And Therein Lies the Truth

Chapter 3

Monica woke up on Friday morning feeling less than confident; and it was a big stretch for her to admit that. She remembered her conversation with Lonnie and was glad that she had apologized to him. But she still had to do what she had to do. Somewhere in his head, Lonnie believed that there was a rational reason for Virgil's reaction and for what Chief Gillespie and Harriet were going through. And Monica knew that trying to explain to him that there wasn't one was impossible. Racism was nothing but pure emotion mixed with a touch of ignorance and a whole lot of fear. There was nothing rational about it. Monica knew that from experience. And while she did understand and agree with Lonnie that they shouldn't see each until he knew Virgil's next move, she had to do what she could to protect Lonnie. Unfortunately, the very man that could help him was the exact same man who could help Virgil ruin him. Monica got ready for her shower and prepared herself for the biggest decision she'd made since she'd given herself to Lonnie. She was going to trust someone else to help her.

While Monica was getting ready for her appointment, Lonnie and Sweet were having breakfast. They were both on patrol, but things were quiet and they decided to sneak in a hot meal before the crazies got out of bed.

"So, have you made up your mind yet?" Lonnie asked between bites of a sausage biscuit.

"Yep. I'm taking it, man. It's a great opportunity. And after that mess with Pickney, well, let's just say I need a change."

"Well, I hate it. But you're right. Going into a force as a Lieutenant is a big deal. That could set you up for the fast track."

Sweet laughed. "Yeah, especially since my best friend took my shot here."

Lonnie knew Sweet was joking, but his last comment stung a little. "Come on, man. As far as skills are concerned, you're the best Sparta's got. You're better than me, and I know that. But you have to admit that your attitude needs adjusting more times than not, at least by small town standards. That's why Jackson City's been chasing you so hard. You're a better fit there, a perfect fit actually, and you know it."

Sweet nodded. "I know. And I hate admitting it, but you're right. Listen, I'm not saying anything until these kidnapping cases are wrapped up. I don't want to stress anybody out."

"No problem. Since we're talking, I guess I'll go ahead and tell you that Virgil knows."

Sweet dropped his fork. "Ah hell! How'd he find out?"

Lonnie relayed the story to Sweet and ended with he and Monica's decision to lay off for a while until they could see what Virgil was going to do.

"And Monica agreed to this?" Sweet asked.

"Well, she wasn't happy about it, but in the end she saw I was right."

"Really?"

Lonnie eyed Sweet carefully. He knew Sweet had more to say and he knew that the man wasn't happy. He remained quiet so Sweet would continue.

"Lonnie, on a technical level you were one hundred percent right. And if you were solving a case, you'd be all over it. But you're dealing with feelings, man. You know, emotions? You basically told the girl that you loved her as long as everything's cool. But if anything hits the fan, you need her to hide."

"That's your take on it, Willson, not hers. If she felt that way, then why didn't she argue me down?"

"Because she loves you, man. That's why."

Lonnie didn't say a word. Sweet was right, and he could see that now. And when he remembered Monica calling him to apologize, he felt like an ass. He'd talk to her, but his pride wouldn't let him continue the conversation with Sweet. Instead, he changed the subject. "So what did you and Luann find out about these girls?"

"Well, Luann may be on to something. See, we all thought that none of the girls had boyfriends. That's wrong. Two of the girls did, but no one knew about it but their mothers. It appears that the daddies didn't approve of the matches."

"Let me guess, it's the dead girls that had secret boyfriends, right?"

"That's it. The other two, the ones that are still missing? Everybody is adamant that they weren't dating at all, virgins. Jimmy's right. We're looking for one sick dude."

Lonnie leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He sat quietly for a moment, and then spoke. "Willson, you ever read 'Kiss the Girls'?

Sweet smiled, "And saw the movie, too! Why?" As soon as he asked the question, Sweet realized where Lonnie was going.

Recognizing the look on Sweet's face, Lonnie continued, "What if this creep has it in his head that he's looking for the perfect woman? He scopes them out and takes them home. Then he finds out that they're not perfect?"

"Damn! A psycho in Sparta!"

Just then, Parker came in over Sweet's two-way. The missing black girl had been found on the front porch of her parents' home, completely unconscious. The ambulance had just left.

The guys left the restaurant and headed straight to the hospital.

