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87.

It was impossible to thank Earl Mosby enough but they tried anyway, even the police were full of praise. Earl seemed almost bashful but perhaps it was only the beer. Would he remember this tomorrow or decide it had all been a dream? The little shrine on his shelf dug into Freya like a nail, those pictures in a line as straight as a ruler, that terrible progression. A good man, drinking himself away and she didn’t blame him one bit.

You only get one.

Freya tightened her grip on Dan’s hand. They were in the back of a police car headed for Nading Hill Park. The driver was a jovial heavy-set policeman who’d introduced himself as Officer Kimber. There were more lights flashing when they approached, a police SUV and another patrol car were there. Freya could see a flashlight bobbing along the chain link fence they’d leapt over. When they saw the car Freya and Dan gasped in unison.

Dan’s Toyota sat on four flat tires. In the police cruiser’s headlights the snow around the car glittered with blue-green cubes of auto glass and crimson shards of taillight. Every window had been shattered, the front and rear windshields were caved in. The roof was collapsed, it look like someone had jumped up and down on it. Even the side panels were bent and there were big dents where someone had smashed them with the back of an axe or a sledgehammer.

“Wow,” Officer Kimber said. “Somebody’s mad.”

Freya felt a jab of anger that he was joking around. This was all happening because the Sillas Police Department couldn’t catch a high school student.

“Rest in pieces,” Dan joked back. “It’s Toyotalled.”

“That’s godawful,” Kimber snorted. “Did you have comprehensive insurance?”

Dan shook his head. “Just liability.”

“Shiiit,” Officer Kimber said, and he sucked in air through his teeth.

The policewoman walking around the fence was Officer Martin, she stopped by to say hello. She seemed less keyed up tonight, her eyeliner was a little more restrained and Freya wondered if someone had said something to her. When she spoke with them, Freya could tell she was frustrated they hadn’t caught Malcolm yet. As Freya looked around the parking lot she counted nine police. It was close to the entire police department.

Freya watched Dan’s face as they were filling out the paperwork, searching for anger or fear, but she couldn’t find either. It was a little alarming that she couldn’t read his expression, couldn’t tell how he felt.

“Are you ok?” she asked, when they were finally through with their paperwork. He looked almost serene.

“I’m ok,” he said.

She gestured to to the broken car, inviting him to talk about how he felt.

“It was a mercy killing,” Dan joked, but Freya didn’t laugh. Her hand gripped the Starball in her pocket, wishing for Unity. She was terribly afraid that Dan blamed her and this would drive them apart. She stared at dan, silently imploring him to open up. He caught her look and his bottom lip grew tight.

“Honestly, I’ll probably be mad later. But right now I’m just glad we’re alive,” Dan said, and she could see the touch of gravity on his features. She could remember the feeling of being crushed into the snow as he shielded her with his body.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and he shook his head. “I got you in so much bullshit.”

“Stop that,” Dan told Freya. His voice was suddenly adult, correcting a child. “You know this isn’t your fault.”

Freya was stunned by Dan’s rebuke. It was the first time he’d ever taken that tone with her and it hurt. For a moment she was angry, how could he do that to her? He was supposed to be on her side! But as she stood in the freezing parking lot, her mouth became a tight line and she gave a single nod of acceptance. Dan was right. She was acting maudlin.

“I hope the jam isn’t ruined,” Freya said. She wanted the night they’d planned back, making cookies and making love. It was impossible now. Mentioning the jam reminded Dan of something, his eyes lit up.

“Oh! Are our backpacks still in the car?” Dan said, the excitement in his voice seemed out of place.

“They are. As soon as they’re done processing for fingerprints I’ll bring em to you,” Officer Kimber promised. He’d been rotating between helping on the scene and coming into the patrol car to thaw. “We found some blood on the vehicle and the snow, looks like he snagged himself on a sharp edge. That’s great news, we can get a positive ID off DNA. We didn’t find any casings. Potentially any shots you heard were just him popping your tires. If we find any, we’ll likely charge him with attempted murder.”

Freya thought about it for a second.

“There wouldn’t be casings. He’s got a revolver,” Freya said.

“Oh! Good point,” Kimber said. Dan gave Freya a confused look.

“Revolvers don’t eject casings. They stay in the cylinder until you reload,” Freya explained.

“Smart one,” Kimber tapped twice on the side of his head with his index finger and then pointed it at Freya with a nod. Dan chatted with him for a bit, and Freya was relieved he didn’t bring up Randall. They learned Kimber was previously a state trooper until he got sick of writing speeding tickets. He’d moved to the Sillas PD a few months ago and was enjoying the town so far. Freya realized there was a good chance he was Randall’s replacement, the thought was a stone in her stomach. She was glad when he left them again. Dan turned to her, eyebrows high.

