Thread: Blank Slate (Dane Stalling & Malicious Lullaby)

Pablo was confused. Penny seemed like a completely different person. Where was the smartass chick with the well-used middle finger? The concussion must have done a number on her. Or it was the insanity defense again? He would have to come up with a way to figure out if she was just fucking with his head or if she really didn't know what was happening. He had taken the required ethics classes at the academy, but this was the kind of thing that got glossed over. Did guilt apply to the body or to the memory? If Penny truly didn't remember what she had done, could she be held responsible for it? If the motivation for incarceration was rehabilitation, wasn't she, for all practical purposes, already rehabilitated? Her idea about going to sleep was terrible. Someone with a concussion shouldn't sleep right away or they might go into a coma. Losing her dinner into the toilet was the last straw. She was a very messed up woman right now. You need to stay awake for another hour or so, he said, watching her eyes, Your brain needs to settle down without shutting down completely. You were in a bad car accident. He drew a glass of water and handed it to her along with a couple of pain pills. He wanted her to stay awake, but the television in the tiny motel room didn't get anything but the infomercial channel. He decided to talk to her about herself. Maybe he could get an idea about whether she was manipulating him or not. He led her to the bed but he didn't let her lie down. Sit against the headboard, look at me. Stay awake. He sat in a chair next to the bed and brought Sueco to mind. He didn't feel the overwhelmeing anger this time. I had a partner we called Sueco. He was a big white guy, Swedish and blond and he blushed like a little girl when he was embarrassed. Pablo smiled at the memory. You'd think an FBI agent would have a tough skin about stuff, but he never seemed to get hard or jaded. He had this picture of his wife, Margie, on his desk, a cute little lady and we teased him about their size difference. He had to weigh three times as much as her. We told him if he used the missionary position with her we'd charge him with attempted murder. Poor guy turned beet red every time. 'She's got you wrapped around her little finger,' I said once and he grinned and turned pink and said 'I love it when she does that.' Pablo watched Penny's eyes as he talked, watched her reactions. He found the telling about Sueco strangely healing, even if Penny herself was guilty of accessory to his murder after the fact. It felt good to talk about him. It felt good to talk to her. He reached over and slipped her shoes off. The law enforcement part of his brain said it would be hard for her to run without shoes on. The part that was increasingly dictating Pablo's actions said he wanted to touch her. He got us back once. Larry replaced that picture on his desk with some porn starlet. The next day when we got to work, he had replaced every picture on every desk on our floor with a picture of Margie. But that wasn't all. At the staff meeting, the chief spent the first five minutes raking everyone over the coals for our loose morals and lack of character. Sueco was busting a gut in the back of the room the whole time. The chief ended by pointing out that Sueco was the only one in the room who didn't have a picture of another man's wife on his desk. Pablo shook his head and chuckled. You know, I never saw him out of control angry. There was one kid that had emptied a 9mm clip at Sueco and missed him with all eleven bullets. Sueco just went over and picked the kid up by the back of his baggy pants and held him up in the air kicking and swearing until I could get there to cuff him and read him his rights. A year ago we got a call to go on a bust. A simple one, really. A kid that always had his hands in something mildly illegal was carrying something for someone. I don't even know who it was for. Sueco and I found the kid in front of the address. I called to get his attention. He shot at me first and nicked my head here. Pablo touched the scar just above his hairline. Then he shot Sueco through the neck. He was dead before he even fell. Pablo stared at his hands for a long time. I've wondered why it wasn't me that died that night. He was the better man, he made his job work with his marriage. I couldn't hold my marriage together. I'm a selfish vengeful bastard and my ex reminds me every chance she gets. He looked at Penny's green eyes. What do you remember? You said 'Papa' when I took you out of the car. Who is that?