by Laura Snider
Katie squinted and looked closer at the image. Brooke was right, there was something on the back of the woman’s arm, although it was too grainy to make out whether it was an image or numbers.
Katie nodded and tucked the photograph back in her open investigations folder. “Thank you for your time, Brooke.”
Brooke rose from her seat. She had calmed down significantly from the start of the interview. “Will he get out of jail?”
“Not unless you bond him out.”
Brooke shook her head. “Nope. Not this time.”
Katie smiled and led Brooke back to the front of the police station. She watched Brooke as she trudged her way down the street.
That interview was more fruitful than expected, Katie thought.
Katie could now place Erica in that jail, meeting with Petrovsky on December 9th, regardless of whether the photograph could be digitally enhanced or not. She was getting closer and closer to solving the case and freeing Ashley. But would she be able to get it all done before it was too late to salvage her relationship with Ashley?
22
Katie
December 12th – 1:00 p.m.
Katie paced outside the front of the Public Defender’s Office. There was nearly five inches of snow that nobody had bothered to shovel. She had to forge a path of her own. She wondered if Ashley usually did the shoveling or if the landlord was slacking now that Ashley was not around to complain. She had gone straight there after her meeting with Brooke Mason, dragging George along with her.
She paced two revolutions, stopped to check her watch, then repeated.
“If you don’t stop,” George said, “I’m going to tie you to that lamppost.” He nodded toward an old-fashioned light fixture a couple of yards away.
George was standing casually, one shoulder leaned up against the door as though he didn’t have a worry in the world. Katie supposed that he was not all that concerned. His feelings toward Ashley were neutral at best.
“I can’t. How can you be so calm about this? An innocent person is in jail.”
“Whoa, now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We think Ashley might be innocent. That’s a far cry from knowledge.”
“She shouldn’t be in jail. We have never arrested anyone on such little evidence. It’s ridiculous. Erica Elsberry is a liar.”
“Speaking of Erica, I got an email from the expert working on enhancing the December ninth jail video.”
Katie froze, her heart skipping a beat. She knew the person in the video was Erica, but she did not know what Erica had passed to Petrovsky. “What did you find out?”
He reached into his pocket and produced a photograph. “I wanted them to get it done as fast as possible, so I asked them to work on a single still image.”
The picture was taken from the video, a frame of the visitor passing an object to Victor Petrovsky. Only this photo was crystal clear.
“That’s the BIC lighter,” Katie said excitedly.
George nodded. “Yup.”
“And Erica Elsberry.” Katie knew it was Erica from her conversation with Brooke, but George was not convinced. Now, it seemed, he was.
“Umm-hmm.”
“Erica is wearing gloves. Petrovsky isn’t.”
“Bingo.”
It meant that Erica had left the lighter in the alley and she meant for it to have Petrovsky’s fingerprints. But that did not necessarily make Erica a killer. After all, they had known that Erica was at the scene of Von Reich’s murder. She was the one who had found Von Reich’s body. She could have dropped it then. But why get Petrovsky’s fingerprints?
“We have to tell Ashley.”
George shook his head. “She doesn’t want anything to do with us, remember?”
Katie did remember, and she did not appreciate the reminder.
“We’ll tell Jacob, then.”
George shrugged as if to say, Be my guest.
Katie blew a hot breath into her hands. “When is Jacob going to get back? It’s freezing out here.”
“Now,” George said. He pointed to a large figure lumbering across the street.
“Hello,” Jacob said as he drew near.
“How is she?” Katie could not manage small talk.
“Excuse me.” Jacob stepped around Katie and nodded to George. He pulled out a set of keys and opened the door to the Public Defender’s Office.
Katie followed him inside, hot on his heels. “Well? Is Ashley okay?”
Jacob shrugged, but his expression was apologetic. “She doesn’t want me to talk to you.”
Katie’s mouth dropped open. Why was Ashley icing her out? She could understand refusing jail visits. The arrest was fresh, Ashley was upset and embarrassed. But this? Jacob could not even comment on Ashley’s general condition.
“Did she give you a reason?”
Jacob made his way back to Ashley’s office. Katie followed. He stopped in the doorway, eyes sweeping from left to right. It was a complete mess. Piles of documents everywhere. He picked up a large expandable file folder, looked under it, then set it aside.
“Well?” Katie stomped her foot.
“Ashley didn’t say, but she probably thinks you set her up,” Jacob finally said. He moved farther into the room, picking up folders, glancing at them, and then setting them back down.
“Why would she think that?”
“You were leading the investigations. And you left her house shortly before her arrest. It does seem like you set her up.” Jacob moved a stack of papers. He was infuriatingly calm. And easily distracted.
Katie wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. “I didn’t.”
“I believe you.”
“Can you tell her that?”
“She won’t listen to me. She won’t listen to anyone, not right now. You know that,” he said as he crouched to look below Ashley’s desk.
“What are you looking for?”
“Her computer,” Jacob said. “She wants me to bring it to her.”
