3

 

          Elizabeth once again glanced at her watch as she stood outside the police station.  One more hour until French class and Lucky had yet to emerge.  She had planned to meet him just outside and they could walk to school together.  She sighed once more and turned around to leave when a warm hand clasped her shoulder.  She turned around and smiled widely at Lucky who didn’t seem at all surprised that she was there.

          “Morning Elizabeth,” He pulled her into a tight embrace. 

          “Good morning.  I thought I’d come and walk you to school,” Elizabeth grinned just as Luke came out, smoking one of his famous cigars. 

          “How about a ride instead sweetheart,” Luke smiled.  “On the house.  Give you and Cowboy time to settle in and catch up on any last minute studying.”
          “Oh no, the make up test after sixth.  I completely forgot,” Lucky groaned.

          “Well it’s not your fault Cowboy.  Last night was an exciting night for you.  Anyone could forget about a simple thing as a test.”

          “He’s right.  Surely Mr. Stone will understand,” Elizabeth nodded as they walked to Luke’s car. 

          “You don’t know Mr. Stone,” Lucky rolled his eyes.  Stone was his most difficult, most strict teacher Lucky has ever had in his high school career.  He’d be really living up to his name if he survived his class. 

          “Come on kids.  Let’s hit the road,” Luke got behind the wheel as Lucky and Elizabeth got in the back, wanting to set together.  “Kids in love,” Luke rolled his eyes, pulling out onto the road.

 

*

          Classes were over and Elizabeth sat outside Mr. Stone’s class, waiting for Lucky to get done with his test.  It had been a long day and now all she wanted to do was sink into Lucky’s arms and make more plans for their future…hopefully in New York.  She pulled out a notepad and began to sketch one of the lockers out of boredom when Lucky emerged, looking like he had won the lottery.

          “Well?” She asked expectantly.

          “I think I aced it,” He grinned.  “I knew most of the answers and only guessed at one or two.  Hey, and Stone wasn’t bad at all.  He had heard about the fire and asked whether I was still up to the test.  Of course I told him I was.  A Spencer never lets anything get them down.  Especially not their apartment burning down with everything they own.”

          Elizabeth rolled her eyes.  Sometimes Lucky’s talk of being a Spencer could be so annoying, but it was still one of the little things she loved about him.  She was equally glad that he was around to brag about such things after almost losing him the night before. 

          They stepped out onto the sidewalk to find Luke waiting for them.  He didn’t look too happy, in fact he looked rather solemn.

          “Dad?” Lucky asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  Luke had never picked Lucky up from school, not even when he was a kid. The fact that he was now wasn’t good.  “What’s going on?”

          “We’ve been summoned Cowboy.  Bubba wants us to come down to the station.  Something about having a positive identification about that body.”

          Lucky blinked.  “Did I know him?”
          Luke shrugged.  “Bubba wouldn’t tell me over the phone.  We better get down there if we do want to find out.”

          Lucky only nodded, tightly holding Elizabeth’s hand.  He looked at her, his eyes begging for her to join them.  She just nodded and slipped into the backseat as Lucky took the front.  They raced to the station, hoping that the body was some luckless stranger, no one that they knew or cared about.

 

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