The Pursuit of Lies (Book #4, Paradise Valley)

by Burroughs, Debra

  The judge pulled his glasses off, laid them down, and rubbed his eyes briefly. “That is so sad to hear she’s dead. She was a lovely woman.”

  Alex frowned quizzically at Colin, and then he peered over his shoulder at Emily with a strained look that said, “Oh, my God, what is he doing?”

  “Yes, she was, Your Honor.” The District Attorney stood once more, seemingly taking the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the judge. “If she hadn’t been brutally murdered by this man, she’d be the one standing here today.”

  “If she hadn’t been killed, none of us would be here today, Mr. Shackleford. Sit down.” The judge slid his glasses back on and turned his attention to Colin. “Say, aren’t you the detective over in Paradise Valley?”

  “I am, Your Honor.”

  “You’ve been in my court before, testifying for the prosecution, haven’t you, son?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I remember you. Always thorough and well spoken, that’s what I recall.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.”

  “You look pretty beat up there, young man. How did you get those cuts and bruises on your face?” the judge questioned.

  Alex put his hand on Colin’s arm to stop him from replying. Instead, Alex spoke for him. “He was attacked in jail while being held in the general population, Your Honor—despite the fact I specifically asked that he be held in isolation for his safety as a law enforcement officer. My request was purposely ignored,” he gestured to Colin, “and this is the result.”

  “Mr. Shackleford,” the judge sternly uttered, “I want to know who ignored that request and why. You have that information to my assistant by the end of the day. Do you understand?”

  “Uh…yes. By the end of the day, Your Honor.” The DA seemed surprised by the directive, but with no other choice, he agreed.

  Judge Prentiss looked down at his desk again. “Well, I’m sorry to say it looks like the prosecution has enough evidence to take you to trial, young man.” He raised his gaze and focused on Colin again. “How do you plead?”

  “Not guilty.”

  The District Attorney shot out of his chair. “This is the vicious murder of an officer of the court. We ask that Colin Andrews be held without bail, Your Honor.”

  “No, Your Honor,” Alex insisted. “In this country, every man is considered innocent until proven guilty. We ask that a fair and reasonable bail be set.”

  “The State believes Mr. Andrews could be a flight risk,” Shackleford argued.

  “My client is not a flight risk. He has strong ties to the community and does not have the financial means, or the desire, to flee. He’s a former US Marine, committed to clearing his good name.”

  “A former marine, you say?” The courtroom became still as the judge mulled over his decision.

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Alex broke the silence. “In addition to serving his country, Mr. Andrews has recently returned to work from a leave of absence for several months to help care for his ailing father. He has also become newly engaged to an investigative consultant for the Paradise Valley Police Department. If anyone deserves a fair shake, it’s Colin Andrews.”

  “What, now you’re going to tell us Andrews was an Eagle Scout, too?” the DA said to Alex. “Your Honor, none of what my esteemed colleague just said amounts to a hill of beans. He’s simply trying—”

  The judge raised his hand as a signal for the District Attorney to stop talking. “I disagree, Mr. Shackleford. I think it goes to character. Bail is set at one million dollars, cash or bond.” The calm of the courtroom was shattered as the judge banged his gavel.

  “Your Honor!” The DA shouted over the commotion in the gallery.

  The judge banged his gavel again. “We must have quiet!”

  Everyone took their seats as the noise died down.

  The DA cleared his throat. “Your Honor, in light of this heinous crime against an officer of the court, my office feels we need to send a strong message. We ask that you set the trial date for two weeks from today.”

  Once again, the courtroom erupted. Setting a trial date that soon was unheard of.

  “Two weeks?” Alex’s eyes widened. “But, Your Honor, that hardly gives me enough time to prepare an adequate defense.”

  “I agree. Let’s make it four weeks.” The judge banged his gavel one last time. “Next!”

  ~*~

  Colin turned and looked warily at Alex. “Four weeks?”

