Lucky Thirteen (23 page)

28

Things that Go Bump in the Dark

U
po
n
leaving the courthouse, the unlikely quintet comprised of Detective Raiford Reynolds, Agent Christine Milovich, Prosecutor Robert LaFontaine, Raiford Gautier, and Larkin Sloan went to dinner to celebrate the resolution to a very trying time. The other agents and Brian Baker, along with Olivia, his wife, joined them for a short time before the agents prepared to head back to FBI headquarters. Chris had made arrangements to stay longer to ensure Latrice was properly incarcerated.

Dinner consisted of never-ending pasta at the nearest Olive Garden, along with numerous glasses of champagne, prompting Raif to declare, “I guess we all
know why we brought my car. I’m the DD.”

Nobody differed with Raif’s
statement. The agents ate, toasted victory, and left. Baker and his wife left shortly afterward. However, after a couple of hours, Ray finally snarled at LaFontaine, “For God’s sake! Get your hands off the woman!” when Robert took Larkin’s hand in his.

“Ray
! Mind your own business,” Larkin hissed.

“I am,” Ray argued.

“No, you’re not. You’re minding
mine
. I think we’ve celebrated long enough.” She calmly placed her napkin on the table.

With the check paid, the group left the restaurant
. Raif whispered to Chris, “Sit in the back with Robert and Larkin
please
. I’d like to avoid bloodshed in my car.”

Chris nodded
and whispered, “Just don’t put me between Ray and Robert.”

Raif delivered everyone safely home
beginning with Larkin. He dropped Robert at his apartment and Chris at her hotel. He scowled at Ray, whom he intended to take home with him. He passed Ray’s turnoff.

“What are you doing?”
Ray groused.

“Being your big brother
. What the hell is wrong with you? If you want Larkin, go for her, but stop making a fool of yourself.”

“Hasn’t she made it clear that she doesn’t want me?”

“No, but she has made it quite plain she doesn’t want to be with a jerk.”

“Ha!”
Ray laughed sardonically. “Then why is she letting LaFontaine fondle her?”

“Jeez
! Ray, what is it with you and Robert?”

“Nothing
. I don’t like him.” He grunted. “That’s all.”

“No, it’s not
.” Twin intuition kicked in. “It’s Mia, isn’t it? Your former fiancée went to Robert when you and she broke up. He’s
Rob
, that so-called best friend you mentioned.” He glanced at his brother. “Am I right?”

“Yeah! You’re right!
” shouted Ray. “Then he went to a hundred more women, and Mia was too self-absorbed to realize she threw away someone who loved her. Larkin is doing the same thing, and he’ll break her heart.”

Raif pulled
onto the shoulder of the road and stopped the car. “Talk to me, Ray. What really happened? You know everything about me. You know all about Abigail. Why can’t you share this with me?”

Ray laughed bitterly
. “Raif, you don’t even know all about you and your ex, and I don’t want to lose my brother now that I’ve found him.”

“What are you babbling about?”
Passing headlights illuminated Raif’s confused frown.

“What happened to you in New Orleans is at least partly my fault.”

“How do you figure that? What the hell are you talking about?” Irritation began to edge the brother’s tone though his volume remained low.

“Robert
…Your mugging…If I hadn’t stayed with him to get a tattoo, I could’ve stopped it. I know who did it. I was there at Mardi Gras. They were my fraternity brothers. Maybe being associated with me is the problem. Maybe I’m the monster that goes bump in the dark.”

“
Fooyay! Fooyay! Fooyay!
You are so full of bullshit.” Raif hit the steering wheel in frustration. “Or maybe it’s just booze tonight. Are you trying to drive me away? Is that what you want so you can wallow in self-pity? Ray, absolutely nothing that has happened to me is your fault.
Nothing
, Ray. Absolutely nothing that happened to Larkin before you met her is your fault. What happens to her from here on out might be your fault if you don’t get over what happened with Mia and Robert. One of the best things you can do is talk about it. Stop keeping everything bottled up inside.”

Ray drew back his fist all the way to his shoulder for maximum force and started to punch the windshield
.

“Whoa!” Raif barked
. “If you break my windshield, you
will
pay for it, brother or not. Now, stop acting like such a damned idiot and talk to me.”

Ray grunted, slouched back into the seat, and folded his arms over his chest, looking like a petulant child.

Raif unsnapped his seatbelt and pivoted in the driver’s seat to look squarely at his brother. “We are not budging from this spot until you talk to me.”

Ray released a deep, heavy, almost tearful sigh
. “Four years ago, I was still a patrolman. It wasn’t long before I became a detective. Brian Baker was my partner. We responded to a domestic disturbance call. The woman’s drugged-out husband was holding a gun to the head of her child, a boy about thirteen or fourteen. The man had his arm around the boy’s throat, dragging him backwards. Boy and Mom were screaming. The guy turned his gun on us.” Ray dropped his arms and stiffened his back.

“Then what?” Raif prompted.

“The kid was gutsy. He jostled the jerk’s arm, and we were able to disarm the low-life.” He paused.

Raif encouraged, “Go on.”

“Yeah, yeah. But not before the gun discharged and struck me in the shoulder. It’s ironic,” Ray continued. “The kid was Dupree Parks. I recognized him in lockup, but he didn’t recognize me out of uniform. He came between his mother and her slug of a husband and almost got killed for it. Dwight Funchess, that was the slug’s name. He had used her for a punching bag for a long time. The poor woman was covered in scars. Her eye was almost swollen shut and her lip was encrusted with blood.” Ray clenched and unclenched his fists. “I got shot, not life threatening, but Mia completely freaked out.” Recounting the event had taken him back to the place and time. He hit his shoulder where his scar was located.

