First Impressions
Parts 11-12
By Kellie
Danny shoved Michelle into the passenger seat. "Stay here," he ordered as he reached across her to the console and grabbed his cell phone. He quickly opened the glove compartment and reached inside, "Damn it, it's gone."
"What's gone? What's going on, Danny?"
"Michelle, just wait here. I'll explain when I get back," Danny replied in a terse whisper before he pushed her door closed and walked back towards the beach.
Michelle clutched the armrest for a moment before pushing the door back open, "You're not leaving me here alone," she muttered to herself as she quietly closed the car door and headed back down the beach path. She caught up with Danny, who was crouched down behind some sea oats scanning the beach.
He looked up and put his finger to his mouth as he pulled Michelle down beside him. "I thought I told you to stay in the car," he whispered.
"I wasn't staying there alone, besides the fact that if someone's hurt, I might be able to help," she whispered back.
Danny shook his head, "Stay behind me and don't make a sound." Slowly, the hunched over pair moved down the path. They didn't make it far before Danny spotted Mick heading back up another nearby path. He pointed Mick out to Michelle and she nodded that she had spotted him. Once Mick was out of site, Danny stood and looked down at the beach. He could see a body lying in the sand, a gun on the ground beside it. "Michelle, stay right here. I'm going to go down and see if the guy Mick shot is still alive."
Danny reached the lifeless body. He immediately recognized David Grant. He reached down and grabbed David's wrist, searching for a pulse. Finding none, Danny turned to go back up the beach. He looked down and recognized the gun on the ground as being the one missing from his glove compartment. "Damn you, Mick."
Danny quickly ran up the path to where Michelle was still crouched down waiting. "Let's go."
"He's dead?"
Danny nodded in response. "Michelle, we've got to get out of here. Mick had taken my gun from the car and used it to shoot the guy. He was a cop and the gun was a legal weapon registered to me."
"Danny, just call the police. I can tell Frank Cooper that you were with me when the gun was fired. They can't blame you for this."
"Michelle, if I tell the police Mick did this, I'm as good as dead. Mick will see to that."
Danny grabbed Michelle by the elbow and the pair rushed to the car. Once inside, Danny reached under his seat and pulled out a second cell phone. As he pulled the car out onto the road, Danny hit one of the speed dial buttons. "We've got a problem. I need to meet you somewhere safe ASAP."
Michelle sat and silently listened to Danny's mysterious conversation. When he flipped the phone closed, she looked up, "There's more to all of this than you've told me."
Danny nodded as he continued to drive. "Michelle, I can't explain right now. I just need you to trust me."
"Trust you!" Michelle exclaimed. "Your brother just shot a cop with your gun, your making mysterious phone calls, and you're asking me to trust you? You've got to be kidding. Just drop me off at the next corner and I'll call someone to pick me up."
"Michelle, you just witnessed a mob hit. There's no way in hell I'm leaving you anywhere alone. You're staying with me."
Michelle began to speak, "Danny..."
"No arguments. Your life is on the line," he added before she could say anything else.
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Michelle sat silently as Danny turned onto the road leading to the Jessup farm. She knew that since Cassie had moved to San Cristobel, the farm had been deserted. Danny pulled the Corvette into the open barn where Michelle was shocked to see Frank Cooper waiting. "Danny, why is Frank here?"
"I'll explain everything in a minute, just wait here," Danny replied as he got out of the car.
Michelle watched as Danny and Frank talked. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she was certain that Danny was working with Frank on something based on the familiarity that seemed to be present in their interaction. Finally, Danny walked over and opened her car door.
"Danny, Frank, would either one of you like to fill me in about what's going on and how I fit into it?" she demanded.
"Danny, that's my cue to get going. I really need to get down to the beach to oversee the investigation. Harley told me that Cassie isn't planning on coming to Springfield for a visit for a while, so you should be safe here for now. I'll be in touch soon. Michelle, I'll let Danny explain everything to you. Just stay here and you should be safe," Frank said before heading over to close the barn doors. "The key to the house is hanging on a nail on the left side of the tack room door."
Michelle looked over expectantly at Danny and crossed her arms. As she impatiently tapped her right foot, she spoke, "Okay, Frank left you here to explain this mess yourself, so start talking."
"Michelle, I've been working as an informant for Frank. I've never been thrilled with how my family does business, but when I learned that Mick had gotten us involved in drug trafficking...Well, I just couldn't stomach that. I told my mother that she either had to put an end to Mick's involvement in drugs or I would leave the business. My mother agreed that the drugs were an undesirable sideline, but Mick is an addict. We both knew that getting him out of the drug trade would take more than an ultimatum from one of us." Danny paused as he walked over to the barn window and looked out. "We finally devised a plan to get Mick cleaned up. I would follow through with leaving the business and set up a contact with someone from the police department."
"Frank," Michelle said as he nodded affirmatively.
"My mother has secretly been feeding me whatever information she could about Mick's drug dealing. Our hope was that the cops could catch him red handed dealing something lightweight - pot or something like that. Once Mick was arrested, our lawyer would be instructed to cut a deal with the DA that involved getting Mick involved in a drug treatment program."
"That's some plan." Michelle commented.
"Yeah, too bad I didn't realize how far gone Mick was." Danny walked over to the tack room door and stepped inside to retrieve the key. "Michelle, let's get up to the house."
"Danny, how come I have a feeling that there's more to this story than your telling me?"
Danny ignored her comment as he reached into the car and grabbed her bag from the beach and headed out towards the house with Michelle following closely behind.
As they walked into the front door, Michelle reached over to turn on a light. Danny quickly grabbed her hand and nodded no.
"Why can't I turn on a light?" she inquired.
"Michelle, we can't take a chance on someone finding out we're here. This house is supposed to be deserted. A light in the window would be a sure give away that we're here. It'll be dark out in about an hour, so learn your way around and find anything you might need before then."
"That's just great," she muttered to herself as she stood by the door while Danny checked the house out. When he returned to the living room, she gave him an icy glare as she asked, "So, are you going to fill me in on what you left out down in the barn?"
"What makes you think I've left something out," Danny replied as he walked over to the sofa and pulled the drop cloth off of it.
"Just a feeling."
"Well, you're wrong. I'm going to check the kitchen out and see if there's something we can eat," Danny said as tried to exit the room.
"Think you can escape that easily," Michelle interjected as she crossed the room and grabbed his arm.
"Michelle, even if there is more to this than I've told you - and I'm not saying that there is - there might be a good reason that I've left the details out. Leave it alone!" Danny answered in a terse whisper as he turned and faced her glare.
Their eyes met momentarily. The next thing Michelle knew, Danny's mouth came crashing down on hers. She felt his tongue exploring her mouth as his arm wrapped around her bare back. The damp bathing suit she had been wearing suddenly didn't feel so cold. Michelle's head began to spin as desire went to war with her mind. Her mind was telling her to break away from the passionate embrace since she felt that Danny was keeping her in the dark about some aspects of the situation she now found herself involved in. She felt her knees getting weak as Danny's lips moved to her collarbone. She leaned her head back while his free hand slipped in the side of the bikini top she was wearing. His fingers circled her now aroused nipple as she moaned in pleasure. Michelle began to move towards the sofa; both of them so wrapped up in the moment that they weren't paying attention to their movements. The crash of a picture frame on an end table startled Michelle and forced her to follow the thoughts of her mind. She pushed Danny away and turned and ran up the stairs. Danny heard the bedroom door slam as he leaned over and put his hands on his knees.