Scorned (22 page)

              The door to the women’s bathroom opened again. Another lady was looking to use the facilities, but the sound of dry heaving alerted her that someone was in trouble. She knocked on the stall door. “You okay Hon?”

              “No, I need to get out of here.”

              “Okay, let me get you some help. Is there someone you’re here with? Maybe I can have one of the waiters find them for you.”

              “No, please, I don’t want him to see me like this.”

              The woman exited the bathroom and called one of the servers over. She explained the situation to him before escorting him over to Claire.

              “Ma’am, do you want us to call you a cab?”

              “Yes, pleas.” She rattled off her address to the stranger, hoping she could trust him with her semi-conscious body. He did his best to keep Claire awake and helped her up to her feet when the cab arrived. “Come on; I’m going to help you outside.”

              “I-don’t-wanna my date-see me.” Claire made no sense to the server. In his mind she was just some woman that got too drunk and was now wasting his time.

              The man took off his jacket, placed it around Claire’s neck and tucked her head to his chest as he led her from the restaurant. The warm summer night air hit her as the night sky and street lamps blurred together. The server escorted Claire to a waiting car and placed her gently in the backseat. He entered the driver’s side and placed the key in the ignition.

              “Don’t worry Claire. I’ve got you. He won’t hurt you ever again. Together, we’ll make sure he never hurts anyone or touches another woman again.”

Chapter 26-Ali

              The luminescent glow of the video room lit up the otherwise dark Tech Department. It was eleven o’clock, everyone had gone home for the night except for a few stragglers and me. I decided to stay, desperately searching for some connection; a suspect; anything that could turn up a potential suspect in the Ambrose murder. Each tape consisted of a sexual conquest that he may or may not have drugged. Comparing the pictures of his victims to the blurred image we pulled from Whiskey J’s security footage was a near impossible task.

              The effects of spending fifteen hours cooped up in a room watching video after video of Ambrose bringing unsuspecting women to his play room had taken its toll on me. The dryness in my eyes made it harder to keep them open. Using my thumb and index finger, I pinched the bridge of my nose in hopes of staying awake just a little while longer. I glanced to my left and found my supposed partner passed out in a few chairs. Little snores interrupted his otherwise silent breathing pattern. He actually looked kind of cute that way.

              I was on the verge of passing out too. My black pumps lay on the floor by the chair, my feet were propped up on the desk with the laptop resting on my legs and a cold Chinese food container in my hands. I had yet to turn up anything from the videos and had only a few left. There was no point in both of us sitting through them. I nudged Thornton with my foot. “Hey, wake up.”

              “Five more minutes,” he replied in a sleepy voice. I kept pushing his leg with my foot until I kicked him in his thigh. “Ow, what the hell?” His large hands covered the spot I kicked at as his eyes darted my way. Apparently he was hit harder than I thought.

              “You should probably go home. You’ve been here since yesterday.”

              He let out a big yawn and stretched his arms. “What time is it?”

              “Just after eleven. You should go home and get some sleep.”

              “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He stood up and moved to tuck in his shirt. He caught me staring at him. “Take a picture Detective; it’ll last longer.”

              I averted my eyes. “Sorry, you just look, well better with the shirt untucked. I mean you look less like a pompous jackass.”

              “There’s the smart mouth I can’t go a day without.” He caught me glancing at him from the corner of my eyes. He untucked the rest of his shirt and let it fall down around his waist. “Better?”

              I turned to him. I don’t know if it was me trying to rebound from my heart breaking or if something else came over me. I bit my lip and for a brief moment I replayed the times he kissed me over again in my head. Images of me ripping his wrinkled blue striped shirt open and running my hands down his chest filled my mind.

              “Everything okay,” Thornton asked.

              I hid my face trying not to blush. “Yeah, I’m fine. I-I’ll see you tomorrow Detective Thornton.” I don’t know why I used his official title. Maybe it was a defense mechanism, or just another way to keep him at bay.

              He advanced on me. “Ali, can you stop with the formalities?” His fingers tucked under my chin. “Please, just call me James.”

              I was melting at his touch. Damn, was I that hard up for affection that all he had to do was touch a finger to my chin to have me begging for more.

              I nodded curtly. “It’s definitely an improvement.” I turned my attention back to the monitors. “You should go home and get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be another long day.”

              He opened the door and waited, as if he expected me to follow him out to the parking lot. “You’re staying here?”

              “Uh huh.”

              “Don’t you think you should take your own advice?”

              “Nope.” I continued watching the video trying my best to ignore James as he tried to convince me to go home.

              “Come on Ali; you can’t stay here all night. You should go home.”

              “Why? There’s nothing there for me.” Detective Thornton stared at me with a perplexed look on his face. I rolled my eyes at him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but my boyfriend and I broke up last night.”

              “Is that why you’ve been such a joy to be around today?” He let out a brief chuckle before wiping the smile from his face. “Sorry, did you wanna talk about it?”

              “There’s not much to talk about. We were together for about a year. He hated me being a cop and told me he hated coming in second to the job. Finally he got too pissed off and decided he wanted me to quit the force.”

              James turned bright red. “You told him to go to hell; right?”

              “Not in those exact words. But I told him it was non-negotiable.”

              He came closer and took my hand. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, but you did the right thing. You were born to be a cop.”

              I slid my hand out of his grasp. I sat upright and rigid in the chair. “I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.”

              “Fine, but I’m not going to let you burry yourself in this crap to avoid your problems.” He reached over and turned off the video equipment.

              “What are you gonna do, babysit me all night?”

              “If I need to.” He began disconnecting the wires while I tried to quickly reconnect them. “You want me to go home and rest up, than you have to do the same.” He stood with his arms folded.

