Rory to the Rescue
By 9:39 P.M. I had grown tired of ringing and dinging sounds. The day had been filled with the ring of the phone and the ding dong of the doorbell, hoards of well wishers and gossip mongers who I suspected stopped by in hopes that my mother's body was on display in a case in the front yard filled our stoop all day. The girls had finally fallen asleep and my father had retired to his study, finally getting the message that I didn't much feel like talking.
I was stretched out on the couch when the phone rang. The clock ticked to 9:40 as the second ring sounded through the house. I hopped off the couch and over to the kitchen to answer it, assuming it would be Nick or Theresa checking on me.
"Hello?"
"Miss Scanlon?" Nope, not Nick or Theresa. Wonder what random acquaintance of my father's this was going to be…
"Yes, can I help you?"
"This is Officer Collins from Castle Rock police department, we erm, met yesterday."
"Oh umm, right. What can I do for you? Do you need to talk to my father?" Cops calling back this late? I figured based on everything I told them that this was a pretty open and shut case. Unstable and unhappy woman progressively uses more and more pills and liquor to drown her problems until it kills her...I figured this wasn't the first time something like this had happened...why would the cops be calling again?
"Umm no miss we actually have a few additional questions for you. We were hoping you could come down to the station."
Come to the station? Are they joking? "Umm right now? I already gave a statement I'm not sure what else I can help you with…"
"We have some young men in custody who are persons of interest in your mother's death and they're insisting that you can clear them from any wrongdoing."
I felt a warm tingling sensation inch up my back and down my arms. I clenched my left fist and held the phone's receiver tighter in my right. I took a deep breath as I processed that Castle Rock Police's finest had nothing better to do tonight than harass Ace Merrill. Those fucking assholes were about to get an earful.
"I'll be there in ten minutes." I hung up the phone and darted upstairs. I kicked off my jeans and sweater and threw a dress on. I leaned into the mirror and fussed with my hair and quickly tossed on some makeup. I tried to ignore that I had instinctively taken a page from my mother's playbook and repressed a childhood memory of my mother getting her hair done at the salon before going to court to argue a speeding ticket. "Lauren darling, always remember to dress your best when dealing with municipal bureaucrats. A lovely dress, a little lipstick and a sweet smile can move mountains in this world. And if the sweet smile doesn't work a sharp tongue will." Her words filled my ears as I finished readying myself. I tried to push her out of my brain as I headed back downstairs.
"Who was on the phone?" My father's voice startled me as I stepped toward the coat closet. I spun around to face him.
His eyes narrowed. "Where are you going at this hour?" I noticed a slight slur to his speech.
"Ummm Nick came home early, I needed to get out of the house." I lied.
"Are his parents home?"
"Umm I think so? I won't be long." I turned again to grab my coat.
"It's a little late, can't he come over here?"
"I really need to get out of the house, I won't be long." I muttered again as I slid my coat on.
My father rubbed his eyes and conceded. I think he knew if he pushed me any further I would have reminded him why we're in this mess in the first place and stomped out anyway. I grabbed my purse and scampered outside to my car. As I settled in, I noticed something shiny on the floor of the passenger's side. I leaned closer and saw that it was my mother's coin purse. I bent to pick it up, thinking about how easily it could have fallen out the day before. I opened it and saw mixed in with a few nickels were several pills. I zipped it shut and shoved it into the glove box, feeling that same tingling anger filling my body once again. I flipped on the lights and backed out of the driveway and tried to shake her image from my mind.
I noticed my hand tremble a bit on the steering wheel. I better get used to this, little reminders of her and little reminders of how messed up she was are going to pop up every day when I least expect them. I took several deep breaths and tried to focus on what I was walking into at the police station.
I pulled into the parking lot and the police station. I pulled a compact mirror out of my purse and fixed my lipstick before walking in. The old officer at the desk was half asleep when hearing the door close behind me startled him awake. "C-can I help you, Miss?"
