Chapter Nine
Bobby turns his head and his face is in a pillow, he wakes from the strange smell. He begins to cough, the bed was not made for a 6'4" man and as he turns on his side, he falls out of the bed.
"Shit, what the hell!"
He lies on the floor for a minute. He eyes are blurry and as he looks at his surroundings, he hopes that he is still sleeping. He's not in his bedroom or anyone else's, he's in jail.
I don't fucking believe this.
He slowly sits up against the bed. He hears a door close and a 30 something police officer is at his cell door. His uniform is not NYPD.
In jail with a hangover in another state terrific.
"Most people sleep in the bed."
"Yeah."
"You missed breakfast, want some lunch?"
He gets up and walks to the cell door as the officer slides the tray through the slot. Bobby gets a closer look at the badge. Linkwood, Maryland Police.
Maryland. Linkwood, Maryland, damn that's where my Grandparents use to live.
Well at least I'm on the east coast.
Sheriff Jonathan Coles is in his office when two of his deputies return from their search of Bobby and Mandy's motel room. They hand him his ID and other personal effects including his shield. The Sheriff enters his name and badge number into the computer.
"A real screw up right?"
"No Bill, on the contrary he has a very impressive record, a number of accommodations. No disciplinary infractions."
He scrolls down reading to himself.
"You guys remember that New York City police detective who went missing a few months ago?"
They both answer. "Yes."
"It's him."
The sheriff sits back in his chair and chews on his pen. He looks around the room as if trying to solve a problem. He sits forward in the chair looking at his two deputies.
"You know I think I'll pay a visit to Ernie."
"What for?"
"I think I can get him to drop this thing, Harry, with a promise that they will pay for all the damages. Ernie's a good guy I think he'll agree to the terms."
"Why."
"Would you want something this asinine on your record Bill, I think he deserves our help, don't you? I mean it's not exactly the crime of the century we're talking about."
Bill nods in agreement.
Harry says, "What the hell, why not, why mess the guy's career for one stupid mistake."
The Sheriff returns an hour and a half later.
"Ike."
"Yes sir."
"Bring him up here."
Bobby has managed to eat a little and he is now lying on the bed. He hears the door close again and he sits up.
"The Sheriff wants to see you."
Bobby exits his cell and as he looks to his left he sees a wall, to his right is another cell, which is empty. He walks down a hallway about fifty feet and the deputy opens the door into the squad room. He notices four desks with computers.
I am impressed.
He is lead through the squad room to the sheriff's office.
He stands in the doorway as the sheriff is finishing a phone call. He hangs up the phone and motions for the deputy to leave.
Sheriff Coles stands up and extends his hand. Bobby shakes his hand as a feeling of suspicion grows inside.
"Please sit down. I sent two of my deputies to the your motel room to look through your things, they were surprised as I was to find out the that two of your weren't even staying at the Lincoln Motel."
"Two of us."
"Yes, your girlfriend."
Bobby scratches the back of his head as he tries to remember the other person who was with him last night.
Amanda.
"You were staying at the Evans Motel. Which is next door, you two turned into the wrong driveway."
If the Sheriff was waiting for an answer, he wasn't going to get one.
"The two of you started out at Lindsay's bar, both of you feeling no pain. You left there at 2am, walked up the street, and ended up at the wrong motel."
Still Bobby says nothing.
"I have a list." He holds up a piece of paper. "Of some items my deputies found in your motel room, do you want to read it?" He pauses. "Detective or should I tell you?"
Shit, this guy is going to screw me over for sure. I guess I deserve it.
The list only included a few items but the one that stood out, was his shield.
"What exactly did we do, or I do?"
"Would you like to see some photos?"
"Sure I love photos."
Bobby sits back in the chair, flips through the photos, and shakes his head in disgust.
"I think the chair in the window looks good. Oh my God. Was anyone hurt?"
"No just the window."
"The damage you caused will cost about 300 dollars and if pay for the table, chairs and the window this will all disappear."
A questionable look crosses his face.
"Excuse me."
"I checked your record and I must say that I was very impressed, I knew I recognized the name. Some of your cases have made their way to our local news stations. I don't want to put this ridiculous event in your record, so I had a talk with the owner of the motel and we have agreed about an arrangement. Are you alright with that?"
"Sure."
"Pay for the damages and I hit the delete button."
"I really appreciate this Sheriff, thank you."
Both men stand at the same time.
"Before we take you and Amanda back to the motel I just want to say one thing. I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you but what happened last night, you and I both know that there is something wrong. I'm sure you don't what something like this to happen again because the next time you might hurt someone, most likely yourself."
He extends his hand and Bobby shakes it and thanks him again.
Deputy Ike Olsen leads Bobby to where Amanda has been waiting. He opens the door and she turns and smiles at him.
"I am so sorry about all this."