  He’d never been on trial before, but he knew that was not enough time to mount a powerful defense against the growing evidence the prosecution was accumulating. Even if they stopped gathering evidence now, they already had enough to bury him.

  “I know it’s not much time, Colin, but we’ll do our best. The entire gang is going to be working on this. If we’re going to find out who’s framing you, we’ll need your help.”

  “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of something, and I’ve come up with a few ideas.” He turned and gazed at Emily, who was already looking his way. He stretched out a hand toward her. “I didn’t do this, Emily.” She had to believe him.

  “I know.” She answered with a shaky smile.

  Alex cleared his throat, and Colin turned his attention back to his attorney.

  “First things first,” Alex said. “I’ll arrange bail and get you out of here.”“Where am I going to get a hundred thousand dollars to pay the bond?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure between us all we can come up with it.”

  Colin nodded his understanding as the guard’s large hand gripped his arm and led him away.

  “Hang in there, Colin,” Alex called to him.

  Colin looked over his shoulder to Emily as he was escorted to the side door. He could see from the expression on her face that she was almost as frightened as he was. “I love you,” he silently mouthed before walking through the doorway.

  He hoped she mouthed the same to him in return.

  Chapter 11

  Emily gathered with Alex and the rest of her friends in the wide hall outside of the courtroom.

  “Oh, I couldn’t get over how awful poor Colin looked.” Camille reached out and squeezed Emily’s hand. “Those inmates that attacked him should be horsewhipped.”

  “I agree. What’s the matter with those awful men?” Maggie pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “It was hard—” Emily’s voice cracked, and she cleared her throat and began again. “It was hard to see him like that.”

  “What do you make of that judge?” Isabel asked.

  “He is a bit of an odd duck. Let’s just hope he’ll be fair,” Emily said.

  Alex nodded. “Yeah, the old guy is kind of quirky, but he seems to like Colin. That’s definitely in our favor.”

  “But four weeks?” Peter frowned and cocked his head. “Is that going to be enough time for us to find out what’s really going on? Who really killed the Laraway woman?”

  “That’s all we’ve got. We’ll have to do our best.”

  “Do you know when the funeral is scheduled?” Peter asked.

  “I haven’t heard, but soon, I would think,” Alex said. “Why do you ask?”

  “I just thought, with the trial being so soon after, your jury pool will be biased from press coverage of the memorial service and the newscasters putting in their two cents about the accused murderer being a local police detective.”

  “All the more reason to find the real killer as soon as possible,” Emily replied.

  “So the sooner we get Colin out the better. More boots on the ground, so to speak,” Peter said.

  “I agree.” Alex glanced around at the friends assembled there. “Now, how do we come up with the hundred-thousand-dollar bond?”

  Emily knew Colin didn’t have that kind of money, and he’d never want to ask his parents for it. She wasn’t even sure they would have it. And she didn’t expect the others to put up money, even though she was certain each of her friends would be willing to cont
ribute something.

  She was happy to put up her house, which still had some equity, but she doubted it was a hundred thousand dollars.

  The rolls of cash!

  Like a light bulb flashing on, she remembered the rolls of cash her late husband had stashed away in his secret safe deposit box. She had discovered them over the summer, but it had been months since she’d thought of them. Not sure how the money had come into Evan’s possession, she had been afraid to touch it, so she’d pushed it to the back of her mind—over the past few months, she’d had too many other things to worry about.

  Unsure how much was actually in there, she was certain it was over a hundred thousand dollars. One day she had gone to the bank and began counting it, but after she had been in the safe deposit room for quite some time, the bank manager stuck his head in and interrupted her, telling her someone else was waiting. Forced to scramble and leave one of the wads uncounted, she had already tallied more than a hundred thousand dollars before she shoved all of the money back into the metal box.

  There were many secrets about Evan that she had uncovered, and resolved, in the last year—where the cash came from was not one of them. She hoped it was not blood money.