"She's here for me Ray, thanks." A man I recognized from the day before emerged from an adjoining office. "Miss Scanlon thank you for coming down, I'm so sorry to inconvenience you during this difficult time." He ushered me toward the office. As I stepped toward him, I saw Eyeball and Ace sitting at a table in a room at the end of the hallway. I stopped and stared down at them. Eyeball noticed me first and then tapped Ace's arm. Ace locked eyes with mine and I felt my face grow hot. I felt absolutely sick that those guys were in this situation because of me and my dysfunctional family. I knew in that moment I wasn't leaving that building until I got them out.
A second officer stepped toward me and noticed my eyes on Ace. "Miss Scanlon, Officer Mitch-" He held out his hand but I cut him off.
"I'm sorry, your partner told me on the phone that I was asked down here by two young men who were accused of being involved in my mother's death...I hope the two men in question aren't Eye-Ummm-Rich Chambers and John Merrill?" I nodded toward the room where they sat and tried to quickly correct myself when I used their nicknames.
"Miss Scanlon, if you could please come with us we'll explain." Mitchell put his hand on my back and tried to guide me into the office where Collins sat.
I pushed his arm away. "First of all, please don't touch me. Second of all, answer my question. I thought I was pretty clear yesterday that those two pretty much saved my sisters' lives." I kept my stare icy cold and my words curt.
Mitchell flinched and moved his hand from the small of my back. "My apologies. Miss Scanlon perhaps you can clear a few things up and we can explain why Mr. Merrill and Mr. Chambers are here."
I looked at Ace and Eyeball down the hall from me and then back to Mitchell. I nodded as I stepped into the office and took a seat.
"Miss Scanlon, we received some information from the medical examiner that was concerning to us and we were hoping you could shed some light on the situation."
I crossed my ankles and folded my hands in my lap. "Go on."
Mitchell wiped his brow. "I hate to be the one to speak on this, but the medical examiner noticed your mother's undergarments were on inside out when she died. Her brassiere was half unhooked. That coupled with the amount of drugs in her system indicated a possibility of assault and given that two boys with extensive criminal records were present at the time we had every right to bring them in for questioning given this development."
I pursed my lips together, hoping the pressure on my mouth would prevent me from completely exploding. I know that Ace Merrill wasn't exactly an angel, but to try to peg a vicious thing like that on a guy who had just gone out of his way for a couple of girls he barely knew didn't add up. Beating up those middle schoolers wasn't a great move, but it's a far cry from drugging and raping a shitfaced 39 year old woman. I took a deep breath as Mitchell continued.
"With all due respect Miss Scanlon, I don't reckon you run in the same circles as those two and we find it a bit curious as to how they ended up involved."
Officer Mitchell I thought I explained all of that yesterday but l'll go over it again in case you missed anything. My mother was a sick woman and was on a cocktail of various medications that severely impacted her behavior. Yesterday, she loaded up on her pills, picked up my sisters and nearly incinerated them by driving into a gasoline pump. That gasoline pump happened to be at the service station where those two work. From what I understand, she could have blown herself, my sisters and your little prisoners down the hall to kingdom come. My mother had repeatedly flirted with both of them at the gas station for weeks leading up to this and when I went to get her yesterday she had thrown herself at them again. If her underwear was a mess I can assure you she did it to herself. Stop making her the victim here. My sisters are the victims. Those boys in the other room who got roped into this shitty situation are the victims. They didn't ask for this. This is on her, not them."
"Mitchell and Collins exchanged uncomfortable looks. I realized they probably hadn't expected me to paint such a blunt picture. Either that or Ashley's trick about dazzling city employees with lipstick and a sharp tongue actually worked.
