Chapter Two
As he'd half-expected, Cade was stopped by the Arlington police on the way home. He and his car were searched, then he was taken in for questioning about the apartment altercation. After waiting fifteen minutes or so in a holding room, he was led to the desk of a uniformed cop.
Some moments went by as the cop made a show of studying the contents of a folder, then he put the folder down and spoke.
"We've been keeping an eye on that place, Mr. Cade. You were seen leaving the apartment by one of our informants. He got your plate number, so don't bother to deny it. I want to know why you were there."
Cade admitted that he'd gone there about his car and told the cop that one guy had attacked him and that Dever had threatened him with a bowie knife. He then loosely described the incident without mentioning that he'd kicked in the door or slugged Dever with the ashtray.
"Then it was all over," said Cade, skipping a few more details. "Two of them went to the bedroom and wouldn't come out. When I came out of the bathroom, the fourth guy was gone."
The cop asked, "There was a fourth guy? When you came out of the bathroom? What the hell were you doing in their bathroom?"
Cade said, "I took a leak," and looked at the cop as if he really should have been able to figure that out for himself.
The cop asked, "You sure you weren't maybe looking for some dope? Or maybe even getting rid of some?"
Cade said, "I don't do drugs. Why'd you ask me something like that? Didn't you find their drugs?"
With a smirk, the cop said, "Oh, yeah, we found some. In fact, someone specifically told us to look for drugs. Since your prints were on the phone, I figure it was you."
Pretending surprise, Cade asked, "My prints? How... How the hell..?"
The cop's smirk turned into a grin. "Yeah, baby! Your very own prints, Mr. Cade. Once we had your tag number, we called the FBI. They faxed us a copy in zip time."
'Bullshit,' thought Cade, but he said, "Yeah, I called."
The cop instantly snapped, "Why?"
With apparent nervousness, Cade said, "Well, I saw all the pills and stuff on the floor. Dever wouldn't wake up. I didn't want to leave things up to the other two because I figured they'd just run out and leave him there. Hell, I just figured it was the thing to do at the time, but then... Well..."
The cop gave him a smug grin and asked, "You thought you'd just kind of walk out of there and disappear, huh?"
Cade gave the cop an exasperated look and said, "Look, when I went there, all I wanted was money to fix my car. That's all. I didn't expect everything that happened."
"Did you happen to open a cardboard box while you were there, Mr. Cade?"
"No. I didn't open any boxes."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
"What if I told you that we found your prints on a box of drugs, Mr. Cade? One of those waxed cardboard boxes that they ship frozen hamburger meat in?"
Cade met his gaze and said, "I didn't open any damned boxes. If you're trying to set me up for something, forget it."
"We don't set people up, Mr. Cade. They only do that in the movies. How did you know where to look for Dever?"
Cade gave him the name of the guy who'd told him where to look for Dever, then he judged it time to put on a little show of nervousness.
"Look," said Cade, "When I asked for the money, there was a fight, then Dever pulled that big-assed hunting knife. I kicked it out of his hand and somebody hit him with an ashtray and the fight was over. When I came out of the bathroom, the fourth guy was gone. That's when I called you and just walked out of there and said to hell with it."
"We didn't see an ashtray in the front room, Mr. Cade. What did you do with it?"
"What do you mean 'what did I do with it'? If you didn't find it out front, look in the bedroom where they were."
"Oh, we will, Mr. Cade. We will. Are you absolutely sure there was a fourth man in the apartment, Mr. Cade?"
"Hell, yes, I'm sure! The guy was sitting on the couch next to Dever. He peed himself sometime during the whole mess, 'cause his pants were wet when he stood up. You kind of notice things like that."
The cop peered at Cade for a moment, then said, "Calm down and stay put, Mr. Cade. I'll be right back."
The cop got up to talk to two other cops some distance away. One of them nodded and laughed, holding his hands almost a foot apart while describing something, then the cop who was questioning Cade came back and asked if Cade wanted to pursue matters.
