Roll Away Your Stone 6/18
Series: Secret
Story: Roll Away Your Stone
Chapter: Darkness Is A Harsh Term
Rating: R
Pairing: Nikki/Nora
Disclaimer: All bow to Nancylee Myatt. I'm mucking about in her sandbox...no harm no foul. Also, thank you Dirk…for uh, ya know, putting up with my sh!t.
A/N: PBWR called me a meanie for this...I can't disagree on that even if the chapter wasn't written like it is...so uh, sorry...?
Ch.6 - Darkness Is A Harsh Term
“Mr. Courtney as your council, I’m instructing you to please stop talking,” John Clark, the court-appointed attorney to one Mr. Ross Courtney, instructs his client.
Ross, the idiot, just rolls his eyes and snickers, “Stupid prick had it coming.”
I lean back in my chair across from him and shrug. “So you tried to wreck your parents’ marriage because they wouldn’t continue to support your stupid lazy ass?”
His face grows a little redder and he spits, “My dick of a father showed more interest in his damn sports collection than he did me. Like I said, the fucking prick had it coming. So what that mom got pissed. She’s taken his shit for this long, what’s she care if he bangs some dumb cunt on the side. She should be fucking thanking me.”
I shake my head. “I just don’t get it. That’s your family you dumb shit.”
The kid snickers and folds his arms across his chest, “Just ‘cause they’re blood doesn’t mean they’re always right. Fat chance getting any of my dad’s shit recovered.”
A sharp rap at the double mirror signals an end to the interview.
Thank God!
Routine questioning turned into the dumb kid talking nonsense and then lawyering up. Like that did him a lot of good.
“You two are going to need to get something worked up. My A.D.A. will be in shortly,” I say curtly and leave the room.
As expected Dan and an A.D.A. I’m unfamiliar with stand outside the interview room. The lawyer smiles politely and says, “Thanks detective. That made this a whole lot easier.”
I nod at the man, with his thinning hair and rumpled suit. Dan just smiles at me and knocks me on the shoulder. “Good work, Delaney.”
I run my hand through my hair and shrug it off. It doesn’t feel like I did a good job. It feels like I helped ruin a family. I sigh and watch as the A.D.A. goes into the interview room. Dan kills the intercom and leans against the glass.
His eyes narrow and he looks me over. Pushing off the glass, he crooks a finger asking me to follow him. I comply and we weave our way around a set of desks outside of interrogation room three and go back to his office. The door clicks shut behind me and Dan sits on the edge of his desk.
His button up shirt is a pale blue and his tie, a silvery gray, is caught underneath his folded arms, straining the neck of the button up. “Where’s Nikki?”
“Had some other stuff to do,” I say. I really don’t need him giving me shit right now.
His head bobs. “So that why you asked me to sit in? ‘Cause, partner, I don’t know if you had the chance to look in the mirror yet, but you look like shit.”
I flip him off. It’s an automatic response, but I don’t deny the assertion that I look like shit. Not sleeping or eating will do that to a person.
“Giving me the bird will only make me more curious.” Dan hops off the edge of his desk and slides up to me, resting his hands on my shoulders. “Am I gonna hafta pop that partner of yours?”
“Nope,” I say.
“Am I gonna hafta pop you?” His smile takes the sting away marginally.
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Am I gonna get a longer answer?”
I shake my head.
I watch as his face clouds over, his back straightens and he steps away from me.
Goddamnit.
“I,” I start, “I snapped at her,“ I finally admit.
His eyebrow hikes and he gives me the look that says he needs more information.
“We were coming out of the morgue yesterday. Nikki asked a question about a sore spot and I sorta snapped at her.” Admitting it does nothing to assuage my guilt. Not much will right now, except for talking to my partner.
“What’s the sore spot?” he asks, some of the anger a few short minutes ago leaving his face.
“Telling my mom,” I swallow, “telling my mom about us.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?” I deflate and take a seat in one of the open chairs.
“You should,” his words are simple. Their meaning, not as much.
I slouch down in the seat and sulk.
He takes the chair next to me and scoots it close. “We’re still friends?” he asks gently.