"With all due respect, officers, the last couple of days have been awful enough. I don't need word getting around town about all of this. I hope you'll have the decency to understand that my mother was a troubled woman whose life ended due to her own hands, not because of anything those boys did. I'm sorry if you're having a hard time believing that, I can imagine that from the outside things didn't seem like they would go this way. If you call the house my father will tell you the same...it's been a hard pill for him to swallow and I'm not sure he needs to hear all this right now but I understand if you would rather speak to him..." I felt my voice tremble as I saw Mitchell's expression soften.
"I truly apologize for making you come down here Miss Scanlon, please understand we were only doing our jobs. We wanted to make sure that-"
"Please stop. You've said all you need to say and now that I've cleared this up I think it's time to get John and Richard home. My godfather is an attorney, I'm happy to call him down here to help with the process if you think that's best." Although not exactly a lie, my godfather was a fraternity brother of my father's who lived in Philadelphia. Getting him to Castle Rock on a moment's notice would prove tricky. I hoped these cops' hatred of Eyeball and Ace didn't outweigh how badly they felt for me.
Mitchell bristled. "We had apprehended them on a traffic stop for suspected drunk driving-"
I stood up and cut him off. "So will they need an attorney? Did they pass a sobriety test? Have their parents been informed that they're in custody? I'm pretty sure they're both minors, maybe I should get my godfather over here, just in case..."
Collins shook his head and Mitchell sighed. "I'll let the boys know they're free to go. As are you, Miss Scanlon. Our deepest sympathies again for your loss and our apologies for calling you out this late." I stepped toward the door and watched Mitchell and Collins walk down to the room where Eyeball and Ace were sitting. I walked slowly toward the door and saw Mitchell point at me and then point toward the door. I saw Ace smirk as he stood up. I stepped out the front door of the station and toward my car. I fumbled in my purse for a cigarette as I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around and saw Ace and Eyeball coming down the stairs.
Ace slowed as he approached me. He didn't say a word as he held up his lighter. I put the cigarette to my lips and caught his eye. He had a strange expression on his face, my best guess is that it was part confusion, part exhaustion and part relief that he was standing outside the station and no longer in an interrogation room.
"Hey, thanks for whatever you did in there. I'm really sorry they had to bother you, but they were saying all sorts of crazy shit and you were the only person who could prove them wrong and it was real cool of you to come down here when you're dealing with everything…" Eyeball cut the silence with his awkward rambling.
"I'm sorry you guys got picked up at all, it seemed like total bullshit to me. Those cops seem to really hate your guts." I took a long drag of my cigarette.
Ace shrugged. "If it weren't this they'd have pulled me over and tried to pinch me for something else. It's how it goes for me around here."
I looked around and realized Ace's car wasn't in the parking lot. "Speaking of getting pulled over, I'm guessing Officer Dingbat gave you a ride here and your car is somewhere on the side of the road?"
He nodded. "It fucking better be, if those assholes had me towed on top of all this I'll fucking kill them."
I took another drag of my cigarette and shivered in the cold. "Let me at least give you a ride back to wherever it is, or home if that's easier. It's my fault you guys got dragged into all this it's the least I can do." I beckoned toward my car.
Eyeball perked up. "I live real close to here, I'd love to snag a ride from you if you don't mind. If I don't get home soon I'll hear it from my old man. You can drop me there then swing back out to Central Street to drop Ace at his car." I noticed Ace wince as Eyeball eagerly jumped toward my car and climbed in the backseat. Ace didn't move.
"Are you coming? I really don't mind it's not a big deal." I stepped closer to him.
His eyes locked with mine. "It's not your fault."
His response surprised me. "What?"
"It's not your fault. None of it is. Not why we got picked up, not what happened yesterday. Don't go telling yourself that, it's pointless."
His words stung me. For the second time in 48 hours Ace Merrill came out of left field with brutally honest yet oddly comforting words. We stared at each other for a moment and I felt it grow more and more awkward as the silence lingered. "I'm not standing out here all night. Hop in, I wouldn't feel right about leaving you here to walk." I spun and walked toward the driver's side. I heard his footsteps behind me as I climbed into my car.
