by Kate Young
I sat up straight in the bed. “Oh!”
“But honey, they don’t have the money for it.”
I gripped the blanket. “I can do a lot of the legwork pro bono.”
“I knew you were going to say that, and I wouldn’t be able to stop you from running with this on your own.” My uncle knew me so well. “But Jenkins claims there may be some funding coming down the pipe in a couple of days. Not a ton, but if he manages it, we’ll make it stretch.”
“I’d hug you right now if you were here. You’re turning into an old softie.”
He snorted. “Jenkins would like us to meet him at the police station in the morning for a consultation. No promises.”
“Okay. I get it.” I grinned so hard my face ached. After the exasperating conversation with my mother that had worried me to death, this was finally something I could affect. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Twelve
The police station was silent when I walked through the double doors of the little brick building Sweet Mountain Police used for their station house. They didn’t need a large building, so when the small Baptist church moved locations when their congregation outgrew the building fifteen years ago, the city renovated the building, and the police department moved in. I stood in front of the large, vacant mahogany desk in the poorly lit front room and waited for Rosa to return to her post. I glanced up at the wooden plaque that hung above the glass separating the desk from the waiting area. It read:
“The Sweet Mountain Police Department’s focus is:
“To protect and serve our citizens with a high level of integrity
“To utilize a community policing philosophy
“To strive for excellence in all that we do
“To become less incident driven and more proactive in preventing crime”
“Hey, Lyla.” Rosa’s smile didn’t make it up to her eyes as she retook her seat and smoothed her thick, dark, wavy hair away from her face.
“Good morning, Sergeant Landry. I come bearing gifts.” I presented Rosa with a cup of her favorite brew. She always complained about the coffee they served in the police station. “I’m sorry about the way I reacted last night. We all are. We felt a little blindsided, and you had nothing to do with that. You did try and warn us.”
“This coffee is your peace offering?” On my nod, she smiled again. “Thank you for saying that. You can’t imagine how conflicted I’ve been feeling.” Rosa took the paper cup of mocha java and sipped. She closed her eyes, savoring. “You are my favorite person right now.” She sighed. “Are we okay?”
“Glad to hear it, and yes, we are one hundred percent okay. I get it. You and I are both dedicated to our lines of work. I want you to know I respect you and understand completely.”
“But do Mel and Amelia?” Her shoulders sagged.
“If they don’t, they will. This tragedy has been tough on all of us. You included.”
She took another sip from the cup. “It has been challenging. Harper has always been standoffish around me. I guess that’s why I felt concerned before any of y’all did. Not that I don’t wish things were different. I do. But we can’t focus on the things we can’t control, right?”
“Right.” I rested my hip against the desk.
“Thanks for coming by and bringing coffee. You didn’t need to make a trip over, but I’m glad you did.” She went back to typing but in a moment looked up again. “Is there something else you want to talk about?”
“I’m sorry.” I hesitated, surprised by the question. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your workday. You want me to have a seat?” An odd vibe rolled off her.
Rosa’s hands froze over the keyboard. “Wait a minute. You aren’t here just to speak with me, are you?”
I cocked my head to one side. “No one informed you that Cousins was requested to confer with the defense?”
“No.” Her brow furrowed.
“Well, they have.”
“If that’s true, why didn’t they call you?”
“Mr. Jenkins called my uncle and asked us to come down. Calvin should be here soon.” My voice trailed off after ‘soon.’ Something felt off. “What am I missing?”
Rosa pursed her lips and held up a finger. She rolled her chair back to check whether anyone nearby could overhear us. A sense of dread crept up my spine as she moved the chair back to her desk and leaned forward. “There was an incident with an inmate. County lockup called for an ambulance, and the inmate went to Piedmont last night.” Rosa appeared to struggle with how much to share. She kept glancing back toward the door behind her.
My fingers went to my parted lips as I whispered, “How bad is she?” Had Harper been so terrified that she had a heart attack or something? I had no idea of her medical history. Or had another inmate harmed her? I’d never or such a thing and couldn’t fathom it.
“I honestly don’t know.”
“What happened?” I asked, then shook my head immediately. “Forget it. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
Another officer came through the door. Rosa straightened. “I’m not at liberty to give out that information. Good day, Miss Moody.” She wheeled her chair back to retrieve a paper from the printer.
“Good day, Sergeant Landry.”
As I left the building, I fumbled through my purse for my phone and had to fight with my shaking hands.
“Miss Moody! Lyla!”
I glanced up, shocked to see Charles waving to me from the parking lot. Off to the left of him, her back turned to me, stood Piper with her phone to her ear. I lifted my hand in a wave and strolled toward my car.
The way Charles looked at me put me on edge as he trotted over. He smiled, exposing a row of perfectly straight teeth, as he reached me. “What a surprise to see you here.”
“Yeah. I’m surprised to see you too. I just dropped off some coffee for my friend.” I gave him a small smile and kept my tone casual. I didn’t want to convey that I knew anything about Harper. The last thing she needed was more attention from the press.
