Hello, my lovely readers. Hayley tries to work on her case but her friends keep distracting her. On with the show…
Chapter 18: With Friends Like This…
Quiet. Hayley Marshall used to know what the word meant. She would come home from her longs days at the law firm. Fall onto her bed. Or onto her couch. Or just slump onto the floor and sleep. Oh, well, there was that time, or three she spent snoozing beside Elijah Mikaelson, but Hayley could not think about Elijah right now.
"Hales, you're out of butter," Marcel said, peering inside the fridge.
Craning her neck to see Marcel leaned over, half-in and half-out of her poor, mistreated fridge, Hayley groaned. "Marcel, please tell me that you did more than eat and sleep when you lived on your own."
Marcel straightened up and closed the door. "You know I did. I worked like a mad man. And then I got accused of killing someone I didn't like very much. Now, I'm here, living the lifestyle of the poor and infamous."
"You're not poor," Hayley retorted, waving a pencil in the air as she examined her notepad. She'd been working on trying to compose a list of alternate suspects. If she could find clues to who else might have killed Old Gerard, she might crack this case. Then she'd have her apartment back.
A knock on the door made Marcel frown. "Expecting company?" he inquired, his posture stiff.
They'd been hoping to keep the media at bay. If this was a reporter, Hayley would lose her temper. She set the notepad aside and dropped the pencil on top. Getting to her feet, she crossed the cool floor and then peered out the peephole.
"Not who you think," Hayley said.
Marcel did not relax as Hayley opened the door and barred her company's entrance with one hand moving to the doorframe. "Hi. Care. Didn't know you'd be coming by. I'm really sorry. But right now is not a good time. Can we chat some other time?"
Caroline frowned and shook her head. "Why are you talking like a robot? Or some person at the student loan commission. Who are probably robots. Anyway. I brought ice cream. And I need to talk. So. Move." Caroline waited, her eyes darting to Hayley's arm and she nodded at it like this gesture would make Hayley move.
"Sorry. I'm busy," Hayley replied.
Rolling her eyes, Caroline shook her head. "No way. Doing what? Cleaning? You don't clean, Hales. Let me in!" She tried to squeeze under Hayley's arm but Hayley pressed her hip out, edging Caroline back into the hallway. "No fair! Elijah isn't in there, is he?"
"No!" Hayley snapped, her voice going up an octave.
Pouting, Caroline leaned against the wall. "The ice cream is melting. And I need girl-talk. Fi's with a babysitter. Please? Let me in? I'll make s'mores." She widened her eyes and puckered her lower lip out.
"Just let her in, Hales," Marcel called.
Caroline's brows shot up. "Oh!"
"Shut it!" Hayley pointed a finger at Caroline. "And get your sorry butt in here!" Moving aside, Hayley waved for Caroline to come in and glanced around before she closed the door. After the little incident at the grocery, she expected who knew how many reporters to come knocking at her door.
"Marcel?" Caroline dropped the bag with ice cream on the floor and went to throw her arms around Marcel's neck. "Are you okay? What happened? Did they hurt you while you were on the inside? I mean, it's okay if it's too early to talk about it. There are support groups. Let me see. I can find one who's local. Just give me a second." Pulling her phone, Caroline began to punch buttons.
"Caroline!" Marcel placed his hands on Caroline's shoulders while Hayley retrieved the poor ice cream and moved to the kitchen area to gather bowls. "I'm fine. I wasn't there that long. Nothing happened to me. Chill."
Inhaling, Caroline nodded. She ran a hand through her hair. "It's just… It must have been scary…"
Marcel nodded. "I don't want to go back."
Nodding, Caroline moved to sit down on the couch. "So, you're living with Hayley… 'Til this whole thing blows over?" She bit her lower lip.
"Yeah. Something like that." Marcel nodded and took a seat on an arm of the chair across from Care. "Really, I'm trying to avoid the press."
"Oh?" Caroline opened and closed her mouth. "Right. Should I go?"
Marcel looked at Hayley. "So long as you're not going to go blabbing about what you hear here, we're cool," he said.
