Her Eyes
Chapter 35: THE TRUTH
The next morning the station got a call about a convenience store robbery. On the way back to station Alex caught a glance of the flash drive that had been sitting in the empty cup holder for the past few days. He sighed knowing what he had to do. He pulled into an empty parking lot and dialed the number for the DEA. He told them everything—except the part about his own involvement. He wasn't going to lose his job because of some douchebags. He was done with everyone. He needed a fresh start. He hung up the phone and drove back to the station, waiting for the officer to come pick the flash drive up.
It had been a long day after all that. Alex had a lot to do at the station—they were still investigating the murders of the two women, though he knew it was Bob who killed them. He was in a deep hole…he didn't really know what to do. All day long he had been receiving calls from Norma and ignoring them. He never wanted to see her again. They were done. Alex was in the front room talking to Deputy Walker when she showed up.
"Why haven't you answered any of my calls?" The whole room shot up at the sound of her voice. She was livid, but he didn't mind. He needed to protect himself for once.
Who was she to embarrass him in front of his colleagues? He hated her. "Because I don't wanna talk to you, Norma." He could feel everyone's eyes on him.
She scoffed. "Whatever. You wanna act like a third grade girl right now—fine." It was only getting worse. She pushed inside as Officer Lopez left. "I can't control the universe. I just need the stupid flash drive back."
The last thing he needed was her screwing everything up for him. The station was already making jokes about the two of them—now she was just furthering their assumptions. "Come here." He led her out into the back hall. He couldn't believe he was giving in so easily. "You need to keep your voice down right now."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I understand that you are upset with me, but all I can tell you is just try living in my shoes for a week and then get back to me." He knew she was right, but all she ever thought about was herself and her son—he needed more than that. She gave up pleading. "I don't care about that. It's not my job to make you like me—it's my job to get the flash drive back. Bob wins, I lose…I don't give a shit. Just give it to me." He hated that she was such a mess over all this. It pained him to see her like that, but he wasn't going to give in to her. "I just want outta this."
He stared back at her indifferently. "Well you're out of it. I'm taking care of it." He moved past her to go to his office. He didn't want to see her anymore.
"What the hell does that mean?" she shouted after him. He turned around to face her; he needed her to know they were done. "How are you taking care of it? You don't just get to take care of it and not tell me what that means. I'm the one who gave it to you."
He smiled sarcastically. "Well live and learn, Norma. Be careful who you give things to." It was finally his turn to treat her the way she always treated him. She deserved it. He needed to move on. "And we're done talking…about anything." He turned and left before he could see the look on her face—if he had, he would've never left. He would have dropped to his knees in front of her, but the game was over. He'd find someone else—he needed to.
The next day Alex walked into his office to find a woman waiting for him. He stared at her for a moment. Had she been going through his things? "Oh Sheriff Romero." The woman walked towards him and stuck out her hand. "Special agent, Liz Babbit. I've been appointed the lead investigator on this case." She walked over to the middle of the room as he went to his desk. "We're analyzing the data on the flash drive…one of the names on the accounting ledger was your deceased mother."
Alex slowly took a seat at his desk and leaned back. "Yeah. I know." It never got any easier for him. "My father was the one who started the pot ring in the eighties. He was sheriff, and as his criminal enterprise grew, he acquired a number of investors—those are the people on the accounting ledger." He took a deep breath; he needed it. "And he added my mother's name as a cover for when he was sent to prison so he could keep accumulating his share of the money."
The woman smiled in disbelief. "Well that's kind of odd." She moved over to the window and took a seat. "After your father was convicted…you were elected sheriff of White Pine Bay?"
He tried to study her—he wasn't going to like her very much. "That's right."
She laughed lightly. "You'd think the citizens of this town would wanna distance themselves from the relation of a convicted felon." She was implying something.
"My father and I are not the same person. And everybody in this town knows that." He didn't like what she was getting at…he knew she didn't believe him. "We're not close. I mean I just commissioned him in the implication of a new crime."
She stared at him for a while. "Yeah. I get that you don't like your dad—that's not the part I'm having trouble understanding." She got up and moved to the front of his desk, peering down at him. "Given the history of this town…I find it difficult that you can claim to know nothing about the illicit activities that have been going on here."
"Is there a question there?" He wasn't afraid—he'd been through worse.
