The O'Connells Box Set

Chapter 23

Marcus was sitting on the edge of his desk when Charlotte walked into his office.

“What do you want to do about Eva?” she said. “She was asking about Reine again this morning when I dropped her off at school. She asked if she could call her mom, where her mom was living, and if she could go there and see her. I don’t know what to tell her, Marcus. I see that desperation in her eyes. I haven’t seen her so unsettled in a long time. Damn Reine for coming back and doing this to Eva!”

He was staring at the file Harold had given him, the image of the man he suspected was starting the fires. He handed the mug shot and file back to Harold, knowing his deputy would handle it while Charlotte was venting.

“You bringing him in?” was all he said to Harold, who dragged his gaze from him to Charlotte and then back. Maybe he expected him to answer Charlotte about Reine, but that was exactly what Marcus didn’t want to talk about.

“I’ll handle it,” Harold said. “I’ll head out to his place, have a word with him, see what I can spot lying around in the open. But I think I’ll just keep an eye on him, watch him the next few nights. I already know whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it under the cover of darkness. I have no solid proof that will stick yet, just my gut, which isn’t enough for anything. Catching him in the act would be like a gift.”

Marcus only nodded, then pulled in a breath. He didn’t know what to do to ease the sorrow that had nearly killed him the night before when he’d carried a crying Eva to Charlotte’s car. He knew she’d cried herself to sleep.

Maybe Harold was waiting for him to say something else, but Charlotte lingered in the doorway, her arms crossed, and he could see how tense she was. She was the mother of his children, who wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

“Charlotte, I don’t know what to do about Reine,” he finally said. “Ideally, we’ll come up with some solution to stay in touch, have her over to see Eva every now and then. I guess it’s wishful thinking that she’ll stay out of her life. But Reine is angry at me, at us. I don’t know…” He lifted his hands. When dealing with someone he couldn’t reason with, he knew the best solution was to walk away. But he couldn’t walk away from this, because it involved Reine and Eva.

Harold was still standing there, and baby Arnie, who had been sound asleep in his carrier, started fussing from the small table by the window behind him.

“So where did you say my sister was?” Marcus said.

Harold scooped his son from the carrier and patted his bottom. “Yeah, you’re wet, aren’t you?” he said to the baby before looking over to him. His gaze lingered a second, hesitating. Marcus could see that Harold didn’t quite know what to expect from Suzanne at times.

“She went to the grocery store as soon as it opened,” he said.

Marcus shrugged and looked back over to Charlotte, still trying to figure out the Reine situation.

“To buy groceries for Reine,” Harold continued.

Marcus dragged his gaze back to him.

“Hey, look, she was upset,” Harold said. “I don’t think she slept more than a few hours last night, and she was out of bed before I was, out the door, telling me to watch Arnie. She sent me a text as I was leaving the house that she’d pick him up at the station. This is your sister we’re talking about. You know that once Suzanne makes her mind up about something…”

Marcus let his jaw slacken, remembering when his dad had said the night before that Reine’s cupboards were empty except for a box of cereal. He shut his eyes. Maybe he should have been the one to go. He realized Charlotte didn’t know, because last night had been all about a crying Eva.

“Well, that’s good,” Marcus said. “s**t, you know, I should have done that.” He shrugged again, taking in the way Charlotte was looking at him, and gestured toward her. “She had next to nothing there, like nothing. Then there’s Manny. Haven’t figured out yet what to do about him. What he did to Reine… I know you need to keep eyes on this arson case, Harold, but I also want you to dig around on Manny Meskill. He assaulted Reine, her face. He shouldn’t have done that, and it’s only making this situation worse. When Therese comes in, maybe have her look through his background, see what skeletons you can dig up.”

Harold only nodded and walked to the door, and Charlotte moved aside, running her hand over a fussing Arnie, who was kicking his legs and waving his little fists in the air.

“You want me to change him for you?” she asked, holding her arms out.

Harold stepped around her and shook his head. “No, I got him. As soon as Suzanne shows up, I’ll start digging, but what do you want me to look for?”

