I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Fulton County Affair.
It was a calm Wednesday evening in Trinity South Carolina, heavy rain had scattered all over the town a few hours earlier; however, the storm had now past and everything was still, apart from the residents who could not help but show their true colours under the veil of darkness.
Lucas Buck wandered the streets casually, whistling to himself as he walked. He had his own plans for tonight and had hoped that he would have been home by now to execute them; however, there was something which required his attention urgently, to ensure all the trains ran smoothly in his town.
If there was one constant in Trinity, it was that the women in his life could not adhere to the simple rules he set out for them. Usually he would not mind taking time out of his day to intervene with their plans; however, this cat and mouse game he was playing with Gail was taking up all of his energy and he could have done without this detour right now.
Lucas came to an alleyway and shook his head, she was a creature of habit he would give her that. He bent down to pick up a stone, then threw it at the large trash can leaning against the wall. Lucas smiled when he heard the rats curse and scutter around, then Bobby Wilkins rushed out of the alleyway trying to zip up his pants.
'Evenin' Bobby, how's that fine wife of yours?' Lucas mocked knowingly.
'Ah hell Sheriff, you scared me half to death. I was just...'
'Just takin' relations with someone that you shouldn't?' Lucas asked unimpressed.
Bobby shifted on his feet and stared at his hands nervously. 'You ain't with her anymore Sheriff, I just thought...'
'Well you thought wrong...' Lucas interrupted, '...A good friend of mind is fond of that one, you put the word out that she's off limits you hear?'
Lucas watched as Bobby nodded frantically at his warning, then signaled for the man to leave. When he turned towards the alleyway he saw Selena saunter out and shook his head disapprovingly.
'You wanna enlighten me as to why you felt the need to interrupt my fun?' Selena asked cattily.
Lucas laughed and ran his hand through his hair. 'You've got a perfectly man to have fun with at home Selena, why would you be down here with these reprobates?'
Selena laughed an shook her head in disbelief. 'As if you care what I get up to and who with...since when is it your business who I step out with?'
'Since your boyfriend is now a close personal friend of mine...It's about time that you grew up and started actin' in the proper way. You made your choice long ago when you chose to align yourself with Billy and the last thing I need is him havin' a hissy fit due to your infidelity'
Selena narrowed her eyes at Lucas, he had never taken an interest in her activities before and this change in behaviour was irritating. 'I think you've been around the lovely Miss Emory for far too long, she appears to have stripped away your sense of fun' she mocked.
Lucas shook his head, then closed the distance between them. 'Oh I'm goin' home to have my fun now Teacher, I suggest you do the same' he whispered, then turned around and headed in the direction of his car.
Gail sat in the Library of the Buck Mansion, reviewing the papers spread out over the table. The Walter Maine incident had become an obsession of hers and it was all she could think about, even when she was performing her motherly duties. Gail did not allow her obsession to cause detriment to the children; however, her tasks were performed on autopilot and she would sneak away to this room whenever she could, to look through the evidence she had uncovered.
Up until now, Gail had not uncovered anything concrete and the lack of any real evidence in this case was beginning to frustrate her. She had interviewed close friends of the family and dug into Betty's life; however, she had hit a brick wall and that was when she chose to change her tactics, vowing not to allow Lucas to beat her.
Gail had spent an inordinate amount of time at the crime scene and her mind had been flooded with visions of that awful incident; however, her visions were not concrete evidence and they only served to mock her for what she could not prove. She saw Betty and her little boy in her dreams every night these days, calling for justice. That had prompted her to push her darkness deep down and allow her old need to pursue the truth to shine through. Walter was hidden away in Juniper House and Lucas strolled around without a care in the world, that was not justice and it was not in her nature to allow such a thing to go unpunished.
The only saving grace at the moment was that her friend Christie had hit the same brick wall and was feeling the frustration too. The longer this dragged out, the longer she had her best friend with her and that was something she was thankful for.
