“Because I wanted to do the important work that my husband, his partner, and their unit did.”
“You didn’t set out with the intention of having an affair?”
“Hardly. I just wanted to go to the academy and become…” She trailed off, as if she’d said more than she wanted to—and she had, even with her own lawyer.
“Wanted to become what, Randy?”
Randy thought about it for a moment, wondering how her answer would affect things, but aware that she needed to tell the truth now. “I wanted to be more like Midnight. I thought it would bring me closer to Joe.” Randy looked over at Joe and saw the surprise in his eyes. She glanced at Midnight as well and saw chagrin reflected there.
“After everything that’s happened, has your attending the police academy brought you closer to your husband?”
“Yes. Even after all that we’ve gone through, the anger, the hate, the lies, he and I have been closer than we were before. I’m more on his level now, instead of being the scared little girl he had to protect and watch constantly.”
“Why did you have the affair with Dick Dickerson?”
“It just happened. I guess I had that old ‘the grass is always greener’ outlook at that point. I’d never been intimate with anyone but Joe, and I’d never shared as much of myself, and I guess I just figured that if Joe was great, then someone else might be even better. Dick pretended to support my decision to become a police officer, and with all that was happening, or not happening with Joe, I guess I just wanted a little bit of reassurance. Dick was there, conveniently enough, to give it to me.”
“You said ‘conveniently enough.’ What makes you think that the relationship with Dickerson was contrived?”
“In hindsight, I can see that he was playing on my weaknesses. He told me that he’d think it was great to have any wife of his become a cop too. He talked Joe and Midnight down from day one. He told me that cops were basically sluts, and that I shouldn’t doubt for a minute that Joe and Midnight were ‘doing it.’”
“And you fell for it?”
“Hook, line, and sinker.”
“But was it what you thought it would be?”
“Not even close. He was all gung-ho about my law enforcement career, and about bashing anything having to do with Joe, Midnight, or FORS, but otherwise, he lacked a lot of Joe’s qualities. Then the thing with Midnight happened, and I was afraid, and I had a chance to see Dick’s true colors, and they were violent.”
“There was another incident beside the one with Midnight?”
“Yes. The day after Joe and I got back together, I went back to Sarah’s apartment to get some of my things together and hopefully talk to Sarah. I didn’t want to see Dick again. In fact, I hadn’t since the day after we were at Midnight’s house.”
“Which was how long?”
“Three days.”
“What happened at the apartment?”
“Dick was there. I told him I had seen Midnight.”
“When did you see her?”
“Once with Joe, when he called me, needing my support, and then again the next day, when Midnight called me to the hospital.”
“What did Lieutenant Chevalier say to you?”
“She had told Joe and Rick that she didn’t remember what had happened to her, but she told me that she did indeed remember, and that I had better start remembering where my loyalties lay, or else she was going to bury me in the deepest hole she could find.”
“Did she tell you why she didn’t tell the police that you and Dickerson had attacked her?”
“She said that it was because she knew Joe still loved me and that she didn’t want to be the one to put his wife behind bars.”
“An interesting way of looking at things, wouldn’t you say?” Nick said, more to the jury than to Randy.
“Midnight is like that. She puts things into perspective in terms of her priorities, and Joe is one of those priorities.”
“So, getting back to the incident at the apartment, what did Dickerson do when you told him what Midnight had said?”
“He made light of it. I told him he was just lucky she wasn’t pressing charges. That’s when he told me that he’d tell everyone I had a lot more to do with Midnight being injured than I really did. He was standing behind me, threateningly, and I was afraid of what he’d do, so I jammed my elbow into his ribs. He grabbed me and threw me on the bed, but I got to the other side and threatened him with a bat.”
“Did you hit him?”
“Yes, when he advanced on me, telling me he’d kill me if I hit him with it.”
“What happened then?”
“I ran out of the apartment, and that’s when I ran into Joe. Dickerson came out then, and when he saw Joe he went for his gun.”
“Do you think he planned to kill your husband at that point?”
“I think that if he could have, he would have, yes.”
“Is that why you backed your husband up?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t trust his abilities?”
“No. I trusted his abilities, but I didn’t trust Dick’s underhanded way of handling things like this.”
“Okay. So you were happy to be back together with your husband?”
“Very.”
