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- Bonds of Trust -- Part
XVI
Matthew and Kallie are slow dancing with the other kids. He glances
around, trying to spot his parents. He sees his principal come
down from the stage, giving Matthew a small frown as he goes
to join the other parents. The music changes to another slow
one when Matthew feels a tap on his shoulder. “Hey Buchanan,
let me cut in.”
-
- Matt moves back slightly,
holding on to Kallie. “Bug off, Stevie.”
-
- Kallie smiles at him. “It’s
okay, Matt.” She pulls away, turning to Stevie. “Let
me show you how it’s done.”
-
- Matt turns to Danielle, holding
out his arms. “Looks like it’s you and me.”
-
- Kallie dances off with Stevie
as Matt moves in step with Danielle. “I’m surprised
to see you here.”
-
- She looks at him cautiously.
“Why? You knew Stevie and I were coming.”
-
- “After what happened
yesterday…”
-
- “It was nothing, Matt.”
-
- “How can you say that?
He pushed you down.”
-
- She shakes her head. “He
didn’t hurt me.”
-
- Matt looks at her doubtfully.
“I’d bet if you weren’t wearing that wrap, we
would see a bruise.” Danielle looks away. “I’m
right, aren’t I?”
-
- “Let it go, Matt. Please.”
She pulls away as the music changes to a fast song. Matt searches
for Kallie as Danielle walks away.
-
- Nora and Bo are swaying slowly,
oblivious to the music, locked in a kiss. Nora reluctantly pulls
back. “Bo.”
-
- He kisses her again. “Hmmm…”
-
- “Sweetheart, the fast
music is back.”
-
- “So…”
-
- “So, we should get back
to our chaperoning duties.”
-
- He groans. “I don’t
think my ears can take it anymore.”
-
- She kisses him with a smile.
“You really are getting old, aren’t you?”
-
- “Of course not. We can
slip out of here and I can show you how young I am.”
-
- “I’m sure you could
but we have a teenage son and his girlfriend to think about.
I’m sure they’re not ready to leave.”
-
- “They won’t miss
us…” Bo is interrupted by his cell phone buzzing. “Saved
by the bell, Red.” He flips open his phone. “Buchanan.”
-
- “Hey, partner. I need
you to get over to Angel Square right now.”
-
- “What’s going on
Balsom?”
-
- “What’s all that
noise? Where are you?”
-
- “Matthew’s dance.
I can’t just take off…”
-
- “We spotted Taylor.
He’s making a move. He’s at the pawn shop right now.
What do you want me to do?”
-
- Bo sighs. “Of all nights.
Okay, sit tight, Balsom. I’ll call John and we’ll meet
you. Call me back if he makes a move.” He hangs up and turns
to Nora. “I’m sorry, honey. I have to go meet Rex.”
-
- “Is he in trouble again?”
-
- “No, it’s not like
that.” Bo dials and holds the phone to his ear again. “Hey,
John. It’s Bo. I heard from Balsom and our suspect is making
a move. Have you heard from Hugh? Has he made a decision?”
-
- “As a matter of fact,
I heard from him this morning. I was going to ask you for a meeting
on Monday to discuss it. He’s in.”
-
- “That’s great news.
Can you pick me up at the high school? Nora and I are here for
Matthew’s dance. I can’t leave her without a car.”
-
- “No problem. I’ll
meet you out front in 10 minutes.”
-
- “Thanks, John.”
Bo flips his phone shut and turns to Nora, who has been intently
listening to his end of the conversation. He holds up his hands.
“I can’t tell you about the case, Red. Not right now.”
-
- She nods. “Okay, but
promise me you’ll be careful.”
- He takes her hand, leading
her toward the exit. “I’ll be careful. I’m not
expecting any trouble with this bust.”
-
- Matthew notices his parents
walk through the gym and out the front exit. He is about to follow
them when Kallie grabs his arm. “Where do you think you’re
going?”
-
- He nods toward the exit.
“My parents just left…”
-
- Kallie shrugs. “Maybe
they just needed some air.”
-
- “Maybe. But my dad had
his PI face on. He’s probably heading out on a case.”
-
- “PI face? That’s
a new one.” She pulls him back toward the dance floor. “You
crack me up. First you're worried they were spying on us and
now you’re concerned because they’re not. Let’s
just enjoy the music. I have to be home by midnight. We don’t
have much time.”