Although Gail believed she had won the bet, as she had gotten in to see Walter and managed to get the inside scoop, Christie had assured her that the challenge was still ongoing and she was pulling out all the stops to try to find the truth of what really happened. Christie's determination made her smile, Lucas was so focused on Gail that he was underestimating her friend and that could work in their favour. Gail had decided to bide her time and allow the attention to be solely on her, then she would strike when the time was right.
A small creak took Gail out of her thoughts and she turned towards the door of the Library, to see Lucas holding a large bouquet of deep red roses. She let out a long sigh as she gathered up her papers into a large folder, then stood up and approached his position. 'As beautiful as these roses are, you can't really think they're going to distract me from what I'm working on' she said, as she took the bouquet and turned back towards the table.
Lucas smiled, then reached for her hips and pulled her back into him. 'Of course not, but I am' he teased charmingly and began kissing her neck softly.
Gail leaned back into him for a moment, savouring the feeling of his lips on her neck, then pulled free of his grasp. 'Give it up' she smiled and started walking towards the table in the middle of the room.
Lucas shook his head, then grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her to face him. 'You're really so engrossed in your witch hunt that you don't know what day it is do you? I don't know whether to be flattered or offended'
Gail stared at him confused for a moment, then the date clicked in her mind and she laughed in disbelief. 'You've got to be kidding me...You know the only famous thing to happen on Valentine's Day was a massacre right?'
Lucas was amused at where her mind automatically took her and laughed. 'A girl after my own heart' he smiled devilishly and started to lead her out of the Library.
Gail shook her head at her own stupidity, of course he would be impressed that her mind instantly took her to something dark. 'You're not seriously buying into this?' she asked, trying to reason.
Lucas led her to their bedroom, where a dozen bouquets of roses were spread throughout the room and rose petals lay on the floor. He nodded towards the large box on the bed, wrapped in a silver ribbon and pushed her gently towards it. 'You've been cooped up here with your obsession for long enough Miss Emory, now get dressed and I'll be waiting for you in the car' he ordered, then left her alone in the bedroom.
Gail glanced around the room in disbelief at how oblivious she had clearly been. She had been here all day and had not noticed he had gone to this much trouble, or that Luke was not here where she had left him sleeping. She approached the bed, then opened the box and sighed. 'Of course he did' she said to herself and pulled the short black lace dress out of the box. She supposed there was no harm in putting her investigation on hold for a few hours to see what he was up to and began to change.
Lucas pulled up outside of his favourite restaurant and got out of the car. He handed the valet his car keys, then walked around to the front passenger side and opened the door for Gail, holding his hand out to her to provide assistance. He smiled to himself at how short the dress he had purchased was and watched as Gail had to strategically step out to prevent the dress from riding all the way up. He had been surprised that she had so obediently followed his orders and had struggled to control his urges throughout the drive here.
Gail sensed his thoughts and leaned in close to him, took hold of his hand then placed it under her dress. 'I may have forgotten a certain part of this outfit' she whispered, then smiled mischievously when he ran his fingers over her bare sweet spot.
Lucas took a sharp intake of breath, then placed his hand on the small of her back and led her into the restaurant. He had expected to distract her away from her investigation; however, she appeared to be doing a good job in distracting him. When the Head Waiter led them to his usual secluded table in front of the large fireplace, Lucas held the chair out for her to sit down then squeezed her shoulders affectionately and left with the Waiter.
Gail watched suspiciously as Lucas disappeared through a door in the corner of the restaurant, then sighed and started to survey her surroundings. This Valentine's Day lark had taken her by surprise and she had guessed he was attempting to distract her; however, she had chosen to try and beat him at his own game.
Gail had no desire to be here, in fact she could not stop thinking of her next avenue of investigation; however, she was stuck here for now and was attempting to figure out what Lucas' next move was. She needed to get him off of her case, to enable her to come up with her next plan of action and being in one of his domains right now may not work to her advantage.
