Paying The Piper - 25. Chapter 25

After the incident at the garage, Quent, Cale, and Drew met back at the station. Quent cursed the blinking red light on the message center. Drew looked at it, bemused.

"I hope none of those were emergencies."

"Those are routed directly to my phone," Quent said.

Drew ran his hand over the machine. "You haven’t received any emergency calls since I’ve been around you. Who decides if it’s an emergency?"

Quent looked at him as if he were stupid. "The caller, Marcus."

"Ahhh," Drew said. When ducked into his office, Drew shared a smile with Cale and pushed the ‘outgoing message’ button. Quent’s voice filled the room.

"You have reached the Farther's Run police department. If this is an emergency, press ‘1’ and you will be immediately routed to someone who can help you. I warn you now, if you do this and in fact do not have an emergency situation, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Have a good day."

Cale’s shoulders were shaking as he struggled to contain his laughter. Drew was horrified. "I can’t believe people put up with that," he mused.

Cale shrugged and guided Drew into Quent’s office. "He may not be well-liked, but he gets the job done. To most, that’s all that matters."

Quent was at his desk. His shirt sleeves had been rolled up. "Let’s go over this again briefly," he said. "Then I have to go."

Cale nodded. "That’s fine. I have to…take care of something anyway."

"She can wait. You’ve waited enough times for her," Quent said snidely. He sat back and pointed a long finger at Cale. "Who knew you were going into the city yesterday?"

Cale tipped his head back while he thought. "You. Elizabeth. That’s it."

"Did you call anyone during the day? Or on the way back?"

Cale nodded slowly. "Well, I called you. And I called Drew. He wasn’t home. I left a message."

Drew frowned. "I didn’t get any message. But then again, that machine’s a piece of crap. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised."

Quent was flummoxed. "No one else?"

"No, I—" Cale cut off abruptly. Quent looked up from his notebook.

"What?" he asked.

Cale bit his bottom lip. "I called Rob."

"What!" both Drew and Quent yelled together.

Cale didn’t notice. He was too lost in thought. "Elizabeth wasn’t picking up at home. I called there…on a whim, really. He picked up the phone, but I never identified myself."

"Why not?" Quent asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

Cale smiled bitterly. "I heard Elizabeth in the background. I hung up."

No one said anything for a long time. Finally, Quent asked, "What about the car that hit you?"

"I don’t…" Cale paused and ran his fingers over his lips. "I don’t know what to tell you. It was strange looking. I mean, I couldn’t really see it. But, the headlights were strange. And it was noisy."

Quent’s heart began to pound. "It could have been the car I saw on the mill road the night of Marci’s murder."

Drew’s head jerked up. "What makes you think so?"

Quent looked pensive. "The way Cale describes it. It sounds remarkably similar."

No one said anything else, each lost in their own thoughts. Quent was torn between keeping Cale with him and wanting him to leave. He was going to see Steve Mullen and if he went in his current condition – tired, stressed and sober – he may indeed murder the man. A stiff drink before the interview was in everyone’s best interest. If he killed Mullen before solving the case, that would only leave Marcus to handle the investigation. Out of everything that had happened to date, that thought scared him the most.

**********

They walked out to the parking lot together. Cale had a sudden thought and flagged Quent down before he could drive away.

"What happened with Braden last night?" he asked when Quent had rolled down the window.

"He wasn’t there."

Drew walked up behind Cale. "He bolted?"

Quent frowned. "I don’t think so. I have a bad feeling…." he trailed off.

"What?" Cale asked

Quent grimaced. "That he confronted the wrong person about Cynthia’s murder."

Cale put a hand out when Quent started to roll forward again. "Wait. You mean you think he tried to blackmail more than one person?"

"Yes. And one of them truly had something to hide."

**********

Drew drove Cale home. They pulled up in front of the house and Drew shut the engine off. Cale reached across the seat and took his hand. "You don’t have to stay. I have plenty of other cars. I’ll come by when…after."

