“Hey, I don’t have a car, and I don’t really have anyone to call. Can you take me to the station where Luke Callaway is?” I figured that in the worst case, I could call Joker or Sable to give me a ride home if the police were still talking to Luke. If for some reason I couldn’t get Joker or Sable, I figured that my parents would be my last resort. I really didn’t want to call them under these circumstances, but maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
“Sorry,” the cop said, once we were out in the parking lot. He was holding the back door of his cruiser open. “Regulations prohibit me from carrying passengers up front.”
Hoping no one would see me, I climbed in. “I appreciate the ride.”
“Least I can do. You’ve had a hell of a day.”
Once he got in up front, I asked him if he knew what was going on with Luke, explaining that his phone seemed to be turned off.
“I don’t know, ma’am. Given that there was a dead man on the scene, it may take some time to clear up exactly what happened. I’m sure if he tells the truth, and if he didn’t do anything wrong, that he’ll be out in no time.”
I leaned back and stared at the grate that separated the back seat from the front, and was thankful to arrive at the station in just a few minutes. The first thing I noticed as we pulled in was that there were four familiar bikes parked in front of the station. I sighed in relief. At least I wouldn’t be alone. The cop opened my car door — since I couldn’t do it myself — and I followed him inside to find complete chaos in the huge waiting area in the lobby.
“What the fuck do you mean, they’re charging him with murder?” Joker’s voice boomed throughout the linoleum hallways that led from the waiting room.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to either lower your voice or leave,” the police officer said, her voice a firm indication that she wouldn’t tolerate much more from the furious biker who stared down at her.
“Joker, honey, let me handle this,” Sable said, pulling at Joker’s arm, trying to get him to step back from the officer he was glaring at.
He stormed away, clearly struggling to regain some control over his anger.
“Is there someone we can talk to who can explain this to us?” Sable asked, surprisingly calm. “We’re his parents.”
The officer looked puzzled and referred to a file in her hand. She shook her head. “Ma’am, Mr. Callaway informed us that his parents are both recently deceased. He listed a Krystal Shaw as his emergency contact.”
Sable sighed and lowered her head. “We’re his birth parents. He was adopted, and we just recently met him again. Can you please tell us what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t talk about an ongoing investigation. If Mr. Callaway is charged, there will be a grand jury hearing to indict him, and the judge will set bail. If he’s not charged, he’ll be free to go, but I’m not the one who makes those decisions. There’s not much more I can tell you.”
I stepped forward. “I’m Krystal Shaw. It’s my fault Luke’s in here. Can I see him?”
Sable turned to look at me, and I swear that if looks could have killed, I wouldn’t have survived.
“Jesus, you look awful, Krystal,” she said, in a voice that conveyed little sympathy for my condition.
I was sure I did look awful, wearing bloodstained clothes and bearing bruises from the previous day’s encounter. “Sable, Luke saved my life. Bug was about to kill me, and Luke came in and hit him with a baseball bat. He didn’t mean to kill him, but he couldn’t let him continue to slice me up.”
Joker hurried to my side. “Are you okay, honey?”
Sable put a hand on his arm. “At least she’s not in jail,” she pointed out. “Are you going to straighten this mess out?” she asked me.
“I’ve already told the cops everything, that he came in and saved my life.”
Sable looked at me, and I stepped back, stunned by the anger I saw in her eyes. “If that’s the case, then why are you out here, while he’s locked up?”
The police officer stepped in between us, and faced me. “Ma’am, if you’ll come with us, I have some people who want to talk to you.” She took my arm and ignored Sable, who stood still and glared at me.
I could hear the confusion of voices behind me as I walked down the hallway with the cop, and in addition to being confused and worried about Luke, I also started to feel a little light-headed. I stopped walking abruptly, and the cop came to halt beside me.
“Krystal. You okay?” she asked, looking at me with obvious concern. “Good grief, honey, I know you’ve been through a lot. I’m gonna find you a place to sit down, and we’ll get you something to drink, okay?”