Sweet Dreams Boxed Set
Page 120
He jumped out of the car and met her halfway. She was wearing a backpack and her hands were full. “Where did you run off to?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Someone could have seen you.”
“I’m wearing sunglasses and a hat. Nobody gave me a second look. Here, I brought you a coffee and a muffin.”
He took what she offered, but he wasn’t happy about it.
“You’ll never believe what I found out,” she went on happily.
“Listen,” Jason said, cutting her off. “I appreciate the coffee and the muffin, but I don’t think you understand the risk you’ve taken on my behalf. I had no idea you had left the vehicle. If someone had seen you and followed you back here, it would all be over. No second chance for me. I’d be on my way back to prison. Only this time things would be different. Lockdown. Isolation. No more human contact. Ever.”
“I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
He walked back to the car, and she followed.
Jason hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he swallowed the first bite of muffin once they were back inside the car. The coffee was good and hot, warming his insides. He looked over at Angela, but she was staring out the window again. “I didn’t mean to jump on you. I’m sorry.”
“No big deal.”
“No. I was wrong.”
“It’s okay. You’re right. Both of our faces have been all over the news. It was a stupid move. I should have at least told you where I was going.”
“For a minute there,” Jason admitted, “when I saw that you were gone, I thought you’d changed your mind.”
She turned to him then. “About getting involved?”
“Yeah.”
“You thought I left?”
“I knew it was a possibility.”
She waved a hand through the air. “I couldn’t just walk off and abandon you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing. I never should have dragged you into this in the first place.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Sure, kidnapping me wasn’t your best move, but—”
“I doubt you would have helped me out if I had asked nicely.”
“No, of course not. But now that I know you, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do everything I could to help.”
“It’s been a long journey,” he said. “I do wonder how you can be so sure about my innocence when nobody else believed in me.”
“Your mother and your sister are behind you.”
“My mother, yes. Sis, not so sure. It’s always been clear to me that she has her doubts.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I have an inkling of how that feels. In med school I was accused of cheating on my exams. I had to fill out endless forms and talk to a panel of professors. It was a long, humiliating process.”
“What happened?”
“The guy sitting next to me during the exams was the cheater. I dropped out after that. Not just because of what happened, but because I couldn’t afford the tuition. Anyhow, there was one professor on the panel who believed in me from day one and he told me so. He had the same evidence as everyone else. Sometimes a person just needs to go with their gut. I know that sounds foolish, but that’s what I’m doing.”
“Well, I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
“You haven’t heard the best part,” she went on. “I have proof that the key witness in your murder trial, Stephanie Carr, lied.”
His gaze locked on hers. “What are you talking about?”
Angela pulled out her computer and powered it on. “Don’t touch anything because I won’t be able to pull the pages up again without WiFi, but look at this.”
“What is it?”
“Stephanie Carr has been blogging for years. Nine years to be exact.”
“What sort of blog?”
“She used to write about the life of a teenager, never having enough money to do anything, living with her parents, the struggles of finding a decent job, but the past five years have mostly been about dating.”
He waited for her to continue on.
“Of course, I spent the morning focusing on the months before and after the trial. Six months after your trial ended, she was able to move out of her parent’s house and into an apartment of her own.”
“Maybe she snagged her dream job.”
“She’s a secretary for a law firm. It could be her dream job, but there’s no way she makes enough money to afford expensive cars and live in a luxury apartment.”
“A large inheritance?”
“I can’t say that didn’t cross my mind,” Angela told him, “but all of her grandparents are living.” Angela clicked on another tab. A picture of Stephanie Carr in a brand new Lexus filled the screen. “A few months after moving out of her parent’s house, she was driving this little beauty.”
“It looks bad,” Jason agreed, “but it’s still not proof.”
“Read the third comment under the post about her new car.”
The comment read: Stephanie, you need to pick me up in that car and take me back to Freddie’s Bar & Grill. It’s been a while. Let’s raise hell!
Jason raised an eyebrow. “What am I missing?”
Angela clicked on another page she had opened earlier. “This is the site for the girl who commented on Stephanie’s page.”
“Is she a blogger, too?”
“Nope. She’s just a party girl. Most of her pictures are of her and her friends at different clubs, dancing and having a good time. This is the picture that stood out.”
She turned the laptop so Jason could take a closer look.
The picture filled the screen. Five girls, all in their early twenties, stood at the bar with raised shot glasses. He read the caption: Partying it up at Freddie’s with my friend, Stephanie!
“Look at the date showing when the picture was taken.”
“Same date that Dirk was killed,” Jason added.
“That’s correct. What time were you and Dirk talking in his office?”
