Dime store daisies
Morning came in harsh and unforgiving as she heard Ben's voice standing over her bed.
"Get up, the police are here, you were supposed to be there by eight, it's half past nine, if you ask me Violet, you're not getting off on the right foot here."
His voice was condemning, cold, accusatory, right off the bat as he glared down at her half naked young body.
Holding her hand shakily against the blinding sun streaming through her window, thanks to Ben flipping up all her shades, she witnessed him inspecting her with judgment in his steel blue eyes.
She was a sight to behold if there ever was one, a true example of sin.
Her blonde hair knotted with twigs and leaves, her white gown bunched up along bruised thighs, the bottom of her bare feet nearly black with dirt, covered with tiny cuts from rocks that lined the path to the cemetery.
Violet clearly did not spend the night at home, in bed, where she belonged, and that was all the evidence he needed to step away from defending her in any way.
He nodded in quiet damnation, holding up his hands to the whore that she had obviously chose to be.
"Get dressed, no time to wash your sins away I'm afraid little girl, Officer Harrison is waiting in our kitchen. You are wanted down at the station immediately."
Wincing as she attempted to move, Violet felt the aftermath of Tate's time with her in the graveyard.
"Okay, I'll … be… right down."
With his hand on the doorknob, he shook his head in disgust, staring down at the pained expression in her face, the same face that once beamed of innocent teenage antics.
He knew in that moment the little girl he knew was gone, in its place a fallen woman who held no place in God's heart, or for that matter Ben's.
vTv
Slipping on a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt to try and hide the smell of sex and the evidence of dirt covering her skin, Violet worked hard to get a brush through her hair before giving up, throwing it high on her head in a messy bun.
Exhausted, she shoved her feet in her sneakers, too worn to lift the ends of the shoe up over her heels.
Splashing cold water on her face she brushed her teeth quickly as the officer bellowed from down below demanding her presence.
Gazing up into the mirror as she clung to the sink wearily, she caught a dark shadowy figure tall and menacing standing over her.
Gasping, she spun around to find nothing, chalking it up to lack of sleep and nerves she dismissed the quick glimpse of the apparition, worrying about the problem at hand too much for anything else.
Stepping out of the back seat of the cop car, a rule that the police officer strictly enforced, Violet was met with crowd of people waiting on the steps of the station.
Hard long hateful stares followed her as she made her way into the double glass doors.
Whispered rumblings too low to decipher, whisked by her as the town folk gathered to watch her, their minds already made up as to her guilt in their beloved Gabriel's death.
Shown to the only interrogation area that doubled as the police break room, Violet was told to sit and wait for the detective in charge.
Sighing, her stomach growling, her mouth parched her eyes roamed over to a box of donuts and a bottle of orange juice on the counter by a college sized fridge.
Afraid to touch anything she settled back in the metal chair, resting her head in her hands, wishing she was back in her bed.
She felt like she was in Andy Griffith's Police Station expecting any minute for Deputy Barney Fife to walk in and stumble over a chair.
It couldn't have been further from the truth as a sharp dressed suited man with slicked back hair and beady hard eyes stepped into the room.
Wordlessly, he threw down a manila file on the table in front of her while taking a seat to stare for several seconds at her disheveled appearance.
Flipping open the file, again with an eerie silence, he tossed a number of 8 x 10 glossy grotesque images of Gabe bloody, wedged inside the windshield of his truck.
Wide eyed, shards of glass sticking out of his face, neck and chest like thousands of tiny blades, the look of his face was of pure horror, as if he had seen something unworldly, ghostly.
Sighing heavily, narrowing blood shot eyes in her direction, sizing her reaction he threw her torn sweater that was in a clear evidence bag on top of everything dead center in front of her.
Folding his fingers together across his big pot belly, he leaned on the back legs of his chair all cocky as if the case for him, at least, had already been settled, guilt clearly pointing in her direction.
A thick southern accent was soon to follow that made the back of her neck cringe with disdain.
"Violet I'm going to make this very easy for you. All you have to do is tell the truth, explain what really happened that night of poor Gabriel's untimely death, and we'll talk over a plea deal. I don't think I have to laid it on the line to an obvious intelligent girl as yourself, but why not? I've got the time… you see the thing is dear, we've got you seven days till Sunday on this here case. The best thing you can do is work with me… because honey child, right here, right now, I am your only friend. Now, about that night…"
Lifting her eyes up it was her turn to inspect what was sitting across from her, to make her own judgment.
First thing she noticed was his suit, definitely not bought from the only men's store on main street, no, this was designer, tailored to fit his obese figure.
The other more glaring clue was his thick Alabama accent, a vast difference from the backwoods slow drawl of the West Virginia people that lived in this post stamp of a town.
No, he wasn't from around here, definitely not a local.
She figured the last time they dealt with a suspected homicide case might have been back with Tate and his father.
Most people around these parts died of diabetes or massive heart attacks, actual homicides were not a common thread among this small town.
This detective was brought in, most likely from the influence of Gabe's rich daddy, this was no slow witted hick she was dealing with, this guy had experience, and he was out for her, for blood.
