Behind Closed Doors

by Sherri Hayes

  I’m not running.

  Paul and her attorney flanked her on either side while Chris stood at her back as they walked past the Carters to the courtroom entrance. After a cursory search of her purse and Mr. Frederick’s briefcase, they walked in.

  The courtroom wasn’t huge. A massive wooden bench stood at the front of the room, dwarfing every other piece of furniture. In front of that were two tables, each with three chairs. Behind the tables were four rows of chairs. Court was in session, so they took seats on the back row to wait their turn.

  Judge Olivia Connor sat erect in her plush leather chair as she listened to the arguments in the case before her. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face in a tight bun, giving the impression that she was all business.

  Her ruling was swift, and from what Elizabeth could gather, fair. It gave her hope that this judge wouldn’t be swayed by the status of the Carters.

  “Carter verses Carter?” The bailiff announced.

  She and Mr. Frederick made their way to the table. Seconds later, Mr. and Mrs. Carter walked into the courtroom with Shawn Haines, a senior partner in Jared’s old firm. She was acquainted with the man and knew he was good. He rarely lost a case because he was willing to do just about anything to win.

  She turned worried eyes to her lawyer, but he just patted her arm and gave her an encouraging smile. It didn’t settle her nerves.

  The judge waited until both parties were seated before looking down at the folder in front of her. “John and Abigail Carter?” she asked, looking over at her in-laws.

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  She nodded and turned her attention to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Carter?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, but it’s Marshall now.”

  Abigail started to protest, drawing the attention of the court, but Shawn placed his hand on her arm, and she quieted down.

  “Is Marshall your legal name now?” the judge asked.

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  Mr. Frederick shifted through the papers in front of him and stood. “I have the decree right here.”

  The bailiff took the document and handed it to the judge. She looked it over and made a note. “Very well, then. Everything looks to be in order. Mr. Haines would you like to present your client’s case against Ms. Marshall?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  It took every ounce of discipline she had in her not to jump out of her chair and defend herself as Shawn presented “the facts.” He painted her as a money-hungry gold digger, but the biggest blow came at the end when he said, “And in a moment of rage, Ms. Marshall attacked her husband with a glass vase, killing him. The Carters are only asking that the woman who murdered their son not benefit from his death. They are asking that all his property and monetary assets be returned to them.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Haines.” The judge turned to her table. “Mr. Frederick?”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.” Mr. Frederick pulled out a thick folder and gave it to the bailiff. The judge opened the folder and skimmed its contents. “If you look at page three, you’ll see that the doctors confirmed Ms. Marshall had fresh defensive wounds. There was also evidence of older wounds. The D.A. concluded it was self-defense and did not press charges.”

  “Mr. Haines do you have anything to add to the evidence Mr. Frederick has presented?”

  “Jared Carter was not a violent man, Your Honor.”

  “Mr. Haines, I asked if you had any additional evidence, not your opinion.”

  “Then no, Your Honor.”

  “We will recess for lunch and resume at one o’clock.”

  As soon as Judge Connor was out of sight, Abigail came after her. “You worthless piece of low-rent trash. I begged Jared not to marry you, but he wouldn’t listen. You blinded him. Made him think you were a proper lady, worthy to be by his side, but you never were. You could never hold a candle to my boy!”

  John Carter stood behind Abigail, holding her back as best he could while the two lawyers stood in the middle.

  Chris and Paul appeared out of nowhere. “Mr. Frederick, why don’t you, Chris, and Elizabeth go ahead? I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  She let her attorney lead and tried to ignore the hateful things Abigail was shouting at her. It wasn’t until they were in the hall that she breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to collapse in Chris’s arms, but she knew she couldn’t. Not here.

  “I need to make a call. If you want to freshen up, Ms. Marshall, the restrooms are right over there,” Mr. Frederick said, pointing across the hall.

  She glanced over at Chris and then to her attorney. “Yes. Thank you.”

  “I’ll be right here,” Chris said.

  She walked the short distance down the sleek hallway to the women’s restroom. Everything in there was just as modern looking as the rest of the building. Setting her purse on the counter, she found her brush to tame some hairs that had decided to rebel.

  “Are you okay?” a familiar voice said.

  She turned and smiled. “Stephanie! Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “Good,” Stephanie said, surprising Elizabeth by pulling her into a hug. “Do you have lunch plans?” Stephanie asked. “I was hoping we could grab something.”

  “I don’t know,” she said thinking of Chris and Paul. She couldn’t just leave them, and she got the distinct impression from Chris that he didn’t really like being around Stephanie.

  “Come on. The restaurant is just around the corner, and it will get your mind off this whole business for an hour.”

  “Okay.” She sighed. “Give me a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  She went back into the hall expecting to find Chris. When she didn’t, she peeked into the courtroom, looking for Paul. What she didn’t expect was to find him lying on the floor rubbing his jaw and smiling while guards surrounded Abigail and moved as a group to escort the woman out with her husband and lawyer trailing after her.

