Ashley sat on the couch with her head on her fists until another knock came, an authoritative one that a policeman might use.
She checked the peephole and saw the officer, an older guy the size of a linebacker who’d let himself go. When he flashed his badge at the peephole, she opened up, letting the officer confirm who she was and introduce himself as Officer Darnell.
She’d thought Reid would immediately leave, but instead, he calmly climbed out of his car to join them as soon as she pointed him out.
“Hello, officer. I’m Reid Kelley.” He held out a hand for the officer to shake, so at ease with himself. And as always, that only made Ashley more nervous.
Even when the officer frisked him for weapons and sat him on the curb, Reid acted as if it was all perfectly normal.
“What seems to be the problem tonight?” Officer Darnell asked, after checking Reid’s background for priors on his computer. If Ashley had pressed charges when they broke up, for the attempted theft or the assault, there would have been something for the officer to see. But of course, Reid’s record was clean.
Ashley gestured to where Reid was sitting on the sidewalk. “He won’t leave.”
Reid put his hands up in surrender and glanced back at her, looking apologetic. “You didn’t answer the door, Ash. I assumed you weren’t home, so I was just waiting in my car for you to get back. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“What’s your relationship?” Officer Darnell asked, looking from Reid to Ashley. She could see the doubt in his eyes already. Reid was too good at this.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend.”
“Ex-fiancé,” Reid corrected.
“Well, either way, I broke up with him because he got controlling and he hit me.”
Reid’s eyes went wide with innocent surprise when Officer Darnell’s head swiveled back to him. “This true, young man?”
“No, I never hit her. We had our disagreements, but I swear I only came to talk things out tonight. She can get a little hot-headed, but I love her.” Reid smiled at her like she was such a handful, but he loved her despite it all.
Ashley pulled out her phone. Her hands, not quite as coordinated with her whole body slightly shaking from nerves, couldn’t seem to tap the right buttons. “He’s been texting me, even though I blocked him.” She showed the officer his messages from random numbers.I miss you. I love you. Don’t be mad.
The officer was underwhelmed, to say the least. He looked from the texts to Reid and back again, taking in Reid’s sympathetic and loving expression. When the officer handed back her phone, Reid smiled at her just a fraction. He’d known. He’d known only she would consider texts like that threatening.
Officer Darnell put his notepad back in his front chest pocket and scratched his head. “Well, I think you should probably leave for the night, Reid. If Ashley here, wants to contact you, she’ll know where to find you.”
“But …” Ashley sputtered. “He’s lying. About everything. He went to my work looking for me earlier this week.”
The officer stared at the two of them for a second, before his radio crackled with an alert from dispatch. This was low on his priority list, and she could see he was antsy to leave.
“Hang on a moment.” Officer Darnell pulled out his radio and spoke with dispatch, ignoring the two of them.
“I don’t get it,” Ashley whispered. “Why are you even here? Did things not work out with Miss Channel Nine?”
“You know it didn’t,” Reid hissed, for the first time breaking character from the kind, long lost boyfriend. “Thanks to you, she won’t return my calls.”
So, the weather girl had gotten Ashley’s email. Good. It was all starting to make sense. In Reid’s mind, she’d messed with his life, so now he was messing with hers. It was so like him.
Officer Darnell put away his radio and gestured toward Reid’s car, indicating it was time for Reid to go. Reid thanked him for his time and his service while Ashley stood there frozen, not sure what she could have done differently, or how to make the truth more believable. Reid was leaving, with a clear pass to continue to pester her.
Her phone vibrated with a text from Paige.We’re here.Ashley saw them pulling in, and she regained her courage. “Officer Darnell, could you wait just a moment while my sister and brother-in-law come up? They were with me when I broke up with Reidover a year agoand helped me remove him from my apartment back then.”
Shaun jogged over, blocking Reid from opening his car door. “How’s it going, Reid? Long time no see.”
Reid sniffed and took a step back, the first time he’d showed any uncertainty at all.
Officer Darnell frowned. “You two over here, please. Let’s not turn this into a circus.”
Shaun happily followed Reid back up to the porch and submitted to a weapons check. “Reid Kelley was my roommate in college. I can confirm that he’s a thief, a liar, and a squatter. Anything else that we should mention, Ash?”
Reid scoffed. “None of that’s true. He’s the liar.”
