And So I Ran - Complete

Chapter 58

I had been starting my pre-flight checks in Charlie Tango ahead of flying to Bellingham when Andrea managed to catch me. I had to ask her to repeat herself, twice, before swearing and requesting she cancel my meeting. Fortunately, Taylor had not gone too far, so was able to return to collect me, transporting me to Seattle's East Precinct Police Headquarters. On the way, I kept ringing Elliot, but he wasn't picking up. The only thing Andrea had been able to tell me was that my mother had been arrested. Apparently, there was some fuckup, somewhere, because there was no way Grace Trevelyan-Grey, respected wife, mother, pediatrician, and social matriarch, would do anything to get arrested!

We pulled up out the front of the building, and I was raring to go charging in when I felt a wave of peace wash over me. Sure enough, there stepping out of her vehicle with Prescott, was my fiancée. She spotted me and made a beeline toward me.

"Elliot couldn't reach you, so he rang me," she explained, leaning up to claim a kiss, stroking my chest and thereby further soothing me.

"Andrea caught me before I took off. She said Mom's been arrested?" I growled.

Anastasia nodded. "Grace spent the morning with Mom and me, and then after lunch, she said she had things to do in town. I went back to the suite with Mom, and later Elliot called to tell me that Grace had been arrested."

"What for?" I growled, sensing there was something significant Ana was omitting from what she was saying. Her guilty flinch all but proved it. She looked around to make sure there was no one close enough to overhear us.

"Elliot said she went to Elena's salon and assaulted her. He said your mother broke Elena's nose!"

I couldn't have been more shocked. Honestly, I would probably have been less stunned had my mother walked through Pike Market naked other than her beloved twin strand of pearls. My mother abhorred violence. I ran my hands through my hair so firmly it was a miracle I didn't pull half of it out.

"Christian, let's go inside before we attract too much attention out here," Ana wisely suggested.

I nodded, clasping Anastasia's hand in my own and side by side we ascended the stairs to the police station. Other than a single officer at the front desk, reception was empty. I identified myself and requested to see whoever was in charge. Only seconds later Ana and I were shown through to officer's workroom to see a frankly comical sight. There sat my mother, calmly sipping a cup of tea, and chatting with the bemused Police Commissioner.

"Darling? I thought you had a meeting this afternoon? I asked them to call Elliot."

"Elliot said he was short staffed and they're pouring concrete today," Ana explained.

"Andrea got hold of me before I left for my meeting," I added.

"Well, in any case, you're here now. Commissioner Andersen, am I free to go? I promise you I'll be perfectly safe in the company of my son and daughter-in-law to be," Grace said pleasantly as though they were at one of my mother's charity functions, not sitting in a police station after my mother had violently assaulted someone.

"Well technically speaking, Mrs. Lincoln has yet to press charges, so until she does you're free to go."

"Thank you, Leo. Please give my love to Alice," she said, standing and smoothing imaginary wrinkles from her skirt. "You'll excuse me if I don't shake your hand, mine's still a little swollen."

"I will, and that's fine. I need to warn you, if Mrs. Lincoln presses charges, you'll need to come back in. Needless to say, I am also formally warning you to stay away from Mrs. Lincoln for the foreseeable future."