Eliza shook her head sternly. “Nina, take everyone into the family room.” When the girl opened her mouth to protest, she gave her a stern look, the “Hard day” look every child recognized. “No argument. Kell will join you in a moment and explain what’s happening.”
“We know what’s happening,” Nina countered, pointing a trembling finger at Graves. “That idiot thinks you killed Clay because of what he tried to do to me.”
“Young lady, show some respect to your elders,” admonished Graves in a falsely avuncular tone. “Being a foundling isn’t an excuse for bad manners.”
“And being in power isn’t an excuse for stupidity,” Nina retorted, unabashed. “Everyone knows that they booted you out to give Sheriff Calder the job because you were too lazy to do anything.”
Kell appreciated the outrage, but judged that in Graves’s current mood, Nina would soon find herself in an adjoining cell. She whispered to Eliza, “Don’t say anything until I get to the station. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
With that admonition, she took Nina’s arm and dragged her toward the door. “Come on, everyone. Right now. Don’t give them any more reason to be mad at Mrs. F.”
The thought that they could be hurting Eliza widened several eyes, and slowly, they filed out of the kitchen while Kell held the door open. When the last one had slunk out, Kell made eye contact with Luke. “Will you go to the station with her? I need to talk to the kids.”
Luke nodded, and he crossed the room to stand with Eliza. Judge Majors had issued a legal search warrant, and he had no grounds to stop her arrest. It was sheer force of will that had kept his face blank when Graves revealed his evidence. Evidence Kell hadn’t told him about, evidence he’d failed to gather himself. Fury rose, aimed squarely at his own behavior. Graves’s assessment of his conduct wasn’t far off the mark. Sentiment and attraction kept him from doing his job. It wouldn’t stand in his way any longer.
“Chief Graves, I plan to accompany Mrs. Faraday to the station. If you have no objections?”
Thrown by the change in demeanor, Graves gave a short nod. He released her arm, and motioned to Potter to escort the prisoner out. In awkward procession, he led Eliza through the foyer and out to a waiting vehicle. Lancy guided Graves, whose nose continued to bleed into the towel. Luke secured the kitchen door and decided to check on the kids before following.
In the foyer, Jorden waited for Luke. “She didn’t do anything, Sheriff,” he said mutinously. “Mrs. F wouldn’t kill anybody.”
Luke bent down, bringing their eyes level. “The police have to follow orders, Jorden. Just because Mrs. F has been arrested doesn’t mean that she’s guilty. They simply need to ask her more questions about what happened.”
But Jorden was having none of it. “I know what happens when y’all arrest people. They go to jail and don’t come back.”
Before Luke could answer, Kell appeared behind Jorden and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jorden glanced up, eyes welling with angry tears. “She can’t go to jail. You’ve got to help her.”
“I’ll get her out, I swear.”
Luke shot Kell a look that warned of lying to the boy. After all, Graves wasn’t half in love with her. Willing to overlook procedure because of eyes the color of mink and a mind that could distract him from his duty. Rising, Luke gave Jorden a serious look. “I need you to trust me, Jorden. I won’t let any harm come to Mrs. F and I’ll do my best to bring her home.” He extended his hand. “Will you trust me?”
Jorden glanced over his shoulder at Kell, then back at the sheriff. Reluctantly, he placed his hand in Luke’s. “Yes, sir. Thank you, Sheriff.”
“Run into the family room and tell Nina I’ll be right back,” Kell instructed with a squeeze to the thin shoulder beneath her hand. Jorden dashed away, leaving Kell and Luke in the foyer. Alone.
“You lied to me.” The accusation was flat, cool.
Kell shook her head, a sensation suspiciously like loss crowding into her gut. She shunted it aside in favor of professional pride. “I didn’t lie to you. I simply didn’t break privilege and tell you what my client revealed to me.”
“It’s true, then? Graves does have a witness that heard her threaten Griffin.”
She affirmed, “There was a fight, but Eliza didn’t do this, Luke. We both know that regardless of what Graves has, his hands aren’t clean either. He broke into the motel for a reason.”
“To show me up and take my job,” Luke ground out. “A job I don’t appear capable of performing, given the current situation.”
