by Marti Green
As Tricia made the call, Tommy watched Clayton and Pincus pull a handcuffed Jessup to his feet and march him back to the police car. After they placed him in the backseat, Tommy leaned in. “I don’t get it. You have a family, a good job, a nice house. Why? Why did you do it?”
Jessup just shrugged, then smiled. “Because it felt so damn good.”
EPILOGUE
Two months later, Dani was back in Atlanta, at the sleek glass-and-concrete Fulton County Probate Court. Jack Osgood was by her side at the petitioner’s table. Both Doris and Amy were seated in the gallery. Harry and Maria Osgood sat at the respondents’ table, along with their attorney, Simon Greeley. They had spent the two months trying to negotiate a settlement. Dani wanted the $1.27 million that should have gone to Jack returned to him. His father began by offering the $100,000 put up as bail. Eventually, he’d offered to pay the $3,000-a-month cost for Jack to stay at Kenny’s Place. That wasn’t nearly enough for Dani. Jack had spent almost his entire adult life incarcerated. He deserved to have money to spend on anything that caught his fancy. Within reason, of course. Finally, having reached an impasse, they were now in court, presenting their arguments to Judge Rosenthal.
It was Dani’s motion, and so she began. “Your Honor, my client, Jack Osgood, spent twenty-two years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. He has now been exonerated and lives in a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. While he was on death row, his mother passed away. Upon her death, his father, who had abandoned the family when Jack was ten years old, swooped in and collected all her assets, despite not being the beneficiary. He justified doing so because he’d never been legally divorced from Jack’s mother. However, the house, which sold for four hundred seventy thousand dollars, was Jack’s mother’s family home and in her name only, and both her IRA and pension named Jack as the sole beneficiary, as did her will. In total, Harry Osgood collected almost one point three million dollars that belonged to his son. We ask the court to order the respondent to return that money to its rightful owner—Jack Osgood. Thank you.”
Greeley stood. “At the time my client settled the estate, his son was expected to be put to death. With no other relatives, his father then would have collected his wife’s assets. His son would not be able to use those assets while in prison and wasn’t expected to ever leave. My client made sure his son was able to buy what he wanted from the prison commissary—he deposited five thousand dollars in that account for Jack to use. He invested the remaining money in the startup of a business and the purchase of a home for his new family. His liquid assets total less than two hundred thousand dollars. At all times, he acted in good faith, and he should not now be punished by being forced to sell his business and home. Thank you.”
Dani shot up from her seat. “Nor should Jack be punished because his father greedily took money that belonged to his son. A father, by the way, who never visited his son in prison, who never even told his son that his mother had died, and who has still not visited his son, even though he’s no longer in prison. Mrs. Osgood made it very clear, in every document, that she wanted her son to inherit her assets, not her absent husband.”
“All right,” Judge Rosenthal said. “I understand the positions. Come back after lunch, and I’ll have my decision for you.”
Dani left the courthouse with Jack, Doris, and Amy and found a luncheonette a block away. The sun shone brightly overhead, and a hint of spring was in the air. After they finished ordering, she said, “I have some news. Russ Jessup entered into a plea agreement yesterday for Alison Grant’s murder. He’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail instead of facing the death penalty, like you did. His sister is going to jail, too, for helping him try to escape. When she gets out, she won’t be able work for the courts again, and she won’t get her pension.”
Osgood clasped his hands together on the table, a solemn look on his face. “What about for Kelly?”
“Alison’s case was the strongest because they had DNA from his bite on her arm. But as part of the plea agreement, he had to confess to Kelly’s murder as well.”
Osgood’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad he’s being punished.”
“Not just him. Jessup’s sister, too.”
“What about the other girls?” Amy asked.
“Well, they’re in different states. They might decide to try him there as well, but they don’t have strong evidence. But don’t worry. He’s never leaving prison. He’ll die there.”
“I have some news, too,” Osgood said as his smile grew bigger. He reached across the table and took Doris’s hand in his. “We’re getting married.”
Dani blinked at him for a mute couple of seconds. This was the last thing she expected, and she wasn’t sure how to react. Jack had no parent in his life. Should she step in and advise him as a mother would? Or step back? She was his attorney, and she’d done her job. In another few hours, it would be over. She glanced at Amy and saw a smile on her face, so she suspected Amy hadn’t cautioned them. The mother in her won out. “Isn’t this a bit fast? You haven’t known each other very long.”
Osgood nodded. “I know. But right away, I knew I liked Doris. And right away, she knew she liked me.”
He had been alone for so very long, locked away from the world. Maybe she was being foolish, Dani thought, expecting him to go through a longer courtship. He’d waited twenty-two years to love someone. To be loved back. “I’m happy for you. Truly. I wish you both the best.”
Two hours later, they were back in the courtroom, settled in their seats. After Judge Rosenthal took the bench, she announced that she would read her decision.
“I’ve reviewed the probate records originally filed with this court, as well as respondent’s financial statements submitted by his counsel. It is the job of this court to ensure that the wishes of a decedent are carried out. In this case, Mrs. Osgood clearly intended that her son be the beneficiary of all her assets, including her home. The fact that he was unable to make use of her assets at the time of her death is irrelevant. That is especially so when she and her husband had been separated for more than twenty-five years, and he had contributed no child support or maintenance during that time. It is unfortunate that the respondent has invested that money in nonliquid assets, but that does not excuse his appropriation of monies that did not belong to him. I hereby rule that respondent is to pay petitioner the sum of one point two seven million dollars, less the five thousand dollars given to petitioner previously, plus interest at the rate of four percent from the date the probate of the estate was closed. So ordered.”
