Paying The Piper - 18. Chapter 18

Quent and Drew beat Cale to Rob's house. They were in the same neighborhood, while Cale had to drive nearly three miles. Drew was out of the car before Quent had even put it in park.

"Marcus!" Quent yelled. Drew ignored him and loped up the front walk. Quent shook his head and took his time joining Marcus at the door. Who cared if Elizabeth suffered an additional ten seconds? It could be ten years, in Quent’s opinion, and still not be enough.

When he reached the door, Marcus was banging on it. Raised voices could be heard inside.

"Go away!" Rob yelled. Quent grinned. This was going to be more fun than he thought. He thumped the door with his fist.

"Police! Open up!"

Drew shot him an exasperated look. Quent glared back. A moment later, Rob opened the door in a panic. "Oh, Jesus!" he said when he saw Drew and Quent.

"No," Quent said, "although it could be argued that Marcus walks on water. Ask anyone."

Drew spotted Elizabeth standing in the shadows of the foyer. He pushed past Rob. "Are you all right?" he asked. He took her arm and led her to a chair. She nodded. "I—I think so," she said. "He scared me."

A shadow fell over them. Drew turned to see Quent standing over Elizabeth. "If you think that was scary, wait till you see who just pulled up."

Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide. "I shouldn’t have called him."

Drew nearly lost his temper. He was sick of Elizabeth’s manipulations and he’d only known her a few days. It was a mystery how Cale managed to persevere. He felt an inexplicable urge to stay where he was and stand by Cale – support him. It wouldn’t be the smartest thing, though. He doubted he would be able to keep his feelings in check. Understanding his part in the drama was over, he gave a deep sigh, rose to his feet and stepped back. Cale came in a second later.

"Elizabeth," he heard Cale say breathlessly as he rushed into the room. Elizabeth let out a cry and launched herself at him. To Drew’s surprise, Cale caught her by the arms and pushed her back. "Don’t," he growled. "I’m not in the mood." His eyes shifted up and he saw Drew. He faltered. "What…." His voice trailed off.

"I was with Quent when you called," Drew said quietly.

Cale blinked. "At two-thirty in the morning?"

Drew hesitated. "We were talking."

Cale’s eyes grew hard. "I see," he replied in a tight voice.

Drew didn’t see. He wanted to ask about Cale’s sudden frostiness, but it was neither the time nor place.

"Get in the car, Elizabeth. I’m taking you home," Cale said tiredly. Elizabeth, despite the awkward situation, bristled at the tone.

"But…he hurt me."

"You look fine to me," Cale said.

Elizabeth seemed ready to protest. Cale held up a hand. "Get in the car now," he ordered. Elizabeth gave him one more pleading glance and left. Immediately, Drew stepped forward.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Cale refused to meet his eyes. "Fine." He tried to brush past. Drew moved in front of him, blocking his path.

"Why…" Drew huffed in frustration. "For God’s sake, would you look at me?"

"Get out of my way," Cale hissed.

Drew recoiled. "What's wrong with you?"

Cale’s head snapped up. His eyes glinted. "What’s wrong? Are you serious? How often do you spend the night ‘talking’ at Quent’s house, Drew? Hmmm? Tell me, does he cook you breakfast in the morning?"

Drew’s mouth dropped open. "You can’t think—"

Cale dodged past, bumping Drew’s shoulder. Drew watched him go, too shocked to move. He turned to Quent. "What the fuck just happened?" he demanded.

Quent shook his head. "I have no idea what he was thinking. He knows I don’t cook." He turned and followed Cale out.

**********

By the time Drew collected himself and made it out to the street, Cale and Elizabeth were gone. Quent took one look at Drew’s kicked-puppy countenance and shook his head in disgust.

"Where’s Rob?" Drew asked as he joined Quent at the car.

Quent jerked his head toward the backseat. Rob was inside, head in his hands. "You arrested him?" Drew asked in astonishment.