“Eliza is innocent,” she protested, reaching out to him. When he evaded her touch, she dropped her hands to her sides. “She’s innocent. You know that.”
Luke stormed, “Maybe she is, but proving that is no longer in my control, is it? I know you couldn’t break attorney-client privilege to tell me everything, but dammit, Kell, you owed me something. I put my neck out for Eliza, and the least you could have done was trusted me with a sliver of the truth.”
“At what point in the time that I’ve known you should I have revealed that my client might have a motive for murder? When you learned that she probably had the only knife set capable of matching your evidence? Or maybe when we figured out the police chief might be involved?”
He was in no mood for logic. On some level, he’d thought they’d become real partners. Self-disgust spewed out. “I know that rather than do my job, I allowed myself to be sidetracked. Now, if Eliza isn’t guilty, I’ve made proving that a hell of a lot harder by falling for you.”
Panic skirted beneath the pride. “You haven’t fallen for me. Three kisses don’t make a relationship.”
“No, they don’t.” Luke gave her a long, considering look. “Honesty and trust do, though. We’ve never given either a try, have we?”
Frozen, Kell watched him as he strode out the door and down the stairs to his truck. The engine roared as he circled the cul-de-sac and headed into town.
CHAPTER 21
In the family room, the inhabitants of the Faraday Center watched Kell with varying degrees of hope and futility. She did a quick headcount. Four on the couch, two on the loveseat, one sitting on Nina’s lap in an oversized armchair. All but one seat taken, Kell headed for an empty ottoman near the fireplace, searching for the right words to allay the alarm that enveloped the room. “Mrs. F is going to be okay,” she began. “I need the younger children to go to your rooms so I can talk to the teenagers.”
“They’ve arrested Mrs. F for murder,” Nina interrupted harshly. “We all know what happened, Ms. Jameson. Don’t treat us like regular children.” A chorus of voices echoed her demand.
“Kell,” she corrected mildly. She looked around, noting that while the youngest children were absent, several of the kids present hadn’t yet reached puberty. “How old are you?” she asked the delicate girl seated on Nina’s lap. Wispy blond bangs settled above cornflower blue eyes, enhancing the air of fragility.
“Eight and a half,” she replied timidly. “I’m Casey.”
“And you?” Kell pointed at a lanky teenaged boy who leaned negligently against the wall. “Brandon, isn’t it?
He shuffled uncomfortably. “Yeah. I’m fourteen.”
Jorden piped up. “Kell, the police are wrong. Sheriff Luke said so. And we want to help Mrs. F. Wouldn’t you?”
Despite their ages, Nina and Jorden were correct. These weren’t normal children to be spared reality. They’d seen enough of human behavior to understand how the systems worked. Kell released a defeated breath. “Alright. Everyone can stay. But nobody talks about this to anyone outside the Center. Okay?”
Several heads nodded, echoing those who announced their agreement. Nina spoke up first. “Is the sheriff with Mrs. F?”
“Yes, he went with her to the station. As soon as I get you all settled in for the night, I’ll call someone to come and stay with you, then I’ll go down there myself.”
“Do the police know about Clay hurting Nina?” as
ked Brandon.
“Yes.” Kell rose and stood in front of the mantel. “Someone told Chief Graves that he came to the Center and tried to hurt her.” She looked around the room expectantly. “I have to know who told him. You won’t be in trouble, but I must know.”
“You’re an adult. You might be trying to trick us.”
The speaker was a girl, maybe thirteen, with caramel-toned skin and deep brown eyes rife with suspicion. The resemblance to Jorden was unmistakable. Kell recalled that her name was Faith. “I’m not.”
“Why should we trust you?’
Trust had become a commodity in short supply lately, Kell thought derisively. But with good reason. She withheld information to protect those she loved, and she had no reason to expect these kids to do any less. “Because, Faith, I’m here to help Mrs. F.”
“So?”
“So if I don’t know the truth, I might get her in worse trouble.” As she had tonight. Kell cast about for a way to earn their confidence. With a solemn look, she focused on Nina. “You understand attorney-client privilege, don’t you?”
