A Woman to Die For

by Erin Wade

  Shay hurried from the courtroom, eager to avoid David and Katie. She almost collided with the tall figure in the dark hoodie who dashed out the door in front of her.

  ##

  Shay decided to shower before looking for something to eat. The atmosphere of the courtroom had left her feeling dirty. She took her time letting the hot water pound her back between her shoulder blades, washing away the unpleasantness of the day.

  She was drying her hair when her doorbell rang. It’s probably David, she thought. She contemplated not answering the door, but the ringing was insistent. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a soft pullover.

  Shay’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Katie’s lovely face on her front door camera. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before opening the door. Katie was holding something, and Bear was sitting like the perfect gentleman he was.

  “Hello!” A crooked smile danced across Shays lips as she tried not to grin like a Cheshire cat.

  “I thought you might like a home-cooked dinner,” Katie said, bubbling with enthusiasm as she entered Shay’s home with her offerings in hand.

  “Mmm. Something smells delicious.” Shay’s mouth watered.

  “The dinner smells good too,” Katie teased.

  Shay laughed at the beautiful woman. “You always smell wonderful,” she said.

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  Shay took the box from Katie and carried it into the kitchen. “When did you have time to do this?”

  Katie beamed. “It’s meatloaf. I made it and the potatoes au gratin last night. The green beans I cooked while I showered and dressed to come see you.”

  Shay pulled two plates from the cabinet and placed silverware on the kitchen island. “Would you like wine or iced tea?” she asked.

  “Wine sounds good,” Katie replied.

  “Wine it is.” Shay laughed. “I’ll grab a bottle from my wine rack while you serve our plates. We can eat at the island, the breakfast nook, or in front of the TV. You decide.”

  “I love your breakfast nook,” Katie said. “It’s so intimate.”

  Shay tried to moisten her lips with her tongue but found her mouth dry as cotton. Something about the word intimate excited her.

  “So you’re brilliant, gorgeous, and a good cook too,” Shay said as they settled across the table from each other. “What more could one want in a woman?”

  “Sanity?” Katie teased. “Personally, I think sanity is way overrated.”

  Shay laughed out loud, suppressing a little shiver at the woman’s choice of words. Sanity indeed, she thought as she slipped Bear a bite of meatloaf.

  They revisited the happenings in the courtroom and discussed what tomorrow might bring.

  “Shay, I must confess that I have ulterior motives for coming here tonight,” Katie said. “I have a briefcase full of papers in the car. I’d like you to go over them with me. There’s a lot of medical jargon.”

  Shay knew Katie didn’t need her help deciphering anything but placated the brunette by accepting her explanation. “You know I’m delighted to help you in any way,” she said. “It’s the least I can do to thank you for the best meal I’ve had in months.

  “Go get your briefcase, and I’ll clear away the dishes.”

  Shay loaded the dishwasher and was refilling their wine glasses when Katie returned.

  “Spread everything out on the breakfast table where we can see it better,” Shay said.

  “This is what I need your help with.” Katie placed two thick folders marked Insurance in front of Shay. “I don’t know all the codes and what they mean. I need a translator.”

  Shay grinned. “You really do need my help?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said.” Katie grimaced. “For instance, what is this bill for?”

  Shay glanced at it. “An MRI,” she declared.

  “You mean Glencove Hospital charged my insurance company for an MRI?”

  “And this one is for neuroimaging or brain imaging.” Shay pulled another invoice from the pile. “Here’s another one for an fMRI scan. The ‘f’ designates a functional magnetic resonance image scan that measures and maps the brain’s activity. Looks like there are dozens of invoices for them over the years.”

  “I swear Glencove never did an MRI or an fMRI or a CAT scan on me,” Katie declared.

  “Yet they billed your insurance company for the procedures.” Shay frowned.

  They spent the next hour putting the invoices in chronological order. “Does your insurance have a cap on what it will pay?” Shay asked.

