by Sharon Sala
"All is well," he said, as he put his phone aside, then looked up and noticed Logan had fallen asleep.
He lowered the head of her bed so she could sleep better, then straightened the covers. The last thing he did was smooth the hair away from her face. He'd often wished he could spend more time with her, but not like this.
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease tense muscles as he moved to the window on the other side of her bed.
The sky was littered with starlight as far as the eye could see. It looked beautiful, but dark in bayou country was dangerous.
Weary all the way to his bones, Wade finally gave up and stretched out in the recliner, pulled the extra blanket they'd given him up past his waist, and closed his eyes.
He was asleep within minutes, but his sleep was restless. Too focused on making sure she stayed safe, he never really blocked out the sounds. The shower in her bathroom had a drip, and the scent of antiseptic was too strong to ignore. Outside in the hallway, one police officer traded duty with the other, and he heard them talking about the case.
Nurses came and went throughout the night, and each time they came into her room, Wade was on his feet, drilling them with questions. Once when Logan woke up enough to focus, she heard him talking. Knowing he was present to look out for her when she was so vulnerable gave her a whole new perspective on how much he meant to her, only she didn't know how to categorize it. She wanted to tell him, but she was too out of it to stay awake.
With daylight came the beginning of a new agenda for Josh. He was getting ready to start what could prove to be an interesting day. He kissed Reenie goodbye and drove straight to the office. When he walked in the back door, Paul Robicheau was up and pacing his cell.
"I better be getting my day in court today," he yelled.
"A court appointed lawyer has your info. He should be here some time before arraignment, so you need to be thinking about how you're going to plead," Evans said.
Robicheau slapped the flat of his hand against the bars.
"Well hell, I'll be pleading innocent."
Evans grinned.
"You do know there's at least fifteen people in Bluejacket can attest to the opposite, not to mention the woman who flat out caught you trying to break into her car."
"I heard she got shot," Robicheau said.
Evans frowned.
"That's true, but she's nowhere close to dead. You take this to court, her testimony will nail your ass to the wall."
"Just my luck," Robicheau muttered.
His shoulders slumped as he backed up and dropped onto the cot.
Josh frowned. "Do you just hear your damn self?" he snapped.
"What?" Robicheau said.
"The fact that you need someone to die just so you can get yourself out of the mess you caused is disgusting."
Then Josh strode past the cells and into the precinct, slamming the door between them good and hard to punctuate his point.
"Loser," he muttered, and went straight to the break room for a cup of coffee which he carried to his office.
He sat down behind his desk, took a quick sip, and then set the coffee aside as he checked the clock. By the time he got the phone numbers to go with the names, it would be eight a.m. Since these were not social calls, he felt confident that proper manners did not apply.
He made the first call, then kicked back in his chair, waiting for it to be answered. He didn't know how Camren Stephens was going to react, but he'd soon find out.
Camren had just finished shaving and was still getting dressed when his wife, Ashley, came hurrying into the room and pointed at their phone.
"Is the ringer still turned off on that phone?" she asked.
"Yes, why?" he asked.
"Because the chief of police is on the phone and wants to talk to you."
Camren frowned.
"Really? Wonder what he wants?" he said, then sat down on the side of the bed and picked up the receiver.
"Hello? Chief Evans?"
"Hello, Camren. Sorry to call so early, but we've got ourselves a little situation here, and I need your help."
"Of course. Happy to help. What do you need?"
"I need you to come in to the office this morning and answer some questions for me. How soon can you get here?"
Camren frowned.
"Come to the office to answer questions? What kind of questions?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, they have to do with your first wife's death. It won't take long, and I'm sure you can clear up the inconsistencies in the report. We didn't have a proper police chief at that time, and some of the paperwork wasn't done."
"Oh. Well. My goodness, yes, I guess I can do that," he said. "I'll be there as soon as I finish getting dressed."
"Thank you," Josh said, and disconnected, wishing he could have seen Camren's reaction.
"What did he want?" Ashley asked.
"To talk to me about Julia's death."
Ashley gasped.
"What? Why?"
Camren shrugged.
"He said something about the man who was standing in as chief at the time didn't finish up some of the paperwork properly."
"Oh. Well, I guess that's okay," she said.
Camren frowned.
"What the hell do you mean, you guess it's okay? You don't pass judgment on me."
Ashley frowned.
"Well, what you do reflects on me, too, smart ass. So, if you're in trouble, I have a right to know." Then her eyes narrowed. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
"Yes! Get the hell out of the room!" he shouted, and started toward her.
She backed out and then slammed the door between them.
He glared, and not for the first time, wondered why he'd bothered to remarry.
The chief decided to skip Roger Franklin. His wife had not died under suspicious circumstances. He’d had no life insurance policy on her, and he had never remarried. If necessary, he could always go back and do it later, but the police did not have a file on her death because it had happened in a hospital, so he couldn't use the interim police chief story as an excuse.