He had replayed the night over in his head so many times, every movement he’d made that day was etched into his mind. “Sometime between eight and eight-thirty.”
“That’s also correct.”
“Is this some sort of test?”
“No. Just making sure we’re on the same page.” She gestured at the computer screen. “Now look at the picture of the girls again and this time look at the wall clock in the background.”
“Eight-fifteen,” he said.
“That’s right. And it gets better. Freddie’s is thirty minutes away from your office. There is no way Stephanie could have been two places at once.”
“Are you sure about this?”
She handed him the computer. “Look for yourself.”
When he was done, he handed it back to her. He frowned. “I don’t understand why the police didn’t find this.”
“Simple. The picture wasn’t posted until two months ago on what they call Throw Back Thursday.”
“You lost me.”
“Every Thursday people use the hashtag symbol before the words ‘throwbackthursday’ and then they post an old picture of themselves or maybe an old photo of a friend or relative. That’s what Stephanie’s friend was doing here.”
“You’re brilliant.”
She smiled. “No, I’ve just always been good at social media.”
He found it hard to look away.
She angled her head. “What?”
“Nothing. Thank you.”
She pointed at the key in the ignition. “We better go. We need to find a Kinkos or someplace where I can plug in and get copies of everything we’ve found on Stephanie Carr.”
“And then we need to find out where she lives.”
“Carmichael. I have her address.”
“Okay, then. After we have everything we need, let’s head that way. I need to talk to her and see if I can get her to fess up and change her testimony.”
***
After f
inding a FedEx depot on Madison and getting the copies they needed, they located The Village Apartments in Carmichael. The place was upscale. Palm trees and well-maintained lawns. Since they couldn’t get through the gates, they were forced to park on the street. They had been there for less than ten minutes when Jason spotted a pay phone at the gas station across the street. He put on his hat and sunglasses. Before climbing out of the car, he told Angela he was going to give Colin a call.
“We haven’t ruled him out yet. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. We’ve been friends for too long. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He certainly never would have killed Dirk.”
“What if I see Stephanie leave the building?”
“It’s still early. I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Jason headed to the crosswalk and waited for the pedestrian signal to turn green. Brisk air hit his face as he made his way across the street. He inhaled, looked around, then slipped into the booth, inserted some change, and dialed. The moment someone picked up, he said, “It’s me.”
There was a long pause.
“Mom, is that you?” Jason asked.
“So nice of you to call, Brenda.”
It was his sister Tracy. Her voice sounded different—high-pitched and awkward. Law enforcement must have arrived. They were quicker than he’d thought they would be.
“No, they haven’t located Jason yet,” Tracy said, pretending to have a conversation.
“I take it the Feds are there.”
“Yes, that’s right, but we’re holding up okay. It’s stressful having no idea where he is. Mom and I are praying he’ll call sooner rather than later.”
“Tracy. Listen closely. I need you to find my laptop and bring it to me. Mom told me years ago that she was storing everything from my office at her house. Meet me at Dad’s favorite deli. You know where I mean. Two o’clock this afternoon.”
“I will. You take care.”
“Tell mom I love her.” He hung up the phone, and took in a deep breath. They were closing in. He was running out of time. He picked up the receiver again, and inserted more change. A man answered.
“Colin?”
“Yeah. Who’s this?”
“It’s Jason. Are the feds there?”
“Holy shit. I mean, no. They aren’t here, but you’re all over the news. What did you do with the girl? What were you thinking?”
“I had to take her with me. Listen, I don’t have much time.”
“That woman from the morgue is still with you?”
Jason heard a voice in the background. “Who’s that?” It was a woman’s voice. A familiar voice. Jason’s heart dropped to his stomach. “Is that Sophie?”
“We need to talk,” Colin said.
“Yeah, we do. Have the police been to your place?”
“No.”
“I’m meeting my sister at two o’clock. We need to talk and I could use a change of clothes. Do you still live on Sunnyside Court?”
“Yeah, but do you think it’s safe to come here?”
“Probably not, but hiding out in the woods isn’t going to get me the answers I need.”
“Call me after you meet with your sister. I’ll come up with a different meeting place.”
“Thanks.”
“Take care of yourself, Jason. Be careful.”
By the time Jason reached the car, Angela was in the driver’s seat, pulling up next to him. “Get in,” she said through the open window.
The moment he shut the door, she hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot.
“Slow down. We don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.”
“There she is—Stephanie Carr. Up ahead in the white Lexus.”
The woman driving the Lexus was speeding. The light up ahead turned yellow. Angela gunned it. “We can’t lose her.”
By the time the Lexus pulled into a vast parking lot surrounding a tall, brick building, Jason was ready. He jumped out of the car and prevented Stephanie from taking more than two steps toward the building. He also stopped her from reaching inside her purse. “Get back in the car,” he told her. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Oh, my God! Jason Caldwell?”
