Fate and Destiny Page 16

  He was going to jail. They were going to lock him up with Lenny. Doug was sure of it. His heart raced like a wild stallion all the way into town. He couldn’t escape now. He was riding in the sheriff’s truck and his plow was back on the mountain. He should have known when he woke up and saw all three of them in the cabin they were tricking him. At first, he wanted to run from the cabin, jump in his truck and get out of there, but they surrounded him. Destiny on the couch, Andrew in the chair, and the cop standing over him. No cop could ever let him go after knowing he was involved in a kidnapping and attempted murder. Besides, most law officers seemed to want to find a reason to arrest him just because he scared them. And this cop was even worse. He was related to the man who found Destiny.

  Being such an oaf, Doug believed them as they convinced him they were all working to save Destiny, but the more he thought about it, the stupider he felt. They would say anything to get him to willingly come to the police station so they could lock him up. Even when he went outside with Andrew, he thought about knocking the other man out, taking his plow, and leaving. The man limped, it wouldn’t have been too hard to overpower him. Even without the limp, Doug could have smashed him to pieces. The only thing stopping him was the promise he made to himself to help Destiny, even if she really didn’t want it. He frightened her. While he’s sitting in jail, he will have to figure out a way to help her. Noise from the driver’s seat disturbed his doomed thoughts. Confused, he turned towards Matt.

  “What?”

  “I said, you don’t seem to belong with this group that’s doing this to Destiny. You’re a better person than they are.”

  Matt suddenly held Doug’s attention completely, all thoughts of jail and fear pushed to the back of his mind.

  “How am I any better than they are? I’m the one who took her up there and left her.”

  The smile on Matt’s face confused Doug even more.

  “You want to help her. That’s very noble of you. I have the feeling you didn’t want to be involved in any of this to start with. When they arrested Lenny, they ran both of you through the system and you came up clean except for a couple of things when you were younger. Besides, I deal with bad guys all the time and you don’t fit the bill.”

  “Noble? Me?”

  Doug was shaking his head, caught up in Matt’s words, his mouth moving as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how.

  “Yeah, you.”

  Matt laughed softly. This guy probably never had a compliment in his life. Matt spent a little time with Lenny, questioning him about what he was doing on the mountain. Of course, Lenny stuck to his original story. He also became belligerent and acted superior to Matt as well as the other officers. Lenny was a slimeball. His rap sheet was clean, but Matt was positive that was because Lenny simply got others like Doug to do his dirty work.

  “You could have gotten in your truck and left when Lenny went to jail. Hightailed it right out of here. Instead, you went back to that mountain, not knowing what could happen to you. You made a mistake by getting involved and bringing her here, but then you tried to make it right. That’s pretty noble in my eyes.”

  Doug’s head switched directions while Matt was talking. It now went up and down instead of side to side.

  “I wanted to fix it. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

  “I know Doug. Now we are going to work together and help her. This building up here on the right is the police station.”

  Doug looked at the house-like building Matt pointed to. It didn’t look like the police stations in Vegas. It reminded him of the old school down the road from his mom’s house. Pointed roof, windows in the front, painted a light blue. As the Bronco neared the parking lot, Doug craned his neck to get a better look at the length of brick extending from the back of the modified house. That part certainly looked like a police station. Long, brick, small narrow windows set high in the walls. Definitely institutional. As Matt parked the Bronco in a designated space directly in front of the building, Doug turned to him, holding his arms out in front of him, wrists together.

  “I’ll let you put the cuffs on me now. I won’t fight you.”

  Raising one eyebrow, Matt placed his hand on Doug’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  “I’m not going to put cuffs on you at all. You aren’t being arrested. Even if you decide you don’t want to help after all, you can turn around and walk away at any time. I’ll even drive you back up to Andrew’s place so you can get your truck.”

