Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2)

by Johnson, Sherri Wilson

  “Mom, I want to go back tonight. If I wait until tomorrow, I might not have the energy to get up off my couch.” Kathryn laughed and then yawned. Plus, she wasn’t ready to let Phil out of her presence.

  Mom and Dad acquiesced, and Schwartz nodded, the smile on his face the biggest Kathryn had ever seen from him. In fact, she couldn't remember when she'd seen him genuinely smile at all. "The trial is set for Monday. The jury selection starts at 9:00 a.m. Just be back in time to prepare."

  "Thank you. Mom, do you mind keeping Sadie for a few days? I'm going to fly back with Phil, rest tomorrow—well today technically—and come back Thursday."

  "I don't mind. I'd love to have her."

  After Kathryn answered a few more questions, Phil tapped her on the elbow. "We'd better get going. The pilot won't want to fly us back if it gets much later."

  "Oh, okay." She hugged Mom and then Dad.

  "Kate, I'm real proud of you for risking everything to solve this case."

  Heat flooded her face at the unexpected compliment, such an unusual thing from Dad. "Thank you. Love you guys." She knelt down and scratched Sadie's ears. "Be a good girl." Sadie pawed at her leg. "No, you can't go with me this time." She touched Mom's arm. "You know where I keep my spare key. Sadie's food is in the pantry."

  "Okay. I'll take good care of her."

  Phil pulled her by the arm. The members of the press snapped final photos of them, their flashes illuminating the parking lot. Kathryn waved to everyone and followed Phil to the plane.

  Fred stood outside the replacement plane, a jet complete with an actual staircase to ascend, and reached for Kathryn's hand. "Let me help you up into the plane the proper way. Last time you shoved your dog in and somersaulted to get inside."

  “How did you get a new plane so quickly?” Kathryn curtsied, gave him her hand, and allowed him to assist her. It was true her last entry had not been a ladylike one.

  “I’ve got friends in all the right places, ma’am.” Fred winked.

  Phil climbed the stairs after Kathryn, took the seat beside her, and pressed his arm against hers. While Fred prepared the jet for takeoff and taxied down the runway, they rested their heads against each other and both yawned.

  Kathryn stretched. "Can you believe it's one in the morning?"

  "Yes, I can believe it. Last night was a long, sleepless night of watching you for signs of anaphylactic shock."

  "You mean Monday night. Last night was Tuesday night."

  Phil shook his head. "I've been awake since Monday morning except for a brief nap during the night." He yawned.

  "Well, rest your weary head against mine, and we'll sleep until we get home—I mean back to Cedar Key." Cedar Key was a place she could call home. But she couldn't think about making a change in her life until she finished what she already had in the works.

  Kathryn's heart thumped wildly, and her stomach fluttered. She was going back to Cedar Key. Now that the danger was gone, maybe she could spend the day with Phil exploring the quaint city as she'd planned to do when she'd arrived on Friday night.

  Phil's phone rang. He opened his eyes and rubbed them with his fists. "Is it okay if I take this call, Fred?"

  "Sure, we're flying low enough."

  "Thanks." Phil unlocked his phone screen. "It's my pops. Why's he calling so late?"

  "You'd better answer it before the call is lost."

  Phil hit the accept button. "Hello?"

  Kathryn ran her fingers through her tangled hair and wiped away the smudged eyeliner from underneath her eyes. She rested her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes. Phil's voice lulled her to a place of no worries.

  "Hold on, Pops." Phil nudged Kathryn with his elbow. She opened her eyes and turned to face him, the plane's engine humming outside in the night sky. "Pops says Drew and Barney have asked me to represent them, and Uncle Louie wants to talk to me."

  Kathryn yawned. "Really?"

  "Yes, but I want to know how you feel about it."

  Kathryn pointed to her chest. "Me? How do you feel about it?"

  "Personally, I still don't want to represent people who are guilty, but selfishly, I'd love to be present when you win the case against them."

  "How do you know I'll win?"

  Phil cocked his head. "Come on, Kathryn. It's you. Of course you'll win."

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence. If you want to represent them, then you should do it. Maybe you'll decide to come back to the dark side." She laughed.

