Page 72 of When I'm Gone
But it wasn’t a trap. Luke followed Officer Miller through Booking, where they’d taken his mug shot, searched his clothes, and yelled orders. When Miller offered him a doughnut and some orange juice, Luke started to believe everyone was going to jump out and admit to being part of some elaborate reality TV show.
“Thank you.” Luke took a cruller with chocolate frosting from the mauve box, far too hungry to resist. The police station was busy, despite the holding cell now standing empty. Uniformed officers milled about the hallways; another two in police-issued sweats crossed the hall holding half-full water bottles. One of the interview rooms had its door closed, occupied light on above it. To all these people it was another Friday morning at work.
“Why don’t you go talk to Janice?” Officer Miller pointed toward a window in the wall down by the waiting room. “I’ll grab you some coffee. How do you like it?”
Luke swallowed the mouthful of cruller, disappointed he couldn’t savor it longer. “Uh, black is fine. Thanks.”
Luke followed the hallway to Janice’s window. He’d been expecting an older woman with cropped hair and a surly attitude. Instead, he was greeted by a smiling woman in her midtwenties, hair pulled back in a French braid that even May would envy.
“Mr. Richardson?” Janice asked as though she was calling out his name at a Starbucks because his latte was ready.
“Yes.” Luke sighed, ready to be out of the police station and back at home with his family. “Do I need to sign something?”
“Yup. I need you to sign here saying you received all your belongings. So, could you take a look real fast?”
Luke wiggled his fingers into the top of the drawstring bag and forced it open. Inside were his phone, his wallet, an old Natalie letter, and a few random pens. He should probably check his credit cards and cash, but he didn’t want to waste any more time in case they suddenly decided to change their minds and put him back in a cell.
“Looks good,” he answered, picking up a pen. She pointed to a line at the bottom of a page. Luke scanned through the document to make sure he wasn’t admitting to anything. Satisfied, he scribbled out his signature.
Janice took the clipboard and checked it over. “Looks like everything’s in order. Now, it might take a day or two to get your car from impound, but Officer Miller has arranged a ride home for you. I’ll give you a call when it’s ready.”
Luke felt like he’d fallen through the looking glass and into some kind of upside-down world. Miller was getting him coffee and arranging rides; Janice was helping him get his car out of police custody. Last night he’d walked into the station frightened. Every person he met, intimidating. Something must’ve changed in the past twelve hours, but what?
“Uh, thank you,” Luke replied, giving Janice a half wave.
“Here’s your coffee.” Miller showed up beside him with a steaming disposable cup. Luke grabbed it, still holding on to the half-eaten pastry. “If you’ll follow me.”
The glass double doors leading to the front of the police station were only a few feet away now. His feet itched to sprint through them to freedom, but there was something he still needed to know.
He cleared his throat, which was clogged with cruller crumbs. “So, all charges have been dropped? Nothing will be on my record? I don’t need a lawyer or anything like that?”
“That’s right. It was a bit of a ...” Miller stretched his neck to one side, then the other. “We are calling it a ‘misunderstanding.’” He straightened his shoulders, and his voice turned very official. “I’m afraid I can’t comment on an open investigation.”
“Okay, that’s fine.” Luke took a sip of his coffee. It was very hot and very strong. He held back a cough. Maybe he’d hire that lawyer after all, try to get some answers.
Miller didn’t wait for any further questions. “Follow me,” he ordered, turning his body to hide the code he typed into the pad beside the doors. After a beep, the doors unlocked, and Officer Miller held one open. “Your ride is waiting outside.”
“Uh, thank you,” Luke answered. Without making eye contact, he hurried past the officer, trying not to notice the rows of worn black chairs lining the walls or the receptionist in the corner who seemed to be waving at him—or maybe she was waving at Officer Miller; he didn’t care to find out which. As he burst through the front doors, the summer heat hit him immediately. He forgot to check the time inside, but it must be close to noon.
Taking the last two bites of his cruller, Luke heaved the empty napkin and full cup of coffee into the tall blue garbage can outside the station door. Still chewing, he glanced around the parking lot, expecting to see a squad car or maybe even Terry with the minivan. There were two police cruisers—one a beater that looked like it couldn’t start even if someone showed up with keys, and the other a blue Accord. A slender woman stood beside the Accord wearing a flowing blue blouse and fitted jeans, head down looking at her phone. Luke let out a disappointed sigh. No one was here for him. His phone was probably dead, which meant going back inside to make a phone call. Great.
He heard his name. The blonde woman by the car glanced up from her phone and waved. Luke’s stomach did a little flip. It was Annie.
“Luke! Over here,” she shouted across the parking lot. He wanted to run to her, pick her up in his arms and tell her how much he’d missed her, but they were at the police station where her husband worked, her husband who’d tried to frame him. He wouldn’t run or pick her up, but he couldn’t stop himself from responding.
“Annie?” he called out. “What are you doing here?” He glanced around one more time. “Are you my ride?”
She didn’t wait for him to reach the car. Using all her speed and agility, she ran across the blacktop and wrapped her arms around his waist. It happened so fast it took a moment for Luke’s arms to catch up with his mind. He lightly placed his arms around her shoulders, keeping his eyes open in case Brian came out from some hiding place. But once he could feel her warmth and liveliness against his aching body and feel her hair brush his cheek, he forgot to hold back, to be on guard. His muscles tensed, and he pulled her in hard, engulfing Annie in his arms.
“I’ve missed you,” she said. He was relieved she said it first.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he said, barely resisting the urge to kiss her on the top of the head. Brian’s jail-cell accusations came back to him in a rush, and Luke forced his arms to drop. “Um, so, Brian?” He took a step back and folded his arms across his chest.
“I’m sorry I got you pulled into my drama. I didn’t think he’d do ... this.” She gestured at the police station and cars.
“Wait, you knew he set me up?”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out. He’s been furious with you since he picked me up from your house. And then when he didn’t get the job ...” She trailed off. Luke was afraid to know how she was going to finish that sentence. “Let’s just say it was bad.” She rubbed a spot on her wrist. Luke noticed the brace on it for the first time.
