Torrid - Book Three

by Jayne Blue

  “I don’t have a computer,” I said, trying to process it all.

  “Your phone,” Addie said again. “I need to know what they’re going to find.”

  “Nothing,” I said. My fingers shook as I slid the warrant back to her. “I made a recording of Seth’s confession. I told you, he admitted planting the financial evidence against my father.”

  “And that’s what you suspected all along, right?” Addie asked.

  “Not at first,” I said. “I didn’t know Seth was directly involved in the beginning. He admitted that to me later. Right before I married him. Before that I just assumed it was ...”

  My heart dropped to the floor as I understood the weight of Addie’s question. I didn’t kill Miranda. But I’d just admitted to a perfect motive for wanting her dead. Revenge.

  “I didn’t do this,” I said. “They said she had a heart attack.”

  “Okay, here’s the thing.” Addie put her pad and the warrant back in her briefcase and pulled it back to the floor. “You did the right thing calling me before saying anything to the police. You need to stay quiet for the time being. You haven’t been formally charged but I’m getting the sense that’s probably coming before the day’s over. I’m working on getting you a bail hearing tomorrow morning. Are they going to find anything when they run your criminal background?”

  “No,” I said. “I swear. Nothing. Not even a speeding ticket.”

  “Good,” Addie said. Her face was softer now and somehow that made me even more agitated. She was handling me. She must have seen something in my face that alarmed her. “Do you have family in town?”

  I barked out a laugh. “My father’s in the Marion Penitentiary. I’m alone.”

  “That’s not good,” she said. “Do you work? Do you have friends here? I’ve got to make a case that you have ties to the community, Tora. The prosecutor’s going to push hard that you’re a flight risk. Your fake ID is going to come back to bite you in the ass on that score. I think we can safely assume that Seth Manning isn’t in your corner anymore. Do you have someplace local to stay?”

  It felt like a trap door had just opened up beneath my feet. I fell through hard. I had nothing solid to hold on to. The things I’d built to trap Seth encircled me now like thorny branches that pulled me down into the void.

  “I’m not getting out of here, am I?” I meant it as a question but it came out like a statement.

  Addie took a breath before she answered. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t. If you can find someone who will vouch for you. Someone you can stay with that’s inside the county would be a big help. But you need to prepare yourself for the idea that you’re going to be inside for the duration of this case, Tora. If you have any family, anyone you can call, now would be the time to reach out.”

  “What about my dad?” I said, my voice sounding so small to my own ears. “Is there enough to get him out? Seth admitted to framing him flat out. It’s on my phone. I saved the recording to the cloud. He incriminated himself.”

  “I represent you, not your dad,” Addie said. “And I’d like to hear that tape for myself. If you’ve got anything other than Seth’s say-so to exculpate your father, it’d be a good idea to produce that too. I have a colleague at a civil rights organization called the Justice Project that might at least agree to a meeting with you. For now, that’s the best I can do. You need to worry more about your own defense strategy for the time being.”

  I nodded. “But what do you think based on what I told you?”

  Addie shrugged. “I’ve got to give you the lawyer’s favorite answer on that one at this point.”

  I nodded and answered with her, “It depends.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Addie stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. “Just hang in there for the time being. I’ll get more information about what they’ve got on the murder investigation by morning. They’ll probably take you down to the courthouse early. There will be a lot of hurry up and wait, I’m afraid. We’ll probably get in front of the judge by ten a.m. That’s the best I can do. What about someone I can call for you?”

  I pressed my thumb against the bridge of my nose. Jack. It was Jack I wanted by my side. I had no idea if having him here would help or hurt. Did he still believe me? Would he ever be able to get past the truth of what Seth revealed about his own father? Would I ever be able to forgive him for walking out on me this morning? It dawned on me then how much I still needed him. He’d driven off with the other critical piece of evidence I had linking Jackson Manning to my father’s case.

