Good and Bad Manners
Asha dusts herself off as she taps her legs to rid it of rain.
She walks through the doors of the police station and down the hall and right to her own shared office with other police officers.
Some rookie policemen salute as she walks past them but she just nods them off, making right for her own cubicle.
She swivels around in the chair and reaches down for her drawer where she removes the case file that contains all of the details of the incident at the Worths’.
“You are back?” A male officer asks, pulling up a chair to sit right in front of her table.
“I don’t have time for chit chat now, Holland. I have a suspect to interrogate.”
“Oh, the rich man those ones dragged in?” He chuckles. “If he is not guilty, we should prepare for another lawsuit against us.”
“Again?” She raises her brow.
“You can’t blame me; you seem to be a magnet for these malicious prosecution charges…” He mutters before pushing away. “I hope you have a smooth case… but then, you never do.” He laughs to himself as he exits.
“Asshole.” Asha whispers as she heads out.
Down the hall, she sees the Interrogation Room 4 written on the door but she opens the one right next to it first, walking into the dark room, dimly lit by the nightlights and more from the room across from the two-way mirror.
She taps ‘record’ on the computer and monitors Drake’s body language before chuckling, the nervous shaking of the leg catching her eyes immediately.
She proceeds to leave the room and open the door to the interrogation room. She notes, again, that his legs have stopped shaking. She takes her seat and drops her file in front of her, looking up at him to see him watching every move.
She leans back in the chair, studying him.
Drake shifts uncomfortably under her stare. “What do you want from me?”
“What is your name?”
Drake frowns, confused. “My name? I believe you know that already.”
“I ask the questions and you answer mee honestly, that way, this will not take longer than it ought to. I ask again. What is your name?”
“Drake Anderson.” His sigh admitting defeat. His legs are starting to pitter patter again and Asha likes to see that she has made him uncomfortable. They always spill something under pressing conditions like these.
“But Paul is Paul Worth?”
“Anastasia was the only daughter of her parents so he took the last name to keep the family name going…”
“And now again, Bethany is his only child. Looks like that will happen again, and that is to your advantage, isn’t it?”
Drake raises his cuffed hands from the table. “Look detective, I would not harm my brother just because of some title. Blood is thicker than water.”
“Oh, please spare me the lecture. I have seen mothers who kill the children that came out of their own body, what is a brother compared to that?”
“I want my lawyer here.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And until he gets here, I’ll be silent.”
“I see, pleading the fifth? Someone paid attention to his Miranda rights. Anyway, before you go on your silence spree, tell me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Where were you on the night of the murder?”
“Ehhhhh…” His voice trails off.
“I see. Well give your lawyer a call because at this rate, you will be locked up.” Asha finalizes as she notices the small beads of sweat on his brow.
As she closes the door behind her—
“Even if he is not behind the murder, he was up to something fishy that day, and its possibly connected.”
Asha wheels and immediately salutes.
“At ease.”
“Were you in there the entire time sir?”
“I was. It’s a high profile case and seeing you brought someone in, I am pretty curious who it could be, and I have seen. He is hiding something.”
‘He is. I plan to get to the root of it.”
He pats her shoulder. “You do that while I make my rounds around the station”
Salute.
“Ease.”
*
Walking the whole way from the company did not distract her enough to see that her legs were aching badly and that she has walked so far away from where she had parked the car in her earlier hurry.
The skies rumbled, and those caught her attention enough to snap her out of her thoughts.
Still dressed in the complete burial regalia that she had spoken to the world with, even with the white band on her shoulder, she rips it off and squeezes it in her palms.
“Dad? If you can see me from where you are right now, I’m sorry I am so incapable… Please bring Mum back home too. I miss you both. I can’t seem to do it all on my own.” And almost like it is a sign from above, the rain starts to pour, and then it became like pelts.
She immediately looks around for a shelter and her only closest option is the small bus bench just some steps away. After that, its just a long passenger walkway till across the road, and that is even worse tan the small place she found.
Not completely shielding her from the rain but still some sort of shelter, she sits under it, trying to ignore that she is getting wet but still crying at the same time.
“Stop crying Beth, you have to do something.” She mutters to herself as she wipes her eyes, patting it softly a few times. “I even got myself into more trouble with my mouth after all of that is goin on, I had to add that I am getting married. Ah, Beth…”
A white car drives by but stops just short ahead. The rain blocks her from seeing it clearly but either way, there is someone heading her way. He puts an umbrella over her, the rain pouring down his own suit.
“Why are you outside in this rain? Where are you headed? Maybe I can drop you off?” the unknown man yells loudly.
Bethany looks up and she immediately recognizes him… “Damn, it’s you again.” She mutters, her eyes not disappointed and not happy at the same time.
But he? He looks shocked, almost like he’ll faint any second.
“You look like you are about to faint? Why don’t you cover yourself with the umbrella before bothering about me?”
He reverses the umbrella to the top of his own head almost immediately, making Bethany scoff.
“How fast the heart of man changes.” She shifts a bit away so he can sit down. “Are you okay?”
“I am fine. I just did not expect her to be you.”
Bethany glances at him and sees as the color returns to his face, then she chuckles. Something she has not done in almost a week. “You always seem to pop up when I am in an embarrassing situation.”
“Its just the second time though.”
“I don’t have many embarrassing moments in my life. I am always supposed to be elegant and well mannered.”
“I am sorry for your loss.” He says, looking at everything but her. Something about her throws him off his usual cool, calm and collected demeanor.
“Oh, you are aware?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must know why I asked you to marry me then? Do you still think I am crazy? Or that I need an MRI scan?”
“Yes, I do now. And no, you are not crazy. Sorry.”
Bethany glances at him but she does not say anything.
They sit there in comfortable silence until the rain starts to subside a bit, both of them wet to the bones.
“Should you not be on your way to wherever you were headed?”
“Oh, I probably should.” He stands up from the bench, folding the umbrella. “Can I, you know, drop you off to your destination? Or something?” He asks, rubbing his temples.
“Sure. I was going home anyway. Please drop me off at home… I am soaking wet; I hope you will not mind?”
“You have a sweatshirt in my car, and no, I don’t mind. As you can see, I am just as soaked as you are.”
“How do you have my sweatshirt?”
“I got it from the nurse back at the hospital. You had left in a hurry and left behind all of your belongings. I got them from her today.”
“Hm. So you are on your way back from the hospital?”
“Hm.” He nods as he opens the door for her.
“Thank you.”
“Wait.”
She turns, curious.
Mandall wraps his hands around her, pulling her into a hug. “It is probably really tough right now but I want you to know that it will end up fine.” He then pulls away, a small smile on his face. “You can get in now.”
She enters the car, wordlessly.
Apparently, that was not all…
Mandall settles into the seat behind her and starts the car… “Also, if you are still willing to marry me, I can consider the offer.”
Bethany does all she can possibly do to not stare at him wide eyed, because it is a bad mannered thing to do.