by David Archer
Chance’s eyebrows went up half an inch. “Circumstantial? Even though they found her alone over the body, and her prints were on the gun?”
Rosenstein chuckled. “They found partial prints on the gun, but not a full grip worth. She couldn’t possibly have fired that gun when all they can show is that her fingertips touched it. On top of that, the GSR test came back with a particle count of less than thirty on her hands and even less on her clothing. You can have that much gunshot residue on you by having a gun in the house that was fired a month ago, or by spending time with somone who just came from a firing range. It’s nothing, and I can get a dozen experts to say so. They got no actual witnesses, no physical evidence to speak of; the only thing that makes sense is if she’s telling the truth about what happened.”
“So that was all grandstanding?” Chance asked. “Does she know that?”
Rosenstein sighed. “I told her, but it’s harder on people who are sitting there in orange. She wants to believe the truth will come out, but she’s scared, naturally. I’m just going to make sure she doesn’t give in to the pressure, because that’s the only way they could convict her on this case.”
Chance thanked him and said goodbye. The lawyer promised to call Pete if anything changed, and they went their separate ways.
As a private investigator, Pete or Chance could visit a client in the jail without waiting for regular visiting hours. He was already waiting in the interview room when Christina was brought back to the jail, and she was led directly in to speak with him.
One look at her face made it obvious that she wasn't handling the situation well at all. She had obviously been crying, and Chance thought it was doubtful that she'd gotten much sleep the night before. It wasn’t really easy, but he put a bright smile on his face as she entered the room. Christina started toward him, but the jailer told her to sit down on the opposite side of the table and keep her hands to herself.
When she was seated at the table and the jailer had left the room, Chance asked, “How are you holding up?”
She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “As well as can be expected, I guess,” she said. “I can’t believe they really think I killed my husband. Anybody who knew us could tell them there’s no way I would ever do something like that.”
“I believe you,” he said, “but that isn’t going to make a difference in court. They only deal with what the evidence can show, not what someone feels or believes.”
“But did you hear them? They charged me with first degree murder! They’re trying to say I planned it all out, and that’s ridiculous! I didn’t even know he was coming, I couldn’t have set it up.”
“That’s just a legal ploy,” Chance said. “They start with the highest, most devastating charge they can get away with, so that they can offer to let you plead to a lesser one. I talked to your lawyer and he says they don’t really have any case at all. Just hang in there, and keep the faith. I promise you, you are not going away for murder, that’s not going to happen.”
Christina managed a weak smile. “I wish I could actually believe that, but it’s hard to hold onto faith in a place like this. Still, I know you’re trying to give me hope. Thank you, Chance, I really appreciate it.”
“Just trust me on this, will you? I can’t tell you everything right now, but I'm quite certain there’s going to be proof that you didn’t do this before it’s over. I'm absolutely certain, in fact.”
Christina just looked at him. “Well, I guess I need whatever hope I can get. I was told that little Darrell is staying with Darrell’s parents for right now, and I know they’ll take good care of him, but I sure miss him.”
Chance nodded. “I'm sure you do. Like I said before, just hang in there. You’ll be back with him before you know it. In the meanwhile, I can give you a little bit of news. It turns out that the reason Darrell was so out of sorts the last couple weeks is because he stumbled across some wrongdoing in the U.S. Marshals’ office. It seems he didn’t know who to trust, so he was trying to handle the situation on his own until he could figure out the answer to that question. Keeping you in the dark was his way of trying to keep you safe, because he thought you might have been in danger if you knew what was going on.”
Christina's eyes went wide. “Seriously? God, I wish he had just told me. He knows I'm not stupid, so he should’ve known I would be worried. I’d rather know the truth, even with any danger that might come along, rather than be wondering if I was losing him.”
“I'm sure he was only doing what he thought was right,” Chance said sympathetically. “I realize that doesn’t really help right now, but trust me when I tell you that everything he was doing was to protect you and your son.”
Christina sneered. “Fat lot of good it did. He’s gone, and I'm sitting in here.”
Chance chewed the inside of his cheek for a second as he thought about what she was going through. There were no cameras in the room, and he knew that his meeting with her was supposed to be completely private, but telling her too much could still put her at risk if anyone else found out.
“Christina, do you love your husband?” he asked.
She looked at him as if he was crazy. “Of course I do—I did. Chance, how can you even ask that question? Even when I came to you and Mr. Dixon, it was only because I was desperately trying to save my marriage.”
Chance nodded. “I know that, and I'm not trying to suggest that you didn’t love him. What I'm trying to tell you is that…” He looked around once more, then lowered his voice. “Christina, I'm going to tell you something, but you cannot let anyone know it. Do you understand me? You can’t tell anyone what we talk about in this room, not even your lawyer. Okay?”
Christina’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Is it bad news?”
Chance grinned, and then he winked. “No, it’s actually very good news. Just remember, you can’t tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, understood?”
She nodded, exasperation in her face. “Understood, just tell me.”