Drew shook his head. "No way."

Cale sighed. "Drew—"

"No. I’ll wait in the car. I‘m fine with that. After last night, I need a nap anyway." He smiled when Cale blushed. Then his face grew serious again. "But I’m not leaving you alone."

"That’s very chivalrous, but—"

"Cale."

Cale shook his head and stepped out of the car. He leaned back through the open window. "Sure you don’t want to check the house before I go in? Peek into all the closets? What if it’s Elizabeth that has it in for me?" he teased.

"She’s in enough danger from me as it is. I don’t think a face to face confrontation is advisable right now. Say ‘hi’ for me, though."

Cale rolled his eyes. "You’re evil." He jogged up the marble stairs and disappeared inside.

Drew leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes.

***********

As it turned out, Elizabeth was waiting for him in the foyer.

"I thought we should just get this over with," she said.

Cale answered neutrally, "I think that’s a good idea."

Elizabeth motioned for Cale to follow her. In the living room, he made sure he sat in one of the large armchairs – alone. Elizabeth didn’t comment. She perched herself on the edge of the couch and nibbled on her lip. Feeling uncharitable, Cale didn't try to ease her discomfort.

When Elizabeth looked up, he expected tears in her eyes. Instead, they were dry. "I’m sorry, Cale," she said. "I never meant to hurt you. It’s just that…you made me so mad. So frustrated. I’ll be the first to admit that I turned into a real hag." She sighed and dropped her eyes again. "If you hate me, I certainly deserve it."

Caught off guard by Elizabeth’s unexpected honesty, Cale realized that he didn’t hate her. He resented her. He despised her nagging. He felt betrayed by her affair. But he didn’t hate her. It was puzzling, but there was no denying his lack of animosity. If anything, he felt relieved.

Obviously, Elizabeth was thinking along the same lines. "I want you to know that I still care about you. I do. I’m sure I always will."

"So will I," he whispered. Elizabeth gave a tremulous smile. "I hope you’re happy," Cale offered.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders but her smile grew ten-fold. "I think I am. Time will tell." She cocked her head. "I hope you find someone who makes you happy, too."

Cale dropped his eyes. In spite of their differences, they'd spent ten years together and Elizabeth still knew him better than anyone. He knew she'd notice something right away if he let her look too closely. He risked an upward glance. She was watching him.

"Did someone drive you?" she asked out of the blue.

Cale sensed a trap, but answered nonetheless. "Yes. My car’s down at Dean's."

She craned her neck to look out the window. "Is that Drew’s jeep?"

Cale laughed. The famous Drew Marcus. "Yes."

Elizabeth stood and walked to the window. From where she was standing, Cale knew she had a good view of the vehicle as well as who was inside. She chewed her lip. "Is that where you stayed last night?"

Cale took a deep breath. "Yes."

She turned around. "With Drew?"

"Yes."

He watched her face as the pieces fell into place. He wasn’t surprised she had figured it out so quickly. After all, she'd been working the puzzle for nearly ten years.

Elizabeth covered her face with her hands, and Cale braced himself. She started to make small, choking noises. Her shoulders shook. Cale winced and stood up, not sure whether he should try to comfort her or simply leave. Finally, with a last shuddering sigh, she lowered her hands from her face. Startled, Cale realized she had been laughing. There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling through them.

"We really are a pair, aren’t we?" she asked.

Cale felt the last of his tension melt away. "We are," he agreed.

**********

Drew jerked awake when Cale opened the door. "That was quick," he mumbled as Cale climbed in. Cale threw a small bag in the backseat.

"Everything goes quickly when you’re sleeping, Drew."

"I wasn’t sleeping," he protested with a yawn.

Cale smiled. "Whatever. Let’s go."

Drew watched him carefully as he started the engine. "Home?"

Cale nodded. "Perfect."