Chapter 14:

A Police visit and an evening out:

(Friday May 5th, 2017; afternoon)

At midday as scheduled, Ewen High's classes wrapped up early and the students left as the electricians arrived. After they left the school, Jack, Carrie and their friends went to their favourite coffee shop, The Cup A' Joe, for some refreshments and to unwind after their shorter than usual school day. They also spoke of the storm that had passed over town the night before. During the conversation, Sue mentioned to Jack that she'd never seen a storm of that intensity at this time of year before, particularly in early May. Usually, storms like that would occur between June and September when the weather was warmer.

After finishing in the coffee shop, Jack and Carrie met with Rita back at the school and were soon on the way back to Jack's apartment. While on the way, she explained to them the real reason she had driven away for a brief time after they finished at the doctors.

"Pardon me, but holy crap! You took on Carrie's mother on your own when she was armed with a knife and got her arrested?! Incredible!" Jack said in utter astonishment, while Carrie was shocked her favourite teacher would do something like that.

"What'll happen to my momma now?" Carrie asked in shock.

"Carrie, what your mother tried to do to you was completely wrong. No parent should ever do that to their own child. She'll more than likely be sent to prison for attempted murder. But judging from her mental condition, she's more than likely going to undergo a really thorough series of psychiatric and mental examinations first." Rita said to Carrie.

Carrie, still in shock and processing all the information, looked down at the floor as Jack gently took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze in assurance. Looking up, Carrie saw Jack give her a reassuring smile and she gave a small smile back.

As they pulled into the parking lot outside the apartments and stopped, Rita turned to the two sitting behind her.

"Carrie…the police possibly may need to speak to you later today about what happened last night. I gave them one of my cards with my number on it so they can contact me. So, it's very likely they'll need to speak with you."

"Okay, Ms Desjardin." Carrie said, nervously.

"And Jack…if the police do need to speak to Carrie…I'll call you beforehand and let you know we'll be on the way here." Rita said. After a moment, Jack nodded.

"I fully understand, Rita."

"Okay, you two. Have a nice afternoon together, and I'll see you when I see you." Rita said, as Jack and Carrie got out of the car, took their bags out of the trunk and then went into the apartment building. They stepped into the elevator and, as the doors closed and they felt themselves going on, Carrie turned to Jack.

"What should we do when we get into the apartment?"

"Well, I just have to do one job…iron the laundry from yesterday. It shouldn't take too long, as there's not much to do." Jack said. Then the elevator stopped on the sixth floor, the doors opened and Carrie and Jack stepped out and headed down the corridor.

"And what shall we do about dinner?" Carrie said.

"Well, on Friday evenings back home, my parents, my three sisters and I usually have a takeout for dinner from a fast-food restaurant or sometimes we even go out to eat." Jack said.

"And can we do something like that tonight?" Carrie asked.

"Certainly, there's a few fast-food places close by where we can get a takeaway or, if you want to, we can go over to the mall and get dinner in one of the restaurants there. The mall always stays open late into the evening on weekdays and Saturdays, and there's plenty of good restaurants to choose from in there." Jack said.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do that. But let me think about what I'd like to do." Carrie said, as they arrived back at the apartment.

After going back inside and changing into more comfortable attire, they set about doing what they wanted to do; Jack set up the ironing board and got to work at ironing his clothes while Carrie picked up one of her books and went out to read on the balcony for a while. Jack took his time ironing, making sure he did the best job he could on his clothes, and making sure to fold them after he ironed them. He finished after about 40 minutes and, after packing his clothes away in his chest of drawers, put the iron and ironing board back into the storage cupboard. He went out onto the balcony, where Carrie was still sitting and reading.

"Are you finished?" she asked, as she looked up from her magazine.

"Yes, took me a little bit longer than I first thought but I've finished." Jack said, as he sat in one of the chairs beside Carrie.

"Thanks for not telling Ms Desjardin about my telekinetic powers." Carrie said.

"Oh, it's no problem. After all, if you want to tell her or even show her, then it's your business." Jack said, and Carrie nodded while giving a small smile.

