Homesick –Part III
A young man of twenty-five was driving himself from a party late at night. He had been working with the catering service there and was now going home, but he had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the bottoms. He pulled over to the side of the road and took a sip from the bottle of brandy that he had taken from the party. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was and where he should go next. He lit up a cigarette, and he sat and watched the match until it burned down to his finger.
There was a house directly to his right. All the lights were out. He drove his car around the block and put it out of sight, then he got out, taking with him the bottle of brandy and book of matches. He crept around to the back of the house that he had seen. He poured out the brandy around the perimeter in the back and lit a match, watching it intently for a minute before tossing it at the house. He hadn't planned on this one, but that didn't make it any less thrilling. In fact, the more times he did it, the more thrilling it became.
He stepped back into the shadows to watch his work. He was unmoved by the sound of screams that came from the house, but when he heard the sound of sirens, he reluctantly returned to his car and left the scene. He went home, threw away the empty brandy bottle, and went to sleep.
Chief Forbes stood in front of the charred remains of the little house and shook his head; the house was almost entirely destroyed. He bent down and picked up a blackened teddy bear, a reminder that a family had once lived here. The family had narrowly escaped with their lives, but now all they had was lost.
Parker and Luann were out interviewing the neighbors to find out if anyone had seen anything. Lonnie and Bubba were looking over the house for evidence. There had been two fires in the county on the previous week, but both of them had been barn fires, not house fires. There was no way to tell yet if this fire was a case of arson or if it was connected to the previous two fires in the county. Parker and Luann soon returned with no helpful information, and Forbes's interview with the victims did not turn up any motive for arson.
When the forensic evidence came in, however, Lonnie was quick to point out to the Chief that there was a common factor in the three fires.
"It's gotta be the same guy," he said. "How many arsonists do you know that use brandy to light fires?"
"I just wish he had some kind of recognizable pattern," said Forbes.
"Yeah, so do I," said Lonnie. "This thing is going to be bugging me all weekend."
Lonnie had a plane to catch, so he could not be there for the meeting with Sheriff Gillespie that took place later that day. Now that they had evidence to connect the fires in the county and the city, they had decided to join forces in their investigation. Forbes handed Bill the file on the case, and Bill looked over the notes that Lonnie had made.
"This person sure has expensive taste," said Bill. "Any ideas about who it might be?"
"I've seen arson cases before," said Forbes, "but none that were quite like this. I think we might be dealing with some kind of pyromaniac."
"Where is Lonnie, by the way?"
"He's on a plane to Chicago," said Forbes.
"Visiting Ms. Collins, I presume," said Bill.
"She invited him for the weekend," said Forbes. "He deserved some time off, but he didn't want to take too long, especially with this arson case unsolved, and to be honest, I'm relieved. I need him working on this case."
"Well, I would be relieved too," said Bill, "but I can think of another reason to be."
It was Friday afternoon when Lonnie arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. When he saw Crystal in the terminal, he thought of the enthusiastic sendoff that Parker had given him in Sparta. Parker had encouraged him to bring Crystal back with him, and he had replied that he was only going to visit for the weekend.
"A lot can happen in a weekend," Parker had said.
Lonnie didn't want to admit that he hoped Parker was right.
Even in the crowdedness of this Chicago airport, Crystal stood out. She was dressed in jeans and a navy blue shirt, her police badge clipped to her waist. She looked very professional, but as glamorous as ever.
"It's good to see you, Lonnie," she said. "I've missed you."
"Everybody back in Sparta says hello," he told her. "We all miss you."
"I'm not sure where I feel more homesick –here, or in Sparta," she said.
She hooked her arm in his and walked him out of the airport and to her car, which like his own was red.
"I'm going to drop you by your hotel," she said, "and then I have some things to finish up at work. I should be off in a couple of hours. Maybe we can get some dinner or something then."
She had offered to let him stay at her apartment, but Lonnie thought it wise to draw the line at staying with her. Crystal dropped him at the hotel and told him she would be back as soon as possible. Lonnie checked in and went up to his room. He took a few pictures of the city from the room's balcony, then he sat down on the bed and watched t.v. for a while. In a little over two hours, Crystal was knocking on his door, just as she had promised.
"What do you say we go back to my apartment and order some takeout?" she asked. "I'd like to do some catching up tonight."
They went back to her apartment and ordered Chinese, and then they sat together on her couch and talked about recent cases. Lonnie told her about the arson troubles, and he asked if she had any big cases in the works.
