Lauren appeared in the doorway where Harper waited. They both heard Shelby cry out, "Lauren, I love you."
Lauren didn"t turn around, she didn"t reply vocally, she simply grabbed Harper"s hand and started for the elevator. Harper had no choice, but to follow. Once inside the elevator Lauren visibly relaxed. At home, they found a note from J.R. He went back to his apartment in Durham. He promised to come back when he could next week, if they needed him. Lauren fixed breakfast food as a quick late dinner. Afterward, they sat on the deck wrapped in a blanket staring up at the stars. The conversation turned to Shelby eventually.
"She may not remember much, but she"s already trying to manipulate me into feeling sorry enough for her to come back," Lauren said, surprising Harper. "I know her and I see the signs."
Harper was pragmatic, "Wouldn"t you in her place?"
Lauren agreed, "Probably. I guess she"s trying to hold on to the only thing that is normal right now. Her life is in turmoil. I don"t know what she"ll do when the police charge her."
Being realistic again, Harper said, "She will have to pay the price. The sentence is up to fifteen years, that"s what Alicia said the D.A. wanted. She won"t serve the whole time. She"ll get out in a few years and start over."
Lauren pulled back from Harper, to look at her, "You sound almost like you hope she gets fifteen years."
"She killed somebody Lauren. She was drinking and driving and she killed someone. Shelby has to pay for that." Harper had no doubt about that.
"We don"t know what happened. I"ve been with Shelby when she drove, even drunk she was so careful. I know that irritates you that she drove drunk. h.e.l.l, we"ve all done it. I"m not proud of it and I won"t do it again, because of you, but that doesn"t mean I"m going to condemn Shelby, before I"ve heard her side of the story." Lauren was a little red in the face. This was their first disagreement.
Harper acquiesced, "You"re right. Shelby should tell her side, before we judge her. What if she doesn"t remember?"
"We"ll have to help her remember. I want to go to the crash site tomorrow. I want to see the car, too. We should take pictures." Lauren had a mission now, and Harper had to help whether she wanted to or not. In no way did Harper think Shelby should get off scot free, but if Lauren wanted to find out what happened, she could help with that. Harper had taken a cla.s.s in accident reconstruction in order to understand trauma to the body better for her research.
She hugged Lauren to her, "I"ll help you, baby. Whatever you want to do, but after Shelby is back on her feet, you have to promise me that we"ll go away together to a tropical island and just sit on the beach."
Lauren was smiling now, "How about a gay cruise? We could go on one of those environmentally aware cruises with that new agency, Sweet."
Harper was so enchanted by this beauty under her arm, "I"ll take you anywhere you want to go. I just want to make you happy for the rest of your life."
"You know what would make me happy right now?" Lauren said with a wicked grin. She reached between Harper"s legs. "I"d like to f.u.c.k you right out here under the stars."
"I"m all for that," and that was all that was said for the next forty-five minutes.
Friday started the way every day this week started, get up, run, shower, dress, grab a quick breakfast and go to work with Lauren going to the hospital. Harper went to the lab and stayed most of the day. Lauren texted that Chita brought lunch, so Harper didn"t have to worry about her. Harper worked through lunch, so that she could take time off. She had fallen behind even though she had tried to stay on top of things. The extra time made her feel better about not being in the lab so much. She could now be guilt free for the weekend. Off to the hospital she went.
Lauren was in the room with Shelby alone. Chita, Harper could see, was at the nurses" station hitting on a young R.N. Harper stopped outside the open door, unsure of whether to enter or not. The answer came clearly from the room.
It was Lauren"s voice, "Shelby, I moved out five weeks ago. I love you, but I am not in love with you and haven"t been for a long time. I will help you get well, but I"m with Harper now and you"ll have to face that. She has been here almost as much as I have. I"m going to need her help."
Shelby shot back, "I don"t want her help!" Evidently, she was feeling better. She was feisty today.
"Okay, she won"t help you, but she"s going to help me take care of you. Stop whining, Shelby. It"s not attractive. Our relationship is over and has been for a long time. Let"s move on from that, okay," Lauren was trying to reason with Shelby.