The next person he called was Peyton Adams, and Peyton was a loose cannon. There was no way to tell how he would receive this, but that was beside the point. There wasn't anyone madder sadder, or more indignant than Logan Talman, and she had the right to feel that way.
Peyton was at the breakfast table having waffles with his wife, Candy. Sophie, their cook, had just brought a fresh plate of bacon strips to the table when the landline rang in the house.
"I'll get that for you, sir," Sophie said. She came back holding a cordless phone. "Chief Evans for you."
Peyton frowned as he put the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Josh."
Josh frowned. By using his first name, Peyton thought he'd taken the power out of his call.
"Hello, Peyton. I'm calling on business. I need you to come by the office this morning and answer some questions for me."
"Questions? What questions?"
"Regarding the death of your first wife. During the time of her accident, there was an interim police chief who did not properly close out some of his cases, so that duty now falls to me."
"Oh, are you serious?"Peyton drawled.
Josh frowned. Peyton's sarcasm was obvious.
"Actually, yes, very serious," Josh said.
That was not the response Peyton had expected, and he began shifting his attitude.
"Well, I suppose I can stop by—"
Josh interrupted.
"You do understand this isn't really your decision. I require you to do this, if that makes it easier for you."
Peyton heard a tone in the voice that made him nervous. It had taken forever to clear her death, and now this was popping up. God almighty, what was going on here?
"I can be there a little after nine."
"That's fine. You may have to wait. You're not the only one I'm calling."
"Okay," Peyton muttered, and blink
ed when the line suddenly disconnected in his ear.
"What's going on?" Candy asked.
Peyton handed the phone back to Sophie, who walked out of the room.
"The strangest thing. It has to do with Mona's drowning. There was a temporary police chief when it happened who didn't close the case properly, and Evans said he needs to ask me some questions."
"That's so strange," Candy said. "Are you okay? I mean, is this going to be upsetting for you?"
"You're so sweet," Peyton said. "No, it's not upsetting. Just strange."
He put a couple of slices of bacon onto his plate and poured more syrup on what was left of his waffles before finishing his breakfast. A short time later, he was out the door.
Chapter Ten
Camren Stephens was still pissed off at his wife when he left the house. This wasn't the first time they'd crossed purposes, and it likely wouldn't be the last. She was bossy and too worried about her social standing to suit him. They lived in Blue-fucking-jacket, Louisiana for God's sake. Not New York City. There was no society page in the Bayou Weekly, and no events to cover that would have put them there.
He drove with the windows down and the wind blowing in his hair because it made him feel young. That's what he'd done when he was in high school. It was a subconscious move, adding to his illusion that the last thirty years had not passed, and that he still had enough hair for the wind to blow.
He was coming upon the Adams’ property when he saw Peyton getting into his car. He honked and waved, and Peyton turned and waved as Camren drove past.
He reached the police station a few minutes later, parked at the curb, and combed his hair before getting out. There was a sweat stain down the back of his short-sleeved shirt and stains under both arms. It was the mark of summer in this part of the country and nothing to fret about as he headed into the building.
Arnie, the clerk, was at the desk as Camren entered.
"Morning, Arnie. I'm here at the request of your chief."
"Yes, sir. He told me you were coming in. Just a second, and I'll let him know you're here."
Camren sat down and moments later, Josh Evans came up the hall.
"Camren, thank you for coming. My office is this way."
Camren followed, his nose wrinkling slightly at the faint odor of urine and cleaning solvents, then remembered the jail was at the back of the station. Likely that's what he smelled.
"Would you like some coffee?" Josh asked, as he motioned for Camren to sit down.
"No thanks, Chief. I'm already over my limit for the day."
Josh sat, then pointed to a video camera on a tripod behind his desk.
"I'm going to film this interview for the sake of expediency," he said. "Please state your name for the record.
"My name is Camren Allen Stephens.
Josh nodded then opened a file already on his desk.
"Again, I do apologize for having to do this. In fact, I was unaware this problem even existed until I was going through some old files for research on another issue. You do understand this was all before I came on board as chief, but it's still my duty to rectify mistakes."
"Certainly," Camren said, then shook his head. "I still miss her. Oh, don't get me wrong. Ashley and I are fine, but I did not give Julia up willingly. The whole thing about killed me."
Evans was listening, but he was also watching the expressions on Camren's face. If he was lying, he was good at it.
"I understand. So, let's get to this. The sooner we're through, the better. Let's see...the first omission was no paperwork done on the follow-up after the autopsy report."
Camren frowned.
"What do you mean? It was horribly cut and dried. She died from head injuries when she hit the tree."
Evans nodded.
"Yes, the head injuries are noted, and the autopsy report did state cause of death was severe trauma to the brain."
"So, what's the problem?" Camren asked.
"There's no explanation for the amount of Diphenhydramine and Doxylamine in her system."
Camren frowned.
"That has to be wrong. Julia didn't do drugs."
