It wasn’t a nice thought, but then again, I wasn’t having one of my better days. In fact, I wasn’t having one of my better weeks.
“Let me get this straight,” I said. “You think I’m going to ask you to protect Bil y?”
“That’s right,” he replied.
I turned ful y to him. It kind of hurt my ribs, but I did it al the same. I wanted to have his ful attention. “First off, he tried to strangle me, then he took a switchblade to the sweater I was wearing, then he hit me, then he dragged me through Hank’s house.”
Eddie’s eyes had been guarded, but the guard slipped at my words.
I ignored it and carried on.
“Then he kicked me in the fucking ribs, threatened to rape me on Hank’s bed and kidnapped me, bound my wrists, drove like a fucking crazy man for two days, tied me to the steering wheel any time he left the car and made me go to the bathroom with my hands tied while he watched.” Eddie’s guard was gone, now, his eyes were glittering.
“That’s just plain rude,” I told him. “I won’t even get into the two bad guys with guns or sitting on a stinking bathroom floor handcuffed to a fucking sink not to mention the fact that I didn’t get a shower in three days. I threw away my cutest pair of Lucky jeans because of that guy!” My voice was getting louder, it was fil ing the cab, and I didn’t care.
I threw up my hands and looked at the ceiling of the truck. “I mean, jeez! I broke up with him, like, I don’t know, years ago! A woman locks you out with your suitcases in the hal , get a fucking clue! ”
Okay, now I was shouting.
“Roxanne –” Eddie said.
I ignored him.
“Then, Uncle Tex is back here, al freaked out and Hank… whatever. And Lee’s boys are running al over the fucking Bible Belt,” I stopped and looked at him. “Are Nebraska and Kansas in the Bible Belt?” I asked but I didn’t wait for an answer. “Anyway, doesn’t matter. I don’t know what this holding room is, but I don’t care. Do whatever. Bil y’s a memory. I just don’t want to know.” Then I turned, opened my door and jumped out of the truck.
It would have been a great exit, except I kind of wobbled on my heel a little bit when I landed.
I started walking without waiting for Eddie, but he caught up to me.
“Hang on there, Chica,” he said, grabbing me by the waistband of my skirt. It was quite a catch since my skirt was so tight. He must have had a lot of practice doing that.
I stopped and glared at him. “What?”
He looked down at me, his eyes stil kind of glittery and I could tel he was making up his mind about something.
Final y he said, “I think I need to have a chat with Hank.”
“Don’t do me any favors,” I snapped. “Hank’s a memory too. I’m going to file charges, get my car and blow this crazy burg. Denver is Looney Tunes Town. I don’t care if it’s October and feels like July and I can see the mountains every day. This place is nuts and since I’m half MacMil an, coming from me, that’s saying something.”
Once I finished, I pul ed away and stomped into the station.
My Mom would have been proud.
*
The room was fil ed with desks, chairs, couches and people. Most of the people stared at me openly when I arrived. I ignored this, straightened my shoulders and fol owed Eddie to a desk. Al around me was a hive of activity, people walking around, talking, phones ringing, doors opening and closing. Eddie sat me next to a desk so I could talk to a nice, older man named Detective Jimmy Marker.
I told my story while Eddie stood beside us, watching I told my story while Eddie stood beside us, watching and listening.
Every once in awhile I’d look at Eddie. Sometimes I scowled at him. Sometimes I’d raise my brows in the silent question of, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” After about the third eyebrow raise, he smiled at me like I was funny.
Fucking, crazy, Denver men.
Around about the end of when Detective Marker was taking my statement, I felt Eddie tense.
I scowled up at him, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking toward the door.
I fol owed his gaze and stopped breathing.
Hank, Lee and Vance were standing in the door, al of them looking at me.
Hank’s eyes were blank. Lee’s were the same.
Vance grinned at me.
With a super human effort, I ignored Hank and Lee and grinned back at Vance.
“Excuse me,” Eddie murmured and walked away.
I turned to Detective Marker. “Do you have everything you need?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said, but he was looking at Hank too and, for some bizarre reason, he was smiling, smiling huge, like he found something supremely hilarious.
I was so total y right about Denver being a loony bin; everyone was crazy.
“You have my card?” Detective Marker asked after he’d looked back at me.
I nodded. “I may be on the road, you’l have to cal my cel I nodded. “I may be on the road, you’l have to cal my cel if you need anything else.”
“You’l come back to testify?” he asked.
I gave him a look.