I shoot him, the ‘don’t be a dumb shit’ look.
“Well, as your friend, I think that you should. Mrs. Delaney is a decent woman. She’s got some stuff…ya know back in the day, we called it ‘stuck in her ways’, and it’s true. I mean I’m not saying it’ll be easy or that she won’t freak out initially.” His hand rests on my left knee. “But she’s your mother, Nora. She
loves you. In the end, it won’t matter.”
Various voices ping pong inside my brain, Nikki’s, Patrick’s, Bobby’s, Ross Courtney’s and now Dan’s. It shouldn’t matter.
It shouldn’t matter.
I’m mostly happy. I’m in love. I have a great partner and a woman that makes me feel like a love sick teenager even after being with her nonstop for nearly four years.
“Ugh!” I bring my hands to my face and grunt again.
“She’s not gonna want to talk to me just yet,” I whine through my hands.
I hear Dan give a snort of laughter. “Well, I wouldn’t either if I were her.” He pries my hands away and gives me the Dan Harney Special - a thousand watt smile and big brown eyes that make many a women swoon - before smacking me upside the head.
“Hey!” I protest and rub the spot he hit.
He shrugs. “You deserve it.” He nods firmly and follows up with, “Now as your boss, this conversation never happened. I want the write up for Courtney done before you leave here. Then go find your partner and straighten your shit out. I don’t need one third of my go to people out of commission ‘cause their home life is a fucking train wreck.”
“Asshole,” I grunt.
“Damn right,” he grins, stands and opens the door. “Now get that damn report done Delaney or I’ll have you busting out parking tickets for a month!” he makes a show of pushing me out of his office and slamming the door behind me.
A few eyes follow me back to my desk while I have the good sense to look like I just got my ass handed to me.
I drop the tailgate on June Lee and hop up to take a seat. Knox’s former neighborhood is quiet today. With the way the clouds are rolling in, big puffy white things that remind me of summertime thunder storms. Hopefully, the weather holds out and it won’t rain cats and dogs until tonight.
I’m not sure what Nora’s plans are. She sent me a message last night that said she was staying at Bobby’s. I haven’t heard from her yet today. The first time we got into it like this and she stayed with her brother, the morning after was one of the worst. I saw her and wanted to smack her.
Not the healthiest way to deal with my anger.
She just…
I’ve never met someone that can make my blood boil in such short order.
Daddy says that momma and him carried on like that too. He says it’s the Beaumont in me.
I glance down at my watch, five till noon; someone should be coming to talk to me soon.
After this, I need to swing by Darius’, drop by the studio and his gear and then maybe I’ll go see if I can track down my partner. We’ll go have dinner and try for a civil conversation.
I close my eyes as a ray of sunlight peeks through the cloudy sky and I inhale. I’ve been a lot of places and not much can compare to New Orleans and its unique scent.
Down the way, I hear a screen door shut and I find the source, watching someone come towards me. Hopping off the tailgate, I close June Lee up and move towards the sidewalk to rest a hip against the bed of the car. I watch the kid, can’t be much older than fourteen or fifteen, approach the front of June Lee. He pays me no attention as he walks past.
I follow his retreating form and sigh. Not who I’m waiting for apparently. I turn my attention to the front of the crime scene and see something at the edge of side walk, between the lawn and the concrete.
It wasn’t there before.
Maybe it was who I was waiting on.
I push off the car to stand over the item. A half folded sheet of notebook paper.
I guess it’s better than nothing.
Stooping down, I reach for it, but think better of it. Instead, I fish in my jacket pocket and remove an evidence bag and pen. I get the paper in the clear plastic and seal the red strip on it without touching the letter.
I can look it over when I get back to the station.
I start to rise up off my haunches when I hear the first crack.
The concrete rushes up to meet me and pebbles grate against my cheek.
Successions of shots are fired off as I scramble for cover, trying to get behind June Lee.
Bullets ping and bounce off the body as I reach for my gun. As one gun stops, another picks up in its place. It’s rapid fire and nearly impossible to tell where the shots are coming from.
Glass shatters.
I can’t reach the radio in the car.
Shit.
