“You were harassing me! I didn’t do anything!”
“You were drinking and driving.”
“Two beers! I had two beers!” Alvin was looking maniacal again. “Check with the bartender! He’ll tell you!”
“I already did,” Rodney said, “and he told me you had seven drinks.”
“He’s lying!” Alvin shouted, his eyes swiveling to Jeremy. He looked through the bars, his face panicked between his hands. “I had two drinks! I swear, Jeremy! I would never drive if I had too much. I swear on my mother’s Bible!”
Jeremy and Lexie looked over at Rodney. He shrugged. “I was just doing my job. “
“Your job! Your job!” Alvin shouted. “Arresting innocent people! This is America and you can’t do that here! And this isn’t ending! When I get through with you, you won’t even be able to work security at Wal-Mart! Do you hear me, Barney! Wal-Mart!”
It was clear that the two of them had been going on like this most of the night.
“Let me talk to Rodney,” Lexie finally whispered.
When she left with the deputy, Alvin fell silent.
“We’ll get you out of here,” Jeremy reassured him.
“I don’t belong in here in the first place!”
“I know that. But you’re not helping yourself.”
“He’s harassing me!”
“I know that. But let Lexie handle it. She’ll take care of it.”
Out in the hallway, Lexie looked up at Rodney. “What’s really going on?” she asked.
Rodney wouldn’t meet her eyes; instead, he continued to look in the direction of the holding cell.
“Where were you last night?” he asked.
She crossed her arms. “I was at the cottage at the beach.”
“With him?”
Lexie hesitated, wondering about the best way to answer. “I didn’t go with him, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Rodney nodded, knowing she hadn’t answered completely, but suddenly realizing he didn’t want to know any more.
“Why did you arrest him? Honestly.”
“I wasn’t planning to. He brought it on himself.”
“Rodney . . .”
He turned around, lowering his head to his chest.
“He was hitting on Rachel, and you know how she can get when she drinks: all flirty and without a speck of common sense. I mean, I know it’s none of my business, but someone has to watch out for her.” He paused. “Anyway, when he was leaving, I went over to talk to this guy to see if he was planning to head over to her place and what kind of guy he was and he starts insulting me. And I wasn’t in the best of moods, anyway . . .”
Lexie knew the reason for that, and when Rodney trailed off, she said nothing. In time, Rodney shook his head, as if he were still trying to justify it to himself. “But the fact is, he was drinking and planning on driving. And that’s illegal.”
“Was he over the legal limit?”
“I don’t know. I never bothered to check.”
“Rodney!” she whispered loudly.
“He made me angry, Lexie. He’s rude and weird-looking and hitting on Rachel and calling me names, then he says he’s working with this guy . . .” He motioned with his head toward Jeremy.
Lexie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me, okay? You know that you will get in trouble if you keep him in here for no reason. Especially with the mayor. If he finds out what you did to the cameraman—especially after he’s gone through all this trouble to make sure the story turns out okay—he’ll cause trouble for you.” She let that sink in for a moment before going on. “And besides, you and I both know that the sooner you let him out, the sooner the both of them can leave.”
“You really think he’ll leave?”
Lexie looked Rodney in the eye. “His flight is tomorrow.”
For the first time, Rodney held her gaze. “Are you going with him?”
It took a moment for her to answer the question she’d been asking herself all morning. “No,” she whispered. “Boone Creek is my home. And this is where I’m staying.”
Ten minutes later, Alvin was walking out to the parking lot beside Jeremy and Lexie. Rodney was standing in the doorway of the county jail, watching them go.
“Don’t say anything,” Jeremy warned again, keeping hold of Alvin’s arm. “Just keep walking.”
“He’s a hick with a gun and a badge!”
“No, he isn’t,” Lexie said, her voice firm. “He’s a good guy no matter what you might think.”
“He arrested me for no reason!”
“And he also watches out for people who live here.”
They reached the car, and Jeremy motioned for Alvin to get in the backseat.
“This isn’t the end of this,” Alvin grumbled, crawling in. “I’m calling the D.A. That guy should be fired.”
“The best thing you can do is forget about it,” Lexie said, looking through the open car door at him.
“Forget about it? Are you insane? He was wrong and you know it!”
“Yes, he was. But since no charges were filed, you’ll let it go, anyway.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“I’m Lexie Darnell,” she said, drawling out her name. “And not only am I a friend of Jeremy’s, but I have to live here with Rodney, and I’m not lying when I say that I feel a lot safer with him around. Everyone in town feels safer because of him. You, on the other hand, are leaving tomorrow, and he’s not going to bother you again.” She smiled. “And c’mon, you have to admit that this will make one heck of a story when you get back to New York.”
He stared at her in disbelief before glancing at Jeremy. “She’s the one?” he asked.
Jeremy nodded.
“She’s pretty,” Alvin commented. “Maybe a little on the pushy side, but pretty.”
“Better yet, she cooks like an Italian.”
“As good as your mom?”
“Maybe better.”
Alvin nodded, silent for a moment. “I take it you think she’s right about dropping this whole thing.”
“I do. She understands this place better than you or me, and she hasn’t led me wrong yet.”
“So she’s smart, too, huh?”
“Very,” Jeremy said.
Alvin broke into a wolfish grin. “I take it you two were together last night.”
Jeremy said nothing.
“She must be really something . . .”
“I’m right here, you guys!” Lexie finally interjected. “You do realize that I can hear everything you’re saying.”
“Sorry,” Jeremy said. “Old habits and all that.”
“Can we go now?” Lexie asked.
Jeremy looked at Alvin, who seemed to be considering his options.