  “I need to see Jack Manning,” I said. “But there’s something you need to know before I do.”

  I turned in my seat. Addie leaned against the door. “Out with it.”

  “We have ... we had a relationship, Jack and me. A romantic one. He is Miranda’s stepson. It started after Miranda’s funeral. He’s the only other person who knows about what I was trying to prove through Seth. Up until this morning I counted on him to help me. I have no idea if he still will, but I need to talk to him. How bad would that look?”

  Addie shrugged. “Pretty bad. They’re watching you, Tora. What kind of relationship did Jack have with Miranda?”

  My eyelids fluttered as I took a steadying breath. “Nonexistent. Their disdain for each other was pretty much public record. There was a heated court battle over his father’s guardianship about ten years ago.”

  Addie shook her head. “Then forget it. You can’t see him. Give me another name. Don’t you have some family or a friend you can call?”

  I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “Can you give me a piece of paper and pen?”

  Addie reached into her briefcase and lobbed her notepad across the table to me, along with a pen. I wrote a name down and slid the pad back to her. She stopped it with her palm just before it toppled off the edge.

  Chapter Four

  Jack

  A four a.m. phone call never brings good news. I woke up disoriented. I was still in my penthouse suite at The Drake but it took me a good few seconds to sort that out. My phone buzzed and vibrated off the night stand.

  “Shit,” I muttered, reaching down to find it in the dark. When I flipped it, the caller ID sent a chill through me.

  “Reed?” I said. I scratched my chin where two days of stubble started to itch.

  “Hey Jack,” he said. “Sorry to wake you up like this but you need to turn on the news.”

  “Huh? What channel?” I reached across to the other nightstand and grabbed the remote for the flat screen on the opposite wall.

  “CNN, Fox, any one of them. Miranda’s case has blown up in the media.”

  The screen flared to life and I flipped to the news. I had to rub the sleep out of my eyes again before the words crawling across the screen made sense to me.

  Federal Judge Miranda Manning’s Death Ruled a Homicide

  A barely pubescent-looking anchor blinked as he read from the teleprompter.

  “I don’t know much beyond what they’re saying on the news,” Reed said. “They’ve just said law enforcement is expected to announce formal charges in the case later this morning. They’re going to charge Tora with first-degree murder in a few hours, Jack. They’re saying she poisoned Miranda the night before she died.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear. My head buzzed.

  “Poisoned her with what?”

  “They aren’t releasing that information. But, Jack, we’ve got a bigger problem. We need to get in touch with that detective who gave you his card. You’ve got to turn over Tora’s things. I’m not going to let you get ensnared in this thing any further.”

  “I understand,” I said. My pulse pounded in my temple. I saw Tora’s face everywhere. The frown she made when she dreamt, the flash her eyes made for me when no one else was looking, the last broken stare she gave me when I accused her of lying about my dad. “God. Reed. She didn’t do this. She couldn’t have. It doesn’t make any sense. She hated Miranda as much or more
than I did. Of course she did. But she didn’t kill her. She was trying to gather evidence that Miranda framed her dad. She wanted her alive, for chrissakes.”

  “It’s not your problem anymore, Jackie,” Reed said. His tone was harsh and distinctly paternal. “None of this looks good. Certainly not for her, not for you either. You need to stay as far away from that poor girl as possible until this all plays out.”

  My gut twisted in knots. Where was Tora now? Was she afraid? God. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. She had to feel completely alone and abandoned. Or were they right? I thought I was the one person Tora told the truth to. I’d accused her of playing me the other night. Did I really believe that? Was this part of that too?

  “Do you have any sense whether they’ll let her out on bail?” I said. “And where the hell is Seth in all of this?”

  “No idea,” Reed said. “I’m sure they took him down for questioning separately yesterday. Whatever he told the police sure as hell didn’t do that girl any good. I know you say you don’t think she did this. I really hope you’re right. For now, I want you sit tight while I get a hold of Detective Haney and that criminal lawyer I was telling you about. I mean it, Jack. Don’t talk to anyone about this case. Not until I know more about what’s going on.”