Then Jack's phone rang. Seeing it was Rita's number he answered it, noting the time he saw on the touchscreen as 2:05pm.

"Hello Rita…yes, we're both still here…Hang on, are you sure? How soon will you be here?" Jack said as he checked his watch. Carrie, still sitting in her chair, watched on curiously. "All right, we'll see you in about 10 minutes then…all right…very well." and Jack hung up before looking at Carrie.

"Was that Ms Desjardin?" Carrie asked anxiously.

"Yes, it was. The police want to interview you about what happened last night. They're on their way over and will be here in about 10 minutes or so." Jack said, as he put his phone back into the breast pocket of his t-shirt.

"All right, I'll sit out here for another few minutes with my book until they arrive." Carrie said. "Okay, I'll just be inside." Jack said, as he stood up and went back into the apartment. He went into the master bedroom, picked up one of the books and went back out to sit at the dining table to read and while away the time until Rita arrived.

The minutes slowly ticked by and soon there came three loud knocks on the door. Jack, putting his book down, went over to answer it; opening it, he saw Rita Desjardin was standing outside with three police officers beside her. Two of them were the officers that had answered Rita's call earlier that morning. The third was female and she had a large bag at her side.

"Hi Jack, is Carrie still here?" Rita asked.

"Yes Rita, she's sitting out on the balcony at the moment." Jack said.

"Good, we need to speak with her." said the male officer.

"I understand, sir. Come in please." Jack said, as Rita and the three officers came in. Jack shook hands with the officers as they stepped in.

On hearing the conversation from the front door, Carrie stepped in from the balcony and saw Rita and the three officer's step into the kitchen.

"Carrie, these officers are here to speak to you about what happened at your home last night." Rita said, as the look on Carrie's face dropped with worry.

"There's nothing for you to worry about, Ms White…" the female officer with the bag said, as she put in down on the floor. "…we just need to get a statement from you on what happened last night, and to get some pictures of the wound on your shoulder." as she took out a camera from the bag, as Carrie nodded in some relief.

"Is there an empty room here where we could interview Ms White?" the male officer said.

"Yes sir, there's two spare bedrooms just over there where you can do the interview in private." Jack said, and with a nod the female officer with the bag went to get the recording equipment set up, which would take a few minutes.

"Carrie, would you like me to sit beside you during the interview if it makes you a little bit more comfortable?" Rita asked, as she gently put her arm round Carrie. There was a pause and, looking up, Carrie nodded.

A short while later, with the recording equipment set up, Carrie, with Rita by her side, and followed by the male officer, went into the of the spare bedroom that had the twin beds in it, leaving Jack in the kitchen with the other female officer. She had the job of interviewing Jack to get his side of the story of what happened the night before. She was an older veteran of the force and looked like she'd served in Chamberlain's Police Department for quite a few years. She had slightly greying hair and had a feeling of experience as she went about getting the recorder out of her bag and placing it onto the table.

"Okay Jack, shall we get down to business?" she asked with a smile, as she sat down at the table placing a small portable recorder in the middle of the table.

"Yes ma'am." Jack said, as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. Turning on the recorder and setting it down on the table, they set about talking.

(About half an hour or so later, with Carrie)

Carrie took a sip of water from a water bottle as the recorder was switched off.

"Okay Ms White, let's get some pictures of that wound." the male officer said. With some nervousness, Carrie took off her t-shirt revealing her shoulder with the new dressing on it. The female officer, with the camera hanging from round her neck, very gently took off the dressing, showing the wound had scabbed over in the time since it had been examined by the doctor earlier in the morning.

"Ms Desjardin, could you hold this ruler please and keep at as steady as you can?" the female officer asked. Rita took hold of the ruler and positioned it along the length of the wound keeping it as still as she could while the female officer brought her camera up and, adjusting the focus, took the first photo. A few more were taken, and all from a number of different angles, including with the ruler going across the wound to show the width of it.

Then, just after the last photo was taken, the male officer turned the recorder back on and got onto asking the question that had been on his mind for the last while.