Chance let out a sigh. “Christina,” he began, still whispering, “Darrell isn’t dead. He had to fake his own death, and making it look like you killed him was the only way he could think of to keep you safe while he tries to handle this very desperate situation. Pete and I are working with him, now, and we’re going to help him get it resolved as quickly as we possibly can.”
The girl’s eyes went wide. “He’s—he’s alive?” Her voice was so soft, Chance could barely hear it.
He nodded. “He’s alive, and this whole thing was because he had to keep you safe. As long as you are accused of killing him, and as long as the people he’s after think he’s dead, you and little Darrell are safe. I know this is unpleasant as hell, but you have to keep quiet about this and just endure the situation the best you can.”
Christina was staring into his eyes. “Oh, my God, you’re telling the truth. This was really about trying to protect us?”
“Yes. And as much as it sucks for you to be in jail, I have to agree with him that it was the best way he could handle it. Christina, I know it’s hard to see it right now, but you and your son could have been used as hostages to force him to give up what he knows, and that would have gotten innocent people killed. This was the only way he could think of to protect you, no matter how bad it looks. Pete and I are helping, and will hopefully have this all settled within the next couple of days. All we have to do is identify some of the people that are involved, and then we can bust the case wide open. At that point, he’ll be able to come forward to show that he’s alive, and you committed no crime.”
Christina licked her lips. “Will you see him today?”
“Yes, I will.”
She smiled, even though tears were streaming down her face. “Then you tell him I love him, and I can handle anything as long as he’s okay.” She wiped her tears away. “But you can also tell him that if he ever fails to tell me the truth again, I really will kill him!”
Chance n
odded and grinned at her. “That's understandable,” he said. “Now, what can you tell me about his parents? They are the ones who have little Darrell right now, right?”
“Yeah,” Christina said. “They're good people, but they hate me right now. They’re already trying to get custody of him, and their lawyers are filing to freeze all our assets. And whatever you do, don’t tell them what you just told me. I love my mother-in-law to pieces, but she couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.”
“I won’t,” Chance said. “The thing is, I have to keep up the pretense of investigating the murder, so I'm probably going to need to talk to little Darrell at some point. They might not like that idea, because they’ll be trying to protect him from any more emotional pain and stress.”
“I can just about guarantee they’ll say no,” she said. “And to be honest, I really wish you wouldn’t even try. It’s going to be hard enough on him when the truth comes out and he finds out his daddy is still alive. I'm not sure how he’s going to handle that, on top of all of this. The poor kid will be in counseling for years, I'm sure.” She gave a cynical laugh. “And I might be there with him.”
“I can understand that,” Chance said. “Just be certain you don’t tell anyone what I have shared with you. Even in here, it might put you in danger if you let it slip.”
“Relax, Chance, I won’t say a word to anybody. Believe me, there’s nobody in here I would trust that far under any circumstances.”
Chance nodded. “Okay. Sorry about the bail situation, but for now, you might be safer where you are. Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. “No, I'm okay. My lawyer was able to get me some money, so I can at least buy some snacks and stuff. Like I said, you just tell Darrell that I love him, I trust him, and that I will be fine as long as I have to be here. Anybody asks why I can smile, I’ll say it’s because my lawyer says they don’t have a case.”
“Perfect.”
Chance knocked on the door to tell the jailer that he was ready to go, and they came in to take Christina back to her cell. He walked out of the building and got into his car, then took out his phone to call Pete again.
“Hey, Pete,” he said. “You were right and she didn’t make bail, so I went to the jail to see her. I'm just leaving now.”
“Yeah? How long did you hold out before you told her the truth?”
“Screw you,” Chance said with a grin. “She needed to know, Pete. She knows not to tell anyone, don’t worry.”
“I'm not worried,” Pete said. “On most things, I trust your judgment, buddy. Get on back here, so we can figure out what to do next.”
“On my way.”
He dropped the phone into his pocket, but it rang again almost instantly. He pulled it back out and glanced at the display, then smiled when he saw that it was Gabriella calling.
“Hey, baby,” he said, but that was as far as he got.
“Chance? Chance, I need you to come home. Can you come home right now?”
Chapter 17
The urgency in her voice caught his attention instantly. “Sure, honey,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“I—I’ll tell you when you get here. Please, Chance, come as soon as you can.”
“Baby, I'm on the way.”
He ended the call and dialed Pete again. “Gotta be a delay,” he said. “Gabriella just called, says she needs me to come home right now. She sounded pretty upset, Pete.”
“Go home, find out what’s happening,” Pete said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
Chance got the Charger up to sixty miles an hour as he raced toward home. Luckily, he didn’t pass any police cars along the way. He wasn’t sure how things would have gone if he had, because he wasn’t stopping for any reason.
He skidded into his driveway and was out of the car as soon as it stopped moving. He rushed up to the front door and yanked it open, and Gabriella was standing just inside, waiting for him. She was holding a sheet of paper in her hand, and she gave it to him as soon as he got inside.
Chance looked down and saw that he was holding a handwritten note.
