The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 6-2

Diana Fulton, formerly Claremont, drove through North Lakewood. After fifteen years of waiting, of planning, she knew it was time to come back to right the past—it was time for justice. But when she’d almost run down that hunky cowboy in the crosswalk, she’d panicked. Fear was hissing in her ear, warning her that she was playing with fire by coming back. So she had done something she’d never done before, driving away instead of apologizing for her carelessness. She was afraid of how people would react to her, if they’d remember who she was, but nothing looked familiar as she passed a new shopping mall at the edge of town; driving down the only major road in North Lakewood until she passed the post office, she saw the same familiar businesses and old brick stores side by side. Cars were parked in the same angled parking. Some things had changed, though. There were new storefronts with a fresh coat of paint, new awnings, new flowerpots. But men still lingered around the barbershop, and couples still chatted outside stores, gossiping about whatever or whoever was the flavor of the week. This familiarity made the piercing ache in her chest expand until it hurt to breathe, because this home had defined who she was; a home, though, that had been the source of so much pain—and where Andy had destroyed her trust.

After she had nearly run down the cowboy and stilled her shaking hands, she’d pulled into a parking lot and parked beside a gray minivan, reliving Andy’s last words and the hate that filled his eyes. Now, as she struggled to breathe, she felt ice plunging through her veins as she remembered that horrible night. When her mother had driven to Portland, she’d parked outside a rough-looking bar, and said, “Stay put, I need to get some money.” She looked at herself in the rearview mirror, wiped her slender finger under her eye and then reached across Diana and pulled half a dozen ziploc bags filled with m*******a and stuffed them in her purse. Diana knew what she was doing, but was too numb to say anything.

Her mama disappeared inside the bar and Diana leaned her head against the seat back. Louisa was asleep in the back seat. She must have dozed, because the next thing Diana knew, someone banged on the door and there were cop cars with flashing lights all around her. Dazed, she opened the door as a deputy shined a light in her face and then in the back seat and said, “Climb on out of there.” And that’s when she saw her mother being drug away in handcuffs, and stuffed into the back of a police car.

Diana asked only one question, “What did she do?”

The police officer led her around to the front of the jeep. “She tried to sell m*******a to an undercover officer.”

Diana and Louisa were taken to the police station and put in a room with a sofa and table. Louisa clung to Diana with big eyes, and asked repeatedly where her mama was. A detective brought them some food, and that’s when Diana remembered Louisa’s pills, the ones she took every morning with food. The detective had left and closed the door, and said he’d be right back with some milk, but before he could return Louisa had become unusually quiet and had taken on that faraway look that always signaled a seizure. Diana had just jumped up and yanked open the door to call the kind detective, when Louisa’s eyes rolled back and she fell off the chair, banging her head on the concrete floor, her tiny body convulsing over and over. Diana yelled, and the detective came running, someone called an ambulance, social services arrived just as the paramedics were taking Louisa to the hospital. The social worker was in her late fifties and, to Diana, was the first adult who really listened to her. She took her to visit Louisa, who never regained consciousness from the seizure. Whether it was that her brain was deprived of oxygen or the stress of having their lives turned upside down, they’d never know, but, eight days later, Louisa passed away in her sleep. Diana was placed with a kindly older couple, the Fulton’s, who were sympathetic to her loss and provided her with the stability she’d never had. They had no other children, and they loved her like their own.

Diana heard that her mother had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The judge had been unusually hard, as he took into account that her children were present and left outside the bar while she’d sold drugs… and the obvious neglect of Louisa, indicating she was partly responsible for her death. It was a hard blow for Diana to have everything familiar ripped away. Diana stayed with the Fultons, and they sheltered her from the embarrassment that she had a mother in prison. On her seventeenth birthday, they adopted her, which was the greatest gift Diana had ever been given. She was wanted. They showed her love and respect and never once shouldered her with the burdens of an adult. She was part of their family. She kept her head down and avoided all of the boys’ advances. Focusing on school and graduating at the top of her class, she earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon to study law. In her first year, Mr. and Mrs. Fulton were killed on the 217 freeway when a young man driving a sports car cut them off, causing a five-car pileup. The young man had stolen the car, and was the only one to walk away without a scratch. The Fulton’s never even made it to the hospital. The young man was the son of a wealthy prominent couple, and received no jail time.

