Young & Old, page 15
“Yes. Here.” Grace reached forward after setting her coffee down and grabbed a standard yellow sticky note. She had memorized Crystal’s phone number years ago when she’d put her down as an emergency contact on literally everything. Scrawling out the seven numbers, she handed it to Paige. “Call her any time. She’s on break and doing nothing. I know because the texts have been blowing up my phone.”
Grace picked up her phone to prove her point. The screen was littered with texts and missed calls from Crystal, only three of which she had actually answered. Crystal knew better and didn’t expect her to respond until after work. Grace also knew Crystal would likely be over at their house every night that week. Sighing at the thought, she closed her eyes. For the first time in four months, their house was going to be empty for three nights. It was going to be weird as fuck.
“Thanks!” Paige whipped out her phone, inputting the number into it. “I’ll text her.”
Standing up, Paige walked to her desk. Grace snorted and then unlocked her phone and called Peggy like she had wanted to do halfway through that conversation. Rubbing her hand over the back of her head, Grace waited until Peggy answered.
“Hey, Grace.”
“Hey.” Grace let out a breath. “I’m actually calling on business.”
“Oh?”
“Hmm. Yeah. I’ve got this case, remember?”
“Yeah. I remember.”
Grace licked her lips, the coffee flavor lingering on the tip of her tongue. “Where do you send students to get their class rings?”
“Oh! Hold on, let me pull it up on my laptop.”
Listening as Peggy clearly moved to a different room and rustled around, Grace realized too late it was also spring break for Peggy, which she didn’t think about principals taking, but they probably did, especially when they had their own kids at home, at least as much of a spring break as they could. Grace was pretty sure they still worked during it.
“How’s your break?” Grace asked, realizing she should probably make small talk but her sleep-deprived brain wasn’t functioning so great.
“It’s good so far. Actually didn’t work this past weekend and only a half-day today. Wilson is spending most of his time with his friends because his parents are lame.”
Grace snorted. “I get that.”
“Kit’s with you, right?”
Pursing her lips, tears bit at Grace’s eyes unexpectedly. She blinked them away. “She was. She’s home now.”
“What happened?”
“Another time, another day. I’m sure you’ll hear soon enough.”
“That’s vague.”
“It is.” Grace took a sip of her coffee, wishing she had gotten the entire pot to herself, but she could already see it dwindling.
“Here it is.”
A few clicks echoed over the phone line, and Grace grabbed her pen, ready to write. She waited with bated breath for Peggy to finally speak.
“We send families to Finnegan’s for their class rings, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get them elsewhere.”
“Like where?” Grace wrote the first name down.
Peggy popped her lips. “Well, anywhere really. They can get them at jewelers or at some box stores even if they’re looking for a cheaper place to get them. There’s a whole variety. We send them to Finnegan’s because they can get package deals with graduation stuff like invitations and announcements.”
“All right.” Grace’s pen moved swiftly as she copied down all the information. It was at least some place to start. She could check with Finnegan’s, and if they had no answers, she could check with someone else. She hoped Finnegan’s would be the answer. “Thanks so much.”
“Did the kid have a ring?”
“I can’t really say about that,” Grace answered.
“I get it.” She could hear Peggy smiling through the line. “Hey, by the way, when school’s out for the year, we should do some type of backyard party or whatever. You, Amya, Crystal. All the people involved with the after school program.”
“Sounds good, just let me know when and where and we’ll be there.”
“Good. Good.”
“I’ve got to run. More bad guys to chase down.”
Peggy chuckled. “This is why I love you, Grace. You’re always about the making the world a better place. I’ll see you around.”
When Peggy hung up, Grace was left with a strange warm and tingly feeling in the dead center of her chest. That had been an unexpected compliment, and Grace wasn’t even sure how true it was. She wanted to do her job and do it well, and she wanted to figure out exactly who Joseph was. He deserved to have his family around as much as possible even if he was in a coma for the rest of his life. No one deserved to be that alone and isolated. Focusing on the case at hand, Grace got to work.
###
When Grace got home that night, she passed out in bed for two hours before Amya arrived. She woke up to Amya’s steady hand along her back, rubbing soft circles into her skin. When she blinked and stared up into Amya’s rounded face, crystalline eyes, and soft brown tresses, she knew she was done for. She’d always been in love with her.
“Come here.” Grace pulled Amya down onto the bed and threw an arm and a leg over Amya’s body, tucking Amya into her side. She nuzzled her nose into Amya’s neck and let out a breath. “It’s so damn quiet.”
“It will be for a few more days.”
“Yeah.” Grace kissed her hot skin. “How was work?”
“Exhausting. I imagine your day was, too.”
“Yeah. Talked to Peggy, though, she wants to have a backyard barbecue this summer.”
“It’s March.”
“You know her. She plans ahead.”
Amya chuckled. “I worry about Kit staying in that house all summer.”
“Me too.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, and Grace was about to fall asleep again when Amya stirred under her. “We need to do something.”
