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Author's Chapter Notes:
Yay, another update. Finally
“I don’t believe a word of it” Leighanne’s mom said her coffee cup clinking on the small saucer as she put her drink down. Harold looked at Jackie silently saying ‘I told you so’ with his eyes “You’re son, killed my daughter.

“Let’s not be drastic here” Harold leaned forward, the last he wanted at the meeting with the detectives the next day was another accusation to untwist.

“Drastic?” Leighanne’s mother asked “Drastic. Mr. Littrell, my daughter is dead” she roared.

“And we share our sympathy with you, we felt the loss as well, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t handle this like mature, civilized people.”

“You’re son should’ve been civilized enough to not run off the road. I heard he had a high alcohol content” Leighanne’s mother growled snootily.

Harold was about to blow a cannonball of slang swearwords at her but Jackie pressed him back speaking for them both, in a much more ‘civilized’ tone “Shirley, we loved Leighanne, and the lord knows Brian did, we don’t have the facts about this case, and we won’t until the case starts.”

“Maybe it’s best if we don’t speak till then, then” Shirley retorted mildly before she stood up and walked out of the room. Harold rubbed his face letting his head rest on the back of the couch.

“And to think, this baby might as well have caused the whole ordeal” he sighed. Jackie stood up picking up the coffee cup that Shirley had left.

“Please, can we focus on something else, just for a moment” Jackie asked taking the dish back to the sink.

“Sure, like where your son is. The long lost boy that hasn’t shown his face since the accident happened.”

“He was upset remember, because Brian didn’t recognize him. He’s like you, except for worse, when he gets mad he stays away for a long time.” Jackie came back to sit down by her husband.

“I do that, so I can cool off” Harold criticized, lifting his arm over the back of the couch.

“Harold” Jackie scooted in closer waiting for him to look at her “Brian needs all the support we can give him right now. Can you at least act like you think he’s innocent? We don’t know all of it, remember.”

The light from the window was shining in his eyes, giving him an incentive to lift his head and look at his wife “That’s the problem, he’s been hiding all of this behind our backs, I don’t know what to believe or not to believe.”

“Believe him. That’s all we can do right now, is believe him” she pulled his hand up to her cheek leaning her face in to kiss his palm “remember when he was so young, when he slipped on the gravel and we had to take him to the emergency room, and we thought we were going to loose him, but we prayed. We prayed and prayed for a miracle. For our fears to be wrong” she spoke softly “then this time, when we prayed again and again for another miracle.” Harold stared at her bewildered but concerned “All we can do now is pray. Pray that this will turn out right, that in the end he’ll make it through, we have to have faith in him, remember?” she tried to smile tears filling her eyes again, Harold watched in silence sighing “Don’t give up now” she whispered her words cut off as she kissed his palm again.


…………..


“Mom, Dad?” Brian tried to smile; it was Leighanne’s mother and step-father that walked into the room. It was early morning and Brian had just finished his breakfast, he put the fork down on the tray.

The expressions on his in-law’s faces’ were almost priceless. They took the cake on appearing like they had a huge pole up their rear ends “Brian” Shirley said between her clenched teeth, as she attempted a smile.

“I thought that you were, would be with – where are my parents?” he asked watching Shirley come closer.

“You killed my baby” she screamed almost ready to pounce on Brian, he could feel her hawk-like fingers wrap around his neck.

“Mother” he squeezed out, she was suffocating him “Shirley” he tried to scream, but nothing came out, he searched around frantically for the emergency button on the right of the bed, he found the small button, and pressed it down multiple times.

“You should’ve been the won that died that night” She screamed, her voice hitting a high pitch. Brian felt his grip on the bars slacken, he could see he was loosing consciousness, he was dying again. It was scary.

“Please stop” he cried in a pathetic whimper that barley made it past his lips.

“Ma’am. Get off of him.” A click of a gun sounded as Shirley stopped hissing. A male guard apprehended the enraged women, and she released her grip on Brian’s neck. He couldn’t see anything though now, everything was a blur, an insane obscure mess of light and dark blur.

The guards took her out the door and sent her to another room to sedate her “Hold her tight Billy” another guard hollered from behind him.

………..

(2Months, 3Days previous)

Detective Taylor slipped off her plastic gloves and walked back into the main hall of the large living room.

“Look’s like the woofy was a little too urgent not to get pregnant” she sighed sarcastically looking at her partner. Detective Campbell was prowling through Brian’s office.

“Well, he’s got nothing in here but music, and lyrics, and papers with scribbles on it, and some crazy fan mail that’s stuffed in the trash can – What’d you say? Woofy?” he looked up.