She could almost see his pockets, thickly lined with money from the wealthy business owner that was loved by the town.
Taking a deep breath, Violet lifted her chin in defiance, doing her best to hide the fear that was rushing through her veins.
"I wasn't in the truck at the time of the accident, my step father can vouch for me, I have no idea what happened to Gabe."
His face scrunched up like a baby who just ate grapefruit for the first time.
Clearly amused, he pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket to blot the sweat forming on his upper lip.
"Hmm, you know deary I would've checked your story with the preacher before you opened that pretty mouth of yours, because he has an entirely different recollection of that night."
Violet was stunned, even Ben, as spiteful and cruel as he was wouldn't seek to throw her in prison for a crime she didn't commit.
Confused she figured it was a trick he was using to scare her into a confession that wasn't true.
"You know what honey, I just remembered that I failed to introduce myself, you'll have to forgive my manners."
Reaching out his chubby hand, he spread out thick sausage fingers waiting for her to respond in turn.
"My name is Detective Embry, Billy Ray to my friends. Now, Miss. Violet, are we going to be friends? Because I promise you this, you do not want me as an enemy. I can be as ornery as a rattlesnake in a hen house if my back is up against the wall. Now what do you say … friends?"
Keeping her hands tucked inside the pockets of her sweatshirt, Violet unflinchingly spoke four words that infuriated Detective Embry to the point of distraction.
"I want a lawyer."
Pulling back his hand slowly, the southern detective yelled loudly while staring hard into Violet's eyes, doing his best to intimidate her.
"Officer Miles, would you please escort our big city girl back home to her step daddy."
Violet wasn't a fool, not only was she underage, there was no evidence that she was in the truck at the time of the crash, besides her torn sweater, which could've been left behind at any time.
Gathering the photos, Embry shoved them in his file before slamming it shut.
Waving the sweater encased in plaster in her face, he smiled a sweaty sinister wide grin before pushing his chair from the table, making a harsh scraping sound across the linoleum floor.
"We'll be seeing each other again Miss Violet, you can count on that. You've made a grave error in judgment today, make no mistake, I'm fixin' to nail you for the murder of young Gabriel, so enjoy your freedom while you still have it."
As if on cue an elderly cop, different than the one that brought her, shyly stepped in. "Violet, are you ready?"
His voice was low, sheepish, as if he felt some kind of empathy for her.
Violet stood, shaky, starving, scared, wanting very much to speak to Ben.
"I'm ready."
Stepping out into the searing hot sun, Violet was shocked as a tomato was thrown from a small crowd waiting for her to emerge from the station.
"Murderer!"
Immediately Officer Miles blocked her with his body, protecting her from the raging crowd that were shouting obscenities at her.
There was blood in the water, the town's folk wanted revenge for the loss of their golden child, their star quarterback, the apple of everyone's eye in this sleepy little bum fuck of a hole.
vTv
Gazing in his rear view mirror at Violet sitting in the back seat, her head leaning against the window, too tired to hold it up, he couldn't help but feel for her.
"You okay?"
His meek voice didn't line up with treatment she had received from every law official she had encountered, it intrigued her.
"Yeah, just tired, I never expected all this. I just don't understand why this is happening."
Nodding the officer, tipped his hat, speaking to her in barely a whisper as he pulled up in her driveway.
"Gabriel's father has huge influence in this town, his money has gone a long way to grease the wheels in almost every aspect from politics to law enforcement. You did good today, just watch your back, there are a lot of people around here who get off on revenge, and I'm afraid dear Violet their minds are set on you."
Letting her out of the cop car, Miles gazed up at the old farm house nostalgically, in a bad way.
Noticing, Violet looked back as she approached the front door.
"Officer Miles… why are you being so nice to me. Everyone in this town hates me."
Resting his hands on his hips, he continued to look sadly up at the house as if a flood of memories were washing over him.
"I don't know, I guess you just remind me of someone from long ago, a certain boy that lived here."
Widening her eyes she froze, "You knew Tate Landgon? Where you part of the investigation all those years ago?"
Staring at her for what seemed like forever, the old man slowly shook his head, clear now on what had occurred with Gabe, the look in her eyes said it all.
"Another time perhaps, you go rest now."
With that he quickly disappeared back into his car before lifting grey eyes heavy with wrinkles up towards her.
"Just be careful, people around these parts tend to take matters in their own hands, do yourself a favor, stay inside."
Breathing out a sigh of disbelief, Violet opened her mouth to ask him questions about the vague clues he just left in the dust in his wake, but he was gone.
With Ben nowhere in sight, Violet forced herself into the shower, ridding herself of the night's sweat and dirt, watching in a daze as it circled the drain beside her feet, feeling a deep sense of emptiness without her ghost.
Falling into bed, sore, her mind spinning with damning threats, and veiled warnings, Violet slipped into a deep sleep.
vTv
Anxiously looking around for any sign of people, the now plain clothes cop, shakily entered the forgotten cemetery.
Tightly grasping a bouquet of dime store daisies, he meekly stepped around the vine covered gravestones trying hard to control his pounding heart.
He had waited till dusk had fallen, till the creatures of the night crawled out from their dark hiding places to play.
