Page 16 of Shimmering Emeralds
The door had barely closed behind them when I realized how much I wished Levi had stayed. His deep voice and calm energy were soothing to my raw nerves.
Almost as if the universe had heard my wish, Dani opened the door to peek her head in and say, “Levi didn’t leave. He’s sitting out here in the hallway.”
I made a valiant effort not to let my immense relief at this news show on my face, but I doubted if it worked.
That overwhelming sense of reassurance didn’t last long because Dani obliterated it with her next words. It was a good thing I was sitting down or my legs might have given out from underneath me when she said, “The police are out here questioning him. I bet they’re going to arrest him for reckless driving and child endangerment.”
14
Levi
Iwasn’t a bit surprised when the police officers found me, even though I was sitting by myself in a hospital corridor. One of the nurses bustling past had probably seen me and reported my whereabouts to a friend, who then called her mother, who subsequently texted her sister, whose neighbor happened to be on the police force––or some such similar nonsense. That was how the small-town grapevine worked.
You couldn’t break wind in Brunswick Bay Harbor without the entire town discussing it ad nauseum. It was one of the main reasons why I’d always thought I wanted to get away from here. There had only ever been one reason for me to stay, and she was sitting just on the other side of that door, worried sick about her little girl.
I tried to drum up a smile as the grim-faced officers approached. I’d gone to school with Jimmy, the tall, lanky one. Hank, the portly one, had given me a stern warning for speeding shortly after I’d gotten my driver’s license. I’d been so scared that I’d never done anything to warrant being pulled over since.
Not wanting to be hauled off to jail by burly Hank, I focused on Jimmy. Even though I tried to sound friendly, my tone was flat. “Hi, Jimmy. I heard you and Bethany got married.”
He nodded, but didn’t speak.
I wasn’t normally one for small talk, so I wasn’t sure what else to say. I was pretty certain that immediately asking about their plans for children wasn’t the best way to proceed.
Hank saved me from having to chit-chat by saying, “We understand you were driving the school bus that crashed with a load of children on board.”
I winced at hearing the harsh words out loud, but nodded to confirm their heartbreaking accuracy.
The no-nonsense cop said, “We’re going to need you to come with us down to the station.”
“No!” I said without thinking, which made Hank’s bushy eyebrows jump up to where his hairline would have been, if it hadn’t receded to the top of his head.
“Are you resisting arrest, young man?” His booming voice was just as intimidating as it had been when I was sixteen, so I reminded myself that I wasn’t that scared teenager anymore.
“Am I under arrest? I didn’t intentionally do anything wrong.” My tone sounded much more confident than I felt.
“We’ll see about that,” Hank glared at me, making it obvious that he had already tried and found me guilty in the miniature court inside his brain.
Jimmy’s tone was a bit less harsh. “You need to come with us down to the station for a breathalyzer test.”
The last thing I wanted was to leave Meg alone in this hospital. Focusing on the officer that I’d once smoked weed with, I said, “Please. Can’t we do a field sobriety test? I haven’t had so much as a sip of alcohol in weeks.”
Jimmy’s expression seemed to soften a bit, so I went in for the kill. “Meg’s daughter was hurt in the accident, and I don’t want to leave her here alone.”
The officer’s gaze darted to the closed hospital door I had indicated. “Harper’s been hurt?”
“She’s in a coma.” My voice was barely above a whisper. Saying the words made them seem even more horrific and real.
Still staring at the door as if he could see through it, Jimmy said in a faraway voice, “Meg needs him here. Give him the field sobriety test, Hank.”
I tried not to let my shock show over Jimmy’s assertiveness with the gruff senior officer. It must not have been anything new because Hank let out a frustrated huff, but began snapping out orders of skills for me to perform.
Once I had successfully balanced on one leg and walked in a straight line, Hank grudgingly admitted, “It doesn’t look like you’re inebriated, but don’t think this means you’re off the hook, Mister. When our investigation finds that you were at fault, you’ll be spending a great deal of time in jail.”
I solemnly nodded, fully prepared to pay the price for my mistake.
Not bothering to hide the disbelief in his tone, Hank went on, “We’ve been told you’re claiming there was a moose or person in the road that caused you to turn the wheel so suddenly?”
“Yes, it was Kevin Durley,” I told them confidently.
