The Grace In Darkness (34 page)

“
I
’
ve been here for over an hour! When the hell will you tell me what
’
s going on?
”

“
Like I
’
ve told you for an hour, when there is something to tell, believe me when I say you will be the first to know.
”

“
Goddamn it, that
’
s not good enough!
”
I growled, banging my fists against the police counter.

Somewhere in the background someone had been typing on a keyboard and two other officers were discussing something. An older woman stood at a file cabinet and a man next to me was talking to another police officer. Every one of them stopped to turn toward me.

I didn
’
t care. Gripping the edge of the counter, I leaned forward between the gap of my arms and sucked in a deep breath.

I was going crazy out here waiting and not knowing what the hell was happening to Araya. I
’
d fought against the policemen that had been standing between me and Araya at the restaurant as they pulled her away from me. I felt like a caged animal, helpless to help her. I kept calling after her, telling her everything was going to be okay and that this was all a mistake, but she hadn
’
t even looked up at me. It scared the fuck out of me to see that blank look on her face.

I just needed to see her. Make sure she was… what? Okay? How could she be? She
’
d been arrested and accused of
murder
and pushed through the restaurant like a fucking criminal! It was ridiculous!

“
Do they know she
’
s blind?
”
I asked, lifting my head toward the officer.
“
Do they realize how asinine accusing a blind girl of murder is? Do they at least know that?
”

“
Please have a seat, Mr. Dare.
”

I glared at the officer, who couldn
’
t be much older than myself, for a full minute before I pushed away from the counter and spun around. Falling into one of the plastic seats, I dropped my head into my hands and ground my thumbs into my eyes until I saw spots.

There was an explosion of noise at the entrance a few minutes later. I wouldn
’
t have even bothered paying attention to it if I hadn
’
t recognized the voice. I jumped up from my chair as one of the detectives from tonight was being followed by three policemen and my brother.

“
This is some fucked-up shit.
”
Sebastian
’
s words were slurred and I knew he
’
d been drinking.

“
Sebastian?
”
I moved to follow them, but I was stopped once again. I clenched my fists and tried to ease the urge to punch the officer holding me back.

“
Ryland?
”
He was trying to turn and twist against the officers holding his arm behind his back.
“
What are you doing here?
”
He dragged his feet and struggled as they tried to pull him to the back.

“
They arrested Araya.
”

He seemed to instantly sober and his face lost all of its color. I ignored the twinge of anger that flared for his protectiveness over the girl I loved.

“
What? Why?
”

“
They
’
re accusing her of murder.
”

His eyes thinned and hardened.
“
Craze,
”
he said with no question in his voice.

“
How did you—
”

“
Call Jacobs. Call him now!
”

“
I did! He
’
s not—
”
They didn
’
t give Sebastian time to respond before they were pulling him through the back.

I moved to the counter and slapped my hand against the laminate.

“
Why the hell is my brother here? Does this have something to do with Craze, too?
”

“
All I can tell you is that he is being brought in for questioning.
”

“
But charges haven
’
t been made yet?
”

“
I
’
m sorry, Mr. Dare. That
’
s all I can say right now.
”

“
This is fucking ridiculous!
”

I felt helpless as I stood there still with no answers to any of the millions of questions running through my head. All I knew was that I needed to see Araya. I needed to wrap my arms around her and protect her from whatever was happening right now. But I couldn
’
t do that if they wouldn
’
t let me see her.

Sitting down again, I leaned back against the chair and let my head rest on the hard surface of the wall. My mind was telling me all I could do was wait, but my body fought against the limitations of sitting here.

I pulled out my phone and went to recent calls. His number took up the top fifty spots, and I clicked on it and listened to the ring.

“
Ryland?
”
Jacobs finally answered on the fifth ring.

I nearly fell out of my chair.
“
Jacobs. Holy shit, it
’
s about time.
”

“
I
’
m on my way, son. Is Sebastian already there?
”

“
Yeah… how did you know…?
”

“
Your father called me.
”

Of course he did.
“
Is he coming down here?
”

“
I believe he is on his way.
”

“
How long will it take you to get here?
”

“
Fifteen minutes.
”

“
I
’
ll see you in fifteen, then.
”

I splashed my face with cold water and let it
drip into the sink. I stared at the rusty scum around the drain until my eyes crossed. Looking up into the mirror, I hardly recognized myself.

I
’
d run my fingers through my hair so many times in the last four hours that it was sticking out everywhere. My eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot and I was sure I
’
d rubbed them raw. I had dark circles under them and my skin appeared clammy and pale.

I was going crazy without answers, and no one wanted to tell me what the hell was going on. It
’
d been two hours since Jacobs and J.D. had gone back, and they still hadn
’
t come out. I sat out there listening to the hands of the clock tick, the keys on a keyboard, the metal scraping every time they opened and shut that file drawer. There was only so much more I could take before I stormed back looking for Araya.

I dried my hands and pushed through the bathroom door. I stopped short when I saw one of the detectives that had been at the restaurant leaning there, waiting.

“
Are you finally going to tell me what the hell is going on?
”
I demanded.

“
Why don
’
t you come with me, Mr. Dare?
”
He tilted his head toward the doors leading to the back.

“
I want to see Araya,
”
I said without moving.

“
Let
’
s talk and we
’
ll see what we can do, okay?
”

I weighed my options. I could stand here and slowly go insane or I could go in the back and be that much closer to Araya. There was no debate. I walked past him toward the doors.

“
What do you want to talk about?
”

He walked past me through the dimly lit hall and pushed open a door to a small interrogating room.

“
Have a seat, Mr. Dare.
”
He set down the folder he
’
d been carrying and pulled out the chair opposite me.

“
Am I a suspect now?
”
I asked, pulling out the chair and slouching in it.

“
I just want to talk to you. Figure out if you can get us any new information that might help out Miss Noelle.
”

I noted that he didn
’
t say yes or no.

“
What about Sebastian?
”

“
Well, it looks like big, bad Daddy Dare will be getting your brother out of here.
”

“
What about Araya? Has our lawyer seen her yet? I don
’
t understand why she
’
s being charged… or how…
”

“
There was Miss Noelle
’
s DNA found on Mr. Curt
’
s body. We also found this with her prints on it in his apartment.
”

He placed a baggie on the table and pushed it at me. I stopped it before it could fall off the edge and looked at the bag long and hard. I stared at Araya
’
s necklace. Throwing it down in the middle of the table, I didn
’
t say anything.

“
Does it look familiar?
”