Dexter at Dawn

Chapter 11

by Technomad

After Arya and I had got back to where I had left my car, we parked the Sulas' car where we had left it, and put the "For Sale" signs back up. I'd taken them down before we set out, since they pointed straight at us. The Sulas had unimpeachable alibis, and I wasn't too worried about them.

Over the next few days, I kept a careful watch on the Net, both on the police department's computers and my own home machine, but I saw no sign that our former playmate's disappearance had caused any particular stir. In his social set and his neighborhood, people dropping out of sight was far from unknown. The reasons could vary. Owing too much money to the wrong people, having been caught between the wrong pair of legs and needing to be elsewhere until things died down, having the Ace of Diamonds fall out of one's sleeve at the wrong moment during a high-stakes card game, or talking too much about meth labs, pot farms or moonshine stills to the wrong people could all lead to a sudden disappearance.

Deb mentioned that our playmate seemed to have left town suddenly, but she didn't seem too perturbed about it. She did ask what I'd been doing on the night he was last seen, but when Arya solemnly assured her "A girl was with Dexter all that night. A girl saw nothing happen that should not have happened," she nodded and took that at face value. When Deb's back was turned, Arya gave me a wink, and I winked back at her. She had told perfect truth, and done so in a way that misled Deb completely. Not that Deb really had wanted to know about my, or our, role in our playmate's sudden disappearance.

When Astor and Cody came home for their usual weekend stay, they didn't notice anything particularly different. Astor was progressing very well in her judo classes, and was happy to demonstrate what she'd learned, using Arya as a partner, since Cody was so much smaller than she was. Arya watched solemnly, and I could see her filing what Astor was showing her away, in the part of her mind where she kept her fencing techniques. Cody also didn't let anything escape him, keeping his own counsel, as always.

Caroline Sula came over to join in the fun, talking fencing with Arya and sharing stories that her brother had written home about his adventures in basic training. From what she said her brother Charles was finding the physical training fairly easy. "He was a track star and weight-lifter in high school. His drill sergeant says that he's at the head of his training platoon, and doing very well overall." She gave us all a bright smile, proud of her brother's triumphs.

"What is he planning to specialize in, once out of Basic?" asked Deb. She'd been watching the goings-on, and taking a professional interest in Astor's judo holds and throws. Deb was trained by the police in various forms of physical self-defense, but she was always aware that on the street, she could run into a bad guy or girl who'd had training in a style she hadn't encountered. Learning new things about anything that could make her a better cop was meat and drink to her.

"He's talking about going into the military police, Deb," Caroline said. At this, Deb's eyebrows went up and I could tell that she was thinking.

"If he does, and gets an honorable discharge, maybe he'd be interested in joining the Miami-Dade police force?" Deb's voice was casual, but I knew her. She was always on the lookout for anyone who'd be an asset to the police force, and a guy who already had experience in the field would be a valuable recruit.

"I don't know, Deb. I'd have to ask him. I don't think he'd be against the idea, but I would have to talk to him, and that'll have to wait until he's out of Basic."

The problem of bailing Rita out of jail continued to plague my mind, making it hard to sleep sometimes. I'd looked into hocking our cars, but that wouldn't have raised enough money to put us over the top, even with what we could get by re-financing the house. While our cars were perfectly serviceable, they were also several years old. Even with rustproofing, the salty Miami air had not been kind to them. They were more presentable than Charles Sula's car, but that was the extent of what could be said for them.

Speaking of Charles Sula's car, a buyer appeared who was willing to pay the inflated price I had put on it, rather to my surprise. When his check cleared the bank, I took him over to the Sulas' place to finalize the paperwork. Charlene Sula beamed at me when everything was done and the new owner had left to pick up his new acquisition.

"Mr. Morgan, you're a wonderful person! We were so lucky that our little Caroline made friends with your ward!" Inside, I was smiling to myself. I wondered what she would think if she knew what I, and the Dark Passenger, had been up to over the years. I figured she'd be screaming for me to be sent straight to Old Sparky for daring to come near her or her precious babies.

Rita was also very pleased when I told her about what I'd managed to do. "You're so helpful, Dexter! I'm so happy that you helped the Sulas out!"

