When he arrived, the fact that Hannah was not the only one being held in that place did nothing to soothe Tim's feelings when the name McLaughlin didn't ring a bell and get instant service.
"I'm her lawyer and I want to see her NOW!"
The big patrolman whose uniform Tim had grabbed with both hands didn't flinch. He looked down at him like Tim was a kindergartener run amok.
"Give me her name, when she came in and what she's charged with." He was carefully removing Tim's fingers from his shirt. "How about something to go on, for crying out loud?"
"You mean you're so full of murderers, you don't recall the name? Or is it just that an unknown woman has no importance in your eyes? I'm Tim Carpenter, the Pine County, Tennessee Judge, and I can assure you, you are definitely going to remember MY name!"
"Real Perry Mason and John Grisham rolled into one, are you?" The big man eyed him.
Tim lost it, he lunged at the big man but a foot tripped him. Tim went sprawling, landing on the hard floor. The breath and temper got knocked out of him at the same time.
A man in a suit reached down to help him up. Tim had just time enough to admire the Italian loafers the man wore as he struggled to his feet.
"Sorry about your little accident." The man who owned the loafers smiled at Tim. "People get so excited when they come in here, I guess we should put a mat there. I'm Captain Dubois. Are you all right? And how can I help you if you're not?"
"Yes, I'm all right. I'm here to see Hannah McLaughlin. She's being held here with three other women. They're accused of murder."
"Officer," Dubois spoke to a uniformed patrolman who had stopped to listen to their conversation. "Bring Miss McLaughlin to my office."
Tim took a breath as the policeman left, controlling his voice. "Thank you, Mr. ah—Dubois, is it?"
"Dubois, yes. Captain Daniel H. Dubois."
"I'm sorry about the scene just now, I just can't believe Hannah is here in this place and accused of murder. I've been driving most of the night to get here."
"Where are you from?"
"Maryvale, Tennessee in Pine County. That's where Hannah is from as well. My name is Tim Carpenter and my manners are usually a little better. I'll apologize to your man on the way out."
"That won't be necessary," Dubois smiled. "And I am familiar with the case against Miss McLaughlin and her friends. We are working on clearing up this case. Miss McLaughlin is all right and will be with us in just a few minutes. I'm going to give you a copy of the police report to read." His eyes sought Tim's. "We had no alternative but to arrest her and her friends."
Tim didn't comment. They were soon seated in the Captain's office. He took more papers from a file and handed them to Tim.
Tim had just enough time to read the report and give Dubois a quick glance of shock tempered with understanding when the door opened.
When Tim looked up Hannah stood there in her prison garb, looking like her world had ended. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw Tim. She put both hands on her cheeks as sudden tears ran down.
Tears filled Tim's eyes too. He went to her and took her in his arms. He held Hannah fast, patting her back and comforting her as she sobbed, holding her safe in his arms.
Neither of them spoke. Captain Dubois left the office and closed the door softly behind him.
Tim held Hannah as if afraid she'd break or pull away from him as he found his tongue. "It's all right, darling. It's going to be straightened out. Captain Dubois said they are working on it. It will be straightened out. Jo Beth called me. Why didn't you call me?"
"Oh, Tim. I didn't want you to know. I just couldn't face you."
"We'll go into that later. You should have called me soon as this happened. But, you're all right. That's the main thing. And they're getting this all straightened out. That man who just left said so and he acts like he believes me, that this is a horrible mistake." He kissed her forehead. "That it's a dumb fool thing to think Hannah McLaughlin is capable of murder."
He kissed her cheek. "Jo Beth said you and your friends went to rescue some woman who was being attacked? When did all this happen?"
"It happened Tuesday night, after the Mardi Gras parade. Oh, Tim, I'm sorry I didn't have the nerve to call you, but I'm so glad you're here."
He gave her his handkerchief and put his arms back around her making her feel safe for the first time since she'd been there.