Shelby sounded defeated. Round one to Lauren. "Lauren, it"s just that in my memories you still love me. It"s going to take some time."
"Yes, it will. I didn"t want you to have any false hope, that"s all. Just concentrate on getting well, okay," Lauren said sweetly.
Harper heard footsteps coming toward the door. It was Lauren coming out to see what had happened to Chita. She was pleasantly surprised when she found Harper instead.
Harper hugged her. "I heard what you two were talking about."
"Oh, I just finally had to put the pieces together for her. I didn"t want to give her the impression that there was a chance to get back together. She needs to concentrate on getting well."
Harper was compa.s.sionate, "I can"t imagine what that feels like, waking up, having to relive the shock of losing you. It must be so painful."
"I had to get really blunt with her. She just kept saying it wasn"t true and then when Chita came in it triggered a memory of you. I had to explain everything to Shelby. She finally gets it, I think." Lauren said, still with her arms draped around Harper"s neck.
"Who"s on the schedule tonight?" Harper wanted to get going.
Lauren went back in the room. She came back out with an excel spreadsheet, no doubt generated by Ellen. Lauren read, "Chita is here until six. Abby and Julie are six to midnight. Ellen and Becky are on until six, six to noon is Dee, Shy Lynn from noon to six, then..." Lauren ran her finger across the page, "Let"s see, we"re not back on until Monday morning. That"s really sweet."
"Monday morning? Are you sure?" Harper couldn"t believe it. She took the paper from Lauren.
"See, Monday morning." Lauren pointed at the spreadsheet. "Of course I"ll want to stay in touch, should something happen and they need me."
"We get our lives back for two days." Harper hugged Lauren in excitement.
The moment was stolen by a cry of "Lauren!" from inside the room.
Lauren rolled her eyes and went back inside. Harper walked down to the nurses" station to tell Chita they were leaving.
Chita winked at the nurse, who was blushing, "I"ll see you later, I"m here till six," Chita said, as she retreated back down the hall with Harper.
She looked at Harper very closely, "Man, how you holdin" up? This sharing your woman ain"t f.u.c.king you up is it?"
"No, I"m alright. I"m just staying busy and taking care of Lauren. That"s all I can do right now."
"Well, don"t be afraid to tell Shelby off, just because she wrecked herself doesn"t give her the right to take Lauren back. Stay strong, man," Chita said, just before disappearing into Shelby"s room.
"Take Lauren back." That wasn"t going to happen, but Shelby was going to be much a bigger part of their lives than Harper had planned, that"s for sure.
Alicia entered the hallway, her heels clicking on the tile floor. She was carrying a brief case and looking very professional, in a black suit and silk white blouse. The look on Alicia"s face concerned Harper. Lauren came out of Shelby"s room, just as Alicia walked up.
"I"m glad I caught you," she said, immediately, when she saw Lauren. "It"s the D.A. He"s going to file the charges today. Shelby will be notified tomorrow. The doctor has cleared her to hear it."
Lauren covered her mouth in shock, "Oh my G.o.d, so soon?"
"Yes, the newspapers are after him. He feels he has no choice, but to make a public announcement. It"s about to get ugly."
"They"re going to try her in the media," Lauren said, sitting down in one of the metal chairs, in the hall.
Alicia wasn"t finished. She dug around in the side pocket of her briefcase, producing a business card. "Lauren, Shelby needs a better attorney than me. This case is going to be too big. My firm doesn"t have the resources to handle this kind of litigation, but this woman does. Her name is Molly Kincaid. I"ve already talked to her on your behalf. She"ll be here in the morning to meet the police, when the charges are read to Shelby."
"Molly Kincaid," Lauren said, trying to remember something. "Her name sounds so familiar."
"She handled that case on the coast, with the two lesbians that were beaten and then charged with murder," Alicia informed her.
"Oh, yeah, she"s amazing from what I read," Lauren recalled.
"We were lucky to get her, but she was intrigued by the case. She wants to make sure Shelby isn"t tried for being a lesbian. We are still in the bible belt, even if Chapman"s Mill is more enlightened," Alicia added.