"So am I, Rita. They're nice people. Caroline's becoming good friends with both Astor and Arya, and I know that's a good sign." With a sigh, I changed the subject. "Has Ms. Taliferro been by to see you lately?"

"Yes. We went over what to do at my next hearing. That's a few days away. You'll be here, won't you?"

"Sure will. It's a school day, but I can bring Arya along. Astor and Cody won't be able to come unless they're specifically requested by the court. Paul Bennett won't hear of it." I had had several phone conversations with dear Mr. Bennett on that subject, conversations that invariably ended with me grinding my teeth in frustration and wishing that he fit Harry's Rules just long enough for me and the Dark Passenger to put him out of our misery.

Astor and Cody weren't happy at all about not being able to go to the hearing. "Why can't we go?" asked Astor, acting as spokes-girl as she often did. Beside her, Cody concentrated on looking unhappy.

"You've got school to go to, and your father won't sign off on you being out of it for the time it'd take to get up to Charleston and back," I explained. "Arya isn't under Paul Bennett's control, and you are. I'm Arya's legal guardian, and I can sign her out of school."

Astor and Cody gave me looks that would have made me want to weep, if I had normal human feelings. Even though I am a monster without such things, I felt very bad. And very, very angry at Paul Bennett. Even if he'd had nothing to do with poor Rita's misfortune, his callous opportunism in taking instant advantage of it to get "his" children back did not win him any favor from me.

Deb was just as indignant, and so were the Sulas. "The nerve of that man!" snarled Charlene Sula one evening, when Arya and I were sharing a dinner with Charlene and Caroline Sula after fencing practice. "He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself!"

"Yeah!" Caroline agreed. She stabbed at her roast beef as though it were Paul Bennett himself. "I wish there were something we could do to help!"

Unfortunately, there wasn't much that the Sulas could do, other than to offer moral support. The father of the family, Christopher Sula, was a mid-level executive in a computer company in downtown Miami, and did not have any pull with the local power structure to speak of.

"Just knowing that you're in our corner means a lot to a girl," Arya said, her voice low. "For too long, a girl had nobody but herself that she could rely on."

"You've got us," Deb said, reaching out to touch Arya's hand. "I'm a cop, and we cops look out for our own. Since your guardian is my brother, you're one of my own and you can count on me to do all I can for you."

"And you've got us," Charlene Sula chimed in. "We Sulas know good people when we see them, and you're good people. Caroline was very impressed with your fencing the first time you met her, and since then, you've shown in a hundred ways that you're a friend worth having. The same goes for you, Deborah, Dexter," she said, with a smile at us that seemed to light up the room.

"With all of us on the case, we'll have Rita free and back home, and hopefully, exonerated. I've been talking to some of the guys on the narcotics squad up in Charleston, and they all say that this doesn't seem like the usual sort of case. We'll get this straightened out," Deb said.

Arya didn't say anything, but her eyes were tightly closed, and I could see tear tracks etching their way down her cheeks. The sight filled me with fury at whoever had made her cry. From all she had told me and Deb, she had had more than enough trouble in her life, and deserved some good things instead of more trouble.

Arya and I spent the flight up to Charleston in silence. My mind was spinning with improbable schemes for freeing Rita, but I couldn't come up with anything that had a plausible chance of working in reality. When we arrived, I got us the rental car I had arranged to have waiting, and we checked in to our usual motel, taking two rooms, as always.

"A girl wishes Astor was with us," Arya commented, before we went out to find some dinner. "A girl finds sleeping alone is lonely."

"I know what you mean, Arya," I said. "You miss Astor, I miss Rita. Not in the same way, of course, but when you're used to company, sleeping alone is a hard thing to get used to."

"A girl hopes that this new hearing will exonerate Rita. A girl cannot believe for one second that she would ever do the things she has been accused of."

"Neither can I, Arya. Come on. I'm hungry. Let's find something good to eat." A half hour later, we'd discovered a very nice barbeque place, and were poring over the menu to figure out what new spicy delights to regale ourselves with. Even a soulless monster, or an assassin-trained noble daughter from an another world, is allowed to enjoy barbeque.