Shaking her head, Caroline crossed her finger over her heart. "Some journalists go for any story they can get their hands on. I have to draw a line somewhere. And that line goes with my friends. I refuse to do stories on my friends. Unless they're like stories about someone's wedding. Fluff pieces. Nothing hard-core. Never something like this. Not that I've ever had a friend who was accused of murder. Now that you are being accused means anything. I should shut up now."
Caroline closed her mouth tightly as Hayley brought her friends ice cream and then went back in the kitchen to make herself one. "Why don't you tell us why you're here?" Hayley asked, scooping chocolate ice cream into a bowl. Her eyes went to Caroline.
Sighing, Caroline rolled her eyes. "You remember when I asked you to be my bridesmaid?"
Nodding, Hayley licked her hand from where some ice cream had spilled over. "Yup. You were pretty wasted, if memory serves."
"You're still planning the wedding?" Marcel jumped in. He seemed to be relieved to switch topics.
Caroline groaned. "Tyler and I tried to elope. To make a short story really short; I called the engagement off. And Klaus and I are back together."
"What?" Marcel shook his head. "Why?"
"I love Klaus," Caroline smiled but her smile fell quickly. "That's kind of why I'm here. I need some advice."
"About what?" Hayley asked. She made her way into the living room and plopped down where she'd been when Caroline showed up.
Shaking her head, Caroline let out a weary laugh. "Well, when we got back together Klaus thought we were going to just start our life together. He seemed to think that a period of adjustment was stupid. But he forgot about Fi and how strange it would be for a child to go from having one person living under our roof to having a new person living there. It doesn't matter that Klaus is her dad; he's still a stranger. Fi knows Tyler. And she needs to be able to deal with him not being with us anymore…"
"Oh?" Hayley took a bite of ice cream. She'd never been in a long-term relationship with anyone. What could she say here? "I think…" She paused, trying to formulate an argument when Caroline did not need a lawyer anymore. She needed Hayley to think like a friend. "Well…"
"What do you want?" Marcel chimed in.
"Hmm?" Caroline looked up from the ice cream.
Marcel slid down and into the chair he'd been perched on. "You want to be with Klaus?" Caroline nodded. "Okay. So, make that clear to him. He just needs to know you do want to be with him. If he cares about that kid of yours, he'll take cues from how she's reacting to this change and he'll figure out how to behave from there."
Nodding, Caroline took another bite of the ice cream. "You should do family law."
"I'm thinking about it. Just the idea of seeing someone end up in prison—someone who didn't do it—and they ended up locked up because I couldn't get them off…" Marcel shook his head, his hands falling between his knees.
Looking at her ice cream, Hayley suddenly did not feel all that hungry. "Right." She looked at her notepad. Then she looked back at Caroline. No matter how pure Caroline's intentions were that didn't mean that she wouldn't accidently let something slip in front of Elijah.
Flipping the pad over, Hayley adjusted her position on the couch. "Have you seen Elijah?" They hadn't spoken since their encounter in the grocery store parking lot. Three days had passed. Elijah had not tried to contact Hayley.
Marcel's eyes fell on Hayley and she decided to ignore him. "No." Caroline shook her head. "I've been avoiding the whole Mikaelson clan. You know you can't spend time with one without others popping up." She shrugged. "I've been burying myself in work and being a mom."
"Right." Hayley's eyes went back to her pad of paper. She really needed to get back to her own work. The more time she spent doing other things, the more time she lost figuring out who really killed Gerard.
As if someone knew Hayley wanted to get back to her work, a knock came at her door. "I'll get it," Hayley said. She strode over to the door and her eyes widened when she saw the blonde hair. "Oh, no."
"What?" Caroline hissed. Hayley jumped because Caroline had snuck up behind her. Side-stepping, Caroline peered out the peephole. "Uh-oh," she whispered.
"I can bloody well hear you lot in there!" Rebekah shouted. "Now, let me in!"
Hayley glanced back at Marcel. He'd gotten to his feet. With a quick nod at Hayley, he said, "Let her in."
Shaking her head and thinking about how this was not a good idea, Hayley opened the door wide enough for Rebekah come in and then closed it. Rebekah rushed across the floor and leapt into Marcel's arms. "You bloody fool! How dare you not call me the moment you were arrested?" Rebekah demanded, furiously kissing Marcel, her hands around the back of his head and her legs firmly wrapped around his waist.
