Red River Blue

Chapter 39

Ezekiel finished off the last gulp of his coffee. He'd only been up for an hour and he already had a splitting headache. There was always drama and fighting during fair week. But this was the first time someone was killed. People were on edge. And Negan's involvement only served to intensify the already heightened situation. The dead boy's friends and family were inciting people to act. Ezekiel knew that the Coalition leaders needed to settle this fast, before their people took matters into their own hands and strung the saviors former leader up like a lot of them had been wanting to do for the last seven years. And even if the council did act quickly, there was a chance people still might go looking for street justice. Ezekiel doubted even Rick and Glenn would be able to save Negan this time. No matter whether he was at fault or not.

Michonne caught Ezekiel by the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him against her before they entered the large room where the interrogations were about to take place. Ezekiel kissed her, rubbing his hand over her stomach. The baby wasn't sure for a few more weeks. But Michonne was at the stage where their new prince could technically arrive anytime. Ezekiel knew Michonne was tough. But he still wished there was a way to save her from having to deal with so much stress in her current condition. She ought to be relaxing and enjoying the fair with her old friends, not dealing with an accused rapist and murderer.

With their hands intertwined, Ezekiel and Michonne entered the room. Because of how whipped up people were, he decided not to open the interrogations to the general public. Each community was allowed a small group of people to serve as witnesses to the investigation. And they were already gathered around the edges of the room. The council leaders were sitting behind a long table. Alexandria was missing a few of their leaders. Aiden was at Hilltop with Glenn and Maggie. And River was part of the group that was being interrogated. Those people were being sequestered in separate rooms to be brought in one at a time.

"Bring Gage in first," Ezekiel said, lowering himself into his seat after Michonne took hers. Jerry nodded, exiting the large room and returning a moment later with the young man in question. Ezekiel looked the boy over. His nose was broken and patched together with some gauze and medical tape. Both his eyes were black. And his top lip was split. His eyes darted nervously around the room, lingering on Alexandria's council members.

"I understand you were involved in an incident last night," Ezekiel said. From the looks of him, he'd been involved in something he shouldn't have been. Gage nodded. "Tell us what happened," Ezekiel said, gesturing with his hand to indicate that Gage had the floor. Gage started speaking right away, eager to tell his side of the story.

"Me and Alfred were down at the bonfire. We walked up to the barn party to see if there was any food left." Gage glanced down at his feet, knowing that he'd already told a lie. A small one. But a lie just the same. He and Aldred weren't looking for food. They were looking for more booze. Or girls. Or booze and girls. "We were walking up to the barn and we saw him. Negan. He had this lady outside and he was forcing himself on her."

With that, Merle rose from his chair, knocking it to the floor behind him. The loud clang of the metal chair hitting the tile floor echoed through the large room. He slammed his arm piece down, cracking the top of the cheap folding table.

"He's fuckin' dead!" Merle turned, focusing his anger on his own companions and Rick in particular. He pointed his arm piece at the man. "Dead! Ya fuckin' hear me Rick!"

Harley scraped her chair back, moving her body between her father and the object of his misdirected anger. She didn't speak at first. She just positioned herself toe to toe with Merle and balled her fists up.

"You either sit down or I'll sit ya down," she warned. Merle turned, gripping the table and tossing it. It slammed against the floor and he turned, storming from the room with a flurry of profanity that widened even Michonne's eyes. Harley leaned down, grabbing the table and returning it to an upright position before she took her seat. She crossed her legs, leaning slightly back in her seat. But Ezekiel noticed that she reached across the small space between her and Rick, taking his hand in hers and gripping it tightly. He shelved his thoughts about their relationship for the time being. There were more important things to focus on at the moment.

"You know he's probably going after Negan right now," Carol said, leaning forward and directing her warning to Ezekiel.

"Negan's in lockup. And I have the keys," Ezekiel said. He heard Michonne grumble under her breath that keys wouldn't stop Merle from shooting the man. But it seemed that no one was concerned enough to check on the situation. If Merle shot Negan, most people would consider it long overdue and well deserved revenge. And while Ezekiel didn't care for that brand of cowboy justice, at least it would end this nonsense and they could go back to the trade fair. No one would lose any sleep over Negan's demise. Not even him.

When it was clear that the outburst was over, Ezekiel encouraged Gage to continue with his story. The young man was looking in the direction Merle left in with wide frightened eyes. He appeared to be about ready to piss his pants. Odd for someone that claimed to have saved the man's wife from possible sexual assault.

"Uh… I… uh…," Gage stammered. "Like I said we saw Negan messing with that lady. The one that used to be a stripper. We tried to stop him. He attacked me and he killed Alfred."

