Penalty Chapter One
As Isla sat waiting for word on Milo’s arrest, she hoped that his attorney, Preston Palmer, was able to work a miracle. Everything had happened so fast. One minute, she was with Milo, enjoying a nice day together while discussing their feelings, and the next, they were both being hauled out by Detective Clark for the murder of Mr. Ohler.
Days earlier, Mr. Ohler had verbally harassed them both, creating chaos in front of Isla’s locksmith at the Lincoln Street house. After, Mr. Ohler had gone to the police and accused Milo of attacking him, which was a total lie. Milo had not threatened one bone in his hateful body.
She looked around the stale-smelling lobby and the mixture of people, each with their own version of problems. From the looks on their faces, she wasn’t alone in her misery. At least she wasn’t stuck in the back with Detective Clark looming over her and glaring down his nose at her like she was some kind of killer.
How did she end up here again? Would they ever catch a break?
The one thing she knew for sure was that Clark was the worst detective she’d ever met. He insisted on blaming innocent people for murders they had nothing to do with. And he was dead set on pinning a murder on Milo, facts be damned.
She would never understand how one man could have it out for another so badly that he would ignore the obvious, and she was in a building with more than one of that type of man, judging by the way she was being looked at by the others in uniform. The whole department had their heads up their asses.
It would have been funny except that poor Milo kept suffering because of it. Being dragged down to the police station on another murder charge? It was his worst nightmare. First he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife Nell, and now Mr. Ohler? Not to mention the false alarm when Mr. Crosby was murdered. To the local cops, Milo was public enemy number one. Idiots.
Isla didn’t understand what was happening anymore. Nothing made sense, and nothing mattered. Not if they took Milo away again.
He wasn’t responsible for any of it. He had been with her the entire time, and there was no way he had done anything to hurt his old neighbor. She was certain that Milo couldn’t hurt anyone.
If they only knew him. If they only knew the man who sat birdwatching on the back porch. The man who opened every door for her like a gentleman and worked hard for his wife when she was alive. Milo was a good man, and no one else had ever compared to her father the way he had.
But she knew that the cops wouldn’t see it. They didn’t care who Milo was. They would accuse her of being an accomplice if she tried to say anything to them. So, she was following her lawyer’s advice and not saying anything at all.
Thankfully, they decided not to hold her. They wanted Milo, and now they had a good reason to get him. At least, they thought.
All because Mr. Ohler had made a complaint about Milo just days before he was murdered, and the man had supposedly given them evidence in the past that would implicate Milo in Nell’s murder. And even though Isla was sure that information was all a mistake, she knew it would probably be dug up to make Milo look bad, as if he would get revenge on someone for calling him a murderer by murdering them.
Preston walked out of the back, talking on his phone and raking his hand through his short hair. “Okay, I’m at the police station now. I’ll call you back.” He ended the call, looked up at Isla, and sighed. “There you are.”
“Yeah, they realized that I wasn’t going to tell them anything and put me out here.”
“I told them to turn you loose,” he said, looking exhausted. “I knew they didn’t really want you. They want Milo. Fuckers.”
“Thanks. Now, what about Milo? When will he be let go?” It couldn’t happen fast enough for her.
“I’m afraid he’s going to have to stay, Isla.” Preston gave her a regretful look. “I can’t get him out just yet. There’s a lot to be done, but know he’s going to be okay.”
“What?” That didn’t seem fair that he had to stay and pay for something he hadn’t done when Isla was a witness to his innocence. “But I was with him the entire time. He didn’t kill anyone, especially Mr. Ohler. The man is insane or was, and any report he made about Milo was a lie. I was there. I can vouch for Milo.” She wasn’t sure that would be good enough. Detective Clark surely didn’t care what she had to say.
“I know.” Preston sat with her and put his hand on her arm. “I can use that to hopefully get him bail, but he won’t be seen by a judge for a day or two. So, you’ll just have to sit tight without him. But it will be okay, I promise you that.”
“Oh, Preston,” she said as tears filled her eyes. “This is his worst nightmare. I can’t stand the thought of him having to go through this again. Isn’t there anything you can do? Please?”
Preston closed his eyes and sighed as if seeing Isla upset was too much for him. “No, I’m sorry. I can only do so much when the charge is murder. They have to arraign him, and then they’ll do a bail hearing. I’ll do my best.”