XXX

Monica walked up the familiar steps, opened the door, and walked down the hall. She was still scared, but she took a deep breath and knocked on the office door.

"Come in" a voice said.

Monica opened the office door, walked in and sat door. The person she was visiting recognized the look on her face. She was worried.

"Monica, what's wrong?"

Monica immediately broke down into tears. "Mr. Darnelle, I need your help."

XXX

Althea was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Aaron to arrive. She loved having something to do during the summer, but Monica was right. The boy really should be having some fun right now. Just as Althea was about to fix herself a cup of coffee, the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" she called. She opened the door and saw Aaron standing on the porch. "Good morning!" she greeted.

"Hi, Mrs. Tibbs."

The boy came inside and the two of them got to work. After about an hour, Althea suggested a break.

"Aaron, why do you wait to work on the problems I assign? I don't mind your doing them here, but if you completed them at home, we'd finish up quicker and you'd have more of your summer to yourself."

"Oh, I know Mrs. Tibbs. But my father has a difficult time sleeping. He nods off at all kinds of strange hours and I like to try to stay out of the house and let him sleep whenever he can. His doctor has even got him on medication for it."

"I didn't know that Reverend Pitman was having such a hard time. I suppose being in charge of such a large congregation can wear a person down. That may be why he has such a hard time sleeping. Well, how about I get you some juice, I get my coffee, and then we get back to work?"

XXX

Darnelle listened to Monica completely and intently. Monica did not tell Darnelle exactly how long she and Lonnie had been involved, or that Althea had known since the beginning. She only said that the two of them had met when she was 16, that Virgil found out about their relationship last week, and that he had threatened Lonnie with formal charges. Darnelle was shocked that she was speaking to him about it, but not surprised by the situation. He had seen Lonnie and Monica together when she used to work for him. And he remembered thinking that if Lonnie was a little younger and if she were a little older, they'd be perfect for each other. When she finally finished, he spoke.

"I'm glad that you trust me enough to want me to help you this, Monica. But you've put me in a very awkward position. I don't know what else you intend to say, but as Sparta's Prosecuting Attorney; I can't hear anything that may be incrementing. Maybe it'd be best if you went to Marie or even Sarah Halisey for advice about this."

Monica tried to explain that it took everything she had to talk to him. She also tried to explain that she couldn't discuss this with anyone she didn't know. She tried. But she was sobbing and wailing so loudly that Darnelle couldn't understand a single word. What he did know is that with all of his formal education, no one had ever been able to teach him how to handle hysterical crying jags. He hurriedly handed Monica some tissues and nervously patted her hand to calm her down.

"All right, now. All right. Calm down and listen. First of all, I'm the Prosecuting Attorney for Sparta. You know that. Now, based on what you've told me so far, and from the point of view of the law, there's nothing for me to do. No crime has been committed.

Darnelle took a deep breath and continued. "But, I also have to warn you that it's in you and Lonnie's best interest not to give me any more details about this situation at all. If Virgil does decide to move forward and the Council decides to investigate, I will have to hear the case. And I'm letting you know right now that if that happens, I will officially question you about our conversation today in order to do my job. It'd look bad for if I didn't and the conversation came out anyway. I really shouldn't be talking to you at all."

Tears began to swell up in Monica's eyes again. Darnelle knew he sounded hard, but he needed Monica to understand exactly where he stood on this thing before she said something that would hurt Lonnie and ruin his own career at the same time. They were already close to the line of propriety as it was; he needed to stop her before she inadvertently caused a train wreck.

After she calmed down a bit Darnelle finished up. "Listen, Virgil has not filed his complaint yet. My guess is he hasn't done anything yet because Gillespie won't sign off; and he's trying to decide if it's worth bringing to me. And ALL you've told me today is that you and Lonnie are dating NOW, a good 3 months past your 18th birthday. So for the moment, there is no issue. You and I are just old pals having a friendly conversation, okay?"

Monica nodded her head in understanding. "What I can safely tell you is this." he began. "The only way Virgil's charges will stick is if he can prove the relationship began before you turned 18. Otherwise, it's just slander, his word against Lonnie's. However…."

Darnell looked away from Monica for a moment, and then looked up to face her again. "Virgil still has the right to file his complaint, either way. And if he does, then I'm obligated to present it to the City Council for their review. It will be up to them
to decide whether or not to have it investigated. In the meantime, you'd want to be careful of telling anyone exactly when this relationship started, especially me."

