An Unexpected Rescue (Oak Springs Series Book 1)

by Sherri McDuffie

  “Strike that last remark. Just answer the questions, Mr. Stone. Continue Mr. Bergren.”

  “For the record, let me clarify that you and Kelly Hastings are now married. Is that correct?”

  Derik looked at Kelly and smiled. “Yes.”

  “That being the case, I will refer to her as Mrs. Stone, even though at the time of the alleged assaults you were not married.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you remember the first time you met Mrs. Stone?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was she wearing?”

  Derik cleared his throat. “A cat costume.”

  “Do you mean the padded and furry costumes such as children wear for Halloween?”

  Mr. Hatcher stood. “Objection, relevance.”

  “I don’t see what this has to do with the case, but for now I will allow it. Get to the point, Mr. Bergren. You may answer the question, Mr. Stone,” the judge said.

  “It was a gray body leotard.”

  “A body leotard? Was it tight? Would you say it was form fitting?”

  Derik cleared his throat again. “Yes.” He looked toward his wife and saw her drop her head. She covered her red face with her hand.

  “How soon after meeting Mrs. Stone did she move into your house?”

  “I think it was the third day. But—”

  “Do you often ask women to move into your house so soon after you meet them?”

  “No, of course not, but she—”

  “Isn’t it true, Mr. Stone, that you didn’t ask her to move into your house. It was, in fact, her idea, after meeting you only three days prior?”

  “Yes, but—”

  Mr. Bergren returned to his seat. “That’s all, Your Honor.”

  “Mr. Hatcher, did you care to reexamine the witness?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “I thought you might. Continue.”

  “Mr. Stone, do you know why Kelly was dressed in what you described as a cat costume when you first met her?

  “She had been to a costume party, and when she was attacked in the parking lot, she had to leave before she had a chance to change.”

  “Objection.”

  “Sit down, Mr. Bergren. Continue, Mr. Hatcher.”

  “Can you tell the court why Kelly moved into your house so quickly after meeting you?”

  “She was new in town, and she hadn’t found a place to live or a job. I was looking for a housekeeper and someone to take care of my boys. She rented my guest room. It was convenient.”

  “Yeah, it was convenient for her to climb into your bed,” mumbled Jarrod.

  Judge Gaston pounded his gavel. “Mr. Bergren, I suggest you restrain your client, or I will have him removed from the courtroom. Mr. Dinson, I will not tolerate another outburst. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, I’m sorry,” the attorney said. He leaned over and whispered in Dinson’s ear. Jarrod yanked away from Bergren and started to stand. The district attorney grabbed his client’s arm and held him in his chair.

  Judge Gaston glared over the top of his glasses and raised his brow. “Is everything under control, Mr. Bergren?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Good, see that it stays that way.” He rubbed his chest then pounded the gavel and said, “Court is adjourned until tomorrow at nine o’clock.”

  Chapter 41

  The mood was solemn as people filed out of the courthouse. No one spoke while Mikki, Kelly, and Derik walked to the car. Kelly was sliding into the front seat when Sheriff Foster stopped his cruiser behind them. He waved and asked, “How did it go this afternoon?”

  “I guess it went okay,” Derik said. “I lost my cool, but at least I didn’t hit anyone.”

  Foster laughed.

  “We’re heading to the house. I thought we’d cook some steaks on the grill and try to relax. Why don’t you come over and eat with us?” Derik glanced at his wife then stepped closer to the cruiser. “Kelly’s pretty nervous. She testifies tomorrow.”

  The sheriff looked at Mikki, sitting in the back seat of Kelly’s car. “Sounds like fun. I’ll see you in a few minutes. I need to run by the station first.” He left the parking lot, turning toward town. Derik pulled out behind him, heading in the opposite direction.

  Sheriff Foster arrived at the Stone house an hour later. He followed Kelly to the kitchen and heard the sound of voices and children’s laughter coming through the patio door. He had changed into jeans and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled almost to his elbows. He smelled of soap, and his hair was still damp from a recent shower. The small nick on his jaw led Kelly to believe he had shaved in a hurry. He carried two large bottles of root beer and a gallon of vanilla ice cream. “I thought everyone might enjoy a root beer float after dinner, unless you have another dessert on the menu,” he said.

  “Floats sound great, thanks.” Kelly returned to mixing a pitcher of lemonade and splashed some onto the counter. She stopped, gripped the edge of the bar, and dropped her head. “I just broke a glass and now this mess. I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.”

  Pete placed his hand on her shoulder. “Kelly, you don’t need to worry about tomorrow.”

  She looked out the window at her family. Her voice was low. “He won’t stop. You know that, don’t you? Not until he destroys me and everything I love.” She turned back to Foster. “How do I make the judge believe me? How can I make him see what a monster Jarrod Dinson really is?”

  “Just tell the truth. Once he hears your testimony and sees all the evidence, he’ll put Dinson away for a long time. The judge isn’t going to let him go.” He laid his hand on her shoulder. She looked up as tears spilled down her cheeks. “Remember what I said before, you’re a survivor, not a victim.”

  “What if he gets off on a technicality?”

