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Friday. Darby
I didn’t want to wake up, even though my alarm was going off. I whimpered and pulled the blankets over my head. My skull pounded, and my stomach was twisting in knots.
I groaned.
“Darb, you need to wake up.” Deep voice, caring.
“Go away.”
“Come on, you can’t still be mad.”
I flopped the blankets down and looked at Mark. He stood above me, hair disheveled, shirtless, with long legs encased in a pair of faded sweats. His arms were folded.
“Why would I be mad at you, other than for waking me?” I said.
He blinked slowly. “What do you remember?”
I tried to think, but it made my head hurt worse. I rolled away and snuggled deeper into his bed. It was kind of weird, smelling him on the sheets. “Don’t want to think. Just sleep.”
“You would never forgive yourself if you took a sick day in the middle of a case.”
I growled. “I’ve done it before.”
He put his hand on my back. It sizzled even through the blankets. Strange. “You’ve got to get up. You’ll feel better if you get moving.”
“I’m sick.”
“You’re hungover.”
I rolled over to glare at him. “I don’t remember drinking last night.”
“What do you remember?”
I scowled and looked away. “Being at HQ. Talking to Celia and Nettie. Dinner with Will. Driving to the Nelson.” I thought a bit. “I can’t remember anything after getting to the museum.”
He nodded. “Seems close to what I’ve pieced together. Do you remember having confrontations with Genova or Richard Pierce? Coming in here, nearly falling down drunk, or Melinda doing blood work?”
I looked at my arm. Sure enough, a dab of skin sealer I had no recollection of getting.
I sat up—or tried to. I put my hands on the sides of my head and whimpered.
“Easy there, Darb. You hit the sauce hard last night. And to top it off, someone drugged you.”
“Drugged me?” I looked at him.
“Ecstasy. Someone intended to do something with you, but you must have figured out something was wrong and left. You’re really lucky your comp unit actually worked.”
“Date rape?” My brain started spooling faster.
He nodded again. “That’s right. I guess that time you spent shadowing vice wasn’t for naught.”
I groaned. “Is Melinda going to tell Bendex?”
“By all rights, she should. But she’s agreed not to, not until we hear your side. But with the ecstasy in your system, the likelihood you’ll remember anything is iffy.”
I swallowed hard. My stomach was still roiling. “I don’t remember much. Being mad. Don’t remember why.”
“I, uh, contacted Genova and she said you went after Richard Pierce last night, accused him of murdering Prairie. You had the sense to do it semi-privately, but she wasn’t happy.”
I shook my head and tried to lever up. “I don’t remember.”
He grabbed my arm and helped me. “I’m not surprised. Melinda left a breath test for your blood alcohol content. Do you want to do it now or after you grab a shower?”
“I need to get into the office.”
“I’m not going to object to that, but we’ll go together, and only after you’re more sure of yourself.”
It was nearly seven-thirty. Roll call was at eight.
“I called Celia. You mumbled something about talking with her last night. She’s going to cover for us.”
“Whadja tell her?” I looked for my bag.
“It’s in the bathroom,” he informed me. “She knows you had a late night.”
“Okay.” I eased my way to the master bathroom. When I got to the door, I turned back to him. “What about you?”
He was only a few feet away, having tailed me. “I’m going to get ready. I was trying to give you as much time as I thought you could use. Those drugs are powerful. You’ll probably be fighting the effects today.”
“Please tell me you have coffee brewing,” I begged. I didn’t care. I’d give anything right then for a cup...or three.
He nodded. “I’ll have a triple espresso ready, after you’ve showered and drank at least half a liter of water.”
“Slave driver.”
He lifted his chin. “I’ve had a few more hangovers than you. Never with ecstasy, though, but I saw it as an officer a lot. You’re going to want to try to flush it out of your system as much as you can. That means water. If I thought you’d be willing to do so, I’d go in to work solo, and have you stay here and rest.”
“I’m a part of this investigation,” I reminded him. “And apparently have unfinished business with one of our suspects.”