              “Fine,” I growled while packing up my things. I forcefully shoved my heels back on my feet while giving him the evil eye and stormed out of the video room. I could hear Detective Thornton’s feet slapping against the pavement to keep up in the parking lot, but I wasn’t in the mood to continue our little verbal sparring. I ducked inside my car and sped off before he could say another word.

              I refused to go home. Part of it was to completely defy my partner’s demand. No one controlled me or what I did. I was determined to prove that, at least that’s what I was telling myself. In reality, I just didn’t want to sleep another night alone in that bed or in that house. When I peeled out of the parking lot, I decided to head for the one place that was still mine, a place that I frequented many times, especially if I needed to forget about life for a while.

              I parked on one of the side streets and locked my shield and glock in the glove compartment. The block long walk culminated in an uphill climb. The heels on my shoes dug into my feet the entire way, but after a few shots, none of that would matter. The green awning of my favorite bar/restaurant welcomed me as I stood on the corner of Main Street. A small line of girls that barely looked like they were twenty-one, stood outside hoping the bouncer would let them in.

              I approached the line and overheard the girls asking if they really thought chalking the ID would work. I bypassed the girls and walked up to the large black man that blocked the entrance. “Hey Davis, you might wanna double check those girls’ IDs when they come up here. Someone’s talking about chalking theirs.”

              “Thanks Ali,” the bouncer replied. Davis was a sweet guy and worked at P&G for years. I used to talk to him all the time when I frequented the place in my single days. So it came as no surprise that I’d run into him the first time I went out after my break-up. I stepped up to the door and paid the fee to get in. The group of girls approached seconds later. I could hear Davis grilling the girls about their IDs and flat out denied one of them entry. He glanced back at me with a look of satisfaction. I nodded and entered the bar.

              Swirling neon lights cut through the darkness with ease as the crowds of people blended into the shadows. Even as a cop, I couldn’t tell one person from another. It was no wonder why the cameras couldn’t capture a clear image of our suspect’s face.
Shit, even when I tried to relax and drink my problems away, I still had work on the brain. What the hell is wrong with me?

              I grabbed one of the few empty stools and pulled it up to the bar. The guy behind the counter grinned at the sight of me. I didn’t know him, but his eyes said he recognized me. He held up one finger to signal he would be over in a minute while he used his other hand to pour the contents of a shaker into three shot glasses.

              He slid over to me moments later with a dish towel tucked in his hand. “Hey there; what’ll it be?”

              “Three shots of tequila and a beer.”

              The bartender raised his eyebrow as he measured out the tequila into the metal cylinder. “So where ya friends?” He took three shot glasses and lined them up in a row. The shaker’s contents spilled into the warm glasses.

              “Fuck that; these are mine.” I took the first shot and knocked it back. The liquid burned my throat as I swallowed it. The second was almost as bad as the first. I felt nothing by the third one. I grabbed the bottle of beer and slurped it down.

              I spent the next hour switching between shots and drinking a beer. I figured the combination of the two would either make me really drunk or really sick. Either way, I wouldn’t be thinking about Matthew. Regardless, I was free and having fun for the first time in months. Ali the Wildcat was making her return and was about to have the night of my life.

              The music changed. The DJ had the beat pumping loudly through the speakers playing techno beats mixed with some of the more popular songs that were way over played on the radio. I couldn’t help but hit the dance floor. I swayed from side to side keeping up with the beat. It was fast paced. It was intense. It was…

              “Ali, what the hell are you doing?” I turned around to see who was shouting my name. I stumbled right into the man’s body. I looked up and found Detective James Thornton staring back at me.

              “What are you doing here?”

              “Trying to stop you from making a big mistake.” I tried to dance away from him, but his hands wrapped around my waist.

              I was brought closer to him, close enough to get a whiff of his man scent. “I’m having fun. You can either have fun with me or you can get lost.” I turned to walk away, but his hand caught my wrist. I spun on my heel, returning with an open hand to slap him. But he was too quick for me. He blocked me and pinned my arms to my sides. Thrill raked my insides. Forgetting for one moment who he was and what I was doing, I lunged forward planting a kiss on his lips. His grip loosened and dropped my hands. He moved to embrace me, but I had something better in mind. My fingers grabbed a hold of his shirt for support as I drove my knee into his groin.

              “Don’t ever touch me or kiss me again,” I spat. But James wouldn’t be denied. He crawled to his feet and threw and arm around my waist. I fought and clawed his hands. Then I felt something snap around one wrist. My arm was yanked back, then the other. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

              “Arresting you,” he laughed.

              “You can’t be serious right now.”

              “Ali Ryan, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, you will be appointed one.”

              “What the hell are you charging me with?” By now the crowd started turning their attention to us.

              “For starters, you assaulted a police officer.”

              “You put your hands on me first.”

              “Only to stop you from doing something you’d regret. Now, are you coming with me or do we need to continue this little game?”

              “Fuck you! Get your stupid cuffs off me.”

              “The hard way it is.” He scooped me into his arms and draped me over his shoulder while pushing his way out of bar. Davis tried to stop him, but Thornton already had his badge out and shoved it in his face. He continued down the street to his car and directed me into the passenger seat with my arms pinned behind my back.

              Knowing I was helpless and at the mercy of my arresting officer, I stopped struggling and calmed myself. “Can you at least drive with the top down?”

              He smiled and revved the engine. The roof slowly cranked revealing the night sky. “Better?”

              I rested my head on the chair and closed my eyes. “Yes, now take me to bed.” A chuckle escaped me. “I mean take me home.”

              James obliged and sped out of New Paltz. The wind whipped through my hair and made me feel like I was flying.