Evening Hours

by Mary Lynn Baxter

  “I know about reporters,” Cutler was saying, “and what a pain in the ass they can be.”

  “Will you bring me up to date on the investigation?”

  “The crime boys haven’t found much except the weapon, and it was wiped clean.”

  “They’re looking hard at Jessica,” Kaylee responded with a frown. “But I still say she didn’t do it.”

  “We’ll see. I have someone tracking the drugs, along with the perp who sold to one or more of your girls.”

  “I know you’re doing what you can. It’s just taking so long.”

  “That’s the name of this game, sweetheart. Gathering evidence is grunt work—tedious and boring as hell. Nothing like TV portrays it.”

  “In other words, I need to cool my heels and wait.”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  Kaylee sipped on her coffee, then changed the subject. “Tell me about your day in court. Do you have the evidence to convict the priest?”

  “You never know. What I do know is that two controversial cases in a row are not helping my bid for reelection. The media’s still crucifying me because I sent a woman suffering from postpartum to prison.”

  “And you’re setting yourself up for that same kind of bad coverage with the priest.”

  “Exactly. Can’t win for losing, but that’s part of the job.”

  “Before I tell you about a conversation I had today, I’d like to ask about you and Drew.”

  Cutler visibly stiffened. “What about us?”

  “I wish you could patch up your differences.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “But he’s your—”

  Cutler raised his hand and stopped her. “No, he’s not my father. Never say that again. And I’d rather not talk about him at all, if you don’t mind. Remember, we agreed to disagree. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “I don’t want to argue with you.”

  “Nor I with you.”

  She leaned over and gave him a long, hot kiss.

  His eyes darkened and he reached for her. She pulled away. “Not yet.”

  “You’ve become a little tease.”

  She sat down across the room. “I found out who’s been abusing Nicole.”

  “That’s good news. I’ve had Angel working on her background.”

  “You can call him off.”

  “It’s the boyfriend after all, huh?”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay, you’ve got my attention. Who is it?”

  “A judge.”

  Cutler went visibly still. “Did you get a name?”

  “Sure did. The Honorable Judge James Jenkins.”

  Thirty-Eight

  Nah, Cutler thought, the building’s not high enough. If he jumped it wouldn’t kill him, it would just maim him and that wasn’t an alternative. Then he muttered several expletives. He ought to be ashamed of himself for thinking such a morbid thought.

  Granted, he was stressed and stretched to the max, but he was also happier and more content than he’d ever been in his life. Thanks to Kaylee. Who would ever have thought he’d adjust to married life when that had never been on his dance card?

  Although it still stuck in his craw that he’d been bribed into doing something that went against the very fiber of his being, he had no complaints, which absolutely boggled his mind when he thought about it. Such as now.

  Maybe an inner mellowness that had heretofore been totally foreign to him was the glue now holding him together, compliments of Kaylee.

  She was truly one special woman. Despite her handicaps, she never whined or held pity parties. Perhaps she had in the past, but he seriously doubted that. She was strong, kind, genteel and lovely. The list of assets could go on and on.

  Yet she had spunk, too. And she could be as stubborn as hell. When it came to Drew, he considered her stubbornness a minus. But in all fairness to her, Kaylee wasn’t privy to the rest of the story and he could never tell her.

  Still, it concerned him that Drew would eventually cause problems between them, problems that might not be resolvable. He wouldn’t think about that right now. Not until he had the evidence to arrest Drew’s ass, that is.

  When, not if, that happened, he suspected their relationship would really be tested. For now, though, he intended to make the most of their time together and let the chips fall where they may.

  He had lived that way his entire adult life and he saw no reason to change now.

  His phone buzzed. It was his mother. “Hey, it’s good to hear from you.”

  “I’m calling to see if your finger’s broken.”

  Cutler didn’t pretend to misunderstand. Chuckling, he said, “Not the last time I checked.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “So how are you, Mother?”

  “Worried about you.”

  “That’s a waste of time and energy,” he said in a semi-scolding tone.

  “Probably, but that’s what mothers do.”

  He sighed. “I worry about you, too.”

  Silence.

  “Have you had a change of heart about Drew?”

  He heard the hesitancy in her voice and knew how hard it was for her to even speak his name. More than likely she felt violated all over again. And he felt his blood boil all over again. He wished he could lie to her, but he couldn’t. Besides, she’d see right through him. That was another “mother thing.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  Another silence.

  “We need to talk, son.”

  “We’ve already talked.”

  “So we need to talk again.”

  She wasn’t about to cut him any slack. That was her way of doing things, so it was no use arguing. But he had to try, for both their sakes. Continuing to talk about Drew kept the wound festering.

  He dreaded the moment he’d have to tell her he’d arrested Drew. And that moment would come. He just couldn’t pinpoint when.

  “There’s nothing left to say, Mom.”

  “I don’t want what happened to me to poison your life, Cutler. I couldn’t live with that.”

