Sorry it took so long. Had a small case of writer's block. Thanks for the great reviews and hope you enjoy it. This is kinda of just a filler chapter. Next one things get interesting.
Paul looked at his watch impatiently before looking around the crowded airport. "The girls did say they were coming right?"
"Journey said they would be here. She and Nikki were planning to go shopping until the plane came in." Dave spoke up.
"Females, why is shopping so important to them? They probably got so caught up in the latest sale that they lost track of time." Paul grumbled.
"What are you so uptight about? I'm sure John's going to be waiting when we get there." Dave asked confused. "Everything's okay with Steph right? Otherwise you wouldn't have taken the time to come down."
"You didn't ask why I was coming and I didn't tell you. But John called last night. Said he was in trouble and asked me to bring him some money." Paul confessed. "I have a really bad feeling but I didn't press him for details."
"What kind of trouble involves money?" Dave asked shocked.
"Don't know yet. But the total was three and a half million." Paul informed him.
Dave choked on the mouthful of water he had just taken. "How about you go get a rental car while I call Journey. We need to talk to John." He said a little frantically.
Paul hurried off while Dave pulled out his phone. Dialing Journey's number he got up to pace groaning in frustration when he got her voice mail. Disconnecting he turned to follow Paul when he noticed the picture on the TV.
"Hey big guy. Sorry about the wait. Traffic around here is horrendous." Journey said as she approached him a couple minutes later.
Growing concerned when he didn't move she glanced over at Nikki in confusion. When the other girl shrugged her shoulders Journey moved to stand in front of Dave. "Hello, anyone in there?" She asked, poking him in the chest. She yelped in surprise when he reached up and gripped her hand.
"Sit down Journey. Paul will be back in a minute." Dave said quietly, looking off into the distance.
"Dave I want to talk to you before we go see John." Journey started.
"I already know and frankly I'm a little stunned. Why didn't you call me when it happened?" Dave growled, turning to glare at her.
"What was she suppose to do, call you right after she did it with him? Gross." Nikki spoke up, making a disgusted face.
"What?" Dave asked, not comprehending.
"Dave I know that you think of me as your daughter but I am a big girl now. You can't go around threatening every one of my boyfriends." Journey tried again.
"I can if they are jailbirds." Dave stated through gritted teeth.
"I really like John and I don't want you to scare him off…..What? John is not a jailbird. Well he did do that time when he was 18 but that was a long time ago and he's been clean since. How can you hold that against him?"
Dave looked at her strangely before turning to look at Nikki. "So you two don't know?" He asked as Paul rejoined them.
"What?" Journey asked confused.
"John's been arrested. It was just on the news." Dave explained skeptically.
"No he wasn't. We were with him a couple hours ago. He was fine." Nikki stated angrily, not believing what he was saying.
"What did it say?" Journey asked in a small voice knowing Dave would not make up something like that.
Dave pulled the young girl into his arms. Sending an anguished look to Paul he told her want he had seen. "The sound was off. All I had to go by was the caption."
"So then it might be a mistake right? It might not have been John?" Nikki asked, shaking off Paul as he tried to restrain her.
Journey huddled closer to Dave, unable to comprehend what she was hearing.
"That might be a possibility but I don't want you to get your hopes up. I think the best thing is for us to head to the apartment. We can find explanations there." Paul said quietly.
Once they had reached the car Nikki pushed Paul into the passenger seat scoffing at his insistence to drive. "I can get there a whole lot faster than trying to give you directions."
"I would really like to end up there in one piece." He warned her.
"Are you saying my driving is not safe?" She asked over the hood of her car.
"No, I am saying you are upset and this is a very fast car." Paul said, striving for an even tone. Nikki glared at him and slid into the driver's seat.
After Dave and Journey had climbed in the back and buckled up Nikki stepped hard on the gas causing everyone to grab for a hand hold. Making sure his seat belt was tight Paul turned to look at Dave. "I knew she was too upset to drive."