Monica nodded her head again.

"Now," Darnelle said. "While this thing is still just a friendly conversation, I think you and I should go have a friendly lunch." Darnelle picked up his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Monica asked.

"An old friend of yours."

XXX

Sweet and Lonnie arrived at the hospital. The girl was awake now and Dr. Day said they could talk to her, but for no more than ten minutes. They tapped on the door and entered Rhonda Arrington's room. Her parents were there with her.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Arrington." Lonnie said. "I'm Lt. Jamison and this here is Sgt. Sweet. Is it okay if we ask your daughter a few questions?"

"We won't be long, we promise." Sweet added.

Her parents nodded and the guys began to get some details from her. She was 19 and home from college for summer break. She went to a party over in Kenard about two weeks ago. She went to her car, was grabbed from behind, and felt something stick her in the arm. The next thing she remembered she was in a bedroom in a house somewhere in the woods. She had no memory of how she got there or what the house looked like.

"How do you know it was the woods?" Sweet asked.

"The noises. Birds. Animals. They all sounded real close. And no cars. I didn't hear cars."

Lonnie spoke next. "Okay, Miss Arrington. Can you describe the room?"

"Pretty. Pink and white with roses. Brass Bed. Very nice."

"What about the kidnapper? Did you see him? Hear his voice?" Sweet asked.

"Heard his voice. Real quiet. Soothing. Didn't see him. Wore a hooded robe. Covered his face. I saw his hands. He's white."

"You're doing real good Miss Arrington. Just one more question, I promise." Lonnie said. "Is there anything else at all, even if you think it's small, that you can tell us?"

"He's a nice man. Didn't hurt me at all. Read Bible verses to me. Always brought me something to drink. Strawberry margaritas. Would get mad if I didn't drink the margaritas."

Lonnie and Sweet thanked the Arringtons and left the room. They stood in the hall, dumbfounded.

"Lonnie, Dr. Day said that someone had sex with her, which to me means she's been raped. But she says the guy didn't hurt her."

"Yeah. No bruises or signs of any struggle, either. It looks like the sex was consensual. And she was found unconscious. She's clearly been drugged, but Dr. Day can't find anything."

"What do you think?"

"I think we need to talk to our friendly neighborhood pharmacist."

XXX

Darnelle and Monica arrived at Harriet Delong's office at around 1pm. Everyone knew that Harriet had helped Monica with assessing her furniture a few years ago, and that Monica used to work for Darnelle. Seeing the three of them have lunch in her office didn't strike anyone as odd.

As they ate the sandwiches Harriet had ordered, Darnelle carefully filled her in on the situation. Monica was entirely too drained to do it herself.

"Well, first of all, congratulations. Lonnie is a fine man." Harriet said.

"Thank you, Ms. Delong." Monica responded.

"As far as this thing with Virgil is concerned, Gerard is right. If he files charges, it will have to come to the City Council. And I already know how that's going to go. I'm living it right now."

"Harriet, we came here hoping you could help, not for you to scare the girl."

"Well, I see no sense in lying to her, Gerard. The entire council is spinning their wheels trying to figure out how to get rid of Bill because of me. And he's almost old enough to be my daddy! What do you think they'd do to Lonnie, a young eligible bachelor?"

Darnelle didn't respond. Harriet was right, and he knew it.

"What we have to do is convince Virgil not to file the charges to begin with. What has he said to you, Monica?" Harriet asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing! You're living in the man's house and he hasn't mentioned this to you at all?"

"No ma'am. He just says 'good morning' and 'good night'."

"Well!" Harriet leaned back in her chair. "Believe it or not, that's a good sign. I've known Virgil a long time. He doesn't make a move on anything until he's one hundred percent sure that he's right, whether he is or not. And right now, he's still not sure. That means I've still got time."

"Time? Time for what?" Darnelle asked.

Harriet rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why to convince the man to leave this thing alone, of course. You know, for a lawyer, you ask the most ridiculous questions sometimes."

XXX

Althea was straightening up the kitchen. Aaron had just left and Monica had called from her car indicating that she would be home in few minutes. While Althea was sweeping, she noticed a small white pill on the floor.

"What's this?" she asked out loud. She turned the pill over and saw the word 'Roche'. 'Maybe Aaron dropped it.' She thought. She placed the pill on the counter and waited for Monica to get home.