“You think he will ever see the light of day?”
“This is LA. Who knows?” Halle said to lighten the mood.
“Are you and David A. Dawson a couple again?”
Halle looked over at me and smirked.
“He wishes,” she said, and then got serious. “Actually, David has been a good friend to me and my family ever since I first met him on the set of Star Academy. He seems to turn up when I need him the most. David was there for us right after Trip was shot. He was there when I needed him this weekend. He is one of those special guys mothers hope their daughters will bring home. I would be happy to date him. The only problem is David already has a girlfriend who loves him, and she and I are close friends.
“I was glad he was there the other night to keep Zander away from me. I’m devastated that because he defended me, he was literally blindsided by a predator who considers vehicular assault and attempted kidnapping perfectly acceptable ways to resolve issues. You have no idea how relieved I am to find out that the big goof is going to be okay.”
“If his girlfriend dumps him …?”
“I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. The only problem is that she knows what a great guy he is and is smart enough not to ever let that happen,” Halle said.
Rita leaned over and whispered to me.
“Brook was just put on notice.”
◊◊◊
Ms. Dixon arranged to have a lawyer go with me when I was interviewed by the police.
“We’re considering charging Halle James and Brook Davis with battery,” the detective said.
“We’re done. Get me out of here,” I told my new lawyer.
“You can’t do that. You’re a material witness,” the detective exclaimed.
“Watch me. As soon as I hit the street, I will seek out every camera I can find and repeat what you just said.”
What a rookie. My mom was much more intimidating. Right on cue, the door opened, and another detective came in. I looked him over and couldn’t decide if he was supposed to be playing the part of badder cop or good cop. His glare was better. You would think that living in LA, you could get some acting classes so you’d be believable. The new detective saw I wasn’t worried. I might have been, but I’d taken another pill just thirty minutes before, and it was kicking in.
“Terry, go get me a coffee. You want anything, kid?” he asked.
“I could go for a Coke.”
It looked like I was now with the ‘good cop.’
“Hey?” I asked.
“What?”
“Why do you guys think you have to intimidate everyone? If you want me to tell you what happened, just ask me,” I reasoned.
“Terry’s going through a messy divorce. His old lady put a restraining order on him today so he can’t even see his kids.”
I could see why she might do that.
“I’m Detective Drum. Did Terry read you your rights?”
I looked at my lawyer and then back to the detective. Then I looked around the interview room. Had I just been punked? They both started laughing. I began to wonder why I needed this lawyer. I planned to have a long talk with Ms. Dixon the next time I caught up with her.
“Sorry about that. I just got done interviewing Rita and Halle James, and they said you could take a joke. Consider this as payback for making my job harder after that interview you all gave this morning. Now I’m going to have the press up my butt every step of the way. I understand Beverly Mass told you to let us handle things,” Detective Drum complained.
“Give me a break. The media was always going to be all over you on this one, no matter what we did. That press conference was held because Halle needed to get the truth out before industry people could try to spin it or bury it. You and I both know that they’d try to get that driver to change his testimony if they could. And they’d likely have also threatened Halle with being blackballed if she didn’t downplay things. Now, that potential leverage is gone.”
“No, I get that,” he said as Terry came back with the detective’s coffee and my Coke.
Somehow, I got the impression that they’d be video-recording their interview with the driver if they hadn’t done so already.
From there, things went much more smoothly. Terry turned out to be a funny guy. He really was going through a messy divorce, but he had a good attitude. It looked like my lawyer was killing it on Candy Crush. He was either doing that or texting the whole time I was interviewed. I sent a text to Ms. Dixon to inform her that we wouldn’t need him for anything else.
◊◊◊
I hate going through security at airports. For some reason, I get pulled aside and patted down much more often than any of my travel companions. I have yet to see any of my security people get checked, which made no sense to me. What I discovered was that if you’re in a wheelchair, there’s an express lane. I didn’t even have to get in line with everyone else. It was VIP treatment all the way. It was almost like I was with either Rita James or Adrienne. I was simply flagged through.
They even had me jump the first-class line when I boarded. I was thankful because it wasn’t easy to move from the regular wheelchair to the boarding wheelchair. That was a much smaller one that would fit to go down the aisle to my seat. Getting into my seat was no fun, either, because I’d stiffened up during the day. Fritz found my pain meds as soon as I was secure. I’d upgraded him to first class because I didn’t want to deal with anyone else. Once I’d had my pain pill and settled in, I put in my earbuds and found my music app. I think I was asleep by the time we were at altitude.
◊◊◊
Chapter 23 – They’re All Sick! Tuesday October 11
My hound figured out I was hurting and abandoned his duty of watching the little ones. I woke to him crawling onto my bed. He must have heard my breathing change when I woke up. I gave him the loving he desired. I swear he told me that no one else had ever rubbed his ears and chest.
“Do you think I’ll cry if I go take a shower?”
Duke’s tail just thumped against the bed. I took that as a good sign. Too bad Duke was such a liar. Holy crap, my side hurt. I hobbled into the bathroom and found my trusty hound at my side.
“It’s okay, buddy, I’ve got this,” I announced and focused.
My plan had been to try crutches today. Now it looked like I was destined to spend another day in the wheelchair. I was almost out of pain pills. Chuck would have to drive me to the pharmacy before school, or it would be an unbearable day.
My dad had to help me tie my shoes and steady me as I navigated the stairs. I was relieved when I saw he’d brought the wheelchair my parents had rented to my apartment’s back door.
“I feel helpless,” I complained.
“Just remember what the doctor said. I don’t want to hear that you tried to stretch or exercise yet. If I have to, I’ll have your mom go explain things to everyone at school,” Dad warned.
Talk about not playing fair. If I could have gotten out of my wheelchair on my own, I would’ve beaten him with my crutches. Duke was done with his business before we made it to the back door. Precious seemed irritated that her buddy ignored her and instead came with me into the house. Duke bolted upstairs to check on his charges and Peggy. I smiled when I saw Chuck had decided to brave breakfast with us so he could get a home-cooked meal.