Checkered Thief (A Laurel London Mystery Book 3) (12 page)

“I should probably take a picture of this.” He grinned. His voice was courteous yet patronizing at the same time. If I could reach him through the bars, I would have smacked the smirk off that handsome face of his.

Willie was a rebel in every sense of the word. He stood there on the other side of the cell with his hands plunged deep into the front pockets of his blue jeans. His white t-shirt was barely visible underneath his black leather jacket. His black hair was neatly gelled with the perfect amount and his dark eyes hooded like a hawk with deep-set amusement. He was enjoying every bit of seeing me locked up.

After Willie Ray left me, I had sworn off men. He had not only stolen my virginity, he stole my heart. . . that was until the night Derek and I. . .well, I couldn’t think about that night. It was over and Derek had Brittany.

“Don’t be an ass and get me out of this godforsaken place.” I gripped the bars and shook them like I had the strength of The Hulk. “You know and I know I didn’t rob the damn casino. I was framed because someone knew I was snooping around.”

“Snooping, huh?” Willie Ray pulled his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together. He knew me so well and knew that I was always sticking my nose in places I totally shouldn’t be. “Something I need to be involved in?”

“How did you get in here?” I asked. Derek had left for the night hours ago and the only person here had to be the dispatcher up front who had checked on me a couple of times.

By checking, I mean sticking his head around the corner to make sure I was there or hadn’t hung myself with the thread-barren sheet. Derek didn’t know I heard him, but he told the dispatcher before he left to check on me and make sure I wasn’t in there hurting myself.

“I have my ways.” He tilted his head toward a door on the far side of the room. “Breaking and entering is a gift. Or have you forgotten what a good team we are?”

“Leave,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “I don’t feel like you rubbing this in my face. Or risk Derek finding you.”

“Derek,” Willie Ray scoffed with his oh-so-cool smirk on his face. His worn black leather jacket groaned as he crossed his arms and leaned up against the bars. “He’s wussy. Trixie called me.” His eyes hooded. “You know when Trixie calls me, she’s serious.”

Derek hated Willie Ray for what he did to me. He told me that Willie Ray was going to break my heart and he was right. Willie Ray hated Derek because of how close Derek and I were when I was inches away from becoming Mrs. Willie Ray Bowman.

But Trixie. She kicked Willie Ray out of the orphanage so many times, I’d lost count. As always, Trixie loved him like her own and welcomed him with open arms a few months ago. Luckily for me, he has stayed out of my way. Until now.

“Even if she hadn’t called me and I found out from someone else that you were here, I’d have still come.” He clenched his chiseled jaw and stared deep into my soul with those deep brown eyes.

I tried to keep my eyes focused on his, but they had their own mind and roamed to the t-shirt underneath his leather coat and down to his Wranglers. Even after all of these years, Willie Ray still had a great body and I knew exactly what was under there.

“Now.” He uncurled his arms and pushed off the bars. He held his finger in the air. There was a key dangling from it. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

“With you?” I shook my head. “No way. I’ll wait for Ben Bassman.”

“The evidence is all pointing to you. You were holding the cash and trying to steal the security footage of you doing it. It’s all there and running all over the news.” He held the key through the bars. “It’s your ticket to freedom so you and I can find the real robbers.”

“I know who the real robber is.” I grabbed the key from his finger and didn’t dare look at his face because I knew he’d have a huge smile there and I hated for him to think he was right.

“Then let’s go find him.” Willie Ray stood back and watched as I broke myself out of the cell by sticking the key into the lock and turning it so slow that it didn’t make any noise.

Without a word between us, I followed Willie Ray to the back door of the police station.

“What are you doing?” Willie Ray asked, confusion showing in his eyes.

I had stopped at the door and looked back at Derek’s desk. There was a framed picture of the two of us from when we were kids. He was holding a fishing pole I had given to him for his birthday a long time ago. Those days were long behind us. Behind me. I had to save myself. I had to let him and those memories go forever.

“Let’s go.” Willie Ray grabbed my hand and jerked me out the door to freedom.

The night air should’ve felt good on my face, but it only made me realize I had just kissed my entire friendship with Derek Smitherman goodbye.

