Chapter 1
chapter one
Her suspect had fled from the bar the moment Nicole Haught had drawn her badge. He’d flung the drink he was about to consume at the redhead detective, spun and made a beeline for the exit. He was out the door and running across the road, not caring for the traffic that was swerving, screeching and honking around him and Nicole grinned.
She liked when they ran. Not always, but the majority of the time it meant they were guilty or at least were hiding something. This time, she knew that he was guilty. The fingerprints proved it.
Nicole followed. A little more cautiously than the man she was chasing, but she couldn’t slow too much or she’d risk losing him. She hadn’t even had time to clean the brown liquid that he’d thrown at her from her face. Her eyes stung as she ran, but she didn’t slow down.
“Police! Stop!” She called after him.
But he didn’t stop, knowing that distance was the most important thing right now. Distance between him and the consequences for his actions. Distance between he and Nicole.
Nicole ran, willing her legs to carry her faster. She finally had him and she wasn’t about to let him go. As they ran down a normally crowded street, Nicole was grateful that it was almost midnight and there was almost noone around. She wasn’t sure what he would do if there was an innocent bystander that he could grab.
He turned a corner and she was there, turning the same corner only seconds later. He was only just out of her reach. She needed something, anything to get in his way and slow him down. Nicole felt a wave of relief as she spotted the eight foot tall fence at the end of the alley. She grabbed his left pant leg as he jumped and tried to climb over. The drink he threw at Nicole wasn’t his first of the night and his inebriated state meant that his balance and grip were no match for Nicole’s. She pulled and he fell, landing on his back with a thud.
“Get off me.” He said as he tried to get up.
Nicole pushed him back down as she knelt beside him, “Stay down.”
She moved to turn him over when he spat in her face. “You’ve got nothing on me, bitch.”
“I wouldn’t try that again!” Nicole looked up to see her partner walking toward them, gun aimed on the suspect. “Although, an anti-spit mask would make all the difference to your ugly face.”
As Rosita Bustillos got closer, she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and tossed it to Nicole, motioning with one finger that the redhead had something on her face.
Nicole rolled her eyes as she wiped at what was now a mixture of sweat, spit and alcohol.
“Herman Tate, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.” He groaned as Nicole turned him and slipped the cuffs onto his wrists. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Now you can get up.” Nicole stood, pulling Tate to his feet with her.
The women walked Tate back to their car.
“Perfect timing, Haught.” Rosita opened the back door and Nicole gently pushed Tate’s head down as he got into the car. He’d thrown his drink on her and he’d spat on her, but she made a point of never using excessive force on a suspect. Even the ones who really deserved it. And Herman Tate really deserved it.
Or at least his boss did.
“What do you mean?” Nicole closed the door and walked to the passenger side.
“Now you can take the weekend for that wedding”
“Paperwork.” She said simply.
“There’s plenty of time for us to get it done and you to get on the road. It’s only a couple of hours drive. Besides,” Rosita paused to slide in behind the steering wheel. “Whatever isn’t done by five, I’ll finish.”
“You really want me to go that bad?” Nicole said. “You hate paperwork.”
“You really want you to go that bad.” Rosita started the car. “I’ve heard you talk about her remember?”
“I really need to get some new friends.”
“I am your friend. And I care. But more importantly, I’m you’re partner.”
“Why is that more important?”
“Because it means I’ve got your back. All the time.” Rosita smiled. “Even if it means I have to do paperwork.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Maybe not, but what’s the worst that could happen?”
“If you have to ask, you really don’t know this family.” Nicole chuckled slightly and looked out the window.
+++++
“You’ve got nothing on me.” He shrugged. “I told you that the last time we talked.”
The interview room was small and plain just like you’d expect. There was a rectangular table with four chairs, two on either side, in the middle of the room. Nicole and Rosita sat on one side, while Tate sat on the other. This was third time the three of them had been in this room, but it would be the last. They finally had all the evidence they needed to charge Herman Tate with four counts of murder.
“We’ve got everything on you, Tate.” Nicole smiled, opening the folder in front of her. “Fingerprints, eyewitnesses. Your alibi from the last time we talked? Doesn’t exist.”
“You’re lying.”
“No no. I wish I was making this whole thing up, Tate. All the awful things you did to these women.” Nicole pulled crime scene photos out and placed them on the table.
Tate didn’t budge. He refused to look at the photos. “I don’t know any of these women. I never saw them.”
“What about this one?” Rosita placed her finger on the top picture. “Are you sure you don’t know her?”
Tate still refused to look down.
“I don’t know none of them. I didn’t do nothing.”
“You never saw her at family gatherings? Or growing up?”
Tate’s eyes went big and he dropped his head to finally look at the pictures.
