Fatal Accusation

by Rachel Dylan

  “No, I wouldn’t call it a big role at all. I do help out Beverly from time to time if she asks for it, but Beverly is in charge of the day-to-day for church finances.”

  “Beverly Jenkins, she’s on the church leadership committee, right?”

  “Yes. And she walks the straight and narrow. The last thing I want to do is to start pointing fingers at other innocent people. It’s bad enough for me, but I couldn’t stand it if other church members were also implicated.”

  Olivia frowned. “I’m sorry to have to say this, but I think we must consider the possibility that she might have taken some improper actions with the church’s books.”

  He shook his head. “No way. I’ve known Beverly for years. She wouldn’t do anything like that.”

  “Is there anyone else with access to the church’s accounts?”

  “At the level of actually having any ability to touch the funds, just me, Beverly, and Chris. But like I said, the responsibility of handling our finances is out of my hands. Like most churches, I don’t control the money, but at the end of the day I do have access to the bank account. We’re a large church, yes, but not a mega church that has a huge staff. We all pitch in where we have to.”

  “Pastor Dan, I don’t like this. Something is terribly off here.” Olivia said. “I’m going to push for your bail hearing to be tomorrow to get you out of here. It is absolutely crazy for you to be sitting in prison, especially considering the non-violent nature of the allegations. This is all white collar stuff.” She paused. “Putting aside the fact you’re innocent. These are the type of crimes we should be able to get bail for.”

  “Do you think you can do that? Also, I don’t have much in the way of money to be able to pay the bail.”

  “Don’t worry about any of that, Dan. Let me work on the details.”

  “Olivia, it means so much that you believe me in. I have no idea why this is happening to me. It all seems so strange.”

  “Think about it for a minute.” She leaned forward in her chair. “Maybe we’re dealing with some of Layton’s games again. I wouldn’t put anything past that evil man. He could be coming directly after you. By dragging your good name through the mud, he could definitely impact the church.”

  “But he would still have to have some sort of actual evidence, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes. He couldn’t just make it up and go the police with allegations. There has to be something concrete they think they have against you, and I’m going to find out exactly what that is. I’m sorry I won’t be able to get you out right now. Given the time of day, you’ll have to spend the night here.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m tougher than I look. The Lord has a plan, even in the midst of all of this.”

  “Yes, He does. Grant is also here, but I thought it best to be the lead person representing you. I do have some experience in the criminal arena and quite a bit of white collar litigation background.”

  “There’s no one in this world I’d want more as my attorney, but I’m afraid I may need to ask for a public defender. I don’t think I can afford you.”

  She lifted up her hand. “Absolutely not. I am taking your case pro bono.”

  “And your firm will okay with that?”

  “Yes. I’ll figure that all out. I’ve done pro bono work before.”

  “Olivia, I don’t want you to have trouble with your job because of me.”

  “Don’t even say that. I’m an attorney and I can help you. And if it’s like what I fear and Layton is somehow involved in this, then I need to be by your side.”

  He couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes. “Thank you, Olivia, and God bless you.”

  “Let’s pray together.”

  And as they started to pray, Dan tried to turn it all over to the Lord.

  **

  Grant watched as Olivia walked toward him with misty eyes and made her way to the waiting area where he was sitting.

  He stood up to greet her. “What are the charges?”

  “Embezzlement is the primary charge, and they tacked on tax evasion and fraud.”

  Those were serious charges. If he recalled, the Illinois laws on embezzlement were quite stringent. “Wow. I can’t believe this. What did he say about all of that?”

  She ran her hand through her hair and looked up at him. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any idea where this is coming from, but I have my own suspicions.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There are only three people who have access to the church’s finances. Dan, Chris, and Beverly.”

  Grant blew out a breath. This was looking worse by the minute. “So you’re saying one of them has to be guilty.”

  “Let’s get out of here so we can speak more freely.”

  He could sense her mounting frustration. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Back to your place so I can get my car. I need to go into the office this evening and get to work. I also have to call Chet and explain the situation to him. I plan to be in front of the judge tomorrow at a bail hearing.”

  They walked out of the police station in silence. When he started the car and pulled out of the lot, he wanted to resume the conversation now that they had privacy. “What can I do?” He cared so much for Olivia. He wanted to be able to help her in any way he could.

  “First things first. Talk to Chris. We need to make sure we can trust him because he’s going to be a key player in all of this.”

  “You have doubts?”

  “I think he’s clean, but the only person I have complete confidence in is Dan. And since he’s my client, I have to do everything I can to protect him. You and I also need to talk about whether you want to come in as co-counsel.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you want?”

  “I wanted to talk to him by myself first, and now that I have some idea what we’re up against including all the charges, I think it could make sense. Plus, if we’re going to discuss this case, then it will be necessary because of the issues surrounding attorney- client privilege.”

  “You’re right. I can’t believe I wasn’t even thinking about that. I guess my head isn’t on straight right now.” He knew they wouldn’t be able to talk about the specifics of the case if he wasn’t also one of Dan’s lawyers.

