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

by Burroughs, Debra

  “How could someone hate me so much that they would do something so horrible to a woman who had nothing to do with their anger against me?” Colin shifted in his seat and looked out the window. “She died because of me.”

  “Another way to look at it, son, is that she died because a criminal was so disturbed, so twisted he wanted his revenge at any price.” Ernie, who sat beside Colin at the table, rested a hand on his shoulder. “This is not on you.”

  “I doubt anyone wants to look at them right now, but there are copies of the crime scene photos. They’re pretty grisly.” Alex glanced at the faces around the table. “The medical examiner’s report here says cause of death was the stab wounds to her chest, which we had already heard.”

  With two fingers, Emily spun the copies from the Day-Timer in Alex’s direction. “These notes from Allison’s appointment book show the dates with Colin were all on Thursday nights. Doesn’t that strike you as an odd night to schedule a date?”

  “Girls’ night,” Colin muttered.

  “What?” Emily turned to hear him better.

  “Every week you have your girls-only potluck dinners. Whoever is setting me up knows about your girls’ night every Thursday. He knows I’m usually home alone that night, which means he’s been watching us and knows our routines, Emily.”

  A chill slithered up her back at the thought. “That’s how he knew you wouldn’t have an alibi for the night of the murder.”

  “And, Colin, let me get this straight,” Peter began to say, lifting his pen off his notepad, pointing it toward Colin, “you insist you never sent those texts or emails—”

  “That’s right. I never sent them and I never received any from Allison. Never.”

  “So we must be dealing with someone who’s pretty technologically savvy.” Isabel tapped her chin. “Someone who can hack into computers and phones to make it look like it was sent from yours and Allison’s, when it wasn’t.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Peter concurred.

  “And someone who could lift prints and DNA and plant them,” Isabel added.

  Alex turned to Colin. “Do you remember anyone you sent to prison who would fit that description?”

  “Ernie,” Emily said, “do you have that list yet from SFPD?”

  “Not yet. I checked on it again first thing this morning. They promised me I’d have it by end of today. I’ll stay on them.”

  “I hate to wait that long to start going through the suspects, Ernie.” Colin grimaced and touched his side. “Why don’t we head over to your office after this meeting? We can at least look at the cases I’ve handled in this town, eliminate any friends, relatives, or significant others of the people I’ve put away here.”

  Emily grabbed Colin’s hand. His pain had not escaped her notice. “As important as that is, we’re heading to the doctor’s office for some x-rays as soon as we’re done here.”

  “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. We need to start working that list.”

  Chapter 12

  The meeting at Alex’s office broke up and they all agreed that whoever was setting Colin up knew his way around state-of-the-art technology, and had to have been planning the frame job for quite some time. Emily had a gut feeling that there were going to be more bombshells to come.

  Colin was set on going with Ernie to scour the list of cases he had worked during his time in Paradise Valley. Despite the pain that was evident on his face and the tentative way he moved his body as he climbed into Ernie’s car, Emily reluctantly agreed to let him go. But she made Ernie swear he would rush him to the doctor if the pain worsened.

  “I’ve got Dr. Steinman on speed dial,” Ernie assured her, standing between his vehicle and hers.

  Emily tilted her head and wrinkled her brow. “Steinman?”

  “He’s been my doc for years. I’ve got his home number programmed into my phone, so don’t worry that pretty little head.”

  “Make sure I’m your second call.” Emily waved good-bye to Colin as she slid into her car. The sick feeling roiling in the pit of her stomach told her that she should have insisted that he went to see the doctor right then instead of giving in to his stubbornness.

  Emily glanced over at Colin in the next car as she backed out of the parking space. He looked exhausted and in pain. He was a big boy, she reminded herself, and she wasn’t going to drag him to the doctor’s office like a willful child.

  Resting on the seat next to her were the photos from the crime scene that she hoped to examine in peace and quiet, with no one talking in her ear. As meticulous as the man behind the frame-up might be, there had to be something he missed. She didn’t believe in the perfect murder.

  Rather than simply referring to the perpetrator of the frame job as the perp or the man, Emily decided she would call him Mr. X. She wanted to assign an identity to him to help remind her that Colin was innocent, that there was, indeed, someone else involved.

  When she got home, she planned to spread the photos out and scrutinize them under a magnifying glass, literally and figuratively. If there was anything out of place, she was determined to find it.

  Along with the crime scene pictures, the DA’s office had inserted a still-photo from the condo building’s parking lot. It was Colin’s vehicle, with the license plate highlighted to show the numbers clearly. When she came to a stop at a red light, she picked up the photo and studied it. If Colin planned to kill Allison, surely he would have known better than to park his Jeep under a light in the clear line of sight of a video camera.

  But what if it wasn’t planned? A spontaneous act after she had threatened to go public with their affair.

  Wait a minute.

  She frowned and shook her head. She was thinking these questions as if he had done it. A car horn beeped behind her, urging her to drive on. Peeking up into the rearview mirror, she waved an apologetic hand and hit the accelerator.

  Emily had also taken the thumb drive home to watch the security videos on her computer. How could they have Colin on tape, with Allison, entering her condo if it wasn’t him?