“I thought that would be your position.” He put his hand on my shoulder, and the electrical charge that went along with it went straight to my head and my stomach. “Which is why I’m not going to argue with you too hard, although I need you to tell me if you need a break.”
I nodded as the nausea incrementally increased. I gently pushed his hand off. “’Kay. Don’t do that again until I get under control.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Nausea.”
He winced. “Sorry. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Holler if you need anything.”
Twenty minutes later, I felt a teensy bit better. My head was still throbbing but at a lower intensity.
Mark was in the kitchen, still bare-chested but with jeans and socks on now. Eggs sizzled in a pan. “For hangovers, I recommend my special omelet. Mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach, a bit of blue cheese, and a big glass of orange juice.”
“I’m not sure I want anything.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I know it doesn’t sound wonderful when you’re sick, but trust me, this will help. Sit. Drink some water. This’ll be ready in a couple minutes.”
“We need to get into the office. We’re already late.”
“You’re in by six-thirty almost every day. Being a little late now and then is allowable.”
I hated being late. I especially hated being behind, and I already felt that way. But I still wasn’t feeling like myself.
“Oh, the breath test.”
“Do I really have to?”
He nodded. “I’m not letting you go in drunk.”
“I feel horrible, but I’m not inebriated.”
He put his spatula down, scowled, then crossed to a small box on the coffee table. “You’ll do it, or so help me, I’ll have Melinda come sedate you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.” I took the device, and he showed me what to do. It was a little different from what I used as an officer when I’d done DUI checks. I blew into it, then handed it to him. “Happy now?”
“Mmm.” He didn’t respond, just looked at the readout. “Point-zero-one.”
“Below the legal limit.”
“As high as you were last night, I’m surprised it’s this low.”
“Maybe my body metabolizes alcohol faster. I am a super.”
“Perhaps.” He went back to the kitchen and slid the eggs onto a plate. He sprinkled blue cheese over it, then brought it to me. “Eat up.”
The first couple bites were enough to make me want to puke, but after that, my stomach settled out, and I decided it was really quite good, and not what I’d expected when he said he was going to make something. In the time we’d worked together, I’d never known he could cook.
Then again, I hadn’t known about the craftsman skills.
I contemplated him while I ate and he fixed another plate of eggs.
“Did I say anything weird last night?” I reached for the orange juice.
He stopped and stared at me for a long moment, his movements stiff when he moved again. “A bit. You made a comment about our connection, and Melinda knows now. She cornered me.” He gave me a pained look. “She’s more accepting of it than Kevin, and he’s still skeptical.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ve been trying to figure out whether to tell my sisters. Of any of them, Melinda or Moira would have been who I’d confide in. At least it wasn’t Magnolia. She’d have blabbed it to the entire family already.”
“Well, know it wasn’t intentional.”
“I know. Weird things happen when you’re drunk and drugged.” He plated his eggs and plunked down in the seat across from me. “Oh, you said something last night about Pierce coming in for a formal interview.”
I nodded and scarfed down another piece of egg and veggie. My headache certainly was easing. “Did I happen to say anything about what I’d said to him?”
He shook his head. “Genova said they were going to talk this morning before they came in. She didn’t even know everything, just said it had been heated.”
I frowned. “That was going to be this morning?”
“As soon as he could get into town. She didn’t know when.”
I sighed. “I guess that’s as good as we’re going to get.” I finished my egg and downed the last bit of orange juice, then stood. “We’d better get in.”
“Give me a few minutes. We’ll take my truck. I’ve gotten word they’re trying to scrounge up a backup cruiser for us, but it could be a while before it’s ready.”
“Okay.” I went back to his bedroom and gathered my things, taking a couple minutes to sit on the bed in the quiet and let my body settle down again. I was trying to force myself to feel okay, even though I really didn’t. It would be a difficult day just keeping that in check.
He came and knocked on the door a few minutes later. “Ready?”