“No! Hetty!” He picked up the photo. “This isn’t real. She isn’t dead.”
Tate looked up at Nicole and Rosita, tears welling in his eyes. He looked back down at the photo and seemed to shrink into himself right in front them. He’s shoulders fell forward and his elbows came in tight against his stomach.
“What did Hetty do to deserve this? ” Nicole asked.
“Nothing.” He sobbed, closing his eyes and pulling the picture against his face. “She didn’t do nothing.”
“Then why did you do this?”
“I didn’t! Lawyer.” He sniffed. “I want my lawyer.”
Nicole sighed.
That was it. He said the magic L word which meant all questioning had to stop immediately. It didn’t matter though. They didn’t need a confession. They had actual hard evidence that would see Tate locked up for good.
Nicole reached across the table, picked up the pictures and put them back inside the folder. She looked at Tate who still had the picture of his sister pressed to his face. His sobbing almost sounded real.
She stood up and walked out of the interview room, followed by Rosita.
“Do you think she’ll get him out?”
“Who?” Nicole asked.
“His lawyer. Clootie is ruthless.”
“Clootie? Constance Clootie? She’s his lawyer?” Nicole stopped and faced her partner.
Rosita nodded, “I thought you knew.”
Nicole had never had a case of hers fall into Constance Clooties lap, but she’d heard stories. Constance Clooties was ruthless. She defended some of the most vile men to ever live and somehow she’d never lost a case.
She was picky about her clients though. And by picky they had to be able to pay for her lavish lifestyle and Herman Tate definitely didn’t have that kind of money.
Or maybe he did. Truth is, Nicole had thought that the crimes scenes were too spotless, too particular for someone with Tate’s IQ. He wasn’t the stupidest man Nicole had ever come across, but the crimes had shown a level of sophistication that Tate just didn’t seem to have.
Still. They found his fingers prints, eyewitnesses picked him out of a line up. All the evidence pointed to Herman Tate. Only Nicole wasn’t so sure their case was air tight anymore. Clootie only took cases she knew she would win. There had to be something they were missing.
“This must be bigger than him then. There is no way that Herman Tate could afford Constance Clootie. There’s gotta be someone bigger.”
“I don’t see how. His fingerprint was at the scenes, Nicole. On the victims. The eyewitnesses all picked him.” Rosita sat in her chair as they reached their desks.
“I know, I know.” Nicole sighed and sat in her chair, placing the file on her desk.
“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get out of going.”
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. And now I think there’s more to this case.”
“You’ve already put in for the time off, Nicole. You’ll be back Monday. What’s the worst that could happen?”
*****
The invitation sat securely on the passenger seat of Nicole’s car; each golden swirl weighted down with questions and memories and even though Nicole knew it was all in her head, it actually made the car feel like it was dragging under the weight.
Maybe it was just that she wasn’t ready to go back. She’d left Purgatory for a reason and that reason hadn’t changed. Not in… two? No, three.. No, gosh, had it really been five years?
Five years. Yes.
That’s how long it had been since Nicole had driven any road near the small town of Purgatory, but she still knew the roads like the palm of her hand. She was sure she could make the trip safely even if she were blind and in that moment, it felt like she was. The embossed lettering on the invitation had a vice like grip on her mind and it wasn’t easing up.
She wasn’t even sure why she’d received an invitation at all. Things hadn’t ended badly between her and Waverly, but they had ended. They’d tried to keep on touch since Nicole moved away. At first the emails were weekly, then monthly, but Nicole couldn’t actually remember the last time she’d sent or received anything from Waverly.
Until the invitation showed up in her mailbox.
And now she found herself driving back to Purgatory because Waverly asked for her to come. Five years had changed nothing. She still couldn’t say no to Waverly Earp.
She did miss the life she had in Purgatory. She missed Nedley. She missed learning from him and the way he made her push herself to be a better cop. Despite their relationship ending, she did miss Waverly. There was something so comforting about being around Waverly; whether they were together or not, that made Nicole feel so safe. She missed Gus and Chrissy and Mercedes and…
She missed Wynonna.
She missed the way that Wynonna drove her to the brink of insanity and pulled her back in just before she fell over the edge. She missed the way her eyes squinted when she laughed. She missed drowning in the oceans of the bluest eyes that always had a touch of storm clouds. She missed her drinking buddy. She missed her best friend. She missed…
She missed Wynonna.
The same Wynonna that had been reluctant to welcome Nicole into the family, to let her in until she had proven herself. The same Wynonna who had threatened to beat the shit out of her if she hurt Waverly. The same Wynonna that had given Nicole a black eye when she found out that things were over between the two of them. The same Wynonna that didn’t let her explain. The same Wynonna that told her to go.
