Betwixt (21 page)

"I knew you'd slip back into your old ways eventually. I've read your record, boy. I know all about your thievin'."

Dale kept staring out the window, not rising to any of the taunts.

"What were you trying to take from my place, huh? My son's car? You were going to take the Mustang for a joy ride, weren't you?"

The Sheriff's mocking nastiness was so uncalled for. I couldn't help wondering if he was laying it on so thick, because he wanted to get Dale out of the way.

I gazed into the rearview mirror, trying to catch a decent look at Sheriff Hutton's eyes.

It was only when he started demanding Dale explain his presence by Adam's car that I noticed a lick of fear in his expression.

"What do you know?!" His voice started to rise as he sped towards the station. "You better start talking, boy."

He slammed the brakes hard and Dale lurched forward in his seat, only just managing to stop his face from slamming into the seat in front of him.

With the dignity of a king, he quietly repositioned himself in the back and continued to glare at the back of Sheriff Hutton's head.

Everyone looked at him as he was dragged into the station. The deputy didn't ask any questions as he watched Dale being hauled towards the cell. The bars slammed, followed by the definitive click of the lock.

The Sheriff's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Dale.

"You just sit tight, champ. I'll be back soon."

He hasn't come back. I look at my watch. We have been stuck in here for thirty minutes. Time is ticking away and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I think of the Sheriff collecting Adam from school then driving out to where my body is.

Where will they bury me?

A myriad of possibilities scatter through my brain. They have every chance of getting away with this.

But what about Dale? I look across at him and wonder what his future holds.

How will the Sheriff silence him?

My imagination explodes with images more torturous than the next... Dale incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, Dale getting beaten up in prison, Dale having to face his parents' shame and disappointment... or the worst of all, Dale lying next to me in a hidden plot made for two.

I wrap my arms around myself to try and stop the shudders wracking my body.

My eyes well with tears.

"This is my fault. You've only ever been good to me and all I've done is ruined your life."

Dale slowly turns in the direction of my voice. His expression is a little broken and I turn away from it.

Tears make my voice tremble.

"I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you. I'm sorry for Scarface. I'm sorry for getting you messed up in this."

"It was my choice."

"No it wasn't. A guy with a heart like yours can't walk away from someone in need." I slip off the seat and kneel at his feet. "You are so good, Dale and I'm not."

A sob catches in my throat.

"I should never have chased you down that hallway and demanded you help me, I should have left you alone." I gulp back my sob. "I wish I'd just died when Adam hit me. It would have been better for everybody."

"Don't say that." I look up to see his aching expression. He reaches out to where he thinks I'm sitting. I want to touch him. I want to wrap my hand in his, but instead I stand and move away.

"I have no right... I'm sorry, Dale. I'm so, so sorry." I sniff and try to rest my head against the bars of the cell. It keeps slipping through so I move back and just stand still.

"Nicky," Dale whispers, "you don't need my forgiveness. You need yours."

I look over at him. He's trying to pinpoint where I'm standing, trying to look into my eyes.

"You think you know me, but you don't. You don't know what I've done. I can't change the past and I can't forgive myself. This is just karma catching up with me."

"Tell me what happened."

I open my mouth then clamp it closed.

"I can't."

"Look, whatever it is, I swear I don't care. It won't change how I feel about you."

I pace to the other side of the cell.

"It will... and it should."

"Did my joy riding change your thoughts about me?"

"That's different. You've made something of your life."

"And you'll make something of yours."

He stands to join me, but I squish myself into the corner so he can't find me.

"You should forget you ever heard me, Dale."

"I'll never be able to, Nicky, and you know it."

He tucks a curl back from his face. He thinks he's looking at me, but his direction is a little off. I don't want to correct him. If he actually catches me with that gaze of his, I'll crumble.

No, I have made up my mind. This is over.

"You have to tell people the truth. You need to make sure the Sheriff doesn't pin anything dodgy on you."

"Nicole, you have to get me out of here. The only way I can prove my innocence is by finding you."

I hate that he's right.

"I just want this to be over. I should just go and you need to tell everyone the truth. I know they'll think you're crazy, but the truth will set you free, right? I mean isn't that the saying?" My voice is pitching high as I climb towards hysteria.

"Stop talking," Dale orders. "Just shut up for a second."

I close my mouth.

He gives me a moment for my usual rebuttal, but I don't give it. He nods and swallows. "Why do you think I can hear you?"

"I have no idea." I throw my hands in the air. Hysteria dances in my belly, making me giggle.

Dale steps right up to me and aims pretty well. Placing his arms on the cell walls, he captures me in the corner. He waits until my obnoxious twitter dies down, which doesn't take very long with his face so close to mine.

"You're supposed to survive this."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe I do. Maybe this is why God kept me alive in that car... for this situation right here."

"I don't believe in God."

Dale's face softens with a smile.

"He believes in you."

"You don't get it."

I push against him, wanting to break free. My hands whistle through his ribcage and he shivers.

"I don't need to get anything." He leans in so close I can't help looking into his eyes. "I like you."

"No, you don't, you put up with me."

"No," he chuckles. "I really like you." The blush lighting his cheeks, makes me wonder if he's actually telling the truth. "The first time I saw you, I thought you were so incredibly beautiful, but then you opened your mouth."

