Just Cause

by Susan Page Davis

  “Great.”

  Jessica walked around the truck and stood by the passenger door. Laurel hesitated, then opened her window.

  Jessica looked down at her for a long moment. “You’re not on the run or anything, are you? I’ll get in all kinds of trouble if I find out later you are.”

  “No. It’s perfectly all right for me to be here.”

  Jessica nodded. “Your friend’s a different story, though.”

  “She’s harassed me. By the way, that’s my blouse she’s wearing. She stole it from me.”

  “Do you want it back?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Tell me something.” Jessica looked past her and through the other window at Dan for a moment, then leaned closer to Laurel and said softly, “Do you love him?”

  Laurel felt a sudden affinity for Jessica. “Yes.”

  Jessica nodded. “Well, he’s my partner, and he’s a good one. He’d better come back in one piece, in time for my wedding.” She stood up. “All right, Dan. Best of luck.”

  Jessica turned back toward the patrol car just as a black Lincoln pulled over on the shoulder opposite Dan’s truck and a man got out.

  “Everything all right?” the man called.

  “Under control,” Jessica said, barely looking at him.

  The man stepped forward and raised a pistol.

  “Place your weapon on the ground, Officer.”

  Chapter 13

  Jessica stood still for a moment, and Dan was afraid she would draw her pistol. Instead she turned slowly to face the man.

  “Nice and easy,” he coaxed. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

  A second man got out of the Lincoln and came to stand beside him.

  Jessica eased her gun from the holster and stooped to lay it on the edge of the pavement.

  Dan caught a faint sound behind him as Laurel stirred. He turned his head toward the truck and whispered, “Get down. Get low and don’t move.”

  “You!” the gunman barked. “Step away from the truck.”

  Dan took a small step away from the pickup.

  “Put your hands up, where I can see them.”

  Dan raised his hands to shoulder height.

  “Where’s Laurel Hatcher?” the second man asked.

  “In the squad car,” Jessica replied.

  Dan clenched his teeth and was silent.

  The gunman approached to within six feet of Jessica. “Give me the key.”

  She drew her key ring from her pocket and tossed it on the ground at his feet.

  Dan watched, ready to act, but the man stepped back and kept the pistol leveled at Jessica, motioning for his companion to pick up the keys and Jessica’s gun.

  “Unlock the door,” the first man said, and his friend went to the squad car, fumbling with the keys. He stuck Jessica’s pistol in his belt and held up the key ring.

  After several tense seconds, Jessica called, “The one with the square head.”

  A moment later the man swung the door open, and Renee stepped out.

  “What are you jokers doing here?” Renee placed her hands on her hips. “Thanks for springing me, but I don’t know as that’s prudent just now.”

  The gunman glared at his companion. “That’s not Laurel Hatcher, you imbecile.”

  “Watch it,” Jessica said.

  “I wasn’t speaking to you, Officer,” he said with exaggerated politeness. Then his face contorted and he yelled, “I never shot a girl cop before. Tell me now—where’s the Hatcher woman?”

  Jessica inhaled with a resigned air. “I thought she was Hatcher. They all lie, you know what I’m saying? Giving a false name to an—”

  “Shut up!”

  Renee marched past the man who had opened the car door and approached the gunman. “Temper, temper! You’re apt to find yourself in a heap of trouble tonight. That cop is mean. She was going to run me in for nothing, and look at you! You’re holding a gun on her.”

  The man swung toward Renee impatiently, and Renee sprang like a cat on his arm, throwing her entire weight on the wrist that held the pistol. Jessica jumped to her aid, and Dan took a step as he drew his pistol from the shoulder holster under his jacket.

  A shot rang out, but Dan was certain it went wild. Renee struggled with the man, trying to muscle him to the ground, with Jess in the thick of it.

  The man nearest the patrol car reached for the gun in his belt, and Dan drew a bead on him. “Hands up!” he yelled.