Nikki's response was to press harder on the gas peddle.
Journey spoke up. "We have been with him constantly over the past couple of days. What could they have arrested him for?"
"One guess, it has Monica's name all over it." Nikki mumbled as she took a turn on two wheels. Paul resisted the urge to grab the wheel.
Within minutes they were pulling up in front of Journey's apartment. Dave frowned as he looked at the shabby but respectable building. "I still don't like this place."
Journey looked at Dave with big frightened eyes. "What?" She asked softly.
"I just don't like the thought of you living here alone. It's not a very safe place." He said, frowning.
"My boyfriend was just arrested for who knows what and you don't like my apartment?" Journey asked amazed.
"Bad timing. We'll talk about it later." Dave said, holding up in hands in surrender.
Neglecting to turn off the car Nikki jumped out and rushed to the door. Paul shook his head and reached over to pull the keys out of the ignition. After pocketing them he joined Dave and Journey on the sidewalk. "Nikki are you going to go in or just stand outside the door the whole night?" He called, noticing the young girl had stopped before the door and seemed frozen in place.
"I can't. What if it's true and he's really not in there?" She cried leaning her head on the door.
She almost fell over when the door was flung open by Randy. Gathering her in his arms he glared at the two older men. "It's about time you got here."
"Where's John at?" Dave asked quietly.
Randy glanced away, unable to form the words. Nikki pushed away from him in shock. "You mean it's true? They arrested him?"
Randy remained silent, stepping back and holding the door open in invitation. Once everyone was inside Nikki repeated her question.
"Yea, some cops showed up earlier. Read him his rights, cuffed him and led him off." Randy informed them woodenly.
"For what? He didn't do anything." Journey asked tearfully as Nikki sank into a chair in stunned silence.
"Jack Evanston was murdered last night. Witnesses claim it was John." He tried to explain.
"What time? Was it late or early?" Paul asked needing to know details.
"The detective said time of death was around ten or eleven oclock." Randy answered.
"We were at the restaurant at ten. We were all together." Nikki pointed out excitedly.
"No we weren't. John left to go to the bathroom. He was gone over twenty minutes. Jack was killed at Sullivan's." Randy said softly, not able to look at anybody.
"Oh my God, Sullivan's was right across the street. You said we should go there and right after he got up and left. And when he came back there was red stuff all over his shoe." Journey pointed out. Covering her face she tried to stifle her sobs.
"I don't think he did it. We know him better. The red stuff really was ketchup. When I went to the bathroom later I saw it. He didn't do it." Randy told them urgently.
"Of course he didn't do it. But we have to work on damage control. Have you talked with the cops yet?" Dave asked in a calm and controlled voice, making Paul look over at him strangely.
"Yea, one of them stayed to ask me questions. I told them that he went to the bathroom for a couple of minutes but other than that he was with us the whole night. If Nikki and Journey say the same thing he will have an airtight alibi." Randy informed them.
"Does he have legal counsel?" Dave pressed for more answers.
"Yea, his dad is there. He's hired the best lawyer around."
"Okay, so is everybody agreed that John is in good hands?" Dave waited until everyone had nodded before continuing. "Then the three of you had better get your stories straight because I want to know what the hell is going on. Who is this Jack person and how does it involve over three million dollars?" He exploded startling everyone in the room.
The three younger occupants of the room all started talking at once, rushing to get the story told.
"Hold it. One at a time please. How did it all start?" Paul asked, seeking order. Randy and Journey both looked at Nikki.
"Well it started eight years ago…." She began.
Two hours later Randy finished up by telling them about his conversation with John that afternoon and the cops coming to the door.
"Well, that was certainly more than I expected." Dave said calmly looking over at Paul. "I'm going to kill him."
"Get in line. But I think we have bigger things to worry about first." Paul said looking at
Randy. "Are you still planning to make the pay off in the morning?"
"Yea, I have no choice. Monica will kill her if I don't."