  I nodded. My relationship with Tora was going to come out now. It had been an open secret for months. I wasn’t worried about my own implication in whatever happened to Miranda. I hadn’t even met Tora until the funeral. But I knew a lot of things the police would likely want to hear about.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

  “Good. And, Jackie, there’s one other thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I talked to Bev Bradley last night after you left. She says she wants to talk to you ... badly. Do you think you can meet for an early dinner? By then I’ll have some information about what we’re going to do about Haney. Why don’t you come back to our house around five and I’ll have Bev join us. Margie’s worried about you too. This will give her something to focus her energy on. She finally gets to make her tuna casserole.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “And, Reed. Thanks.”

  I hung up the phone and ran my hands over my face.

  Murder. First-degree murder.

  I wanted to punch something. I wanted to punch Seth. I didn’t understand how but I knew whatever happened to Miranda that night had to involve him. I tried to remember what he and Tora had told me about the night Miranda died. Tora said they had dinner at Miranda’s house that evening. She had taken another stab at trying to run Tora off. They weren’t living in the house at the time. Tora had her own place on Lakeshore and Seth kept his own apartment then. When Seth called me the next day, he’d just said the housekeeper found Miranda dead in her bed. What in God’s name did they have on Tora?

  Something else dawned on me too. They were never going to let Tora out of jail if she had to stand trial for murder. She lied about who she was and didn’t have any ties to the Chicago area except for Seth.

  My fingers itched on my smartphone screen. Seth. I needed to know what he planned to do about all of this. I nearly dialed but then remembered what Reed said. I shouldn’t talk to anyone about this case until I talked to my own lawyer. Except I knew I hadn’t done a damn thing wrong. Screw it. I decided to take the middle ground and text him. At least then I’d have a record of whatever he said to me. I pulled up his contact and typed.

  What the hell is going on?

  The blinker cursed but he didn’t respond. I waited another minute then decided to head up to the track for a run. It was either that or down about a pint of scotch. Anything to clear my head or dull it. I had just finished lacing my running shoes when someone pounded at the door. I looked over at the clock. It was just after five a.m.

  I balled my fists at my sides after I looked through the peephole. Seth looked ragged. I swung the door open. He had his cell phone clutched in his hand and he gripped the door frame to keep from swaying. He was drunk off his ass.

  “Get in here,” I said.

  Seth took a faltering step and came inside. I looked out in the hallway. It was empty. I shut the door and turned to him.

  “You want to know what the hell is going on?” Seth thrust his blinking phone out toward me. “She’s fucking ruined me. That’s what’s going on.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” I said. Something dark rose inside me. Seth, as usual, couldn’t handle anything if Miranda wasn’t around to tell him what to do. He was drunk, and disheveled. His crumpled blue suit looked like he’d slept in it and he reeked of bourbon.

  He pointed at me with an unsteady finger. “Everybody told me. They said she was just a gold-digging whore. Even my mother. That’s what’s going on. Have you seen the news?”

  “Yes.”

  Seth shook his phone at me again just as it vibrated with another text. “All day. All night,” he said while plopping down on the couch in my sitting room. “Phone’s been blowing up. Jeffries called like ten times. Moutsopolous. You know what they’re going to say?”

  I didn’t answer. I just stared at him.

  “They’re going to tell me I’m done. That nobody’ll vote for me now. This scandal is too big to blow over before November.”

  I set my jaw so hard it ached. Even now, even in his alcohol-addled brain, the only thing Seth was capable of thinking about was Seth. He’d just found out the police thought his mother had been murdered and she was the furthest thing from his mind.

  “They weren’t going to vote for you anyway, Seth,” I said. “That was the consensus from everyone I talked to at the Legacy last month. Nobody seriously thought you had a shot. Are you telling me you didn’t get that?”

