huge
grin spread slowly over Harrison’s face.
“You’ve made my day, Ms. Marrow. You’re trying to bribe an officer of
the law! Come on out of that car,
Ma’am.”
He
wrapped a hand around her upper arm, opening the door with the other and
hauling her from the car.
Denise had freaked to think of Andrew’s
anger when he discovered one of the boys had missed school. Next she’d lost it imagining how pissed
he’d be when she got a driving without a valid license rap. He’d be tickled pink when he heard
she’d tried to bribe a cop.
***
At the police
station Denise was left sitting on a hard chair while Harrison tried his
darnedest to convince the Captain he had grounds for an arrest for bribery.
Denise
asked to call her parents’ lawyer.
The
Captain scowled at her. “You
haven’t been arrested yet, babe. If you want to call your lawyer I’m arresting you first.”
She
slumped back into her chair.
The
Captain slapped Harrison on the shoulder. “You don’t have enough. Write her up for driving on a suspended license and get her out of here. You impounded her car, right?”
Harrison
grunted, shot Denise a dirty look, and wandered off at a leisurely pace to get
coffee. Then he sharpened
pencils. Made some calls. Chatted with other officers. Denise got the message and resigned
herself. Two months ago she
wouldn’t have had the brains to keep her mouth shut.
Today,
she had an insane husband watching her every step and three younger brothers
she needed to raise. She was
amazed at how quickly she learned there were times when the best idea was to
shut up.
This was
maturity. Yippee.
An
occasional glance at a clock on the wall told her the time. Officer Harrison intended to keep her
at his desk as long as he could.
“Denise?”
A tall,
striking woman wove her way through the jumble of desks, office machinery, and
file boxes.
“Denise
Marrow?”
Denise
nodded and offered her hand. “Yes. Sorry, do I know you?”
“Not
really. But I know you. Harrison, what the hell is going on
here?
“Oh never
mind.” Without further explanation
the woman made a beeline towards the Captains office.
Harrison
leveled another disgusted glance at Denise. “Looks like your cavalry arrived even without a call. Aren’t you a lucky little princess?”
Denise
shrugged. “Really? I have no idea who that woman is.”
“Your
husband does.” He shoved a stack
of forms out of his way, settled more deeply in his chair, and pulled the
keyboard towards him.
The
Captain stuck his head out from his office. “Take the cuffs off, Harrison.”
Ushered
out of the room an hour later, her hands full of official papers, Denise saw
the tall woman moving in her direction from across the room. This time the woman offered her hand.
“I owe
you a big thanks.” Denise smiled. “I don’t even know who you are!”
The woman
stood at least three inches taller than Denise. She smiled down at her. “Glad I could help. I’m Sam Donaldson. Actually,
Samantha Donaldson Cross.”
Denise’s
stomach dropped like a boulder to her feet.
Samantha
took her arm and propelled her out the door, moving her smoothly into a parking
lot adjacent to the station.
“My car’s
right over here.” She pointed to a
sporty looking Audi. “I’ll drive
you home.” She aimed a fob at her
car and reached for the driver’s door. Denise stood dumb, where the woman had left her.
“Get in
Denise,” Samantha said. “I’m
taking you home. Come on, get in.”
Her feet
were like lead. She really didn’t
feel them hitting the ground. Apparently her brain had simply short circuited. Nothing. Nothing was going on in her head. She was going to drown.
She
missed the door handle on the first try but eventually made it inside and got
the door shut.
Samantha
had already buckled herself in and