Quent shrugged. "After a fashion. Unfortunately, a charge of stupidity will only keep him overnight. But I do plan on having a long chat with him in the morning." He looked Drew over once more, then hesitated as if considering something.

"Need a ride home?" he finally asked.

Drew shook his head. His eyes were focused somewhere in the distance. "No. Thank you."

Quent debated saying more. After one more glance at Drew, he decided against it. "Get some sleep." Drew nodded vaguely. Quent climbed into his car and drove away. He watched Drew in the rearview mirror until he turned the corner.

**********

Quent kept Rob in the drunk tank for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of the night left. Still, he took advantage of the few hours before dawn and napped on the vinyl couch in his office. At nine o’clock, he roused Rob.

"Get up," he ordered. Rob, bleary-eyed and rumpled, stumbled out of the cell.

"Was that really necessary?" he complained. "I mean I understand you’re Cale’s friend and all, but—"

"Shut-up." Quent propelled his deputy to his office. In this case, it would be more intimidating that the small closet-like room they used for interrogation. He pointed to a seat and Rob sat obediently. Quent was about to begin when the phone rang.

"Yes, Marcus?" he barked into the receiver.

There was a long pause. "How do you do that?"

"What do you want?"

"Do you have a moment? Right now? I’d like to talk about something. I could be there in three minutes. I‘m almost in town."

Quent leaned back in his chair. He eyed Rob hatefully. The other man gulped. "Sure. Come on over." He hung up before Marcus could extend the conversation with useless banter.

"I know I’ve told you this before," Quent said, with a disgusted look at his deputy, "but you’re not very smart." Rob turned red but held his tongue. "What were you doing with Elizabeth last night?"

"Jesus, chief! She’s the one that called me. Said she didn’t care what time it was, she needed a …."

Quent raised an eyebrow. Rob licked his lips. "She wanted some companionship."

"And you, of course, obliged her."

Rob sat up straight in his chair. "I love her!" he declared. Quent rolled his eyes. Rob forged ahead. "I do." His expression turned dark. "That bastard McCoy doesn’t deserve her."

"I couldn’t agree more," Quent said.

"She needs—"

"Stop," Quent demanded. "I don’t care." Rob cut himself off mid-sentence. "Good boy," Quent muttered.

A moment later, a knock sounded on the door. "Come in, Marcus," Quent yelled.

Drew cracked the door and saw Rob. "Is this a bad time?" he asked.

Quent bit off the insult he ached to deliver. "No," he said in a clipped voice. "In fact, you’re right on time. Rob was just telling me that it was Elizabeth that initiated their rendezvous last night. Of course, he has yet to explain how she coerced him into assaulting her."

Rob jumped from his seat. "I did not assault her!"

"Sit. Down," Quent said. His voice was low and dangerous. Slowly, Rob did. Quent glanced at Drew. Marcus had made himself comfortable leaning against the wall directly behind Rob. It was a classic maneuver, designed to keep a suspect off balance. Quent wondered how many other maneuvers Marcus knew.

"Very well, then. Let’s hear it."

Rob looked at Quent blankly. "What?"

"Your version of what happened last night," Drew said from behind him. Rob jumped six inches off his chair. He looked back at Drew before swiveling back to Quent. "What’s he doing here, anyway?"

"He’s here to arrest you on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud," Quent said with a perfectly straight face. Rob went pasty white.

Over his shoulder, Drew mouthed, Are you crazy?

Quent shrugged. "Unless, of course, I get some cooperation."

Rob looked pensive for a moment. Weighing and assessing the various threats, no doubt. Quent cleared his throat and looked at his watch. "You have ten more seconds to think."

"That’s not fair!" Rob cried. Quent shrugged again. He began a mental countdown. Across the room, Drew massaged his temples and shook his head. When Quent reached three, Rob blurted out, "Wait! Okay. Fine." He slumped back and grew sullen. "Ask me what you want."

Quent smiled maliciously.

Lucky bastard, Drew mouthed.