"Ms White, on that camera we've a photo of a knife from your home on Carlin Street we took this morning…could you confirm if it's the one your mother used to wound you?" and Carrie, taking a deep breath and the colour draining from her face, looked to the digital camera where the female officer, after finding the photo and calling out the photo number, IMG_1045, turned the screen to Carrie's face. After a quick look at the photo, and there was no mistaking the knife in question, with the scratches on the blade and the worn markings on the handle, Carrie gave a small gasp before she looked back at the male officer and nodded slowly, her face as pale as ever.

"Yes sir, that's the knife she wounded me with last night." Carrie said, her voice shaking, as both officers nodded understandingly. Rita gently brought her arms round Carrie and did her best to comfort her when she needed it the most.

(Another half hour later on; 3:20pm)

With the interview at last complete, and her t-shirt back on, Carrie, Rita and the two officers stepped back out into the kitchen, where Jack was still talking to the second female officer. His interview having finished some time before, where he had told the officer everything that happened the previous evening, and with the recorder turned off, Jack and the second female officer were just talking casually. Jack had told the officer about his school life in back home and was telling her of what Dublin was like and how little things here and there in Chamberlain reminded him of home when the others stepped back into the kitchen.

"Well, we're all done in there. I'm sorry it took us so long, but Ms White had a lot she wanted to tell us. And I mean a LOT." the male officer said.

"That's all right, sir. I understand." the second female officer said.

"And Ms White, you don't need to worry about anything you did last night. I know you said it was wrong of you to hit your mother, but you did what anyone else would've done in those circumstances." the first female officer said.

"Really? Even sleeping with Jack in the same bed last night?" Carrie said, in some relief.

"Absolutely, it's horrific for parents to do that to their own children, but it actually happens a lot more than you'd think." the second female officer said.

"Does it?" Carrie said.

"Most certainly." the male officer said.

"There was one particular case that happened down in Phoenix, Arizona about a year and a half ago, where a young girl in her late teens, like yourself, was being abused by her parents, who were alcoholics. She'd been abused by them for quite a while and, wanting to get back at them, set up a number of hidden cameras in the house. Over a period of a week, she recorded every incident that occurred. Then one night, after both parents went on a particularly heavy bender, she ran away taking the information with her. She ran to her boyfriend's apartment nearby and he helped her compile a video of everything that happened into something that ran about two hours long." the second female officer said.

"Almost like a movie?" Rita said.

"That's right, complete with subtitles and information on what day an incident took place and time too. The girl carefully documented everything that happened on paper too. When it was fully edited together, the two handed the information over to the police."

"What happened to the parents?" asked Jack, leaning forward in anticipation.

"After the police reviewed the footage, the parents were arrested, lost their jobs and were later jailed for 36 years. The girl's getting on great; she underwent extensive therapy and is currently living with the same boyfriend who edited the video evidence together."

"Wow, so at least…I'm not alone in that." Carrie said in some relief.

"No not at all." the male officer said, with a smile on his face.

Not long later, the three police officers left the apartment taking with them the statements Jack and Carrie gave. However, Rita decided to stay behind a little while.

"That was a very brave thing you did, Carrie, telling the police everything that happened to you." Rita said, as she gently rubbed Carrie on her back.

"Well…I…I had to. I had to let someone know what was going on in that place all this time." Carrie said, as she felt herself shake a little.

"Don't worry, Carrie. It's all right. Now that it's known, things to sort it out will soon begin to roll." Jack said reassuringly, as he gently patted Carrie on the back.

They were silent for a minute or so, and then Carrie spoke.

"You know Ms Desjardin, right before Jack and I went to sleep last night…he gave me a kiss on my forehead." Carrie said, smiling as she fondly remembered it. Rita glanced over at Jack, who simply nodded his head, confirming it.

"And…?" Rita said, raising one eyebrow.

"I…I can't describe it, but it made me feel…special. And that everything was going to be okay." Carrie said, as Rita felt herself smile as well.

"Well then, at least everything went fine last night for you both. And speaking of night, what are you both doing for dinner this evening?" Rita asked.

"Well, we're thinking we either might get a takeaway from one of the nearby fast-food places or go out to eat at one of the restaurants at the mall." Jack said.