  Releasing his grip on Doug, Matt nonchalantly scooped up what he needed from the truck, donned his hat, opened the door, and stepped out of the vehicle. Doug sat stiffly, arms still outstretched while Matt waited patiently on the sidewalk in front of the station. Finally letting his arms relax, Doug opened his own door and got out. The parking lot and sidewalks were clean of snow and ice although the bushes against the building held mounds of crisp white snow. It was warmer here than on the mountain despite chilling winds that intermittently sprung up.

  Matt held the door open for Doug to walk into the police station, quickly entering behind him, pulling the door shut against the brisk wind. Doug remained cautiously by the front door as Matt walked around him. The room was warm and inviting. Comfortable waiting chairs sat unused in the space closest to the door. Plants in colorful planters adorned the tables in the corners. Magazines spread across a large coffee table in the center of the room on a bright carpet. A coffee pot and water cooler took up another table against the far wall. A pink box of doughnuts and muffins beckoned to Doug from next to the coffee pot. His stomach growled, protesting the torture of the heavenly scents of coffee and doughnuts, and from some unseen source, curiously, cinnamon.

  “Doug, help yourself to coffee and doughnuts.”

  Matt briskly walked into the office of the station through a section of the counter that swung away as he pushed against it. Doug didn’t pay any more attention to Matt as he focused in on the pink box. After placing two custard filled long johns on a napkin, and pouring a cup of dark steamy coffee, Doug went to the swinging half door set into the counter.

  The office area took up the rest of the original one room building. Windows were spaced evenly along both sides. A solid security door in the center of the back wall marked the entrance to the jail cells. Six desks, three on each side, occupied the space between the counter and the back wall. Matt was standing at one of them, talking to the same girl Doug and Lenny talked to in the diner. She sat in a chair at the desk, rolling her eyes at Matt. The sheriff stood rigid, surprising Doug with a rare show of impatience and irritation.

  “It’s one little candle. I promise I won’t let it burn the building down!”

  “Doreen! How many times do I have to tell you it’s a fire hazard? You could get up and talk to someone at the counter and the candle could tip over.”

  “Geez Matt. I would see if it tipped over. Besides, the only people who come in here are the ones mooching coffee and doughnuts.” Her cheeks reddened as she spotted the man who quietly entered with Matt. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you.”

  “It’s okay.” Doug shrugged.

  Remembering Doug was there, Matt gave Doreen one last waggle of his finger and the millionth warning glance. In return, Doreen stuck her tongue out at Matt as only a little sister can.

  “Doreen, have you ordered lunch yet?”

  “Uh no, it’s only eleven. I’m not hungry yet.”

  She was flippant. Not only to spite Matt’s warning tone, but because of it.

  “Doreen.”

  Amused, she suppressed a giggle as Matt glared at her, smiling, but with all teeth, his lips barely-there thin strips.

  “This gentleman’s name is Doug. I am going to be working with him for the next several hours on an extremely important case. I would like you to order lunch please.”

  The eyes rolled again.

  “Oh man, did Mrs. Bristol lose her cat again? Last time, she called us, the fire department, the paramedics from County,
and she made two calls to the National Guard branch over in Leyton!”

  No one got under Matt’s skin. Ever. No one except Doreen. The girl never stopped talking, and some of the things that came out of her mouth were so outrageous Matt thought he would have to peel people off the ceiling. She also knew everything about everyone and had no qualms about sharing her knowledge with anyone who would listen. He only told her what she needed to know, which most of the time, was very little. The special case in question was no exception. She did seem to curtail her tongue when police matters fell across her ears, unless it was bound to be public knowledge soon anyway.

  “No Doreen, It is not Mrs. Bristol’s cat. Listen up. Serious police business.”

  If he spoke slowly, maybe it would sink in through her thick skull. If she rolled her eyes at him one more time, he could not be held responsible for handcuffing her and locking her in the closet with the mop.

  “Everything with you is serious.”

  Placing his knuckles on her desk, Matt leaned down, glaring into her laughing eyes as she muffled her giggles behind her hand.

  “You know you’re adopted, right?”

  The giggles broke forth as she jumped up from behind the desk.

  “Don’t I wish?”