“And why didn’t you tell him about the incident with Lieutenant Chevalier?”
“I knew that I needed to, that it would cause problems later, but I was always afraid it would irreparably damage our healing relationship. I wanted to tell him when the time was right. But we all know there’s no such thing, right?”
“And when Sergeant Dickerson came to your house, did he threaten you again?”
“Yes, and he got physically violent again.”
“What did he do?”
“He pinned me against a wall with his forearm pressed to my throat.”
“Were you afraid of him then?”
“Yes.”
“The night your husband was taken, you don’t remember anything?”
“No. The doctors said I inhaled ether, and that it must have knocked me out.”
“And when your husband returned from his captivity?”
“I knew that Dick had told him about my involvement with Midnight being hurt.”
“Did he ask you about it?”
“No. I could just tell by the look in his eyes that he knew, but I don’t think either of us wanted to talk about it just then.”
“And at the raid, Sergeant Sinclair saved your life?”
“Yes.”
“Is it true that you saved his once too?”
“I’m sorry?” Randy wasn’t sure what he was referring to.
“Four years ago, when you and Sergeant Sinclair were abducted, a woman tried to kill your husband with a knife, and you shot her. Is that correct?”
Randy stared back at him dumbfounded, but then she remembered that Joe had talked to Nick before the break ended. She looked to Joe, and he nodded.
“Ms. Curtis, is that correct?”
“Yes, I guess it is.”
“You guess?” Nick asked wryly. A chuckle went through the room. Randy seemed just as modest about the topic as her husband.
She smiled. “Yes.”
“Randy, did you ever plot or request the murder of either Lieutenant Midnight Chevalier or your husband?”
“No.”
“Thank you. No further questions.”
Al Cruz stood, poised for the attack.
“Ms. Curtis, would you say your husband is very rich?”
“Yes.”
“And is it true that you come from very modest means?”
“Yes.”
“Being married to a rich man must be nice for you then?”
“Being married to Joe is fantastic, but it has nothing to do with money.”
“But it does help, doesn’t it?”
“No, it hinders us more.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because then jerks like you can m
ake it sound like I married him for the money,” Randy said calmly. She glanced at Joe and saw he had a sardonic grin on his face.
“So it wasn’t the money then,” Cruz said, nodding as if he’d been corrected. He was actually reeling just slightly from her response. “Did you envy Lieutenant Chevalier’s relationship with your boss at the time?”
“Yes.”
“And you still do, don’t you?”
“No.”
“What has changed that has made you less envious of Lieutenant Chevalier?”
“I have.”
“You’ve changed. And was that change due to your relationship with Dick Dickerson?”
“No.”
“But this change occurred during this time, isn’t that correct?”
“No.”
Cruz looked at her, perplexed. She wasn’t answering his questions the way he had expected her to. “Did it bother you when Lieutenant Chevalier and her husband split up? Did you feel threatened by that?”
“Why would I?”
“Because she was free to go after your husband then. Did that bother you?”
Randy looked at him for a long moment. “If Midnight had wanted Joe, she could have had him all to herself any number of times before he and I were married. In fact, when Joe and I were engaged, I asked him if he loved her, and if he would rather be marrying her.”
“And what was his response to that question?”
“He’s married to me, isn’t he?”
“For the moment,” Cruz said snidely. “Moving on to your law enforcement career. If you love your husband so much, why would you decide to embark on a career you knew he wouldn’t approve of?”
“Loving someone doesn’t mean giving up your life for them and being everything they want you to be. I think the word you’re looking for there is ‘obsession.’”
“So even though you thought it might end your marriage, you continued to try to become a police officer. Did your husband change his mind during that time?”
“No, he just kept silent about his disapproval.”
“But you knew he disapproved?”
“Yes.”
“And your affair with Dick Dickerson—you knew your husband would find out about it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I knew.”
“And yet you did it anyway?”
“Yes.”
“Were you trying to hurt your husband?”
“Emotionally, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I had imagined that he’d hurt me.”
“By sleeping with his partner?”
“Yes.”
“But he hadn’t, at that point?”
“Right.”
“And you said that you felt that Dick Dickerson was trying to lure you into a relationship with him. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it possible that he had a man’s natural reaction to a beautiful woman in distress?”