  “Yes, a million dollars for nonsurgical procedures and two million for surgery and operating room costs.” Katie pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is insurance fraud, isn’t it?”

  “I’d bet a year’s pay that it is,” Shay murmured.

  “Do you believe David is complicit in the fraud, or is it just Sandifer and his crew?”

  “I think you should have Chandler cut Sandifer from the herd and discuss this with him,” Shay suggested. “If David is involved in the fraud, Sandifer might turn on him and testify about it in court.”

  Katie opened her computer and added up the invoices from the past five years. “This is why David decided to keep me at home instead of at Glencove. The insurance ran out.”

  “Katie, none of this makes sense,” Shay pointed out. “David makes a lot of money. He performs more surgeries than I do, and he is chief of staff. He knocks down some serious coins. He should not be broke, and he should not have to resort to insurance fraud to get money.”

  Katie scowled. “I don’t know what to think. But I do know he tried to kill me.”

  “Are you certain it was him?” Shay asked. “Did you see his face?”

  “Hell yes, I saw his face,” Katie cried. “His face leered into mine as he raped me. He raped me, Shay!”

  Katie collected the invoices and stuffed them into the folders as she stood. “I need to go. I’m suddenly very tired.”

  Shay rose to face the brunette. “Katie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to question you. I’m just trying to find answers. All of this is so confusing.”

  Katie collapsed into Shay as sobs racked her body. Shay held her and stroked her long, dark hair. She didn’t trust herself to speak. She only knew that Katie felt wonderful in her arms.

  “You must know I believe you,” Shay whispered. “I’m just trying to reconcile your husband with the David Brandt I’ve known for the past three years. Something isn’t right.”

  Katie snuggled deeper into Shay’s arms. Shay tried to slow her heartbeat as she reveled in the soft warmth of the woman who seemed to fit her perfectly. She kissed the top of Katie’s head and then her forehead, brushing her lips across the brunette’s perfectly arched eyebrows. When Katie tilted her face up, Shay could feel the warmth of the woman’s sweet breath on her lips.

  Katie pulled back from Shay. “No,” she whispered. “Not until you trust me completely and this mess is settled.”

  Shay dropped her hands to her side and stepped away from Katie. “I . . . I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s okay,” Katie interrupted. “It’s my fault. I wanted you too.”

  A sound at the front door drew their attention. Bear leaped to his feet and a low, rumbling growl escaped from his throat as he glared at the front door. He moved to put himself between Katie and the entrance.

  “What’s wrong, big guy?” Katie said softly.

  Shay walked to the camera that showed a clear view of her porch and the front yard of her home. A shadow scurried from her field of view.

  “Is someone out there?” Katie whispered.

  “I’m not sure.” Shay opened the door and turned on the floodlights that lit up her yard like daylight. No one was in sight.

  Katie stuffed the folders into her briefcase along with her laptop. “I have to go,” she sighed. “I’m meeting Chandler early in the morning to go over this financial information before court.”

  Shay slid her hand into the br
iefcase, preventing Katie from closing it. She slowly lifted the top.

  “What the hell is this?” she demanded, pulling a Kimber 38 from Katie’s briefcase.

  “What does it look like?” Katie glared as she took the pistol from Shay and placed it back into her briefcase.

  “Katie, why are you carrying a gun?”

  “For protection,” the brunette huffed. “In case you’ve forgotten, someone tried to kill me.”

  “Someone?”

  “David! David tried to kill me,” Katie insisted. “David.”

  “You know you can’t take a gun into the courtroom tomorrow,” Shay said. “They’ll confiscate it.”

  The brunette rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t planning to. I’ll leave it at home.”

  “Katie, I—”

  “I must go. I’m tired.”

  “I know. Just be careful with that gun,” Shay said.

  “I know how to handle a firearm,” Katie barked. “I’m an expert marksman.”

  Shay walked Katie and Bear to the car. “Please call me when you’re securely locked inside your apartment,” she said. She stood in the front yard, watching until Katie’s taillights disappeared from view.