Under other circumstances, Hayley would have left them alone. However, it was her apartment and she did not trust Marcel to not blurt something to Rebekah. Nope. No matter how much she did not want to have to sit through their antics; she could not allow her client to incriminate himself.
Glancing at Caroline, Hayley moved closer to where Rebekah and Marcel were putting on a preview of what they might be doing behind closed doors. "Bekah, want some ice cream?" she asked, loudly.
Concentration broken, Rebekah glanced over her shoulder. "Yes. I suppose so." She seemed to be coming out of whatever spell she'd come under. Sliding back onto her feet, Rebekah straightened her clothes before adding, "Why are you staying here?" She directed the question to Marcel but her look of disgust was directed at Hayley's apartment.
Scooping out ice cream from the interloper, Hayley slapped it into a bowl with a bit more violence than was needed. "How many scoops?" she called out.
"Hmm?" Rebekah called back, still giving the apartment a sniff and then wrinkling her nose. "Perhaps if we opened some windows."
"It's winter. In Chicago, Bekah," Hayley reminded Rebekah with a dark look.
Marcel shrugged. "I can't stay with you, Bekah. Elijah's prosecuting me."
Rebekah groaned. "I told him what a bloody ass he is for doing this to you. He must know you wouldn't do this. Everyone knows that your father was a monster. Hell, pay me enough, I'd have been plenty happy to end him myself."
"Bekah," Marcel said.
Hayley finished with the ice cream and brought Rebekah the bowl while Caroline took a seat. Looking around Rebekah had a comical look of dismay when Marcel sat down and patted his lap. She sat down and then she looked at the bowl like Hayley might not know how to wash a dish.
Stifling the urge to yell at Rebekah, Hayley took the opportunity to ask a simple question. "Rebekah, can you think of anyone else who might have a reason to kill Gerard. Specifically?"
Picking up the spoon in her bowl, Rebekah played with the ice cream. "Off the top of my head? No. Like I said. He made a lot of people angry. He treated us all poorly. He sexually harassed younger female lawyers. He gave bad cases to eager new lawyers who ended up quitting or getting sacked when they failed to win. When all else failed, he would humiliate anyone who he felt like humiliating. Lots of people hated him."
"Just because you hate someone; doesn't mean you'll kill them," Caroline surmised.
A silence descended on the little group. Hayley felt better about what Caroline said and worse from Rebekah's words. Rebekah's words made Hayley think about a never-ending list of people who could have done it. Caroline's words made her work through a defense to the effect that Marcel and Gerard's relationship might been horrible. However, this was not a cause to murder someone.
Elijah would need to offer the jury a narrative which painted Marcel as a cold-blooded killer or a man moved by his passions. Either way, one little misstep in his words could mark the end of his work. Unfortunately Hayley already knew Elijah had a way with words.
Thankfully, Caroline decided to jump in and change the subject. "You said you talked to Elijah?"
"Yes. Bugger," Rebekah set her ice cream down on the coffee table. Folding her arms over her chest, she shook her head with a scowl on her face. "He tried to assure me that things would turn out alright. But for who? Marcel? Look at him! You can already see that wounded, hunted look about him." Rebekah turned to examine Marcel. "Poor dear."
Smirking, Marcel replied, "If I had known you'd come running if I were falsely accused of killing somebody, I still would not want to be in this position, but I can't complain about the results." He pressed his nose to Rebekah's hair and nuzzled her.
Smiling, Rebekah turned to look at Caroline. "You aren't working on a little article, are you?"
Caroline's eyes widened. "Why would you think I would do that?"
Smirking, Rebekah replied, "Oh, I worry about Klaus every time he pulls out his phone. Cameras. Stupid cameras all over the bloody place anymore."
"Klaus…" Caroline set her bowl down. "Have you talked to Klaus…anytime recently?"
Hayley curled her legs under her. She watched Rebekah inhale. "Yes. Klaus' is shacking up with Elijah. Why?" Her eyes cut into Caroline and Hayley wondered if Rebekah knew why Klaus was living with Elijah.
"I just wondered…" Caroline ducked her head.
Rebekah let out a groan. "Oh, and as if life could not get worse; Kol is home."