I wipe at the sweat on my forehead and go to wipe it on my pants. My hand comes back red.
Shit.
Shit.
And fuck!
Inhaling, I know I need to at least try to get a look around.
I scramble to the end of the car and see a late model Oldsmobile stopped right in front of me.
My side begins to burn and I glance down. The red blooms across the cotton blouse I have on.
I hear, “Fuckin’ PIG Bitch!” before another round of fire is let loose from the car window.
Diving for better cover, I feel only a searing pain explode across the left side of my head before everything fades to black.
I look over the finalized report of my interview with Ross Courtney. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Nikki’d be proud.
Well…no, that’s not true; she’s the one that hates filling out the paperwork. I’m the one that usually has to double check her work.
Maybe I should offer to do her write ups for a little while. Help get me back on her good side.
It’s going to take more than an offer of paperwork right now to do that, but, I shrug to myself, at least it can be a start. I think maybe I need to take her out tonight. Some place nice and low key. Apologize, flowers…
I lean back in my seat and lace my hands behind my head.
The real question is a nice necklace or she’d been eyeing up a new jacket the last time she dragged me shopping.
Either way would work…
Shit.
Ah, no, no, I should swing by Le Cœur and pick up those earrings she saw a few weekends ago. Call over to Mother’s and have Mike set me up with a nice bouquet. This could all work in my favor.
And one last thing that I need to do. I pick up my phone and dial the familiar number.
“Hello,” Patrick says on the other end of the line.
“Hey,” I say wanting him to really start this conversation.
“What’s up Hug?” he asks.
“I, uh, I’m in,” I swallow.
“Eh?” He’s confused and I get it. I guess I would be too.
“I…Patrick don’t make me try and explain this. It’s just that…Nikki’s right, you’re right…Dan’s right, as
much as it kills me to say this out loud.”
My head goes a little light and I draw air in. Breathing helps. Need to remember how to do that.
“It shouldn’t matter,” I say.
“Good. We’ll talk more when you guys get home?” he wonders, the happiness in his voice hard to mask even under his tough guy exterior.
“Yeah, I need to go track down my partner and then try and fix this. I’ve made a mess,” I admit.
Patrick swallows on the other end of the line. “You know I hate this mushy shit, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” I tell him, helping him to try and keep the act up that he’s cultivated over the years.
“Yeah well, so what I’m about to say I never said. Chris asks, tell ‘im I said something else about taking her out and having your way with her or something, but she loves you Nora. She seems like a good woman and really, all your family can ask is that you find someone to love you and treat you right.” He swallows, pausing briefly before surging forward, “In the short time I’ve been here, I can see she does that and more. You won’t regret this and with me and Bobby standing with you…mama’ll just have to get over herself.”
“You really think she will?”
“I don’t know, Huggy, but Nikki and Chris deserve a fuck lot better than what we’ve been.”
“Yeah, yeah they do,” I sigh.
“Nora!” My head snaps up as I see Dan come running out of his office. “Let’s go!”
I sit stunned. “Uh, Pat, I need to…” I don’t have time to say anything else as Dan snatches the phone out of my hand and slams it down.
“I said let’s go!” he barks.
Instinct takes over and I snatch my keys and jacket before running after him.
“Dan!” I call after him as we race down the steps. “Goddamnit, DAN!”
He doesn’t stop, but there is a cruiser, lights on, in the front of the station. Dan clambers in the driver’s side and a uniform puts me in the passenger seat, shutting the door as Dan closes his.
“Would you tell me what the fuck is going on?” I snap.
He’s halfway down the street, siren on, before he looks over briefly and says, “I got a call from Lt. Stave saying they’d taken Nikki to the hospital.” His eyes flick to me before going back to the road and taking a hard right. “She was shot. Once in the head and once in the side. I’m not sure…” his voice cracks.
My head spins. It feels like the floor just…
“Nora!”
I look at my old partner, words forming, but…talking seems...
I feel the car shift under me. I slide into the door a little, the armrest digging into my forearm. The discomfort goes away as we take another turn.
I focus on the dashboard. It’s dusty and hasn’t seen a rag for a while.