  The man stared at him, then complied. Dan strode to him and took Jessica’s pistol. “Get in the car.”

  The man gaped at him, then meekly crawled into the back seat of the police car, and Dan slammed the door. He turned immediately toward the brawl.

  “Jess, I’ve got you covered.” He took another step, to where the gunman could see the weapon trained on him.

  Jessica stood up slowly, and Dan handed over her pistol.

  Renee rolled to a sitting position on the pavement. “Man! I broke a fingernail.”

  “Will you do the honors, Dan?” Jessica held out her handcuffs.

  “Sure. You okay?”

  “All but my bruised ego. Just cuff him and get out of here. I called for backup ten minutes ago.”

  “I’d better stay,” Dan said.

  “When you hear the siren, you skedaddle.”

  Renee stood up, grinning. “Sure. I’m a witness. I saw this Wonder Woman cop subdue the both of them single-handed.”

  Jessica snorted. “Forget it. You’re still going to jail, sweetheart. But thanks. Just follow my lead when the backup gets here. These nice people drove off thirty seconds before these two goons showed up.”

  Dan handcuffed the prisoner and stood back. “Jess, I can stay,” he repeated.

  “No. Get her away from this. You’ve got at least twelve hours before the drama queen walks. I’ll see to it. These other guys will have a longer stay, I’m sure.”

  Dan nodded. “Thanks.”

  He heard the approaching siren as he walked to the pickup.

  Laurel was huddled down on the seat, her face bathed in tears.

  “It’s all right, Laurel. You can sit up now. Jessica’s got things under control.”

  “What about Renee?”

  “She’ll behave. She can’t get away! Jess has her car keys, and the backup is here.”

  He pulled onto the road. Laurel said nothing, but he heard her sniff once. When they were a good five miles from the scene of the crash, he pulled off at a scenic viewpoint and shut off the engine.

  “Come here.” Laurel slid over next to him, and he held her. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

  “Oh, Danny, what else can happen?”

  “Only good things.”

  She sighed. “I prayed.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Best thing you could do.”

  “But I really lost it back there with Renee.”

  “I wanted to know all your quirks.”

  “Yeah.” She smiled shakily. “Are we heading for the interstate?”

  “The airport first, I think. We can leave the truck in the long-term parking and get a rental. An everyday, blend-in sedan.”

  “Are you sure? That will be expensive.”

  “I think it’s best. I’ll send my keys to Jess or Owen. One of them can pick up the truck for me.”

  “I couldn’t look when I heard the gun go off,” she confessed.

  “Good. I told you to stay down.”

  Laurel nodded. “I won’t ask you how you got out of that one.”

  “A little finesse and some help from our friends.” He squeezed her shoulders and started the truck. “I hate to say it, but you really do owe Renee one now. We all do.”

  *****

  As they drove across Ohio and part of Pennsylvania, they talked. Laurel began to droop as midnight approached. They stopped for a late supper at a truck stop, and after that she slept. Dan drove on, nearly to the New York line, before the adrenaline dissipated and he began to feel his fatig
ue.

  Laurel stirred, and he said, “We’d better look for a hotel soon. I need some sleep.” He squeezed her hand. “Want something to eat?”

  “No, but I can drive for a while, if you want.”

  “We may as well rest.”

  They found a hotel near the highway, and Dan carried the briefcase full of documents into his room. He slept for ten hours and awoke feeling guilty, as though he’d neglected his responsibility, but when he called Laurel’s room across the hall, she assured him all was well. He showered and shaved, and they went out for a meal.

  They hit the road again, and Dan drove for eight hours, into New Hampshire.

  “Want to finish it tonight?” he asked her.

  “There’s no hurry. It’s Saturday. We won’t be able to see Jim tomorrow, anyway.”

  They found another motel, but this time Dan wasn’t tired. Laurel came to his room and sat in an armchair while they watched the news. Dan sat on the edge of the bed, finding the arrangement a bit awkward. When the news was over, he took the remote and flipped through the channels available.