"Kol?" Hayley looked from Rebekah to Caroline. She didn't really know much about Kol. He was always somewhere else in the country during baseball season when Hayley ever even spent time around Caroline and Klaus. "And this is a bad thing?"
"Kol?" Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh, no," she moaned. "This means he's going to come over. I can't deal with this."
"Come over? Why?" Hayley wondered why Kol would come over to her home when she didn't know him.
"Kol's got a soft spot for kids. In spite of the fact that he's a raging maniac. When he finds about little Fiona he'll want to jump into Uncle Kol mode. There were gifts for our littlest one. And lots of bad role modeling," Rebekah said, watching Caroline with a look of glee.
Caroline buried her face in her hands. "Is it too late to move out-of-state for a couple of months? Kol will get bored. He always does. He'll meet some model, from New York, or Hong Kong, and be on the next flight out of here."
Hayley found herself slightly intrigued about meeting this wild Mikaelson brother but she would not allow her curiosity to move her. The last thing she wanted to do was to be anywhere near Elijah.
"Don't worry, Caroline," Rebekah said seriously. "The last thing on earth Nik will want is Kol having anything to do with your child. Especially while you're having your little problems. Again."
"Thanks, Rebekah," Caroline sneered before she got up and picked up her bowl. "I'm going to get a refill. Anybody else want some?"
"Nope." Marcel shook his head. "I'm good."
"No, thank you." Rebekah's bowl sat on the coffee table. A chocolate lake in the bowl.
With an eye roll, Hayley got to her feet and picked up Rebekah's bowl. She went into the kitchen and dumped the melted ice cream down the sink. Rinsing it out, she set it in the bottom before she leaned against the sink. "Caroline," she whispered.
"Yeah?" Caroline's eyes flicked to Hayley as she scooped ice cream into her bowl.
Hayley glanced back at Rebekah and Marcel. They seemed far too into each other to be bothered with what Hayley and Caroline were talking about. "You're really not going to write a story about this trial? Even if Tyler demands that you do?"
"Nope." Caroline said. Her eyes remained locked with Hayley's. "Why?"
Hayley thought about her words for a second. "Because I need to know who does pick up the story. If you can be my eye from inside the paper. Tell me everything they find out. It might help me help our friend." She looked back at Marcel before looking at Caroline.
Nodding, Caroline smiled. "I can do that. Maybe I can even help you break the case."
Shaking her head, Hayley sighed. "Sorry. I can't get direct help from a person in the media. Well, I don't want to. But if things go south…"
"I'll be there to save your ass. Just like when we had those exams on Shakespeare and you preferred to watch the movies."
"Did not!" Hayley cried, picking up a tea towel and swatting a laughing Caroline.
"You hated doing all the assigned reading. You wanted to go out and lay under the full moon and count the stars. Face it, Marshall, at heart, you're a romantic. Which is why you're in love with Elijah Mikaelson." Caroline's smile died on her face the moment the words were out of her mouth.
"You're what?" Rebekah said. She'd lifted her head from Marcel's shoulder and stared at Hayley with a shocked look. "Since when?"
Marcel also looked less than happy about Caroline's observation. "Hales?"
"Marcel, Caroline made a bad joke. Okay? Don't worry about it. We hooked up. A couple of times. It will not affect my work. At all." Hayley watched Marcel and Hayley trading looks.
Rebekah got up and moved to collect her bag. "I'm sorry, Hayley, dear. But it would seem that you will be torn in this case and Marcel really needs representation from someone he can trust. Come, Marcel. We'll find you a new lawyer."
"Are you kidding me?" Hayley demanded. Moving in front of Marcel, she held up her hands. "Elijah and I are through. Whatever happened before, it's over now. All I care about is making sure that you are a free man." She placed her hands on his arms. "You believe me, right?"
Marcel looked over Hayley's shoulder before meeting her eyes. "I know you'll always have my back."
"Good. Then ignore Rebekah. We'll get through this. Together." Hayley watched Marcel struggling before he nodded. "Right. Rebekah. Caroline. Get out. I have work to do." She waved her friends out of the door. "From now on, I am one hundred percent Team Marcel. No distractions."
Too bad Hayley didn't know she couldn't keep that promise.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answer to guest review:
Anna: That is good question and we will go through a list of suspects before we know who-done-it.
Peace,
-J