Guilty of Innocence (Chapter -9)

Chad tapped his armrest with one hand, gripping the other until his knuckles turned white. Nicky stared out the window of the plane to watch the activity around the tarmac before take off, then turned a smile to Chad. When she saw him grinding his teeth as he stared ahead, she frowned and placed her hand gently on the one tapping the armrest. He shot his wide, grey eyes at her in wonder, making her frown deepen.

“What’s the matter with you?” she asked, and he faced ahead again, stilling his between them.

“I hate flying,” he muttered.

“You’ve never flown,” Nicky recalled.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t hate it,” Chad retorted and she rolled her eyes. She jumped when he did when the plane started down the runway and his hands went to clutching the armrests again as Nicky stared at him in confusion.

“Chad, calm down!” she whispered.

“I can’t!” he ground out. “It’s a damn plane, Nicky! If people were meant to fly, they’d have frickin’ wings! What if one of the engines blows up or something?!”

“You’ll freak out everyone else, Chad,” Nicky whispered, seeing his breathing quicken. “Just take deep breaths. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“How do you know?!” Chad retorted, finally turning his gaze to her and she could see how truly terrified he was.

The force of the plane lifting off made him shove himself into his seat and Nicky took his face into her hand to keep his gaze on hers. She stroked his face soothingly, feeling him tremble and she turned quickly to pull the shade down over the window on the other side of her before turning back to Chad.

“You’re so weird, Chadworth,” she murmured, still stroking his face. “You’re going to Washington to face a killer, but you can’t even handle yourself on the plane to get there.”

“Don’t make fun, Nicky,” he pleaded, breathlessly.

“I wasn’t,” she confessed. “It’s nice to know you’re not a tough guy all the time.”

“I thought you liked the heroic BS,” he recalled, starting to calm down.

“In light of recent events, I’ve changed my mind,” she muttered, making him chuckle, and she knew he was relaxed. Turning to the window, she pulled the shade up and noticed they’d gotten high enough to look over the city and nodded him toward the window, smiling, “Look.”

Chad leaned over to look out the window and Nicky was surprised when he smiled as well.

“Ok, this isn’t too bad,” he admitted, looking to a still smiling Nicky. “The view is nice.”

“Sure is.”

Both teens frowned at each other before shifting to look behind them where the familiar voice had come from.

“Jared?!” they both chirped as the sophomore grinned at them, adjusting his glasses and waving.

“What are you doing here?!” Chad demanded.

“Well, how’s that for gratitude,” Jared retorted. “I buy a ticket to go with you to help and that’s the response I get? That hurts, Chad. That really hurts.”

“Not as much as it will when my fist hits you face!” Chad spat.

“Chad, people are looking!” Nicky whispered, pulling him back to sit in their seats, properly.

“I’m gonna pummel him till he’s lunch meat!” he ground out.

“I can still hear you,” Jared chimed in.

“How did you even get here?!” Chad snarled, turning to talk to the gap between his and Nicky’s seats. “Your parents wouldn’t let you go anywhere past school!”

“Told ‘em it was a last minute field trip,” Jared shrugged. “It’s sorta true. I am with my classmates, and I paid for this with my own money. No cost to my parents. And I ‘accidentally’ left my phone, so they won’t be bothering us.”

“Looks like you thought of everything,” Nicky congratulated.

“Yeah, except that when his parents call the school to tell them he left his phone, the cat’s gonna leap outta the bag,” Chad retorted.

“Well, seeing as where this field trip is sending the whole school there, that won’t be happening,” Jared smirked.

“Smart ass,” Chad muttered.

“Damn straight,” Jared replied.

“What do you plan to add to this little excursion, Jare?” Nicky wondered.

“What I’ve been adding, Miss Skater Fox,” he replied. “Tech Support. Chad’s the Muscle, I’m the Brains, and you, my dear, are obviously the Beauty.”

“Bright idea putting us on a plane!” Chad ground out.

“The hero is afraid of flying?” Jared chuckled. “What a disappointing character feature.”