Nina nodded, turning to the group. “That’s when a lawyer can’t tell the cops or anyone else what you tell her. Like a pinky swear. If she breaks her promise, she gets in trouble and can’t be a lawyer anymore.”
Faith considered the deal. “I don’t think anybody here told.”
“No one?” Kell glanced at Brandon, who stared down at his shoes.
“I don’t think so.” Following her gaze, she shook her head forcefully. “Brandon wouldn’t tell either.” She marched up to Kell. “No one talks to the cops, ma’am. We just don’t.”
“Then how did the chief find out?”
Faith shot Nina a look and received a nearly imperceptible nod. “That day, Clay wasn’t here alone. Tony and Doc were here too.”
Nina bowed her head and muttered. “I wasn’t supposed to let anyone come over while Mrs. F was running errands, but Tony just showed up.”
“Is Tony your boyfriend?” She already knew the answer, but trust had to be earned on both sides.
“Kind of.” Nina raised her eyes to Kell. “He’s not like Doc or those guys he hangs around with. He’s really smart. Likes school a lot, and he wants to be a lawyer like me.”
“Tony’s seventeen, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. “We haven’t done anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Kell offered a reassuring smile, aware of the rapt attention being paid to Nina’s story. “That afternoon, Tony stopped by to say hello, correct?”
“Uh, huh. He was giving Doc a ride home. I went out to the car to say hello. Faith came with me.”
Faith picked up the story. “Doc was acting weird, telling Tony that he had a meeting. Tony told him that if he was in such a rush, he could walk to the District.”
“Doc took Tony’s cell phone. I didn’t know who he’d called at first,” Nina continued. “Ten minutes later, Clay drives up.”
“He had a Hummer,” added Jorden.
“Black with chrome rims,” another boy piped up, eager to contribute.
“When I realized Doc had called Clay, I sent everyone into the house.” The green eyes flashed with remembered anger. “Mrs. F told Clay not to come to the Center.”
“How did you know?”
“I’m in charge when she’s not here. Brandon and me.”
“Why was Mrs. F angry with Clay?”
Brandon spoke up. “Because he tried to get Jorden and some of the other guys to deal for him,” he explained in a soft voice. “I stopped him, and I told Mrs. F.”
Kell returned her attention to Nina, but Faith interjected. “I took everyone inside and Nina tried to make them leave.”
“I told Clay and Tony to leave, and they said yes.” Nina dropped her eyes. “I was stupid. Tony and Doc drove off first, then Clay. I stayed outside to pick up toys, and I heard another car. I thought it was Mrs. F.”
“Clay had come back.” Kell could guess the rest. “Then Mrs. F found you and Clay by the gazebo.”
“Not just her. Tony and Doc too. When Clay didn’t follow them, Tony came back. He helped Mrs. F stop—” Her voice broke and Casey wrapped her slender arms around Nina in comfort.
Briskly, Kell summarized, “Either Tony or Doc told the chief about Clay. Would Tony do that?”
“Absolutely not,” Nina protested. “He swore we wouldn’t talk about it to anyone. I believe him.”
Having met the young man in question, Kell tended to agree. “Is there anything else that I need to know?”
“Mrs. F used to give Clay money,” volunteered Jorden. “Envelopes full, once a month. Until he tried to hurt Nina.”
Stunned, Kell tried to mask her amazement. “For how long?”
Faith shot Jorden a fulminating glance. “She stopped giving him money last month.”
“When did she start?”
Nina hesitated, then answered, “At least as long as I’ve been here. Eight or nine years. Like clockwork.”
Reluctantly, Faith confirmed, “We thought he worked here when we were little. The last Friday of every month, Clay would wait out by the kitchen. Mrs. F would pass him a white envelope and he’d count the money on the steps.”
“Did he ever give her anything?” Kell probed quietly, afraid of the answer.
“Mrs. F wasn’t buying drugs, Kell. She wouldn’t do that.” Nina frowned. “I assumed she was trying to help him out, since he used to be one of her kids. That makes sense, right?”