The next day, we showed up at the courthouse, all in our best and looking as respectable as we could. Arya knew about courthouse metal detectors, so she had reluctantly left her knives behind. We were shown in and soon found ourselves sitting in the spectators' seats in a courtroom. Ms. Taliaferro saw us, and smiled and waved. We waved back. She'd been very good to us.

Rita was led in, wearing her jail uniform. She smiled when she saw us, and we waved at her. She was cuffed and had two bailiffs escorting her, so she couldn't wave back. I fumed silently at such cruelty. Rita was the most harmless person I had ever met, and seeing her treated as though she were a monster such as myself infuriated me.

I could tell that Arya was quietly steaming, too. I nudged her to remind her to stay quiet. The last thing Rita needed was for either of us to be ejected from the courtroom for disruptive behavior. I had seen that happen before, at trials where I'd had to testify. It looked like an unedifying experience.

Judge Hamilton came in. This was my first look at the person who would, if he got the chance, sentence poor Rita to years behind bars in some horrible women's prison. I had expected a lean, pinch-faced fanatic, rather like my ideas of what witch finders and Inquisitors had been like. Instead, Judge Hamilton was young, personable-looking, and spoke in a sweet Low Country accent very like Ms. Taliaferro's own. I made up my mind to find out all I could about this judge. What had sent him on a mad crusade to eradicate all drugs?

Judge Hamilton banged his gavel, and the hearing began. First, the prosecution presented their evidence. The big bag of meth that had been found in Rita's rental car was introduced in evidence, and then affadavits were produced, all of them swearing that Rita was a major player in the interstate methamphetamine trade. Judge Hamilton looked carefully blank at all this nonsense, but I sensed that he was believing every word.

After the prosecution had made its case, the defense had its innings. Ms. Taliaferro produced affadavits of her own, all pointing out that Rita had never been to Charleston before, had no police record of direct involvement with drugs, and swearing to her good character and innocence.

Judge Hamilton cogitated for a few minutes, before banging his gavel and announcing that Rita would be bound over for trial. At this, Rita burst into tears. She had clearly hoped that the judge would decide that the whole thing was a farce and let her go free. I could feel Arya trembling with rage at this. I put my hand on her arm to keep her calm.

"Cool, Arya. Keep it cool. Cold as ice. Flying off the handle won't do any good here." She subsided, but when I stole a glance at her, her expression would have scared anybody. I could sense that she was reliving the awful day that her father was executed. Suddenly I hated myself for having put her through this ordeal. She could have been safe in Miami, going to school and being looked after by Deb.

When we were dismissed, I tried to apologize to her. "Arya, I probably shouldn't have brought you here today. This is no sight for a girl your age."

She gave me a tolerant look. I'd seen the same sort of look from Astor or Cody, directed at adults who thought that just because they were children, they were idiots. I remembered that Arya had, by her own account, been through and seen far worse things in the world she'd come from. A girl who'd trained as an assassin, whom I knew to be at least as lethal a killer as I was, who had a Dark Passenger of her own, could handle a lot more than the typical girl her age could.

"A girl has known far worse," she assured me, in a low voice. "A girl is very angry that such injustice exists here as well as in the world she came from, but a girl is no stranger to these things."

They gave us a few minutes with Rita. This was the first time we had been in her presence without barriers between us since the accursed day when she had first flown off to Charleston. When they led her in, she gasped with joy, tears starting from her eyes. The bailiffs let her loose, and she threw herself into my arms, sobbing.

"Dexter! Oh, Dexter, it's so good to see you again!" I held her close, wondering why tears were falling from my eyes. As a monster with no feelings, how could I be reacting this way?

"It's good to see you, Rita. How are you holding up?" I looked her over. She had lost a little weight, but since, like most women, she was always fretting over her weight, I decided that was not a bad thing. She was pale, almost certainly from lack of sunlight. In Miami, between just needing to be outdoors doing things around our yard and our regular jogs together, she was normally tanned a nice shade of brown.

"I'm holding up," she said, giving me a watery smile. "The other women in the jail have been very supportive. Many of us are mothers, and we talk and share stories of what our children are doing."