His worn boots faltered stumbling slightly when he came upon the simple flat stone marking Tate's brother's resting place.
It never got any easier, no matter how much time had passed, he could still see the little boy, pale, filthy from moss and dirt, water still seeping from his blue lips, while he lay on the cold steel table in the mortuary.
Kneeling down he winced in pain, knees, that were once young, now burned with arthritis.
Laying the flowers, he loosely mimicked the sign of the cross, even though he long since stopped believing in god.
He wasn't sure why, out of respect he guessed, maybe just plain sadness for the two lives that ended that horrible hot summer night.
Sighing heavily, he stood bracing himself on a taller stone nearby before rearing his head to the other side of the graveyard, the real reason he had made this journey to the forbidden area of the town.
Looking down at his liver spotted hands, that so many times came to the rescue when their father had gone on a bender, and cornered the children.
He felt old, useless, possibly as useless as he was all those years ago when he failed to help, folding under the orders of his superiors, to let them settle their family business on their own.
Hanging his head in shame, Miles shuffled his feet to the towering angel with the wide spread wings.
Brushing away the muck and dirt from the name etched across the impressive gravestone he called out to the teenager.
"Tate?"
Not much older than he was when the murders occurred, Miles looked around for the boy that would be forever burned in his mind.
"Tate please, we need to talk. It's about that girl, the pretty young thing living in your house."
Gasping the old man whipped his head around as leaves above rustled in the wind making old branches creak and moan.
"She's in trouble, they're fixin' to pin that young man's murder on her. Now I heard the nurses whispering in the hospital as that boy held on, how he mumbled about a ghost standing in the road. They said he looked terrified, even as he slipped into that coma. Now we both know he was speaking of you. I'm not here to place blame, but the town's out for revenge. Called in a fancy lawyer from Bama, he'll win the case, just takes twelve jurors to condemn that poor child. She needs your help Tate. "
A spooky silence stilled the trees around him, quieting the peepers and crickets that usually sang in the night.
Turning to walk back, feeling suddenly uneasy, Miles gave Tate one last try.
"Her eyes lit up when I mentioned you. It couldn't be more clear, the girl is in love Tate. If you had anything to do with Gabe's accident … please help her. She's a good kid, far too young to spend her life behind bars."
Nodding, feeling as if he tried his best, he walked briskly, as fast as his old knees would allow, back down the dirt trail to his truck hidden in the brush by the highway.
Stepping out from behind cement feathered wings, Tate walked to his brothers grave, looking down at the daisies Miles left behind.
Holding the flowers tight, he made his way to the edge of the graveyard, gripping the iron gate, seething with anger, filled with guilt, consumed with fury.
Rasping out into the ether, Tate closed his eyes, impatiently waiting for the midnight hour when she would come to him.
"Violet…"
vTv
Waking from another nightmare of her mother's death, Violet had a revelation, a memory that she had somehow blocked from her mind.
The dream was the same, standing there with Tate tightly holding her hand while her mother's blood pooled closer and closer to her bare feet.
Only this time she saw a reflection in the thick glossy liquid, a figure familiar, a man she knew very well holding a knife by his side.
It wasn't solid prove by any means, but it was enough to shake her, to leave doubt in her heart.
Jumping up to a sitting position, she looked at the time, shocked at how long she had been asleep.
Running down the stairs, desperate to see him again, she reached for the door just as Ben called out to her from the kitchen.
"And where are we off to at this unholy hour dear Violet?"
Vibrating with anger she walked into the kitchen clasping onto the door frame, doing her best to keep her temper in check.
"Why did you lie to that detective? You saw Gabe drop me off, I ran right past you into the house. And the sweater? Why take it to protect me, just to hand it over wrap up in the lie that I was there? Why Ben?"
Keeping his eyes locked onto the pages of the sermon he was memorizing for Sunday's service, he coolly spoke, emotionless, without any regard for her life.
"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap, Galatians 6:7."
Furious Violet rushed up to him slamming her hands down on the table shaking the pages of his precious book.
"Really Pastor Ben? Well, one thing is certain, God hates a false witness who breathes out lies, who sows discord among brothers Prov 6:19."
Shocked, Ben lifted his eyes towards her as she continued her rant.
"What? You think being forced fed this crap day and night, I wouldn't remember any of it? Oh while we're on the subject of the good book, here's another one classic... Thou shall not kill."
Gnashing his teeth Ben pounded his fists on the table.
"Hush your mouth! You will not speak such blasphemous words in my house!"
Shaking her head she rushed to the door "No worries, I'm already gone."
vTv
Running through the woods, tears stinging her eyes, Violet called out to him, her voice trembling with each frantic step.
Before she reached the trail she found herself being lifted off the ground in a strong embrace as ice cold lips feathered her cheek.
"It's okay Violet, I've got you. You're safe now."
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DinahRay, Stephycats7784, ghm, Gwenyth Taylor Plunkett, O M G Kakaski, greyeyes7, Chris P.C., and guest, thank you for your sweet reviews :)
Please excuse any mishandling of my bible references, I am far from religious. No disrespect was intended to those who are.