Wrongly Accused

by Laura Scott

  “My safety?” Declan scoffed. “I’m not the one accused of murder.” Despite the comment Deck walked through the living room to pick up the TV remote. He shut it off and then turned back to face Caleb. “Do you want to sit here or in the kitchen?”

  “Kitchen.” Caleb wanted to be far away from the front living room window where anyone walking by could see inside. Declan’s kitchen overlooked the backyard, which in turn butted up against his neighbor’s backyard. Caleb took a seat at the table and tried to gather his thoughts.

  Deck pulled two water bottles out of the fridge and handed one to Caleb. “Start at the beginning,” he suggested.

  Declan knew about the very beginning, his being arrested for Heather’s murder, so Caleb started with getting out of jail and heading over to pick up his daughter from Noelle’s house. Declan didn’t say a word throughout the entire dissertation until he got to the part where he went inside Jack’s condo to find him dead.

  “Whoa, whoa, back up. Are you serious? Your lawyer was murdered?”

  Caleb battled a wave of defeat. If Deck didn’t believe him he was sunk. “Yes, he died from what looked to be a slug in the gut. And you can bet that my fingerprints will be conveniently found at the scene of the crime.”

  “Wow.” Declan took a long gulp of his water. “I don’t know anyone who hates you that much.”

  A flash of anger bubbled up before he could stop it. “Why in the world would I make all this up, Deck? And who said it’s about hating me? What if this guy is just going to great lengths to hide his tracks? I have to believe he’s running scared, otherwise why would he risk leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake?”

  “You have a point,” Declan grudgingly admitted. “But, Caleb, you have to admit this is a whopper of a story. I mean, seriously, even Hollywood couldn’t come up with a plot this convoluted.”

  His shoulders slumped and he dropped his head in his hands. “I know I’m asking a lot,” he said in a low voice. Caleb forced himself to meet Deck’s skeptical gaze. “But if you don’t want to believe this guy is going to extreme measures to set me up, then give me something. Tell me what motive I have for risking my freedom by killing Jack. Especially now when I’ve finally been released from jail.”

  Declan slowly shook his head. “There is the possibility that you used Jack to arrange for Ken’s murder. That Jack was going to rat you out so you killed him, too.”

  Hope deflated in his chest like a popped balloon. This is it, Caleb thought. This is when Deck will throw me out of his house without offering any help.

  “Who am I kidding?” Deck abruptly said, throwing up his hands in defeat. “No way am I buying that story. For one thing, it doesn’t even make sense. Why would Jack help you commit murder, for Pete’s sake, and then suddenly get cold feet and threaten to turn you in? Why even risk his law license in the first place? No, you’re right. This whole thing reeks of a setup.”

  The wave of relief was so overwhelming that it took several seconds for Deck’s words to sink in.

  “Really?” Caleb asked in a hoarse voice. “You really believe me?”

  “Yeah, I believe you.” Deck held up his fist so Caleb could bump knuckles with him. “I should have gone with my gut all along,” Declan continued. “You’re not the type to resort to violence.”

  Thank You, Lord!

  First Noelle and now Declan. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that he managed to get two people on his side. Maybe this was God’s will.

  “You have no idea what your support means to me,” Caleb finally managed. To have Noelle’s support was one thing, but to have his best friend back was even better. “I feel like I’ve been fighting alone for so long.”

  “Well, you’re not alone any longer,” Deck said with a grim smile. “So tell me, what can I do to help?”

  Caleb swallowed hard. “I need assistance with investigating Heather’s murder. And I need more cash. You know I’m good for it, Deck, or I wouldn’t ask.”

  “I’m fine with lending you cash, but what’s the point of investigating your wife’s murder? If the scene was staged to frame you, there’s no point. The clues are already tainted.”

  “Yeah, but consider this—Noelle saw Heather with a man the night she was murdered,” he reminded Deck. “That’s a place to start.”