"What time in the morning?" Harper inquired knowing their two days off had now been shattered.
"Ms. Kincaid is coming at nine and has arranged to meet the detectives here at ten. I think Lauren should be here to meet her and help Shelby with the process," Alicia answered.
Lauren was in deep thought. Harper knelt down in front of her so she could see her face. "What are you thinking about?"
"I think we should wait until Abby and Julie get here. Then Alicia and I will explain the situation to Shelby. It will help if she knows people here aren"t judging her." Lauren looked to Alicia for conformation.
Alicia agreed. They moved to the waiting room where they all could sit down. Alicia went in, for a moment, just to say hi to Shelby. She returned and fell back in a chair, near Harper.
"I have to be honest with you, Lauren. I"ve spent all day trying to find one thing that could help Shelby, but I just see no way out of jail time."
"We were going to go out to the accident site, before you came in, so I can get a visual on what happened," Lauren said.
"I"ve seen the pictures the cops took. Shelby is so lucky to be alive. I can"t figure what made her swerve right into the guardrail like that. The marks on the pavement look like she turned into it on purpose," Alicia informed them. This was new information to both of them.
Lauren became very curious, "Now we have to go. Tomorrow after the lawyer leaves. Is that okay, Harper?"
"Sure, we"ll take pictures for the lawyer," Harper said, trying to sound helpful.
Abby and Julie arrived. Lauren caught them, before they got to Shelby"s room, and pulled them into the waiting room. She told them what they were about to do. Each woman steeled herself, and then they entered the room, together. Harper stayed outside where she could hear, but not be seen. Harper heard the general greetings of old friends. Then she heard Lauren"s voice in hushed tones. She was unable to make out exactly what was being said, but she heard enough to know Lauren was telling Shelby that Leah had been killed in the accident.
From inside the room came a howl, "Noooooooo!" Shelby cried out, over and over, "No, this can"t be happening."
Voices tried to calm her. Chita left to get a nurse. The nurse came back with a shot to settle Shelby down. It wasn"t until she finally pa.s.sed out, from the drugs, that Lauren was able to leave the room. Shelby left red marks where she had held Lauren"s hand so tightly.
Harper and Lauren walked slowly toward the elevator, arm in arm. They didn"t speak, because there was nothing to say. Shelby was in big trouble and they could only stand by and watch it happen to her. Neither said it, but they both thought it, Harper was sure. Would this have happened if Harper and Lauren hadn"t gotten together, so soon after Lauren left Shelby? Could anyone have done anything to stop this from happening?
No one had discussed the fact that the whole team was going to have to testify against Shelby. They had seen how drunk she was. The whole fight between Lauren and Shelby would surely come up. Then Abby would have to tell how she tried to take Shelby"s keys and she sped off. Unless Shelby took a plea, Harper and Lauren"s relationship would be seen as the catalyst, the driving force in Shelby"s downward spiral, causing her to lose control of herself and drink too much. Harper could see the headlines in the paper now. Lesbian Love Triangle, Cause of Deadly Accident. It could go national if the tabloids got a whiff of it. Lesbians make great lead stories.
They grabbed a veggie pizza to take home and then drove there in virtual silence. Lauren was lost out the window. Harper left her alone and listened to Sugarland, on the CD player.
Harper finally broke the silence, "Lauren, if we survive this, we"ll be able to survive anything."
Lauren took her hand, "We will survive. I"m counting on that cruise."
This broke the mood and for the rest of the evening they tried not to mention Shelby. It came up a few times, but was put away just as quickly. They watched the entire season six of The L Word, fast-forwarding through all the Jenny scenes they didn"t want to see, before retiring to the bedroom. Neither one of them liked the way the series ended; they were still talking about it when they drifted off to sleep. The last thing Harper heard Lauren say was, "I liked the fifth season, Bette and Tina had more hot s.e.x scenes."
Chapter Twenty-Four.