  Pete put his hand over his heart, pretending to be offended. “Do you doubt my sheriffing skills?” He grew solemn again and said, “Don’t worry, Kelly. We’ve dotted every ‘i’ and crossed every ‘t’. He’s not going to get away with anything.”

  Kelly wiped her face. “I know you have. I’m just scared, that’s all.” She pushed her hair behind her ears, straightened her back, and smiled. “What do you say we get this party started? Everyone is out back. Why don’t you join them while I clean this up?” She placed the pitcher and several glasses on a tray and slid it toward him. “Would you mind taking the lemonade with you?”

  Foster stepped onto the back deck and sat the tray on the green patio table. Sydney slept in a portable crib in the corner. Derik was standing beside the grill in an apron that read, “Burnt is Beautiful.” Mikki was stretched out on a chaise lounge. She had changed from the clothes she wore in court to red capri pants and a floral blouse. Her feet were bare except for a sandal dangling from the toe of her right foot and the cherry red pedicure.

  “Hello, everyone,” he said, watching Mikki from the corner of his eye.

  “Hey, Sheriff. Glad you could make it,” Derik said.

  Mikki threw a hand in the air and waved nowhere in particular. “Hi, Pete.” Sunglasses covered her eyes, preventing him from seeing if she looked in his direction.

  He shook Derik’s hand and picked up the pitcher. “Anyone want lemonade?”

  “Yeah,” Mikki said. The only part of her body that moved was the arm she stretched out, waiting for him to put a drink in her hand.

  Foster poured a glass and handed it to Derik. He poured another for himself. When he saw Mikki wiggle her fingers, he smiled and shook his head then filled a third. He walked over to the chaise and held it above her. The glass tipped just enough to allow a few drops to land on her chest and slide down her cleavage. She squealed and sat up, yanking the sunglasses off her face.

 
“Sorry about that. I must have tripped. Here’s your lemonade,” Foster said, then returned to the table and sat down. He took a long drink and looked at Derik, who was hiding a smile behind his own glass.

  The children ran up the deck steps, and Derik poured them each a small cup of lemonade. As they drank, Sheriff Foster said, “Hey, D.C., you did a great job this morning. What are you boys up to?”

  “We’re playing hide-and-seek, but I think D.C.’s cheating. He always finds me too fast,” said Win. “You’re the policeman who helped Kelly when the bad man hurt her, aren’t you? You look different.”

  “That’s because he’s not wearing his uniform or his badge,” D.C. said to his brother. He stood on his toes and looked over the table. “And he don’t have his gun either.” The boy then turned to his dad and said, “I’m not cheating, really. He just laughs so loud when he’s hiding that I always know where to find him.”

  Derik ruffled his son’s hair. “Did you guys finish your homework before we got home?”

  “Yes, sir. I did mine when Grandpa was here,” D.C. said.

  “I did mine at school,” Win said before taking a drink. “We had to stay in our seats because Logan brought his guppies for show-and-tell and dropped the bag. It spilled all over the floor. We couldn’t get up until the janitor finished mopping and caught the fish.” He sat his empty glass on the table, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and raced his brother across the yard.

  “Stone, you have some great kids,” Pete Foster said.

  Derik laughed. “Yeah they are, until they start tear-assing through the house on Saturday morning when we’re trying to sleep in.” He closed the grill. “I think the fire’s ready. I’m going to get the steaks. Do you guys mind keeping an eye on the boys for a minute?”

  Mikki leaned back in the chaise. “Not at all.” When Derik walked into the house, she wiped her chest again and said, “You did that on purpose.”

  “Like I said, I must have tripped.” Pete propped his boots on the porch rail and focused on the yard.

  They watched the children in silence until Mikki asked, “Do you have any kids?”

  “No. I always wanted a couple, but it just never worked out. How about you?”

  “No kids, no husband,” Mikki said.

  Pete Foster took another long drink. “How about a boyfriend?”

  “Nope.”

  He kept his eyes on the boys and smiled.

  Chapter 42

  Kelly sat on the bench next to Derik, her foot shaking with nervousness. She held his hand in her lap. Mikki was on her right.

  Sheriff Foster stepped to the end of their pew. “Good morning, folks.” He looked at Kelly and smiled. “I thought I’d drop by for a little moral support. Do you mind if I stay?”

  “Not at all, thank you for coming. Please, sit down,” she said.

  When Derik started to slide over, Foster said, “Don’t move. I can sit at the end.” He crossed in front of them and sat beside Mikki. “Good morning,” he said before turning his attention to the front of the room.

  A door behind the judge’s bench opened, and the bailiff shouted, “All rise.” Everyone stood until the tall, thin, gray-haired man took his seat. “Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Earl Gaston presiding. Be seated.”

  “Mr. Hatcher, call your first witness,” Judge Gaston said.

  “State calls Kelly Stone.”

  Derik clutched Kelly’s hand, and Mikki patted her knee. Sheriff Foster stretched his arm across the back of the pew and squeezed her shoulder. She took a deep breath and started to stand. Mikki grabbed her hand and pulled her down. She leaned over and whispered in Kelly’s ear, causing her to laugh. Kelly stood and walked to the witness stand, keeping her eyes straight ahead. After she was sworn in, she sat down.