They leaned against Dubois's desk, Tim still holding Hannah as she told him all of what had happened from the time they heard the murder victim's scream for help.
"No one even thought of anything but that someone was in trouble when we heard the woman scream." Hannah shook her head. "I know I did some really foolish things. But we, all of us, were just really in shock. Not thinking straight. And then the police came, and that poor woman was dead."
Tears rolled down Hannah's cheeks again. "Then the attacker, he ran off when we heard the police sirens, and we could see how bad it looked for us."
Tim still held her loosely and rested his cheek on her head briefly. "I came as soon as I heard. Jo Beth was as shocked as I was. That man who just left, Captain Dubois, said this is going to get straightened out and soon and somehow I believe him. I'm sure he's really trying to help us."
"Straightened out? But what did he mean, did he tell you what they were doing to try and get this straightened out? Did he say there was anything we could do? I guess there's not, I just hope they are working on it if he said they were."
Hannah dashed tears from her eyes with the damp handkerchief. "No one's said anything to me. Or I guess, not to Gina or Flora either. We haven't been able to even see each other since they brought us in here."
"I think that's just the routine, not because they really think you're dangerous." Tim touched the side of her lips, trying to make her smile. She kissed his finger and thought a minute.
"If they're trying to help us I sure didn't know it. I haven't seen any signs of it. They did take my statement, though. So, at least I got to tell them what happened. Surely the others did too." She gave him a worried look.
"I'm sure we all said the same thing, Tim. About what happened, I mean. Surely, the fact that we all saw the murderer and recognized him. That should be worth something? You are a lawyer, what do you think?"
Tim nodded. "Of course all those things count, as you call it. And I don't know much about police work except what Cas Larkin tells me sometimes, but there are lots of things they could be doing. And from what he said, they are. But you can't blame the policemen. Captain Dubois let me read the police report. It looks open and shut, with no mention of anyone else, only you and your friends were there at the scene. When they picked you up, Dubois said they had no choice but to bring you in. The police report said in black and white there was nobody there but you and your friends and the victim. It described the crime as a possible mugging with robbery as the motive. It also said one of the arresting officers saw you drop the murder weapon."
Hannah nodded, tears threatening again as she thought back. "Tim, I was so shocked, not wanting to believe what happened, I didn't know what I was doing when I picked up that awful knife. It was a terrible looking thing. It looked like something a pirate would have, all bloody." She shivered. "With—with that poor woman's blood. But they said it was a sugar cane machete."
Hannah drew a shuddering breath. "We had seen him with that knife at his belt and Flora's friend, Didi told us it was a sugar cane machete."
"Yes, it must have been a scary looking thing. But they have evidence now that the man you saw, the murderer was there. And there was a dog that bit him."
"Oh! They found Jake?" Hannah's face lit up. "At least we think it was Jake. They found the dog?"
"Was that his name? Jake? Dubois didn't say, just said a dog bit him. But yes, evidently they know about the dog. Anyway, they know you only tried to help when you saw the woman being attacked. You're not a murderer. How could anyone believe such a thing?"
He smiled d
own at her and softly kissed her lips. "I wouldn't be proposing to a cold blooded killer, now would I?"
Hannah didn't answer and Tim's eyes sparkled with sudden, unshed tears as his arms tightened around her. She laid her head on his chest, he held her close. "Will you marry me, Hannah?"
"Oh, Tim. I—I can't."
"Can't what?" He kissed the top of her head.
"Can't marry you."
Tim took a few quiet breaths. "Can't or won't." She felt Tim stiffen, still holding her close.
"You don't care for me? I thought we'd got our troubles worked out, sweetheart. And I know you care for me. I know, you hear me? I love you and I know you love me, and I'm not going to take no for an answer."
"Oh, Tim. It's not you. You're wonderful. And I do love you. But I'm the problem here. I'm—I'm…"
Hannah's eyes filled with tears and misery again.
"You're what?"