"Hey!"

He grins.

"Let me finish... I wanted to be put off by you. I found you so irritating."

"You know, you're really not selling this."

"I'm not done. Now shut your mouth and let me finish." He gently smiles. "In spite of myself, I couldn't stop watching you and I remember this one day near the start of the year. You were really antsy and completely lost it with this guy in the cafeteria. You told him to suck it then threw a glass of orange juice in his face."

I cringe remembering the scene all too clearly. Amber's crush. The guy I slept with. I couldn't get over my guilt and he wouldn't leave me alone, kept wanting a repeat.

"I found you an hour later crying in one of the music suites. You were hiding behind a drum kit. The second I saw you, I knew you had a heart and it restored all my faith in you. It was kind of hard not to like you after that. All your snide remarks can be pretty transparent."

I swallow down the lump in my throat.

"I wanted to impress you so bad and when I found your iPod, I thought it was my chance."

Self-loathing swamps me.

"I still can't believe I called you Scarface."

"Yeah." Dale shakes his head. "I guess it was kind of the last straw for me. I figured any more chances weren't worth it... but I was wrong."

He tentatively leans forward, reaching out his hand to touch my cheek. The urge to turn away is overruled by the power of his eyes. Before I can stop myself, I lean into his hand and rest my cheek in his palm. Dale's eyes glimmer with a smile. "This is my chance and I'm not going to screw it up. So Nicole, get me hell out of this cell so I can find you."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

I know Dale's right. Finding me will be the only way to prove he's innocent. But how the hell am I supposed to get him out of this cell!

"Okay, I can go through the bars, but then what?"

"You'll need to find the key and bring it back to me."

I squeeze my eyes shut and silently swear. I don't think I can do this. I'm about to tell Dale that when he whispers, "I know you're scared, but you can do this."

Opening my eyes, I look directly at him. His eyes are filled with such conviction I might just be capable of believing him.

"Okay," I sigh. "Okay."

Dale shoots me a winning smile and walks towards the cell bars.

"Good luck."

I let out two quick breaths then close my eyes and step forward.

My body breaks apart as I pull myself through then I spin around with a small smile.

"Are you through?"

"Check." I nod as I look down the corridor. "Okay, I'll go exploring. You just wait for me here."

Dale's eyes shift from side to side before he nods.

"Okay."

I watch him trying to bite back a grin as I realize what I've just said.

"Oh shut up! I'm nervous."

His face illuminates with a smile.

"You'll be great."

"Yeah, whatever."

I ignore his quiet chuckle as I creep away from the cell and head towards the front desk.

I don't know why I'm tiptoeing, it's not like anyone can hear me! Sneaking up to the front of the station, I peer over the top of the desk and spot the deputy with his head buried in a pile of paperwork. He looks bored to distraction as he flicks through notes and signs various pieces of paper.

A noise from the adjacent office distracts me and I look over the desks to see the sheriff pacing away from his guest. He looks at his watch in agitation and glances out the door. I instinctively duck then roll my eyes and stand. He looks annoyed as he nods at... is that the mayor? I squint my eyes, but can't get a decent view as Sheriff Hutton walks in my line of vision.

I decide it doesn't really matter who he's talking to and the longer it takes the better. From memory, the mayor is a total blabbermouth so this meeting of theirs is working in my favor.

Forcing my brain to think cell key, I pull my attention back to the deputy and his desk. It's not exactly the tidiest work area I've ever seen. I frown as I walk through the partition and stand behind the man. He pulls off his glasses and gives his eyes a rub before stretching his arms back and letting out a yawn. I jump out of his way and spot the keys next to his coffee mug just before he leans forward again.

How am I supposed to get those without him noticing?! They're right beside his left hand.

Frowning, I fidget with my watch strap as I try to formulate some kind of plan. I can't go back to Dale without the key. I just can't.

Wiggling my fingers and stepping around the policeman, I try to reach past him for the keys. His hand jumps up and scratches his shoulder. I try once more and the same thing happens. The only way I can get those keys is to pass straight through him and even if I do that, he'll probably freak out when he sees the keys moving along the desk by some invisible force. No - I have to distract him.

I scrunch my lips up as I look at the back of the deputy's head. He scratches his shoulder again and I get an idea.

Please work. Please, please, please work!

Rubbing my fingers together, I run them down the side of his neck.

He twitches and scratches the spot. I grin and do it again. This time he slaps it. My smile grows wider and wider as I continue to torment the man until he jerks tall and moves away from his desk.

"You okay, Walter?" The female officer working at the desk behind him looks up.

"Yeah, I just feel like something's crawling on my neck."

"Let me take a look." She stands up, hitches her pants then leans over her desk to study the deputy's pink neck.

I quickly step into the vacated space and snatch at the keys. My fingers slip straight through them.

"Oh come on!"

It's not like I have seconds to spare. I glance over my shoulder as the female officer mmms and squints her eyes, trying to find some invisible bug or bite.

Looking back at the keys, I narrow my eyes and mutter, "You are coming with me."

I put my index finger inside the key ring and slide it across the desk. Like magic it shuffles across the wood and lands in my left hand. I wrap my fingers around the precious cargo and cling for dear life as I make a beeline back to the cells.