  Mr. Hatcher asked a few preliminary questions then said, “Mrs. Stone, how long have you known Jarrod Dinson?”

  “About three years.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “We met in a photography class.”

  “How would you describe your relationship?”

  “We had coffee a few times. He seemed like a nice guy. I thought he was fun and easy to talk to. We were just friends hanging out, nothing romantic or anything.”

  “But you did date, am I right?”

  “No, I didn’t think of it as dating. Like I said, we were just hanging out. Jarrod never really asked me on a date. One day he just told me that he’d made reservations for us at a new restaurant we had been talking about. I thought it was just two friends going out to eat together.”

  “Were you dating anyone at the time?”

  “No. A guy from our photography class asked me out once, but at the next class, he canceled and apologized for what he called stepping onto another man’s turf. Then he said he was upset that I’d accepted his invitation since I was already involved with someone. I tried to find out what he was talking about, but Jarrod walked up, and he took off. I guess that should have been the first red flag.”

  “A red flag? What do you mean?”

  “A warning about Jarrod’s controlling and abusive behavior.”

  “Objection.”

  “Overruled”

  “But, Your Honor.”

  “Mr. Bergren, we’ve all seen the pictures. Overruled. Continue, Mr. Hatcher.”

  “When was the first time Mr. Dinson assaulted you?”

  “Objection.”

  “I’ll rephrase the question, Your Honor. Mrs. Stone, we have seen the photographs taken after you were assaulted in the apartment you shared with Ms. Gray. We also saw the ones taken after you were assaulted at the bowling alley. Can you tell the court if there was any other occasion when Mr. Dinson put his hands on you in anger?”

  “Yes.” Kelly took a deep breath and clasped her shaking hands in her lap. “At first, I didn’t think of it as abuse. He’d yank on my arm or grab my hair if I tried to walk away. He shoved me a time or two if we were in a disagreement. But I didn’t look at the whole picture. He always apologized by saying he was stressed or had had a bad day. I just dealt with each time and never saw a pattern.” She paused and looked at her hands.

  “Do you need to take a break, Mrs. Stone?” Judge Gaston said.

  “No, I’m fine.” She took another breath and sat up, holding her chin high. “Three or four weeks before I moved here we got into an argument.”

  “About what?”

  “He called and said he wanted to go to a local night club and listen to a new band playing. I told him I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to go.”

  “What happened?”

  “Jarrod got mad and accused me of having plans with another man. I got upset and hung up on him. The next thing I knew he was at my door. Anyone who looked at me could see I was sick. But Jarrod just kept yelling and accusing me of lying. I told him to get out, but when I turned to walk away, he body slammed me against the wall. Then he grabbed my shoulders and shook me until my head hit the wall.”

  Kelly looked at the people in the front row and saw Mikki with her hand covering her mouth and tears clinging to her lashes. She watched Sheriff Foster lay his arm across the back of the pew and pat her friend’s shoulder. Derik sat at the end of the bench with his jaw clenched, arms folded across his chest, and his narrowed eyes staring at Jarrod’s back.

  “What happened next?” Hatcher asked.

  “While he had me pinned against the wall, he put his mouth next to my ear and said I was never to walk away from him again. His voice was so calm it scared me.” Tears filled Kelly’s eyes. “I’d never seen him like that before. There was pure evil in his face.”

  Jarrod jumped from his chair and slapped the table. “Yeah, if you ever walk away from me again you won’t have a chance to be scared. I’ll m
ake sure of that.”

  The bailiff rushed to Jarrod’s side. Dinson sneered at the officer then sat down and folded his arms across his chest. Judge Gaston banged his gavel and said, “Mr. Bergren, get your client under control, or I will hold you in contempt. I told you yesterday I would not tolerate another outburst in my courtroom.”

  The district attorney nodded and turned to talk to Jarrod.

  Mr. Hatcher said, “Go on, Kelly. What did you do after Mr. Dinson pinned you against the wall and threatened you?”

  “I kneed him, and while he was rolling on the floor, I told him I never wanted to see him again.”

  “What did Mr. Dinson do then?”

  “I threatened to call the cops, so he crawled out the door.”

  “Was that the only other time Mr. Dinson was abusive to you?”

  “Objection.”

  Judge Gaston leaned forward and slid his eyeglasses down his nose. “Mr. Bergren, let’s get something straight. If you object every time the word abuse is used, it’s going to be a very long day. So I am telling you now that I intend to overrule.” He nodded at Kelly and said, “Go ahead.”

  “I didn’t see or hear from him again until a few weeks later, at the party. I thought he was over being mad and had moved on. When he showed up that night, my heart stopped.”

  “What happened?”

  “Some of the girls and I were going to go to a late movie after the party, so I was walking to my car for a change of clothes when Jarrod suddenly came out of nowhere and grabbed my arm.” Kelly began rocking back and forth. “He demanded that I leave with him. But I knew if he got me in his car, he’d kill me.”

  “Objection”

  “That one I will sustain,” the judge said.