Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

21. Detectives Lopez and Merritt are on the Case

CHAPTER 21

DETECTIVES LOPEZ AND MERRITT ARE ON THE CASE

I t was Amy’s turn to host True Crime Night, which meant that she couldn’t just get up and leave if it all became too much for her. As she prepared the snacks and drinks, Amy began to regret the whole plan. Katie had made a good point the other day about the possibilities for his crime being tame. It was the jail time that made the difference. There was something more to the story than just youthful misjudgments when a jail cell was involved. That made his omission a bigger deal.

She played with her Rotunda necklace absentmindedly, thinking about whether she’d stay with Drew if she found out he'd been in jail. That’s silly. He hasn’t murdered anyone. If it's even his record that Laura found. He was just punished for a misdemeanor. And, more importantly, she loved him.

Amy laid out the situation in great detail while her friends listened intently. Brit took notes and Katie nodded thoughtfully while listening.

Brit turned to Katie in mock seriousness. “Detective Lopez, what’s your take on the situation?”

“Detective Merritt— okay, it’s still weird to call you by your new last name. Anyway, Detective Merritt, I’ve done some digging. Everyone, direct your attention to the evidence. ”

Amy couldn’t help snickering at the “detectives’” seriousness. Katie had arrived with a larger-than-life blank flip chart and an easel, tipping Amy off that this night would go off the rails. I need to focus. Wingus and Dingus are trying to help.

Katie’s marker squeaked on the flip chart as she wrote the heading: “What We Know.” She spoke as she wrote each item under her title.

“We know that the record is for Andrew Porter. Which one? That’s to be determined. We also know that the offense occurred in the Commonwealth of Virginia— Charlottesville in Albemarle County, to be exact. We also know that the perp was convicted of a Class 2 misdemeanor, which could be either aggressive driving or possession of drugs without a prescription. Which one? Also to be determined. Take it away, Merritt.”

“Okay, Lopez, we also know that if it was a misdemeanor due to possession of drugs without a prescription, the drugs would have to have been Schedule IV drugs. This means it was either tranquilizers or sedatives. Since we know that Porter wasn’t convicted of additional crimes, we can rule out the use of these drugs on a victim.”

A victim? I hadn’t even thought of that. What else haven’t I thought of?

Katie and Brit paused their list, having noticed Amy shaking. “What’s going on, Detective Mansfield?” Brit asked gently.

“I hadn’t considered that he might have used the drugs on someone. I’m now panicking because I’m wondering what else I might not have thought of.”

“We can’t let the unknown unknowns distract us. Let’s get through our known information first. We’ll move on to what we know we need to figure out, and then we’ll finish with finding what we could be missing. For now, stay cool and objective. We’re going to solve, Ames,” Brit said.

Cool and objective. Two words that don’t describe me.

Amy sighed. “Well, we also know that he went to county jail for wh ichever crime rather than prison. And since his record is closed, the crime happened at least seven years ago.”

We know Mystic Natasha saw this coming. We know that she said I’d mess things up. We know that I’m miserable.

“Great job, Amy,” Katie said encouragingly, adding Amy’s contributions to the list.

“I know these are speculative, but I feel good about adding that we know he is a good guy. And we know that he wouldn’t be working at AU if what he had done was that bad. The same goes for a judge allowing the case to be sealed. That wouldn’t have happened if it was bad,” Brit added.

Even so, he lied to me. If it was him.

Katie flipped to a new page and wrote, “What We Know We Don’t Know.” She turned to the others and said, “I think we need to start with the most obvious known unknown: we lack proof that your Andrew Porter is the one with a record.”

Everyone keeps saying that, but I know it’s the same one. It’s my luck that it would be.

Brit nodded. “Yep. Add the other obvious one: we don’t know which misdemeanor it was or the details. We also don’t know how much jail time. One night is very different from one month or one year.”

A week later, Amy was still reeling from the news that Drew had been in jail. Katie and Brit’s detective work from the past weekend had helped at the time, but Amy’s tension and fears were back. She needed someone to talk her down from her emotional ledge again. Luckily, the line at District Taco was particularly short and quick that day, so Amy and Belinda had time to sit and enjoy their lunches rather than eat them in the car while driving to the next home.

“Who chooses grilled fish tacos when presented with chorizo and ca rnitas as options?” Amy teased as she caught a blob of guacamole with her thumb.

“A mom who still has baby weight one year after giving birth.”