  “I want to make sure I can keep the privilege intact. So you need to decide now if you’re in on this. And if you’re not in on it, then we need to stop discussing this case.”

  “I think you could use the help. There will be a lot of work that needs to be done. You shouldn’t have to take responsibility for all of this by yourself.”

  “True.” She paused. “But I need to know that you believe in Pastor Dan’s innocence.”

  That was a tricky question because he was in a state of confusion right now. “Lawyers don’t have to believe their clients are innocent to vigorously represent them. We learned that on the first day of law school.”

  “You’re right, but in this case, I can’t take any chances.”

  He had to be open with her about his feelings. “Olivia, I can’t lie to you. I want Dan to be innocent, but there’s a tiny part of me that wonders if there could be anything to these allegations. I want to be by your side helping prove that he’s been wrongly accused. The man I know wouldn’t do anything like this.”

  “All right. Grant, I trust you to do the right thing here. There’s also something else I wanted to bring up.”

  “Go ahead.” He was curious to know what was on her mind.

  “I think Layton has to be involved in this somehow.”

  Whoa. He hadn’t seen that coming. “What? We don’t have any evidence of that. How would it even be possible?”

  “I’m not willing to believe this is all a coincidental setup. Think about it. Layton has resources everywhere and a huge bank account. He can make things happen.”

  “Still, that would be a pretty elaborate scheme for Layton to pull off.” He knew better than to underestimate Layton
. His moral compass was turned around backward. “But knowing him like I do, I can’t say I would be shocked. He’s dirty down to the core.”

  “I know Dan didn’t do this. Which means someone wanted him to take the fall. Layton has the biggest motive for that. And, for that matter, I guess Nina Marie could also be involved as well. I’m not sure what the state of relations is right now between the two of them personally or what the status is between the two companies.”

  There were too many variables in play. Especially when you added in the spiritual elements which, for Grant, was still very new. “Yeah, I guess when you put it that way…”

  “We always knew the lawsuit between Optimism and Astral Tech was only the first part of a larger spiritual battle. Unfortunately, this could be the next phase. Even the worst case scenarios I came up with didn’t look anything like this.”

  Keeping his left hand on the wheel, he reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’ve faced down the threats before. You’re a fighter, Olivia. I have faith that you can handle this. God won’t abandon you.”

  “He won’t abandon us,” she said.

  Grant could only pray that was true.

  Chapter Three

  Deputy Assistant District Attorney Tony Sampson reviewed the files in front of him as he sat in the corner of the deli preparing for the arraignment where bail would be set. The last thing he had expected to do in his career was to bring criminal charges against a well-liked pastor in the community, but here he was doing exactly that. The evidence had been striking—thanks to a whistleblower from inside the church.

  He had big goals. Right now he was sitting as the number two in the prosecutor’s office, and he wanted to run the office one day. He only attended church to keep up the appearances that he actually adhered to the Christian faith because it was somewhat expected in his job. But in his experiences, the hypocrisy that came out of churches was enough to make him reject religion. He was perfectly okay living by his own standards. He tried to do the right thing—most of the time, anyway.

  He almost choked on his sesame seed bagel when Layton Alito walked in and headed straight toward him. With his head held high, Layton took a seat across from him.

  “Hello, Layton. What brings you here?” Tony asked. He clenched his sweaty hands together.

  “I just wanted to say hello.” Layton smiled, but it didn’t put Tony at ease. Just the opposite. Something about Layton gave Tony the creeps, and that was saying a lot considering the type of people he was exposed to each day in his line of work.

  “You saw the news, I assume?” he asked Layton.

  “Yes, I did. I’ve told you before Pastor Dan and I don’t see eye to eye. If he’s guilty of the charges they’re reporting in the media, then he deserves to be held accountable just like any other citizen. Isn’t that right?”

  “As a prosecutor, I go where the evidence takes me. No matter who the defendant is. That’s an oath I took to uphold the law.” Tony hadn’t figured out Layton’s exact angle. He’d met him multiple times in various social circles, but when Layton had contacted him the other day, Tony had been surprised. But what had shocked him even more was the business proposal Layton had offered him. A seat on Layton’s non-profit board. In Tony’s mind, there had to be some sort of strings attached.

  “Have you given any more thought to my philanthropic proposal?” Layton asked, his blue eyes never breaking eye contact.

  Actually, Tony had been thinking about Layton’s proposal nonstop since he had made it. There was a part of him that desperately wanted to take the offer, but he was already working around the clock. Adding a non-profit board seat to his resume would be impressive, but to add more responsibility on his plate seemed like a recipe for disaster. “While I appreciate your proposal, my schedule is simply outrageous right now. And if I do something, I like to do it full on.”

  Layton raised an eyebrow and didn’t immediately respond. “If you change your mind about the opportunities my non-profit or my company can provide, then you know where to find me. I’ll let you think about the opportunity, and I surely hope that justice is served through your prosecution.”