“About what?”
Amya sighed. “I need to do something.”
Grace kissed her skin again. “I can think of a few things.”
“Not that.”
Slightly disappointed but not surprised, Grace pulled Amya in tighter to her body. “Then what?”
“We need to go through his room and this house.”
Grace groaned. She did not want to be doing that on only a few hours of sleep. She kept her eyes closed and wondered for a second if she pretended to sleep if Amya wouldn’t make her do it, but she knew that tone in Amya’s voice. It was going to happen that night whether Grace participated or not, and if she chose not to, well, it wouldn’t be good for anyone. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow and some actual sleep?”
“No.”
“Amya, he’s not coming back tonight.”
“And if we find alcohol? Do you want him to come back at all?”
Grace pushed to sit up, her eyes wide as she used one elbow to prop herself up and over Amya’s body. “What does that mean?”
“I mean he’s only gotten worse here. We haven’t done a good job of helping him. In fact, I think we’ve done quite the opposite.”
“Since when am I the patient one?”
“What?”
Grace sighed. “We can’t force him to do anything, Amya. He has to come to that idea and conclusion on his own. All we can do is be here to support him.”
“We gave him the car and the house and essentially the ability to have the funds to buy the alcohol.”
“That’s not true, and you know it.” Grace scrunched her nose. “We did not buy him alcohol. We did not make him drink. We have given him a safe place to rest his head and figure his shit out. That’s exactly what we need to be doing.”
“Grace, we’re enabling him.”
“Jesus.” Grace rolled over onto her back and rubbed her hands up and down her face. She did not want to be having the conversation at all. She wanted Peter to come home, get his life back on track, get back into AA.
Amya leaned up onto her elbow, looking down on Grace, her eyes wide with fear. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Close yourself off because you disagree with me. You have to see how providing all this stuff for him is enabling him.”
“I’m not kicking him out to live on the street!”
“I’m not saying we should.” Amya put her hand on Grace’s belly and splayed her fingers out. “Really, I’m not saying that.”
“Then what are you saying? Because that is what it sounds like.”
“I’m saying that even in trying to help him we have enabled him to keep drinking.”
Grace’s face was set as she mulled over what Amya said. Amya wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean she was going to kick Peter out any time soon either. Amya bent down and pressed their mouths together.
“I will go get him when he’s released. They’ll call, right?”
“They should if he tells them it’s here he wants to come, but I’m sure they’ll call to let me know anyway.”
“I could only hope.” Amya’s voice became soft, almost a whisper. “We have to go through his room.”
“You already did that.”
“I did a basic search of it. Unlike you, Grace, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a proper search of someone’s residence.” Amya smirked. “You’re much better at it than I am, but we have to go through his room and this entire house—outside and in.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Why tonight?” Grace whined. “I’m exhausted. You’re exhausted. Let’s get some sleep and do it tomorrow.”
Amya bent down and kissed her again, this time drawing out the embrace. The hand on Grace’s belly moved to her side and held her in close. Grace’s left hand came up and threaded into Amya’s hair, holding her still. When Amya pulled away, she was smirking again.
“That’s not fair.”
“I’ll give you more if you help.”
Grace narrowed her eyes. “Still not fair.”
“Come on.” Amya rolled out of bed and grabbed Grace’s hand, tugging her until Grace at least sat on the edge of the bed.
Groaning and whining even more, Grace planted both bare feet on the hardwood floor and let out a sigh. “Really, can’t we do this tomorrow?”
“We need to start tonight. I’m betting it takes us more than one day.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, but I swear to you, Amya, I’m not doing this past nine tonight. I’m way too tired.”
“Deal.” Amya stood up and tugged Grace to stand with her. Together they walked out of their bedroom and into Peter’s. The dogs following them, confused as to what was going on but always wanting to be in the know.
His room had a distinct odor to it if Grace thought about it. Now that he’d been gone for more than twenty-four hours, the scent it normally was faded, and she could pick up the stale smell of alcohol and something else other than boy.
“Fuck,” Grace muttered.
“What?”
“Can’t you smell that?”
“Smell what?”
Grace pursed her lips and sniffed again. She was right. “Pot.”
“No.” Amya’s eyes widened, and she took in a deep breath. “All I smell is BO.”
“I bet we’ll find alcohol and pot in here.”
“Where?”
“He’s good, trust me. He’s in a house with two cops.”
“Chaplain.”
“Fine, former cop and a cop. He knew he needed to be subtle. I bet he never smoked it in here and it’s just on his clothes.”
Grace didn’t wait. She grabbed the sheets on his bed and pulled them off. They needed washed anyway. Everything in there needed to be washed. She ran her fingers along the corners of the fitted sheet and then threw it into the hall before going back to the bed. On second thought, she changed her mind and started the wash with the sheets in them before going back to the bed.
Amya helped her lift the mattress and drag it out of the room. They were going to empty it and then fill it back up exactly as it was before. When they got to the box spring, Grace propped it on the side and bit her lip as she stared at Amya.
