Wright In Danger

Chapter Twenty Six

Leaving the office, he practically mowed Rosalie down. Taking hold of her shoulders to steady her, she looked at him with raised brows. "You've been gone a while. Something must have happened if you're leaving the chief's office." Dropping his hands, he wasn't in that much of a hurry to be alone he couldn't take the time to bring her up to speed. Steering her towards the break room, he made sure no one was inside before shutting the door. As she went about pouring them coffees, he got into it. Handing one over, she listened intently without interrupting, for which he was thankful. 

When he got to the end, she let out a low whistle. "All that happened and I couldn't be there. Pity. Are you really not going to look into Ina's attacker?" It was protocol to do so and yet, recalling the way she spoke... "I don't know. I suppose I'll wait until the chief has a chance to talk with her. Then go from there." Nodding, she sipped her coffee. "Any more thought about the break in at your place?" He shook his head. With the death of Allison, he hadn't given it another thought. 

The real reason being, he knew in his gut who the arrow pointed to. "When this matter of making the arrest of Allison's killer wraps up, I'll return to it then." Asking her what she'd been up to, it had been nothing as exciting as what he'd been entangled in. Polishing off his coffee, he rinsed his mug out and set it in the dishwasher. Now he could go outside and clear his mind. There was a gentle breeze as he sat on the steps. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax. Not noticing someone's approach. When he did open his eyes, he looked up to see Solei wearing an expression of concern.

"You're just the person I was looking to talk with. Though this is not the exact spot I expected to find you. What's on your mind, hon?" Chuckling, he invited her to sit beside him. Setting her large purse at her side, she turned to give her her full attention. "Talk to me, Beau. I'll keep this conversation between the two of us." Hearing her say that, he knew she meant it. He went onto tell her how he felt he'd let Colson down with not having made an arrest by now. That Allison shouldn't have had to die. Going onto express his concern for Loraine and June. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he felt defeated.

She took hold of one of his hands. "Beau. It is perfectly okay to be experiencing theses thoughts and feelings. You're under a great deal of pressure. I for one am incredibly grateful you made the move to Clairview. I believe in your abilities as a detective. You will make that arrest. The reason you chose this career path in life, is the very same that will see you through this. I just know it."

Looking down at their joined hands, he gave hers a gentle squeeze. "For being the town's biggest gossip. Your hearts bigger." Smiling, she rest her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a while. "You're going to be okay, Beau." Getting back to their feet, he felt refreshed. "Thank you, Solei. I needed that pep talk." Chuckling, she waved his words. "We all have our moments. I should get going. One last thing. Congrats on your relationship with Loraine. She's a great woman." With that, he watched her walk back down the steps. The woman really was something.

As the hours ticked on, the chief was true to his word and checked in on Ina. She had received five stitches and was adamant she couldn't recall anything of significance. Her boss had told her she wasn't to return to work until next week. Beau highly doubted that would stop her from getting work done. Hopefully that wouldn't become his problem. Now that the chief had talked with her, he could ask Rosalie to go with him to check out the location of Ina's attack. As they drove on in silence, Beau knew better than to ask the question beating at his head but the need to know got the better of him.

"So. You and Harris. Are the two of you going to talk?" At that instant he could feel the irritation rolling off her. "I...don't know. It's complicated. As you very well know. Are you hoping we do?" There was no hoping about it. The two of them needed to clear the air. Figure out how to get on peaceful grounds. "I don't know how to start the conversation. Or maybe he's changed his mind about talking it out." Agitated, she crossed her arms, biting her lip. Good to know she'd given the conversation actual consideration. 

From the body language he'd read from Harris, the guy wasn't going to push the conversation aside. This was the prime time to have it. He didn't want the hostility lingering between them. "Out with it. What's your opinion? I can see the wheels turning in your head." Coming to a stop sign, he turned his eyes on her. "The conversation is going to happen. It has to. He's been on your mind since you laid eyes on him again. No use denying that. Think how good it will be when it's happened and you two can go your separate ways." At this, she paused. "So long as it doesn't dissolve into a screaming match, we should be fine." He tilt his head. "You want to clear the air, don't you? Be able to move on from this?"

He wouldn't put his foot on the gas until she gave him a yes. Realizing this, it came out clipped. Pleased with himself, he kept them moving. Brooding once more, he let her be. The mood wouldn't last, of that he was certain. Continuing on, he was about to start a brainstorming session when his phone went off with an incoming text. Pulling over, it was from Loraine. She was asking if she wanted to join her in checking in on Colson later on. His hesitation was brief as he told her yes. Returning to the location of Ina's attack, he found it hard to focus. This didn't go unnoticed by Rosalie. "Earth to Beau. What's got you so distracted? Or is it a who?" He didn't know what he expected to find coming back here. Maybe they needed to check out her car, instead. Starting in that direction, Rosalie had to jog to keep up. 

"I'm not ignoring you. Honest. I just want to figure out what happened here." Ina's car was a gold toyota camery. Looking through the drivers side, he saw her purse sitting on the passenger side floor. Shocking that it hadn't been stolen. "I know you're not ignoring me. So tell me what the text you got was about." Laying down at the front of the car he felt around, drawing a questioning expression from Rosalie. "I'm checking for a tracking device. It's a possibility." A disturbing one at that. "The text was from Loraine. She wants to check in on Colson and asked me to come with."

Turning up nothing he got back to his feet, moving to the back of the car. Laying back down he went back to  feeling around. "Are you going to tell her what he did?" The no was at the tip of his tongue. Yet he didn't say it. Colson having threatened the chief with that knife was a big deal. Would she excuse him? Defend his grief? The questions made his stomach go tight. Would this turn into an argument? Letting out a sigh, his search of this end also turned up nothing. Coming to his feet, he dusted his hands onto his pants.

"You're running through worse case scenario's aren't you?" she asked. He didn't say anything to that as he continued to look at the car. How could he not think worse case? They had only just become a couple and this could cause a rift between them. "Can't be helped. I'm not telling her what he did. I'll go with her but I have no intention of actually talking with him. No matter that the chief said he was going to apologize." He sounded petty and he knew it. 

"If she asks, you'll tell her." Not a question. Giving a grunt to that, he kicked a pebble, watching as it bounced to a stop some feet away. "Maybe I won't have to and Colson will spill the story. It is his to tell after all." This earned him a hard stare. "Be supportive of her. She clearly doesn't want him to feel like the town doesn't genuinely care right now. She needs this from you." The tone of her voice, had him turning his eyes on her. "Speaking from experience?" Sucking in a breath, her face went red. Too far. "Sorry. That was...callous." Collecting herself, she turned heel. "We can come back to looking into this. I'd like to return to the station now." Kicking himself, he followed her back to the cruiser.