Ian, the leader of Riverbend, spoke up. As he was a man of little words, people listened closely, interested to hear what he was going to ask the young man. Riverbend joined the Coalition a few years after the war with the Saviors ended. So unlike many of the people present, the man had no preconceived notions about Negan and no personal grudge against the man.

"What happened next?," Ian asked. Gage balked. He looked like a deer in the headlights. "After Negan attacked you and killed your friend? What did you do?"

"I ran away," Gage said, his voice whiny and defensive. "That psycho would have killed me too if I stayed."

"What did you do next?," Ian asked. When all he got from Gage was a blank stare, he elaborated on his inquiry. "You said Negan was assaulting that woman and then he killed your friend. Did you go for help? Did you alert the guards on duty? What happened to the woman that was being assaulted?"

Ian's questions were mostly a formality. He knew this young man did not alert the guards on duty. In fact, he didn't alert anyone. He went to the infirmary for his nose and told the night nurse that he fell into a log. After she patched him up, he hid. They had to search half the Kingdom to even find him so he could be made to stand up and tell them his side of what happened.

"I went to the infirmary. He broke my nose," Gage whined.

"Did you tell the infirmary staff what happened?," Ezekiel asked. Gage shook his head.

"He said he'd kill me if I told," Gage exclaimed, earning him eye rolls from most of Alexandria's council.

Ezekiel decided he'd heard enough. He motioned to Jerry, leaning forward and quietly telling him to make sure that Gage stayed put in the room they were holding him in until the end of the investigation. Then he asked Jerry to send River in.

River entered with her head down, shuffling quietly into the center of the room. Her hair was damp and what little of her skin that was showing looked like it had been scrubbed pink in a hot shower. She was wearing jeans and a shirt that Ezekiel guessed was her husband's. Because the sleeves hung down so only the tips of her fingers were sticking out. She wrapped her arms around herself, swaying slightly in place. Carol rose, lifting her chair and carrying it over so River could sit in it. She was supposed to return back behind the half busted council table. But no one objected when she stayed standing slightly behind her friend, her hand resting lightly on River's shoulder. Ezekiel couldn't make out the words, but he heard River when she began to speak quietly to Carol.

"I'm afraid you'll have to speak up," Ezekiel said. "We need to hear what you have to say." River nodded, wiping at her already red rimmed eyes with her balled up sleeves.

"I said I'm sorry. This was all my fault. I was the one that brought the tequila. I saved it special fer Daryl's birthday. I didn't mean for anyone ta get hurt."

Cyndie remained quiet during the first part of the inquiry. But this was more than she could take.
"Just 'cause you were drinking, that doesn't give anyone the right to put their hands on you," she announced loudly, casting her eyes around the room at the people that were looking at River like she somehow deserved what happened. She probably drank too much. But that was something everyone was guilty of once in a while. People just liked to look down their noses at River because of what she did for a living before the turn. And because she was married to Merle. And he was a loud mouth asshole.

"Drinking isn't a crime," Ezekiel assured her. "Go ahead and tell us what happened."

"I don't remember everythin'," River said, wiping her eyes again.

"Just tell us whatever you do remember," Ezekiel encouraged. River nodded, reaching for Carol's hand and squeezing it tight.

"We were drinkin'. I remember I knew Daryl had too much 'cause he was dancin' with me. And he hates dancin'. Especially in front of other people. Next thing I remember, someone was takin' me outside fer some air. And I guess I needed it 'cause I started pukin' my guts out."

"Do you remember who took you outside?," Ezekiel asked. River nodded but she didn't answer. She just stared down at her lap. "Was it Negan?" She nodded again. "Did he force himself on you or hurt you in any way?" River snapped her head up. And then she shook it.

"No," she said. "He didn't do nothin' ta me. I mean he was laughin' it up while I was tossin' my cookies. But he didn't hurt me. He just walked me outside and sat with me fer a minute." River sniffled, wiping at her nose with her sleeve. "He was nice to me. He went to get me some water…" If she closed her eyes she could smell his shirt. Negan smelled like tomatoes. Not like the vegetable itself, but like the leaves of the plant. All they let him do in Hilltop was garden. And the smell was still clinging to him days later. "I um… I…" River stammered, sucking in a few shaky breaths.

"I leaned back against the barn and closed my eyes. I remember I was tired and super thirsty. And after Negan came back with the water I was gonna see if he would carry me back to my tent 'cause my legs felt like jello. But I didn't think he would 'cause if people saw him takin' me to my tent they would think he was up to no good."