"And which of the two would you like to experience?" Rita said, as she looked at Carrie.

"Well…I've been thinking about maybe going out this evening. I've never had a meal in a restaurant before, and I think it would make a nice change for me." Carrie said.

"Carrie, whatever you want to do for dinner is fine by me. I've no objections." Jack said. For a moment or two, Carrie was silent as she thought. Then she looked up at Jack, smiling.

"Let's go out to eat tonight." she said at last.

"Fantastic! Rita, if you're not busy this evening, would you like to join us?" Jack said.

"Certainly. I always like to go out to eat for dinner every so often. What place have you got in mind?" Rita asked.

"Well, there's this restaurant on the mall's second floor that's caught my attention, The Texas Smoker, a restaurant specialising in barbecue food." Jack said.

"Oh, I love barbecue food. When are you planning to go out?" asked Rita.

"Maybe…sometime between half five and six o clock?" Jack said, as he looked at Carrie, who nodded in agreement.

"All right, so I'll see you both just after half five at the main entrance to the mall?" Rita said.

"Sure, we'll be there." and with those arrangements made, Rita left the apartment, leaving Jack and Carrie to rest for a while from giving their statements to the police.

(That evening, a little after 5:35pm)

Jack and Carrie stood inside the main entrance of the wall and waited for Rita to arrive. After Rita had left the apartment, they had spent the time getting ready, including showering and dressing in fresh clothes.

Once fully ready to go, which included Jack taking his camera along, it's battery fully charged, they left the apartment and headed across the street to the mall. As they went across the street, Jack couldn't help but marvel at how good the late afternoon/early evening was, with a clear blue and cloudless sky and the sun shining brightly to the west with a light breeze blowing through the air.

After they reached the mall entrance, they didn't have to wait for too long as, after no more than five minutes or so, they saw Rita pull into the parking lot and park not too far from where they were. Soon, she was walking up towards them and, to the interest of her two students, was wearing more casual clothing, including having her hair let down loose instead of being done up in a ponytail.

"Good evening, you two." Rita said, as she stepped up beside them.

"Good evening, Ms Desjardin." Carrie said, with a smile at her favourite teacher.

"Evening, Rita. So, shall we all head inside?" Jack said.

"Certainly, let's go inside." Rita said, and they went into the mall and to one of the escalators and up to the second floor.

Soon they were seated at one of the booths in The Texas Smoker, a Texas style restaurant with dark wood panelling fitted onto the walls and memorabilia of Texas, including maps and different styles of cowboy hats, as well as the flag of Texas, decorating the space. The booth they were sitting at had a window beside it so they could look out at the setting sun and the open park beyond. Other people were in the restaurant too, some were already eating, and there was the rich barbecue smell of cooking coming from the kitchen.

Once they had placed their dinner and drink orders with one of the waitresses, they settled down to relax and enjoy the sunset while waiting for their food.

"So, this is your first time to a restaurant, Carrie?" Rita said, in a slight surprise.

"It is. Momma would never let me go to places like this when I was with her. She said they're just places of sin and would cause great corruption of the head and mind." Carrie said, in slight embarrassment.

"Goodness, your mother's mind must've been more corrupted than I expected. But, with her still in custody undergoing an extensive mental examination, we won't know for certain until it's complete. And that could take until sometime next week." Rita said.

"Don't worry about your mother, Carrie. You're now free from her abusive iron fist and her religious fanaticism. And, considering what she did to you over all this time, she's gonna get what's coming to her, so just take it easy and focus on the future." Jack said.

"Jack's right, Carrie. Without your mother keeping watch on you 24/7, you can now focus on your future goals and not have to worry about what she might say." Rita said. Carrie felt herself smile, knowing her gym teacher and boyfriend were right.

Soon, their drinks and starters were served by the waitress. Rita had a peach flavour iced tea with a Caesar salad while Jack and Carrie had glasses of cola and shared a large platter of ribs and chicken wings with a smoky BBQ sauce dip and some cornbread on the side.

"Hey Jack, could I take a photo of you and Carrie please?" Rita asked.

"Sure." Jack said, as he took his camera out of its carrier bag. Turning it on, he handed it to Rita, who brought it up to her eye and adjusted the focus.