It did. But what worried Kell was that Eliza felt comfortable admitting to threatening him and to going to his apartment, but conveniently forgot to explain ten years of blackmail payments. She interlaced her fingers and lifted them beneath her chin. “Until I tell you to, no one is to mention this. Not to Sheriff Luke or the police or anyone else. If they ask you what you know, tell them you need to talk to me first, okay?”
Eight heads dipped in agreement. Nina tapped Casey’s leg and the younger girl slid off her lap. Standing, she instructed, “Kell has to go to the station to see Mrs. F. Everyone go upstairs and get ready for bed. Faith and I will come and check on you in a few minutes. Brandon, go take a look at the little ones and make sure they’re asleep.”
Troops dispatched, Faith and Nina flanked Kell. “We can stay here by ourselves. Mrs. F doesn’t like it, but between the two of us and Brandon, we’re nearly forty-five.”
Kell chuckled appreciatively. “While I agree that you can handle yourselves, we should avoid giving the police any cause to question Mrs. F or the Center.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Jorden yelled, “I’ll get it.”
Kell and the girls hurried from the room to stop him, but Jorden was jerking the door open when they arrived.
Curly stood on the doorstep, cap in hand. “Sheriff told me the young’n’s needed a babysitter.” He grinned at Jorden. “Shouldn’t you be in bed already? Or has there been some excitement around here?”
Waving him in, Kell sent warning looks to the trio. “The kids are upstairs getting into bed and these three are on their way. I’ll be gone a few hours, most likely.”
“Take your time, Miss Kell. I’ll just find me an old movie on the television and wait until you can bring Eliza home.”
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Curly watches us whenever Mrs. F has to be out of town,” Faith explained. “I’ll get your foot tub.”
“One glass of lemonade coming up.” Jorden raced out of the foyer and into the kitchen.
Nina smiled reassuringly at Kell as she headed up the stairs. “It’s okay, Kell. He does this a lot.”
Kell regarded the situation dubiously. The Curly Watson she remembered was a curmudgeon who despised children. “When did you have the change of heart, Curly? You never used to like kids.”
“Back then, I wasn’t courtin’ Miss Eliza.” He gave Kell a wink. “That’s our little secret, okay?”
“Not the firs
t one I’ve learned tonight.” Kell retrieved her purse from the kitchen and briefly updated Curly. “I plan to wait at the station until I find out if she’ll be arraigned tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Judge Majors doesn’t hold court then.”
“Eliza’s not spending the weekend in jail.”
“If anyone can spring her, you and Luke can.” He sobered suddenly. “If Graves gets away with this, he’ll try to run Luke out of town next. You can’t let that happen.”
“I won’t. Luke’s not going to lose his job because he did the right thing.” Not again.
“Good, good.” Curly smiled and gave her a none-too-gentle shove out the door. “Go earn your money, girl.”
Across town, Luke pounded on an ornate door inset with glass and etched with swirls. He ignored the brass knocker and discreet doorbell in favor of brute force. White hair appeared in the glass inset, above a wrinkled face that had been burned by the sun more than once. “Luke Calder? What in the devil’s unholy name are you doing at my house at one in the morning?”
“I came to see the judge, Dr. Majors. It’s urgent.”
“It had better be a matter of life or death, or I’m liable to make it one,” he retorted gruffly. “Mary? Come on down. It’s not a robber, just a lunatic sheriff.”
Judge Majors appeared on the landing, hair covered in a pink satin cap. “Sheriff Calder, what are you doing here?”
“Trying to find out why you issued a warrant for the search of Eliza Faraday’s home without consulting me.”
She descended the steps, silent until she stood beside her husband. With a withering voice, she replied, “I wasn’t aware that I required your permission to execute my duties, Sheriff.”
“When you give another office a search warrant for one of my cases, I’d like to think I’m entitled to the courtesy of notice.”
A scowl formed between her brows. “Your case? Chief Graves assured me that he held jurisdiction over the Griffin murder. He showed me an autopsy report. Plus an eyewitness statement.”
“My report. My case.” He decided not to respond to the issue of the statement, since he’d yet to read it, though he figured his copy was in the envelope Graves gave him. Assuming it did support the chief’s position, he was curious about the source.
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