Next>>>
Story: Roll Away Your Stone
Chapter: Darkness Is A Harsh Term
Rating: R
Pairing: Nikki/Nora
Disclaimer: All bow to Nancylee Myatt. I'm mucking about in her sandbox...no harm no foul. Also, thank you Dirk…for uh, ya know, putting up with my sh!t.
A/N: PBWR called me a meanie for this...I can't disagree on that even if the chapter wasn't written like it is...so uh, sorry...?
Ch.6 - Darkness Is A Harsh Term
“Mr. Courtney as your council, I’m instructing you to please stop talking,” John Clark, the court-appointed attorney to one Mr. Ross Courtney, instructs his client.
Ross, the idiot, just rolls his eyes and snickers, “Stupid prick had it coming.”
I lean back in my chair across from him and shrug. “So you tried to wreck your parents’ marriage because they wouldn’t continue to support your stupid lazy ass?”
His face grows a little redder and he spits, “My dick of a father showed more interest in his damn sports collection than he did me. Like I said, the fucking prick had it coming. So what that mom got pissed. She’s taken his shit for this long, what’s she care if he bangs some dumb cunt on the side. She should be fucking thanking me.”
I shake my head. “I just don’t get it. That’s your family you dumb shit.”
The kid snickers and folds his arms across his chest, “Just ‘cause they’re blood doesn’t mean they’re always right. Fat chance getting any of my dad’s shit recovered.”
A sharp rap at the double mirror signals an end to the interview.
Thank God!
Routine questioning turned into the dumb kid talking nonsense and then lawyering up. Like that did him a lot of good.
“You two are going to need to get something worked up. My A.D.A. will be in shortly,” I say curtly and leave the room.
As expected Dan and an A.D.A. I’m unfamiliar with stand outside the interview room. The lawyer smiles politely and says, “Thanks detective. That made this a whole lot easier.”
I nod at the man, with his thinning hair and rumpled suit. Dan just smiles at me and knocks me on the shoulder. “Good work, Delaney.”
I run my hand through my hair and shrug it off. It doesn’t feel like I did a good job. It feels like I helped ruin a family. I sigh and watch as the A.D.A. goes into the interview room. Dan kills the intercom and leans against the glass.
His eyes narrow and he looks me over. Pushing off the glass, he crooks a finger asking me to follow him. I comply and we weave our way around a set of desks outside of interrogation room three and go back to his office. The door clicks shut behind me and Dan sits on the edge of his desk.
His button up shirt is a pale blue and his tie, a silvery gray, is caught underneath his folded arms, straining the neck of the button up. “Where’s Nikki?”
“Had some other stuff to do,” I say. I really don’t need him giving me shit right now.
His head bobs. “So that why you asked me to sit in? ‘Cause, partner, I don’t know if you had the chance to look in the mirror yet, but you look like shit.”
I flip him off. It’s an automatic response, but I don’t deny the assertion that I look like shit. Not sleeping or eating will do that to a person.
“Giving me the bird will only make me more curious.” Dan hops off the edge of his desk and slides up to me, resting his hands on my shoulders. “Am I gonna hafta pop that partner of yours?”
“Nope,” I say.
“Am I gonna hafta pop you?” His smile takes the sting away marginally.
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Am I gonna get a longer answer?”
I shake my head.
I watch as his face clouds over, his back straightens and he steps away from me.
Goddamnit.
“I,” I start, “I snapped at her,“ I finally admit.
His eyebrow hikes and he gives me the look that says he needs more information.
“We were coming out of the morgue yesterday. Nikki asked a question about a sore spot and I sorta snapped at her.” Admitting it does nothing to assuage my guilt. Not much will right now, except for talking to my partner.
“What’s the sore spot?” he asks, some of the anger a few short minutes ago leaving his face.
“Telling my mom,” I swallow, “telling my mom about us.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?” I deflate and take a seat in one of the open chairs.
“You should,” his words are simple. Their meaning, not as much.
I slouch down in the seat and sulk.
He takes the chair next to me and scoots it close. “We’re still friends?” he asks gently.