"Okay you two, if you scoot a little closer together and put your arms round each other." Rita said. So, Jack and Carrie did so and put their arms round each other as Carrie laid her head on Jack's right shoulder and they both smiled.

"Very good, you two…" and Rita snapped a photo, and then another for luck. "…perfect." Rita said, as she handed the camera back to Jack. He took a quick look at the two crisp clean photos on the screen while showing Carrie too.

"Very nice." Carrie said, impressed by the two photos. And, after a moment, Jack turned the camera off and they settled down to enjoy their food.

About ten minutes or so later, they finished their starters leaving only their empty plates before them. Rita had completely polished off her salad, while Jack and Carrie had done the same with the food on their platter.

"Hmm, delicious. I never knew barbecue food could taste so good." Carrie said, as she finished off the last bit of cornbread.

"Indeed, and the smoky flavour of the BBQ sauce went really well with the chicken wings." Jack said, as he cleaned his hands with one of the lemon scented damp cloths provided with the meal.

"Have you come here before, Ms Desjardin?" Carrie asked.

"No, this is the first time I've been here. Although, I did go to a similar place last time I was down in Dallas, which was about five years ago now. And this place reminds me very much of it, right down to the cowboy belts and hats mounted on the walls." Rita said.

Soon the waitress took the dirty dishes and empty glasses to the kitchen, and took fresh drink orders. Now all they had to do was wait for their main courses to arrive. They didn't have to wait for long; as they were conversing with each other, which included Rita telling them of the last time she was in Texas, the waitress arrived back at the table with their main courses. Rita was served beef brisket, with fries and some cornbread on the side, and a second iced tea, this time a lemon flavour one, while Jack and Carrie were served pulled pork, which had been slow cooked for 14 hours, with fries and corn on the cob on the side, as well as fresh glasses of soda. Jack had his camera ready, and when his food was placed in front of him, he took a picture of it.

"Well, this looks delicious. Let's dig in." Rita said, as she picked up her knife and fork. And from the looks on their faces, Jack and Carrie didn't need to be told twice, and they also picked up their knives and forks and dug into their dinner. For the next few minutes, they ate in silence, enjoying the texture and flavours of their food. To Carrie, this pulled pork was really mouth-watering delicious and it melted in her mouth with each bite she took.

At one point, she looked outside the window she was sitting immediately beside; the sun, though still high over the horizon, was slowly setting into the early evening sky and the sky, still cloudless and bright, was very slowly changing colour. What had been a bright blue sky not too long ago was now slowly turning to a darker shade of blue as the sun set, mixed in with different shades of orange and pink.

Then, after a short moment, Carrie turned back and continued with her dinner.

(later on; a little after 6:40pm)

Rita, Jack and Carrie were walking round the mall, having left The Texas Smoker a few minutes before. After having dessert, Rita had key lime pie while Jack and Carrie enjoyed ice cream sundaes, they paid for their food, with Rita paying for the food she had while Jack paid for him and Carrie, they left the restaurant, feeling satisfied.

Now well-fed, they walked about the mall for a while, working off some of the weight in their stomachs. Most of the shops had already closed for the night, but most of the restaurants, bars, coffee shops and cafés were still open, and would be for several more hours to come. People, including a lot of teenagers, were enjoying their dinner and many of the tables in sight were covered with empty or half-empty glasses.

"Looks like there's gonna be a lot of work for those working in these restaurants." Rita said, as Jack and Carrie smiled at the thought. Jack looked at his watch; it was 6:45pm.

"It's a quarter to midnight back home. My parents and my sisters, and everyone else I know, will be fast asleep by now." Jack said.

"Yeah, I imagine they will be. Anyway, what are you two going to be doing for the weekend?" Rita asked.

"I don't yet Rita, but I think I'd like to go for a walk in the park in the morning. I had a look at the forecast earlier a little earlier on today, and it shows the weather will be good tomorrow morning. So, might as well take advantage of it." Jack said.

"And will you be joining him, Carrie?"

"Yes, Ms Desjardin." Carrie said, as she yawned.