  “Three Stooges?”

  Laurel shook her head.

  “Animal Planet?”

  “No.”

  “Jeopardy?”

  She stared at him bleakly.

  “Sorry.” Stupid of him. As if Laurel wanted to sit through the Double Jeopardy round, with her second murder trial imminent.

  She stood up. “I think I’ll just go to bed.”

  “All right.” He reached out to her tentatively. She grasped his hands and looked into his eyes, vulnerable and unsure.

  “Let’s just say good night.”

  He nodded. “Come on. I’ll see you in.”

  He went out into the hallway with her and watched as she slid the card into the lock on her door.

  “See you in the morning.” She faced him with a smile that threatened to crumble.

  The enormity of it struck him between the eyes. He’d just found her, and now he might lose her again, before he had the chance to declare his love for her. He reached for her, and she melted into his arms.

  “It’s going to work out,” he whispered.

  Far down the hall, a door opened. Laurel pried herself away from him and shrank into the doorway. “Good night, Danny.”

  *****

  Sunday dawned gray and miserable. Laurel met him in the hallway at seven, dressed in jeans and a blue pullover. They ate the hotel’s continental breakfast and set off northward. In spite of light traffic, the pounding rain slowed their progress.

  That night they made two phone calls from a pay phone in Augusta, to Dan’s parents and Judy. Dan insisted that he and Laurel go out for a real meal in a restaurant.

  “Want to see a movie?” he asked when they returned to the hotel and entered the lobby, not wanting a repeat of the night before. He went to buy a newspaper from a vending machine by the desk, so they could check the entertainment listings. As he approached it, the headline of the secondary article caught his eye, and he stopped in his tracks. Hatcher retrial approaching. Attorneys prepare for second round. A small photo of Laurel was surrounded by text.

  He turned back, hoping to shield her from seeing it, but she stood beside him, staring at it.

  “Might as well get one and see what the public thinks,” she said.

  “Are you sure you want to?”

  “We’ve read everything else. I don’t think anything can shock me now.”

  Dan kept the paper under his arm as they walked to her room. Laurel sat on the bed and opened it.

  State prosecutors and defense attorneys are preparing their arguments for the retrial of Laurel Hatcher, 28, of Oakland, scheduled to begin June 19. Hatcher is accused of shooting her husband, Robert E. Hatcher, at their home two years ago. The case went to court last winter and ended in a mistrial.

  Defense attorney James R. Hight, of Stevens, Parker & Hight, in Waterville, said Saturday that he expects a good outcome for his client this time.

  “We’re entering new evidence on Mrs. Hatcher’s behalf,” Hight said. “My client has dealt with this for too long, and it’s time the truth of her innocence becomes official.”

  However, district attorney Myron Jackson said the state will also offer new evidence in the case, in an attempt to prove Hatcher’s guilt.

  Laurel pushed the paper at Dan. “You read the rest. I can’t, but I know you need to.”

  She crossed the room to the window and stood looking out. Five minutes later, he shrugged, folding the paper.

  “It’s nothing, really. Just pretrial publicity. But it’s made the public aware of it again. We’d better keep a low profile and not go out tonight. I’ll call Jim first thing in the morning.”

  He shouldn’t have insisted on the restaurant tonight, but he’d wanted to cheer her up and give her a sense of normalcy. At least no one had recognized her.

  She walked to the window and peered out between the drapes, then turned and went to the desk, picked up the TV remote and clicked a few buttons.

  “Sorry. I’m a little nervous.”

  “It’s all right.” Dan checked the TV listing. “Guess we don’t want to watch anything tonight.”

  “What, all murder mysteries?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing good. Let’s play tic-tac-toe.”

  She laughed, but they sat opposite each other at the little table and played tic-tac-toe and the dot game for half an hour. Laurel was reckless, and Dan won time after time.

  As he closed the last box on the dot game, she said, “I love you, Dan.”

  His heart tripped, and he looked into her solemn brown eyes and started to rise from the chair.