I shoot him, the ‘don’t be a dumb shit’ look.
“Well, as your friend, I think that you should. Mrs. Delaney is a decent woman. She’s got some stuff…ya know back in the day, we called it ‘stuck in her ways’, and it’s true. I mean I’m not saying it’ll be easy or that she won’t freak out initially.” His hand rests on my left knee. “But she’s your mother, Nora. She
loves you. In the end, it won’t matter.”
Various voices ping pong inside my brain, Nikki’s, Patrick’s, Bobby’s, Ross Courtney’s and now Dan’s. It shouldn’t matter.
It shouldn’t matter.
I’m mostly happy. I’m in love. I have a great partner and a woman that makes me feel like a love sick teenager even after being with her nonstop for nearly four years.
“Ugh!” I bring my hands to my face and grunt again.
“She’s not gonna want to talk to me just yet,” I whine through my hands.
I hear Dan give a snort of laughter. “Well, I wouldn’t either if I were her.” He pries my hands away and gives me the Dan Harney Special - a thousand watt smile and big brown eyes that make many a women swoon - before smacking me upside the head.
“Hey!” I protest and rub the spot he hit.
He shrugs. “You deserve it.” He nods firmly and follows up with, “Now as your boss, this conversation never happened. I want the write up for Courtney done before you leave here. Then go find your partner and straighten your shit out. I don’t need one third of my go to people out of commission ‘cause their home life is a fucking train wreck.”
“Asshole,” I grunt.
“Damn right,” he grins, stands and opens the door. “Now get that damn report done Delaney or I’ll have you busting out parking tickets for a month!” he makes a show of pushing me out of his office and slamming the door behind me.
A few eyes follow me back to my desk while I have the good sense to look like I just got my ass handed to me.
I drop the tailgate on June Lee and hop up to take a seat. Knox’s former neighborhood is quiet today. With the way the clouds are rolling in, big puffy white things that remind me of summertime thunder storms. Hopefully, the weather holds out and it won’t rain cats and dogs until tonight.
I’m not sure what Nora’s plans are. She sent me a message last night that said she was staying at Bobby’s. I haven’t heard from her yet today. The first time we got into it like this and she stayed with her brother, the morning after was one of the worst. I saw her and wanted to smack her.
Not the healthiest way to deal with my anger.
She just…
I’ve never met someone that can make my blood boil in such short order.
Daddy says that momma and him carried on like that too. He says it’s the Beaumont in me.
I glance down at my watch, five till noon; someone should be coming to talk to me soon.
After this, I need to swing by Darius’, drop by the studio and his gear and then maybe I’ll go see if I can track down my partner. We’ll go have dinner and try for a civil conversation.
I close my eyes as a ray of sunlight peeks through the cloudy sky and I inhale. I’ve been a lot of places and not much can compare to New Orleans and its unique scent.
Down the way, I hear a screen door shut and I find the source, watching someone come towards me. Hopping off the tailgate, I close June Lee up and move towards the sidewalk to rest a hip against the bed of the car. I watch the kid, can’t be much older than fourteen or fifteen, approach the front of June Lee. He pays me no attention as he walks past.
I follow his retreating form and sigh. Not who I’m waiting for apparently. I turn my attention to the front of the crime scene and see something at the edge of side walk, between the lawn and the concrete.
It wasn’t there before.
Maybe it was who I was waiting on.
I push off the car to stand over the item. A half folded sheet of notebook paper.
I guess it’s better than nothing.
Stooping down, I reach for it, but think better of it. Instead, I fish in my jacket pocket and remove an evidence bag and pen. I get the paper in the clear plastic and seal the red strip on it without touching the letter.
I can look it over when I get back to the station.
I start to rise up off my haunches when I hear the first crack.
The concrete rushes up to meet me and pebbles grate against my cheek.
Successions of shots are fired off as I scramble for cover, trying to get behind June Lee.
Bullets ping and bounce off the body as I reach for my gun. As one gun stops, another picks up in its place. It’s rapid fire and nearly impossible to tell where the shots are coming from.
Glass shatters.
I can’t reach the radio in the car.
Shit.