  “Shall we take up a collection?” Maggie asked. “Everyone chippin’ in?”

  “Oh, Maggs, no. Colin would appreciate that, I’m sure, but—” Emily put an arm around her friend and hugged her shoulders, “I can take a line of credit against my house, then no one will have to contribute anything.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Alex asked. “You could lose your house.”

  Emily’s brows raised in surprise. “You really think he’d skip out on me?”

  The whole group froze with their collective gaze focused on Alex’s next words.

  “Well, no…of course not,” he stammered. “I just meant…well…isn’t there some other way? Like getting the money from his folks, maybe.”

  “No, I want to do this.” Emily decided she would wait until she was alone with Alex to explain about the cash she had squirreled away. She hadn’t wanted to share the secret of the money with anyone—she hadn’t even told Colin about it yet—but Alex would have to know now. “You and I ought to be heading to the bank and the bail bondsman so we can get him out of that stinking place.”

  “All right, all right, we’re out of here.” Alex began to back down the hallway toward the main entrance as he spoke, with Emily keeping pace beside him. “Isabel, can you meet us at my office in a couple of hours? I think we need a strategy meeting at the earliest possible opportunity.”

  ~*~

  Sitting in the reception area of the jail, Emily tapped her nails on the hard shellacked surface of the wooden bench. Why is it taking so long? The clock on the wall told her she’d been sitting there for twenty-two minutes, waiting for Alex to settle the bond and get Colin released. With arms crossed, she began to pace in front of the benches, the tapping of her nails replaced by the clicking of her heels on the hard linoleum floor. She was anxious to get him out of this place and begin working on the investigation.

  Another ten minutes passed, but no Colin. As she took a seat on the bench again, a loud buzz from the secured door caught her attention. The door swung open and Colin was the first to walk through it.

  Emily was instantly off the bench and wrapped in his arms. Careful not to hurt his split lip, she gently rested her palm along his stubbled jaw line and kissed him tenderly on the side of his mouth. Laying her head against his chest, she clung to him, and he to her. No words needed to pass between them.

  Alex cleared his throat. “We should probably get out of here.”

  She stepped out of Colin’s embrace, and he took her hand in his.

  Emily smiled up at him. “I’ll bet you’re glad to be out of there.”

  “You have no idea.”

  ~*~

  Alex and Emily strolled into his law firm with Colin, and Ernie, Isabel, and Peter were standing by the window, waiting in Alex’s private office, discussing the case. Ernie rushed over to Colin, wrapped him up in a big bear hug and clapped him firmly on the back a few times.

  “You all right?” Ernie asked as he released his powerful grip.

  “Holding my own,” Colin groaned.

  Alex eyed Peter. “We weren’t expecting to see you here.”

  “I figured I could be of some help. I hope you guys don’t mind.”

  “No, I don’t mind.” Emily was happy to have the help. “Colin?”

  “Welcome to the team.” Colin stuck out his hand and Peter shook it.

  Ernie examined the ragged condition of Colin’s face for a moment. “Looks like you got yourself in a scrape or two.”

  “You should see the other guys,” Colin chuckled, causing him to wince and grab his side.

  “Are you okay?” Emily rushed to see, her voice infused with concern.

  “Just don’t make me laugh.” He winced again and lifted his shirt, exposing a grapefruit-sized bruise on the left side of his ribcage.

  “Oh, that looks bad.” Isabel grimaced. “Shouldn’t you have a doctor look at it?”

  “They had a nurse practitioner examine it in the jail. Her diagnosis was bruised ribs—nothing broken.”

  Emily ran a finger lightly over the purplish area, and Colin winced again, then dropped his shirt.

  “I hope that woman’s right,” she said, raising her eyebrows at him. The last thing he needed right now was a handful of broken ribs.