  He curbed his impatience. “Let’s don’t go down that road again, Mother, please. That bastard’s—”

  “Cutler—”

  “Sorry. Look, this is not something we should discuss over the phone.”

  “Then come see me.”

  “I will. As soon as I can. I promise.”

  “I guess I’ll have to be content with that.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “How is Kaylee? I’ve been so distraught over that girl getting murdered.”

  “It’s been tough on her.”

  “Both of your lives have certainly been turned bottom side up. I’m just grateful you have each other.”

  “Me, too, Mom.”

  “I’ll see you soon,” Mary said, following another short silence. “And I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Once the receiver was back in place, Cutler dropped his head in his hands, feeling as if the walls were caving in on him. Then he straightened and mentally pulled himself up by the bootstraps.

  “You rang?”

  Cutler looked up with a start. Angel was standing in the doorway.

  “We got the bastard,” the investigator said with blunt enthusiasm.

  Cutler motioned him in.

  Angel gave Cutler the thumbs-up sign. “Oh, the sweet, sweet taste of victory.”

  “Are you sure you’re not celebrating prematurely? Until Nicole Reed actually testifies, we don’t have the bastard.”

  “Now that we’ve found Andrews and his sister, it’d be nice if she would reinforce the Reed girl.” Angel paused with a grim sigh. “So far, though, Peggy Trent flat refuses.”

  “Think I might change her mind?”

  Angel rubbed the beginnings of a beard. “You want a shot at her?”

  “Not if it won’t do any good.”

  “I don’t know. Andrews says he’s been wor
king on her, but he hasn’t been able to budge her either.”

  Cutler muttered an expletive, then said, “Jenkins is the lowest of scum in my book, and I have a full book. He uses his power to prey on the innocent and the weak.”

  “The vulnerable, as well.”

  Cutler’s mouth stretched into a thin line. “I’m going to take delight in de-nutting that piece of garbage.”

  “Want me to tell Snelling to pick him up?”

  “ASAP.”

  Angel grinned, shooting another thumbs-up. “Consider it done, and with great joy.”

  Cutler answered his grin, but it was short-lived as Detective Sowell stuck his head around the door. “Just thought you’d like to know we’re about to arrest Jessica Riley.”

  Cutler stiffened. “You find something?”

  “Nope. But we’ve had less and gotten a conviction.”

  “Need I point out, Sowell, that you’re not the prosecutor?”

  “Trust me, I’m aware of that.” Sowell nodded toward Angel. “He’s seen what we have. Maybe you’ll take his word for it.”

  “I think we’re good to go, Cutler,” Angel said with an almost guilty look on his face.

  Cutler let an expletive fly, then reached for the phone, his thoughts on Kaylee. He felt it only fair that he give her the heads up.

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  “No, San, I’m not,” Kaylee said with unusual candor, surprising even herself.

  “You sick to your tummy?”

  “How did you know?”

  “You’ve been looking kind of green around the gills lately.”

  Kaylee gave her a look. “In English that means I look like hell.”

  “No, it simply means you look green.”

  “Whatever.”

  “You could go to the doctor,” Sandy said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Has that occurred to you?”

  “I despise doctors.”

  “Considering your history, I can understand that, but—”

  “I should go anyway.”

  “Right.”

  “Rest easy. I have an appointment this afternoon. It’s my nerves. I can tell you that.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Sandy replied, indicating Kaylee should come in and sit down.

  “Let’s go back to my office. That way I don’t have to balance all those folders.”

  Sandy got up immediately and followed Kaylee. Soon they were poring over a stack of new portfolios.

  Finally they looked up and shook their heads simultaneously.

  “Not a promising one in the bunch,” Kaylee said, her mouth turned down.

  “And that’s a shame, too.” Sandy pushed the last of the folders aside.

  “At the moment we don’t have to worry about adding more girls.” Kaylee pinched the bridge of her nose. “Since the jobs aren’t happening.”

  “Hey, lighten up. Things will take a turn for the better soon.”

  “Not until they find out who…who killed Barbie.” Kaylee shuddered, drawing her arms around her. A week after the fact she still couldn’t believe what had happened. The incident had surely impacted her life as much as her accident, only in a different way.

  “I can’t believe it, either,” Sandy said.

  “Am I that easy to read?”

  “Not usually, but Barbie’s center front in my mind, too.”

  “It’s put a dark cloud over this agency and everyone who works here. And I’m not sure the atmosphere will ever be the same.”

  “It probably won’t, but that doesn’t mean things won’t be good again.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Kaylee paused. “Jessica wants to come back to work. I have to decide if I’m going to let her.”

  “I wish I could make that call for you, but I can’t.”

  “I wouldn’t let you even if you could,” Kaylee said. “That’s something only I can do.”

  “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but it still blows my mind to think that one of our girls could kill in cold blood for packets of pills, for crying out loud.” Sandy blew out a breath of frustration.

  “I’m having difficulty with that scenario, too, but then we’ve never been addicted to drugs.”

  “And I wouldn’t have thought any of our girls were either.”