  “Maybe,” Declan said as he looked away.

  The hairs on the back of his neck lifted in warning. “What?” he demanded. “What do you know about Heather?”

  Declan winced, and shook his head. “Nothing you need to know.”

  “Deck, you have to tell me. If it could have anything at all to do with Heather’s murder, then you have to tell me!”

  Declan let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Caleb. But Heather was seeing more than one guy. From what I heard she was stringing several guys along.”

  Several? Caleb felt sick as he searched Declan’s gaze, trying to figure out if his buddy was lying to him.

  Because if Deck wasn’t lying, and his wife really had been seeing multiple men, then they were no closer to finding out who’d framed him for Heather’s murder.

  EIGHT

  Noelle was too wired to fall asleep. Images of Caleb’s dead lawyer lying on the floor bleeding kept flashing through her mind and she feared this time she was the one who’d suffer a night terror instead of Kaitlin.

  When there was a soft rap on the door, she literally shot to her feet, her heart thundering in her chest. Using the peephole she verified that it was Caleb standing there before she unlatched the dead bolt and opened the door.

  She tensed when she realized Caleb wasn’t alone, although it didn’t take long for her to recognize that the man standing next to him was the same guy from the photograph in the newspaper. The one where they’d rescued a small child.

  “Grab your key and come outside for a moment,” Caleb whispered.

  She did as he requested, staying near the closed door so that she’d be sure to hear Kaitlin if the little girl woke up crying. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Noelle, this is Declan Shaw,” Caleb said, glancing up and down the front of the motel, and she knew by now he was trying to make sure there wasn’t anyone listening to their conversation. “Deck, this is Noelle Whitman. She’s Kaitlin’s preschool teacher and was my daughter’s temporary guardian, too.”

  “Nice to meet you, Declan,” Noelle said in a polite tone. “Does this mean you finally believe Caleb’s innocence?”

  Deck lifted an eyebrow. “Wow, she doesn’t pull any punches, does she?”

  Caleb grinned, looking younger and more relaxed than she could ever remember seeing him look before. “Noelle has been a huge help to me. I wouldn’t even be here now if it wasn’t for her.”

  Being reminded of everything they’d been through over the past few days sparked a rare surge of anger. “And why wouldn’t you have stood by your best friend through all this anyway?” she demanded in a low, fierce tone, glaring at Declan. “Caleb shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”

  “Easy, Noelle, it’s not all his fault,” Caleb murmured, putting a hand on her arm.

  “No, she’s right, Caleb. I deserve her anger.” Declan’s gaze was contrite when he looked at her. “I’m sorry. I should have stuck by Caleb, and probably would have if there wasn’t an eyewitness who vowed he saw Caleb shoot Heather. Not that it’s a good excuse, but since I knew about his wife’s affairs, I figured it wasn’t a stretch that he might have snapped.”

  “By affairs, you mean more than one?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Could this situation get any worse?

  “Yeah, unfortunately, that puts a crimp in our theory that the guy you saw with Heather that night was actually the one who may have killed her,” Caleb said. “For all we know that guy she was with wasn’t anyone from the SWAT te
am.”

  She leaned back against the door, battling a wave of helplessness. “But you were so convinced that someone from the SWAT team set you up. And what about having the resources to find my car even after you swapped the license plates? Who else could do something like that?”

  “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry,” Caleb said reassuringly. “We’re not alone anymore. Deck is going to help us. In fact, he’s allowing us to borrow his laptop.”

  She wished she could be as hopeful as Caleb seemed to be now that they had Declan’s support. But she couldn’t quite shake a sense of unease. It felt like they were taking several steps backward for every inch they moved forward.

  “You really think someone from the team set you up?” Declan asked.

  “Yeah, I do.” Caleb lifted his chin. “Obviously someone knew enough about police work to plant evidence and bribe an eyewitness. Someone who knew I might not be arrested unless there was an eyewitness.”

