Carmen Cavanaugh Chronicles: Mystery of the Missing McDermont (Chapter 5-Jan 27)
Zorom:
Great! I'm glad to see see your pictures have much improved.
Can't wait to see what happens next! Keep it up! ;D
creamcheesefrosting:
The Mystery of the Missing McDermot
Chapter 5
That night I sat in my recliner, watching a rerun of Simfeld while waiting for the news to come on. I thought about the case and wondered if Derek would risk staying at his family's bakery for any significant amount of time. After all, if the police found out they would definitely be involved in some kind of criminal investigation, possibly even charges of obstruction of justice.
Something still bothered me about this whole thing. If this were a straightforward internal affairs investigation, Derek wouldn't have gone on the lam. Accidents happened, especially when you're dealing with live fire. This was something that would earn him a mark on his record, if he had even been the shooter. Why would he risk running?
The opening bars of the News theme song jarred me from my thoughts and I looked at the screen. An Asian female newscaster looked into the camera. "Good evening everyone, I'm Doreen Chang, and this is the six o'clock news. Well, members of the Belladonna Cove Police Department are going to think more carefully about eating sweets today after a birthday party for one of the department's Vice detectives resulted in food poisoning for several members of the force. Tests reveal a rare food bacteria in the frosting of the birthday cake served at the party. One officer, Detective Bill Pence, is in the hospital due to reactions with the bacteria. No other serious injuries were reported. And to Detective Sloane: happy 45th. Now we go to Jackie Tate with the weather."
I didn't get to hear what Jackie had to say about the weather, though; the TV turned off. I looked around for my remote and almost screamed.
"It's so hard to find a competent weather girl these days," said Derek McDermot, leaning against the doorframe with the remote in his hand. "Trust me, you don't want to see Jackie Tate talk about the weather. She predicted showers tonight, and look--not a cloud in the sky."
"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, springing up out of my chair, trying to put something between us. It's true, I'd known and been friendly and even romantic at times with Derek McDermot, but he was a wanted man on the run. Who knows what he might do?
"I know you're looking for me," Derek said calmly, reaching over to set the remote on top of my TV. "I thought I'd come and give it to you straight: you don't want any part of this, Cara."
"Don't call me that," I snapped. "How did you get in here?"
"Kitchen window," said Derek with a smile. "Just like old times, right?" He smile vanished. "I'm serious about this, Carmen. You need to stay out of this."
"Why?" I demanded. "This is my job."
"Because I don't want you to get hurt. You could end up in jail, or worse."
I studied him for a few moments, then smirked. "You look terrible. Are you all right?"
"I'm starving. Was that chicken in the fridge?"
"You snooped my fridge?" I asked, trying to sound as angry as someone in this position should. For some reason, it was more amusing than anything. With a resigned sigh I said, "Would I end up in jail if I shared?"
"That depends," said Derek with a deadpan look. "Did you cook it?"
"So what happened?" I demanded after I had microwaved us some chicken and potatoes. "Did you shoot Flanders?"
"I really can't tell you," said Derek around a mouthful of potatoes. "You know, that's one thing I miss about hanging out with you. Your mom's a great cook."
"I'll tell her," I said dryly. "You can break into my house, play with my TV, eat my chicken--" He gave me a look. "--okay, my mother's chicken. But you can't tell me anything?"
"How about this? I've got a deal for you."
"I'm listening," I said and plunked a green bean in my mouth.
"I'll tell you something if you promise to stop trying to find me to turn me in."
"What makes you think I haven't called the cops already, and this chicken isn't a ruse to keep you here?"
"Because I'm not stupid, Cara," said Derek sternly. "And I've been watching you the whole time. And your phone is on the kitchen counter. And you almost wet your pants when you saw me in the doorway. Do we have a deal?"
"Fine." He was right about almost wetting my pants. He'd scared me half to death! "Go ahead."
"I didn't shoot Flanders. I don't know who did, but I know who's going to have it pinned to them: me." Derek's voice had a bitter edge.
"How do you know if you shot him? Weren't you all firing at the same time?" I imagined a dark room filled with crossfire.
"Yes, but I know for a fact I didn't shoot Flanders. I was shooting blanks."
"What?" I demanded. "That was incredibly dangerous! What if you'd needed live rounds?"
"I wouldn't."
"How could you possibly--?"
He cut me off impatiently. "Logan told me, all right?" His eyes blazed for a moment; I could tell he hadn't intended to drop a name. Luckily for him, I didn't know any Logans. "But things went wrong, and Flanders ended up dead."
"Who were you investigating?" I asked timidly, afraid to rouse his ire.
He shook his head. "That, I can't tell you. I won't. It's too dangerous." He looked at me gravely.
Something passed between us then; an understanding. He was talking about one of the organized crime outfits that plagued Belladonna Cove. It was one of the things that we inherited because we were so close to Sim City. The high-ups lived in Sim City. The gangs that operated in Belladonna Cove were typically thugs and wanna-bes...with a few notable exceptions.
"Well, I think I've involved you in this felony about as much as I intend to," Derek said. "I'd better go."
"Yeah right. You're forgetting one thing."
Derek rinsed the dishes while I put the leftovers away. "Now you can go," I told him with a laugh.
"I mean it, Carmen," he said sternly. "Don't try to come after me. You could get hurt."
I raised an eyebrow. "I'll try to stay away, but I have to do my job."
"Office work," he said. "No stakeouts."
"I'll try." He turned and put his hands on the counter. "You can't go out the front door?" I asked.
"Too risky. I might be seen," he said. And then he was climbing out the window and he was gone.
I lay awake for a long time that night, wondering what to do next. It had felt like an unspoken agreement that we would keep this meeting to ourselves, but I felt a professional and personal loyalty to Dean and Jack. Wouldn't they need to know all the relevant information?
But if I told them, wouldn't they just pursue it further? That could end up with one of them getting hurt.
What was there to do? I asked myself. I chewed the question, but it felt more like the question was chewing me.
Zorom:
? Plot twist! Brilliant! Update soon.
steelguy:
I like the way this is going. A good old-fashioned P.I. story. :cool:
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