-
- Matt glances at the door
again. “I guess you’re right.”
-
- Kallie pulls his arms around
her. “Yes, I am. Come on, Matt. Show me your moves.”
-
- Bo stands in front of the
school, grateful for the reprieve from the thumping music emanating
from the gym. He puts his arm around Nora. “You can go back
in, honey. It’s a little chilly out here.”
-
- She shakes her head. “I’d
rather wait with you. I’m not anxious to get back to that
ear-splitting noise they call music. We may need to take a closer
look at what Matthew is listening to these days.”
-
- Bo chuckles. “Guess
I’m not the only one getting old.”
- John pulls up in his unmarked
car. “There’s John.” He hands her the car keys.
“You get the kids home. Don’t wait up. This could take
a while.” He kisses her. “Love you.”
-
- She holds onto him for a
moment. “You be safe, Buchanan.”
-
- He kisses her again, hugging
her briefly. “Count on it.”
- He lets her go and walks
over to the car, pulling open the passenger-side door and disappearing
inside. Nora watches the car pull away before turning and heading
back into the gym. She finds a seat in the bleachers to keep
an eye on the kids.
-
- Matthew and Kallie are dancing
with a group of their friends. He spots his mother sitting alone
in the bleachers. Kallie follows his gaze. “What’s
wrong, Matt?”
-
- “My mom is sitting all
by herself. I wonder where my dad went?”
-
- “You’re such a
worrier. Maybe he’s raiding the food table or he’s
in the john. Relax, Matt. I’m sure your mom would tell you
if something is wrong. Can we just enjoy the rest of the night?”
-
- He glances down at Kallie
with a shrug. “Sure.”
-
- Nora watches from the bleachers,
trying to ignore the buzzing in her ears from the loud music.
After about 20 minutes, she decides to escape to the ladies’
room and give her eardrums a break. She checks her watch as she
dries her hands, relieved to see it’s nearly time for her
to get Kallie home. She is fixing her makeup when Danielle enters.
Nora smiles at her. “Hi, Danielle. I didn’t expect
to see you here.”
-
- “Hi, Mrs. Buchanan.
I just needed to use the bathroom.”
-
- Nora laughs. “I didn’t
mean here in the rest room, I meant at the dance.”
-
- “Oh. Why would you think
I wasn’t coming?”
-
- “I just… Well,
Matthew said you and Stevie broke up so…”
-
- “Matt should mind his
own business.” Danielle walks away and disappears into a
stall. Nora is surprised by her abrupt exit, so she waits for
her to emerge. When Danielle comes back out, she is unnerved
to find Nora waiting for her. “Is there something you need,
Mrs. Buchanan?”
-
- “Well, you could tell
me what you meant about Matthew minding his own business.”
-
- She shrugs as she walks to
the sink to wash her hands. “He was mistaken when he thought
Stevie and I broke up, that's all.”
-
- “I see. So Stevie and
Matt didn’t have a fight yesterday?”
- Danielle shrugs again, not
looking at Nora. “Because Matthew was very upset when I
picked him up from school.” Danielle moves over to grab
a towel to dry her hands. As she pulls down the towel, her wrap
slips from her shoulder and Nora sees a dark, ugly bruise on
her shoulder. “Danielle! What happened to you?”
-
- She quickly pulls the wrap
back in place. “It’s nothing, Mrs. Buchanan.”
-
- “It doesn’t look
like nothing. Let me see…”
-
- Danielle moves away from
her. “I said it was nothing!”
-
- At that moment, Kallie walks
into the rest room. “Danielle, I’ve been looking for
you. You will not believe what Stacy told me…” She
stops when she sees Nora staring at her friend. “What’s
going on?”
-
- Danielle shakes her head.
“It’s nothing.”
-
- Nora tries to go to her.
“Danielle, if you would just talk to me…”
-
- Danielle pushes past her.
“I have to go…” She rushes out of the restroom
as Kallie turns to Nora. “What happened, Mrs. Buchanan?”
-
- “I don’t know.
But I think your friend needs you. You should go find her.”
-
- Kallie and Nora exit the
restroom and head back to the gym. They search the crowd, trying
to spot Danielle. Nora leans down to Kallie’s ear. “Let’s
split up.” She points to the dance floor. “You find
Matt and have him help you look for her.”
-
- Kallie weaves through the
dancers searching for Matt. She finds Stevie instead. “Where’s
Matt?”
