Seth and Emma met 17 days ago.

ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

She slowly fell asleep sitting up.

When her head rested against his arm, he slightly moved her and put his arm around her. She'll be more comfortable like this.

As the game ended, he rested her on the couch, turned her bed down, and carried her to bed, "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning." and covered her up.

Seth got the sleeping bag he'd stored in the garage, moved a few chairs, and slept on the floor. This way there was no argument.

TODAY'S POST:


Early Monday morning, Seth was slightly surprised when he answered Emma's door. "Jake, hello. Always glad to see you, but why are you here this early? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, but I'm sending you to your office. Elliot and Barton are going to show up and cause trouble."

"Emma can't be left alone until tonight at the earliest. Mayor Castle gets on me for having too much unused leave. I'm using it. Carl's handling the accident. He's more than competent. I won't risk compromising the case. As for Barton, I could care less what she has to say."

"I'll stay with Emma. Things should calm down by noon. You can leave then." Jake held up his hammer. "I'll work on the porch roof until Emma wakes up. Now, get going," he teased, gently pushing Seth out the door. He paused. "Maybe you should leave Ace? If Emma wakes up, he can let me know."

Seth decided not to argue with his mentor and friend. "You're probably right."

*****
Once Seth arrived at the police station, Carl walked up to him. "How's Emma?"

"I haven't seen her today. Last night she was pretty sore. I'm guessing today might be worse." Seth glanced around the station. "Jake strongly suggested I come in."

"We're doing fine. As you can see, all is quiet."

"It won't be for long. When Elliot arrives, put him and his son in interrogation room two. I want it videoed. I don't want any misunderstandings. Make sure you have the doctor's report. We don't want the risk of being accused that we denied young Elliot medical care."

Carl pointed to a stack of files. "Jake dropped these by before he left for Emma's. They're Marc Elliott's arrest records from Cedarville."

Glancing at the stack, Seth said, "This young man has quite a history in his short life. I doubt it'll be admitted in court, but we can try."

Seth drank a cup of coffee and watched from the window facing the parking area. Here comes Elliot. He got up and greeted him with an offered hand.

Not accepting the hand, Mr. Elliott said, "I understand you've arrested my son with trumped up charges, again."

There's no way I'm going to argue with you. Seth nodded toward Carl. "Officer Jones, this is George Elliott. Mr. Elliott, Officer Jones is investigating this case. He'll take you to an interview room. I'll have an officer bring in your son."

With everyone seated around a rectangular table, Seth stood outside the one-way window and watched. He turned the volume up so he could hear.

Officer Jones asked, "Mr. Elliot, would you like your lawyer present before we begin?"

"Marc's innocent. I'll handle it."

George was assured Marc had not been hurt in any way, and the interview began.

First, Carl showed George the blood alcohol report of .14%.

"My son doesn't drink. The cops at the scene rigged the test."

Carl remained calm and explained, "When Marc was arrested, his first stop was the hospital. We wanted to make sure he wasn't injured in the accident. This is their lab report not a police report." He pointed to the small bruise on Marc's arm. "You can see the mark where the needle entered."

After clicking some buttons, Carl pointed to the computer screen. "Here's a split screen of the police cruiser camera on your left. The arresting officer's body camera is on your right. I'll show the inside of his car." He pointed. "These are open alcohol containers. I'm sure you're aware this is illegal in Texas."

"These were planted by your cops."

He rewound the videos. "Notice the officer walking up to Marc's car and your son struggling to open the door. When the door is opened, we can see the containers inside. The officer is still walking to the car." Holding up additional papers, Carl added, "The lab tested for fingerprints and DNA. They all matched your son."

Carl changed screen shots. "We'll go back a little bit. Here shows the speed and arrest of Marc." He paused. "This shows his speed was 84 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. When he hit the car, he was in a 40 MPH zone. We're not positive of his actual speed at that point but eyewitnesses state he was speeding."

"I didn't hit anybody," shouted Marcus.

"Notice as the officer walks up to driver's side door," Carl stopped the tape and pointed, "These large dents and scratches were caused by hitting the other car. The blue paint you see is from the other car." He continued the tape. "Marc forced the door open and as he got out, he stumbled. You can hear his slurred speech when he answers the officer's questions."

Officer Jones paused. "Any questions so far?" When George indicated he didn't, Carl continued with additional photographs. "Here are pictures of the car he hit." He pointed. "Notice the dents, scrapes, and red paint from Marc's car. As you can see, he hit this car with enough force it went into a ditch and onto its side. This is also an indication that he was speeding when he hit the car."

"Whose car is it and how badly were they hurt?" asked Mr. Elliot.

"Ms. Emma Winters. She's not seriously injured. She was allowed to go home from the hospital but is under supervision until tomorrow."

Marc tilted his head. "Emma Winters? I recognize that name. Now I remember, she's the slut who got me in trouble last week." He thought a moment and then continued, "Yeah. She got all up in my face with that low cut blouse with her boobs hanging out. The more she bent over the more they fell out. Then her boyfriend walked in behind me. She saw him and innocently walked away after she got me all hot. Her skirt was all tight and barely covered her ass. I didn't know he was there and reached over and gave it a little rub. She giggled until that cop nailed me. Then she pretended to be all innocent."

Carl sighed and closed his eyes, before using the intercom. "Jonas, please send in the Winters' video from last Thursday." He paused. "The bakery has a good surveillance system. We can see exactly what happened."

After the video started, Carl stopped it and pointed to Emma. "Here's Ms. Winters. As you can see, she's not dressed seductively, but rather conservatively. She brings the coffee pot over to your son. Your son's putting his hands on her. Wait? What did she say? Did she say don't touch me?"

George covered his face with his hands. "I get your point."

"Did you notice Marc's slurred speech? As he gets up to reach for Ms. Winters, he stumbles. He's clearly drunk."

"What are we looking at?" asked George.

Officer Jones put his hand on a stack of files. "These are Marc's from Cedarville. I'm not a DA but I'm guessing with his priors and his age he's going to be tried as an adult and will see jail time. His driver's license will be suspended, maybe revoked, and he may be required to attend rehab. Don't forget the hit-and-run. Ms. Winter's car was totaled. That's a Class B misdemeanor and is punishable by a jail sentence up to six months and/or maximum fine of $2,000. Since she was injured and though her injuries aren't serious, it bumps it up to a felony offense. This carries a prison term up to five years and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000."

Marc jumped up. "Dad, do something!"

"I'll try but I'm not sure I can this time. We'll discuss bail when he's arraigned." George got up and started to walk out but paused. "When's the arraignment?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 1:00."

In the office area, George saw Seth and shook his head.

Seth watched him head toward the bakery and called to give Keith a heads up.

*****
Character List:

Police Chief Seth Carter - hero and Beaverton's Police Chief

Emma Winters - heroine and waitress at her parents' bakery and bookstore, but just graduated college with a teaching degree.

Carl Jones - Seth's good friend and right-hand man

Susan and Keith Winters - Emma's parents and owners of Winters' Family Bakery and Bookstore

Molly - Emma's almost four-pound Pomeranian

Ace - Seth's German shepherd, a trained K-9

Pastor Pat - Pastor of the Church and Emma's Godfather

Jake Baker - Seth's mentor and Winters' family friend

Ray Hudson - Works at the bakery

Peggy Barton - Emma knew her in high school and is the assistant librarian, she's making a play for Seth

Linda Holton - the town librarian

Mayor Castle - mayor of Beaverton

George Elliot - city council member, from old money, and father of Marc Elliot

Marc Elliot - troubled teenager