Diana grieved, alone once again. The Fultons had left her enough to pay for college, and rent a small apartment without having to work herself to the bone. But the burning need for justice for what that young man had gotten away with, killing her adoptive parents and walking away with no jail time all because of his wealthy parents, brought with it the unresolved pain of what Andy and Todd had done. It became the driving force that had her pushing herself in her studies and finishing law school at the top of her class, passing the bar exam the first time around. She was determined to protect the rights of children and those without a voice. To bring an end to the division in the law, where the rich could get away with everything and anything, and the poor continued to fill the jails. It wasn’t right, and it was high time someone did something about this injustice. To find a way to hold vigilante landlords accountable in a criminal way, and to somehow establish a law that would have every feudal male landowner thrown in jail for abuse of power when using their tenants to fulfill their s****l needs. And no matter how hard she tried, she could never shake the injustice of what Andy and Todd had done. As she sat in her SUV, now shaking and flooded by memories, she knew what they’d done fifteen years ago was an abuse of power and had been just as illegal then as it was now. If she had been someone with influence, both father and son and their men would be in jail now. But how many other women and children were out there suffering this same fate?

She was determined to find out what her mother had done to Todd, that set the whole chain of events in motion, and what Andy had meant by the games women play. She knew she could try to track Faye down and find out from her. But she’d no desire to let that snake back in her life; the woman had never told the truth, and she’d no desire to become part of her drama again. Diana wanted to find some way to hold Todd and Andy accountable for what had happened to Louisa. Never once did Todd or Andy try to help her, or Louisa. And the one time she’d asked Andy for help, he’d turned his back on her. Todd and Andy both knew what Faye was doing, all the drunken parties, the drugs, Todd had been at a few himself, with Faye, rutting away in the bedroom, while Diana and Louisa tried to sleep.

But where to start?

Diana reached into her briefcase on the seat and pulled out her notepad to outline her plan of attack. Find out what mama did to Todd. Find out about Andy and Todd, what they’re doing now. Todd was a predator and one thing she’d learned, a leopard didn’t change his spots. So she added to the list: Find out if Andy and Todd have strong-armed any other women? If she’d learned anything, it was to keep your friends close, your enemies closer. She pulled her cell phone out and checked that she was receiving wireless, and pulled up the local phonebook, typing in “Friessen.” She noted that there were four: Todd, Jed, Andy, and C. She tucked her phone in her purse, after all she couldn’t exactly pick up the phone and say, Hey, it’s me, what have you been up to all these years? So she figured the best place to start would be the post office, because, in small communities, the post office was the hub of gossip. The postal workers knew the personal details of every household by the mail they delivered, which told every small, embarrassing detail. In a close-knit community like North Lakewood, the locals shared, as well. If you had a grudge and wanted to trash someone’s reputation or announce news, the post office was better than standing in town square and handing out flyers.

The post office was just as she remembered, an old, red brick storefront lined up in strip-mall fashion against the very short main street. She parked in front with a dozen or so other vehicles, which could have been patronizing any of the local stores. Diana noted that many were vacant, with leasing signs in front, and she wondered whether that brand new shopping mall had anything to do with it. She tossed her blazer in the SUV. She was dressed in casual slacks, flat heels, and a cream-colored shirt, very plain and conservative. Her long red hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and she wore only a hint of makeup.

The woman at the counter was young, plain, and chatty, and no one she recognized. There were no other customers in line. When the young lady glanced up, she smiled brightly. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. I’d like to buy a dozen stamps.”

“Certainly.” The young woman slid them across the counter and rang the amount in the register. “So, are you visiting family here?”

“No, my family moved away from here years ago, when I was a child. But I see a lot of the small stores that used to be here are gone.”

“It’s criminal and such a shame. The big box stores have forced all the little guys out of business. Mr. Friessen said we had to keep up with demand, so he built that huge shopping mall. He did give the stores along here an option to lease a space in the mall. It’s impossible to compete with the big stores who can afford to discount, though.”

“Mr. Friessen?” Diana did her best to appear casual.

“Well, actually, both Andy and Todd. Andy’s been running things. Seems to be a family thing that the father passes down to the oldest son.” She kept her voice low and glanced behind Diana to be sure no one else was there. “Truth be told, Todd gave Andy little choice. Todd’s mistress runs the candy store. He made sure she got a prime spot in the mall, and she pays no rent. And let me tell you, there were a few arguments that went back and forth between those two over that.”