"I, well, Cas calls it psychic. I don't call it that or anything else, but I see things sometimes. Things nobody else sees. It's not normal. Oh, Tim, I don't know how to explain it."
"You see things? What kind of things?"
Hannah didn't answer and Tim's brows knit together in a frown. "Can you give me an example? Here, use this."
Hannah took back the handkerchief he picked up from the desk. "Yes. I can think of one. You remember when Cas got run off the road and broke his arm last year? Or was it two years now?"
"Closer to two. But what about it?"
"I saw it happen, Tim."
"You saw him run off the road? You were there?"
"No. I was at home." She spoke slowly, stressing her words. "But I saw it, Tim. I saw him on the road and then there was this car behind him. He was run off the road deliberately by that car behind him. It wasn't an accident, and I saw that. I saw the whole thing happen."
Tim didn't speak, thinking back to the time of the accident.
"I'm the one who called Rhodes," Hannah continued. "To tell him Cas had been hit and was knocked off the road. I told him where he was and Rhodes went after him and got him to the hospital."
Tim shook his head, arms still loosely around her. A brief smile preceded another kiss on Hannah's forehead.
"And you think this is a problem? Hannah, you should have a medal. If you hadn't seen it, as you call it, Cas could have suffered a lot worse if he hadn't been found so quickly."
Tim's smile broadened and made the room seem brighter. "How about adding me to your list of people to take care of now?"
"Oh, Tim." Hannah sighed helplessly. She shook her head. "You don't understand. I can't. I can't do that either."
"Can't again. What do you mean?"
"This psychic or vision thing, it's a thing I don't have any control over. I just sometimes do see things, but I can't just decide I want to see something, it doesn't work that way. I guess sometimes it might help someone, but I have no control over it."
She shrugged, sighing. "I guess I'm just a freak." Hannah hung her head. "I keep it a secret so people won't think I'm a witch or something. The few people who know about it think I am a witch or maybe something vile and abnormal."
"Hannah McLaughlin," Tim held her close, both arms tight around her again. He kissed her lips, then her forehead. He raised her face to his.
"I love you. You're not a freak, nor a witch or anything vile. You're a beautiful, caring, sweet woman. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with beginning right now. So tell me you'll marry me?"
For a frightening second, Tim waited. "Hannah, as freaks go, this seeing things is just NOTHING! Stop worrying about it."
He smiled at her, amused now. "Anne Bolen was a freak; they said she was some kind of witch too. Abnormal. She even had six fingers! But a King loved her."
"Humph! He loved a lot of others too. And he had her beheaded!" Hannah quickly pointed out.
Tim laughed. "Hannah, I don't think that had anything to do with the six fingers on each hand or her being a witch. Forget about that. Just tell me you will marry me?"
She had backed away, clearly struggling with her indecision and her heart's desire. Tim reached for her, pulling her back to him and held her against him, his warmth comforting her, his arms possessing her, holding her safe. She raised her tear-streaked face to him and he kissed her as if she were the only woman in the world.
"I love you, Hannah. We'll have a wonderful life together. There's nothing to be afraid of." He raised her hand and kissed it. "Please say you will marry me?"
"All right. YES! I will!" Hannah's new tears were tears of happiness.
Chapter 34
Captain Dubois knocked softly before opening his office door. He took in the scene and smiled at Tim's big grin. "I take it you've had some good news for a change," he teased the Pine County Judge.
Tim held onto Hannah's hand and she blushed, wiping away her tears that had changed to tears of happiness with Tim's handkerchief.
"How are the others doing? Gina and the others? Is there anything I can do or get for them? Any way I can hurry this up?" Tim wanted action.
"Have a seat," Dubois gestured Hannah to the guest chair and sat down behind his desk. Tim perched on the corner of the desk by Hannah.
"We're at a point in the investigation where we might as well wait as go through all the paperwork of getting any of them released to your custody. So please don't ask me about that, Mr. Judge of Pine County, Tennessee."