And that was the long and short of it really.
Nicole had loved Waverly Earp with every part of her. She’d given her her whole heart and thought that they’d live happily ever after. Right until she realised that she was in love with Wynonna and that it wasn’t fair to herself or to Waverly for them to stay together.
And Waverly handled everything with such perfect grace. She’d cried a little, they both had, but ultimately she’d been so understanding. She hadn’t yelled or gotten angry. She hadn’t screamed at Nicole.
“It’s better to know now than after we’re married or something.” She had whispered.
She accepted it and moved on. And now Nicole was driving back to Purgatory to attend the wedding of
Waverly Earp and Champ Hardy.
Nicole hoped that Waverly was happy. She wanted nothing more for her. But, honestly, what kind of silly name was Champ?
Nicole chuckled to herself. Surely he’d have some redeeming qualities if Waverly found him worthy enough to marry her.
She hoped that Wynonna was happy, too. She’d written to her so many times to tell her the truth, to tell her everything, but never had the courage to hit send. It’s not like Wynonna would’ve responded. She wasn’t one for talking about her feelings. She much preferred to use her fists. This Nicole knew from experience.
Maybe this was a mistake, Nicole thought as she drove up to the homestead.
It looked exactly the same. She was sure that the roads she’d just driven hadn’t changed a bit either, but she honestly couldn’t remember the last sign or piece of scenery that she’d paid attention to.
This is it, she told herself as she starred at the steering wheel. No turning back now.
The sound of the screen door being thrown open made Nicole jump and she turned her head to see Waverly standing at the top of the stairs, smiling from ear to ear. She turned back to look at the steering and sucked in a deep breath.
Get out of the car.
She was barely stranding straight and hadn’t even shut the door when Waverly almost bowled her over by wrapping her arms around her neck.
“Waverly.” Nicole smiled, sliding her arms around the shorter woman and hugging her back.
“I’ve missed you.” Waverly said against her ear.
“I missed you, too.”
“Let me get a look at you.” Waverly dropped her arms and placed her hands on her hips as she took a step back. “Been watching Batwoman, aye?”
“Huh?” Nicole asked and Waverly grinned, touching the pointer finger of her right hand to her own hair. “Oh.”
Nicole ran her fingers through her hair, her thumb brushing over the closely cropped hair of her undercut. For a moment, Nicole had forgotten that driving up to the homestead just now hadn’t been coming home at the end of the day and Waverly hadn’t seen her since she’d chopped her hair off in favour of a Kate Kane/Ruby Rose style do.
“I like it.”
“Yeah?”
Waverly nodded, “It suits you.”
“Thanks.” Nicole smiled. “Happy suits you. You are happy, aren’t you?”
Way to go, Nicole. Starting out with the heavy questions.
“I am.” Waverly nodded. “Champ is-“
“A silly name.” Nicole interrupted with a chuckle.
“Be nice.” Waverly laughed, playfully smacking Nicole’s arm. “He’s a good man. He treats me well. He’s honestly the best.”
“Oh yeah?” Nicole smirked.
Waverly nodded. “Second only to you, Nicole.”
They stood in silence for a moment before Nicole looked up at the homestead.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Honestly? I can’t believe I’m here either. I don’t think everyone is happy about it.” Nicole said, her eyes falling on Wynonna who had suddenly appeared and was starring at them from the porch, arms folded across her chest.
Waverly turned and glanced at her sister, before turning and looking back at Nicole who was still watching Wynonna. Nicole didn’t drop her eyes until Wynonna turned and walked back into the house.
“She’ll come around, Nicole.” Nicole looked at Waverly. “Do you still… You know what? Never mind. It’s weird.”
Waverly turned and started to walk toward the house.
“Waverly.” Nicole said and the brunette turned. “I don’t know.”
Waverly smiled softly and stepped closer to Nicole. She wrapped her arm around Nicole’s back. “Come on. Gus is waiting to see you.”
They walked up the stairs, across the porch and into the house to find Gus waiting in the kitchen. Her back was to the girls and she was busy with her eyes fixated on the vegetables in front of her.
“Hi, Gus.” Nicole said, suddenly feeling very nervous and completely at home at the same time.
“Hello stranger.” Gus said as she turned around to face them. “What have you done to your hair?”
+++++
“Why is she here, Waverly?” Wynonna said, as she sat on the couch beside her sister.
“Oh, so close.” Waverly sighed as she closed the book, her finger holding the page she was on, before placing it on her lap and looking at Wynonna. “I invited her.”
“I thought you were over her. It’s not some attempt to get back together, right?”
“No. Of course not. Things between Nicole and I ended a long time ago, Wynonna. Besides, I’m happy. I’m getting married remember?”