“What was that back there?” Willie Ray asked once we made it through the wooded back area and to the road.

“What’s that?” I asked looking at the motorcycle that was hidden behind a tree and ignored his question. He didn’t need to know that I had just given up my relationship with Derek. Willie would revel in it and it was something I didn’t need.

“Our ride out of here.” He cleared the brush, unsnapped a helmet from the back and handed it to me. “Put it on.”

“Where’s yours?” I asked plunking it over my head.

“I don’t use one.” He stood over me and snapped the strap for me. His hand lingered a little too long on the strap and his big brown eyes stared down at me. “I know there is no future for us. I can tell by the way you look at me that you don’t see me that way anymore, but I’d never leave you in there. I know you are innocent. You are a lot of things, Laurel London and yes, a small town criminal, but not a federal nut job.”

I stood there and watched as he threw his leg over the steel horse and turned the key, giving it a little gas. He motioned for me to get on as he steadied the bike. I planted a hand on each of his shoulders and threw my leg over, positioning myself a little distance from him. But when he took off, the distance disappeared and I wrapped my arms around my rescuer letting him take me wherever he chose.

“S’bout time you got here.” Curly Dean said, a cigarette bouncing up and down in the corner of her mouth. Her hair was a mess and sweat beaded along her hairline. A couple of unsmoked cigarettes were sticking out from under her V-neck shirt between her breasts.

Curly and Bo Dean had taken in Willie Ray during his later teen years after Trixie kicked him out of the orphanage for the last time. Unbeknownst to me, they took him in as a son. He loved them and they loved him. He was going to the bank on our wedding day to get into Bo and Curly’s safety deposit box where they had a sack full of money for him to get married to me. They had even given him a ring to give me. Unfortunately, Willie Ray was at the wrong place at the wrong time, altering our lives forever. He had never told me the truth about him and the Deans. He kept it to himself. When he was with me, he made it seem like his whole world revolved around me. I was a teenager in love and thought of only myself, so my feelings were still bruised from the entire incident even though I knew the truth now.

When Bo had died Curly continued to farm their land and eventually opened up a florist on Second Street and that was where we were tonight.

“Why are we here?” I tried to stay in the darkness away from the streetlights. “If someone sees me right here on the street, they will tell Derek.”

“You need help, don’t you?” Curly asked, snapping the cigarette out of her mouth and stubbing it out on the ground with her toe. Charlie Haskel crawled out of the back of Curly’s big silver airstream that had
Dean’s Florist
spray-painted on the side in green. The airstream attached to her car.

“It’s ready.” Charlie didn’t have on his normal knit stocking hat that I was used to seeing the town bum wear. He lived down on the riverbank and knew more about Walnut Grove and its people than I did. “Laurel.” He nodded.

“Charlie, you look great.” I smiled. “I guess your new job agrees with you.”

It was so nice of Curly to give Charlie a job at the florist as a sort of maintenance man. I was glad to see he wasn’t drinking his wages.

“You mean love?” Willie Ray cocked a brow and looked between Curly and Charlie.

“You mean you two,” I pointed between the two, “are an item?”

“Seems like it and it ain’t no business of yours to go spreadin’ it around, especially if we’re hidin’ you from the law.” Curly slid a cigarette from between her breasts. Charlie jumped to her side with a lighter quicker than a jackrabbit.

“Oh, I think it’s great.” I tried to force a smile, but in my circumstances it was hard to do. “I’m assuming there is a plan?”

It was nice catching up and all, but there wasn’t much time. The dispatcher had probably stuck his head around the corner of the station and seen I was gone. Derek Smitherman was probably spitting fire by now.  Or was he?

“If there isn’t a plan,” I whispered in Willie Ray’s ear, “maybe our first stop should be the Windmill. I have two people I’d like to introduce you to.”

“We thought you could live in the airstream. No one would think anything of it since Curly and Charlie drive it around delivering flowers.” He opened up the back door on the airbus and gestured me to go in.

There was a cozy single bed on one side with a quilt and pillow, a small TV on the wall. The rest of the airbus was filled with five gallon buckets of water and all sorts of wild flowers and a counter for Curly to do her work on the side opposite the bed.

