Did it make you stop and think
You're on the brink
and not to test
Cause you don't know how far you'd go
Did you make a big mistake
you curse your fate
and wish you could leave this life
for just one day
~Welcome To The Goodtimes~
~Black Crowes~
Twenty Eight
Nobody had said it and they couldn't tell me they hadn't all thought it at one time or another. Bonnie could be in trouble, she could be dead. I chose not to think the latter, I just think I would know, I would feel it. I don't know if that is just hope, or whether the bond that I have with her really is as strong that I hope it is.
The house is quiet and dark, either meaning that Zac has turned in already, or hasn't come in at all. I am wrong on both accounts.
"Tay, that you?" I am wet from walking in the rain and I know it will be obvious I have been crying if he sees me.
"Yeah man, I'm home." Oh well he'd know anyhow, my voice had a crack in it when I spoke and as I guessed he was up off the couch and over to me. I knew they couldn't possibly feel or know what I was going through, but I really was growing tired of all of the walking on eggshells and treating me like I was going to break.
"All of us were worried sick, Tay, Dad and Ike were headed out to look for you." He picked the phone up and dialed, telling someone I had showed up. He motioned for me to come talk to whoever it was that he had called, but I waved him off, heading up to bed. I don't know why I even tried, another sleepless nite, more nightmares, more worries.
Could nobody leave a guy in peace? The phone had rang incessantly until either Zac or the service had picked it up. Now there was knocking at the front door. Well, it was knocking, now it had turned to pounding. Zac had to be in better shape than I was and after all his room was closer to the door, maybe they would get tired and go away.
"Tay.." It was Zac standing over my bed. "Tay...you gotta come downstairs, get clothes on and come downstairs." I cleared my eyes and saw that Zac was either afraid, or in some sort of shock...the only thing that shot through my mind was .....Bonnie!!
Twenty Nine
After the years, it has become a habit to always check to view hole making sure it's not a rabid fan waking you up at some ungodly hour. I almost fell backward when I saw them. Four men, two in suits, two in uniform, behind the viewfinder. I pulled the door open cautiously, not knowing what to expect.
"Taylor Hanson?" One of the suits said in a voice reminicent of the old Ironside shows.
I'm not sure what was going through Taylor's brain when I woke him up, but he jumped out of bed like there was a fire, not dressed and ran me down, headed down the stairs, I didn't even have a chance to tell him who or what was there waiting for him. I told him to get dressed, but I guess he didn't hear that.
"Taylor Hanson?" The same serious suited officer spoke. If it han't been such a serious situation, I would have laughed, here is Tay in his boxers flying down the stairs at the speed of light. When he came to the bottom and found who was there, it was almost like a cartoon where they skid to a stop.
"Zac, call dad!...no call Christopher..Shit! get me some clothes, I am not going without clothes!"
I just grabbed what he had been wearing the nite before, and brought it out to him. He had stopped crying and was just looking like he had been hit.
I was really worried, Taylor was shaking, I mean really shaking, like he was having some sort of attack, he couldn't even get his pants on, I had to help him...tears streaming down his face.
"Tell me, tell me.... where...., how'd she die?" Finally the silent suit started to speak, but at that same moment Christopher and dad both came bursting through the door. The whole room stopped it's animation and looked at them. Tay rushed dad, pulling the officer with the cuff on him in a jerk.
"Taylor we don't know for sure, they don't have a body Tay..." It was like a huge swell of relief washed over his body. His look turned from horror over the thought of his Bonnie dead, to anger and he pulled the cuff hard.
"We need to go" Suit One tried to interrupt. Taylor was still barefoot, so I handed dad his shoes and started up the stairs to get some clothes for myself, but my arm was grabbed by one of the officers in uniform. I will need to go with you sir and you need to get what personal effects you will need , we will be closing the house for evidence purposes." This was too much.
Thirty
"Zac, calm down, Give me dad." I heard him take a breath and say something to someone.
"Tay's in trouble, I am headed to mom's, get Lacey and meet me there as soon as you can..." Not even waiting for a response, I was in the car and on the street before I even thought back to what Zac had said. They must have found Bonnie, but why are they arresting Taylor, he told them everything he knew, they let him go...?
"Murder....oh god, Zac said something about murder..." I felt my stomach reel as I turned up mom's street. I felt torn, wanting to go see what was going on with Taylor, but knowing that if mom knew, or even if she didn't, she would need me either way.
Zac nearly hammered me on his Harley as he rounded the corner at nearly the same time. I wonder why he's on that? It was rare of him to ride it around town, too flashy, he mostly just took it on road trips.
"Zac...what the.." He pulled off his helmet at the same time I got out of the car.
"Mom, sit...it's not going to be good."
To hell with clothes, I took the stairs two at a time fully expecting to see Bonnie at the bottom step, but instead, found a very horrifying surprise.
"Um, no, he's still asleep..." No one smiled, this was not a friendly visit.
"You'll need to go get thim then, we need to speak with him." I had a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling.
"Um...yeah?" One of the uniformed officers stepped out from behind him with a document in his hand. It all happened so fast, I felt like it was a dream, you know the ones where it goes in slow motion...
"We have a warrant for your arrest, Mr. Hanson." They said it almost at the same time as they snapped handcuff over his wrist. It was like a circus broke out, Taylor yelling and crying, an officer stating something about his rights and does he understand, of course he doesn't understand, he's been woken up, half clothed and is being arrested!!
I didn't know what to do first, I just stood stunned.
"Sir, can you get him some clothes, then make your phone calls." There was Mr. Suit again, calm cool and collected while all of this hysterics went on around him. Running upstairs I heard Taylor asking him what the charges were, why they were arresting him. It was muffled, but I knew I heard the word .....
"....Murder"...
"Murder..." he repeated it slowly "....oh, oh god, she's dead?" His body went weak and he nearly fell to the floor, I tried to get a shirt over his head, but he was pushing me away. The officer still had him by one arm cuffed still, but released him for a moment to get his shirt over his head.
"Dad, ...Bonnie is....she's...and murder...he made no sense, but dad evidently had enough information to know.
"Then what the hell is this?" he looked fron officer to officer and then to Christopher and dad.
"Taylor just calm down." Christopher tried to touch him but he pushed his arm away roughly.
"Ike, It's Zac, Taylor's ...arrested, Dad and Chris, murder ...Bonnie." I couldn't make out any more than that, but that was enough.
"Can't, he's on the way to the jail with Christopher and Taylor." Just said it calm, just like that.
"Ok, I will be there, where's mom and does she know?" I was covering all my bases.
"I won't be here, I have to leave, they are sealing the house, said something about evidence."
I am headed to mom's, will you meet me there, I may need you."
I ran out the front door forgetting that Kate was still in the shower and Lacey asleep in the apartment. Bounding up the stairs two at a time, I stuck my head in the shower and scared the crap out of her.
"Ike they took my car, Tay's car, they sealed the house, I got out with what's on my back... " This is bad, very bad. At this moment Mom appeared on the front steps. She looked normal, a little scared but normal. This was not a good sign, she would not have been this way if she knew. Now we got to tell her.
"Issac, Zachary, what is going on?... Your father flew out of here after a phone call, now you two show up?"