“Yeah, but do you remember?” Waverly rolled her eyes. “It’s weird to invite your ex to your wedding. Does she even know it’s your wedding?”
“It was a wedding invitation that I sent her, so I’m sure she figured it out what with her being a detective and all.” This time it was Wynonna who rolled her eyes. Waverly watched her fall back against the couch cushions with a huff. “And OK. Maybe it’s a little weird that I invited her, but Nicole and I are friends. And she wouldn’t have come if she didn’t want to.”
“Maybe. Maybe that’s why she’s here.” Wynonna sat up. “Maybe she wants to get back together!”
“I doubt it.” Waverly scoffed. “Besides. What do you care? You don’t even like Champ, so it wouldn’t bother you if I wasn’t marrying him.”
Waverly hoped that by bringing up her fiancé the subject would change and Wynonna would forget about Nicole. At least for the moment. She’d never told her sister how Nicole felt about her. It wasn’t her place. She’d let Wynonna believe that the two had simply drifted apart. She’d spent a lot of time wishing that it was actually that simple.
Wynonna shuddered at the mention of Champ’s name. “It’s not that I don’t like him. It’s that I… yeah, ok I don’t like him. But I don’t like anybody.”
“Well, I would really appreciate it if you could make an effort. Even if it’s only for this weekend.” Waverly smiled sweetly at Wynonna. “For me?”
“Fine.” Wynonna rolled her eyes.
“Thank you.” Waverly smiled.
“I’ll let you get back to-" Wynonna lifted the book slightly so she could see what Waverly had been reading. “Why don’t you just watch the movie?”
“You know it?”
“Yeah it has the Mother of Dragons in it.” Waverly arched her brow. “Game of Thrones.”
“I know what it is. I’m just surprised you do.”
“I didn’t live under a rock, babygirl. I’d like to teach that Jon Snow all the things he didn’t know.”
“Oh. Gross.” Waverly scrunched up her face and playfully slapped sister. Wynonna just laughed.
“Must’ve been the most amicable break up in history for her to be here to see you marry someone else. She was head over heels for you.”
Waverly sighed. She didn’t look up from her book this time. It was late and she didn’t want to keep going over this with Wynonna.
“She was.” Waverly said simply.
“I just don’t get it. She didn’t have eyes for anyone else.”
This time Waverly didn’t reply. What could she say? She didn’t want to lie to her sister, but it wasn’t her place to say anything. Was it?
“Waverly? Was there someone else? You told me that you drifted apart. And now-“ Waverly could see that Wynonna was getting quite angry. She placed a hand on her sisters arm to calm her.
“Will you keep it down? She’ll hear you.”
After catching up with Gus, Nicole had excused herself to shower and turn in for the night. The drive had been taxing on her and she was exhausted, but Waverly couldn’t help but wonder if it was Nicole’s way of avoiding a run in with Wynonna.
“I don’t care if she hears me.”
“She didn’t cheat, Wynonna. Nicole isn’t like that. Not everything is meant to last forever.”
“So there wasn’t someone else?”
Waverly sighed and looked down as she closed her book. She took a moment before looking up at Wynonna. She needed a moment because she wasn’t sure what to say, she needed a moment because she wanted to tell her sister the truth but she knew she couldn’t.
“I told him a story of two people. Two people who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understood each other.” Waverly said softly as she looked at her sister.
She knew that Wynonna wouldn’t understand, not yet. But she’d read Me Before You a dozen times and that line had always stuck out to her, it had always reminded her of Wynonna and Nicole.
They were two very different worlds; Nicole was a straight shooting police officer and Wynonna was...Wynonna. They were always going to cross paths. Nicole moving to Purgatory had guaranteed that. But they likely wouldn’t have gotten close. They wouldn’t have become friends if it wasn’t for Waverly.
And as Waverly saw them interact, she realised that they were the same; two peas in a pod. It’s why she couldn’t be mad at Nicole. It’s why she couldn’t hold onto that life or the idea that her and Nicole would work things out and find their way back to each other.
“What does that even mean? Who shouldn’t have met? Was there-"
Waverly rolled her eyes. She leaned in and gave Wynonna a kiss on the cheek before standing up and heading for the stairs. “Goodnight, Wynonna.”
Meanwhile, Nicole was laying on the bed in the spare room trying in vein to sleep. Her mind was racing. Had she made a mistake coming back? Had Waverly told Wynonna the truth? Had Wynonna figured it out? What were they talking about? Their words were muffled and she couldn’t make any of them out, but she had a feeling they were talking about her.
Nicole rolled onto her side and slid her hand up and her pillow. She decided to try to sleep. There wasn’t anything she could do about anything right now anyway.