  “Never.” Phil shook his head. "Pops, sorry for the delay. Tell them I'll see them Monday morning."

  #

  Kathryn and Phil stood on the pier soaking in the afternoon sun. Other than two fishermen at the west end, they were alone. Her car was packed, but her heart wasn’t willingly leaving this paradise. Paradise. Was she really calling it that even though she’d had her life threatened? Yes, she was. “I wish I could stay and see one more sunset.”

  “I wish you could stay too, but I think it’s best that you get on the road before it gets too late. I don’t like the thought of you traveling back by yourself after dark. Some of the roads are a bit too desolate, and you’ve already had your share of trouble this trip.”

  “I know. I know.” She twisted the toe of her sandal into the concrete.

  “I’m going to be in Perkins County this week, remember?”

  Kathryn nodded.

  Phil leaned over to kiss Kathryn, but before his lips met hers, something ricocheted with a ping off the weather station, and the men on the end of the pier threw themselves to the ground.

  Kathryn screamed, and Phil covered her with his body and blocked her from the source of the attack.

  Her breath caught in her throat. "What was that?" Another ping sounded, this time on the pier railing, and Kathryn screamed again. "Gunfire?"

  "Get down!" Phil hunkered down, dragging Kathryn with him, and they crept over to the side railing.

  Kathryn gripped Phil’s shirt. Someone was shooting at them from an undetermined location, and their lives could end at any moment.

  "We can make it into the bathroom if we stay low and close to the railing."

  "Who would shoot at us, Phil?"

  "I told you my family had long arms." Phil held tight to Kathryn's arm and guided her into the men's bathroom.

  Kathryn's heart fluttered in her throat, and by the looks of Phil, his heart had left its home too. "What are we going to do?"

  "I'm going to call the chief." Phil pulled his phone from his pocket and held up his index finger. "Chief, hey, it's Phil Tag. I'm in the men's restroom on the pier with Assistant D.A. Kathryn Bellamy from Perkins County. Yeah. No, we're not here because we want to be. Someone is shooting at us. Yep, that's what I said. No, my gun is at the house. I need help." Phil listened for a few seconds and squeezed Kathryn's shoulder.

  Kathryn didn't have much courage left. Would she ever truly be safe when she and Phil were together?

  "Thanks, Chief." Phil ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket. "The chief said for us to stay in here. He'll be here in a few minutes."

  "Comforting." Kathryn leaned against the wall. She didn't care if her sarcasm showed itself.

  "I'm going to pop my head out and see if whoever was shooting at us is gone."

  Kathryn sprung away from the wall and grabbed Phil's arm. "Oh no you're not! You're not leaving me for one second."

  "But—"

  "No. No buts. You're staying right here."

  "Okay, okay." Phil embraced her. "We're going to be all right."

  "Knock, knock."

  Kathryn jumped and covered her mouth with her hand.

  "Phil, it's the chief." The door inched open.

  When Phil's face broke out into a smile, Kathryn let her shoulders relax and her hand fall away from her mouth.

  "Chief, I've never been so happy to see you." Phil reached out his hand to the chief. "Did you see who was shooting at us?"

  "Yeah, Sam from the grocery store. He was
over there on the outside patio of the vacant pub on the corner. My deputies arrested him."

  Kathryn gasped and threw her hands to her chest. “Sam? But why?”

  “He apparently had to finish what Phil’s cousins weren’t able to.” The chief shook his head.

  "I knew something was off with that guy when I met him at the store. He wouldn’t look me in the eye and told me to mind my business. I knew he had to know something. I guess he didn’t like that I said I was going to subpoena him to testify in court.” Kathryn shivered.

  “He was just cleaning up, Kathryn. That’s the way my family works.” Phil groaned. “I’m just glad he missed.”

  “Me too." She scowled.

  The Chief lit a cigarette and shook his head. "You sure did stir up a lot of trouble by your visit here, Ms. Bellamy."

  "No, I came to make sure trouble got taken care of. Had that gun not been hidden here in the first place, your sweet little town could have stayed nice and quiet."

  The chief grinned. “Well, I think we’ve gotten all the rats flushed out now. Maybe the peace will resume around here.”