“Come on. Let’s go.”
The fob inside Stephanie’s purse made it easy to unlock the car. He held the door open and waited for the young woman to slide in behind the wheel before he climbed in, too.
Her eyes were wide, unblinking. “What do you want with me?”
“I want answers.”
“I’m late for work. I’ll be fired.”
“If you thought I was a killer, I would think you’d be more worried about your life than your job.”
Her mouth tightened.
He tossed her purse to the backseat. “Who bribed you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let me remind you. Eight years ago, you were the key witness at my murder trial. Who paid you to say that you saw me and Dirk arguing in his office?”
“You admitted yourself to being in his office.”
“We never argued and I never jumped out of my seat in anger. I didn’t kill the man.”
“Oh…that.”
“Yeah, that. Who paid you to lie?”
“I didn’t lie,” she said. “I would never lie.”
Jason pulled a folded envelope from his pocket, opened it up, and showed her the picture of the Lexus she’d bought six months after the trial.
She shrugged. “What does my car have to do with anything?”
He pulled out another picture. This one was of her and friends at Freddie’s Bar & Grill.
“I’m going to go now,” she said, her voice wavering. “I’m going to call the police.”
“Look closely at the picture, Stephanie. Look at the clock behind the bar. You told the jury you were still at work at 8:15. You couldn’t have seen me in the office because you weren’t there. You lied. Perjury means jail time.” He slid the pictures back into the envelope and held it up in front of her face. “Go ahead and call the police. It’s your future.”
“What do you want?”
“I need to know who bought you that Lexus. Who paid you to get on that stand and perjure yourself?”
Tears fell all at once. Mascara puddled around her eyes and slid down her cheeks. “I don’t know,” she said. “I never met the person.”
“Let me guess. You talked to them on the phone and they used a voice synthesizer to disguise their voice.”
“How did you know?”
“You’re not the only one who was bribed.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I’m sorry. I really am. I needed the money.”
“I’m sure you did.”
Her eyes were pleading, her voice shaky. “You can’t tell anyone about this.”
He chuckled at that.
“No. I’m serious. The voice…the person who called said ‘dead men tell no tales’ and that if I ever talked they would kill me just like they killed Dirk Taylor.”
Chapter Eleven
Dominic’s Italian Market & Deli in Granite Bay was dimly lit, just as he remembered. Jason found a table in the back corner of the restaurant facing the main entrance so he could see who came and went. He hadn’t been to the deli, let alone the city of Granite Bay, since he was twelve. With a shaved head and sunglasses, no way would anyone recognize him.
It was ten minutes past two. His sister was late.
He went ahead and ordered a coke.
Angela was parked within sight of the deli, somewhere between the post office and the gym. If he thought he was being followed or in any sort of trouble, he was to walk outside and signal her by scratching his throat.
When the door opened and a woman entered, he had to take a second look. It took him a moment to recognize his sister since it had been two years since he’d seen her last. She’d cut her hair and lost a lot of weight.
“You look good, Tracy.”
“Thanks. It’s really good to see you, Jason.” She glanced over her shoulder, then back at him. “You shouldn’t be out in the open like this. What if someone recognizes you?”
He looked toward her leather bag. “Did you bring the computer?”
“I couldn’t find it. I’m living at home right now since all those cops outside make Mom nervous. Anyhow, I was able to check your old room and the garage where some of your stuff is being stored. Mom says there was never a computer in the box Colin brought from your office at work.”
He sighed, rubbing his jaw.
“I’m sorry. I had no other way of letting you know.”
“It’s okay,” Jason told her. “Not your fault. It’s good that you’re here. I want you to tell mom that everything’s going to be fine.”
She pulled her hand away. “I can’t, Jason. I didn’t even tell her where I was going today. I refuse to get Mom’s hopes up.”
“I’m never going back to prison, Tracy. I won’t stop until I find Dirk’s killer.”
Tracy’s head fell forward and her shoulders dipped.
“You know I didn’t kill Dirk.”
When she met his gaze again, her expression was hard to read, but she didn’t say a word.
Her reaction pissed him off.
His own sister made him feel as if he were an annoyance, doing anything he could to make her life more difficult. “Do you have any idea what it’s like being in prison? For the past eight years, it’s as if I’ve been living on a different planet. I’ve had to learn a new language, traditions, how to fit in and stay alive. It’s been all about survival, which isn’t living at all. The only thing that got me through each day was staying focused on the day I would break out of there. I’m not a murderer and I’m not going back.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.” She sighed. “I guess I always hoped you would be granted parole.”