Love In a Small Town (23 page)

"In that case, we'll have it custom made." He proceeded to order an emerald cut diamond with a purple amethyst baguette on each side. Lynn laughed delightedly, getting the reference to eggplant, immediately.

It was a perfect day. As David pulled into Lynn's drive, she could hear the phone ringing, so she went in the house ahead of him to answer it.

David watched her run up the steps, happier than he had ever been in his life. He gathered up Lynn's few purchases to carry into the house. When he entered the kitchen he found Lynn, a stricken look on her face, listening into the phone.

"When did this happen?" A pause while the other person answered. "Well, where are they now? We'll be there in minutes. No, David is with me. We'll come together."

As David watched, she hung up the phone, turned to him, and said, "That was Officer Nancy Kane, of the Eureka Springs Police Department. She's been calling all over for us. I left my cell here. Sarah's been arrested for shoplifting."

"Sarah? Sarah is in custody for shoplifting?" David's voice escalated to a disbelieving shout. "My God, Sarah caught red-handed for stealing in a downtown store?"

"She's at the police station. We have to go, David. I'm going with you."

Anne's beautiful, loving daughter is in jail?
The thought was too much to comprehend.

With Lynn beside him, David drove to the police station in a state of shock, still reacting to the phone call.

"What have I done, Lynn? Is she acting out? I knew she was unhappy at school, and having trouble, but this?"

"Logan was right," Lynn said. "He warned Sarah not to go; to stay away from a girl named Ashley and her group. They were the ones he suspected of spreading rumors.

"I heard them discussing it when they were in the store, Thursday. Sarah thought they were sorry about the way they had treated her and wanted to make amends."

Grimly David recalled Anthony's warning about predators being nice to their victims before they sacrificed them.

"How the hell am I going to deal with this? I should have stopped to think before rushing out the door. I should have called a lawyer. I need advice."

Lynn's cell phone rang. David had forgotten she was there.

"This is Lynn. Yes, Violet. We just heard and David and I are on our way to the police station now. All four of them were arrested? Well, I'm not surprised. Norm warned us about that bunch. David's distraught. I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Small Town Serendipity," he said, marveling, "Eureka Springs's information system that gets the word out, within minutes, about what's happening. They all know Sarah's my daughter?"

"Violet was so thrilled we got back together, she's made no secret of it. She said they were caught by the shoplifters' hot line we have set up among the merchants. Apparently they hit a few stores before they were caught."

"I don't know what to make of this. I don't know what to do. Sarah isn't a thief. She's as kind-hearted and honest as they come. How could this happen?"

"I'll admit I'm impressed with the way you're handling this. I guess I expected raging anger, or something."

"There's one thing you can trust about me, Lindsay: I don't rage at the people I love. I wish I understood what would cause her do something like this."

"She's been hanging out with the wrong crowd." Lynn put a hand on his arm. "Let's not judge until we know the facts. She could have been set up. From what I hear, Ashley is a devious, malicious kid. We met her father at the dance, remember?"

"Yeah. He's the one who told me about the tattoos. I gather that was Ashley's idea, too."

Several other cars were parked outside the police station when they arrived. "It looks like the other parents are here, too," Lynn said.

It was a plain, one-story building, surrounded by large shade trees—no bigger than a three-bedroom tract house. A simple sign on the lawn identified it as 'Eureka Springs Police Department.'

"Should I call a lawyer?"

She squeezed his arm. "First we'll find out what we're dealing with. I know the officers inside. They're good people, David. Trust them to handle this."

He shook his head, wondering. "My daughter on a crime spree. How the hell could this happen? I thought I knew her. I thought we were close enough that I'd know when she was in trouble. How could I have missed this?"

"David, you're beating yourself up, and it isn't your fault. Peer pressure is a terrible thing to resist. Besides, you don't know what went on here. This might not be all her fault. We need to keep a level head. The police warned me a week ago about these three girls, because they suspected them of shoplifting. Let's find out how bad this is." He opened the door and followed her in.

