“Find anything?” Harold asked half sarcastically watching the detectives plundering through his office. Detective Wattney shook his head in reply.
“I’m sure you understand why we had to do it” Detective Carlson folded his briefcase motioning for the investigators to leave.
Harold walked around the side of his desk looking at the detective, who was easily only a few years older than his son “No, I’m not quite sure, how a paranoid women’s hearsay testimony passes as a warrant to search my house.”
Detective Wattney walked up to Harold looking him in the eye “I’d watch your step if I were you.”
“I could have you arrested, for trespassing without probable cause” Harold retorted angrily. He had had no sleep since the start of the case, and it was starting to catch up with him.
“Cool it Mr. Littrell” the other detective warned. Harold muttered under his breath then asked them to leave.
“Come again” Detective Wattney asked.
“Don’t you have better things to do than harass me, and my family.” Harold shot back, the rope had split.
“Not what’s got you all tied up in a knot” Detective Carlson asked with a hint of sympathy.
Harold, who had spread his fingers out across the desk, dragged his hand to the edge where his seat was and sat down rubbing his face “I’ve had paparazzi stalking me, my wife, Leighanne’s family, They want pictures of Brian, they want the gossip, they want anything their like bloodhounds.” Harold looked up.
“We’ve been handling things best we can. They have people sneaking’ in there trying to get information all the time, we can only weed out so many” Detective Wattney said easing up his voice.
“This whole Claire thing, people are going to get a hold of it.”
“Claire thing” Detective Carlson asked a little surprised. Detective Wattney gave him the condensed version of the story and Harold watched rubbing his forehead.
“Look Harold” Detective Wattney said plainly “This is the last thing anyone want’s happening. And to have the public getting their hand’s in everything is frustrating, but right now we need to focus on this trial. You’re son’ll be in with his attorney Monday morning to give his part of the story, and then trial starts on Thursday. If all our hopes are right, it was a pure accident” Harold looked down rubbing his head as he shook it “If need’s be, the psychologist will evaluate him, and we can postpone the arraignment.”
“I thought you were detectives, why are you defending my son” Harold asked inquisitively.
“No one’s going to believe he’s mentally insane.”
“It’s always surprising the reports shrinks come up with” Detective Wattney answered before standing up.
……..
“Can we go home yet” Brian asked, his eyes had opened again. His mother was standing by the window looking out across the buildings surrounding the hospital; the large tree’s lining the street’s made for a pretty vista.
“Doctor Anderson’s going to be here in a few minutes, they’re going to run you through some quick tests, and then we’ll see.” She smiled, here eyes fixed out the window, the sun made her face glow almost white.
“Why does this keep happening to me” he asked.
“It’s happened before?”
…..
“Excuse me! Excuse ME! Excuse ME!” Jackie ran through the halls frantically trying to find the front desk, her hands shaking as she approached the counter “There’s something wrong, this hasn’t happen the first time, there’s something wrong. He’s, it’s happened before!”
“Calm down” the nurse urged, she was merely a secretary unaware of who this women was or Brian’s situation. Jackie clutched the women’s arm in desperation.
“I need doctor Preston. Please, NOW” she said, the secretary picked up the phone.
“Molly can you help this women?” she asked phoning security.
“You don’t understand” Jackie turned around the small room, searching for a listening ear “It’s happened before!”
“Calm down ma’am” a male nurse walked over towards her, another came from the opposite end of the room, injecting a sedative.
……
Detective Taylor sat in her car, wiping the mascara from her face, no one could tell, but she had been crying all morning.
“Hey C.C” Detective Campbell wrapped his knuckles across the window; screeches from the cars around them in the underground parking lot could be heard over the noise of his voice. Detective Taylor looked up sideways smiling a little rolling down her window.
“Yeah” she sniffled, stuffing a picture in her purse.
“Something wrong” He asked.
“No, of course not” she smiled “Just tired, and um, you know” She tried to smile.
Detective Campbell smiled back “Well, Detectives’ Wattney and Carlson say that it’s true, that girl died in childbirth, poor thing.”
“Yeah” Detective Taylor smiled weakly “All the things we hide” she said softly.
“Yeah” Detective Campbell eyed her “You sure you’re ok?” he asked “Maybe you shouldn’t have come back so soon, you look a little sick.”
“I’m fine” she smiled whipping under her eyes again “Is he here for questioning.”
“See, that’s the problem, he’s still in the hospital. I think they’re making’ stuff up to get him off the case”
“I doubt it” she said opening the door and getting out, straightening her hair, pulling it up in a pony tail before she sniffled one last time “Let’s go.”
……..
“Claire was our only baby, she was the brightest child” The man sat across from the detective’s.
Detective Wattney watched the man as he spoke “I’m sure she was. Did she ever mention anything about being pregnant?”
The mother shook her head “Gosh no. Claire would never do that, she’s not like that. She, well we hadn’t exactly seen here, she had taken a vacation for the summer, to some Caribbean island to see some boy band she knew. Glenn and I didn’t really see anything wrong with it, it was fun we thought. We had no clue she would be off in some small island with that boy, giving birth to a baby, and die during childbirth.”
“On an island” Detective Wattney asked, his eyebrows rose. “This story just get’s better and better.”
“The stupid kid thought he could deliver a baby.” Glenn sighed sadly.
“Millions of babies are born in Africa, in dung huts; it happens all over the world, mothers just don’t drop dead like flies because of it.” Detective Wattney articulated “Did you ever have trouble during you’re pregnancy with your daughter?”
“No, but I had an epidural, and plenty more pain medicine, and a hospital staff. I don’t think he meant to kill her, I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t take her to a hospital.”
“You never knew anything about the pregnancy?”
“She was sick, but it was the flue season, it’s going around”
“Have you ever met the Littrell’s Sue?”
Sue suddenly smiled “Oh, my yes. They are such wonderful people, it’s such a shame the apple fell so far from the tree.”
Detective Wattney looked amused for a moment resting his chin in the palm of his hand “Why do you think he’s a bad apple?”
“He was married” Sue said shocked “Geeze, doesn’t anybody have morals these days. Those people were so gracious, the best Kentucky could offer, and that boy – as soon as he got into the spotlight just stole my daughter away, took away her virginity, and any hope for a good standing.”
“How old is your daughter Mrs. Aki” the detective asked repositioning his chin.
“She’s twenty-seven, but she’s always wanted to keep herself chaste till the day she was married”
“May we see a picture of her?” Detective Campbell asked.
Sue smiled, obviously proud, as she handed over a picture “She was quite a looker. Prom queen, and Cheerleader, who knew she would be such a wonderful young women.”
Detective Wattney looked at the picture his eyes widening.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Woohoo, finally another update. I had a moment inbetween a major paper to update! Tell me your thoughts!