Dani turned to Osgood. “You won, Jack. Your father will have to pay you back your mother’s money.”
“Now I can buy my own house.”
“Yes, Jack. It’s a new start for you. For you and for Doris.”
Rather than heading straight home from LaGuardia airport, Dani stopped at HIPP’s office. She knew Bruce never left the office before seven. She’d been putting off telling him her plans long enough. It was time. Now that she was committed to California, he had to know. She knocked on his door to get his attention, then stepped inside.
“Hi. What’s up?” he asked.
“I need to tell you something. Doug has accepted a position as dean of Stanford Law. We’re moving out there in July.”
Dani saw a startled look on his face. “You’re leaving us?”
“I don’t want to. I’m going to miss HIPP terribly. Doug even offered a commuter marriage, with him flying home every other weekend. But my son reminded me that it’s important to keep the family together.”
“What will you do there?”
“Actually, I’ve already been offered two jobs. Starting an innocence clinic at the law school, and starting an integrity-conviction unit at the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office.”
Bruce leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. Finally, he said, “I have a third option. Continue working for HIPP while you live in Cali
fornia, but work from home. There’s no reason why we can’t keep in touch through teleconferencing. You’re traveling for cases anyway. So, it’s a little longer when you’re flying from the West Coast. And Tommy could still be your investigator. What do you say?”
Dani ran over to Bruce. She bent over to hug him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’d say yes. A thousand times yes.” The weight that she’d carried in her chest for months dissipated, replaced with a suffusion of joy. She’d struggled so long with leaving New York because she knew she had two families—her home family and her work family. Now, she would keep both.
It was after 7:00 p.m. by the time Dani arrived home. Doug and Jonah were seated at the kitchen table, midway through eating their dinner, and Ruth was in her high chair, the bottom half of her face and her hands covered in marinara sauce.
Dani placed the bag she was carrying on the counter, kissed Doug and Jonah on the cheeks, then took a napkin and wiped the sauce off Ruth. When she finished, she smothered her with kisses, as Ruth squealed with delight.
As Dani sat down, Jonah asked, “What’s in the bag?”
“Dessert.” Dani pulled the bowl of pasta over to her plate.
“How did it go?” Doug asked.
“The judge awarded Osgood his full inheritance.”
“Wow. That’s great. Congratulations.”
“I’m happy for him. And guess what? He’s getting married. To that resident he met in the group home.”
A smile crept across Doug’s face. “You’re amazing at what you do. Maybe this is a good time to—”
Dani looked up at him expectantly.
“I know you wanted to wait until everything was put to bed with this case before you made your decision about the job offers—”
“Well—” Dani interrupted.
Doug held up his hand. “Let me finish. After that nightmare with Tricia, it reminded me of how important you all are to me. We’re a family; we need to stay together as a family. And everyone in the family should be happy with where we live. I’ve given this a great deal of thought, and I’ve decided to decline the dean’s position.”
Dani’s jaw dropped. “You haven’t told them yet, have you?”
“No, I wanted to tell you first.”
Dani stood up and wrapped her arms around Doug. “Thank you. That’s one of the nicest things you’ve ever done. But I want you to take the job.”
Dani laughed at the look of confusion on Doug’s face. She walked over to the counter and brought the bag with dessert over to the table. “I stopped at the office on the way home and told Bruce about your job offer. He said I could continue working for HIPP from California.”
“So—you want to move?”
“Yep.” She opened the bag and pulled out a chocolate cake. On it was written, California, here we come.
Doug jumped up and pulled Dani into his arms. Jonah came over and joined their circle, as Ruth waved her arms and legs, saying over and over, “Me, too. Me, too.” Dani took her from the high chair, then included her in the family hug.
“Yeah!” Jonah shouted. “We’re going to have our exploit!”
They all laughed. Even Ruth.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Although the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) is a real organization, the character of Michael Forbes, as president of the ABFO, is fictional, as is his testimony in Justice Delayed. It is true, though, that the subject of bite-mark analysis has been studied in the past several years, and the National Academy of Science, a high-ranking officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Texas Forensic Science Commission have all questioned its scientific underpinnings.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to the people who have helped make this book better, beginning with the members of my creative-writing group, especially Susan Boyd, Linda Dickson, Mike Doyle, Pat Fagan, Millard Johnson, Larry Martin, Dave Maurer, Mark Newhouse, Frank Ridge, Mary Lois Sanders, Estella Shivers, Mitch Smith, Penny Thomas, Allen Watkins, and Tom Zampano.
My agent, Adam Chromy, as always, provided excellent notes, and my wonderful developmental editor, David Downing, is nothing short of miraculous. Thanks also to my copy editor, Valerie Kalfrin, and proofreader, Jill Kramer, for cleaning up my errors. I am also grateful to Liz Pearsons, my editor, and the rest of the crew at Thomas & Mercer for their fine-tuning.
Finally, I thank my family—my husband, Lenny; my sons, Jason and Andy; their wives, Amanda and Jackie; and my amazing grandchildren, Rachel, Josh, Jacob, Sienna, and Noah—for their love and support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2014 Darin Back
After receiving her master’s degree and her professional certificate, both in school psychology, Marti Green realized that her true passion was the law. She went on to receive her law degree from Hofstra University and worked as in-house counsel for a major cable television operator for twenty-three years, specializing in contracts, intellectual property law, and regulatory issues. She is the author of the legal thrillers The Price of Justice, Presumption of Guilt, Unintended Consequences, First Offense, and Justice Delayed. A passionate traveler, mother to two adult sons, and grandmother to five grandchildren, she now lives in central Florida with her husband, Lenny, and cat, Howie.