  “Enough about my prison escapades, let’s figure out how to prove I’m innocent.” Colin pulled out a chair from Alex’s small conference table and gingerly sank down onto it.

  “Did he just say escapades?” Isabel whispered to Emily as she took a seat.

  Emily shrugged. “Must’ve picked up a new vocabulary while he was in there.”

  Alex retrieved an accordion file from the top of his desk and went back to the table. “Everything the DA has on you so far should be in this packet.” He opened the pouch and slid the contents out onto the table. “It was messengered over earlier today.”

  “Kind of a thick file,” Colin said. “That can’t be good.”

  “There’s the fingerprint analysis, which we already knew they had.” Alex set the first sheet aside and picked up the next. “And the DNA results from hair and other fibers found at the scene, which I was told they just completed this morning.”

  Colin slapped his hand down on the sheet of DNA results. “I still don’t understand how they could have gotten my prints and DNA from Allison’s place when I was never there.”

  “Someone had to have planted them,” Isabel replied.

  “And we’ll have to figure out who,” Ernie added.

  Emily picked up a thumb drive that had skidded across the table toward her when Alex dumped the contents. “What’s on this?”

  “That should contain video from Allison’s condo, both the parking lot camera and the one by the door to the building,” Alex replied. “They are said to show Colin’s Jeep with the license plate in clear view, as well as him and Allison walking into her building.”

  Colin bolted from his chair. “How can the video show that when I was never there?”

  “We’re going to figure that out, now please, sit down,” Alex said.

  Emily, too, wished she had an answer for that very question. Looking over this pile of evidence, the task was daunting.

  As Colin took his seat again, Alex picked up another page, moving the papers from one stack to the other. “Then there are copies of emails back and forth between Colin and Allison.”

  “Whoa. I want to make it absolutely clear that I never sent her emails that weren’t work related.” Colin’s voice rose with irritation.

  “Duly noted.” Alex looked from the papers to Colin’s eyes. “Sorry, Colin, it’s just easier stating the evidence from the DA’s point of view. Then we know what we’re up against. May we continue?”

  “All right, but keep in mind someone is framing me, tryi
ng to make it look like I did these things, which I did not.” Colin’s strained voice bore the signs of a man struggling for control over his exhaustion and fear.

  Emily noticed his fingers curl into a fist on the table. “We all know that, hon.” She looked into his tired eyes, covered his clenched hand with hers, and offered him a closed-mouth smile. She couldn’t begin to imagine what he was going through, but if they were going to help him, he had to keep his emotions in check and let them do their jobs.

  Colin settled back against his chair, a sign he was ready to proceed.

  “The next sheets are copies of texts,” Alex paused and looked over at Colin, “I mean supposed texts between Colin and Allison, as well as alleged notations in her appointment book of times they purportedly met.”

  For Colin’s sake, Emily appreciated Alex’s catch in his phrasing. It had to be difficult for Colin to hear Alex read invented texts and emails about a made-up affair, especially in front of his fiancée.

  “Can I see that?” she asked.

  Alex scooted the document across the table to her and continued. “Next we have an interview with Ms. Laraway’s assistant, who found her body.” Alex picked up the papers and scanned through them.

  Emily looked over at Peter and caught his gaze, wondering if she should mention their meeting with the assistant. She shook her head ever so slightly, signaling him this wasn’t the time to bring it up, and returned her attention to Alex.

  Isabel leaned forward and folded her hands on the table. “What does it say?”

  “The assistant says Allison didn’t show up for work on Friday, which was not at all like her. So, about mid-day, the DA asked her to go by Allison’s condo to check on her. She had a key to Allison’s place because sometimes she had to run over there for something Allison needed for court. Friday, just after noon, she knocked and rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. She let herself in and called out to Allison, but still no answer. She wandered from room to room calling out and looking for her. That’s when she discovered Allison’s bloody body laying on her bed. She immediately called nine-one-one and waited for the police to arrive.”