Molly Kincaid was everything Alicia said she was. While Harper waited for Lauren to make breakfast, she looked Molly up on the web and found her firm"s webpage. Molly looked like Jodie Foster in "The Panic Room." She had to be in her early forties, but she looked much younger. The main office for Kincaid & Co. was a bright yellow fully restored Victorian with white trim. Molly also had an office in downtown Durham, near the courthouse. Her webpage boasted Kincaid & Co. possessed the latest electronic technology, making it possible to have a lawyer in your living room. Molly Kincaid was very successful, very lesbian, and very proud of it. Harper could get behind that.
Molly was standing outside Shelby"s room with Alicia, when Harper and Lauren arrived. She was wearing a very expensive suit and looked amazing in person. Harper was impressed. Alicia introduced everyone.
"This is Lauren, Shelby"s ex and this is Harper, Lauren"s new partner."
"It"s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Kincaid," Lauren said, shaking Molly"s hand.
"Please call me Molly."
Harper shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, Molly."
"Let me get this straight," Molly said, in the cutest Southern drawl, "you"re the ex and the new lover and you"re here to help out Shelby. That"s interesting."
"Shelby and I were together for six years. We just separated and we hadn"t thought to change some legal things. I have her medical power of attorney still, but I would have come anyway. I still care what happens to her, six years is a long time." Lauren replied.
"Alicia told me a little of what happened the night of the accident. You were the ones Shelby was fighting with, before she left the party," Molly said to Harper and Lauren.
Harper simply answered, "Yes."
"We"ll need to talk later." Molly picked up her briefcase and indicated the door, "After you."
Lauren and Alicia entered the room. Harper hung back. Molly questioned her with her expression.
Harper said, "I don"t think she wants to see me."
Molly nodded her head, "I understand." She followed Alicia and Lauren into the room and shut the door. Harper found a seat in the waiting room. She flipped through several magazines, but saw nothing that interested her. She sat there with her hands folded on top of her head, looking around the room. People watching could be fun. She made up stories for all the people in the room. Who they were, who they were waiting for and why, and little things like that. The time clicked by slowly, until Lauren emerged from Shelby"s room.
Harper stood up to meet her. Lauren motioned with her hand for Harper to sit back down. She came over to the couch and sat beside Harper. She was followed out of the room by Ellen and Becky, who were scheduled to sit with Shelby until noon. They followed Lauren"s path to the corner of the room that had become Shelby"s friends" unofficial area. Before they had time to strike up a conversation, two detectives arrived, their badges shown prominently on their breast pockets.
One was a small older woman with salt and pepper gray hair pulled back tightly in a bun. She wore the typical flats of a policewoman and a dark blue pants suit. The other detective was much younger. He wore a tan wool sport coat and brown pants. His hair was cut short on the sides with a little longer dark brown hair on top. He had a military bearing in his step and posture. A nurse was leading them to Shelby"s room.
Everyone stood, including Harper, as the detectives knocked on Shelby"s closed door and were let in by Molly. As she was shaking their hands, she shut the door again. Harper"s party sat back down.
Ellen started in first, "I had no idea this was going to happen, so fast."
"We just found out last night," Lauren said.
Becky was a little more practical, "You knew it was going to happen sooner or later. No sense in putting it off. That lawyer seems pretty tough. She"s well put together."
Lauren agreed, "I think she made Shelby feel better, anyway."
"I just feel so bad for Shelby," Ellen said. "She has so much to get through, healing from the wreck, healing from losing Lauren and now being arrested for manslaughter. How is she going to get through it all?"
Harper had to say something, "Have any of you thought about Leah? What do you think her family is going through?"
Lauren turned to look at Harper, "Yes, I have thought of them, but I can"t help them. I can help Shelby. She certainly didn"t mean for this to happen."
That hit Harper the wrong way, "n.o.body means for it to happen, but when you get behind the wheel of a car drunk, you are a loaded gun. Unfortunately for Leah, the gun went off."
Ellen came to Shelby"s defense, "In the five years I"ve know Shelby, I have never seen her drunk until recently. You don"t take any responsibility for causing her behavior?" She was focused on Harper.