"Actually, we're just wrapping up a big one, a gang murder," she said. "These things are almost never solved because everybody's too afraid to talk. But this time, we found a witness, thanks to some stellar police work, if I do say so myself."
"Congratulations," said Lonnie.
"Thanks. Of course, I can't take all the credit, but I can take a fair amount, since all the undercover work was mine."
They were sitting very close on the couch, but as usual, Crystal extricated herself from the situation when things got too quiet.
"Let me just clean this stuff up," she said. "You should go out on the fire escape and check out the view."
Lonnie did as she suggested and stood on the fire escape while Crystal straightened up, and he looked out over the brightly lit Chicago skyline. He had only been here a few hours, and already he was overwhelmed by the size and busyness of this city. Crystal joined him a few minutes later.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said.
"Certainly impressive," he replied. "So this is the place you call home."
"When somebody asks --yes," she said, "but only because that's the logical answer. I've lived here all my life. I only lived in Sparta for a little over two months. I'm going to have to come to a decision about the house, though. Lonnie, I think that I--"
She didn't get to finish her sentence because someone was calling her name from inside the apartment.
"It's Peter," she said. "I guess I'll be making introductions now."
They went back inside, and Lonnie found himself finally face to face with Crystal's partner and sometimes boyfriend, a man he had envied and hated from a distance.
"Hey, Crys, you left work in such a hurry," said Peter. "Now I see why. You must be Lonnie Jamison. I'm Peter Lanigan."
"Nice to meet you," Lonnie said.
"Likewise," said Peter. "Crys speaks very highly of you, and she doesn't speak highly of very many people. Listen, I was just on my way to shoot some pool. Are you two in?"
"What do you think, Lonnie?" asked Crystal.
"Sure, I'm in," he said.
"Okay, I'm just going to go freshen up," said Crystal. "Be back in a second."
Lonnie was a bit annoyed by this interruption, but he welcomed the opportunity to size up his competition.
"So, this is your first time in Chicago?" Peter asked.
"Sure is," said Lonnie. "I never had a reason to come here before."
"Crys a very persuasive reason," said Peter. "How long are you staying?"
"Just for the weekend," said Lonnie. "I need to get back to work as soon as possible."
"Crys told me that you're the closest thing to a detective in the Sparta police department."
"I'm acting in that capacity for now," Lonnie said. "It's nothing official at the moment."
"Well, good luck with that."
Crystal came back into the room then, keys in hand, and asked if they were ready to go. The three of them filed out of the apartment, and Crystal locked the door behind them.
"Peter, did you drive your car?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Okay, good. I think Lonnie and I should take my car."
In the car, Crystal apologized to Lonnie, and she explained to him that she and Peter were used to coming and going freely from each other's apartments.
"I'll make sure he doesn't turn up tomorrow," she said.
They met up at a pool hall that Crystal and Peter frequented, and they got themselves a table. Lonnie held his own in the game, and he was glad to be able to do so because Peter didn't seem the least bit worried about Lonnie's presence. Lonnie felt at a great disadvantage here, like he was in someone else's domain, but although he was endlessly irritated by Peter's shameless flirting, he was encouraged by the fact that Crystal usually rolled her eyes in response.
Lonnie stood behind her as she prepared to make another shot, and when she bent over, he noticed that there was a scar on the left side of her lower back in what appeared to be the shape of a crude letter 'B'. He was wondering what it could mean when he was startled by the ringing of a cell phone.
"I should have put that on vibrate," said Crystal.
She checked the i.d. to see who was calling.
"I have to take this," she said.
Crystal walked away from the pool table and answered her phone, leaving Lonnie and Peter alone for the moment.
"You're pretty good," said Peter.
"You sound surprised," said Lonnie. "What's the matter –you didn't think we had pool halls in the south?"
"Well, you must have something down there because I can't imagine what Crys was doing all those weeks," said Peter, "unless it was just you. You obviously have something she likes for her to invite you up here."
"Maybe she just wanted a guy who respects women for once," said Lonnie.
Peter didn't have a chance to retort. Crystal returned to the table then, and the expression on her face was one of anxiety.
"We have to go," she said. "Something's happened."
"What is it?" Peter asked.
"We lost our witness," she said.
"Lost how?"
"Dead," she replied. "Stabbed in the back, all three of them."
"You mean the officers who were guarding her…"
"Yeah, all dead. I'll meet you there, okay?"