  Shay wondered how Katie had managed to purchase a handgun. If anyone had run a background check on her, they would have found information on her stay in Glencove Hospital. Five years in a mental institution should stop the sale of a handgun to anyone. But criminals and the wealthy always managed to circumvent things.

  Chapter 34

  Thursday morning loomed cloudy with the threat of rain and thunderstorms. Shay wondered where she could walk Bear at lunch. She prayed the storms would hold off until later.

  Shay took her usual seat behind David’s defense team and looked around the courtroom to see how many voyeurs were present. To her surprise, the crowd was smaller, but the person in the hoodie still lurked in the back of the room. She couldn’t help wondering about the androgynous stranger.

  Chandler and Katie were huddled in animated conversation but stood when the judge entered the courtroom. She allowed everyone to be seated before addressing the attorneys.

  “I was up half the night going over the financial statements from Dr. Brandt and Mrs. Brandt,” Judge Wainwright said. “Mrs. Brandt, it appears that you are an extremely wealthy woman, and most of your assets have been placed in a trust until you have been declared competent or incompetent and this trial is over. Dr. Brandt, I see that Mrs. Brandt has generously agreed to allow you full possession of the six-million-dollar home she paid for.” The judge held up her hand to stop the comment David tried to interject.

  “I also see that you haven’t paid the property taxes on the home and are in danger of losing it. My question to you is, what do you do with your money, Dr. Brandt?”

  “Your Honor, my client—”

  “I’m speaking directly to Dr. Brandt, Mr. Moncrief,” the judge said. “I want him to answer my question.”

  “I . . . uh, I have a gambling addiction,” David admitted.

  The expected titter ran through the courtroom.

  “I must come out of this divorce with enough to pay off my gambling debts, or I’m a dead man.”

  Judge Wainwright studied David for a long time. “Has your life been threatened?”

  “I can’t say,” David mumbled, squirming in his chair as he raked a hand through his hair. “I’m pleading with the court to divide our holdings down the middle. I think that is fair.”

  “It says here that you owned twenty percent of Brandt Technologies and Face2Face, yet you didn’t actually contribute anything to either company. Both were conceived and created by Mrs. Brandt. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” He couldn’t argue with the facts.

  “Based on the value of the stock of the two companies, you should be extremely wealthy too, yet your financials show you deeply in debt and with few assets.

  “What happened to your stock?”

  “I sold it to pay off my gambling debts,” David mumbled.

  “I’m sorry, Dr. Brandt. I didn’t hear you,” Judge Wainwright said.

  “I sold it to pay off my gambling debts,” David yelled.

  “Your Honor, I’m throwing myself on the mercy of the court. Please divide our assets equally.”

  “It appears that you and your wife have acted in a manner that would cast the very worst light on each other.” Wainwright flipped through the stack of papers on her desk. “You’ve tried to convince the world that she is insane and incapable of managing her own companies, while she has insisted that you tried to kill her.”

  “He did try to kill me!” Katie blurted out.

  “Your Honor,” Chandler said as he pushed back from the table and got to his feet, “I request a private meeting with you in your chambers.”

  “Mr. Moncrief, do you also want a private meeting?” Judge Wainwright asked.

  “No, Your Honor. We’re good at the moment,” Grafton replied.

  “Mr. Davis, you and your client may move to my office,” the judge instructed. “Court is recessed for fifteen minutes.”

  ##

  Chandler and the judge returned to the courtroom in exactly fifteen minutes. Judge Wainwright called the session to order and then addressed everyone.

  “I’m suspending this trial,” she said. “I’m enlisting the assistance of two forensic accounting teams—one to go through the books of Glencove Hospital, and another to examine Dr. Brandt’s finances. I believe both parties have been dishonest in their reporting to the court.

  “Mrs. Brandt, I’m sending you to a forensic psychiatrist appointed by the court.