“So Todd’s got another mistress?” Diana wondered if her voice squeaked and mentally added to the list, talk to mistress.

The postal girl frowned before replying. “Oh, that he does. Had this one now for two years. Don’t know why his wife stays married to him. But Todd’s discreet. Never flaunts his mistress, but we all know. And Andy, well, you can just see how the mention of her sets his teeth on edge. For Todd’s mistresses, everything’s fine as long as he wants you, but just watch out if he decides you’re done. That’s when Andy gets free rein, and he can run a girl out of town. Wonder if he knows that’s what he’s doing, cleaning up for his daddy?”

Diana gasped.

The postal girl seemed to collect herself. “So who’d you say your family was?”

“My family’s no longer in the area. I was just doing business in Arlington and passing through on my way. I don’t remember much about Andy Friessen, just that he was big into rodeo and won all those horse championships around here.”

The postal girl blushed and fanned her face. “Oh, let me tell you. That hunk can handle a horse and tame the wildest beast in a way that a woman dreams to be touched. Add in the fact he could easily win Sexiest Man of the Year, those broad shoulders, or the way that cowboy fills out a pair of Levis. But I tell you, he has me stammering like a schoolgirl every time he comes in here. And he’s friendly…. It’s why the folks around here still worship him. But I guarantee you that the Friessen money, and the fact they own everything all the way up to Marysville, adds to the charm.”

“You’ve got a crush on him by the sound of it.” Diana teased.

“Let me tell you, after he called off his engagement to Hailey, every living and breathing girl in this county has been hot after him.” The postal girl actually giggled.

“He called off his engagement?”

“Longest engagement in history, over ten years. Rumor has it that Andy caught her sleeping with his foreman. Threatened to shoot him, but next thing Hailey up and left town with his foreman.”

This wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. She needed to think, to figure out what to do next.

“Thank you for your time.” She rubbed her stomach. “Skipped lunch; I think I’ll go grab some food.”

“Oh, well, Merle’s is just around the corner. A local institution here. Food’s good, too, but you’d know that if you’re from around here.”

Diana smiled and thanked the postal girl before leaving. But she had no intention of stopping at Merle’s. She’d never eaten in a restaurant here and wouldn’t have been welcome as a child, not that they could have afforded it. That was where Andy had always hung out. His friends, his people, and a sure fire way for him to find out she was back now, so she’d skip the restaurant and maybe head out to the new mall and pickup something from the food court.

She’d just pulled the door open, so lost in thought that she didn’t see the attractive stranger who stepped in front of her and blocked her way.

But this was no stranger, after all. She jumped back and gazed into the, all-too-familiar, dreamy eyes of Andy. He was bigger than she remembered, towering over her, more solid through the chest and shoulders in his denim shirt. His slim hips were fitted nicely into a pair of jeans. He wore a black cowboy hat. His face was leaner, with a strong jaw and hard lines around his eyes, his mouth. There was an edge to him now that wasn’t the fun, teasing boy she remembered. He had large hands, a working man’s hands, which looked as if they could handle just about anything. She stared up into the face of a warrior and shivered, knowing why the postal girl had carried on about him. He hovered over her with a controlled power she’d not sensed before. He wore a sleeveless shirt where an eagle tattoo was visible on his left forearm. Her heart pounded so hard in her ears that she struggled to take a simple breath. He’d destroyed her trust. He was not her hero, so why did she have to remind herself of that? He gazed at her with such disdain and hardness that Diana shook inwardly; she wanted to fade into the background. He recognized her, alright.

He frowned, his blue eyes flashing. “Diana Claremont, you look just like your mother. What the hell are you doing back here? I said to not ever set foot back in this county. You got that piece of trash Faye with you?”

Her throat closed up and she felt a little girl’s panic. What made it worse was the postal girl was hanging on every word.

“I will have no more drugs or w*****g here. Whatever you two think you’re going to get coming back here, think again, forget about it. Your mother was a disease that destroyed many a good family. You here to pick up where she left off?”

Andy crossed his solid arms over his chest making it clear he’d have no problem moving her by force. “Not going to answer me?”

Diana trembled for a moment and then gathered her wits. “Excuse me,” is all she said before slipping past him, holding her head high as she climbed in her vehicle and drove away. When she glanced back in the rearview mirror he was standing on the sidewalk, dialing his cell phone and watching her drive away.