  She ran through the facts that she knew. That would have been last Thursday night. Camille and Maggie had said they weren’t sure Emily would be home for their weekly dinner because they thought they saw her and Colin turning into the Hilton Hotel as they were driving over. That was that Thursday night—the night Allison was killed.

  She’d dismissed it at the time, assuming they were mistaken. But after what the bartender told Peter, maybe they were right. She’d have to get a court order to wrangle the security footage from the hotel, but first, she wanted to get home and look at what was on the thumb drive.

  She arrived home and after quickly kicking off her shoes, she went straight to the breakfast bar, opened her laptop, stuck the thumb drive in the USB port, and watched it load. Several video file icons popped up and she clicked on the first one, labeled Laraway_condo_entrance.

  While the video took a few seconds to load, Emily slid off the barstool and went to the refrigerator for something to eat. She hadn’t bothered with lunch because of the arraignment, and then going with Alex to deal with the bond and Colin’s release, she’d completely overlooked eating.

  Her stomach grumbled as she opened the refrigerator door and surveyed what little was in there. The cup of strawberry yogurt was calling her name. She dug a spoon out of the drawer and returned to the computer.

  She perched herself on the stool again and hit the play button. The video was a dull and grainy quality, shooting only from the right side, but it clearly showed a tall slender man with a baseball cap over short dark hair walking up to the entrance with a blonde woman that Emily recognized as Allison Laraway. The man’s face never turned toward the camera, as if he knew it was there and purposely avoided it.

  His cap appeared to have a San Francisco Giants insignia on the front, from the partial emblem she could see. She recognized it because Colin had one just like it. The man wore a dark North Face jacket over a p
air of jeans. Colin had a jacket like that, too, but so did thousands of other people.

  The man removed the cap as they went through the door. The motion of putting his right hand up to the brim covered any hint of a side view of his features. With the parking lot video showing the Jeep with Colin’s license plate on it, together with his prints and DNA inside Allison’s condo, of course the police would believe the man in this video was Colin.

  Emily would have believed it too if she didn’t know better—or at least hoped better—but what if she and her friends were all being played? That two-percent doubt began to grow again.

  If it wasn’t Colin in the videos, who was it? And why would it show Colin’s Jeep with the license plate in plain view? Why was Mr. X wearing Colin’s clothes?

  Whoever this guy was, he was doing a spectacular job of making it appear to be Colin who committed this murder.

  Emily’s phone ringing on the counter jolted her out of her thoughts. She scooped it up and saw it was Ernie.

  “Hey, Ernie. Any luck?”

  “Oh, Emily, I’m glad I got a hold of you.” He sounded rattled.

  “What is it?” Emily braced herself for more bad news.

  “It’s Colin. He was burning up and he started vomiting. I stuck him in my car and rushed him to the emergency room at St. Luke’s. He’s in with the doctor now.”

  “Sit tight and I’ll be right there.”

  ~*~

  Within minutes, Emily breezed through the doors of the emergency room and scanned the busy waiting area for Ernie. Spotting him leaning on the counter at the nurse’s station, she strode over. He was talking to a woman in blue scrubs.

  “Ernie.” Emily tugged on his sleeve.

  He turned to face her. “Glad you got here so quick.” He cast a glance over his shoulder and thanked the nurse for her help. “I haven’t heard anything yet. He’s still in with the doctor.”

  Emily drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “I knew I should have made him go for x-rays right after the meeting.”

  “It was his call.”

  “I know, but I had a bad feeling about that bruise. He probably has a broken rib—or worse.” She blinked back tears that were beginning to surface.

  “Here, why don’t we sit down.” Ernie put a hand under Emily’s arm and escorted her to a couple of empty chairs. “Let’s wait to see what the doctor says before we start worrying, okay?”

  Ernie could be gruff at times, but Emily knew he was all mush inside. Colin was like a son to him, and the tone of his voice and the uneasy look in his eyes told her he was concerned.

  A young doctor, in the familiar hospital blues, pushed through the double doors. Ernie was on his feet the moment he saw him and rushed over. Emily was close on his heels.

  “Doc, how’s Colin Andrews doing?” Ernie asked.

  “Are you Ernie Kaufmann?”

  “Yes sir. I’m the one who brought him in.”

  “And I’m his fiancée,” Emily added. “How is he?”

  “Good thing you brought him in when you did—he’s bleeding internally.”

  “What does that mean, Doc?” Ernie asked.

  “He has a couple of broken ribs and some damage to his spleen.”

  Emily wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I knew it. I tried to get him to see the doctor earlier today, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “Does he have any family I could talk to?”

  “His folks are in California and they can’t travel,” Ernie said, “but I’m sure I could get a hold of them by phone.”

  “Is Colin unconscious?” Emily asked.

  “No, but I’ll need to get his permission before I can share any more of his medical condition with you, since you’re not family.”

  Ernie crossed his arms over his girth and planted his feet in a firm stance. “I’m the acting Paradise Valley Police Detective, son, and I’ll need that information for an ongoing investigation into his attack.”

  Would Ernie’s bluff work? Emily mentally crossed her fingers and held her breath.