The small lobby was empty, except for the dispatcher. Where were the other parents? The place was nothing like
Law and Order
, for sure. It was obviously new, very clean, and quiet. It even smelled new. Only one man was behind the counter, leading David to suspect that they probably had very few arrests in a week. Today's catch of four girls must have broken all records.

"I'm David Martin, Sarah Graham's father." Looking at the dispatcher, he gestured with his hand. "Where is everyone? Aren't the other parents here?"

"Sir, they're in the interrogation rooms with the other officers. The girls are being held separately, so they can't confer with each other. An officer will be with you shortly."

A door opened and a young, blonde woman in uniform came toward him. The equipment hooked to her belt looked like it weighed half as much as she did, but it didn't diminish her air of authority. She approached David with a sharp, assessing look, judging his mood.

"I'm David Martin, Sarah Graham's father. This is Lindsay Keith, a friend of the family."

The officer held out her hand to shake David's. "I'm Officer Kane. I took your daughter into custody this afternoon."

She acknowledged Lynn with a nod. "I'm glad you could come. Sarah was really anxious about your being here. She pleaded that I call you."

"We've become good friends."

"I'd like to see my daughter." David's patience with idle conversation had reached its limit. "Should I call my lawyer?"

"That's your right, sir, but the court will appoint a lawyer for your daughter, if it's needed. Today we'll just do a preliminary interview, to sort out the facts of the matter. She's been waiting, alone, until you got here, and she's pretty upset.

"By law, we're not allowed to interrogate a juvenile without a parent or responsible person present."

"Well, then let's get on with it. Sarah's never been arrested for anything. She must be scared to death."

Sergeant Kane led them to a door down the hall, opened it, and entered behind them.

Sarah looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, Sarah," David's heart broke at the sight of his daughter. She looked so miserable. Her face was red and covered with tears. She'd been crying with her head face down, cushioned by her folded arms. Tears and her runny nose had formed a puddle on the table and apparently she didn't have any tissues.

He felt helpless. What could he say? "It looks like you've gotten yourself into a fix, here."

Damn, that sounded so lame. She wasn't a little kid; she was almost grown.

Pulling a handkerchief out of his jeans pocket, he moved to her side, raising her chin with his hand. She looked up at him as he gently wiped her face. The florescent light in the windowless room robbed her skin of all color, making the purple and red blotches on her cheeks stand out like ugly bruises.

"Daddy." She stood and threw herself into his arms.

"It's okay. Calm down, now. Everything will be all right. Lynn is here, too, and we're going to get to the bottom of this." He looked at Lynn, who had accepted a box of tissues from Sergeant Kane and was wiping the table.

Sarah burrowed her face into David's shoulder and held tightly to his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and looked at Lynn helplessly, causing her to come take Sarah by the shoulders, to pull her into her own arms.

David smiled gratefully. "Let Lynn have you while I talk to the police."

The distraught girl clung to Lynn, as she led her to a chair, and sat down beside her. David sighed with relief. Another uniformed policeman entered the room. The serious expression on his face and his air of authority indicated his importance.

"I'm Chief Hadley, Mr. Martin. I must inform you that this interview will be recorded on tape and camera. You're aware that your daughter was apprehended for shoplifting this afternoon in town?"

"How much trouble is she in?"

"That is yet to be determined. Do you know that she is involved with a group of girls who are known troublemakers?"

The expression on the officer's face was judgmental, obviously calling to question David's suitability as a parent. David knew a moment of fear.

"I've just become aware of that. We've only been here about two months, and I'm just getting to know the town. Sarah's had a hard time being accepted by the kids at school."

"Some newcomers have more trouble than others." The flat statement held no forgiveness.

"Sarah's explained to me," David continued, "that these girls were the only ones offering friendship, and she accepted it."

"I didn't steal anything," Sarah insisted. "I didn't know what they were doing. I just knew it seemed weird, the way they were behaving."