“This isn’t a story, and we’re not characters,” Chad growled. “We could get killed. So could you.”

“Alright, you guys,” Nicky whispered, tapping Chad as she sat forward as well as Jared sat back. “We can talk about this when we’re off the plane.”

Two hours later...

Jared grunted when his back hit the column in the SEA-TAC airport, Chad holding him there by the collar of his jacket.

“Chad! Let him go!” Nicky ground out, trying not to add to the scene as she pulled on the boy’s arm. “Security is gonna question us! Stop it!”

“I told you he was gonna be lunch meat!” Chad snarled at her, not looking away from the younger boy.

“You’ve been saying a lot of things, Chad,” Nicky shot back and finally found a way to wedge herself between the boys, making Chad let go of Jared as she glared at him. “Save it for Nemo.”

Chad’s glare at Jared changed to a wide-eyed stare at Nicky who only glared back before they both looked away. Chad gave a growl before marching toward the exit as Jared straightened himself out and Nicky turned to him.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” she snapped at him as he adjusted his glasses then stared at her in shock.

“I thought you were on my side!” he retorted. “After I got you your ticket and everything—!”

“Chad is on edge right now, if you haven’t noticed!” she interrupted. “Don’t make things worse.”

“I told you, I’m here to help,” he reminded her.

“Start by finding us a good hotel then,” she snapped, turning to finally head after Chad and calling, “You’re footing the bill!”

“Figures,” Jared muttered, hurrying after them.

Chad tried haling a few cabs but they sped by him, making him curse them out before trying to hail another one as Nicky and Jared caught up with him.

“Chad, you’re hailing cabs, but you don’t know where we’re going,” Nicky called over the engines and honking horns of the vehicles around them.

“We’ll need a place to stay,” Jared called when the older boy said nothing. “I can look up some hotels close by.”

“Get to it, then,” Chad retorted, not looking at either of them.

Jared pulled out his laptop and began searching the web as Nicky pulled Chad to face her, finally catching his gaze.

“He’s trying to help,” she whispered. “Don’t be so hard on him.”

“He shouldn’t have come,” Chad ground out lowly. “It’s bad enough you’re in this, now I’ve dragged him into my shit, too.”

“You didn’t drag either of us into anything, Chad,” she assured him. “We came willingly. We’re both here for you. You shouldn’t do this alone. You can’t do this alone.”

Chad sighed and nodded, slightly. He had to admit she was right. By now, if at least Nicky hadn’t come along, he’d probably still be a panicky mess on the plane.

“Got it!” Jared called, stepping toward them, his laptop open and sitting on his arm. “There’s some hotels that are really close. Red Roof. Holiday. Ramada. Rodeway—”

“That one,” Chad chose, just as a cab pulled up for them and the other two frowned at him in wonder but he only climbed into the cab. “Well?! Come on!”

Rodeway Inn...

“Why here?” Nicky asked Chad as they entered the hotel lobby. “There were closer places.”

The clerk came to the desk as they walked up and smiled, “May I help you?”

“Yeah, uh…” Chad trailed off a moment as he felt at his pockets before pulling something out of one of them and set it on the desk, sliding it to the clerk. He leaned closer to murmur, “The usually room, and keep it quiet, kay? I dunno how long we’ll be staying.”

The man behind the counter frowned in wonder, then gazed at the three, skeptically. But when he lifted the card Chad had slid to him, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull and he stood at attention, looking to Chad and nodding. Nicky frowned in utter confusion and disbelief between Chad and Jared as the clerk typed at his computer then gave three key cards to Chad who nodded his thanks and they all walked away.

“We got the penthouse,” he explained, still walking.

“Ok, wanna explain this to me now?” Nicky nearly demanded as they reached the elevator. “That guy nearly died when you showed him your ID. Something you’ve neglected to tell me?”

Chad said nothing, making her frown at Jared who only shrugged just as the elevator opened for them and he stepped in, the other two following. The three said nothing more as they reached the penthouse suite and the elevator doors opened to their room, letting Jared and Nicky go ahead of him before he hurried in.