I wipe at the sweat on my forehead and go to wipe it on my pants. My hand comes back red.
Shit.
Shit.
And fuck!
Inhaling, I know I need to at least try to get a look around.
I scramble to the end of the car and see a late model Oldsmobile stopped right in front of me.
My side begins to burn and I glance down. The red blooms across the cotton blouse I have on.
I hear, “Fuckin’ PIG Bitch!” before another round of fire is let loose from the car window.
Diving for better cover, I feel only a searing pain explode across the left side of my head before everything fades to black.
I look over the finalized report of my interview with Ross Courtney. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Nikki’d be proud.
Well…no, that’s not true; she’s the one that hates filling out the paperwork. I’m the one that usually has to double check her work.
Maybe I should offer to do her write ups for a little while. Help get me back on her good side.
It’s going to take more than an offer of paperwork right now to do that, but, I shrug to myself, at least it can be a start. I think maybe I need to take her out tonight. Some place nice and low key. Apologize, flowers…
I lean back in my seat and lace my hands behind my head.
The real question is a nice necklace or she’d been eyeing up a new jacket the last time she dragged me shopping.
Either way would work…
Shit.
Ah, no, no, I should swing by Le Cœur and pick up those earrings she saw a few weekends ago. Call over to Mother’s and have Mike set me up with a nice bouquet. This could all work in my favor.
And one last thing that I need to do. I pick up my phone and dial the familiar number.
“Hello,” Patrick says on the other end of the line.
“Hey,” I say wanting him to really start this conversation.
“What’s up Hug?” he asks.
“I, uh, I’m in,” I swallow.
“Eh?” He’s confused and I get it. I guess I would be too.
“I…Patrick don’t make me try and explain this. It’s just that…Nikki’s right, you’re right…Dan’s right, as
much as it kills me to say this out loud.”
My head goes a little light and I draw air in. Breathing helps. Need to remember how to do that.
“It shouldn’t matter,” I say.
“Good. We’ll talk more when you guys get home?” he wonders, the happiness in his voice hard to mask even under his tough guy exterior.
“Yeah, I need to go track down my partner and then try and fix this. I’ve made a mess,” I admit.
Patrick swallows on the other end of the line. “You know I hate this mushy shit, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” I tell him, helping him to try and keep the act up that he’s cultivated over the years.
“Yeah well, so what I’m about to say I never said. Chris asks, tell ‘im I said something else about taking her out and having your way with her or something, but she loves you Nora. She seems like a good woman and really, all your family can ask is that you find someone to love you and treat you right.” He swallows, pausing briefly before surging forward, “In the short time I’ve been here, I can see she does that and more. You won’t regret this and with me and Bobby standing with you…mama’ll just have to get over herself.”
“You really think she will?”
“I don’t know, Huggy, but Nikki and Chris deserve a fuck lot better than what we’ve been.”
“Yeah, yeah they do,” I sigh.
“Nora!” My head snaps up as I see Dan come running out of his office. “Let’s go!”
I sit stunned. “Uh, Pat, I need to…” I don’t have time to say anything else as Dan snatches the phone out of my hand and slams it down.
“I said let’s go!” he barks.
Instinct takes over and I snatch my keys and jacket before running after him.
“Dan!” I call after him as we race down the steps. “Goddamnit, DAN!”
He doesn’t stop, but there is a cruiser, lights on, in the front of the station. Dan clambers in the driver’s side and a uniform puts me in the passenger seat, shutting the door as Dan closes his.
“Would you tell me what the fuck is going on?” I snap.
He’s halfway down the street, siren on, before he looks over briefly and says, “I got a call from Lt. Stave saying they’d taken Nikki to the hospital.” His eyes flick to me before going back to the road and taking a hard right. “She was shot. Once in the head and once in the side. I’m not sure…” his voice cracks.
My head spins. It feels like the floor just…
“Nora!”
I look at my old partner, words forming, but…talking seems...
I feel the car shift under me. I slide into the door a little, the armrest digging into my forearm. The discomfort goes away as we take another turn.
I focus on the dashboard. It’s dusty and hasn’t seen a rag for a while.
Next>>>