Marcus pulled his arms over his chest. “Any red flags. Reine’s face, he hit her hard. A man who does that has done it before. See if any complaints have been filed about him. Look into his personal life, relationships…”

“And what about Reine? Can you get her to file a complaint?” Harold said.

Marcus took in Charlotte. He could see the confliction there. He turned back to Harold, hearing the baby really fussing now. “No, she can’t.” He let out a sigh and then stood up.

Harold let his gaze linger on him and then Charlotte before giving his head a shake as he stepped out. Marcus wasn’t sure he agreed.

Charlotte strode toward him, and he could see how unsettling this was for her. “So he gets away with hitting a woman?” she said.

“He gets away with hitting an ex-con on parole. She doesn’t have rights, and the deck is stacked against her. If she files a complaint against her parole officer, she won’t be believed, even with bruising on her face. It’s the way the system is set up. You know anything about s*****y laws?”

Charlotte frowned.

“Most people think s*****y happened way back when, and it was abolished, but what they don’t understand is how the system works, really works. Yeah, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished s*****y at the end of the Civil War—that is, until you commit a crime and are convicted. Then…” He took in the shock in Charlotte’s expression, and he could see she understood his deeper meaning. “So now, because of old laws that shouldn’t still be on the books, she’s suffering the consequences. She has difficulty finding a job or housing and loses access to the rights and government benefits you and I have. Then there’s the right to vote. Not every state has changed its laws yet.

“That punishment clause is still there, and it was never more apparent to me than when I saw Reine last night. And don’t forget, too, she can’t just walk around freely like you and me with no consequences. Because she showed up on our doorstep the way she did, she’s already violated the rules of her parole, which means a one-way ticket back to prison. The DA won’t charge Manny, because Reine has no rights in the eyes of the system. If she filed a complaint, she would be back behind bars by day’s end. Too much about this f****d-up system works against her.”

He knew Charlotte wanted to argue, but she lifted her hands and let out a rough sigh. “So what about Eva? I don’t want this around her. She’s too fragile.”

“I hear you, Charlotte, I really do, but Eva is stronger than you think. What’s the alternative? Not letting her see Reine? She’s old enough to understand something is wrong, so how long do you think it’ll be until she starts figuring out we’re lying to her, keeping her mother away from her? She’ll never forgive us, even though we’re doing it to protect her…”

He could see Charlotte wanted to argue with him, but the phone was ringing out front.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “But we’re going to have to talk to Reine and work something out.”

Charlotte walked out of his office and back to her desk. He could still hear Arnie fussing from the back of the pen as she answered the phone. Maybe he should call Suzanne and thank her for doing what he should have done. Food, shelter… It was just common human decency. Maybe they could take turns. He’d mention it when he saw them at Ryan’s on Friday.

As he walked out of his office, Charlotte turned to him with an odd expression.

“Marcus, a call just came in from Pete Peterson at Better Way about a theft,” she said. “One of his employees has been accused of stealing from an elderly woman they have a contract with. He said it was Reine…”

As soon as Charlotte said it, his heart sank. He strode back into his office and grabbed his keys from his desk, then fastened his duty belt, thinking of what this would do to Eva.

“Why would she steal something, Marcus?” Charlotte said.

What the hell was he supposed to think? He considering what he’d seen the night before with his family at her place, a woman with nothing, no food, living in a slum, wanting her daughter back.

What was it about the revolving door of prison? Once out, they were right back in. All he could see now for Reine, Eva’s mother, was the wall of bars in her future.

“I’ll call you later,” was all he said before stepping out of the stationhouse and pulling the door closed. All he could do was wonder why. Why would she do it?

When he pulled up in front of Better Way, he took in Suzanne standing outside with a woman her height but with a round face, dark skin, and likely fifty pounds on her.

“Suzanne,” he said, then glanced at the other woman, standing in front of a dark blue hatchback. He could already feel trouble brewing. “What the hell are you doing here?” he said in a low voice.