  “No, stay right there.” She pressed down on his arm gently.

  He sat again, watching her, trying to tell her with his eyes that her words filled him with hope.

  She nodded. “Just stay there, please. I don’t trust you any closer.”

  He smiled. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

  “Well, until Judy gets here, I say you have to keep your distance.”

  “Anything.”

  All things gray and miserable faded in importance. The rain, the newspaper article, his doubts about the future. Thank you, God.

  Chapter 14

  Jim Hight smiled as they entered his office in Waterville late Monday morning. He matched Laurel’s description: tall and lanky, with a deceptively boyish look and an unruly head of dark hair.

  “Laurel. So glad you had a safe trip.”

  “Thank you.” Laurel shook his hand and presented Dan.

  “Ryan,” Hight said, sizing him up.

  Dan measured him, too. For weeks he had weighed the idea of firing Hight and hiring a new attorney for Laurel, but now he felt they were allies. Dan thought he saw fight and persistence in Jim.

  “We put out a few crumbs to the press this weekend,” Hight began when they were seated, “just to start people thinking of you as a wronged woman.”

  “We saw it,” Dan said. “What can we do in the next three weeks to move things along?”

  “My investigator’s been busy tracking down some of the character witnesses whose names Laurel gave me. These accusations by Renata Hatcher, that Laurel was a gold digger, may blow up in her face.” He looked at Laurel. “I contacted your old minister, and his testimony may be helpful.”

  “Pastor Newman?”’

  “Yes. He remembered talking to you shortly before the murder. He’ll testify that you were concerned about Bob and wanted the pastor to speak to him. Newman keeps records of counseling sessions and had made a note to set something up with Bob, but before he had a chance, Bob was killed. He doesn’t for a minute think you did it, and he stressed that the session you asked for wasn’t for marriage counseling. He said your marriage was rock solid, but you felt Bob was troubled by something at work.”

  Laurel nodded. “That’s right. I hoped Pastor Newman could help Bob, since he wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

  “Why di
dn’t you bring this witness the last time?” Dan asked.

  “Laurel didn’t tell me any of this.”

  She raised her chin. “I didn’t think it was important to the case. Besides, the pastor was on an extended trip when Bob was killed. I made some poor decisions then, and—well, I was just plain afraid.”

  “I think this witness will be helpful now,” Hight said earnestly to Dan. “It shows Laurel’s state of mind. She was trying to do things to help her marriage, not to end it.”

  Laurel sighed. “I’d like to see Pastor Newman.”

  “Can we?” Dan asked.

  “I don’t see why not. Best not to discuss his testimony, though.”

  Hight asked a secretary to call Newman while he went over the rest of the developments with Dan and Laurel.

  “One more thing.” The lawyer eyed Dan. “I know it’s been two years, but we don’t want any rumors flying about Mrs. Hatcher’s current love life. I advise you to stay out of the public eye. Laurel, once the press knows you’re in the area, they’ll be after you, and if you’re photographed with a man, it won’t look good.”

  Dan nodded. “We’ll try to keep out of the limelight.”

  “Even eating out, or going to the grocery store together,” Hight warned. “If Laurel were recognized—and heaven forbid anyone sees you going into a hotel room together.”

  “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” Dan said grimly.

  “All right, I think that’s it for now. Come by tomorrow, and we’ll talk again.” Hight stood up.

  “I’d like to help you with the investigation if I can,” Dan said.

  Hight smiled. “I’ve got authorization to use you as an operative, for this case only, and I think we can work together. Relax today, and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

  When they went into the outer office, the secretary said, “Mr. and Mrs. Newman would like you and Mr. Ryan to have lunch at their house.”

  Laurel looked eagerly at Dan. “I’d like that.”

  “Of course.”

  *****

  They went to the car, and Laurel directed him to the neighboring town of Oakland. On the main street, they passed an imposing square building with a sign that was hard to miss. She felt lightheaded and looked away.