  “Fuck you,” Seth said. His eyes clouded over then focused on me again. “You’re just jealous. You’ve always been jealous.”

  “Right,” I said. “Is that what Miranda told you? Wake up, Seth. You just found out the cops think your mother was murdered and it’s the election you’re worried about? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “I shouldn’t have come here,” he said. “You’re my brother! I thought maybe you of all people might have something to say to help me. You’re just like the rest of them. You all think you’re better than me. You’re all jealous of me.”

  “We’re not brothers, Seth. What did you do to my father?” I crossed my hands in front of me and leaned against the wall. Seth swayed on the bed and for a moment, I thought he would topple over. He righted himself and narrowed his eyes at me.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Did you get him involved in something?” I answered. “You want to tell me about that? You want to tell me about Declan McLain?”

  Seth stood up. For as drunk as he was, he got very steady all of a sudden. He walked toward me. My fingers twitched at my sides as I itched to strike him.

  “Tora set me up,” Seth said. “She was good at it too. I bet you wish you knew exactly how good. That’s how she got me. She fucked me like a porn star. Every night. Sometimes two or three times a day. Can you believe that? And half the time she begged for more. Any filthy thing you can think of, she did it for me and to me. God, I’ve never had it that good and I’ve probably been with as many pros as you have.”

  I saw white. Hot rage coursed through my blood and my hands tightened into fists. If he took one more step. If he said one more word ...

  “She had my head so turned around with that sweet little ripe peach of hers, I don’t know what the hell I said. Anything she asked me to. All she had to do was wrap that sweet little lying mouth around me and look up at me while she did those things with her tongue; hell, I probably admitted to killing Abe Lincoln.”

  Seth had the oddest expression when my right hook made contact with his jaw. I struck him dumb in both words and thoughts. He staggered back, pointed at me again with that shaky finger and then sank to the ground, landing hard on his ass.

  It d
idn’t make me feel better. Nothing was going to make me feel better until he was out of my sight for good.

  “Get the hell out of here,” I said, a little shocked at the dark menace I heard in my own voice.

  Seth’s eyes widened as he rubbed his jaw. It hung slack and was already an ugly shade of red. For a moment, I thought I might have actually broken it. But then he wiggled it back and forth as he heaved himself back to his staggering feet.

  “That’s what I figured.” His speech was thick and slurred. “That’s the other reason why I came here. Tora was starting to work her charms on you, wasn’t she? Consider yourself lucky then.”

  I cocked my head.

  “Yeah,” Seth said as he took two faltering steps toward the door. “Jack Manning. You think you’re always the smartest damn guy in the room. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you looked at her. She played you too, asshole. Just be glad I warned you before she set that trap between her legs for you.”

  “Go home, Seth,” I said, feeling the rage within me start to rise again. If I hit him again, I was afraid I’d snap his neck.

  Seth was already at the door. “Doesn’t matter now,” he said. “She’s going to fry. And I’m going to be there to watch.”

  “Illinois doesn’t have the death penalty anymore, you idiot. You used to be a criminal lawyer, how the hell don’t you know that?” I said as I opened the door.

  “Fuck you, Jack,” he said.

  I slammed the door and locked it as soon as he staggered out.

  Shit. Reed was going to kill me. Everything about the last twenty minutes probably implicated me even more as an accessory after the fact. My saving grace was that Seth was likely to be too shitfaced to remember anything more than his aching jaw. Still, I was going to have to reign my temper in, be much smarter if I was going to be of any use to Tora or my father’s memory. The trouble was, I still didn’t see any way around sacrificing one for the other. God. I was lying to myself. In the heat of the moment I’d said the most awful things I could think of to hurt Tora as much as her words hurt me. In that instant, I realized I wanted to take them back. She was in trouble, deep trouble, and I knew the last thing I said to her might have been the biggest mistake of my life.