Suzanne gestured as if to say she was already neck deep and wasn’t going to stay out of anything. “Look, I drove Reine to work, and as I was pulling away, I saw this man come out and start yelling at her. He was screaming, and I could see how scared she was. That kind of anger, he had no right. So I pulled a one-eighty and floored it right back in, jamming the brakes right in front of him. I told him to stop yelling at Reine. Then he starts in about how she’s a damn thief and stole from one of their clients, something about missing earrings and jewelry. She’s inside now and says she didn’t do it.”

There was his sister, sticking her nose in police business again.

“I got it from here,” he said. “You need to go pick up Arnie from the station and go home. Harold had to bring him to work.”

His stubborn sister was ready to dig in and argue with him.

“Please, Suzanne, this isn’t the time for you to be stepping into this. Please go. I’ve got this.”

“Marcus, excuse me, but I don’t think you do,” she said. “This is Reine. How objective are you going to be?”

At times, butting heads with Suzanne was amusing, but now it wasn’t.

“Don’t tell me how to do my job, Suzanne,” he said, knowing it had come out sharper than he wanted. He walked around her and over to the woman still standing there. “Did you call about a theft?” he said.

She shook her head and jabbed her finger at the door. “No, sir, that was Pete. I told him hiring an ex-con was a bad idea. Now look at this mess. You think I want this on my plate? I’ve got a busy enough day, and now we’re down a body and it’s me who’s going to have to pick up the slack.”

Marcus reached for the industrial glass door and pulled it open, taking in the small front waiting area, hearing a man shouting from in back, then what he thought was Reine’s voice. He took in two other women in pink scrubs by the counter in front, one with light hair pulled back, on the heavy side, the other tall, thin, dark haired. Both were listening to everything. He was familiar with this kind of energy, walking into a situation.

“Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to want to talk to you both,” was all he said to them before heading to one of two office doors. It was open, revealing a slender man with thinning dark hair yelling at Reine, who was standing there, gesturing sharply.

He knocked on the open door, and they both looked over to him. He took in the flicker of emotion in Reine’s eyes, panic, anger. Then she shut them, and he could see how pale she was. The side of her face showed a hint of bruising and swelling even though he could see she’d tried to cover it with makeup. He hadn’t expected that.

“Well, it’s about time you got here, Sheriff. I want her arrested, now.” The man stalked toward him, lifting his hand sharply in the air.

“You just step on back there, please,” Marcus said, flicking his hand to the man, his other resting on his duty belt. He dragged his gaze back to Reine. “So who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

Reine only crossed her arms and looked away from him.

The man, who he thought had to be Pete, said, “Reine Colbert stole a family heirloom brooch, ruby earrings, and a diamond ring worth over fifty thousand dollars.”

“It’s not true,” Reine said. He could hear the defeat in her voice, and she wouldn’t look his way.

“Sheriff, I demand you arrest her. She was the last one at the Hirsts’ yesterday when the jewelry went missing. The daughter discovered it last night. She called this morning. Ms. Colbert is already a criminal. Damn it to hell, you little b***h! This is what I get for helping out an ex-con. Everyone told me not to do it, that it would come back to bite me in the a*s, and sure enough…” The man was furious.

Marcus lifted his hand when he went to step closer to Reine. “I told you to step back, and I meant it,” he said.

The man flicked his hazel eyes toward him, tinged with the kind of fury that could dial up the unease here. “Well, come on now. What are you waiting for? Arrest her!”

Marcus pulled his gaze from the man demanding he do his job to Reine, who had said nothing to defend herself. “Reine, you have to say something. Did you take the jewelry? Were you the last one at the house?” he said without approaching her, seeing how tightly she had pulled her arms across her chest.

She looked over to him. Any hope seemed to have left her, and she shrugged. “Does it really matter? Seems I’ve already been convicted. Well, I guess you get your wish now, Marcus, and you really will get to keep Eva, keep me out of her life and her away from me.” She shrugged once more. “I’ll never see her again.”