When they got there, Crystal told Lonnie that he was welcome to come have a look if he wanted, though the scene was going to be ugly. He didn't want to pass up a chance to watch the Chicago PD in action, so he followed her up the steps to a little apartment, where three brutally murdered people lay on the floor in pools of blood. She explained to Lonnie that gang members often sought to make a statement when they killed, hence the excessive use of violence.
"Let me guess," she said to Peter, "nobody saw anything, and nobody heard anything."
"We should probably go talk to all the neighbors anyway," said Peter.
"Can you take care of that?" Crystal asked. "I'd like to go to Lucite and see what I can find out."
"Again? They're going to be on to you sooner or later," said Peter, "if they're not already."
"I'll take my chances," said Crystal.
"Of course you will," said Peter. "You always do."
"Two of our guys are dead here," she said, "and so is a woman that we swore we would protect. We owe it to them to do everything we can to get justice."
"Well, be careful," said Peter. "You could just as easily end up on their hit list."
"They'll have to take a number," said Crystal.
It was a typical sort of response from her. Peter let it go.
"I'll call you later," said Crystal. "C'mon, Lonnie."
She headed out of the apartment, and Lonnie followed. In the car again, he asked what Lucite was.
"It's a dance club," she said. "Members of this gang hang out there, so I've been doing some undercover work there. I'll take you to your hotel first. I'm really sorry about this, Lonnie, but I promise we'll have all day tomorrow."
"I'm not going back to the hotel," he said. "Is your partner in the habit of letting you go places alone?"
"He just knows when it's no good to argue," she said.
"Well, I'm going with you," said Lonnie.
"All right," she said. "We'll have to go back to my apartment first and get changed. I hope you like leather."
Crystal still had some clothes that belonged to an ex-boyfriend, and she gave Lonnie these to wear. He didn't feel at all comfortable in leather pants, but Crystal seemed to like the look on him, and after all, if they were going to do undercover work, they had to look convincing. She put on her own pair of leather pants with a shiny tank top and sparkly makeup, and they headed over to Lucite.
It was like no club that Lonnie had ever been in before. All the clubs in Sparta were either jazz and blues clubs or sports bars. Lucite was a dance club, full of glammed up people, flashing lights, and techno music. Crystal left Lonnie at the bar and told him to wait there while she worked the room a bit. Lonnie ordered a drink, and then he watched Crystal on the dance floor. He found it hard to believe that she was really working; she looked like she was having too much fun.
"You're not from around here, are you?" asked the bartender.
"How'd you guess?" Lonnie said with a wry grin. "You been working here long?"
"Almost a year," she said.
"I'll bet you have a lot of stories to tell."
Lonnie continued talking to the bartender until Crystal returned to the bar.
"The guys I want are heading towards the back rooms," she said. "I'll need your help to get close to them. Just follow my lead."
She took his hand and led him through the crowd, then through a bead curtain and into a dimly lit hallway. She placed her back against the wall beside a closed door and pulled him close to her. She turned her head and listened at the door until she heard the knob turning, then she grabbed Lonnie and kissed him, and she did not let go again until the suspects had passed.
"Do you and your partner do undercover work like this often?" he asked.
"No, I usually just grab a random guy," she said jokingly. "As far as I could tell, there was a drug deal going down in there. Nothing about the murders."
"I think I may have gotten something from the bartender," Lonnie said. "She says she saw a guy cleaning his knife in the corner booth earlier. From her description, I'd say it was one of those guys we were just following, although I didn't get a good look. I was a little distracted."
"C'mon, I'll point them out," she said with a smile.
They left the hallway, and Crystal looked around until she saw the two guys, then she nodded her head in their direction.
"That looks like him on the right there," said Lonnie.
"Good work," said Crystal. "The question now is what to do with this information. If I try to take him in, we'll get jumped by the whole lot of them. If I call for backup, a lot of people might get hurt here. And either way, I blow my cover."
While she was trying to come up with her next move, she noticed a group of guys coming in the door.
"Things may have just gotten a lot worse," she said. "See those guys coming in? They're from a rival gang, and I'd be willing to bet they're looking for trouble."
Her instincts proved correct. The newcomers had only been in the club for a few minutes when a fight broke out over something trivial. Crystal and Lonnie tried to make their way through the crowd, but they were bumped by somebody, and it created a domino effect, which drew them unwillingly into the brawl. They both blocked and threw punches until they were able to extricate themselves from the crowd, and in the confusion, they lost their suspect. Crystal called the police on her cell phone once she was outside and reported the disturbance. She described the suspect as well, just in case any of the cops who responded happened to see the man.