"I appreciate that. I guess we were a little foolish last night, I mean one minute we're sitting in a bar and you start talking about when you were a kid and the great times you had when you spent time down here visiting your grandparents. The next thing I know I'm in my car driving down here."
"I was that persuasive."
She laughs. "Yeah I knew you were drunk but you were so damn cute. Anyway I have to say I had fun last night, except for the getting arrested part."
He apologizes again.
"God I haven't been dancing in years. I use to go a lot before I got married, to the most boring man God ever put on this earth. After he said I do he did nothing."
"His name wouldn't be Lawrence Bollar, would it?"
"No, why who is he?"
"Just someone a friend of mine told me about once."
"I guess we were both running away from something."
Bobby sits down next to here. "You could say that."
He sits in silence for a minute and then he asks.
"What the hell happened last night?"
Last Night
The bartender announces last call. Bobby and Mandy leave the bar. As they walk back to the motel, her curiosity has been building all night. They are both drunk now, Bobby a little bit more than she is.
"Who is she Bobby?"
"What?"
"The woman who makes you drink so much."
They keep walking and he stays silent.
"Come on, is she your girlfriend, or your wife, from my experience I would say your wife."
He does not answer but Amanda can't stop, she's a lot like Alex, she needs to know. She keeps pushing. They enter the driveway of the motel and walk back near the pool area.
"She cheated on you and you caught her, right?" Then she turned it all around and blamed it on you for neglecting her. Is that it? That's it, isn't' it?"
Mandy keeps walking not realizing that Bobby is not walking next to her. She looks to her side and then she looks back. She sees him sitting at a table looking lost and confused. She walks back to where he is sitting.
"Are you alright?"
No answer.
"Bobby, what's the matter?"
He looks up at her.
"You know I didn't realize it till now but you look like her."
Oh, shit.
"But you're nothing like her, she's evil, she has no heart and I'm sure that the evil inside her has eaten up her soul."
His expression changes, his anger is building.
"She used me, she used me for what she wanted and the way things have been going for me I would have to say that she's succeeded."
"Son of a bitch!"
As he quickly rises from the chair, it tips over.
"Goddamn that woman!"
He grabs the table from underneath and turns it over, the table is made of glass and it shatters. He picks up the chair that fell over and throws it across the yard as he curses her name. It crashes through a window and an alarm sounds. The ringing of the alarm stops his rage. Two deputies respond and they are arrested, the charges are public drunkenness and vandalism.
"Shit. I hope you weren't anywhere near me?"
"No I wasn't but it happened so fast I couldn't have stopped you."
"I had a meeting with the sheriff and he told me that if I pay for the damage this will all disappear."
"Why would he do that?"
"Professional courtesy."
"Jesus Christ you're a cop, I don't believe it."
"Yeah, I've had finer moments, come on the deputy is going to drive us back to the motel."
As they walk out of the station Mandy offers to pay her share of the damages.
"No it was my fault I'll take care of it."
Before they get into the car, she grabs his arm and whispers in his ear. "Nothing happened."
They arrive at the motel and Bobby pays for the damages. Within minutes they arrive at the motel they had registered in last night. Neither of them has the energy to drive home today, they decide to stay the night and drive back tomorrow.
Bobby hands her the key to the room. "Here you take the room, I'll get another one."
"Ok, after that do you want to get something to eat?"
"That sounds like a good idea but first I have to make a phone call."
"I'm going to freshen up I'll meet you back here in about half an hour."
He calls Alex.
She does not recognize the phone number on her caller ID. If she had, she would have answered it anyway.
"Hello."
"Are you still mad at me?"
"I should hang up on you."
"Wouldn't blame you if you did. I'm really sorry, that was a nasty thing to say."
"I'm sorry too, but you can be a very frustrating man to talk to sometimes. I didn't recognize the number where are you calling from?"
Very softly, he says, "Maryland."
"What? Did you say Maryland?"
"Yes I did."
"My God what the hell is in Maryland?"
"Old memories."
"Old memories, what does that mean?"
"Not now I'll tell you another time, I just called to let you know that I probably won't see you tomorrow."
"Bobby, what the hell is going on?"
"Alex not now, please don't push it."
"Ok, call me tomorrow when you get back."
"I will. Bye."
The conversation at dinner is pleasant. Mandy is biting her tongue through the meal. She is so curious about who Nicole is, she wants to know everything but she keeps quiet.
I wonder who he called.
They finish their meal and say goodnight. They get back to the motel around 7 PM and they plan to leave very early the next morning.
Amanda and Bobby leave the motel in Maryland a little after 5AM, the drive to New York is uneventful and the traffic is light. They arrive in the New York area around 9:30. Amanda drives Bobby to his house, the situation is awkward and they don't look at each other, he wishes her a good life and gets out of the car.
TBC