“But it’s wrong. It’s a mistake.” Why couldn’t anyone else see that? “Why are they so hell-bent on him?”
Preston agreed. “I know. Just trust that I’m doing all I can. And I’m going to work to have the charge dropped against him.”
“I’ll do whatever I have to do,” she said. “I’ll help any way I can.”
Preston gave her a sympathetic look. “I know you will. It’s okay. Just sit tight. I’m going to call the medical examiner’s office and let him know that I want the time of death as soon as possible. With any luck, we’ll have an alibi for that.”
“I’m the alibi,” she said.
“I don’t know if that’s going to help matters much.”
“Did they say how it happened? How was he killed?” She hadn’t gotten any details about the so-called crime. For all she knew, Mr. Ohler died of old age or pure hatred.
“I don’t know anything yet,” said Preston. “I’ll get the report and go over it with you so you know what’s going on.”
“It’s like we can’t have one good day anymore. Why does it have to be this way?” All she had wanted was to have some quality time before they got back to their own investigations. But now, nothing could be done. She had to put her sole focus on Milo’s release.
Preston shrugged. “I don’t know. I sometimes think that Milo is the unluckiest man in the world.”
“There has to be some reason for that. He hasn’t done anything. And someone is working awfully hard to make him look bad. That old man was accusing him of Nell’s death. He’s the one who supposedly had something. So, do they think they’ll just pull that old evidence they weren’t supposed to have out of thin air and use it against Milo now? Will they say that’s his motive against Mr. Ohler?”
Preston gave her a hard look. “I’d like to see them try. You know as well as I do if they have anything, they’re mistaken. It can’t be Milo.”
“I just feel so horrible and helpless. Maybe if we find the locksmith, he can vouch for us. He can prove that Milo is innocent. He saw the way Mr. Ohler approached us.”
“Or he won’t vouch for you at all. And even if he did, the complaint came after, and from what I read, he didn’t mention any locksmith during that confrontation.”
“He’s such a liar. And truth be known, Preston, I’m the one who told him to drop dead when he came over with his rant. I was so sick of the way he yelled at Milo. It was not only scary but embarrassing. There we were, in our own yard, conducting business, and out of the blue, he came over and yelled at us.”
“I know,” said Preston. “Just calm down, okay? Being upset won’t help anything. You need to keep a clear, cool head.”
“Well, that’s easier said than done. Right now, I want to go in there and slap those cops silly.”
She had tried to keep her voice low, but Preston looked over his shoulder to see if anyone heard her. “Let’s just hope that when I study it, I’ll find something that we can contradict. Otherwise, Detective Clark isn’t going to buy it. He’s out for blood. And all he has wanted since Milo got out of prison was to put him back in.”
“I hate that man. He has it out for Milo.”
“Well, embarrassment is a bitch,” said Preston. “You and Milo certainly did that.”
“Like Milo always says, they did that to themselves.”
“Well, I need to go and talk to him before they take him back. They should be done booking him now. I asked for a minute.”
“Okay,” she said. “Can you bring me home, or should I call a ride?” She didn’t care. She just wanted the nightmare day to be over.
“Sit tight. I’ll drive you.” He gave her a comforting smile.
“Thanks,” she said. “Tell Milo I’m going to do all I can to help.”
Preston smiled. “Isla, if there’s one thing Milo knows, it is that.” He patted her knee and got up to go find Milo.
Isla put her head in her hands and didn’t know what to think. The day had started off fine and turned into hell. She wished she could wake up and it would all be over. But life was not that easy.
When her phone rang in her purse, she took it out and answered it, seeing it was Desi. “Hey,” she said, sniffling through her tears. “I’m glad you called.”
“Is it true?” asked Desi. “Did Milo Ford just get arrested for murder again?”
“Wow, news travels fast. How did you find out? I was prepared to tell you everything, but I suppose you already know.”
“I ran into my friend, who told me she was having lunch at the club when you two were taken into custody. I thought you were arrested, too, but you answered the phone, so I guess I’m wrong. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s Milo I’m worried about. He didn’t do this, Desi. I was with him the entire time. I know he didn’t.”
“Yeah, for once, I believe you.”
