Political Science 101

Chapter Sixty-Eight

WILL HAD given his father the Cliff's Notes version of the evening and the accident over the phone. He included the main details and points such as where they were — I-70, near O'Fallon Park; who he was with — Ashlynn and Kelli; who was driving — Kelli. But there were details he omitted. He didn't mention that Ashlynn was more than the friend he'd grown up with — she was his girlfriend. He didn't mention why Kelli was driving Ashlynn's car — so that he and Ashlynn could make-out in the back seat as the rode at night with the convertible top down. He didn't mention the likely reason the car went off the road — Kelli had been drinking pretty much the entire evening, and so had Will. Only Ashlynn remained sober enough to drive, but both Will and Kelli convinced Ashlynn to let Kelli drive so that Will and Ashlynn could have their fun in the backseat while Kelli drove the Mustang convertible with the stereo cranked-up to eleven.

A black Lincoln Navigator finally pulled up next to the highway, half-a-mile (or so) down the road from the scene of the accident. Will had been waiting for hours. He could have walked home in the time it took for him to be picked up, but his dad had given him the specific instructions to wait, and considering the unfamiliar and absolute authority with which his father spoke, Will was afraid to defy these instructions.

He approached the vehicle from his dark hiding spot and got in. "Thanks," Will said to the driver, a large balled man wearing sunglasses — at night. The man looked at him, gave him a nod, said nothing, and pulled back onto the highway to take Will home.

Will remembered not to talk, so he just stared out the window. He was worried about Ashlynn, but was glad she was alive. Her being in a coma felt surreal, like something from the movies. He just wanted her to be okay. He was beginning to feel the overwhelming weight of guilt. His thoughts were racing. So was his heart.

"You need to tell me exactly what happened," a woman's voice said suddenly and authoritatively from the dark backseat of the Lincoln Navigator. Will jumped, startled by the sudden and unexpected revelation that there was someone behind him.

"What the hell?" Will exclaimed loudly, turning to the woman sitting in the middle of the backseat of the SUV. "You scared the crap out of me! Who the hell are you?"

"I'm an associate of your father's," she said, doing her best to ignore the fact that people don't typically talk to her like that, "and I am here to make this problem go away."

Will sat silent, confused, startled, and unsure what to say. "Okay," he muttered, for lack of anything else to interject into the conversation.

"My name is Lenore," she said in a slightly softer tone, "and I need to know everything about the accident."

"Everything?" Will asked with hesitation.

"Yes. Everything." She spoke sternly now, with authority and a tone which left no other option than to abide, "You left the scene of an accident where a 17-year-old girl was killed." She paused to let this point sink-in for a moment. "I'm here to keep this situation under control, so you need to give me every last detail. Understood?"

"Yes," Will said, caught off-guard by this woman, who clearly appeared upper-class and highly intelligent, using such a harsh and abrasive tone-of-voice. "I understand." He took a deep breath. His night was far from over.