Real Bad Things(89)

He caught her eye, asked if there was something he could help her with, which was funny because she’d asked him for help many times.

“You came to our house,” she said. “Back when we were kids.”

“Well, that’s not surprising, considering.” He gestured toward the hallway they’d led Diane down and laughed again, as if not able to shake the earlier fit. The other officers quieted and adjusted their postures.

“You think it’s funny?” she asked. “Did you think it was funny then? When Jason and I had no say in the matter? No power to do a thing about it?”

The chief tucked his hands into his belt. “Now, listen here. I don’t know what you’re getting at or the particulars of your situation, but—”

“You got called out to the house all the time, and you didn’t do a thing.” She glared at him. “I remember you smirking at Warren. Joking about women, how they’re sensitive, how sometimes things get out of hand. But it was no big deal, right? These things work their way out on their own. In the home.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“After you left, Diane hit me. Gave me a concussion. I didn’t go to school for a week.” Her whole body shook at the release of the truth after telling a lie for so long. “If you’d done your job, Georgia Lee and my brother wouldn’t be back there in cells. Maybe that guy you found would still be alive. Hell, maybe even Warren. You’re as responsible for this as anyone.”

She looked around at all those men. “All of you. Every time you do nothing. You’re all responsible.”





Thirty-Four

GEORGIA LEE

Georgia Lee didn’t know what to expect once she relinquished the cuffs and her time was her own again. According to Tom, she and Jason had been the talk of the town, followed by Diane’s arrest and then Georgia Lee’s subsequent election loss, but the town would move on to other news as quickly as they did everything else. A formerly disgraced, now free political figure only held so much allure, even one with crimes as serious as hers had been.

“You’re done here,” Benjamin had said an hour prior. “Done done. Unless you’d like to admit to another crime we can’t verify. Perhaps one that involves a grassy knoll.” The last part he said with a teasing smile, not dissimilar to the ones Jane and Jason had always given her.

“Really?” Georgia Lee asked.

Benjamin leaned against the wall. He appeared to enjoy her confusion.

“But I confessed.”

“No body. No evidence. No crime. Yet.” He pointed at her. “I’ve got my eye on you, though.” Before she could argue further, he’d given her a final incomprehensible look and walked away.

Free to go. She could go. Anywhere.

All the cops had to go on was what Jason and Georgia Lee and Jane had told them and what they all agreed to accept as truth: Georgia Lee had gotten into a fight with Warren over his parking space (stupid, but true); she’d run across the street to the river (also true); when Jason had seen Warren attack Georgia Lee (with violent intent, Georgia Lee had insisted), he’d jumped in to help (perhaps true); and after, Jason had helped Georgia Lee carry Warren’s body to the boat and shoved it in the direction of his assumed death (super not true, but she had agreed not to argue the point).

She would trade a criminal defense attorney for a divorce attorney. She would find a new job. A new place to live. Things she’d thought about while there was nothing else to think about or do in the quiet hours since Jane had charged into the interview room with her box. She couldn’t say how long ago it had been. A week? Now that it was here, the future loomed like a blank slate. She took a deep breath. She’d figure it out. She always found a way.

They had processed Jason first. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye. No doubt their paths would converge again. All it would take was another historic flood.

“Climate change, you fucker,” she muttered to herself and laughed. She hoped Bollinger enjoyed his new responsibilities as city councilor, all the new complaints. Perhaps he’d love it.

Once Tom gave the all clear, she gathered her things and said her goodbyes to everyone at the station. They’d been good to her, which she had not expected, not with being held in connection to a murder. She told them she’d be by soon with cupcakes, to which they all laughed. Except Benjamin. Probably because Georgia Lee had thwarted his plan to arrest his top suspect. The brother and ex-girlfriend of the top suspect weren’t quite what he’d had in mind. You’d think he’d be pleased to have caught his criminals. Though caught was generous, as they’d both confessed. He wouldn’t be long for Maud now that the notoriety had died down. Someone somewhere would snatch him up. He’d chase the next thrill in the next town now that he’d gotten a taste of it. “You’re welcome,” she whispered.

“You head on home,” John said and nudged his head toward the door. “I bet Rusty’s ready to pop some champagne.”

Georgia Lee glared at him. “I pop my own champagne bottles.”

“Same old Georgia Lee,” he said as he leaned against the counter. He smiled warmly at her, as if they were friends again. His betrayal stuck at the forefront of her mind.

He was right, though. She was the same; their perception of her had changed. She didn’t mind, for once. In fact, she found it quite meaningful they could all now see exactly who she was. There was nothing to hide, though she’d never had to really hide until the past few months. But now they better understood her. Even if it no longer mattered in the public realm, it mattered to her personally.