“That’s right, the wife, she was wearing condoms. Now please, tell me, what women wear’s condoms when she’s married I mean honestly” Detective Campbell stared back perplexed “She’s got that and extra protection, birth control pills.”

“She wasn’t joking about not wanting to screw up her career. If I were her husband I would leave too.” He chuckled.

“So you think he left, because he was being turned away.” Detective Taylor asked seriously.

“Well most women don’t go, well infact no women, would make her man wear that if they were married. She must’ve been getting around.”

“Should we share this with the parents?” she asked bagging the evidence.

“I hate to say it, but no. I think we should do a little bartering. The dad’s holdin’ out on us “Hey Pete, what you got on that laptop?”

“Nothing, this guy’s a clean freak, he visit’s eBay and Amazon, and does some clothes shopping once in a while, other than that it’s pure, music, and gospel duets to the sky.”

“He’s got to have something, why don’t you check his e-mail records, and her’s she’s dead right, so her’s would be legal.

“I’ll do what I can.” Pete smiled tapping the keys on the keyboard.

The rest of the crew scanned every nook and cranny bagging insurance files, and whatever data that deemed valuable enough.

“Got somethin’ here” Pete announced motioning for the two detectives to join him. “Claire, Danyelle is safe with my parent’s for the time being. I know thing’s are hard but I will be there soon…” he paused moving his finger down the page “love you for ever, Brian.”

Pete looked up, his brows raised as he looked at the detectives “He was having an affair, and she pinned him on it, she found out and so she pop’s him.” Detective Taylor set out her theory.

“Or, he pop’s her so he can be with his lover.”

“No, no, she had those condoms and everything in a stash inside some brown nylons. She meant business, she’s been shackin’ up the men when he’s been gone, and he’s been with Claire to fulfill his needs, and to take the role he’s always wanted. To emulate his father, to be one, to be important”

“One what” Detective Taylor asked.

“A father, that’s why he risked all of it, for the chance to be a dad. He has this predisposed need to have someone to care for. Leighanne, he found out didn’t fit the bill, but this Claire girl, her letters are a distress call –“

“He’s right” Pete murmured “she says ‘When will you come, I am so scared, so alone without you. I need you. I need our baby. I love you, I can’t live without you.”

“He was married to the wrong sole mate.” Detective Campbell finished.

“Oh please. You expect anyone to believe that?” Detective Taylor muttered.


……….

A.J. heard a large tapping of fist’s wrap on his door just as he finished filling his coffee maker with beans, without a thought to who it was he martched to the door and opened it.

“Alexander James Mclean?” A detective flipped his badge open.

“Yeah, that’s me” he said confused.

“We need to speak with you” the detective continued. Detective Taylor and the Detective Campbell walked into the room watching A.J. shut the door behind them.

“You had the other people already come and talk to me. I don’t get what you want with me now. I gave you all I knew.”

“Does this woman look familiar to you?” Detective Taylor pulled a picture from her coat. A.J. nodded he sat down on his large sofa waiting to for more questions.

“Anything you can tell us about her” Detective Campbell asked seating himself.

“She and Brian were, lovers, more like married, they had a child. It was before he and Leighanne were married that they got pregnant. Brian didn’t know how to explain it to his parents. I mean – you know - you don’t go telling your parent’s that you just cheated on your fiancé a zillion times about a month before you’re getting married and you have a grandchild you want them to accept within the next eight months, while you are supposed to be, well, if you were, doing it with the one you were getting married to.”

“So he kept her secret, and you all kept her secret” Detective Campbell answered.

“To tell you the truth; this was mostly Kevin, but none of us really liked Leighanne, well I did, but that was cause I thought she was hot. But how she treated Brian when they were alone; screamin’ at him, and then spending all his money, then cheating’ on him, and then crying to her in-laws, because she’s not with him, when she never wanted to be with him. She would complain because a guard a hotel wouldn’t walk her dogs, because she thought she was so famous she could trounce on everyone. We all saw the way she treated him. Could you blame him for wanting the women he really wanted?”

“So why not a divorce” Detective Taylor asked.

“Well because, Brian was so used to being manipulated by Leighanne, and she had his parent’s wrapped around her finger. His mom would fly Leighanne to Lexington so that they could have a ladies day, while Brian was gone. I mean, I know Jackie just was so happy to have a daughter in-law, but Leighanne soaked it up for all it was worth, playing sweet with the parents, then going out with guys left and right. It was like she couldn’t handle being in control of just one man, she wanted all of them.”

“You think she was capable of trying to kill Brian?”

“Without a doubt” A.J. said seriously.