“Did you look here?” Grace asked.
“Kind of. Why?”
Grace pulled away the edge of the fabric on the bottom of the box spring. It had been clearly cut. She pulled away just a few inches so it wouldn’t be that easily noticeable. When she stuck her hand in, she pulled out a bag of pot that had been taped to the side of the bed.
“Shit,” Amya muttered.
Grace smirked. She always loved it when Amya cursed. It was cute because it was so random and odd coming from her mouth, unlike from Grace. “Yeah.”
Going to the kitchen and grabbing a knife, Grace peeled away more of the fabric to make sure they didn’t miss anything, but there was only the one small bag taped there. It would only be enough for a handful of joints.
Surprised Peter was heading into different drugs and vices, she set the pot on the desk and moved the box spring out into the hall with the mattress. They started on his dresser next. Grace pulled in a laundry basket and they went through each and every piece of his clothing before tossing it in. Together, they shifted the dresser from side to side until it was in the center of the room.
Sure enough, underneath the bottom of it were two small bottles of whiskey that had been hidden under the back legs. Amya grabbed them and put them next to the baggie of pot. Grace could only hope that was all they found. She really didn’t want to stumble into Peter’s porn stash, although, that was most likely on his computer.
“I can’t believe I missed this stuff,” Amya whispered, more to herself than to Grace.
Grace wrapped her arms around Amya’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “You were angry, not with it properly, and you said yourself you didn’t do a full search. Also, let’s be clear, this all could have shown up after that anyway. It’s not like you searched yesterday.”
“That’s true.” Amya leaned back into Grace’s body. “Come on, let’s at least finish his room tonight.”
“Okay.” One last kiss to Amya’s cheek, and they went to work.
When in Doubt, Ask Again
Peter had gotten out at noon, somehow bypassing the seventy-two hours and getting out in just over twenty-four. Amya had gone to get him, since Grace had been at work, but the entire time, she couldn’t get him out her mind, wondering if what they were doing was the right thing. Amya had a point. He’d gotten drunk and high on their watch, and they had given him the space to do it. Guilt swept over her, but she had to ignore it and focus on the job.
Joseph deserved as much of her attention as possible. Four years was long enough to be without a name, without a birthday, and without family around. She pulled up his file, wanting to interview the cab driver again to see if he remembered anything else about the ring or knew where it might have gone since there was absolutely no record of it.
She’d already called down to the hospital three times to check and see if they had the ring, and she’d gone personally down to evidence. There was nothing anywhere. Grace put what she needed in order and shifted her shoulders back and forth. She would likely have to find someone who had time to go out with her otherwise she’d have to convince Diego to come in, which she doubted would happen.
Kline, her first choice, was busy, and after the last time they’d gone out on a case together ending in a shootout, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to ask Kline again so soon. When she glanced over at Paige, Paige was staring directly what her.
Smirking, Grace got up out of her chair and walked to Paige’s desk. She balanced her weight on both her feet then stood still. “Want to head out?”
“Where?”
“Interview.”
“Who?”
“Diego.”
Paige grinned. “Uh, yes! Yes, let’s go.”
Grace chuckled. “Not this second. I want a plan first.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I don’t have a plan, yet.”
“Grace, don’t tease me.”
Wrinkling her nose, Grace shook her head. “Not teasing. I wanted to know who was coming with me before I formulated a plan. You know, different personalities and rapports make a whole lot of difference.”
“Oh, I’m aware. So why are we going back to this guy? We just interviewed him last week.”
Grace nodded. “Exactly. It’s been four years since he talked to anyone, so maybe now that he’s been thinking about it for, oh, five days, he’s remembered a whole lot more.”
Paige narrowed her gaze at Grace. “You have something specific you want.”
“Of course I do. Don’t you whenever you go into an interview.”
Shrugging, Paige pushed into her chair and crossed one ankle over her knee. “Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. Depends on the interview.”
“Well, this is a second interview, and he dropped that information about the ring last time that no one knew about, so I want to know if he has it.”
“Why do you think he has it?” Paige’s forehead wrinkled.
“Because no one else does.” It was the only scenario that made sense to Grace.
“Where do you think it is?” Paige cocked her head.
Grace narrowed her gaze and pursed her lips. “How the fuck do I know?”
Rolling her eyes, Paige turned toward her computer before glancing back at Grace. “You figure out what you want to ask while I look into some more money trails. Let me know when you’re ready to head out and I’ll be ready.”
“Got it.” Grace went to her desk and pulled out a piece of a paper and a pen. She always preferred to work this way compared to on a computer like Paige. She wasn’t old school, per se, but it did help her to think more clearly if she wrote everything out by hand before figuring out the wording when she typed it up.
She made a list of questions, then split them out into three trails she could potentially see them following. She hoped it’d be one of those three because she didn’t really want to have to think that much on her feet to bring their conversation back around to her questions. Each time she ended with the same question. Where is the ring?