Soon they got very close to the mall's main entrance, where upon they stopped and Rita turned to look at her two students.

"Well, I think both of you should get back to your apartment soon, Jack. After all, you've both had a hard day today, what with the tests you've had to do in school this morning and giving your statements to the police this afternoon." Rita said.

"Okay Rita, but while we're here, we'll walk around for just a little bit longer before we head back." Jack said.

"All right, but I'd better get myself back to my house soon." Rita said.

"Do you live very far from here, Rita?" asked Jack.

"No not too far, only about half a mile or so away. Anyway, I'd best be off. I'll see you two outside the entrance on Monday morning." Rita said, and after wishing each other "good night" Rita turned and walked out the entrance to her car.

"What do you want to do now?" Carrie asked.

"Let's hang around here for a little while longer, and then we'll head back." Jack said.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Carrie said, and they walked along, arm in arm to another part of the mall.

(about half an hour later)

Jack and Carrie soon arrived back at Jack's apartment, changed out of their clothes into more comfortable pyjamas and then headed to the living room to watch a movie on Jack's laptop.

"Thanks for dinner tonight, Jack. I had such a good time. I hope we can do it again sometime." Carrie said, with a smile as they sat down.

"Thanks, it was my pleasure to give a pleasant evening. Now what film do you want to see tonight, Carrie?" Jack said, the laptop ready.

"How about another Bond movie? I liked the one we saw last night." Carrie said.

"Okay, how about…For Your Eyes Only? It's another of my favourites."

"Yeah, let's watch that." Carrie said, and once Jack started the movie, they settled down on the couch to watch For Your Eyes Only. Carrie was particularly amazed with the helicopter sequence at the start of the movie, where the unknown villain in the wheelchair took control of the helicopter over London before Bond (Roger Moore) managed to take back control of it after disabling the remote-control circuits.

Then Carrie watched in quiet excitement as Bond, using the helicopter's starboard skid, lifted the villain off the ground and carried him up into the air over the abandoned factory, ignoring his cries, of which Carrie's favourite was "We can do a deal! I'll buy you a delicatessen! In stainless steel!" Carrie liked that line, but wondered what on earth a hero like James Bond would do with a stainless-steel delicatessen.

Then Bond tipped the helicopter up and dropped the villain down into one of the factory's tall chimneys, as the villain shouted "Mr Booooonnnnnnnd!" before crashing heavily at the bottom of the smokestack. Carrie had a big smile on her face after that, imaging that she was in control of the helicopter instead and she had just deposited a wheelchair bound Chris Hargensen down the old smokestack.

At one point during the evening, Carrie mentioned to Jack that her feet were feeling cold and, after pausing the movie, Jack said "I know what you need." and he got up and went into the master bedroom. He came out a few seconds later with his spare pair of memory foam slippers and sat down beside Carrie. After asking Carrie to bring her feet up onto the couch, he gently put the slippers on Carrie's feet, one at a time. For Carrie, it was a Cinderella like moment. When Jack asked her if she felt better, she smiled and nodded, thanking him for the slippers as she placed her feet, now feeling warm and cosy, back on the floor.

(Later; 11:45pm)

"So shall we go to bed now?" Jack said, as he looked at Carrie.

"Yes, I think that might be a good idea." Carrie said, as she yawned and stretched her arms out above her head. Nodding his head, Jack shut down his laptop.

As Carrie went into the master bedroom, Jack took the chance to lock the front door, close the curtains and turn off the lights before going into the master bedroom himself. Carrie was in the bathroom getting herself ready, so Jack sat on the bed and waited. When she finished, Jack went in and got himself ready too and when he finished, he stepped out and slipped into the bed beside Carrie.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, as Carrie turned off her bedside light. She simply smiled and nodded, before she settled her head down on the pillow and turned to wrap her arms round Jack's shoulders.

"Good night, Jack." she said, as she laid her head on Jack's shoulder and fell asleep.

"Good night, Carrie." Jack whispered, as he turned off his own bedside light before laying his head down on his pillow, putting his arm right arm round Carrie's shoulders and pulling her closer before falling asleep himself.