“Oh, my God!” Nicky nearly shouted as Chad headed toward one of the bedrooms. “How the hell did you get us here?!”

“Luck,” Jared blurted, starting to stroll around the room as Nicky hurried after Chad. She shut the door behind her, making Chad look up at her as he set his bag on the bed.

“We don’t have secrets from each other, Chad,” she began. “We never have. How did you get us in here and why don’t I know about it?”

He sighed and plopped onto the bed as he ran a hand through his hair. She stepped toward him and sat next to him, staring at him expectantly as he still said nothing for a moment.

“Both my parents were into stocks,” he began. “I didn’t really understand the stock market – still don’t – but somehow they ended up buying and selling and making enough money until they were able to buy hotels all over the States. They wrote ‘em all down for me in case I ever got lost.”

He reached for his wallet and showed her the card he’d showed the clerk which hadn’t been his ID card at all, but his father’s.

“Nobody forgets a Stiles when you’ve met them,” he explained as Nicky stared at him with wide eyes. “They told me to tell you anyone, otherwise I would’ve told you right away. I’m sorry, Nicky.”

“It’s alright…I guess,” she shrugged then had a sudden thought and turned to him with wide eyes. You think the police found out and that’s why they think you killed them?! It would be on record, wouldn’t it?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Chad breathed, gazing ahead in thought. “And the cops never said anything to me. Maybe they wanted to keep that a secret until they arrested me.”

“So this guy, Nemo, killed your parents for money and hotels?” Nicky guessed.

“No,” he sighed, shaking his head. “He would’ve had to kill me, too. I’m the one who inherits everything after their deaths. Mom and dad made sure of that.”

“So we’re back to square one.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Looks like.”

“Chad!”

The two looked to the door to see Jared heading toward them, a card in his hand.

“The concierge left this for you,” he reported, handing the card to Chad who nearly snatched it from him to open it.

Nicky leaned over his shoulder to look at it as all but he shrugged her away, making her look at him in wide-eyed wonder. Jared frowned as well as he stepped next to Nicky and both looked to Chad who frowned before his eyes widened in horror and his face went pale.

“Chad, what’s wrong?” Nicky questioned, stepping toward him and reaching for the card. “What’s it say?”

She effortlessly pulled the card from his frozen hands and looked at it with Jared.

You running away from me, or toward me, Chad? You had the murder weapon…I gave it to you. And you gave it to the police and ran. Why didn’t you stay in California and face the police?

“He’s taunting you,” Nicky ground out, ripping the card to little pieces before stepping closer to Chad and turning him toward her by his shoulders. “All it means is he knows we’re here and where we are. It’s no different than back home. He’ll call, we’ll trace it, we’ll find him and put an end to this, ok?”

All he could do was nod as Nicky stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around him to comfort him as Jared stepped toward him and patted his shoulder before heading out to the main room.

“The police are probably gonna come after me,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close.

“Let ‘em,” she murmured. “We’ll help you get through this…all of it.”

“Thanks, Nicky.”

SEA-TAC...

“You’re sure?” Kat asked into her cell phone as her boss struggled to pull his luggage from the baggage claim. “Ok, Lou. Thanks.”

She hung up and turned in time to see Parker yank his bag from the carousel.

“Lou said forensics came back on the knife. No fingerprints and the only blood on it belonged to the Stiles parents.”

“Translation: We got nada,” he nodded, rolling his bag toward her as she gave a reluctant nod. “Alright. That security guard I was talking to said that a kid resembling Chad Stiles seemed to be irritated with one of his buddies; a kid with glasses, and there was a girl with them, a brunette. He was about to break up what he thought was a fight between the boys, but they broke it up on their own.”

“Seems like we’re on the right track,” Kat smirked. “Wonder what they were fighting about. What now, Sir?”

“First, we find a hotel to stay in,” Parker replied, heading toward the exit.