  Phil took Kathryn into his arms and laughed. "This is the first time I've ever said this, I'm sure, but I am glad my cousins stirred up this trouble, or I wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting you."

  "The pleasure is all mine, Tag." Kathryn wrapped her hand in the crook of Phil's arm and accompanied him out of the restroom and off the pier to her car.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Perkins County Government Building, Courtroom Three

  Kathryn stepped through the hinged gates at the divider and made it to the prosecutor's table at 9:02 a.m. She smiled and placed her briefcase on the table. Then Judge Peterson cleared his throat and stared at her over the top of his bifocals, which were pushed down to the end of his nose. His spiky gray eyebrows looked like fuzzy caterpillars...angry caterpillars. Her smile faded.

  "Thank you, Ms. Bellamy, for joining us this morning. I know you're still in vacation mode, but we've got work to do today." The courtroom fell silent as his voice boomed from the microphone.

  Now why did he have to announce to the whole courtroom that she'd been on vacation? Some things were meant to be kept private. Besides, it had hardly been a vacation. If only he knew that she’d had to fight for her life down in Cedar Key, maybe he wouldn’t be so tough on her.

  She pulled her files from her briefcase. "Please forgive my tardiness, sir. I was delayed in the hallway by a defense attorney for an upcoming trial." She shuffled her papers with trembling hands.

  Judge Peterson crinkled his brow. "Well, all right."

  "I have something I'd like to put on the record before we get started, if you don't mind."

  He scratched his head. "All right. Make it quick."

  The United States Superior Court seal hung on the wall behind the judge. The eagle spread across it symbolized everything Kathryn's life had been based upon—justice, strength, and courage—until her life-changing visit to Cedar Key. "Judge, while I was away, I received a menacing phone call and a threatening note. Someone also slashed my tires and shot at me."

  Judge Peterson tapped his pencil on the bench. "Someone shot at you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I see. Is this person being prosecuted?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s awaiting trial.”

  “All right. So you think someone else tried to harm you by slashing your tires?" He studied a file in front of him and yawned.

  She grumbled under her breath. "Your Honor, I don’t think. I know."

  "Do you know for certain that the tires were slashed?"

  "Yes, I took pictures, and I asked the repair facility to keep them on hand for evidence. I could've been killed while driving with slashed tires." In comparison to being shot at, the slashed tires didn’t seem to be that much of a threat, but still worthy of mentioning to the judge.

  He leaned forward and studied her face with amiable eyes. Was that a hint of compassion? "I'm sorry that happened to you, Ms. Bellamy. I wasn't aware of these incidents."

  She dipped her head. It was hard to believe that he hadn’t heard of the incidents since they’d been in the news, but perhaps he kept away from the media reports to stay unbiased. "Thank you. We believe the incidents occurred as a result of my prosecution of Louie Ezzo, Judge. His nephews are the suspects."

  The judge folded his arms across his chest. "Well, you don't know that they did it."

  Kathryn raised her hands and nodded once at the man who looked like a barn owl. "Well, no, sir. But—but it stands to reason that it was one of them since the threats occurred in Cedar Key, and they were there at the same time I was. Drew Ezzo shot at the plane I was in as it was taking off on my way here to bring the gun."

  The judge sat up straight, looked over the bench and directly into her eyes. "Now Ms. Bellamy, this is a court of law, and you know we depend on evidence and not speculation in establishing one's guilt. That will have to be proven in their trial. You don’t know that the person who slashed your tires isn’t the same person who shot at you."

  She tilted her head toward the ceiling and rubbed her forehead, hoping to squeeze out the encroaching pain. Unfortunately, the judge was right. Sam could have slashed her tires. Sam could have left the threatening note and made the phone calls too. "Yes, sir."

  The judge unwrapped a piece of candy and poked it into his mouth. "What about the note and phone call?" After she informed the judge of the situation, his face pinched up tight. Now he looked like a hedgehog. Now he seemed truly concerned. "I find this quite disconcerting. Did you deliver the card to a detective?"

  "Yes, sir. And I—"

  "Your Honor, may I speak?"

