The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag 00 - Skeletons in the Closet

gun.
    I’d taken Annie by surprise and knocked her back a few feet as I fought for the gun. We struggled, and I managed to get the barrel pointed to twelve o’clock. She got off a round that went up in the air, and I screamed “GO!” at Sylvia, who stood like a beautiful, dim-witted doe in headlights. She hesitated a moment more and booked back into the night.
    “Get her!” Annie screamed as I held onto the gun for dear life. Luckily, the gym rat hadn’t grown a brain since earlier and he came to help Annie instead.
    “I’ve got this one, you fool, go get the other one!”
    My peripheral vision picked up the blue-and-red flashers, and I almost let go of the gun, but my fear of Annie’s vigilante justice kept me in the struggle. Now that Sylvia was safe, my mind turned to self-preservation.
    Before I knew anyone had approached, I was yanked back and tossed to the ground. I heard a rip and realized my derrière had given Neil’s pants what-for. I knew there was a reason why my mother insisted to always put on clean underwear before leaving the house. All of my delicates had been line-drying in the laundry room when I left.
    Wonderful, exactly what this night needed. My bare ass, exposed to the arresting officers.

    * * * *
    The police dragged all three of us down to the local precinct: me, Annie Oakley, and the Gym Rat. I stood silently in the holding cell waiting for my turn to tell the story. Gym Rat and his mother made up the difference in the noise level by bitching about the unfairness of their treatment.
    “I didn’t do nothin’ wrong! Those girls was skulking like thieves in the night. I was the one who was the victim here! I demand a phone call!” Annie’s bathrobe was now caked in what I hoped was mud, and she had leaves in her hair.
    “Stuff it, Ma! Who you gonna call?” Gym Rat had fared a little better; hero that he was, he’d acquiesced to the police demands immediately. His jeans were dirty, and his flannel shirt had been ripped, but he hadn’t been tossed on the ground like a beached whale. He seemed less than thrilled with the situation and kept shooting me dark looks through the bars.
    I was the worst of the bunch. I lost Josh’s jacket in the fray, and Neil’s pants were beyond repair. One of my boots had come off at some point during the scuffle and it hadn’t made it into the squad car. My ski hat had gone the way of the dodo leaving telltale hat hair behind. I’d pulled as many leaves and pine needles as possible from my hair without a mirror. The left side of my face felt tender where it had been planted into the ground, but at least my lip had finally stopped bleeding. No matter how bad I looked, I felt ten times worse, especially because the whole ordeal was my fault.
    A woman in a police uniform poked her head around the corner. “Settle down back there, all of you! You’re being held for disturbing the peace, so I’d suggest you keep your mouths shut!”
    Annie gave the bars a very indignant shake. “I know my rights!”
    “Maggie?”
    I looked up. Neil and a short, balding man strode toward my cell. Neil had his poker face on. The stiffness in his posture and his stare flashed a warning. “I came as soon as I heard. This is Mr. Grayson. His brother works with me at Intel and he offered to be your legal representation. We’re going to get you out of here.”
    “Who—” I cut myself off as Neil shook his head.
    “We’ll talk about it later.”
    I nodded and looked to Mr. Grayson. He gave me a small smile and patted my hand through the bars. “I have a call into the judge and I’m trying to find out exactly what you’ve been charged with.”
    “She was trespassing and disturbing the peace!” Annie Oakley shouted at him, her face squished into the bars.
    Mr. Grayson did a double take at her before looking back to me. “We’ll get this resolved as quickly as possible.”
    Neil, whose gaze never left me, quirked the corner of his mouth. “Are you wearing my pants?”
    I nodded again and dropped my gaze to the cracked concrete floor.
    “I can’t wait to relive this over Thanksgiving dinner.” Neil’s tone sounded dry.
    I gave him a weak smile, and they were gone.
    “Just what the hell were you doing at our house anyway?”
    It took me a moment to realize that Greg was addressing me.
    “You know, if you wanted me, it would have been a hell of a lot easier if you told me so instead of stalking me!”
    This guy was way too full of himself. I really