Katie saw Ashley’s laptop bag propped up in the corner of the room. She leaned over, keeping her eyes on Jacob. He was engrossed in his search near Ashley’s desk. He did not notice as she hooked the bag over her shoulder.
“Well, I hope you find it,” Katie said, slowly backing out of the doorway.
George was in the waiting area, studying an Us Weekly magazine. “Do you believe this?” he said, tapping the cover as Katie barreled into the room, coming toward him as fast as her legs would allow.
“Believe what?”
“That Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are getting back together.”
“No,” she said. Or at least she hoped not. Pitt had taken Aniston’s best years and then replaced her with Angelina Jolie. Switching women as though they were as disposable as toothbrushes. It was ridiculous.
“What do you have there?” George nodded toward the bag.
“Nothing.” Katie hurried past him.
George followed her. “Does that belong to Ashley?”
Katie nodded. “I’m taking it to her.”
“Where’s Jacob?”
“Looking for this.” Katie held up the bag.
“So…you stole it.”
“I didn’t steal it. I am taking it to Ashley. It can’t be theft when I’m bringing it to its owner.”
“But Jacob is looking for it.”
Katie stopped and turned to meet George’s gaze. “Ashley wants her computer. I want to see her. It’s a win-win scenario.”
“For everyone except Jacob.”
Katie paused. She could hear Jacob muttering down the hall. “Where is it? Where is it? She’s going to kill me.”
“Okay,” Katie admitted. “I feel a little bad about him. But he’ll be happy once Ashley forgives me and we’re back on good terms. I’m going to help them.”
George groaned. “You’re going to try to help them. But you can’t promise anything.”
“Whatever,” Katie said as she exited through the front door.
&
nbsp; Katie stopped by her office before going to the jail. She needed to print off copies of her notes from the Von Reich and Petrovsky investigations.
“She may not want my help,” Katie said to herself. “But she’s going to get it.”
Katie scrawled a letter and placed it in front of the case notes, planning to slide it into the front pocket of the laptop bag, but she noticed there was already something there. She pulled the packet out and studied it. It was a handmade comic-style book.
The title read Surgery Sam Saves the Day. Katie flipped it open. The story line was of a little boy named Sam who had a lung transplant. His new lungs were magical. They gave him the power to blow so hard that he could create storms. Or he could suck in and stop the heavy winds of tornados. He used his newfound superpower to stop Cyclone Fibrosis from destroying the entire state of Iowa.
It was a cute story. But more than that, it reminded Katie of Ashley’s volunteer activities. Ashley had been with Katie on the night Petrovsky was killed, so Katie could testify to Ashley’s innocence in that case. But Ashley was charged with Von Reich’s murder, too. Katie needed to find an alibi—or better yet, Von Reich’s real killer. She wondered if Ashley had been at the hospital or animal shelter around Von Reich’s time of death. He had been murdered in the middle of the night, so it was a long shot, but she had to try.
23
Ashley
December 12th – 1:30 p.m.
“You have another visitor,” Kylie said. She stood near Ashley’s cell door, swinging her key ring around her finger.
“Is it Jacob?”
“Ummm.” Kylie bit her lip. “Not quite.”
Despite Ashley’s best efforts, Kylie was starting to grow on her. There was a lightness in the young jailer. She had not been in Brine long enough to hate Ashley. And she was not forming opinions about Ashley’s current predicament.
“It’s not Katie again, is it?”
Kylie nodded. “Yup. She’s tenacious.”
“She’s something, all right.”
Kylie laughed. It was a hearty, throw-your-head-back kind of chuckle.
“How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t want to see her?”
“At least once more,” Kylie said before her expression grew serious. “It’s kinda sweet, though. Right? She cares.”
Ashley grunted. “I doubt that.” Ashley had been in the criminal defense game too long to fall for that type of law enforcement shenanigan. No officer visited a criminal defendant in jail with the intent to help. “Katie doesn’t care. She just wants to get a statement from me. That’ll tie up her investigation with a pretty red bow.”
Kylie twisted the end of her long ponytail around a finger. She was silent for a few moments, then shook her head. “I don’t know Officer Mickey personally, but I think you are wrong on this one.”
Ashley stood and moved to the back corner of her cell, turning her back to Kylie. She didn’t have the energy to argue. “Katie and George Thomanson are the lead officers in the Von Reich and Petrovsky cases,” Ashley muttered. “They made the decision to issue the arrest warrant.”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry, Kylie. I won’t see her. Please tell Katie to go away.”
Kylie sighed, then her heavy footsteps disappeared down the hallway. She was gone for a few minutes before returning.
“What is it?” Ashley said.
“Your laptop,” Kylie said.
Ashley spun around. “Katie had it?”
Kylie shrugged.
“Jacob was supposed to bring it. Why did he give it to her?”
Ashley’s heart sank. Of course Jacob would pawn his duties off on Katie. Even though Ashley had specifically told him not to involve the officer. Ashley knew he would not be able to brave coming to the jail again. Yet she had believed him when he had insisted that he would come back.
Kylie opened the cell door and handed Ashley the bag. “I’m not supposed to give you this either, but again, Tom’s bending the rules.”