  “I’m committed to finding out the truth, so I don’t know if this is the right time for me to take on any additional responsibilities like a board seat, but let me think about it a little bit.” He didn’t want to totally lose an opportunity if it would advance his career. Layton was known to be a mover and shaker in the community. Could he find a way to balance the demands of it all?

  “Think about it. We could use someone like you on the board. It’s going to be an exciting time to be involved. And we have one sitting judge on the board. Louise Martinique. Do you know her?”

  Of course he knew her. She had a stellar reputation. “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, then. Take the time you need to make a decision. I know things are hectic right now. I’ll let you prepare for court.” Layton stood up and walked out of the deli.

  A deeper wave of unease washed over Tony. He couldn’t put his finger on why Layton unsettled him so much. He didn’t really have any specific interest in his New Age company. He didn’t even fully understand what New Age was, but Layton had insisted the non-profit wing of the organization was more focused on community-building projects. That’s probably why someone like the esteemed Judge Martinique would be serving as a board member.

  But he needed to stop worrying about Layton Alito and start focusing on the impending arraignment for the pastor of Windy Ridge Community Church. He had to determine what his strategy was going to be at the hearing. Should he push for a high bail? If the allegations were true, Dan Light might claim to be a man of God, but he was crooked. Tony had no issues with pushing for a high bail, but he wanted to make sure he stayed on the good side of the judge who might be more sympathetic to the pastor.

  Tony finished up the last sip of his coffee and made the short walk a few blocks down to the courthouse. He was right on time. The hearing was set for eleven a.m., thanks to the petition filed by the pastor’s attorney. He wasn’t quite sure how a pastor would be able to afford a world-class law firm like BCR to represent him, unless of course, he had money hidden away from his shady practices at the church. That was certainly a possibility.

  He walked into the courtroom ready to go, but as he entered the room, he stopped short when he saw his opposing counsel. Olivia Murray didn’t look anything like what he had expected. The short brunette attorney made direct eye contact with him—her large brown eyes sizing him up. She looked to be in her thirties. So they hadn’t sent a senior partner—nor had they sent a rookie either.

  “Are you Tony Sampson?” she asked him.

  “I am. And you must be Olivia Murray.” He outstretched his hand to be polite. She gave him a firm handshake.

  “I hope that you’re going to be reasonable about bail.”

  Ah, she was already posturing. Two could play at that game. “That’s going to be for the judge to determine.”

  “Of course the judge is going to make the ultimate decision, but as the prosecutor on the case you’re surely going to put forward an amount for the judge’s consideration.”

  “True. I try my best to be fair after taking in all of the facts of the case. The pastor can’t be doing too poorly to hire you.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her. “Actually, I’m taking on this case pro bono. So, no, Pastor Dan wouldn’t be able to afford my normal hourly rate. Not even close.”

  “Really?” Now wasn’t that interesting. Why would she have taken this case? He knew big firm lawyers took on pro bono cases, but she seemed to be particularly invested. Was she trying to get her time in the media spotlight to further her career at the firm? That was probably the most likely option.

  She didn’t say anything else and walked over to the defense table to wait for her client to be brought in by the deputy. He opened up his briefcase and pulled out his normal essentials and put them on the table. Once the charges were presented and Dan entered his
plea, then they’d discuss bail. He’d just make a few points about why the bail should be set at a higher rate than the defense would request and then have a back and forth.

  He watched as the uniformed officer led Pastor Dan Light in handcuffs to the defense table. Taking a moment, he looked at the man. Lean, probably standing about five ten, with dark hair slightly graying on the temples. Dan certainly didn’t look like a hardened criminal, but he’d been a prosecutor long enough to know that you couldn’t judge someone based on their appearance. That was even truer when dealing with white collar crime. When you were in a position of power like a pastor, you had a fiduciary duty to the people giving money to your church.

  The judge presiding over the hearing today was Judge Randy Matthews, and Tony was quite familiar with him. Matthews wasn’t exactly known as being tough on crime, but he wasn’t a lightweight either.

  As a prosecutor, it was Tony’s job to know everything about every judge. Because even though most of his big cases ultimately went before a jury, the judge still had ultimate control over the courtroom.

  “All rise,” the tall bailiff said with a loud voice.

  Judge Matthews walked into the courtroom. He was known to be a fitness guru and looked closer to forty, even though he was in his fifties.

  “Everyone can be seated.” Judge Matthews looked at Olivia first and then at him. His big dark eyes were serious. “Today we have an arraignment and bail hearing for Dan Light.”

  “Your Honor.” Olivia stood up. “I’m Olivia Murray from the law firm of Brown, Carter, and Reed. I’m here representing Mr. Light, and I filed the motion for an expedited hearing today. I’d like to officially enter my notice of appearance on the defendant’s behalf.”

  “Very well, Ms. Murray. You’ve discussed the criminal charges with your client, correct?”

  “I have, Your Honor.”

  “Then let’s get started. Mr. Light, the charges against you are embezzlement, fraud, and tax evasion. Mr. Light, do you understand the charges against you?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “And how do you plead?”