"Pursue what matters?" asked Cade.
"A fresh urine stain was found on the couch and the three men in custody had dry pants, so I'll ask them who peed on the couch. You say that you were attacked, Mr. Cade. You say that Dever is the guy who vandalized your car, too, but we'd need some proof before we can charge him with that. Do you want to file assault charges?"
Cade gave him a skeptical look and asked, "Not to be difficult, but how would doing that get my car fixed? I'd have to file a civil suit to get any money out of them."
"This is about more than your car, Mr. Cade."
"Not to me, it isn't. It's the only reason I went there."
The cop leaned back in his chair and said, "Well, it's about more than that to us. How well do you know Dever?"
"I told you I don't know him. I've seen him around the campus, but I've never met him before today."
"Would you be willing to take a polygraph about that?"
Time to pretend outrage and indignation.
Cade agitatedly said, "Hell, yes! Figure it out, man. Those morons hated me enough to cut up my car, just because I'd been in the Army. I was a medic, man, but they acted as if I'd been in charge of the whole fucking war, you know? They didn't exactly invite me to their parties."
The cop said, "I'll ask you one time not to swear in this office, Mr. Cade. Do it again and you're busted."
Cade shrugged sullenly and nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Hey, if you found drugs, why do you need me? You've got all you need to bust them, right? Going to court isn't going to pay for my car, man. It's just going to make me miss classes I can't afford to miss."
The cop had acquired a disgusted look.
Cade shifted forward in his chair and as earnestly as possible said, "Look, I was out of school for three years, you know? I'm having a hard enough time passing, and if word gets around that I helped the cops, it won't be just the anti-war bozos after me. The druggies'll be messing with me, too, 'cause they'll think I narc'd for you. Everybody will think I'm a narc. I don't think I need that. In fact, if you aren't going to arrest me for defending myself and calling you about the dope, I think I just want to go home."
The cop looked hard at Cade for a moment, then got up, telling Cade to stay put. Half an hour later the cop returned to the desk and told Cade that he was free to go.
As he escorted Cade to the door, the cop said, "We'll continue to look into this, Mr. Cade, so try not to get lost."
To further compound a questionable day, Cade's girlfriend, Brenda, told him when he got home that his ex-girlfriend had called and that she'd sounded very upset.
"About what?" asked Cade, pulling her to him and kissing her soundly. "Mmm. You taste pretty good, miLady."
"Thank you. She didn't say, but she said she'd call back this evening. Why do you think she's calling you, Ed?"
Cade shrugged and said, "Damned if I know. She's in the Army at Fort Monroe, Virginia. If it was an emergency, she'd be calling someone a little closer than Texas."
Brenda looked at him for some moments, then said, "You said you broke up with her just before you came back to Texas. That was in early February, Ed. It's almost the end of May now. Almost four months. What's going to make her call you after all that time?"
Cade shrugged again and said, "I dunno. Maybe I forgot something when I left? I've already had kind of a big day, Brenda. Let's just wait and see what she wants."
Brenda shook her head. "If you'd broken up with me the way you said you broke up with her, I'd trash anything you left behind that couldn't be sold." She raised a single finger in the air and solemnly added, "After I'd crushed it, stomped on it, shit on it, and burned it, that is."
Cade grinned and said, "Wow. Thanks for warning me."
"I think you're missing my point, Ed."
"Make one, Brenda. Then maybe I won't miss it. Or, better yet, let's not worry about why she called and go take a shower. I'll give you the same great service whether you're dirty or not, you know."
Brenda sighed with exasperation and said, "Quit fooling around and listen. I think Kim's pregnant, Ed. I think that's why she called. I think you're about to become a father."
Cade gazed silently at Brenda for a moment, then turned away to make himself a coffee. Brenda moved to stand beside him at the sink and said nothing for some moments.
Tap some instant into the cup. Damn, way too much. Screw it. Add hot water anyway. Stir mindlessly. Oh, shit.
"Well?" asked Brenda.
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