“How nice of you. You must get your kindness from your mother.”
My smile faltered.
“She is eager to help me with my new novel.” His smile broadened. “I think it will be a big hit too.”
I hiked my purse higher on my shoulder and folded my arms across my chest. “You should be careful about where you get your information. A lot of the seniors around here love to tell stories with lots of embellishments.”
He grinned. “True. While I enjoyed speaking with the group”—he leaned over—“I’d much rather spend time getting to know you and hearing your perspective on things.”
I’m sure he would. “You know,” I said, “I’m familiar with all the big names in publishing. Your name doesn’t ring a bell. Unless you publish under a pseudonym.”
“You googled me.” He stepped closer; his face took on a more serious expression as he cast a glance back toward Piper, who hadn’t noticed us yet. “Listen, all kidding aside, I’d like to sit down with you as soon as possible. I think we have a lot to talk about it.” Something odd swam in his gaze—something pleading.
“Um, I’m kind of busy at the moment but—”
Piper shouted some obscenities into her phone, then noticed us and called out, “Hey, Lyla,” before rushing over to me. “Could I get a quote for the Sweet Mountain Gazette?”
“Quote on …?” I turned my back on Charles and sped up my pace, glancing around the lot for my car.
She pursed her lips and followed me, holding the phone near my face. “Come on. Leonard Richardson was murdered in your parents’ house. They just charged his second wife, a friend of yours, with the crime. Her stepson says you’re helping her case. I heard a little rumor that something was missing from the murder scene.” I flinched, and she smiled. “Surely you have a comment.” Charles had caught up with us, and he kept his gaze intently on me.
“I’m afraid I don’t.” I hit the key fob and started to open the door. I was irritated
by the manipulation while my friend fought for her life. Piper threw her hip against the door, slamming it shut. Frazzled, I fought to control my temper.
“Lyla, we’ve known each other forever. And I know you’re on your way to Piedmont Hospital like we are.” She tossed her hair as if to say, we’re way ahead of you. “And as we are both aware, when something is going on in Sweet Mountain, everyone has a comment. You are working in the PI field now. You found the body. Surely you understand this playing dumb isn’t going to cut it.”
I hiked my purse higher on my shoulder. “Not everyone likes to feed the rumor mill, Piper. Harper deserves privacy and a right to due process uncompromised by a skewed public opinion.”
“Uh-huh.” Piper held her phone in my face. “What does your mother have to do with the Richardsons, and why is she protecting Harper?” My gaze flew to Charles, who in turn gave his head a small shake. Was he saying Piper hadn’t gotten anything from him? Whatever. I wondered what Mother had told him. Piper caught the little visual exchange and turned toward Charles; he pushed his square black frames up on his nose, revealing nothing.
Enough of this. I squared off against the buxom brunette accustomed to getting her way. “Nothing, and she isn’t.”
“Are you so sure about that? I heard from a little bird that she’s very involved. She’s even offered to help with bail. That is, if Harper’s attorney manages to convince a judge she isn’t a flight risk.” Triumph radiated across her face, and I fought the urge to slap it right off her.
“Wow,” I said dryly. “No wonder you can’t manage any career advancements. You believe everything any imbecile spouts off.” I glared from her to Charles. “Now, if you’ll kindly remove your sizeable rump from my door, I’d like to be on my way.”
Piper huffed, her face flushed, but to her credit, she pulled herself together in record time. She smiled, slow and coolly. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me, I assure you of that.”
“Why?” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and cast her a dead-level glare. “You gonna sit on me?” I’d gone for the shock factor and achieved it. Not that I was proud of reverting to adolescent behavior.
Charles let out a snort of laughter and shoved his glasses back up on his nose as he stepped around Piper, who’d moved away from my car. “Here.” He thrust a card at me with a wink as he jerked open the door. Piper had rattled me with the comment about Mother, and I needed to shut her up to give myself time to find out what the hell was going on. I didn’t buy the enemy-for-life bull. She played tough because she had to. And if it turned out I was wrong, oh well. I’d deal with the repercussions then.
Chapter Thirteen
Forty-five minutes later, I pulled into the parking garage of Piedmont Hospital. Nerves clenched within my stomach as I worried for Harper. My phone rang through the speakers in the car. I hit the “Answer” button on the steering column. “Hey.” It was my uncle Calvin.
“Where are you?” He always sounded uptight when something went awry with a case. This one technically hadn’t even begun yet, and we were already dealing with a nightmare.
“I’m at the hospital. When I arrived at the precinct, I found out they transported Harper here from jail. I don’t know anything more yet. I was going to call you, but I ran into Piper Sanchez, and she said the oddest thing that had me mentally whirling. I’m sure there isn’t any truth to it. She claimed Mother had offered to help with Harper’s legal fees.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.” He didn’t sound happy. “I did receive a call about Harper from Mr. Jenkins. He’s still trying to get to the bottom of what happened. Be careful. He warned me of a large press presence around the hospital.”
I glanced around and could see a couple of media vans. “Okay. I’ll keep my head down as I go inside.”