"Do you remember what happened next?," Ezekiel coaxed. The sooner they got this over with, the better. It was making him sick watching River have to relive whatever happened to her. And he guessed she was not only upset about what happened last night, but probably by whatever happened between her and Negan all those years ago. He guessed that being comforted by her rapist had to be an unsettling experience at the least.

"I think I fell asleep fer a second," River said. "..and the next thing I remember someone was pullin' my hair. Hard. And twistin' my arms behind my back. It hurt. I think after that I musta passed out."

"Do you know who did that?," Ezekiel asked. River shook her head. It was dark and she didn't get a good look at their faces.

"No. There was more than one of them though. And they smelled bad. Like really strong campfire smoke and cigarettes."

"I'm sure it was hard to tell all that to a room of people, thank you," Ezekiel said, rising from his seat and signaling to Jerry.

"Am I done?," River asked hopefully, wiping at her eyes again. Ezekiel nodded.

"You're done here. But I'd appreciate it if you'd find your husband and tell him what happened before he tears down my holding cell…," Ezekiel said, giving her a sympathetic smile.

River leapt up and hurried from the room. Whether she was in a rush to find Merle or just wanted to get away from the inquiry, Ezekiel wasn't sure. He guessed it was probably a little bit of both.

"Is Daryl here?," he asked. Jerry shook his head. Carol returned her chair to its place before she informed him that Daryl was most certainly not here. Because Daryl was still drunk. From her clipped tone, Ezekiel could tell that the woman was irritated with her husband. Which was all for the best as far as he was concerned. Because it meant that Carol would make sure there were no more drunken incidents for the rest of the trade fair.

Sam and Lydia were the last on his list. They technically should have come in separately, like everyone else. But the girl seemed skittish and even less enthused to be there than River was. So Ezekiel allowed them to enter together. Lydia was clinging to Sam's hand, hiding her slim body slightly behind his.

Sam didn't have much to tell. He admitted that he got upset because River and Daryl were getting handsy with each other. Which was no surprise. Everyone at the party could confirm that part of what happened. And Ezekiel was secretly grateful that all Daryl was doing was feeling up his brother's wife instead of wrestling his brother like he did last year on his birthday. They crashed through the side of the barn doing that stupid shit and it was a huge pain in the ass to repair.

Sam confirmed that he asked Negan to take River outside for some air because he was dealing with his dad and everyone else was drunk. He took his dad back to their tent and didn't see anything else after that.

"It's okay," Sam coaxed, wrapping his arm around Lydia and anchoring the girl to his side. "Just tell them what happened. Tell them what you told me." Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes. But Cyndie was quick to hush her up. This was not the time for her personal quarrel with Sam's new girlfriend. Lydia took a deep breath. And then the words started gushing out of her.

"I saw Negan take River outside. Then he came back in. I went out. To check on her. And I saw these two boys grabbing at her. One was pinning her arms behind her back. And the other was trying to put his thing in her mouth. She was trying to get away. And he was yanking her by the hair. I yelled at them to stop. Because I know raping is against the rules here. Those boys told me I was next."

Lydia stopped when she felt Sam's body go tense against hers. She didn't tell him that when she explained what happened. He hissed under his breath that he was going to kill that motherfucker. Lydia gulped. She was torn between being nervous to talk and wanting to hurry up and get this horror over with as quickly as possible. People were staring at her and she didn't like it. Settling on the latter, she started speaking again.

"I pushed that guy away from River. And he pushed me back. Then Negan came back outside. He hit one of them in the face with a water bottle. Then he punched the one that was holding River down. That guy stumbled backwards and fell down on a rake. Negan said a lot of bad words. Some of them, I never heard before. Then he picked River up and carried her back to her tent. He had me bring the water bottle. When we got to the tent he set her down on the bed and gave her the water. She didn't want it, but he made her drink it anyway. And then he told me to get in bed with her and make sure she went to sleep."

"What did he do after that?," Ezekiel asked.

"He left," Lydia said. "I stayed and slept with River like Negan said. Sam didn't know where I was. He was looking everywhere."

"Do you think you would recognize the man that ran away if you saw him again?," Ezekiel asked. Lydia nodded. Though anyone should be able to spot him. His face had to look like raw meat after the hit he took.

"No one'll be able to recognize him when I get done," Sam announced, ignoring the warning glance he was getting from his mother.

"Thank you," Ezekiel said, "...that'll be all." He sighed as Sam ushered Lydia out of the room.

"Are we done with the inquiry?," Ian asked. Ezekiel shook his head. They still had one more person to hear from. He exchanged glances with Jerry.

"Go get Negan."