  Gracefully, she swooshed through the office space, snapping the interior latch on the swinging door. As Doug cautiously entered the area behind the counter, Doreen bent at the waist in an exaggerated bow, arm outstretched, welcoming him in.

  “Please excuse my brother’s horrible manners. He was raised by chimps you know. My darling mother took pity on the poor child and tried to make him human. Too bad she failed.”

  Doug stopped in the middle of the path between the desks, unsure of where to go from there. She was kidding about the chimp part. At least Doug hoped she was kidding, but he looked at the sheriff to be sure. One corner of Matt’s lip curled upward, his brows together, trying to be stern, but the humor in his eyes gave him away.

  “Doreen, call over to the diner and order lunch please? Doug, what would you like?”

  Doug shrugged again. He had some money Lenny left in the truck for gas, and he ate at the diner the night before, but he couldn’t think of anything on the menu. The imp of a girl leaning on the counter was distracting him. And the most interesting thing about her was she didn’t seem to be frightened of him at all. She actually stood there looking him straight in the eye. She didn’t avert her gaze or stammer in his presence. She was even smiling at him. He smiled back.

  “C’mon, big guy. I’m buying. You can have anything you want. They have great burgers and fries. The big potato kind, not the skimpy little frozen things. Or if you feel like breakfast, they serve this omelet thing that will keep you full for days.”

  Nodding, Doug thought it all sounded good.

  “Burger and fries please. Can I have cheese on the burger?”

  “Absolutely. Doreen, get two of the lunch specials loaded with everything. Oh, and order a couple of slices of Nancy’s pecan pie for dessert.”

  Doreen was already on the phone at the counter placing the order. Matt directed Doug to sit in a chair at the very last desk opposite from where Doreen sat. Before taking a seat at his place behind the desk, Matt blew out the candle, picked the jar up from the bottom, and carried it to his desk, hiding it on the floor behind the trashcan. Settling into the leather, Matt noticed Doug had not taken his eyes from Doreen. Doug didn’t look at her like an animal spotting prey, but more like a choirboy adoring his Sunday school teacher.

  “Don’t let her spiked tongue fool you. She’s a good kid and an excellent assistant. Research, dispatch, counselor. She does a good job around here, although sometimes I want to gag her.”

  Doug quickly tore his gaze from Doreen and looked at Matt before turning a brilliant shade of red and dropping his eyes to examine the remaining doughnut in his hand.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to stare at her. I just don’t know if I have ever seen anyone like her.”

  Softening his tone, but still maintaining his humor, Matt didn’t want to frighten Doug. The big guy was skittish enough.

  “She’s like a lot of people. What makes you think she’s different? Besides the big mouth?”

  Doug glanced back at Doreen, who was walking back to her desk and discovering her candle gone. Without missing a beat, she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a white candle. Vanilla wafted through the air. Doug’s eyes looked to Matt.

  “She doesn’t look scared.”

  “She must buy those things in bulk.”

  Distracted by his irritation, it took Matt a few seconds to realize what Doug said.

  “Of course she’s not scared. What would she be scared of?”

  Shrugging, Doug resumed his inspection of the doughnut.

  “You think she should be scared of you? Did you jump out and yell ‘boo’ or something? Why should she be scared?”

  Another shrug. As Matt watched, he could almost see Doug’s self esteem dropping.

  “Is this another of those things Lenny convinced you of? That you’re scary? I have the feeling Lenny spent a lot of time destroying you emotionally so he could control you. Well, stick with me Doug. We will have you on top of the world in no time.”

  Doug’s curiosity shone as his eyes lifted from his hands. “When I was a little kid. I wanted to be a cop. Lenny and me would play cops and bad guys, and he always made me be the bad guy cause he said I was too scary to be a cop and I looked like a bad guy.”

  “Well, today, you get to play like a cop. We are going to practice for a while, then call Charles. You up for it?”

  Doug sat up straighter in his chair, chin lifting, shoulders tipping back.

  “Yes I am.”

  Matt smiled. Progress. In the short time he knew Doug, this was the first time he heard him directly answer a question instead of nodding or shaking his head.