"This is a nice ride, is it a '61?" Eyeball asked as I backed out of the station.
I nodded. Ace scoffed. "Let me guess, a present on your sweet sixteen?"
I was thankful it was dark because I felt my cheeks flush and turn what I'm sure was a deep shade of red. "As a matter of fact it was, I'm sure that sounds like some real "Leave it to Beaver" shit to you."
Ace laughed. "After the last couple of days, Princess, I don't think Leave it to Beaver is how I'd describe your family." I saw Eyeball's jaw drop in the rearview mirror. My first instinct was to be offended, but I immediately recalled how comforted I had been by his honesty just a few minutes prior. Still, I didn't like the sneer in his voice when he called me "Princess" but I covered my annoyance with a small laugh.
"You're right, it's more Guiding Light or some other ridiculous soap opera." I tried to deflect as Eyeball directed me to turn right down a road I hadn't driven down before. I realized as I navigated the sparse streets of the east side of Castle Rock that I really did live in a different world than these two guys who I had been in school with since I was eight years old.
"Take the next left and down to the end is me, the one with the busted up Ford Pickup out front. Don't pull up too close, if my old man passed out in his chair the headlights will wake him up." Eyeball pointed out his house as I slowed to a stop.
"Hey Rory, uhhh thanks again for the ride and for uhhh getting us out of that jam. Been a wild few days and I'm uhh real sorry about everything…" Eyeball stammered from the backseat.
"Give her one of the joints you've been holding, numbnuts, least you can do to say thank you." Ace spoke up next to me. Eyeball's eyes grew wide as did mine.
"Wait, you were holding joints while Mitchell and Collins had you in for questioning? Jesus you're lucky they didn't pinch you for that." I watched Eyeball fumble in his pocket and hold out a neatly wrapped joint to me. "I didn't take you for a pothead but if you're interested it's yours."
"I doubt she is, but I don't think a joint before bed would be the worst idea for her." Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He held out his pack to me and I took one.
I took the joint from Eyeball's hand. "Thanks. I'm no stranger to these and I could definitely stand to mellow out after the last couple days. Thanks for everything that you did yesterday, and I'm sorry you got dragged into this again tonight. If anything fucked up like this ever happens again let me know and if there's anything I can do to help I will." Eyeball smiled and held out his hand to Ace, who skinned his palm. Eyeball hopped out of the car and jogged toward his house.
"Where's your car?" I turned to Ace, who was holding out his lighter for me to light my cigarette.
"Central Street, back closer to downtown."
I nodded and pulled out of Eyeball's street. "Thanks for the joint, by the way." I said to cut the silence.
"It was Eyeball's joint." He cracked open the window and blew a puff of cigarette smoke out into the cold.
"Well it was your idea to give it to me. I appreciate it."
He shrugged. "Doubt you'll actually smoke it, but you talked a decent game."
"I'd spark it right now if I weren't concerned one of those cops is waiting by your car to nab you again on your way home. Last thing you need is to smell like grass. I can wait until I get home." I hoped my retort was snappy enough to deflect how slightly insulted I was that Ace insinuated I was a poser trying to look cool with the joint. His silence told me nothing.
I approached the center of town and made the left onto Central Street. The silence was uncomfortable and I stifled a sigh of relief when I noticed a car pulled onto the shoulder up ahead. I pulled over behind it and put the car in park.
"So I guess we've arrived at the part of the evening where you thank me or apologize or some combination of the two all over again?" Ace tossed the butt of his cigarette out the window and rolled it up. His hand traveled down to the door handle. He looked straight ahead as I turned to face him, slightly annoyed that he was planning his exit before I got a chance to speak.
"I was going to give it a whirl but something tells me I should save my breath." I rolled my eyes.
"Listen Princess, as far as I'm concerned-" He began.
"You don't hear me calling you John, don't call me princess." I cut him off.
He leaned back in his seat and stared at me. "Thirty seconds ago you were about to melodramatically dump your guts out to me and now you're snapping at me?"