"It's one of the things spinning around in my mind, all right." Tim admitted. "What do you suggest, and are you sure there's nothing I can do for them?"
"I'm sure." Dubois played with a pen in his mug full of pens and general helpful junk, tossing back a small staple remover before he spoke.
"Everything is about wrapped up. There is a bit of paperwork about some of the lab work and a couple of small things. We're also getting a statement from the owner of the dog so the case will be complete."
"Didi Martine?" Hannah asked.
"Yes. That's the name." He looked at Tim. "She's a friend of one of the suspects, Flora Keeper. She's a New Orleans native and the dog that bit the killer belonged to her."
"Dog?" Tim looked at Hannah.
"Yes," Dubois answered. "When the women went to rescue the victim, they were losing the fight when this dog attacked the man who had the sugar cane machete."
"The knife Hannah picked up?"
"Yes. What we had to have was proof this murderer had even been there. No one saw him but Hannah and her friends. He was gone when the police got there and it was a bloody scene. They only found the three women with the slashed and dead body of the woman who was attacked. She'd been slashed to death with the knife the officer saw Hannah drop."
Tim cringed, sympathy for Hannah showing in his glance at her as Dubois described the scene.
"Anyway, the Crime Scene people have now found blood that matched the accused killer's DNA at the crime scene; all three of the women saw and testified against the man now at the hospital as the killer; and the cast of the dog's teeth matched the bite on the man's leg. We've got all the evidence and statements, even from the owner of the dog in this particular case. We're also doing a search on the fellow's MO to see if he could be the perpetrator of similar unsolved crimes, but that can be continued after all this is done and this case is closed."
"He, the killer is at the hospital?" Hannah asked. "What happened to him?"
"That was a bit of luck for us. He was hurt at his work place. He worked at an alligator farm and an alligator, a big one, smacked him with its tail. He had a few other injuries too. Not to mention the dog bite."
Dubois smiled at Hannah. "But he's in a hospital bed with a guard and he's not going anywhere." He sobered, looking at Tim. "We've got him and the evidence we need."
"Then there's nothing I can do until you let me know?"
Hannah touched Tim's hand. "It's all right. I'm just glad to have this all over. And this Jack or whatever his name is, can't hurt anyone else. Another half day or so." her glanc
e got a nod from Dubois. "Won't hurt."
Tim stood away from the desk. "Hannah, I hate to go and leave you in this place. But one of the things I've got to do is phone Cas Larkin and tell him we've got this straightened out."
"Cas Larkin?" Hannah's hands flew to her cheeks. "He knows about this? Oh, everyone in Maryvale will know I'm in jail!"
"No, no. You know Cas better than that. It's just that I didn't tell him much because I had no idea what was happening down here. Jo Beth called and told me and I left him a message on his voice mail."
"Oh! On his voice mail?" Hannah was horrified.
"Hannah, calm down. I would have had Muriel call for me later but she disappeared."
"You mean she's still not back? She really disappeared?"
"No, not disappeared as in kidnapped or absconded. She's just off on sick leave or something right now."
"Sick leave or something right now." Hannah's worry lines deepened. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I guess it means I can't explain it right now. Just don't worry about it. I'm going to call Cas and tell him we've got this taken care of and you're all right."
Hannah stood thinking over all he had told her.
"Give me your number where you're staying. This won't take long." Dubois pushed a note pad across the desk toward Tim.
As Tim wrote the number for Dubois Hannah said timidly as if not believing she was really going to leave this place, "Could I please see Gina and Flora and tell them about this? Or do they already know?"
"They know some of it and will be told the rest shortly." Dubois said. "Wait a minute."
Dubois got up and left, closing the door behind him. Hannah got up too and stood with Tim when Dubois came back.
"They will be here in a minute, and that's what you'll have right now. About a minute." Dubois smiled at Hannah. "I thought this one minute would be better than more paper work."
The Mardi Gras Murder Page 18