Chapter Forty-Three
The next day Austin went to see Isabella and Tatum at home before the bar opened. He knocked on the door and stepped back as he patiently waited for them.
"Hey… Austin, what's up?" the redheaded sister finally opened the door after a few minutes. She'd just had a nosebleed and had still been cleaning up her face when he'd knocked, but Isabella was still asleep in bed, so she had to come to the door.
"Not much," he said honestly. "David's convinced she'll take him back and won't say anythin' else. We can't get a lawyer out until tonight, so I can't even question him," the Sheriff explained. "How is she?" Austin asked now.
"She's okay, I guess. She's sleepin' a lot, I think," Tatum answered, not entirely sure. Isabella was in bed a lot, but that didn't necessarily mean she actually slept that whole time. A lot of it was actually spent trying not to remember all the things that he'd put her through or what he could still do once he was out of jail.
"Okay…" he nodded, thinking that was probably a good thing for now. But they'd need to snap her out of it soon before it became a habit. He was about to tell her to call him if they needed anything else, when the woman in front of him pressed her hand to her chest, looking uncomfortable. "Are you okay?" Austin asked, hoping she wasn't going to be sick.
"Yeah, just… heartburn," Tatum said, pressing her hand harder into her chest, really not liking her pregnancy symptoms right now. "Look, I'll tell her you stopped by. I really need to take somethin' for this," she breathed heavily, although she wasn't sure if she would even be allowed to take anything; after all there were a lot of medication that she wasn't allowed to take.
"Sure… I guess I need to get to the station anyway," the Sheriff nodded now. "Hope you're okay. And, call me anytime, if you guys need anythin'," he impressed on her, his hand briefly touching her arm before he went through his hair and put his hat back in place.
"Thanks," the redhead said, hoping desperately that she wasn't about to burp in his face. "Bye," she said, with an uncomfortable smile, before closing the front door. "Ohw, why heartburn? Do you hate me?" Tatum asked her bump, clearing her throat a little on her way to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
Austin frowned to himself before he stepped back off the porch and headed back to his truck.
"Dominic, anythin' on that lawyer yet?" Austin asked one of his deputies as he came in. "Oh, is he in with him now?" he asked when he thought he heard voices coming from the cell area before his second-in-command could answer.
"No, he's been talkin' to himself on and off," Dominic answered with a shrug. At first, he'd thought it weird, but he'd stopped listening after a while. None of it made much sense and it had started giving him a headache.
"What? Really?" his boss said confused, not thinking that David had been the type for self-reflection. The more he thought about it, the more an idea started to form. "Dom, please tell me we're still recordin' back there?" he asked, almost as if he had a lightbulb moment. He shook his head in exasperation when his deputy looked at him blankly and stormed into his office to check the cameras. "Honestly," Austin muttered to himself, wondering how his colleague could be so dim. He could hear his prisoner's voice clearer now and it almost sounded like he was rehearsing a script to himself. The Sheriff was relieved to see the blinking light on the recorder indicating it was recording what was going on in the occupied cell. This would be as good as a confession if it ever got to court and the best thing was that this was not against proceedings or procedure. There were plenty of little signs up to say that there were cameras recording for staff and arrestee safety. This was almost too good to be true. Now if only they could convince Isabella to press charges against that scumbag.
That hope was dashed when he spoke to Isabella the next morning, after the lawyer had finally turned up and spoken to his client. Following his visit, he'd called her and explained how deeply sorry David was and that he promised to change and turn it all around. Austin had heard it all before, too often. She didn't say that she would take him back, but she agreed not to press charges. To say he was gutted would be an understatement. He hated it when douchebags like him got away with it, especially if the woman then ended up being hurt or killed. As far as he was concerned, even as he had to let David go, this was not the end of it. Austin would keep a close eye on Isabella, and even Tatum, to make sure they would stay safe. He hated how cocky David walked out of his jail and if he even tried to lay another finger on her, the Sheriff would have him for it.
David made sure to rub his victory in, as he walked out of the police station with a confident swagger. He couldn't wait to see the look on his girlfriend's face as she welcomed him back with open arms.