Chief Hadley looked grim. "We've had this group targeted as possible offenders for several months, and your daughter might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time." He paused for emphasis. "There is no doubt she was involved, aiding and abetting by being there with them. There will, of course, be an investigation to establish the truth."

Sarah started to cry again.

Lynn held her hand, offered her the box of tissues, and patted her shoulder.

"Sarah," David said, "We want to hear what happened."

The Chief placed a small tape recorder on the table and pushed the button. After stating the date and the time, he turned to Sarah and said, "State your name and age, please."

Sarah told her story, haltingly, with many fearful looks at her father and the police officers. She explained her falling out with Ashley over Jim Holder, the rumors and nasty remarks, her attempts to fight back, and, finally, Madonna's unexpected phone call with the invitation to go shopping. "I was glad because even if Ashley was mad at me, Madonna was still my friend."

"You didn't suspect what was going on?" the Chief asked.

"While we were shopping, I thought they were acting weird, but I never thought of stealing. We went into some of the souvenir shops and when I asked why, because they didn't have anything we wanted to buy, Ashley gave me some dumb answer or didn't answer at all.

"Once we were in the front of this store, and Madonna and Tiffany went back to the t-shirts. They acted real funny when they came up later and hurried out the door, but I didn't think anything about it.

"Then, in the last store, Madonna made me come up to the front so I could lend her some money to pay for some jewelry while Ashley and Tiffany looked at the stuffed animals in the back. Then Ashley grabs my arm while Tiffany and Madonna walk out, and hands me the shopping bag. She says, 'Sarah, I have to find a bathroom.'

"And I go, 'What's wrong?'

"And she goes, 'I have a stomach ache. I'll be alright if I go to the restroom. There's one across the street. Take this and catch up with Tiffany and Madonna.' She shoves the sack at me and runs out the door.

"I thought, Ashley had seemed okay like a minute ago. I guessed it must have been something she ate. The sales clerk stared at me real funny when I left.

"Ashley was waiting outside with Madonna and Tiffany, and I thought, that was quick. How did she get across the street and back in such a hurry?

"Tiffany goes, 'The police.' She points down the street. That's when Ashley grabbed the bag from me and stuffed it into the trashcan. I didn't know why she would do that.

"Madonna goes, 'I think they were on to us in that last store.' I didn't understand what was happening."

Sarah became silent, staring at her hands, held in a tight fist on the table. She looked at David and started crying again, as she said, "I didn't know we were shoplifting, Daddy. I swear I didn't."

Sergeant Kane looked up from the notes she was taking, and smiled encouragingly. "Is that it? You want to add anything?" She looked at the Chief.

"No, except, I never put anything in that bag. I didn't buy anything except Madonna's earrings."

The Chief frowned and addressed David. "We're going to have to investigate this thoroughly, to get at the truth of the matter.

"Let me tell you what will happen. The charge of shoplifting will remain until the State Juvenile Officer investigates and reports her findings. Sarah can go home, but she is still under suspicion. The Juvenile Officer will talk to Sarah's teachers, possibly her friends, the people in the neighborhood and the shopkeepers involved. It takes about a month until she is ready to file a report with the court. Sometimes—and this is rare—if they feel there is a need, they will visit your house, interview family members."

"No." Sarah screamed. "They can't take me away." She started to sob. Lynn tried her best to calm her down.

"Sarah," David said, firmly, "that isn't going to happen. There isn't any cause." He looked at Chief Hadley. "I think I should have my lawyer involved."

"If this goes to court, the juvenile will have a lawyer appointed by the court. Of course, Mr. Martin, you can also retain your own."

The Chief's voice was calm, not indicating an opinion. David took a measure of comfort in that. Sarah wasn't being treated as a hardened criminal.

"It's okay, David," Lynn said. "It'll be handled carefully. Names of juveniles are never released to the public."

Chief Hadley added, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is Sarah's first offense and we've already checked with Caro Anson and found that her attendance is regular, and she is not in trouble at school.