  Declan raked his hands through his hair. “Marc Brickner.”

  “You actually saw Heather and Marc together?” Caleb asked.

  “Only once,” Declan confirmed. “But now that you mention suspecting someone from the team, Marc was pretty vocal about believing you were guilty. He kept going on and on about what a horrible husband you were to Heather. And about your out-of-control temper.”

  “I need to find a picture of him for Noelle,” Caleb muttered.

  “Here, I’ll find one.” Declan used his smartphone to search the internet and then handed the device over to Noelle. “Is this the same guy you saw with Heather?” he asked.

  She stared at the photo on the screen, feeling a bit light-headed to have finally put a name with the face. She slowly nodded. “Yes, that’s him.”

  “Well, that gives us a place to start,” Caleb said.

  “Yeah, especially since Brickner was seen with Heather the night she was murdered,” Declan agreed.

  Noelle couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the photo on Declan’s phone. Somehow she thought she’d feel relieved once they knew exactly who was behind all of this.

  But she didn’t. Instead her sense of foreboding only deepened. Because, somehow, she knew that identifying this man was only the beginning. And she feared Caleb might end up like Jack Owens.

  Dead.

  * * *

  Miraculously, Kaitlin slept through the night without waking up once. Noelle wished she could say the same. But when she heard Caleb get up and head into the bathroom, she rubbed her gritty eyes and swung up to a sitting position at the side of the bed she shared with Kaitlin.

  Caleb had left Declan’s computer on the desk, so she turned it on and quickly found the motel’s free wireless network. She did a quick search on Marc Brickner and found several more photos of him. He looked different wearing all his SWAT gear, but there was no mistaking that he was the same man who’d been with Heather that Friday night she was twenty minutes late to pick up Kaitlin.

  The guy never seemed to smile. In each and every photograph his mouth was compressed in a thin line. Compared to the photograph of Caleb and Declan smiling and holding the young child they’d rescued, this Marc guy looked like he was capable of doing illegal activities.

  But did that include killing his teammate’s wife? His mistress?

  Maybe. Yet even she knew they needed some sort of motive.

  She typed Heather’s name into the search engine, and immediately several photographs popped up on the screen. Caleb’s wife had truly been a beautiful woman, at least on the outside.

  “Noa?” Kaitlin called and she quickly shut the top of the computer down, so that the young girl wouldn’t see the photographs of her mother.

  “Good morning, Kaitlin,” she said, getting up from the desk. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, but I hav’ta go to the bathroom.”

  As if on cue the door opened and Caleb came out, fully dressed with the only evidence of his shower being the drops of water glistening on his hair. “The bathroom’s all yours, ladies,” he said cheerfully.

  Kaitlin scampered inside but Noelle didn’t immediately follow. Instead she went back over to the computer, opened it up and disconnected from the internet.

  “Find anything?” Caleb asked.

  “Not really. I just wanted to be certain that Marc Brickner was really the man I saw with Heather.”

  “You already knew that, didn’t you?”

  She suppressed a sigh. “Yes, but I felt the need to be sure, in case I made a mistake.” She paused and then added, “I can’t explain it, but I’m scared, Caleb. I’m afraid that, somehow, he’s going to find us before we find him.”

  Caleb lifted his hand and lightly cupped her cheek. “I’ll protect you and Kaitlin with my life if necessary, Noelle. I will do everything possible to keep you both safe.”

  She leaned into his hand for a moment, wishing he’d take her into his arms and hold her. She could use a bit of his strength.

  “Noa, are you coming?” Kaitlin asked from the bathroom, breaking the moment.

  “Yes, I’m coming.” She reluctantly drew away from Caleb, hoping he wouldn’t notice her pink cheeks. Why was she longing to be close to Caleb? She’d made up her mind to avoid relationships, because she didn’t trust a man not to hurt her.

  But, unfortunately, she trusted Caleb.