  Chris was helping his brother up. “Hey,” Paul said, seeing her first.

  “Hey, yourself. You all right?”

  Paul laughed. “Yeah, I’m good. I think that woman must carry bricks in her purse or something.”

  “She hit you?”

  Just then, Stephanie peeked her head into the courtroom. “Everything okay?”

  Paul said, “Who’s this?”

  “Paul, this is my friend, Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Paul Daniels, Chris’s brother.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Daniels. You’re just as handsome as your brother.”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get a statement from the two of you,” the bailiff said.

  Paul glanced back and forth between the two women. “We won’t be long.”

  Chris hesitated.

  “It’ll be fine. Stephanie wanted to get some lunch anyway,” she said.

  He hesitated. “What restaurant? We’ll meet you there.”

  “Lugi’s. It’s just around the corner. You can’t miss it,” Stephanie said.

  He nodded.

  “Chris, let’s go.” Paul yelled from across the room. He was holding the door open, waiting.

  Reluctantly, Chris reached out and quickly squeezed her hand before turning toward his brother.

  “Come on,” Stephanie said, taking her arm. “I’m starving.”

  After one last look at Chris, she followed Stephanie into the hallway. She could see Mr. Frederick in an intense phone conversation. She knew she should probably say something to him before leaving, but she didn’t want to interrupt him, and Stephanie was already moving her in the opposite direction.

  Instead of taking the elevator, Stephanie led her down a large glass staircase. It gave her the sense of floating since she could see everyone below through the distorted glass.

  When they reached the bottom, Stephanie marched them both out a side door. “I got here a little late,” she said. “There were a few reporters lingering out front, so I thought this way might be best.”

  Elizabeth paused, looking back ov
er her shoulder at the large glass building. The restaurant is right around the corner, she rationalized. It wasn’t as if she was going far, and she had her cell phone on her just in case.

  “You coming?” Stephanie asked, looking back.

  “Yeah,” she said, picking up the pace.

  Jan finally tired of pacing a hole in her living room floor and decided to go out. It wasn’t doing her any good to sit here, waiting like a nervous Nelly. Chris and Elizabeth said they would call when they knew something.

  She pulled into Bartlett’s Drug, walked directly to the one-hour photo, and dropped off her pictures. Chris had been bugging her for the last few years to get a digital camera, but her old one worked just fine, and she didn’t see the need to spend that kind of money on something she could do without.

  Jan thanked the photo tech and walked back to the pharmacy to drop off her prescriptions.

  Gary, the pharmacist, greeted her by name and took the empty bottles. “It’s going to be a good half hour, Jan. We’re a little backed up this morning.”

  “That’s okay, Gary. I’m in no rush.”

  She walked back up to the front of the store and grabbed a shopping cart. She liked Bartlett’s because they stocked a few grocery items as well. When all she needed were a few items, it was sometimes easier just to come here rather than fight the lines at the big stores. Maybe she was showing her age, but she missed the small, locally owned, grocery stores where you knew everyone and they knew you.

  She had just picked up her photos and was flipping through them when someone bumped her cart. She blushed furiously as she came face-to-face with Robert Stephens. Jan may be old, but she wasn’t dead. He was very attractive for his age.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry, detective. I wasn’t looking where I was going.

  He smiled. “Mrs. Weaver. It’s good to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you too. Are you here doing some shopping as well?”

  “Just needed a few things before I head to the station. Are those pictures?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She nodded, eager for an excuse to step a little closer. Jan had been dropping hints all over the place and the good detective just wasn’t getting it.

  She shuffled through the pictures from the barbecue at Marilyn’s, showing him a picture of Chris with all the brothers.

  “Quite the family resemblance, isn’t there? There’s no doubt these four are related,” he said.

  Jan smiled, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere for once. Every other time she’d seen him, it had been all business. “They were a handful growing up. Their mother is a saint.” She laughed.

  When she reached the last picture, she felt a twinge of regret. She didn’t want him to leave. For just these few minutes, she’d forgotten about her anxiety, and she could already feel it creeping back in.

  “Well,” she said, putting the pictures away, “I guess you’ll need get—”

  “Wait.”

  She looked up at him.

  “May I see those photos again?”

  “Sure,” Jan said, handing him the pictures.

  He flipped one over. “These were developed here?”

  “Yes. Is something wrong, Robert?”

  He held up one of the photos. “You see the watermark on the back here?” She nodded. “The pictures left on Ms. Marshall’s car have the exact same watermark. I’ve been checking with every photo place between here and Dayton trying to find a match.”

  “So whoever was stalking Elizabeth and Trent had the pictures developed here?”

  “I need to find a manager.”

  Jan followed him as he strode to the front desk.

  When the manager emerged, he flashed his badge and the picture. “Do all your pictures have this watermark?”

  “Yes, sir, they do. Is there a problem?”

  “How long do you keep your security tapes?”

  “The hard copies are kept here at the store for a month, and then we sent them to be archived and then to storage. Why?”

  “I think I’m going to need to see those tapes.”

