Chapter 7

As soon as they were inside, Tammy looked at Karl and started to laugh. She hugged into him and leaned her face into his chest. "I don't have any clothes!"

Karl laughed too.

"Why don't you have any clothes?" Sergeant Frame asked as everyone looked at Tammy.

Karl answered, "It's a long story!" and Tammy laughed some more.

After a few moments, Tammy lifted from Karl's chest and turned to the group and just said, "They were torn to shreds."

Again the group looked back and forth at each other and then back at Tammy.

"Give us a minute," Karl said, took her hand and they walked over to the bedroom section on the far side of the basically one room house. He pulled out a pair of his boxer shorts and a pair of cut-off sweatpants for her. Tammy slid on the things as Karl extracted a matching tee shirt to hers and leaving out the boxers, slid on a pair of cut off sweatpants.

Walking back toward the watchful eyes of the police officers and her mom and dad, Tammy took charge. Giving him a peck on the cheek she said, "Karl, Honey, put on some coffee and everyone ... please sit down."

The kitchen table was large enough for six, even though there were only four chairs usually around it. Tammy dragged over two folding chairs, got out mugs for everyone and put a plate of cookies on the table. The coffee maker started to perk away as she and Karl sat down.

Well, he sat down at the head of the table and she snuggled in onto his lap, kissing him with more than just a little peck. When their lips separated, Tammy looked first to Officer Post and then, directly at Sergeant Frame.

"I know that I look terrible." She said, holding up her right arm and then the left, showing off her cuts and bruises. Lifting her tee shirt, Tammy said, "This too!"

Darlene gasped. "And your face. What happened to your face?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. The end of it is that I was running across the meadow after crashing through some tough underbrush, only to run right into a tree! It was the middle of the night, dark and ... well ... the idiot who owns this place shined a light in my face, blinding me and I just dodged right into that tree in the center of the meadow."

"I'm the idiot," Karl explained, raising his hand. Then he added, "Tammy, why don't you start at the beginning."

With that, Tammy told them how Jason had picked her up. That they'd eaten at China Joe's and after that wound up at Trainor Lake. They'd fought and she bounced the 'HUGE' box of Trojans at him. Whereupon he dumped her out of the car and went speeding away.

Throughout the explanation, the Sergeant and Officer Post were glancing back and forth at each other, confirming parts of what Jason had told them. Their interest peaked when she started on the episode where the three guys gave her a lift.