"Did she take sleeping pills?" Evans asked.
"Sometimes, why?"
"Those are drugs in antihistamines, but they are also drugs in sleeping pills. And she had a high content of both. The fact that this was never called into question before ruling her death as accidental, is where the error lies."
Camren's eyes were widening in both shock and growing horror.
"Are you telling me my wife fell asleep at the wheel because she had taken too many sleeping pills?"
"According to this report, it looks that way," Evans said.
His voice was shaking now.
"On purpose?"
"Well, that's what I'm asking you. If she didn't do it on purpose, the only other explanation is that someone snuck them into the coffee she took to work, and we know she had coffee from home with her because the photos at the scene reflect that."
Camren jerked as if he'd been slapped.
"Are you accusing me of murdering my wife? You are, aren't you? Oh my God! No! I would never do that."
"Then let's work this out," Josh said. "I know it's been a long time, but can you remember anything about that morning?"
Camren started to answer, only nothing came out but a choked sob, so he took a deep breath and tried it again.
"I remember everything about that morning. I went over it for weeks, months...once in a while, I still dream about it, but in the dream, I always stop her from leaving home."
"Tell me," Josh said.
"I was sick. I'd been under the weather for a solid week and hadn't gone back to work. I still had the weigh station and sporting goods store back then."
"The weigh station, meaning the one where the gator hunters brought in their catch during hunting season?"
Camren nodded.
"Anyway, we had breakfast together as always." Camren closed his eyes as he spoke.
The chief knew Camren was watching it happen all over again by the movement of his eyes beneath closed lids.
"I ate cold cereal. Julia ate scrambled eggs. She was on a diet at the time, one with no carbs, no sugar. I had forgotten to take my medicine, so I went to get it. I came back to the table with it and—"
"What medicine were you taking?" Josh asked.
"Some over the counter stuff for sinus infection," Camren said, and kept talking. "I have this thing about pills. I can't swallow them properly. So, I dropped them in my hot coffee and let the gel capsules dissolve while I was still eating."
"You always put pills in something to dissolve them?" Josh asked.
"Yes. They won't go down any other way. So, Julia finished her eggs, carried her plate and cup to load in the dishwasher. I finished my cereal and took the dirty bowl to the counter so she could load it, too."
"Where's your coffee cup?" Josh asked.
Camren paused, again closing his eyes, trying to remember.
"I guess I carried it to the counter, too, but I still hadn't finished. I needed to drink it all to get the full dose of medicine."
"So, then what happened?" Josh asked.
Tears started rolling down Camren's cheeks.
"Someone rang the doorbell. I went to answer. It was the UPS man with the present I'd ordered for her birthday. I had to sign for it, and then I took it to the library and hid it behind the wet bar." He glanced up. "It's still there. I know it's stupid, but I can't bring myself to throw it away, and I can't bear to look at it. It's caused more than one argument between me and Ashley, too. Anyway, by the time I got back, Julia was on her way out the door. She had her coffee in one hand and her briefcase in the other. She said she thought she was coming down with what I had, said she took something for it, and that she loved me and would see me after school." He wiped a hand across his face and looked up. "You know the rest."
This had been an eye-opening interview, and Josh didn't think Camren grasped the mean
ing of what he'd said.
"So, did you finish off your coffee?" he asked.
Camren frowned.
"Did I what? Finish my coffee? Uh...I guess. I know I emptied the pot. I always do. I drink too much coffee," he said, and shrugged.
Josh pulled out the case file for the wreck, removed the two photos of the interior of the car, and laid them in front of Camren.
"Do you see anything specific in these photos that shouldn't be there?"
Camren gasped.
"Are these from the wreck?"
"Yes, the interior view of the front seat."
Camren's hands were shaking as he pulled them closer.
"There's her briefcase...and a shoe. Oh my God, one of her shoes. My baby...my sweet Julia. Why am I looking at these? Damn it, Chief! Why are you putting me through this?"
Josh tapped the photos.
"Just keep telling me everything you see, and if there's anything there that shouldn't be, tell me."
Camren shuddered, then looked down.
"I see a dark stain on the upholstery, probably from her coffee cup. Oh, and there's her cup in front of the—"
Camren let out a cry of such pain, Evans knew it was not faked.
"That's not her cup! That's my cup! It has a “C.” Hers had a “J.” She took my cup, with my medicine in it."
"You told me that she said she thought she was coming down with what you had and took something for it."
Camren gasped.
"Oh my God. She took my coffee cup and took pills with it, then took it with her, didn't she? That's what really caused the wreck, isn't it? She took double the antihistamines. Why is this happening?" He started to sob. "This is like losing her all over again."
Josh felt bad for Camren Stephens, but he was satisfied for now with the answers he'd gotten about the file.
"I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how painful this has to be for you, Camren, but I'm grateful for your help. Will you be okay to drive home? I can have an officer drop you off if you want?"
Camren shook his head and wiped his face with his handkerchief.