The woman broke into a smile. "Just talking." She moved towards the door. "You have been extremely cooperative and I appreciate that." He knew she was up to something. She was hiding something. "Everyone's in the conference room. We have a lot to do in the next twenty-four hours." He waited for her to leave before rolling his eyes—it was going to be a long twenty-four hours.
Alex finally got home around eleven. He huffed wobbling up the steps to his house until he heard rumbling and shuffling coming from inside. He pulled out his gun instinctively as he approached the front door, glancing at the broken window. Who would be dumb enough to break into his house? He couldn't ever catch a break. He slowly opened the door and glided inside, making his way to the living room. It was her. She was a parasite—he couldn't ever get rid of her. He had had it with her so many times; he didn't know when it would ever be enough. She plagued him and he hated her for it. "You gotta be kidding me?" he growled under his breath.
She turned around at the sound of his voice. She was a mess—a bigger mess than she was before. "My son isn't going to prison because some rich perverted asshole killed two women. He doesn't deserve to be dragged into this." She moved over to the other side of the room, keeping her eyes trained on him. "And put your damn gun down—like you're gonna shoot me. That'll be the day."
He couldn't take her anymore. She finally broke him. "I hate you." He meant it. He'd never take it back.
She stared at him unsurprised and unaffected. "Well I hate you too, so what?" She moved over to the couch and began to dig through the pile of crap that had accumulated over the days. She gave up rather quickly. "Where is it? Where is the stupid piece of computer that's ruining my life?"
He shoved his gun back in its holster. He hadn't planned on telling her, but— "I turned it over to the DEA." She turned around to face him; he'd hit something. He stared at her boldly. "All those people involved—their all criminals and they're gonna go to prison. And they can go to hell for all I care cause I'm sick of it. I'm sick of trying to accommodate them and accommodate everybody." He was referring to her. She screwed up real bad. There was no turning back. He knew that. "And I'm sick of trying to make all of this shit work. I'm done. I'm done with them. I'm done with this town. I'm done with everything."
"How could you do that to me?" She looked at him; she was broken too. "Bob Paris will investigate my husband's death just to get me back. I'm screwed." He knew she'd messed up—he'd messed up. They needed each other. He told himself he'd never be the reason for her pain, but here they were. And that realization killed him. He had committed the ultimate betrayal. He saw it in her eyes. "How could you do that to me?" She gave up and began to walk away the way she always does.
But he wasn't gonna let her leave—not this time, not now. He grabbed by the arm and pinned her against the frame of the archway. She whimpered as he did so. He felt her body tense under his grasp, but he'd never hurt her. He had her by the shoulder, holding her in place. "Why'd you lie to me?"
She'd never give up. "I didn't lie to you."
He didn't care; he was getting the truth this time. "Oh come on, you know your husband didn't die in an accident. You know it and I know it." He shook her a bit. He could feel the anger rise within him as he stared into her eyes. "So tell me the truth. For once in your life, just tell me the truth, Norma."
She waited a moment, trying to decide. He knew she wanted to tell him, but a part of her was too scared. "I did it. I killed him."
He wasn't going to put up with this, but he wasn't going to leave her. He was drawn to her. They were attached—he'd never break free. "Come on, the truth."
"He was abusive and I killed him." He could see the tears welling up in her eyes as the memory replayed in her mind. "He was hitting me and I hit him in the head with a blender. And I didn't mean to kill him but I did. I dragged his body into the garage and I made it look like an accident."
He needed her more than anything. He had no one else but her. She was all he'd ever have. But she was killing him…and he loved her. "Stop lying to me!"
She started to cry when she saw the look in his eyes. He felt her body tremble as she gasped for each breath. "You know the truth, don't make me say it." She brought her eyes up to meet his before she whimpered some more. Then it happened. She slapped him, pushing him back and hitting him some more. He let her—she needed it. After a few blows, he pinned her back against the wall, pressing his body into her as she sobbed. He released his grip on her arms when he noticed their proximity. He was getting bolder. She brought her hands down to his shoulders, still sobbing softly. His hands found her face. He couldn't control himself. He found himself wanting her. He felt her hot breath on his mouth as he leaned in. "Don't touch me," she whimpered. He let go immediately; he'd never force her. "Don't you touch me." She moved past him and left the house. He stood watching her leave, trying desperately to catch his breath, while his heart raced. He'd do anything for her. He was forever hers.