Two Pink Lines

12

Alice groans and reaches up to flush the toilet. She's so over morning sickness, it's been worse this time around then her other pregnancies. Every morning without fail she wakes up and gets sick, it's exhausting and she's just grateful Betty hasn't caught on.

Her phone starts ringing as she brushes her teeth and she answers it without taking a look at the number. "Hello?"

"Alice, it's Sheriff Keller," she swears she feels her heart stop. "Could you come down to the station?"

"Yeah... I can do that." She stammers our. "Is everything alright?"

"I just want to talk to you about that packet you brought in the other day. How soon can you come by?"

"I'll just get ready and be on my way."

"See you then."

She can feel her pulse quicken, hoping that he has good news for her.

•

She knocks softly on Sheriff Keller's door and opens it when he tells her to come in. "Wow, you actually knocked this time." He quips. "Take a seat."

She does as she's told and he sits down across from her. "So we sent the packet you brought in to the lab and we got the results back today."

"And?"

"And, it is in fact jingle jangle." She breathes a sigh of relief, one step closer to clearing FP's name. "Where did you find this?"

"The Jones' trailer."

He sighs. "I thought we had a lead here. Alice, we've already got FP in custody this-"

"No, it's not him. This proves it." He raises an eyebrow at her. "I mean that trailer has already been searched inside out, surely they would've found this then. It has to be new, and that means it's either Gladys or one of the kids, and I think we both know who's the more likely suspect here."

"Alice, this is a very serious accusation, you can't just be saying this because you and FP are close. You have to be one hundred percent certain that Gladys Jones could have something to do with it."

She scoots closer to his desk. "Tom, I promise you, I'm not just saying this to try and frame Gladys, I think that's what she did to FP. This has to be hers. Can you at least check it out? I mean there's evidence here, you can't just ignore the facts."

He sighs. "Fine. I'll get a search warrant ready and we'll send some guys in to search the trailer top to bottom again. In the meantime, keep this to yourselves, if Gladys is behind this, she can't find out that we're planning to raid the trailer or she'll cover her tracks."

"My lips are sealed." She promises.

•

It's hard keeping such a big thing a secret, Betty had asked if she heard anything about the packet, and she had to lie and say she hadn't. She hadn't told Fred either, she knows he wouldn't say anything, but she still doesn't want to risk Gladys somehow catching wind.

So she stayed quiet, as difficult as that was for her.

Her phone rings as she's sitting on the couch reading a book. She assumes it's Fred so she's surprised when she doesn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"An inmate from Shankshaw Prison is attempting to contact you, if you would like to accept, press one." Alice's heart picks up speed and she quickly presses one. Betty is upstairs doing homework so she's free to talk.

"Al?"

"FP!" She breathes out happily. "God, I've missed hearing your voice."

"They finally gave me phone privileges." He tells her excitedly. "I called the kids this morning and thought I'd give you call too, wasn't sure if you'd answer or not if Betty was home."

"She's doing homework upstairs so I'm free to talk. How are you?"

"Missing you and the kids like crazy." He admits. "It sucks being in here. There's no privacy, the food sucks, and I've learned that orange really isn't my best colour."

She laughs at that. "I miss you so much. When you get out I'll make you whatever you want to eat."

"I just want you. You don't have to go all out for me." He tells her. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm tired, nauseous, and very emotional. Your child is really messing with me. I'm just not excited for when I start getting cravings, this little one is a Jones after all, I can only imagine how much weight I'll gain with how much he or she will make me crave food."

"Well hopefully I'll get out soon so I can do food runs for you two." He sighs. "I gotta go, babe, someone else wants to use the phone. I love you."

"I love you too, honey. Stay safe."