"Maybe they'll catch our killer, but I doubt it," she said. "I guess we should call it a night."
She drove to her apartment automatically, though the hour was late.
"This is not what I had planned for this weekend," she said as she lowered herself onto her stomach on the couch. "I'm sorry, Lonnie."
"It's wasn't such a bad night," he said, "except for the fight part. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "We're lucky neither one of us took a knife in the ribs."
Lonnie sat down on the edge of the couch, and again he looked down at the scar on her back. He touched it lightly with his finger.
"Can I ask what this scar is?"
"It's a 'B' for 'Baran'," she said. "Simon Baran, an old boyfriend. He was a little on the possessive side. He did that with his pocket knife, to mark his property."
"I can't imagine anybody being able to hold you long enough to do that," Lonnie said.
Crystal laughed.
"I was slightly more docile back then," she said. "But I learned quick. A brush with death is enough to change anybody's outlook on life."
She laughed again, giddy with exhaustion.
"If I didn't know better, I would say he was sent by my dear family," she said. "Actually, though, I don't know better. They're powerful enough, evil enough, shady enough. Maybe I'm lucky they gave me up. They may be powerful and wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'm proud to be one of them."
"I know what you mean," said Lonnie.
"Oh, yes," she said. "You have your own connections to a rich and powerful family of Sparta."
"Who told you that?" asked Lonnie.
"Who else?" she said. "Parker Williams, Sparta's one-stop shop for town gossip."
"What else did he tell you?"
"Oh, nothing I couldn't figure out for myself," she said.
"So what happened to this Baran?" Lonnie asked.
"They put him away for a few years, then he got out and got himself killed," Crystal said. "I thought after he was gone I could stop looking over my shoulder, but I don't suppose I'll ever stop that in this line of work. Lonnie?"
"Yeah."
He waited, but she merely sighed and said it was nothing. A few minutes later, Lonnie realized that she was asleep. He got up and went to find a blanket for her, then he changed back into his t-shirt and jeans and sat down in a chair across from the couch. He sat there watching her for a while, and then he, too, fell asleep.
Parker had been asleep for about an hour when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of shouts and the smell of smoke. He jolted out of bed and went to open the bedroom door, but the knob was hot, so he climbed out the window instead. Luckily, one of his neighbors had already called the fire department, and they were on their way. The usually chipper man was somber now as he watched his house going up in flames. To make matters worse, he was surrounded by his neighbors, and by the guests of a party that had been going on next door. The firefighters were able to put the blaze out fairly quickly, and the house was not destroyed, but it would definitely need reconstruction before it could be lived in again.
"I'm real sorry about this, Parker," said Bubba when he arrived at the scene. "Why don't you come home with me for tonight?"
Parker salvaged what he could of his things from his bedroom, then he drove his car to Bubba's house.
"I don't understand," Parker said. "If this is the same guy, it just doesn't make any sense. The first two fires were in barns out in the middle of nowhere, and the third fire was down in the bottoms."
"Well, let's not jump to conclusions," said Bubba. "We won't know until we have forensic information if this fire was set by our arsonist."
"Well, I'm sure it wasn't my fault," said Parker. "I made sure everything was off before I went to bed."
"Nobody's accusing you, Parker. I'm just saying we need to wait for the evidence."
Parker couldn't get back to sleep that night. He kept going over the previous arson cases in his mind, and over the events of his day, searching for any detail that might shed light upon the reason that his house had been chosen tonight, but he just couldn't come up with anything that made sense. First thing in the morning, he put in a call to Lonnie's hotel room in Chicago, but there was no answer, so he left a message for Lonnie to call him at the station.
Lonnie awoke to the smell of coffee, eggs and toast. He got up and stretched. He had a crick in his neck from sleeping all night in the chair.
"Good morning," Crystal said. "Breakfast?"
Lonnie joined her in the kitchen, where she was standing in her bathrobe making an omelet. He sat down at the table, and Crystal fixed him a plate and a cup of coffee.
"I guarantee you that Peter will walk in the door any second," said Crystal. "I didn't call him last night."
Sure enough, before they were done eating, Peter Lanigan walked in.
"It was late," Crystal said. "I was tired."
"And I was worried," Peter said.
"I'm touched," said Crystal, "but as you can see, I'm just fine. Do you want some coffee?"
