  Billie weighed the pros and cons on speaking to Chris and concluded to relax and enjoy the rest of the show.  Her work was never done.

Billie said farewell to Jenna.  She had to fly back home for an assignment.  Billie promised to keep in touch and notify her of a sudden or drastic change in her life.  She was about to discover one.  She went to Chris' room to see if he was stable.  He was pacing.  That was the first sign that something was wrong.  Billie questioned, “Are you angry because of Maria's songs, the emotion brought up some issues for you?” 

He admitted, “They did hit home a little.  But, song lyrics are the last thing on my mind.  Something really bad has happened that cannot be taken back.  But, I can’t talk about it.  You cannot be involved.” 

Billie declared, “I am already involved.” 

He instructed, “I would tell you, but you are going to find out by tomorrow anyway.  Plus, we will be breaking up soon.”

Billie thought, “Why do you say that?” 

He claimed, “I just know it.  I don’t want to talk about it anymore.  All I will say is it has been a great experience, the time that I have spent with you…even if we didn’t always agree on certain things.”  He just stopped there.  He had more to say, but was holding back.  Billie couldn’t get him to open up more to her.  He had her curious.

Her inquiries were over the next day.  The house was deathly quiet.  It was spooky. She went outside to see where everyone had gone.  They were only having breakfast on the patio. She couldn’t find Chris and she couldn’t see Bobby and Kelly either.  She asked Andy if he had seen them.  He stated, “Bobby and Kelly went jogging.  Chris left early this morning.  He didn’t say where he was going or when he was coming back.” Billie decided to go look for him.  Her first instinct was Lana’s cabin.  Then, she thought about him going to a bar.  She didn’t know which choice would be worse.  Before long, she had run in to the Douglas'.  They seemed to be in a rush to get back. 

Billie asked them, “Where’s the fire?” 

Kelly advised, “We have bad news, about Chris.” 

Bobby pleaded, “Maybe I should tell her.” 

Billie shouted, “Somebody tell me, what is it? Is he all right?” 

Bobby admitted, “We’re not sure how he is at the moment.  But, when we last saw him, he was being arrested.” Billie couldn’t believe it.  She had not heard any police sirens.  Now, she knew why Chris was acting so strange.  She had to find out the reason behind it all.  One thing was for sure, she knew Lana was involved.  She wondered if he violated the restraining order.  They weren’t sure if they should tell the others or not.  But, they might need them to help get Chris out of jail.

Andy and Louise said they would do all that they could to help out an old friend. They went down to the police station.  They found out about his early bail hearing.  Andy and Bobby talked to some guards and found out why Chris was arrested.  Andy cried, “This is terrible…two deaths in one week.” 

Billie begged, “Who did he kill, Ben?” 

Bobby declared, “They are charging Chris with First degree murder of Lana Howard.” 

Billie was in shock and in denial.  She knew he was upset with Lana, but it never crossed her mind that he would kill her.  Then, she started thinking about his gun and seeing it as early as that morning.  She was unsure of what to believe.  Out of everyone, she was the one who knew the most about him.  She was with him after his divorce, and knew what he went through.  He had been upset with Lana for a long time and was always talking foul about her.

Could she possibly think he would kill her?  Maybe he was drunk when it happened.  He was acting so strange the night before, or more so than usual.  She had to find out his side of it. 

She asked if she could see him.  They told her he wasn’t allowed visitors yet.  They also couldn’t attend the hearing. They continued to wait around to find out any news at all.  After an hour, Billie suggested the others return to the cabin and she would let them know when he was out of the court room. They agreed, after some hesitation.  Billie knew security was tight.  She was a photo-journalist. They wouldn’t even let her in to investigate.  She heard someone talking about what really happened, details of the case.  Lana had been strangled to death.  Ben, Lana’s boyfriend, was said to have an air tight alibi.  Chris was sure to hang for this one, because the concert may not hold up as his alibi.  Then, she remembered something, Jenna.  She had seen Chris leave, but didn’t say much more about it.  She tried to get in touch with her.  When she did, Jenna said, “I didn’t know I’d be hearing from you so soon.” 

Billie articulated, “This is an emergency. I need you to tell me everything that you remember about Chris from the night of the concert at the cabin.”  Jenna’s memory was a bit rusty.  But, luckily, she remembered.  She told her that Chris was on a boat with Lana and Ben.  It looked like an invitation to her.  That’s all Billie needed to hear.  Chris would not force himself on the boat.  She thought about the letter, if he had given it to Lana, or was it only thoughts he had typed.

After she hung up the phone with Jenna, they were through in court.  The judge set the bail at $500,000.  Billie couldn’t afford that, not on her salary.  She wondered if Andy and Bobby would just forget about it.  She called them and let them know what she heard.  They told her they would both pitch in on bail.  They knew Chris would pay them back.  Billie was thankful to Andy, but even more for Bobby’s help.  He had a gracious attitude. Even towards someone who had just accused him of sleeping with his wife.  He and Chris had just been in a fight and Bobby had already forgiven him.  She hoped Chris' fans wouldn’t let him down. 

She had to print up a report in Chris' defense, because she knew the others may make him look guilty as sin.  She was ready to vindicate him, even before she had a chance to hear all of the evidence.  There was no way of knowing what they considered fact and the truth anyway. She went back to ask if she could see him.  They told her to make it brief.  When he came out with handcuffs on and sat behind the glass wall, she couldn’t help but get tears in her eyes. He told her that it wasn’t that bad, “It’s just a bad dream.” 

Billie insisted, “We are doing all that we can to get you out of here.  Hopefully, you won’t have to stay overnight.” 

He stated, “You are my first visitor and you will probably be my last.” 

Billie informed, “I’ll let your mom know, if you want her to come see you.” 

He admitted, “I don’t think I could handle that too well.  I know that she will hear about it in due time.  Maybe they will let me call her and tell her first.  There is one thing that you could do for me.  Bring my harmonica to me.  It’s awfully quiet in here, and the tune is soothing.”

Before Billie had a chance to finish her conversation, some guards asked her to leave right away.  She waved bye to Chris, as he watched in bewilderment.  They escorted her to an interrogation room.  Billie asked the agents what was going on with their sudden interest with her.  They wanted to question her about Chris.  She would have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, but she was not the one on trial.  She did not want to incriminate Chris, so she tried to establish an alibi for him.  They told her that Ben had already testified to seeing Chris with Lana.  She knew Ben was not telling the whole truth.  They told her about the letter Chris gave Lana, which made him look guilty.  There wasn’t much more Billie could do, except put her foot in her mouth.  What she had been informed to do was leave the state under an alias.  It was a witness protection program.  She was not an actual witness to the crime, but in as much danger as one.  Under the circumstances, she qualified.  She didn’t want to leave town, but she had no choice.  She had to in order to get away from the real killer.  Billie asked about her job.  They told her they would take care of it.  Her boss couldn’t know of her whereabouts either.

She was worried about getting fired.  They told her she would get the chance to turn in her final report, as long as it wasn’t considered evidence.  Before she started filling out all of the paper work, Billie asked, “Where am I being sent?”  They told her Hawaii.  How did they know?  Of all of the states, how did they know to choose that one?  She had been meaning to go there for so long, but the opportunity didn’t present itself until now.  Her time with Chris was included.  If he had not come along in to her life, she may have ended up in Hawaii a lot sooner.  She wanted to go to Hawaii, but she also wanted to be there to give Chris moral support.  She was afraid to leave him without knowing for sure if he’d get out alive.  But, she had absolutely no choice.