Page 11 of Outlaws' Single Mom
I’m cleaningup after breakfast when the doorbell rings the next morning. Dean's playing with his trains, even though they all make motorcycle sounds now, and the TV is on quietly in the background: The Secret World of Crickets. If it wasn’t for the cold, aching feeling in my chest, it would be a great Saturday.
I go to the front door and press the intercom button. “Hello?”
“This is Officer Ezra Dillard. I’m looking for Dakota Vale.”
“One sec.” I pull my hair back into a quick ponytail and throw on a bra under my sweats before buzzing him in.
I wait for him on the second-floor landing outside our door. Officer Dillard is a very medium sort of person. Medium height, medium build, medium hair, medium eyes. I get the feeling that if I looked away for a minute and had to pick him out in a crowd, I’d have a hard time doing it. It’s probably unfair to judge him on sight, but the bikers were the exact opposite of medium. Good or bad, I like that they don’t seem to mind living their lives in full color.
He shows me his identification. “May I come in?”
“Of course, I just wanted to let you know that I have a four-year-old inside and he doesn’t really know what’s going on, so I’d appreciate it if we could keep the conversation down. And sorry about the mess, but again, four-year-old, you know?”
“It’s no problem. I completely understand,” he says with a medium sort of smile.
Inside, I call out to Logan. “Bath soon, Lo!”
I get silence in return.
“That should keep him out of our hair for a few minutes. He won’t want to remind me he exists for at least half an hour.”
He nods without as much as a grin.
Ooookay. Feeling petty, I make myself a cup of coffee without asking him if he’d like any, not that he seems to notice. He’s too busy arranging his papers and a tablet neatly in front of him.
“I’m sure you understand that this is in regards to your sister. I’m going to have to ask some uncomfortable questions. Is that alright?” He glances up, and I get the uncomfortable feeling of being evaluated like one of the bugs Logan and Lash found yesterday.
“I know. I figured.” Georgia’s history isn’t exactly comfortable, so I doubt he can say much that will shock me. I’m mostly interested in seeing if he has any information that might give me a clue about what she was up to before the accident.
“To start out with, the initial blood tests indicated a whole cocktail of drugs in her system. We’ll know more next week when the final results come in, along with anything the autopsy might turn up. I have to ask, was this normal for your sister?”
Letting out a sigh, I look out the kitchen window, at the parking lot in front of the building. “Yes and no. She’s struggled a lot over the years, but as far as Iknow, it’s been a long time since she was into anything heavy.” Since before Logan at least, but I don’t want to call any attention to him if I don’t have to. Not until I find a way to make my guardianship legal.
“Has she relapsed before?”
I pull my feet up under me in the chair. The truth is a murky, complicated thing sometimes. “Yeah, but I hadn’t seen any of the usual signs.”
“Are you sure? Have you seen her recently?” His eyes narrow and he leans forward, intent on my answer.
“No. We last talked a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t actually seen her in person for months. Sorry, I guess the truth is I wouldn't have known if she was struggling. But…”
“But?”
“But our mother was killed by a drunk driver when we were younger, and our Dad’s been on disability because of his back ever since. Georgia may have struggled a lot over the years, but she’d never get behind the wheel if she was using.”
Officer Dillard looks up from taking notes on his tablet. “I don’t mean to be callous, but even if you’reright, with the amount in her bloodstream, she was too far gone to be making rational decisions. Quite often habitual users underestimate how affected they are.”
“Look, I don’t know what to tell you. She hasn’t had the easiest life, and sure, some of that was her own doing, but does that matter now? What are you investigating, anyway? I thought it was just an accident.” It feels like he’s fishing for something specific. Cops don't like drugs, obviously, but what are they going to do? Arrest her?
“Ms. Vale, I’m going to be blunt with you. It’s only luck that she didn’t kill anyone but herself. There’s a good chance this is as straight forward as it looks, but we need to make sure nothing else was at play. If it comes to light that someone supplied her with the drugs or knew she was going to drive, they could be held accountable. You can resist questioning, but we’ll just keep digging.”
“I… I’m not resisting! I just don’t know anything. I wish I did.” Crap. I stop for a moment and listen, hoping Logan isn’t paying attention. “But if you’re going to look at anyone, look at her boyfriend, not me,” I add, keeping my voice down.
“Oh, don’t worry. We will,” he says with a smirk. “Oh, there was a booster seat in her car. Did she have children?”
“No. I bought it for her in case she was ever driving with my son.”
“You let her drive with your son? Knowing the risk?”