"Sure," he said as he pulled up a chair at the table. "Did you find out anything last night?"
"We got a suspect," she said, "and then we lost him. Neighbors say anything?"
"Nothing," said Peter.
"Okay, well, today I am off work," said Crystal, "and I am going to show Lonnie around Chicago, so I will see you on Monday."
She got up and put her dishes in the sink.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Peter asked.
"You got it," said Crystal. "But as long as you're leaving, you might make yourself useful. Lonnie's going to need to ride back to the hotel. I need to get a shower and change clothes."
"No problem," said Peter. "I'm ready whenever you are, Lonnie."
Lonnie finished up his coffee and followed Peter out of the apartment.
"So, you stayed with Crys last night," said Peter.
"It's not what you think," said Lonnie.
"You don't have to explain to me," said Peter. "Crys can do whatever she wants, with whomever she wants, and she will. I just want to make sure that you understand that. She'll get over her love affair with the South. This thing with her parents really threw her, but she'll recover from that, and things will get back to normal. She's already planning to sell that house in Mississippi."
"She didn't mention it to me," said Lonnie.
"Maybe she just didn't want to tell you," said Peter. "But I know her better than anyone. I've spent almost every day with her for the past five years, sometimes nights too. I'm only saying this to help you. She's been known to break a few hearts."
When Lonnie got back to the hotel, he was given the message the Parker had left. He went to his room and immediately called the station, and he learned about the fire at Parker's house.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning, Parker," he said. "Actually, I'm sorry I wasn't there with you in Sparta. I think I'll come home tomorrow instead of Monday. We'll get to this bottom of this. Just hang in there."
After he showered and changed clothes, he lay back on the bed to wait for Crystal. He hadn't told Parker his reason for not being at the hotel that morning, and now that he had time to think about it, he saw things in a different light than he had the night before. He realized how out of place he was in this big-city lifestyle, and though he knew Peter Lanigan had a personal interest in the matter, Lonnie believed that the man was right about Crystal.
What am I doing here? he thought. Once again, I've let a woman make a complete fool out of me.
Lonnie called the airport and made plans to leave on the following morning, but he didn't mention it to Crystal when she came because he didn't want to put a damper on their day together. He did tell her about the news from Sparta, however, since he knew that she would want to know.
"Is Parker okay?" she asked.
"Physically, he's fine, but it'll be a while before he can live in his house again."
"Call him back," said Crystal, "and tell him to go and stay at my estate. It's a big place, it's empty…it would be perfect. He can stay there for as long as he needs to."
Lonnie called Parker back and told him about Crystal's offer. Parker decided to accept, and he sent his thanks to Crystal. When that was done, she and Lonnie left the hotel. They looked at museums and landmarks, took pictures, ate at some of the best places in the city. It was a busy day, and it was late when they returned to the hotel. Lonnie knew he had to tell Crystal now that he was leaving in the morning.
"You haven't even been here two full days!" she protested. "Didn't you have a good time today?"
"I had a great time," he said, "but I have responsibilities back at home."
"On a Sunday?" she said. "Is the whole of Sparta going to go up in flames if you don't get back there tomorrow?"
"Parker nearly lost his house last night," said Lonnie. "Just like you owe it to those cops who died to find the killer, I owe it Parker to find this arsonist."
"I understand that," she said, "and I'm completely sympathetic to Parker. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met, and he didn't deserve for that awful thing to happen to him. I just think you have another reason for wanting to leave Chicago. Don't lie to me, Lonnie Jamison –I can spot a lie."
"All right, there is another reason," he said. "I can't keep playing these games with you, Crystal. If you're content to play the field, I wish you the best, but I don't want to be on that field. I'm not in high school anymore."
"Did Peter say something to you this morning?" she asked.
"Whether he did or not, it doesn't matter," Lonnie said. "Your actions speak for themselves. It's perfectly fine if this lifestyle works for you, but it won't work for me."
"You've been thinking about this all day, haven't you?" she asked. "You knew you were leaving."
"I decided this morning."
"Then you should have discussed it with me this morning," she said.
"Maybe you're right," he said, "but I did what I thought was best. I don't mean to take advantage of your hospitality, and I don't want to hurt you. I just think that one of us needs to put an end to this, and since I'm the only one who seems to mind, it may as well be me."
Desperate ideas flooded her mind. She thought of arguments, pleas, and apologies she could make. She even thought of trying to seduce him, but she felt that it wouldn't be fair for her to make this any harder for him.