  "Yes, Mr. Stewart." The judge rocked in his leather chair.

  Kathryn turned to face Jamey Stewart, defense attorney for half of the county's worst criminals, who stood behind the divider. The smug look on his tanned face, white circles around his eyes from his sunglasses, told her what he wanted to say before another word came out of his mouth.

  He cleared his throat, scratched his blond lamb chop sideburns and then adjusted his glasses. "While it's very unfortunate that these things happened to A.D.A. Bellamy," he scowled at her, "we have jury selection and multiple cases to get through this morning. Each of these incidents Ms. Bellamy speaks of will have their day in court, but today is not that day. Can we move on?"

  Judge Peterson looked at his files, glanced around the courtroom and then directed his gaze at Kathryn. "Ms. Bellamy, I'm sure everything'll be taken care of. Let's get to jury selection."

  Kathryn closed her eyes and sighed. That was all the empathy she was going to get today. And all Jamey Stewart cared about was getting to the golf course. She gathered her strength to keep from crying and released the breath she'd been unknowingly holding. "May we take a five-minute recess before we start jury selection, Judge?"

  After jury selection and a brief lunch break with Phil, Kathryn returned to the courtroom for a revocation and then part one of the Ezzo trial. This was her shining moment. Her chance to prove to everyone including herself that she was good at her job. She could finally show Phil how strong she was.

  "Judge, before we get to the Ezzo case, I’ve got a revocation we need to address. This is on Michael Foster; case number 10-CR-98354. Mr. Foster is here in the courtroom." She pointed at Mr. Foster with her pen.

  "Hey, Judge." The shackled defendant in the county's orange jumpsuit nodded.

  "Hello, Michael. How's your daddy?"

  "He's good. Sittin’ in the back, sir." He motioned to the back of the courtroom with his head.

  The judged looked up and waved. "Oh, I see him back there. Howdy, Judd."

  "Hey, Judge."

  Kathryn rolled her eyes at the absurd situation. Friends one moment, judge and defendant the next. Phil must think they are all podunk rednecks. "Judge, if I may? Mr. Foster has violated the terms and conditions of the Sex Offender Registry and violated the laws of the State o
f Georgia. We're asking the Court to revoke his First Offender status and to resentence him up to the maximum of ten years because of his original offense and because he has thumbed his nose at the Sheriff's office, at the Sex Offender Registry, and at the Court. He is not abiding by the conditions that he was placed under."

  The judge sighed. "All right. Thank you, Ms. Bellamy.” He looked around the courtroom. "The issue before the court is a petition for adjudication of guilt and imposition of sentence in a first offender case. The original sentence back in December of 2010 was for two counts of sexual battery. And the sentence was ten years; five on each one, consecutive. The defendant was allowed to plead under the Alford versus North Carolina case, in which he has to affirm that there is a substantial likelihood he would be convicted if tried before a jury in the case. And secondly, that it's in his best interest to go ahead and plead. And the Court allowed him to do so. Then he was given the privilege of pleading under the First Offender Act, and that was explained to him during the hearing as to what that meant."

  "Yes, sir," Mr. Tompkins, the defense attorney agreed.

  Kathryn studied the case file and nodded. "Correct, Judge." How someone could take such a sentence so lightly was beyond Kathryn’s understanding. This man had literally thrown his freedom out the window.

  "The issue before the Court today is whether the State has proven that the defendant has violated his probation by not registering properly under the Sex Offender Registration Act and also did he commit the offense of rape, which he is charged with in another indictment on another case. Now over the last three days of testimony, the evidence has been gleaming, I guess you could say. There have been conflicts in the evidence, and there've been some people who have testified one way and some people have testified the other. It's been downright chaotic, I think. Don't you think, Ms. Bellamy?"

  She laughed. "Yes, sir. People are sworn to tell the truth, but in this case they have not always done that."

  Judge Peterson smacked his lips and in a rare moment of camaraderie, he winked at her. "Right. Well, as far as the evidence on the failure to register as a sexual offender goes, there are at least three different addresses that the defendant has moved to from one time or another and not reported the change. I am going to find that the State has proven beyond a preponderance of the evidence that he failed to report.”