“I like to take the airstream to wedding locations so I can give them the freshest cut flowers.” Curly pushed back the stray hairs out of her eyes. “It ain’t much, but it’s mine and I don’t owe anyone anything.”

“This is actually really cute.” I was referring to the side with the bed. It wasn’t the orphanage or my bed there.

“Rowl,” Henrietta jumped up from underneath the bed after she heard my voice.

“Henrietta!” I ran over, picking my cat up in my arms and snuggling with her. She purred happily. I looked around the room and found her kitty box and food in the far back corner. She had everything she needed for the next day or so. “Thank you.” My heart sang when I turned back around to find the three of them staring at me.

“Thank him.” Curly poked Willie Ray. “He insisted we help and I have been dead set against it from the beginning, but you did save his life and all.” She backed out of the airbus with piss and vinegar in each step.

“Don’t mind her.” Charlie smiled, nary a tooth in his mouth. “She’ll be alright. You two sleep tight.” Charlie stepped out and shut the door.

“You two as in me and Henrietta?” I stood there, brows raised.

“If you think I’m going to leave your side, you’re nuts.” Willie Ray peeled off his coat and reclined on the bed, leaning on his elbows.

“There is no way we can stay in here together.” Henrietta jumped out of my arms and landed on Willie’s chest. “Traitor,” I growled.

“Grab a beer and let’s figure out what we are going to do.” Willie was giving orders like he always did and stroking the Henrietta’s back, sending her into a world of excitement.

Yeah, I remember when he stroked me like that too. You better watch out.
My eyes lowered watching the two of them love on each other. I opened the mini-refrigerator and pulled out two ice-cold bottles of beer, tossing one to Willie.

“I never would’ve thought I would have picked beer as my first drink right out of the pokey.” I tried to make a joke. “Here is the deal.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I know who my real family is.”

It would come as a shock to Willie Ray since he was always on the lookout for his family and I hadn’t given two shits until I got older.

“Really, Laurel?” He sat up, an interested look in his face. “Tell me about them.”

“As they say, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” I giggled and sat down next to him, telling him about my lineage. My heritage. My bank account.

“You are loaded?” Willie Ray held the bottle next to his lips before taking a chug.

“Something like that.” Then I told him about Brittany/Bethany and how I was trying to help her/them. “That is why I wanted to go to the Windmill tonight. If she is there, we can get some sort of plan to get the money to her and get Brittany back. Everyone, including Derek will be safe.”

“But this has nothing to do with you getting caught taking the casino money.”

“It has everything to do with it since the kidnappers wanted the footage.” Duh, was he not listening to me? “I think they got tired of waiting on Bethany and stole the money. Then after that, they proceeded to the security camera footage room and tried to take the footage. They heard someone, stashed the cash and were waiting. Only they upped the ransom to include the footage.”

“But Bethany said the kidnappers said no cops and if she comes forward and rats them out after it’s all said and done, you still aren’t safe. They have people. Casino heist robbers are no little fly-by night operation. They are a little gang.” Willie Ray was right.

“Then, how am I going to prove I’m innocent?” I sat on the edge of the bed and took a nice long drink of beer. “That doesn’t matter.” I shook my head. “What matters is us getting the money and giving it to Bethany to save Derek A-S-A-P.”

“Jesus, Laurel.” Willie Ray scooted up next to me and leaned an elbow on his thigh, swinging his shoulders in my direction. “You are in love with that pansy ass.”

“No I’m not.” I rolled my eyes and looked the other way in fear Willie would see right through me.

“You are too or you wouldn’t be working so hard to save his ass before yours.” Willie Ray scoffed. “Sonofabitch.” He stood up and sat his beer on the flower counter. He ran his hands through his hair and clasped them around the back of his neck; his muscles had so much definition that if I were the younger teen version of myself, I would’ve swooned over them. He looked up at the ceiling as though he were going through things in his head. “If this is what you want, then I’ll do it. But this isn’t good for you.”

“I can only promise Bethany will help me out in some way once I make it right for her sister and Derek.” I stood up. The space was so cramped; Willie Ray and I were nose to nose.