"A girl is glad to hear this," Arya said, deadpan as usual. "A girl will be sure to tell Astor and Cody that you are well. They're worried about you."

"Oh, Arya, you're a saint!" Rita said, letting go of me and giving Arya a hug in her turn. "We were so blessed when you came into our lives!"

"A girl was very fortunate. To have survived that awful storm, and to have been found by Dexter. A girl could not ask for a better family to replace the one she lost," Arya said. "A girl is doing well in school, and in her fencing."

"That's so good to hear!" Rita gave Arya a warm smile. "If all goes well, I hope to be there to cheer you on at your next tournament!"

"A girl would be delighted to have that happen," Arya answered. "A girl would also like to introduce you to her friend Caroline Sula and her parents, Christopher and Charlene Sula. They're very nice people. Caroline Sula and a girl spend many afternoons together, after school, and when she can, Astor joins in on things. Astor is also doing very well with judo, and hopes to participate in her first tournament soon."

"I hope to be there! Do you have any recent pictures of Astor and Cody?" Appealed to, I produced an envelope of photographic prints I had brought along. I'd taken pictures of Astor in her judo uniform, and Cody in his Cub Scout uniform, his expression eloquently mutinous. I'd also posed Arya in our back yard with her arm around Caroline Sula's shoulders.

"So that's Caroline Sula," Rita said, studying the picture appraisingly. "My, she's a pretty one! When I was that age, any girl with that platinum blonde hair and those big green eyes would have had all the boys buzzing around her, and all the girls bitterly envious of her."

"Caroline Sula does get attention from boys," Arya said. "She says she is still too young to go on dates, but she makes notes of the boys she thinks would be good to date for when she is older." Arya grinned rather impishly suddenly, making me see the mischievous little tomboy she had been once, before her troubles began. "A girl also has had boys approach her, but a girl knows better than to take them up on it yet."

"You're growing up," Rita said, smiling through her tears. "You'll be a real beauty someday, Arya." Arya looked very skeptical, and Rita went on: "Trust me. At your age you can't see it yet, but I can tell. Will you trust me on this?"

Arya nodded solemnly. "A girl always trusts you, Rita. And a girl hopes that you trust a girl and Dexter...and Astor, Cody and Aunt Sergeant Deb...to do all we can to get you out of this and back home to Miami where you belong. Once that happens, a girl will be very happy."

"Oh, I want to be at home!" Rita broke down weeping again. "I appreciate all you do...and the pictures you've sent...but I want to be at home! I want to watch you and Astor competing in matches! I want to sleep in my own bed! I want Dexter!"

As the jail guards came in to lead her away, I could see Arya beginning to tear up. Me, I felt a raging anger at whoever had done this. Rules of Harry be damned, I vowed to myself...if I found out who was behind this, that scumbag would pay and pay high!

When we were back out on the sidewalk, Arya suddenly stiffened. In a low voice, she told me: "That is Annie Wilkes! What is she doing here?"

Sure enough, striding along ahead of us was none other than Annie Wilkes, Paul Bennett's girlfriend. She looked like a woman with a purpose, walking along, looking neither to left nor to right. I had only seen her once or twice, in passing, when picking up Astor and Cody or dropping them off at Paul Bennett's place. Nonetheless, I stayed back, not wanting her to see me.

"Now, what is she doing here?" I asked myself. I could see no reason for her to be in Charleston. As far as I knew, she had a full-time job in Miami. I had made discreet inquiries at Jackson Memorial Hospital, among people I knew there, and had been told that she was a ranking nurse there, in charge of several wards and supervising a bunch of other nurses, aides and orderlies.

Arya looked very thoughtful. I hadn't realized that I had spoken aloud, but she squeezed my hand, surprising me. She was normally not demonstrative, any more than Astor or Cody. "A girl thinks that this is not a coincidence," she said, her voice low so as not to be overheard. "A girl thinks that a close look at Annie Wilkes on that 'computer' of yours would be an excellent idea, Dexter."

As we got aboard the plane to fly back to Miami, I made up my mind that I would do just that.