“Freaked out how?”

“We had only been engaged a month. I wasn’t even out of the hospital when she walked into my room and announced she couldn’t handle being a cop’s wife.” Ray snorted. “She handed me her engagement ring right in front of a damned nurse. When I was discharged, I went to talk to her.” He held up two fingers. “Two days. That’s all it took. Robert was there, shirt unbuttoned, hair tousled; and she was wearing lingerie. I’m not a fool. I put two and two together. It was going on before I got shot.” Ray ran his fingers through his hair.

Raif listened with
little interruption. With a low whistle, he said, “Finish, Ray.”

Aft
er a great sigh, Ray continued. “Two months later, Mia caught Robert cheating on her. She wanted to get back together. All I could do was to ask her how it felt. I just couldn’t do it. Not only had she betrayed me, but with my best friend. Robert and I were fraternity brothers and roommates at LSU. We had been friends since we were six. I think his actions hurt more than hers. I’m sorry, Raif, I just can’t get past it.

“And, now, he’s after Larkin
.” Ray shook his head as if trying to shake the thought from his mind. “Raif, she’s a virgin. He’ll hurt her in more ways than one. God! When I think about him and her, I get nauseous. I could kill him.”

“Ray, Larkin is not a fool,” Raif consoled
. “She will
not
sleep with him. Give her some credit.”

“He’s as charismatic and persuasive as Latrice
.” Ray continued to sulk. “That’s why he’s such a damned good lawyer. I’ll give him his credit where it’s due.”

Raif stared at his mirror image
. “Tell the woman you love her for Pete’s sake.”

“You’re a fine one to talk
! Now, take me home. I wanna wake up with a hangover in my own toilet. And don’t you say a damned thing to Larkin.”

Raif didn’t argue
but drove his brother home. Back at his place, he called Chris. “I just wanted to tell you good night,” he said when she answered.

“Is everything all right?”

“It is now.”

“
Well, good night then,” Chris said, confusion weighting her words.

“Good night.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“Yeah, finally.”

♣♣♣

After retrieving his car the next day, Ray dragged into his office. Chris was already there packing her things.

“What’s going on?” Ray snarled after popping some more aspirin.

“I’ll be leaving as soon as Latrice is transported to the state mental institution.”

“That’s not until Monday.

“Yeah, I’m just getting prepared.” She paused as she held a snow globe of Santa using alligators rather than reindeer, a gift from some of the officers. She shook it and watched purple, green, and gold snowflakes fall before packing it in a box. “Dantzler, Swift, and Journey have already gone back. They’ll be back to testify. Steve’s analyses of the defendants are crucial. Did you notice that Patrick and Raif have become friends?”

“Yeah
. So what?”

“You’re in a horrible mood
. I knew you drank too much last night.”

“I needed more to watch LaFontaine paw Larkin.”

“Jealous?”

“Forget me
. Let’s talk about you and my brother.”

“There’s nothing to discuss
. After all, he took you home last night.” Chris winked and went to get coffee, leaving Ray to stew.

To make Ray feel even worse, his mother paid him a surprise visit
. She met Chris with warm affection and demanded to meet the man who should have been her other son and the girl who had captured Ray’s heart.

Ray said, “You already met Chris.”

Dorothy Reynolds furrowed her brow and scowled at her son. “Don’t play games with me, Raiford Michael Reynolds. I want to meet
Larkin
.”

“I don’t know if she’s even speaking to me.”

“What did you do?”

He moaned, not wanting to answer. Mrs. Reynolds glanced at Chris with hands outspread.

“He acted like a jealous fool last night at dinner,” offered Chris.

“Did he?” said Mrs. Reynolds
. “Well, suck it up and call. I want to meet her.”

Ray obediently called
since it was ten in the morning and he knew from Dr. Fairchild that Larkin would not be in a class and could answer her cell phone. “First,” he said, “I apologize for being rude last night. Second, my mother is in town and wants to meet.”

“I’ll make dinner.
I’d like to meet your mother. Bring Raif and Chris as well.”

“That sounds good,” said Ray
. “Larkin, are you inviting LaFontaine?”

“
It’s better if you two aren’t together. I’ll cook for him another time.”

Ray sighed deeply
. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“Why
? What reason do I have for not seeing Robert socially?”
All I want to hear is that you want to see me socially
.

“Never mind
. I won’t bad mouth the man. It would only blow up in my face. What time do you want us?”

“Eight works for me
. It’ll give me time to cook. Bring some white wine.”

“Yes, ma’am
. Larkin I…”

“Yes, Ray?”
she responded hopefully.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

♣♣♣

Ray took his mother to Bertram and Associates and introduced Raif. Dorothy took him by the shoulders. “It might be a little late, but I have every intention of spoiling you as much as I did Ray. Call me ‘Momma Reynolds.’”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She pulled him into a warm embrace. Raif could only return the affection.
It feels natural
, ran through his mind.

Ray interrupted, “Raif, Larkin is making dinner tonight. She wants you to come.” He grinned. “Chris will be there.”

“I’d love to. What time?”

“Eight.”

Dorothy patted both men’s arms. “Well, until then, I’m going to Ray’s place. My boys. Yes, indeed.”

Raif covered his mouth to hide a
n amused grin as Ray shrugged and followed his mother out the door.

By the time dinner with Larkin
arrived, a storm raged in full force. Larkin’s company practically floated into her house. Dorothy Reynolds met Larkin with the same affection she had shown Raif and Chris. The two felt they had known each other forever.