“You do?” She was surprised to hear that. Desi’s tone didn’t quite say that.
“Of course. But who did they say he killed this time?”
“The man who lived behind the Lincoln Street house,” she said. “You know, Mr. Ohler.”
“Wait, that’s the man who had evidence of him killing his wife, right?”
She could detect a hint of suspicion creeping back. “Yes, but that couldn’t have been true, Desi. Milo didn’t do it.”
“Well, what do you make of it then? This man makes a problem, and now he’s dead? That’s scary. What’s going on?”
“He’s mistaken. I mean, he has to be. Milo didn’t kill Nell. I already proved he wasn’t home during her time of death, which had been narrowed down in court on the record. It wasn’t him.”
“And you know he didn’t want revenge on the old man?” Now, she was in full-blown accusation mode. The uncertainty in Desi’s voice was growing by the second.
“I thought you just said you believed me.” She couldn’t believe how quickly she could change her mind on something so important.
“Well, that was until I heard the victim is the man who claimed to have solid proof against Milo. Isla, are you absolutely certain it couldn’t have him?”
“Absolutely, Desi. He has been with me the entire time, ever since Mr. Ohler came over and verbally attacked us. And besides, if anyone threatened him, it was me.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I wasn’t kind to him that day when he yelled at us.”
“Well, being mean didn’t kill him.”
“Yeah, tell that to the cops.” She wouldn’t put anything past the police. “Anyway, I’m just sitting here waiting for Preston. He went back to check on Milo. He’s going to have to stay.”
“He can’t bail him out? That’s ridiculous.”
“No, there’s no bail right now. He has to see the judge. And that could take some time.”
“Oh no. Well, do you want me to come and get you?”
“No, Preston is going to take me home, but thanks for the offer. I’ll just stop off at the club, get my car, and have him follow me for safety’s sake.”
“Wait, you were at the club when it happened?” Desi asked.
“Yes, we were. We were on the deck having an important conversation and getting ready to enjoy a nice meal when the cops showed up accusing us. I was taken out in handcuffs in front of everyone. It was so humiliating.”
“They cuffed you?” she asked. “I can’t believe the nerve. That’s horrible, Isla.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt it did me any favors. I’ve been battling Mr. Riston over the whole club membership ordeal. He has been making things tough for me, and you should have seen his face when we were led out and put in the cop’s cars.”
“Dang, Isla. You just might lose that family membership after all.”
“I know, and it doesn’t make me feel good either. My uncle is probably rolling in his grave.”
“No, don’t say that. He would be sticking up for you,” said Desi. “And so would Aunt Delta. They know who you are. They know your heart.”
“I know,” said Isla. “But I wish I had Uncle Godfrey around. He was so powerful and well loved. No one would be messing with me or Milo.”
“Well, you call me when you get home. I’ll come over. We’ll wait this out together if you want. Besides, you don’t need to be alone. If you’re right, there’s a killer out there and he’s not finished.”
“Yeah,” she said. “You’re welcome to come over. I just want Milo to get out. I know his worst fear is going back to prison. It was a nightmare for him. Torture. It’s so unfair. They accuse him of everything. He never gets the benefit of the doubt.”
“Yeah, he probably never will, Isla.” Desi sighed. “I’m sorry. I know this has to be tough for you too.”
“It is, but tougher for Milo. And just when things were changing between us.” She wished they had a chance to finish their conversation to make sure they were on the same page. Just knowing that they had come so close, only to be dragged away from one another, made her feel sick inside. And she wished she had told him exactly how she felt and what she wanted.
“Changing between you?” asked Desi.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “It doesn’t matter.” And it really wouldn’t matter if Milo went back to prison.
“You know you can talk to me, Isla.” Desi’s voice softened. “You’re like a sister to me, you know. I’m always here for you.”
Isla knew that was true. But she didn’t want to approach that subject with Desi while sitting in a police station alone, waiting for the time when she’d leave Milo there. She already knew what Desi would say to that. She’d tell Isla that Milo was no good as usual. And that was the last thing Isla needed to hear.
“I should go,” she said. “I’ll text you when I get home.”
“Okay, don’t forget,” said Desi.
When Isla ended the call, she slumped in her seat and felt the lump in her throat grow bigger. She didn’t want to go home without Milo. She couldn’t see her life without him.