Ashley grabbed the bag and hugged it to her chest. She breathed in its familiar leather scent. It was a comfort. She savored the feeling for a few moments before Kylie’s last statement registered. “Why is Tom giving me special treatment?”
Kylie smiled. It was wide and even. A gesture that came easily to the young woman. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Ashley quirked an eyebrow. “No.” Nothing was obvious anymore.
“He’ll be in later tonight. You can ask him then.”
A shiver ran up Ashley’s spine. The last time she had seen Tom, they had been in bed together. And she had shunned him. He had handed her his heart, and she had tossed it aside. Not because she did not care about him. But because of their jobs. Now everything had changed. She was an inmate, and he was her jailer. It sounded like the script from a trashy daytime TV show.
Ashley sat down and opened her laptop bag. It was time to get to work. She slid her clunky laptop out of the bag and stared at it with reverent admiration. Her truest friend. A tear slid down her cheek. It clung to her chin for a moment before falling and splatting on her laptop bag. That was when she noticed that the side pocket seemed extra full. She looked inside and found a large stack of police notes.
She quickly scanned the documents. They were all signed by Katie and George. Notes from the Von Reich and Petrovsky investigations. Had Katie put them in the bag? No. Ashley immediately dismissed the thought. Then she saw the note.
Ashley,
I know you think I betrayed you.
I didn’t know about the arrest warrant. I found out
after your arrest. I believe in your innocence.
Please let me help you.
P.S. –
You can send me away a million times and I will
still try to see you. Stop shutting me out.
– Katie –
“Good or bad news?” Kylie said.
Ashley jumped. She had forgotten that Kylie was still there. “Good.” She paused, worrying her lip. She still was not sure if she could trust Katie. “I think.”
“Then why are you crying?” Kylie fished in her pocket and pulled out a packet of tissues. She tossed them through the bars. They landed a couple feet from Ashley.
Ashley reached up and touched her face. It was wet with tears. “I think I’m losing my mind in here.”
“I think,” Kylie said with a grin, “you need to loosen up. Let yourself be vulnerable.”
Ashley wiped her eyes with a tissue. She gestured at the cell around her. “I don’t think I can get more vulnerable than I am right now.”
“I meant emotionally vulnerable. Let us help you.”
Ashley sniffled and met the jailer’s dark eyes. “Who do you mean by ‘us’?”
“Me, for one,” Tom said as he turned the corner.
Ashley fought the urge to cover her face. She was a complete mess. No makeup. Hair tangled in knots. Skin red and blotchy from crying. “Tom…” She did not know how to begin. Did he think she was a murderer? He could not believe she’d killed Petrovsky. She had been with him that night. But what about Von Reich?
Tom grinned. It was his usual toothy smile, spreading across his face. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“What?”
Tom said something into his radio. There was a beeping noise followed by the sharp click of a lock. Seconds later, Ashley heard the distinct click, click, click of claws. Her eyes met Tom’s, questioning. His smile only grew wider. Then Finn and Princess, Ashley’s precious dogs, rounded the corner.
Ashley dove at the bars and reached through as the dogs surged toward her. She dropped to her knees and wrapped an arm around each of them. “My babies, my sweet, sweet babies.” Their fur was warm and soft. Ashley stood, wiping tears from her face. “How did you…”
Tom seemed almost embarrassed. “I was at your house when they came. I took the dogs with me.”
“Do you have a yard?” Ashley was ashamed to ask. She had not ever thought t
o ask Tom about his living arrangements. Or much else about him. She didn’t know anything about his adult life outside the fact that he was the jail administrator.
“Nope,” Tom said, rocking on his heels. “An apartment. And dogs aren’t allowed.”
Ashley cocked her head, confused.
Tom chuckled. “I’ve had a lot of help from your friend, Keisha, at the animal shelter. She’s been keeping them there with her. She’s given them the run of the office.”
“Thank her for me.” Ashley pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. She had cried far too many times that day. Her body should have run out of tears, but to her horror, she seemed to have an unending supply.
“Can I let them in?” Tom indicated to the door of the cell.
“Will you?”
“I figured you needed someone to keep you warm at night.” His eyes sparkled with mischief as he opened the door.
Finn and Princess rushed toward Ashley. They dove into her arms, and she cuddled them tightly.
“I’ll give you some time to get reacquainted,” Tom said. He closed the door, and the lock clicked into place. “I’ll have to come and get them by five thirty. First shift will be here at six, and I don’t want them to know I’ve been doing this.” He nodded to a camera mounted on a nearby wall. “I’ll shut the cameras off while they are here, but I have to turn them back on as soon as possible. I don’t want anyone getting suspicious.”
Ashley nodded. She understood. Tom was the jail administrator, but he could still lose his job. Especially if the public knew he was sneaking animals into the jail to snuggle with an accused murderer.
“Thank you,” she whispered. The phrase did not come close to encompassing her gratification. But there were not words for the warmth spreading through her heart.
Tom nodded and disappeared down the hallway with Kylie at his side.