  “I know, San. This whole thing blows my mind, too. I still wake up at night in a cold sweat, much like I did after my accident.”

  Sandy reached over and covered Kaylee’s hand with one of hers. “I hate this for you. Thank God you’ve got Cutler.”

  Kaylee smiled. “He’s still my rock.”

  “You told me he was overseeing the investigation, so has he said anything about where the girls got the drugs?”

  “I don’t think they, meaning the detectives, have tracked down the source yet. I’ll ask for an update this evening.”

  About that time, her cell rang. She smiled and said, “It’s Cutler now.” After answering, she listened, feeling the color slowly recede from her face. When she’d flipped her cell closed, she stared at her assistant.

  “What?” Sandy asked, clearly panicked.

  “Detective Sowell is about to arrest Jessica for Barbie’s murder.”

  The heat was oppressive, so oppressive that Kaylee dreaded stepping outside. She had no choice, however, as she was due at the doctor’s office shortly.

  Good thing, too, she told herself, as her stomach was not in good shape. She hadn’t let on just how bad she felt, because she had just finished having lunch with her daddy and Drew. She’d had the luncheon date for two days and hated to cancel, knowing she would have disappointed them both.

  “Honey, are you all right?” Edgar had asked after they’d walked to the door of the deli.

  “I’m fine, Dad. I’m just tired.”

  “I can understand that,” he said, “considering what you’ve been through.”

  She turned to Drew. “Thanks so much for lunch.”

  “You’re welcome, honey. I just wanted you to know that I’m behind you one hundred percent and that good things will come your way again.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Your uncle Drew will see to that.”

  She hugged him closely, feeling tears prick her eyes. “You’re too good to me.”

  “Not near as good as I’d like to be.”

  Kaylee turned to her daddy and hugged him. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Now, thirty minutes later, she sat in the doctor’s office. He was running behind, which didn’t exactly sit well with her. But now that she was here, she decided to stay, though patience was not her strong suit. Idleness gave her too much time to think. The thought of Jessica in police custody added to her nausea.

  The fact that she’d had lunch with Drew and hadn’t told Cutler didn’t help the situation either. She shouldn’t feel guilty, but for some reason she did. What a mess. She loved both men and couldn’t bear the thought of losing either.

  Suddenly Kaylee lowered her head into her hands, feeling totally overwhelmed. This time in her life would pass, too, she kept telling herself. She had gone through tougher times than this and survived. But she was tired of survival mode. She wanted life to get back on an even keel and stay there.

  People in hell wanted ice water, too, and didn’t get it.

  “Mrs. McFarland, the doctor will see you now.”

  Following a detailed examination and having given what seemed like a quart of her blood, not to mention answering countless questions, Kaylee was finally free to dress and was waiting in the doctor’s office.

  As soon as he walked in a short time later, she smiled and asked, “What’s the verdict, Dr. Hayden? Am I going to live?”

  “With good reason, too.”

  Kaylee didn’t know quite how to take those words and said as much. “That’s a strange thing to say, Richard.”

  “Not if you’re pregnant.”

  Kaylee’s mouth dropped open and the room spun for a second. “Pregnant? That’s impossible.”

  He gave her a w
ide grin. “Oh, it’s more than possible, my dear. It’s a fact. You’re going to have a baby.”

  Thirty-Nine

  D.A. Bungles Case

  The article underneath the headline bluntly accused Cutler of gross negligence in the trial of Cullen Bryant, who was now scheduled to be retried. The writer went on to say that McFarland had refused to consider a witness’s statement when he first presented the case, a witness that the opposing counsel was now confident would exonerate their client. Adding insult to injury was the condemnation of the family, who blamed Cutler for their loved one spending ten years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.

  “Oh, Cutler, how awful.”

  After Kaylee spoke, she stared at her husband from across the breakfast table, her heart hurting for him. When she picked up the paper each day, she always gave the front page a cursory glance. Rarely did she pay attention to detail. This morning, however, the headlines had reached out and slapped her in the face.

  She had considered withholding the paper, but that wouldn’t have been right or fair. Besides, he’d find out about it as soon as he reached the courthouse. Deciding it was better that he air out his frustrations at home with her, she had brought the paper to the table, only to place it on the floor beside her chair.

  She hadn’t handed it to him until they had finished breakfast, followed by several cups of coffee. She had learned that her husband was a bear until he got his caffeine fix for the day.

  Before she’d looked at the headlines, she had considered sharing her news. Last evening he had been so tired, so distracted, she hadn’t wanted to tell him.

  She was determined to make the occasion special, with candlelight, flowers, the whole nine yards. To be honest, she had wanted to hold her news close to her heart for a while longer, until she could come to grips with the phenomenon.

  Kaylee remained in a state of shock, albeit a wonderful state. She was going to have a baby. All the way home yesterday, despite all the present upheaval in her life, she had giggled and pinched herself.

  As to Cutler’s reaction, she had no clue. At times she felt he’d be ecstatic, while at other times she wasn’t so sure.

  Now this—this horrible and upsetting turn of events.