A familiar face caught her eye to the right of a pillar and Gail smiled. She stood up from her seated position and headed towards the more crowded area of the restaurant, then her smile faded when she came upon the couple in front of her. 'Well this isn't inappropriate at all' she said disapprovingly and folded her arms over her chest.
Matt's eyes closed at the sound of Gail's voice and he set his menu down. He felt his heart sink deep into his chest and tried to find the best words to say.
'What are you doin' here? I thought you'd be workin'' Merlyn chimed in, sensing Matt's discomfort.
Gail ignored Merlyn and continued to stare at Matt. 'You're kidding me with this right?' she asked her friend.
Matt looked at Gail, then narrowed his eyes at her attire. He knew she would not be comfortable wearing such a revealing dress with high heels in public and he could see the irritation in her eyes. Matt sensed all the eyes in the room on them and took hold of Gail's arm, to lead her away from the prying residents. 'Why would you wear that? You don't think you get enough attention as it is these days?' he asked disapprovingly.
Gail let out a small laugh and shook her head. 'You're worried about the attention I'm getting? You're the one on a date with a 17 year old girl!' she snapped quietly, ensuring no-one could overhear them.
Matt stood up straight and glanced towards M, who smiled warmly at him. 'It's not what you think Gail' he tried to reason.
'The hell it isn't...' she said louder than she had intended, '...I was wondering what he would do to distract me, I'd never have thought it would be you'
Matt regarded Gail with confusion for a moment, then realised what she was insinuating. 'I'm not sabotaging you, I'm just out for dinner...'
'On Valentine's Day, with my cousin?' she let slip in anger, then placed her hand on her mouth when she saw the shock in Matt's eyes.
'Your what?' Matt asked, feeling a knot form in his stomach.
'Her metaphorical cousin...keep up with the program Harvard' Lucas interrupted, as he appeared next to the pair and glanced at Gail impatiently.
Gail signaled for Matt to return to his table, then let out a sigh of relief.
'You really do need to watch your words around people love. Now, if you're about done visitin' another man, it's about time we ordered' Lucas advised, then led her back to their table.
Lucas watching triumphantly as Gail finished her fifth glass of wine. Seeing Matt dining with Merlyn had put her on edge and Lucas was well on hand to supply her with plenty of wine, to enable her to drown her concerns.
He had sensed she was attempting to fight her darkness recently, to enable her to push forward with her pursuit of the truth. Harvard had not been a part of the plan to distract her from that tonight; however, he had been an unexpected advantage and Lucas sensed her darkness starting to slip through her barrier.
Gail watched Lucas carefully, her mind was hazy from the alcohol and she cursed herself for allowing him to get her into this state. Her thoughts of Betty had been replaced with thoughts of Matt and Merlyn, those thoughts did not take her to a good place and she was struggling to remain in control of her feelings. The more she watched Lucas' smug expression, the more disheveled her mind got. She had made it far too easy for him to control her feelings tonight and she was disappointed in herself.
Lucas sensed her disappointment and signaled for the Waiter to bring another bottle of wine, then moved his chair beside her. He reached under the table and caressed the inside of her thigh, before leaning in close and whispering in her ear. 'The night's only just begun love, you givin' up so soon?' he asked teasingly.
Gail narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and attempted to push down her desire, as his fingers began to stroke the spot between her legs. 'Is that what you want? Someone to submit so easily?' she goaded.
'What I want is for you to trust me' Lucas whispered.
'I do...' Gail advised, '...and if you told me you didn't do it I'd have no choice to believe you, but you can't do that can you?'
Lucas stared deep into her eyes and prepared himself to lie, then chose to remain silent.
'That's what I thought' Gail said, then leaned in close and placed a soft kiss on his lips. If he wanted to play, she was game and would pull out all the stops like he had to ensure she was victorious.
Lucas nuzzled his head into her neck and kissed it softly, he sensed she was ripe for the game tonight and was confident she did not know what was coming.
-To be continued-