I got up and met him in the hall. “I have to be.”
“If you’re unsure—”
I shook my head and brushed past him. “I’ll be fine.”
Silently, he followed me out to his truck, helping me into the tall front seat before rounding the cab and hauling himself up.
He sat in the front seat for a moment, staring back at his house.
I frowned. It felt like he was weighing something. Why I thought this I couldn’t say.
Finally, he started the engine and put his safety restraints on.
We were quiet for the first few minutes of the ride before I finally said, “Everything okay?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything from last night?”
I shook my head slowly. “I told you as much when you woke me up. It’s a blank slate.” I paused a moment. “Why?”
He scraped his hand through his silver-tinged black hair, his lips pressed tightly together. He didn’t look at me.
“Mark? Why? Did I say something besides telling Melinda about you not being as normal as you thought?”
He didn’t answer, but twenty seconds later, slowed and swung into a park. It was vacant, other than an older couple a few acres away who were strolling arm in arm with a Dachshund on a leash.
He parked, staring out the windshield for a long moment.
I tried to give him time, but as the seconds edged into minutes, I grew more nervous. If I’d been given ecstasy, maybe I’d thrown myself at him, or done something else totally inappropriate. Maybe I’d forced myself on him. Not that that was something that happened normally with that drug, but again I’m a super. My body handles drugs differently than a normal.
Surely, though, if I’d done that or had it done to me, I’d have noticed something different in my own body.
I hadn’t.
All I’d noticed was he’d been especially cool so far that morning, other than a few hiccups.
Except this was more than a hiccup.
“What’s going on?” My voice edged up with my nerves. Please, please, please don’t let me have done something totally embarrassing last night, besides what he’s already told me about my confrontation with Rick Pierce. Don’t let him tell me something was done to me, either.
“You’ve made mistakes before, right? I know you’ve made some on the job, but in your personal life?” He continued to stare out the windscreen, determinedly not looking at me.
I frowned. What did this have to do with last night? Had he done something with me when I was out of it? I gulped back my fear. “Yeah, a few. I think you know several of them.”
He nodded slowly but didn’t continue.
“Okay, what happened? Because sitting here, you acting like this, it’s making me queasy. Just tell me. I did something stupid last night? Did you? Tell me.”
“It’s not something you did, although if it hadn’t come up last night, I’m not sure I’d be bringing it up.” He looked down at the controls and sighed. “Memory is a funny thing. You may never remember what happened last night, or you could remember it tomorrow.”
“What happened, Mark? Seriously. Just tell me.”
His brows drew together and up a little as he gnawed on his lip. “Last night, before you confronted Pierce, you also had it out with Genova.”
I put my face in my hand. “Oh, jeez. On what subject?”
“Me.”
I scowled. “What? Why?”
He finally stared in my direction but didn’t quite meet my eyes. He put his hand on my leg just above the knee.
Electricity fired and I nearly recoiled, but held my ground.
“Three weeks ago, after you told me about holding back on the test results the last couple years, I was angry. Hurt. Confused. I drove around the city for a while after you revived Peter, and somehow, I ended up at Genova’s house. I hadn’t set out to go there, but it’s where I finally stopped.”
Realization dawned. I blinked at him rapidly, my stomach urging me to give up breakfast. “You...and Genova?”
He nodded. “We decided to not tell you. But somehow, last night, you figured it out.”
I couldn’t get enough air. I clawed at the door release next to me, finally getting it to open. I fell out in a heap, pushed up, and made it to the grass before puking.
I could sense Mark nearby but didn’t look at him as I heaved.
He moved closer.
I held up a hand. “No, don’t touch me.”
“Okay, Darb.” He crouched as close to me as he could get without making physical contact.
It would serve him right if I tossed my cookies on his shoes.
I rolled back so I sat on the grass, away from regurgitated eggs and coffee. I wasn’t sure I was done, and now I felt nasty, clammy from the emotion.
It took a moment to realize I was shaking.
Mark placed a bottle of water in my hand. “Here. Drink.”