  “All right, Detective.” The doctor glanced around and lowered his voice. “He’s had a CT scan, which revealed two broken ribs, and there’s some damage to the spleen, which is causing blood to pool in the abdomen. I’ve put a line in to drain the excess fluid so we can see what’s going on in there.”

  Emily’s stomach clutched as she thought about the half-hearted care he’d received from the nurse practitioner in the jail. She tightened her grip around her abdomen.

  “We’ve started him on medication to ease the pain and to fight any infection that might occur, as well as a light sedative to help him sleep. We’ll need to schedule him for surgery as soon as possible to repair the damage, and then watch him for a few days.”

  “Sounds serious.” Emily grimaced.

  “It can be.”

  She felt her eyes widen as the fear settled inside her. Could this situation get any worse?

  Ernie placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Anything else we should know, Doc?”

  “That’s all for now. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “Will the surgery be tonight?” Emily eyed the doctor.

  “Most likely. The patient has already signed off on it. We should have a trauma surgeon available shortly.”

  “Then, I’m not going anywhere.” Emily crossed her arms tightly over her chest now. “I can’t leave him—I won’t.”

  “I’m staying too, Doc, but I’d better phone his parents and let them know,” Ernie said.

  “Have them call me with any questions.” The doctor dug a business card out of his pants pocket and handed it to Ernie. “Colin is awake if you want to see him now. Not too long, though, because he needs his rest.”

  Emily and Ernie followed the doctor to his room and tiptoed in. Colin appeared drowsy.

  Ernie stood alongside the bed and quietly greeted Colin. His voice was uncharacteristically soft and even. Emily could tell Ernie was trying to restrain his emotions.

  She stepped up, placing her hand gently on Colin’s cheek. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “We can’t have you lazing around in bed for weeks.” She lightly stroked his hair a few times. “We’ve got a case to solve.”

  He looked up at her with his sleepy eyes and a grin began to spread across his lips until the pain of stretching his split lip bit him and he winced.

  Emily took his hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you smile.” She bent down and kissed him softly on the side of his mouth. She hated seeing him like this.

  If only he had listened to me earlier.

  She bit her tongue, now was not the time to scold him for being so bullheaded and not heeding her advice to see a doctor immediately.

  Colin’s eyes drifted shut, telling her it was time for her and Ernie to duck out and let him sleep.

  “I love you, Colin.” She kissed him on the forehead and loosened the grip on his hand.

  He must have felt her start to let go, for he tightened his hold on her hand. “Love you too, Babe,” he drowsily muttered, eyes still closed, before letting go of her.

  She and Ernie stepped out into the hall to talk.

  “I’ll give Jim and Donna a call to bring them up to speed on what’s happening. Colin phoned them after we left the lawyer’s office, but circumstances have changed a bit.”

  “I’m sure Colin would appreciate that.” Emily touched Ernie’s arm. “You’re a good friend.”

  He smiled weakly at her, as if he felt a little guilty for not having insisted Colin go directly to see the doctor, too.

  “It was Colin’s decision not to seek medical help, Ernie, not yours—and not mine.”

  “Guess you’re right.” He nodded and his gaze fell to his feet.

  “Chin up, big guy. He’s going to need us to stay strong if we’re going to solve Allison Laraway’s murder.”

  Ernie pulled in a long breath. “I’d almost forgotten about that fo
r a second, with all the talk of surgery. I’d better get my head screwed on straight.”

  “Why don’t you give his folks a call, and I’ll phone Alex and Isabel to let them know what’s happening.” She counted on Isabel to call Maggie, who’d spread the word to Camille and Peter. Then the circle would be complete. “After that, we can meet up in the cafeteria, get a bite to eat. It’s going to be a long night.”

  “I guess I’d better give my wife a call and tell her not to wait up for me.”

  They each went their separate ways to make their calls. When Emily reached the cafeteria, Ernie was seated at a table and waved her over.

  She glanced at the food line as she strolled over to his table. “Why don’t we get something to eat, then we can talk things over.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  Once they got their food and beverages, they found a table in a quiet corner of the cafeteria to eat and talk.

  “How did Jim and Donna take the news?” Emily ripped open a packet and poured sweetener into her coffee.

  “About as well as could be expected, I suppose. They’d like to be here, but Jim isn’t up to traveling yet.”

  “I’m sure they know he’s in good hands with you here, Ernie.”

  “Donna said they’re anxious to meet you, now that you’re going to be part of the family.”

  “Only if we can get Colin off. The trial starts in only four weeks.”

  “I can’t believe that DA convinced the judge to push it up so much. It’s ridiculous.” Ernie took a bite of his burger.

  “Did the two of you have a chance to talk about his past cases before you had to rush him to the emergency room?”

  “Actually, we did. The list isn’t that long since he’s only worked in Paradise Valley for about six months. Besides, you worked some of those cases with him.”

  “True, but of those that I didn’t, were there any good prospects? Or should I say suspects?”

  “Just one. I don’t know if you recall this or not, but there was a woman, Amanda McDonald, that Colin investigated and arrested for embezzling thousands of dollars from her employer—you know that big construction company.”