I have your sons. Tell me where they are and you will get them back alive.
“I called the school as soon as I found that,” Gabriella said. “Chance, they said a policeman came and took the boys, said that there was an emergency and they were supposed to bring them home immediately. Can you believe they gave our boys to a cop without even calling to make sure it was real? I was gonna go off on them, but I didn’t want to get the police involved until I talked to you.”
“We’ll deal with that later,” Chance said. “Where did you get this?”
“Somebody rang the doorbell, but they were gone by the time I got there. This was stuck in the storm door. I called the school because I thought it might be a joke of some kind, and I was going to call the police but—I just thought it would be better to call you first.”
“It was,” Chance said. He reached out and pulled his wife into a hug. “You know I won't let anything happen to the boys, right?”
Gabriella nodded against his chest. “Chance, when I saw that, it just scared me to death. Your grandmother is in her room, taking a nap, and I haven’t told her yet. Oh, Chance, I'm scared.”
Chance took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen. “I don't know what I'm up against,” he began. “This case is pretty crazy, but what it boils down to is that the guy we were investigating is trying to save people’s lives. Somebody in the U.S. Marshals’ office has been selling out people who are supposed to be in witness protection. Darrell Johnson found out about it and has been working in secret to keep them safe, by faking their deaths and hiding them away. That’s why I bought the house next door, yesterday. We needed someplace safe to keep them until we get this settled.”
Gabriella looked puzzled, as well as frightened. “Darrell Johnson? But, that’s the name of the man who was murdered last night.”
Chance managed a slight grin. “Remember I said he was faking the deaths of the protected witnesses? He faked his own death last night, and even his wife didn’t know he’d done it. He showed back up at the house a while ago, alive and well. I'm going to get the boys back safely, and then we can bring down the people behind this thing.”
At the mention of her sons, Gabriella put her hand over her face. “Oh, my God, Chance, what kind of person would do something like this? Are they going to hurt the boys, do you think? What are we going to do?”
Chance shook his head. “The boys are safe as long as these people think they can use them against me,” he said, “but I have to be careful. I need to call Pete. Give me just a minute.”
He took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the contact list, then tapped a name. He listened for a moment as the phone on the other end rang, and then Pete’s voice came on the line.
“Chance?” Pete asked when he came on the line. “What’s going on?”
“Pete, I got a problem.” He quickly explained the note Gabriella had found, and Pete told him to stay where he was. He and Josie would be on the way.
Chance hung up the phone and then turned back to Gabriella. “Stay right here,” he said. “I have to go next door for a minute, but I will be back. Don’t leave the kitchen, you hear me?”
“I’ll be here,” she said through her tears. “Chance, hurry. If anything happens to those boys…”
“It won’t,” Chance said. He hurried out the back door and climbed over the fence, then stayed low as he ran up to the back door of the new house. He tapped on it and was relieved to see Darrell Johnson peek out the window. Johnson opened the door and Chance slipped quickly inside, closing it behind him.
“We have a problem,” he said softly. “Somebody figures I must know where the witnesses are. A cop went to the school and got my kids. They’ve taken my sons, and say the only way I get them back is to give up these folks.”
“Oh, shit,” Johnson said. “Chance, it’s got to be Garrett. You went to see
him, and now he’s decided you must know where I hid the witnesses.”
“I agree with you, but I'm also not stupid. This thing is way too big, there’s no way they would actually let the boys go. It’s a lot more likely they would kill them and my whole family once they have what they want.”
“I think you’re right. The question is, what are we going to do?”
“Well, we’re not going to give them what they want,” Chance said. “I'm going to call Garrett as soon as I can, and then we’ll set up a meeting. I’ll claim to be willing to give him the location, but there’s something you need to know about me. When this goes down, it’s not going to be a matter of anybody getting arrested. I'm going to kill them, Darrell, every single one of them.”
Johnson stared at him for a moment. “I understand,” he said. “Listen, I will do whatever I can to help, but I don’t know if I could…”
“You won’t have to worry about it,” Chance said. “Trust me, I know what I'm doing. You just be ready to take these people and move in a hurry, if necessary.”
He slid out the door, then was over the fence once again. Gabriella was right where he had left her, and he sat beside her as they waited for Pete and Josie to arrive.
They didn’t have to wait very long. Pete’s Crown Victoria came roaring down the street and slid in beside the Charger, and Pete had the wheelchair out and Josie in it within seconds. He pulled her up the steps, this time without the theatrics Josie had put on for the boys, and Chance opened the door to let them in. He put a finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet until they got into the kitchen, then led the way.
“Grandma’s sleeping,” he said softly, “and doesn’t know yet. The school told Gabriella that a cop came to get the boys, saying that there was some sort of emergency that required them to come home.”
“And those dumbasses didn’t bother to call and check?” Pete asked. He shook his head and looked at Josie. “If we ever have any kids, they get homeschooled.”
“I’ll deal with that another time,” Chance said. “Right now, we need to think about how to use this to save my kids, and take these bastards out while we’re at it.”