I sipped more out of instinct and training than because he’d asked me to. I’d rather dehydrate myself to spite him right now.
“I need to finish,” he said after a long moment.
“Mark, I don’t want to know. I’d have been better off not knowing.”
“I understand. But now I need you to know something more. What happened was a mistake. I’ve regretted it every moment of every day since I woke up next to her.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I could almost picture them, and it wasn’t something I wanted in my head. “Then why did you do it in the first place?”
He snorted. “I’ve been asking myself that question. I know a lot of it was I was hurt by you. I had no one else to turn to.”
“Like you couldn’t turn to one of your sisters? Or Kevin?”
He sneered and shook his head. “They honestly didn’t occur to me.”
“Oh, now is certainly the time for honesty.” I got up in spite of my nausea and started to stalk away. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go—we were several kilometers from the station still, and me without a car of my own—but I had to get away from him.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me back to him, tightening his grip when I struggled.
“Look,” he said. “Genova and I decided we didn’t want to tell you. We knew you’d take it poorly. But after last night, I decided I had to be the one to man up and come clean.”
I stopped struggling and glared at him. “I don’t get this. What went through your head?”
He laughed derisively. “I could say the same for you. You withheld information from me about my own DNA! What went through your head? How about you start with that one?”
I ignored the questions. “I never pretended to be anything but your partner. You know why I did what I did.”
“If you were acting like my partner, you’d have trusted me, not done this secretive bullshit.”
“You know what? I held back the information to protect you from what I’ve gone through. What you did with Genova? That was in spite! There’s no way you can justify it.”
“I’m not going to even try to. But I know how you feel about the topic.”
“You’re damn straight,” I snarled, wresting my arm away from him. “You’ve been after me for how long? And in a moment when you’re angry at me for something totally unrelated, you go to bed with the woman who is arguably my best friend? That was done to hurt me. I don’t know if I can take you at your word now, Mark. If you really loved me so much, you wouldn’t have done that!”
I had started to cry. The betrayal was too much. I turned from him, not willing to have him see how much it affected me.
But he knew. He put his hand on my shoulder, the touch warm and electric, but absent of pain.
Too bad his words and actions hadn’t been.
I quieted my tears after a moment and turned my face toward him, though I didn’t look at him. “How can you expect to work with me today after what just happened?”
His grip tightened.
I turned a bit. “And then, how can you expect to work with me and have to face Genova in interview? Can you understand how uncomfortable that’s going to be? For me?”
He nodded slowly. “I can take the interview alone.”
“Right.” I drew the word out. “Leave you and Rick and Genova alone in a room together. Who knows what will happen? Will any interviewing get done?”
He sneered. “Don’t question my professionalism.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
He stepped in closer, so I had to tilt my head back to look up at him.
“Because you know how seriously I take my oath. I would never do anything to smear that oath, my badge, or my colleagues. I may make mistakes in my personal life, but I’ll be damned if anything from that crosses in and tarnishes what I’ve been doing for the last eighteen years.”
I stared up at him. The wind kicked up and blew my hair in my face. I was so angry, so confused, so hurt...
And I realized that’s exactly how my own bombshell three weeks ago had made him feel.
I took a step back, then another. He didn’t follow but kept his eyes on me.
My comm rang. I didn’t hear his, but it was possible he’d left it in his truck. I fumbled for it, finally pressing it to allow the transmission. “This is Detective Darby Shaw.”
A holo projected out in front of me and showed a man around my age. “Detective Shaw? I’m Deputy Sheriff Burgess Furlong with Osage County People’s Sheriff’s Department.”
“What can I do for you, Deputy?” I asked, but my stomach sank. Osage County was where Richard Pierce lived. I could think of very few reasons their office would contact me.
“I understand one of my residents was expected in your office today? A Mister Richard Pierce?”
“Yeah. I’m expecting him anytime.”
“I’m afraid he won’t be appearing. Richard Pierce was found dead this morning.”