  She picked up the bag of clothes and ducked into the bathroom to shower and change, reminding herself that Caleb wasn’t the type of guy to be interested in someone plain like her. After all, his wife had been a beautiful model.

  With her chaotic feelings firmly in check, she and Kaitlin finished getting washed up. When they emerged from the bathroom about twenty minutes later, she was surprised to find that Caleb had breakfast spread out on the small table in the corner of the room.

  “Where did you get all this?” she asked.

  “Deck brought us breakfast,” he said with a wry grin. “I think you made him feel guilty last night and he’s trying to make amends.”

  “He should feel guilty,” she muttered. She couldn’t help her spurt of anger at the man who’d claimed to be Caleb’s best friend. The aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon made her mouth water, distracting her.

  “Yay, bacon!” Kaitlin exclaimed, climbing up onto one of the chairs.

  “Hold on, we have to pray first, remember?” Noelle said.

  Kaitlin sat back on her heels and put her hands together. Caleb mimicked his daughter’s movements.

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gathering her thoughts. “Dear Lord, we thank You for providing this food for us to eat and for bringing us the help we need to clear Caleb’s name. And we ask You to guide us on Your chosen path. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Caleb and Kaitlin said simultaneously.

  They enjoyed the meal, and while she wanted to grill Caleb about where Declan was now, she didn’t want to say too much in front of Kaitlin. When they finished eating, she cleaned up the mess while Caleb packed their things. Kaitlin was glued once again to the Disney Channel.

  “I take it we’re moving on?” she asked, trying not to be too depressed about going to yet another impersonal motel room. Who would have thought that being on the run was so incredibly wearying?

  “Deck thought we might be better off staying at his place for a while,” Caleb said. “He has two spare bedrooms and we wouldn’t have to use up our cash.”

  Ridiculous to feel annoyed because Caleb made arrangements with Declan without asking for her input. She should be glad that they had someone helping them. That Caleb had someone else who actually believed in him.

  There was a soft knock at the door. Caleb peered through the peephole before allowing his buddy to come in.

  “We have a problem,” Declan said, his expression grim.

  �
��What?” Caleb asked.

  “There’s been a warrant issued for your arrest related to the murder of Jack Owens.”

  * * *

  Caleb shouldn’t have been shocked at the news, but there was no denying that he felt as if someone socked him in the solar plexus. “Brickner must be the driving force behind that,” he muttered.

  “Now what?” Noelle asked helplessly.

  He didn’t have a good answer. He turned back toward his daughter. “Kaitlin? Do you remember Uncle Declan?”

  Kaitlin ducked her head shyly and he realized that in the year he’d been gone, Kaitlin’s life had been turned totally upside down. Was it any wonder she didn’t remember everything from their former life together? Especially since she’d likely blocked a lot of the horror from her mind?

  “Hi, Kaitlin,” Declan said with a broad smile. “You’ve grown up a lot since the last time I saw you.”

  Kaitlin ran over to Noelle as if seeking support. Noelle pulled her close in a reassuring hug.

  “Uncle Declan is a friend of your daddy’s,” Noelle said softly. “There’s no reason to be afraid.”

  Caleb turned toward Deck. “So what do you think we should do? I don’t blame you if you’ve decided against hiding a fugitive in your home.”

  “Don’t worry about me. There’s no reason for anyone to suspect that after all this time, I’ve decided to help you out,” Declan said thoughtfully. “But we need to make sure that no one sees you going inside my place.”

  Caleb wished he’d gone to Declan’s last night, but even when his buddy had suggested it, he hadn’t wanted to wake up Kaitlin. The last thing he’d wanted was to cause another night terror for his daughter. He should have factored in the possibility of having a warrant out for his arrest.

  “I guess I could ask the hotel if we can stay another night,” he said, trying to hide his reluctance.

  “I was thinking more along the lines of sneaking you in the back of my car,” Deck said with a frown. “I think the sooner we get you hidden inside my place, the better.”