Chapter 53
Sean left the holding area and went over to have a talk with Cindy. When he saw her again, his pulse raced a little. He really did have a thing for her it seemed. He thought again about what she had said with regards to the way Higgins had abused her, both physically and mentally.
His blood began to boil once more and he felt like going down to the cell and laying another beating on him. How could anyone treat someone as sweet as Cindy the way that he had? Sean shook his head and tried to calm his breathing.
Cindy looked up and gave him a smile. “Is everything alright Sean? I heard a noise from the holding area and Sergeant Patterson raced down there to see what was up.”
"It was nothing. Higgins slipped and fell, that’s all.” Sean lied but the way that Cindy was looking at him, he felt that she knew that that was not really the truth. It seems that he wasn’t able to carry a lie with her for too long. “Actually, I went to have a talk with him about the case and I couldn’t think of anything but what you said with regards to the way he’s treated you.
"I lost my cool and slapped him around a little, that’s all.” To Sean, that is all that he did to Higgins, but in reality, he hurt him pretty badly. The O’Reilly justice again. No one hurt any one he cared for and got away with it, period. If Patterson hadn’t arrived when he did, Sean might have killed the suspect.
"Miss Stevens, er Cindy, I was wondering if you would like to grab a cup of coffee or something when you are off. It appears that I am going to be in town for a few days to get Higgins processed before I head back to Cleveland to deal with Caulder. He is under lock and key at the moment at the hospital, and when he is fit to travel, I will be leaving with him."
"I would like that Sean. I get off at 7 tonight if that would be good with you."
"I'll pick you up at 7 and we'll go catch a bite then. You pick the restaurant."
After leaving the sheriff's office, he went across the street to the Shady Rest Inn to check in with Sergeant Miller and catch up on some rest before meeting up with Cindy later that night. When he entered the lobby, the aroma coming from the kitchen hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. The smell of fresh baked apple pie combined with roasted chicken was almost too much to take in all at once.
He had flash backs of when he lived at home with his parents. It seemed that his mother was always in the kitchen cooking and the house always smelled incredible. He approached the front desk but before he got there, he heard Sergeant Miller calling to him. He turned and saw Andrew seated in a small bar just off the lobby with a couple of beer in front of him. One thing about Miller, you could always count on him in battle or to get the beers going after a tough day.
Sean sat down, lifted his glass and downed half the glass in one swallow. "Ah, that's good. Just what the doctored ordered." He put the beer down and sat there with a silly grin on his face.
After a few moments, Miller spoke. "Well, boss, you look like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary or something like that. It must have gone good at the jail when you saw Higgins behind bars."
"Yeah, it went pretty good. I talked to Cindy first and found out that he had abused her over the years, falsely accusing her of theft and other things as well. I went to the holding cell and had a man to man chat with him. If Sergeant Patterson hadn't come in when he did, I think I may have killed that son of a bitch. Felt good to put a beating on that prick"
"I'm sensing there's more to your story that you're not telling me."
"Well, there is one more thing. I asked Cindy out for supper tonight and she agreed. I'm picking her up at 7:00."
"Congrats boss. Good for you. Cheers." They clinked glasses and chugged the rest of their beers.
It seemed that things were starting to look up. However, events were about to take an unexpected turn, and not for the better.
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