"I guess you'd rather I left you alone from now on," she said.
"If you want to call once in a while, you can," he said, "and if you happen to be in town again, I'll be happy to see you, but I think we should back off. If I keep seeing you, I'll just be tempted to keep doing this, and I want more than this. I'm not getting any younger, and I'm through with just having a good time."
"I understand," she said. "For what it's worth, I'm still glad you came up here."
She stayed up most of the night, looking at the picture in her locket. She returned to the hotel on the following morning to drive Lonnie to the airport. They talked very little on the way there; it was the first time there had ever been any awkward silence between them. Crystal didn't look at him directly, only turned her head slightly and said a quiet goodbye before he got out of the car. As she drove away from the airport, she continued to fight her tears, and her sorrow quickly turned to anger. Instead of going home, she drove to Peter's apartment and burst in the door. He was in the kitchen pouring himself a drink. Crystal walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"You said something to him, didn't you?" she asked.
"Lonnie? Yeah, I said something. I said the truth."
"What truth –that you want to keep me here in Chicago to use for your plaything whenever you get bored?"
"Where is this venom coming from?" he asked. "I was under the impression that we had a mutual arrangement."
"Not anymore," she said. "Lonnie's gone, but you and I are finished."
She walked back into the living room area, crossed her arms, and began pacing. Peter stayed at the counter and took a sip of his drink.
"Seems like we've been finished since the first time you came back from Mississippi," he said. "I know the past few months have been difficult for you. I've given you your space, I haven't pressed you to talk about what's been bothering you, but you're going to have to face facts sooner or later. Lonnie's not stupid; he realized the truth, and so should you. I think part of you feels like you should have grown up in Sparta, with your parents. You keep hanging on to that house, and to the people you met while you were there, but you can't go back and live your life a second time. You grew up here in Chicago; you have memories here, you have a career, you have friends. You can't change the past, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get on with your life."
"It may look like I have everything here," she said, "but today I feel like I have nothing. I know you can't understand my feelings about Sparta. All you know is that it's a small southern town, and to you it's worthless. And you think Lonnie is just a small town cop, a southern country boy who lucked up one day when a glamorous big city detective walked into his department. You want to talk about the truth? Well, here it is –I was the lucky one! I didn't even deserve for somebody like Lonnie to look twice at me."
She sat down on the coffee table because it was the nearest thing to her, and she buried her face in her hands.
"Oh my god," said Peter. "You really do love this guy, don't you?"
He put his drink down on the counter and went and sat beside her.
"I really didn't think it was that serious," he said. "I thought he was a passing fancy. I thought you were just fascinated by his southern charm."
"I am fascinated by his charm," said Crystal. "I'm fascinated by everything about him –his quietness, his way of being tough on the job and gentle when he's off, even the way he puts his hands on his hips when he's standing still."
"Wow, you've got it bad, Crys," said Peter. "Why didn't you ask him to stay, or go back with him to Mississippi?"
"Because he had every right to leave," she said. "I've wreaked enough havoc on his life. I've done nothing but confuse him since he met me, not to mention that I almost got him killed, more than once. I left Sparta because I wanted to protect him, but I think I was more afraid of my feelings than of the Huntingtons."
"Then there's only one thing you can do," said Peter. "Go after him."
"He's done with me," said Crystal. "He made that pretty clear."
"But you didn't tell him how you felt, did you? I don't think he had enough information to make a decision on the matter. Go and grovel if you have to, abuse me to him all you want. If you really love this guy, then you owe it to yourself to try. And if it doesn't work out, you'll always have me, for whatever that's worth. Now, you go home and pack, and I'll drive you to the airport."
Crystal took his advice and went home to pack. She found the first flight she could find to Jackson, and Peter took her to the airport.
"Here I go again," she said. "The amount of traffic going back and forth between here and Mississippi these days is ridiculous."
"Well, I never thought I'd say this," said Peter, "but this time, I hope you stay put."
"I'll call you as soon as I know," she said. "And I want you to keep me updated on the gang case."
"I will," he said. "I'll keep looking for the killer."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and watched her leave. He felt guilty for not having seen the truth that was right in front of him the entire time, and for his part in the whole mess. He sincerely hoped that Crystal would succeed with Lonnie this time. She had been through a lot in her life, and he felt that she deserved to be happy. If Lonnie Jamison was what made her happy, then so be it. He knew that Lonnie would take better care of her than he ever did himself.
