fast car | STEVE HARRINGTON [2]

30. like a bat out of hell

"NO ONE SAY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE A LAWYER." Were the first words uttered from Julia Wheeler's mouth as she freely marched into Ted and Karen's house without a knock or ring of a doorbell.

The mother of two had been having a peaceful evening - a face mask over her skin, cucumber slices above her eyelids and, had it not been for that damned dog of Ringo's, a delightful sandwich waiting for her on the kitchen counter. Until the phone rang and down the line came the hysterics of Karen Wheeler, fretting over the absence of her daughter and the current events taking over the town.

Julia had of course been worried about the recent slayings gripping their small town, but as far as she had been told Ringo was in the midst of patching things up with Steve at his house (how they were patching things up exactly she didn't even want to think about), and Sunny was kept close, holed up in her bedroom. The blonde felt assured enough in herself and the glock she kept above the fridge to know she was ready for any trespassers that came knocking. And in failing that, Fonzie was an excellent attack dog if his erratic chasing after the mailman was anything to go by.

By the time Karen had finished voicing her concerns, she was forced to hang up the call with Julia by the news that four of Mike's friend group had been found loitering near Lovers Lake by the police, and were now being questioned at her house.

"Mrs Wheeler," Chief Powell greeted with a heavy sigh, knowing his interrogation was bound to get a lot more taxing with Ringo Wheeler's mother at his throat. Sunny was trailing in after her, holding an overexcited Fonzie by his leash and giving Max an awkward head nod.

"Chief," Julia returned with a forced smile. "I don't see a lawyer present while you interrogate these minors."

"Well, Julia," he replied in exasperation, "they don't legally require one as long as their parents give consent. And besides, this is not an interrogation."

"Claudia," Julia turned sharply to Dustin's mother, "get a lawyer."

"Look this is ridiculous!" The woman threw her hands up with distress. "Dusty, do you know this Eddie Munson guy?"

"Nope!" Dustin answered, far too quickly to be considered believable. "We haven't seen that guy in a long time!"

"I don't even know the guy!" Ben added in quickly, his voice a pitch too high and prompting Julia's eyebrows to raise with suspicion. "See I only joined the Hellfire club because I thought it actually called Help-fire and that we'd be some kind of... I don't know- fire rescue volunteer group?"

"Oh, that's a bunch of bull!" Erica Sinclair stepped forth, making her presence known with a sassy remark and arms crossed over her chest.

"Erica!" The Sinclair parents scolded in tandem.

"I mean you realise they're lying? The whole couch is on fire, just the facts!"

"Damn," Julia swore in a low voice toward Sunny, "if you ratted me out like that I'd put you back in foster care."

"Oh please," Sunny scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "I'm from foster care, where snitches don't get stitches they get a broken kneecap and several missing teeth."

"Are you lying to these policemen, Dusty?" Claudia questioned, in clear agony over the notion her sweet and innocent child was perhaps not so sweet and innocent after all.

As they continued to vehemently deny their involvement, Julia was admittedly growing increasingly concerned herself. She knew that Ringo was regularly involved with this particular group of teenagers, and the fact that Nancy too was missing was raising all kinds of red flags in her mind. Julia knew her daughter well enough to know that she could protect herself, but she also knew Ringo was dumb enough to get involved in things she shouldn't be involved in.