"I wasn't about to dump my guts out to anyone, don't flatter yourself. I just wanted to apologize that you got your balls busted by those dick cops tonight, but it's clear you don't want to hear it so why don't you just get out of my car and have a pleasant night."
Ace sat there motionless, his eyes slowly looking me up and down.
I raised an eyebrow. "Do you need something else? If you're waiting for me to take my top off again, forget it. It's way too cold out here for that shit tonight."
He laughed. "The Princess has jokes, who would have thought. You're a tougher broad than I expected. That's good. Means you might come out of this okay." His words stung, a combination of backhanded compliment and reminder of the inevitable years I would spend in therapy trying to un-remember the last few days.
He gave me one last look and stepped out of my car and shut the door. My eyes followed him as he walked to his car. I could see his breath in the cold air. As he fumbled with his keys, he looked over at me one last time. I fought the instinct to look away and stared at him for a moment through the windshield. I felt my heart thump in my chest as he broke eye contact and slid into his car. The lights popped on and he banged a u-turn and disappeared.
I took a deep breath and started home. At this point, my mind was mush. It had been a long enough day without adding in a late night police interrogation. I yawned as I navigated the quiet streets of Castle Rock. My heart beat a little faster as I approached the gas station. I saw Ace's car pull into the house behind the garage and my eyes immediately went to my mother's smashed up car nearby. I pushed the images out of my mind as I took the turn up to the View.
I was disappointed to see the living room illuminated by the television as I pulled into the driveway. I had hoped my father had gone to bed and that I could just slide up into my room and spark the joint that Eyeball had given me, but no such luck. I made my way to the front door and my father popped up from the couch as I entered.
"Where were you?" A stern expression painted his face.
"I told you-"
He cut me off. "Before you lie to me, Nick called from his Grandparents' house looking for you about ten minutes after you left so I know you weren't there."
I took a deep breath as I tried to piece together an alibi. Explaining to my father where I had been would prompt him to reopen his quest for details about the prior day's events.
"I just had to clear my head, okay?"
"The phone rang and you bolted out of here...who were you with?"
"What does it matter? I'm home now and I'm fine." I wasn't going to bite. I didn't want to talk to him and I certainly didn't want to explain my little trip to the police station.
He shook his head. "Rory just because-"
"Just because I had to handle everything yesterday alone you think that you can swoop in and act like a devoted parent now? Save it. I'm going to bed, maybe we'll talk tomorrow."
I brushed past my stunned father and stomped up the stairs. I successfully made it into my room without him following me. I collapsed on my bed and sighed. My mind started to wander, jumping from images of my father to my sisters to everything that had gone down the day before. Eventually my thoughts settled on Ace. If the situation were reversed and I had ended up dealing with his family's issues, the Castle Rock police department certainly wouldn't have followed me around demanding answers. The kid had been dealt a raw enough deal and the one time he tried to be nice it backfires and gets him hauled in for questioning.
I heard footsteps on the stairs and heard the guest room door open then close. I remembered that the cleaning crew wasn't coming until tomorrow and that my father couldn't sleep in his bedroom with everything as it was. It was a sobering reminder of what had happened. It had only been a little over 24 hours but it felt like I had lived a lifetime since my mother had died. Navigating this new normal was going to be tricky. As I felt all of those negative images enter my mind, I remembered that Eyeball's joint was still in my purse. I jumped off my bed and dug it out and stepped over to my window to spark it. I inhaled long and deep and remembered Ace telling me I'd need it. He wasn't wrong. He hadn't been wrong about much over the last day and a half.
I took another hit from the joint. Good stuff, better than I had expected. Ace's parting words continued to echo in my head.
"The Princess has jokes, who would have thought. You're a tougher broad than I expected. That's good. Means you might come out of this okay."
I figure a guy like Ace Merrill calling you a tough broad was as close as you got to a compliment. I hoped he was right and that I had a chance of coming out of this okay.