“It warned us,” Dan said, when they were on their own.

Freya shot him an alarmed look, putting a finger over her mouth and then pointing at the dashboard. In the cluster of equipment there almost certainly a camera recording them. Dan covered his mouth with his hand.

“Oh fuck,” he blurted.

“Later,” she promised, squeezing his hand, getting a laugh from him. When they were through processing the car, Officer Kimber brought over their backpacks, warning them to watch out for bits of glass and apologizing for the fingerprint powder that had got on everything. The jar of blackcurrant jam was smudged by powder but intact. Their backpacks had been opened up and pawed through, she saw a flicker of alarm on Dan’s face. He searched through his backpack and she saw sudden relief when he found something.

“What is it?” Freya asked.

He hesitated a moment, then made up his mind.

“I was gonna wait til later, but it feels like it might hit us at any time. Here.”

Dan produced a pretty little box and handed it to her, watching her intently. Shiny silver paper was decorated with curlicues that faded from turquoise to indigo. She recognized the style, it had come from the Van Twisk Gallery on Main Street, next door to the Jericho Market. A gift was the absolute last thing she’d expected to happen tonight.

When she opened the box she saw gold glittering in the faint dome light. At the end of a delicate chain was an antique-style locket, engraved with a swallow in flight. Freya took a deep breath and squeezed Dan’s arm in excitement.

“How did you do this? It’s perfect!” Freya said.

“Open it,” he said, beaming.

Inside was a picture of the two of them from the night they’d gone to see Mr. Mathis play at Swallow Hall. They were all dressed up, Freya was laughing at something Guy Wright had said. Dan was looking at her in the photo, even in the tiny little picture it was plain he adored her. Her eyes were suddenly hot.

“I love you,” she said, throwing her arms around Dan and kissing him in the back of the police car.

“I can’t believe I got away with that. If you felt me trying to hide anything the last few days it was that. It was so hard not to think about it.”

“This is amazing, where did you get the picture?”

“I emailed Swallow Hall, they put me in touch with the photographer. He was super nice! I was only going to get it framed, but when I saw the locket I knew it was right.”

“You’re wonderful. I’ll never take it off,” Freya promised as she put it around her neck.

“As long as everything else comes off, I’m ok with that,” he grinned.

She pulled him closer, and they kissed until there was a tap on the window.

“Ahem,” Officer Kimber coughed into his fist after he opened the door. “Sorry to intrude, but let’s have a quick chat.”

That was how he dropped bad news, Freya could tell immediately she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“So, we still haven’t been able to get in touch with your mother…” he trailed.

“She’s probably in the lab, they aren’t allowed phones in there,” Freya lied.

“OK, and there’s no other relatives available correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Well we’re not too excited about the prospect of you home alone with this individual not in custody. We’re going to bring you back to the station until we can get in touch with your mom.”

“Like in a cell?”

“Not in a cell. Just at the station. There’s a credible threat to your life.”

Immediately she felt a pang of aversion. She could envision them processing her, taking her wallet and keys, a policeman’s eyes locking on the Starball as he reached for it.

What’s this?

“OK, well thank you but no, I definitely don’t want to do that,” Freya said abruptly.

“Well hear me out here. You’re a minor. We may opt to request you come along anyway. You’re in danger and we feel it would be best.”

Immediately all the veneer of friendliness was stripping away, and she was aware this was a man with a gun who could compel her to do things she didn’t want to. She slid back on her seat, away from him, and he didn’t miss the motion.

“You’re saying request, but it would be an order. You’ll bring me in whether I want to go or not.”

“We do have that option, but we would much prefer if we were all on the same page.”

“OK, let me make a call real quick ok? I just need to check on something.”

“Sure, no problem at all.”

Freya called Lynn Harris.

* * *

Lynn Harris’ arrival swept over the police like an ill omen. Their postures stiffened and they glanced at each other and muttered. Freya tried to get out of the car to join her only to find the door was locked. They had to watch Lynn operate through the window. Officer Kimber’s posture was all raised palms and surrender, she saw Officer Martin say something and Lynn wheeled on her, her eyes flashing and eager.

Freya couldn’t make out the words though the glass, she could only hear the tempo of the delivery. The sentences struck, jab-jab-CROSS, and Martin was left stunned, blinking like she wasn’t sure what had just happened. With the slightest baring of her teeth, Lynn dismantled the plot to hold Freya at the police station and they they were freed from the back of the patrol car.