“Please, you know there’s nothing extra on you. Even while pregnant, you were annoyingly hot.”

Belinda rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how much shapewear holds me together daily. On a different topic, what’s been up with you lately? You’ve been quieter than usual, but you don't have that lovey-dovey glow that usually accompanies your silence. Everything still cool with Drew?” Amy released a long, heavy sigh and put her taco down. “Uh oh, that’s not a good sign. What’s up?”

“I need your advice.” Belinda nodded encouragingly. Amy steeled herself and continued, “Everything was going great with Drew, but I started to wonder if things were a little too perfect, you know?” Belinda nodded again, waiting for Amy.

How do I start? Now that I’m telling her about his possible crime, I hate for anyone else to find out about Drew and judge him. Just do it. Come on. Go.

“So?” Belinda asked.

“So, I got myself all spun up about him being unnaturally perfect and how I don’t deserve someone like that.”

“What do you mean you don’t deserve that?”

“I know that sounds pathetic and like I’m fishing for compliments. It’s not like that. I’m trying to say that I don't have much experience with relationships, and it doesn’t seem like I should be so lucky to simply stumble into true love.” Is that true? Do I really need to put in the hours of boyfriend experience to earn love? No time to challenge that idea now.

Belinda looked confused. “Why not? It’s not something you have to earn or get enough points to be eligible for. Love is serendipitous. It’s magical.”

There’s that word again, magical. Okay, tell her .

“Anyway, this led me to dig deeper into his background, which I kinda regret now.”

“That’s usually the case. Why aren’t you able to just accept that you’re one of the lucky ones and enjoy love?”

“I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature.”

“Did you really just quote The Scorpion and the Frog ? Amy, what did you find out?”

“I think he went to jail.”

Belinda dropped her taco into her basket. “What?”

“He went to jail and hasn’t mentioned it to me.” I went from thinking he went to jail to stating it as a fact. Did she notice that?

“For what? Are we talking murder or unpaid parking tickets?”

“More on the unpaid parking ticket end, but still. All Laura could find was that it was a Class 2 misdemeanor, which is either drugs without a prescription or aggressive driving.”

Belinda leaned back in her seat, clearly relieved. “That’s it? Every day, you drive us all over this city like you’re Hulking out.”

“What about the drugs, then?” Amy said, frustrated.

“If it’s having them without a prescription, it’s not meth or PCP. It’s probably something tame. I get extra Xanaxes from my dad all the time. So what?”

Why are everyone’s logical responses annoying me?

“Hang on,” Belinda said, giving Amy a suspicious look. “You said ‘all Laura could find.’ What prompted her to be searching for this? What did you two get into now?”

“Oh, you caught that? Fine. Since I thought he was too perfect and it was unlikely that I’d stumble upon a loving relationship that was also perfect, it all appeared to be too good to be true. I started by looking around his place while he was gone to find out if anything was amiss.”

“Amy Mansfield. Didn’t you already go through this with your snooping sister? If I remember correctly, you were horrified with her behavior and had multiple fights.” Why do I tell her so much? I didn’t think this would come back to get me in trouble. Laura is the bad sister .

“This is different.” Is it?

“Nope. I’m not letting you get away with that. You meddling Mansfields have the same M.O. Laura did it for an extended time, but you did it too. And you found out about the arrest while searching his home like a dirty cop without a warrant?”

“Um, no.”

Belinda raised her eyebrows and waited.

“I had Laura do her investigative thing online. She found the record for someone with his name that had the details fitting where and when he would have been there.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t have definitive proof that it was him and that he’s done anything wrong?” Belinda pressed.

“Well, no.” That’s not true. “Let me revise that. The chances that there was another Andrew Porter in Charlottesville at that time who got in trouble are slim. I feel pretty certain it was him.”

“I don't understand what has you so upset.”

“It’s the lie. Don’t you think he should have mentioned jail time or any major legal matter in his past? Isn’t that crucial information for a serious girlfriend to know?”

“Can we agree it’s more of a secret than a lie? A lie means he told you an untruth. This isn’t even a lie of omission.

“I'm not sure I agree, but I understand your point,” Amy stubbornly answered.

“How long have you been together?”

“Four months. But a jammed-packed, accelerated four months where we’ve been together almost daily.”

“I need to think about this more. Also, we need to get to the next house. Can I give you more thoughts later?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Something told Amy that Belinda wouldn’t change cosign Amy’s assumptions and negative thinking about Drew.