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “And not only that, I’ll forget any of this ever happened. On one condition.”
“What’s that?” Jeremy asked.
“All this talk about Italian food has made me hungry, and I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Buy me lunch, and not only will I drop the whole thing, but I’ll tell you how the filming came out last night, too.”
Rodney watched them go before heading back inside, tired from lack of sleep. He knew he shouldn’t have arrested the guy, but even so, he didn’t feel too bad about it. All he’d wanted to do was exert a little pressure, and the guy starts running his mouth and acting all uppity . . .
He rubbed the top of his head, not wanting to think about it. It was over now. What wasn’t over was the fact that Lexie and Jeremy had spent the night together. Suspicions were one thing, but proof was another, and he saw the way they were acting this morning. It was different somehow from the way they’d been acting at the party the other night, which meant something had changed between them. Still, he hadn’t been completely certain about them until he heard the tricky way she’d tried to answer without answering. I didn’t go with him, if that’s what you’re asking. No, he’d wanted to say, he hadn’t asked her that. He’d asked if she’d been at the beach with Jeremy last night. But her vague response was enough, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened.
The realization nearly broke his heart, and he wished again that he understood her better. There’d been times in the past when he thought he was getting closer to knowing what made her tick, but this . . . well, this just proved otherwise, didn’t it? Why on earth would she let it happen again? Why hadn’t she learned from the first traveling stranger who’d passed through town? Didn’t she remember how depressed she’d been afterward? Didn’t she know she was only going to be hurt again?
She had to know those things, he thought, but she must have decided—at least for an evening, anyway—that she didn’t care. It made no sense at all, and Rodney was getting tired of caring about it. He was tired of being hurt by her. Yeah, he still loved her, but he’d given her more than enough time to figure out her own feelings for him. It was time, he thought, for Lexie to make a decision one way or the other.
His anger fading, Alvin paused in the doorway of Herbs when he saw Jed sitting at one of the tables. Jed scowled and crossed his arms as soon as he saw Alvin, Jeremy, and Lexie take their seats at a booth near the front windows.
“Our friendly concierge doesn’t seem too pleased to see us,” Alvin whispered across the table.
Jeremy stole a glance at him. Jed’s eyes became little slits. “Gee, that’s strange. He’s always seemed so friendly before. You must have done something to upset him.”
“I didn’t do anything. I just checked in.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like the way you look.”
“What’s wrong with the way I look?”
Lexie raised her eyebrows as if to say, You’ve got to be kidding.
“I don’t know,” Jeremy pondered out loud. “Maybe he doesn’t like Metallica.”
Alvin glanced at his shirt and shook his head. “Whatever,” he said.
Jeremy winked at Lexie; while she smiled in return, her expression was distant, as if her mind was elsewhere.
“The filming went great last night,” Alvin said, reaching for a menu. “Caught it all from two angles and watched it on playback last night. Amazing stuff. The networks are going to love it. Which reminds me, I’ve got to call Nate. Since he couldn’t reach you, he kept calling me all afternoon instead. I have no idea how you put up with that guy.”
When Lexie looked perplexed, Jeremy leaned toward her. “He’s talking about my agent,” he said.
“Is he coming down, too?”
“No. He’s too busy dreaming up my future career. And besides, he wouldn’t know what to do outside the city. He’s the kind of guy who thinks Central Park should be developed into condos and retail outlets.”
She flashed a quick smile.
“So what’s with you two?” Alvin demanded. “How did you meet?”
When Lexie showed no inclination to answer, Jeremy shifted in his seat.
“She’s a librarian and she’s been helping me research the story,” he said vaguely.
“And you two have been spending quite a bit of time together, huh?”
From the corner of his eye, Jeremy saw Lexie glance away.
“There’s been a lot to research,” he said.
Alvin looked at his friend, sensing that something was off. It seemed almost as if they’d had a lovers’ quarrel and gotten over it but were still licking their wounds. Which was a lot to have happen in a single morning.
“Well . . . good,” he said, deciding to drop it for now. Instead, he looked over the entries as Rachel came sauntering toward the table.
“Hey, Lex, hey, Jeremy,” she said as she approached. “Hey, Alvin.”
Alvin looked up. “Rachel!” he said.
“I thought you told me you were coming in for breakfast,” she said. “I’d just about given up on you.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. He glanced at Jeremy and Lexie. “I guess I slept in.”
Reaching into her apron, Rachel pulled out a small pad and retrieved the pencil she kept behind her ear. She dabbed the tip with her tongue. “Now, what can I get y’all?”
Jeremy ordered a sandwich; Alvin asked for the lobster bisque and a sandwich as well. Lexie shook her head. “I’m not that hungry,” she said. “But is Doris around?”
“No, she didn’t come in today. She was tired and decided to take the day off. She worked late last night getting things ready for the weekend.”
Lexie tried to read her expression.
“Really, Lex,” Rachel added, her voice serious. “There’s nothing to worry about. She sounded fine on the phone.”
“Maybe I should go check on her, anyway,” Lexie said. She looked around the table for confirmation before rising. Rachel moved aside to make room.
“Would you like me to come with you?” Jeremy asked.
“No, that’s okay,” she said. “You’ve got work to do, and I’ve got things to do, too. Would you like to meet up at the library later? You wanted to finish looking through the diaries, didn’t you?”
“If that’s okay,” he said, stung by the nonchalance in her tone. He would rather have spent the rest of the afternoon with her.
“How about if I meet you there at four?” she suggested.
“That’s fine,” he said. “But let me know what’s going on, okay?”
“Like Rachel said, I’m sure she’s fine. But I’m going to grab her notebook from the backseat, if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, of course.”