-
- He shrugs. “No idea.
Have you seen Danielle?”
-
- Kallie shakes her head. “No.
I’m looking for her too. She ran out of the bathroom and
Mrs. Buchanan said there’s something wrong.”
-
- “What happened?”
-
- “I don’t know.
I have to find her.”
-
- Kallie hurries away. Stevie
starts looking through the crowd for Matthew. Nora heads back
out to the hallway in search of Danielle. She sees Matthew talking
to one of his friends and walks up to them, touching her son’s
arm. “Matthew.”
-
- “Hey, Mom. Where’s
Dad?”
-
- “He got called away
on a case. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
-
- “Something wrong?”
-
- “I’m not sure.
Have you seen Danielle?”
-
- “Not since earlier tonight.
Is she okay?”
-
- “I hope so. I saw another
bruise tonight, like the one she had a couple weeks ago. I’m
concerned about her.”
-
- Matt squirms. “What
did she say about it?”
-
- “Nothing. She got upset
and ran out of the bathroom. Kallie is looking for her.”
-
- “Kallie knows?”
-
- Nora looks at him oddly.
“Knows what?”
-
- “You said Danielle has
a bruise…”
-
- “Kallie doesn’t
know that.”
-
- “Oh. I thought…
Never mind.”
-
- Nora looks at her son closely.
She can see he is nervous and suspects he knows more than he
is telling. She crooks her finger at him. “Come with me,
young man.”
-
- She turns to his friend.
“Excuse us.” Nora walks back down the hall toward the
gym, Matthew reluctantly following her.
-
- Kallie makes her way outside,
looking toward the parking lot. She sees Danielle standing at
the edge of the lot and hurries up to her. “We’ve been
looking all over for you, Danielle!” She sees her friend
is crying. “What’s wrong?”
-
- She shakes her head. “Go
back inside, Kallie.”
-
- “I’m not going
anywhere. Did you and Stevie have a fight?”
-
- “No.”
-
- “Mrs. Buchanan said
you were upset. Did she say something to you?”
-
- Danielle walks away. “Let
it go.”
-
- “I will not let it go.”
Kallie follows her. “You’re my best friend. I want
to know what’s going on with you.”
- “I can’t tell you.”
-
- “You sound like Matt.
He told me at dinner that something happened with Stevie yesterday.
Why didn’t you tell me when we talked last night?”
-
- “What did Matt say?”
-
- “He thought you wouldn’t
be here tonight. Did Stevie do something?”
-
- Danielle wipes at her eyes.
“It wasn’t what it looked like.”
-
- “Okay, tell me what
it was.”
-
- “We had a fight, that’s
all. It was no big deal.”
-
- Kallie looks at her suspiciously.
“What kind of fight?”
-
- “It was just an argument
about where we were having dinner. I wanted to go to the Palace
Hotel with you and Matt but Stevie said he couldn’t afford
it. I told him I would pay and…” Danielle stops.
-
- “And what? What did
Stevie do?”
-
- Danielle wipes at her tears.
“I don’t think he meant it, Kallie.”
-
- “Meant what?" Kallie
puts her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come on, Danielle.
Tell me what happened.”
-
- Stevie exits the gym and
hurries toward Kallie and Danielle. “You found her.”
He sees Danielle is crying and turns on Kallie. “What did
you say to her?”
-
- "Get lost, Stevie. Danielle
and I are having a conversation."
-
- He starts to get angry. "She's
my date. You're the one who should get lost!"
-
- Danielle shakes her head.
"Don't be mad, Stevie. I didn't say anything to her."
-
- Kallie glares at him. "Not
yet, but I want to know what's going on. Why don't you just go
back inside and leave us alone?"
-
- Stevie puts his arm around
Danielle possessively. "Not a chance."
-
- Nora marches out the gym
door followed closely by Matt. She sees the kids standing near
the parking lot and makes her way over to them. “Danielle,
I've been looking for you. Are you okay?”
-
- “She’s fine, Mrs.
Buchanan,” Stevie volunteers.
- “I think I’d prefer
to hear that from her.”
-
- Danielle shakes her head,
wiping at her tears. “It’s no big deal, Mrs. Buchanan.”
-
- Matt moves in front of her.
“You should talk to my mom. She can help.”
-
- She shakes her head. “Don’t
Matt.”
-
- “You heard her, Buchanan.
Leave it be.”
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