“Good girl. I’m not sure they’ll give you any information on her condition. Mr. Jenkins is on his way there now. He raised hell with the county, and he probably is still doing so in transit. I’d advise you to wait for him. I can meet you both after eleven—Jenkins is aware of that. He has drop-in office space in one of the buildings few a few streets over.” When a car slowly rolled past me, I thought it looked similar to the car I’d seen at my townhouse—or at least I thought it was. My heart sped up.
“Okay.” Turning in my seat, I scoped out the scene behind me. Nothing odd stood out. Shaking my head, I inwardly chastised myself. Nerves. Get a grip, Lyla! “Got it. Did Mr. Jenkins say where he’d meet me?”
“No, but I figured perhaps the cafeteria. You’ll blend in there.”
That made sense.
“Did you get anything on what the police have on Harper? It took a lot of effort not to question Rosa.” I shifted in my seat.
“I bet it did. Yes, I did get an overview from Jenkins, and you’re not going to like it.”
Chills spread across my skin, and I adjusted the heat.
“From the tox screen they ran on the victim, he discovered someone poisoned Leonard.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears. I’d imagined he was going to mention that the candlestick had been found in the house, with Harper’s prints on it.
“Yes. And the toxicologists never would have been able to search for the particular drug if the victim’s brother hadn’t turned over a bloody crocheted purse—” Blood thrummed loudly in my ears, so loud it drowned out my uncle’s voice. I’d seen Harper with her crocheted purse at the library. The image of what I’d thought was a rope in Leonard’s hand flashed in my mind. The remnant had been the perfect size for a purse strap.
As my breath came in small gasps, I muted the phone. Oh my God! That was why I’d found comfort in noticing Harper’s wristlet at the charity event. Subconsciously, I’d recognized the purse strap.
“Lyla!”
I cleared my throat. “I … I’m here. Sorry.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t like it. Do you recall seeing a torn strap near the body? Or did Harper say anything about drugs Leonard might have been taking?”
“Yes to the strap. No to the drugs.” I focused on his words.
“That’s not good. Not good for you or Harper.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t withhold anything.” I cringed and thought back to my conversation with Mother. “Not about the strap, anyway. I honestly believed it to be a rope or jacket tie. And another thing that doesn’t make sense is that when I saw Harper, she was carrying a clutch, not her crocheted bag.”
Uncle Calvin grumbled in irritation. “Tell me you included that in your original statement.”
“They didn’t ask me about her purse. And yes, I mentioned seeing something in Leonard’s hand. I told the detective everything.” Oh, Harper. “And Calvin, before you pull out of the case, Harper thinks Leonard’s family is trying to frame her. Anyone who’s spent time in that house and around that family would have no trouble finding the notion plausible. How did Leonard’s brother come to possess the purse?”
“I believe the brother, Felix, is on record as reporting finding the evidence somewhere in the house.”
I rolled my eyes. “See! If you killed someone, would you hide something of such importance where others could find it? No! You’d get rid of it. Another thing, Leonard’s brother, Felix, is a feeble older man in a wheelchair. He doesn’t have the capacity to search a house that size. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Okay. That’s something to dig into, right? Reasonable doubt is all we need to present if we take the case. And that’s a big if. Perhaps the family is on the side of justice, and Harper has fooled you.”
“Oh puhlease …” I put effort into debunking that ridiculous notion. “But to show you I’m on the side of justice, I’ll question her thoroughly. I met those people; you did not. I’m telling you, something is up with that family. And I’ll prove it.”
“Okay, okay. I hear how set you are on helping the girl, and if the family is ‘our reasonable doubt’ at present, we need to spend more time in that house.”
He grumbled again. “There’s truth about the rumors, then?”
“I don’t know, but I am suspicious they are true. I’ll find out from Harper for sure. It’s something we’ll need to get ahead of. I’m sure her attorney has thought of that. If he’s aware of it, that is.”
“We’ll find out. I’m not committing to anything. Yet. You need to be prepared for the DA to want to speak with you as well, and if something more damning comes to light—”
“I hear you. I’ll jump ship if I determine Harper’s guilty.” And I’d already thought of my deposition with the DA. “I’ll be prepared for the DA. But is Mother?” I said this only to show him I was thinking ahead.
“What are you getting at?” Calvin sounded wary.
“I’m just saying. Mother’s acting oddly.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of the importance of having your father’s lawyer, William Greene, present.”
“No, Uncle Calvin, you don’t. Mr. Greene was present during my original interview. The police are aware if they need to speak to me again to go through him. I’ve got this. Relax.” I decided to keep to myself the meeting that I’d agreed to yesterday with Detective Battle, because it had never taken place. No harm done. However, I shuddered at the thought of what my reaction would have been if he’d posed the question about the purse. If Detective Battle had dropped that bomb, I’m not sure I could have held it together.
“Good. Your father will take care of making sure his household is represented.” That was true. “And you know the word ‘relax’ isn’t in my vocabulary. Call me when you’re on your way to his drop-in office.”
“Of course.” I disconnected the call.