  It was a quarter to one, and Chris was worried. Okay, he was beyond worried. Something just felt off. He’d already given his statement, and was now waiting on Paul to finish giving his. Things were taking much longer than he’d thought they would. He had a death grip on his cell phone as he checked the clock once again. Only a minute had passed since the last time. Maybe it was because Elizabeth wasn’t there where he could see her, touch her. No matter what it was, something just felt wrong.

  He was just about to dial her cell when his phone rang. “Elizabeth?”

  “No. It’s Detective Stephens. I’m guessing she’s not with you.”

  “No.”

  “I thought you were going to court with her today.”

  “I did. There was an incident with Abigail Carter and Paul, and I had to stay behind to file statements. I was hoping we’d be done by now.”

  “You need to find her.’

  Chris stayed on the phone while went to find Paul. “What did you find out?”

  “Stephanie Manning’s the one who’s been stalking her.”

  “Her friend, Stephanie?” Chris said, halting in his tracks just before the door.

  “Yes,” he said. “We got lucky. She had those pictures developed at a drugstore near your house. They have her on tape, dropping off and picking up the pictures on the night in question. She’s our girl.”

  Chris’s stomach churned. Elizabeth considered Stephanie a friend so she wouldn’t be on her guard. “Elizabeth’s having lunch with her right now.” He said and pushed his way through the closed door that would lead him to his brother.

  At his entrance, Paul looked up and stopped mid-sentence, abandoning his statement. “What is it?

  “I’ll alert the Columbus PD,” Detective Stephens said. “Do you know where they were going?”

  “Lugi’s. Stephanie said it was nearby.”

  “I’ll see if they can send a patrolman. They can at least pick her up and hold her for questioning.”

  Chris was already on his way out, knowing that Paul would follow. He was halfway to the elevator when he asked, “Anything else?”

  “If you happen to find Mrs. Manning first, don’t let her know you’re on to her. We don’t know what she’s capable of.”

  “Where is this place?” Elizabeth asked as they turned left down an alley.

  “Not too much farther. It’s this little out-of-the-way place. Not too many people know about it yet, which is perfect. The food’s great, and the atmosphere is to die for,” Stephanie said.

  It was the middle of the day so there was plenty of light in the alley, but other than the two of them, it was completely deserted, which seemed odd to her.

  Stephanie stopped so abruptly Elizabeth ran into her back. “Oh. Sorry.”

  “No harm done.” Stephanie smiled, straightening her suit jacket. “You ready?”

  She looked at the door in front of them. There were no signs indicating a restaurant or commercial venture of any kind. “Here?”

  Stephanie nodded. “This is the back entrance, of course. I figured it would be better for you to keep a low profile today. Plus, I know the owners, so it won’t be a problem.” With a flourish, Stephanie opened the metal door. “After you.”

  She cautiously took a step inside. There was enough light to see, but just barely. To her right was a concrete staircase that seemed to go on forever. In front of her there was a short hall that ended at what looked to be a freight elevator. She didn’t see the entrance, back or front, to a restaurant.

  “Where—”

  She felt a sharp pain as something hit the back of her head, and then nothing as her world went black.

  Slowly, Elizabeth began to register the sounds around her again. There wasn’t much, just the mild hum of electricity. She tried to open her eyes, but the second the light hit them, she was in incredible pain.

  Where am I?

  “Welcome back.”
>
  “Stephanie?”

  She laughed. “Who else would it be?”

  Elizabeth tried to sit up, but that was then she realized her hands were tied behind her back. She could feel something hard and cold digging into her wrists. She took her time sitting up and propping herself against the hard wall. Just as slowly, she tested her eyes again. The sun was bright. There were windows everywhere with a magnificent view over the city. A familiar view.

  She suddenly realized where they were—Jared’s downtown apartment. His firm was right across the street. But why were they here?

  “I thought you were my friend. Why are you doing this? Did the Carters—”

  Stephanie slapped her hard across the face, and her head whipped around with the force of the blow. It was mild compared to what she’d experienced with Jared, but he’d rarely gone for her face. He tended to stick to the areas that were easily covered by clothing.

  She felt cold inside. This was someone she trusted. The friend who’d stuck by her when everyone else had turned their backs. Jared had lost all but her outward loyalty long before she’d left him. Stephanie’s betrayal hit her harder than anything Jared could have ever done to her.

  Emptiness settled in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. Her former friend walked across the room, ignoring her. She noticed the place was still exactly the same as she remembered it. When she’d moved to Springfield, she’d handed it over to a property management company here in town. She still owned the place, but they were to lease it for her and take care of any maintenance. From the looks of things, no one had moved in yet.

  She also realized that meant no one was likely to find them. Chris and Paul thought they were at the restaurant. It was possible they wouldn’t finish at the courthouse in time to come looking for her, and wouldn’t realize something was wrong until she didn’t show up again at one.

  Looking around, she didn’t see anything that could really help her. The minimal furnishings and sleek modern design Jared favored didn’t leave many options she could use to escape.