  23.

  Matt and Doug were almost finished practicing for the phone call when the tinkling of the bell attached to the front door alerted them someone entered the building. Before the bell finished jingling, a merry voice called out, “Hello! I brought you guys lunch! Big appetites today!”

  A tall voluptuous woman followed the singsong voice. A cascade of curly blonde hair held captive in a clip at the back of her head in an attempt to control the unruly mass. Escaping tendrils framed large, wide set eyes, high arched eyebrows and generous lips. Placing the box laden with wonderful odors on the counter, she slipped the latch free and let herself into the office. Doreen rose to greet the visitor and help unpack the box.

  “Nancy, thanks for bringing this over. You know Matt is working me like a dog.”

  Laughing at the expected absurd remark, Nancy caught sight of the men in the back corner.

  “Doesn’t he always? You know you have a cushy job, Doreen. I’ll trade you. You go work in the diner and I’ll stay here painting my nails.”

  Laughing, Nancy waggled her long fingers.

  Doreen joined in the amusement, always willing to laugh at herself as much as anyone else. Nancy removed two large Styrofoam containers from the box, expertly stacking them along with napkins and packets of condiments before advancing to the desk occupied by Matt and Doug. Placing the boxes on the spot Matt cleared at her approach, Nancy thrust her hand out to Doug.

  “Aren’t you a cute one? I don’t think we’ve met. I’m sure I would have remembered such a big strong man. My name is Nancy. I own the diner here in town.”

  Matt and Doreen exchanged matching glances as Doreen unloaded more containers. Cute? Doug? Matt shrugged and Doreen giggled, but both of them looked at Doug who sat up straight in his chair, eyes wide, the slack look replaced by a goofy grin and a blush that started from his neck and raced across his cheeks. Doug stood, shyly extending his hand to meet Nancy’s. Gripping his meaty palm with both of her hands, the touch became less of a handshake and more of a caress.

  “I’m Doug. I’m, uh…”

  “
Doug is here working on a case with me.” Leaving it at that, Matt bit into his burger. Nancy took the hint. Matt wouldn’t reveal anything until he was good and ready.

  “I see. How interesting. Well, I have to get back anyway.”

  Doug’s hand remained in hers.

  “Stop by the diner when you are done here, or come by for dinner. I’ll make sure you get something special.”

  Preparing to leave, Nancy let go of Doug’s hand.

  “I put in extra big slices of pecan pie for you all. Let me know if you like it.”

  The last comment came from over Nancy’s shoulder as she walked to the swinging counter door. Another smile and wink for the astonished Doug, and out the door she went.

  Even after she was gone, Doug kept staring at the swinging door where she winked at him. Matt finished off his burger, leisurely dipping a thick slice of fried potato in ketchup.

  “Doug? You plan on eating your lunch? We can put it in the fridge if you’ve lost your appetite.”

  Returning to the present time and place from the past where Nancy still stood at the door, Doug quickly slipped back into his typical personality. Jaw dropping, eyes shocked. Matt thought for a moment he may have to wipe drool from the poor man’s chin.

  “Was she talking to me? Did you see her? I think she winked. At me.”

  Chair tipped back, feet on the desk, Doreen giggled.

  “Oh Doug! I think Nancy’s got the hots for you!”

  The flush spreading across Doug’s cheeks grew into a rich crimson mottling into lighter shades. Grinning around a bite of hamburger, he was unable to show proper manners in his current amazed condition.

  “Leave him alone.”

  Matt didn’t attempt to hide his enjoyment at Doug’s response to Nancy.

  “Doreen, I’m going to call Sammy while Doug finishes eating. You are not, I repeat not to tell a soul anything you hear. We are going into confidence mode now. Got it?”

  “Yes, master. I got it.”

  She made a twisting motion with her fingers in front of her lips, and then pretended to toss the imaginary key over her shoulder.

  Dialing the memorized number, Matt patiently listened to the handset ring four times before the familiar voice answered.