  “All parties concerned will be notified by the court when I have all the information I need to make an educated and fair judgment in this case. I must warn you, there might be criminal charges filed against those who have provided this court with false or incomplete information.”

  Judge Wainwright dismissed the court, and David rushed to Shay’s side.

  “Man, she’s pissed,” he muttered. “What did Katie’s attorney say to her?”

  “How would I know?” Shay snapped. “I’m here because you subpoenaed me.”

  David grunted. “Whatever. I’m just glad you’re here. Come on. I’ll take you to lunch.”

  “Since the judge has dismissed us, I really need to get to the hospital and see my patients,” Shay said.

  “As do I, but we can stop for lunch. I think we should talk. I need to explain things.”

  “I’ll meet you in thirty minutes at that little Greek restaurant a block from the hospital,” Shay replied. She looked around for the hooded observer who was no longer in the courtroom.

  ##

  David was at the restaurant when Shay arrived. He had ordered wine for them and was perusing the menu when Shay entered.

  “God, I’ve missed talking to you,” David said as he pulled out her chair. “I know this hearing has only been going on four days, but it seems like four months.”

  “How are you holding up?” she asked.

  “As well as can be expected when one has their soul ripped open and poured out for all the world to see.” David choked on his attempted laugh.

  “Shay, I know I should have told you about my gambling addiction, but it isn’t something I’m proud of. I’ve finally gotten it under control, but I still owe some very nasty people a lot of money.”

  Shay nodded but said nothing. There are some other things you should have told me about too . . . like your wife.

  “If Katie would stop being so contrary and leave the company public, everything would be fine,” David added. “Our stock would be worth billions, and I’d give her a divorce. She could go her way, and I’d never darken her door again. But if she gains control of the company, she’ll take it private and the board will go along with her.”

  “What if the judge rules in her favor?” Shay asked.

  “Then I’m a dead man,” David snorted. “The people I owe money to will kill me,
simple as that. But I doubt Judge Wainwright would do that. Judges rarely give one spouse everything.”

  “David, I have money,” Shay said. “I’d be happy to lend you the money to pay your property taxes before they get out of hand.”

  “Wow. You would do that? Really?”

  “Of course. I still . . .” Shay’s voice trailed off.

  “Still love me,” David said. “Please believe in me, Shay. I’m not the monster Katie is portraying me to be. Do I have a gambling addiction? Yes. Did I try to kill her? No! Never!”

  “David, I looked at her hospital records over the past five years. She’s been treated for broken bones, a ruptured spleen, and a plethora of other injuries that are indicative of spousal abuse.”

  “I swear I’ve never touched her.” David raised his hand in the three-finger salute. “Scout’s honor.”

  Shay couldn’t help but smile at his boyish grin and gesture.

  “I promise, Shay. All of her injuries are self-inflicted,” David vowed.

  Shay’s phone dinged the arrival of a message. She pulled it from her purse and held it under the table. Katie’s face appeared on the screen.

  “I have to run,” Shay informed David. “Maudine has a problem with one of my patients.”

  “But we haven’t ordered lunch yet,” he grumbled.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’ll grab something later,” she said, rushing from the restaurant before he could reply.

  ##

  Shay drove to the hospital parking garage, pulled into her reserved space, and called Katie.

  “Hello, beautiful lady,” Katie hummed into the phone. “Have you had lunch?”

  “Not yet,” Shay answered, “but I’m at the hospital. I must see my patients. May I take a rain check?”

  “Of course, darling. Why don’t you come to my place when you’re done at the hospital? I’ll prepare dinner for us.”

  Darling? Katie had never used a term of endearment with her. It made Shay uneasy. She hesitated, but not for long. She desperately needed to see Katie Brandt.

  “I should be finished around five.” Shay smiled into the phone. “What can I bring?”

  “Just yourself and your favorite wine,” Katie said, giggling. “Bring two bottles. I feel like celebrating.”