“They locked us in!” Freya hissed when they were in Lynn’s car.

“That’s why I’m here,” Lynn said, her voice was tight with exhilaration. “Compounding their inept handling of a stalking case by imprisoning the victim. It’s a farce.”

Freya was about to apologize for dragging her out so late, but this was what Lynn lived for.

“How did you get them to let us go?”

“Power of attorney,” Lynn said, holding up a fist. “It’s a real life superpower.”

“Will Malcolm have to pay for my car? I don’t have good insurance.” Dan asked.

“Eventually, yes. I’m going to tear him apart in civil court. He’ll never cash an ungarnished paycheck for the rest of his life.”

“Can you do that?”

“Oh yes. It’s rare to get punitive damages on a tort in Maine, but I’ll have zero issue proving malice. I will destroy him.” Lynn’s voice was like a drawn blade and Dan was staring at her. Seeing she’d shown too much, Lynn took a steadying breath and ran her hand through her hair.

“We can worry about all of that later. Let’s focus on the immediate problem. We need to get you to your mother Daniel. When I speak with her I’m going to suggest you two of you spend the night in a hotel.”

Freya blinked. She hadn’t even thought about that yet. Of course she couldn’t go home. Malcolm knew where she lived. She couldn’t get the gun or her guitar or a change of clothes. Dan couldn’t drive to work or to school, would he lose his job over this? Lynn’s eagerness to crush Malcolm didn’t seem so bloodthirsty anymore.

Lynn drove them to Flying Horse Regional Hospital and they waited for Dan’s mother in the ER waiting room. There were four people waiting to be seen, though Freya couldn’t see what was wrong with any of them. She was acutely aware she was taking time away from people who actually needed help.

I could have been shot. I could have come here in an ambulance, Freya reminded herself, but the thought could not find purchase. They paged Dan’s mother and waited in the room that smelled of chemicals and desperation.

Samantha Gregulus was thin and severe, her eyebrows were black but her hair had gone completely gray. She wore it tucked back in a tight bun.

“Are any of you hurt?” Samantha’s eyes were darting all over the three of them, looking for signs of injury.

They told her no. Dan apologized for bothering her at work, then introduced Lynn and Freya. He told her the whole story, even the part about Earl Mosby’s cats. Freya noticed Samantha didn’t ask questions until Dan had finished, she only nodded to indicate she was following along. It was easy to see she’d done this thousands of times. Lassa would have interrupted a dozen times by now.

“When the cops took us back to the car it was completely trashed. They wanted to keep Freya at the station for the night but Lynn stopped them. They locked us in the a back of the police car!”

Samantha’s frown was all eyebrows, her polite smile never changed.

“How bad is your car?”

Dan showed her the pictures on his phone.

“I’m surprised,” Samantha said. “I didn’t think that car could look any worse.”

They were all so intent it took them a second to realize it was a joke. Dan got it first and laughed out loud, like there was no weight on him. Freya could only manage a nervous smile.

Samantha had more questions, mostly practical legal ones for Lynn about what they should and shouldn’t do. The whole time Freya was standing there helpless. There were no apology cookies, there was no way to make this right. It became increasingly difficult not to cry. Freya clenched her jaw and fought it back, determined not to look weak in front of Dan’s mother. Suddenly Samantha’s gaze was on Freya.

“I’m really, really sorry for all of this. And for us missing school on Monday, that’s totally my fault. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry we had to meet this way.” Freya blurted, she’d bottled it too long and it all came out in a rush of words. Everyone could see she was upset, and she felt her apology had come across as a childish outburst.

“Thank you for saying that,” Samantha said. “All that matters is that you’re both ok. Don’t worry about anything else.”

Thank you for saying that. Behind her clinical smile, Samantha was still furious with Freya.

There was nothing to do except try to make it through the conversation without bursting into tears, which Freya barely managed. When it was over, Samantha had agreed to Lynn’s advice and they were going to get a hotel room for the night. Freya offered to pay for their hotel, but Samantha refused, seeming vaguely insulted. Dan was going to stay at the hospital until the end of her shift, she had another two hours to go and had already long overstayed her break. She gave Dan a tight hug and thanked Lynn then hustled back to the ER, ignoring Freya completely.

“Wow. OK,” Freya said.

“She’ll come around,” Dan promised. He followed her out into the parking lot to hug her goodbye.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” he said, when he felt her shaking.

Making cookies and making love. Now everything was broken.

“I’ll text you ok? We can talk about everything tomorrow,” Dan promised. It felt like it had been years since they were one. She hugged him for as long as she could.