“It’s possible, but he knew Joe, and he knew me, so I think there was more to it than that, considering his connections…”
“Ms. Curtis, isn’t it true that you had numerous conversations with Mr. Dickerson about your husband’s habits?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, for example, you told Mr. Dickerson that your husband likes to sit on the deck of your mutual home and watch the sunset with nothing but a glass of wine. Didn’t you purposely tell him that so he would know that your husband would be unarmed at that time of day?”
“No, I told him that in a regular conversation, when I was trying to defend my relationship with Joe and how different he was away from the office.”
“I see. And didn’t you talk to Mr. Dickerson about your husband’s negligence, on many occasions, about remembering to lock the rear sliding glass door in your home when he came in from the deck?”
“I don’t remember the specific conversation, no, but it is possible.” Randy looked over at Joe. She hadn’t even thought about the conversations she’d had with Dick on the nights when they’d sat up drinking and talking. She had obviously told him too much. Joe’s face was unreadable, but she could see that it was bothering him that so much had been said. She looked back at Cruz, narrowing her eyes slightly. He was making this into something it wasn’t, but she knew it was his job.
“Isn’t it true, then, that you were laying the groundwork for your husband’s demise, and your return to his arms was merely another part of the plan?”
“No!” Randy snapped, her eyes narrowing angrily. “How can you stand there and—” she started, but she saw the quick shake of Joe’s head. She looked over at him, and he shook it again. He was trying to tell her that she was doing exactly what Cruz wanted, and she shouldn’t let him get to her. She took a deep breath and blew it out silently.
“What were you saying, Ms. Curtis? You were wondering how I could stand here and do my job, and keep a scheming, money-hungry adulteress from planning and administering the murder of one of San Diego’s finest officers and getting away with it? Was that what you were asking, Ms. Curtis?”
Randy looked back at Cruz, her turquoise eyes unblinking. “I think you should know, Mr. Cruz, I am still a married woman, and my name is Randy Sinclair, not Curtis. And no, I don’t want to know what you tell yourself at night so that you can live with your profession.” Her voice was very calm, her eyes reflecting only serenity.
“Excuse me, I seem to be mistaking all sorts of names today.” Cruz looked miffed. “Mrs. Sinclair, you said that you didn’t tell your husband about the incident with Lieutenant Chevalier because you were afraid he’d leave you?”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t say I was afraid Joe would leave me. I was afraid he wouldn’t forgive me for it.”
“What’s the difference?”
“He may have been unable to forgive my lack of honesty in this instance, but he wouldn’t leave me over it.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know my husband, Mr. Cruz.”
Cruz was silent for a moment. “Either way, isn’t it true that you expected Lieutenant Chevalier to meet with a fate similar to your husband’s, and for that reason you were unwilling to blow the whistle too soon?”
“Again, I don’t know what you mean.”
“There were car bombs and home invasions set up for many of the key members of FORS, including a bomb set for Lieutenant Chevalier at her and her husband’s home. Didn’t you expect that bomb to kill her so your little secret would remain safe forever?”
Randy was grinning openly now as she shook her head. “No, I didn’t know about any bombs or home invasions.”
“You seem awfully sure that this court will accept your word on it,” Cruz replied, looking very cocky.
Randy looked over at the judge. “Your Honor, may I ask a question of the District Attorney, to clarify a minor point?”
“No, but you can ask your attorney to do so,” the judge said, surprised by the request.
Nick stood and walked over to the witness stand. Randy whispered something to him, and Nick nodded, almost excitedly. He went across to talk with Cruz for a moment, and Cruz ended up searching for something in his massive files. A few minutes later, Nick made a request that he be allowed to redirect a question for his client. The judge asked Cruz if he was done with his cross-examination. Cruz checked his notes and shrugged, nodding.
Nick stood in front of Randy then. “Mrs. Sinclair, I have been told that the address of the home the District Attorney was referring to was in a Rosin Court. Do you know that house?”
“Yes, it’s the house Rick and Midnight bought after they were married.”
“They own another home as well, don’t they?”
“Well, they don’t, but Midnight does. Her house is farther into Pacific Beach. It’s the house she owned by herself before she married Rick.”
“And what is important about this information?”
�
��The DA said a bomb was set up at the house on Rosin Court, but Midnight wasn’t staying at that house.”
“Where was she staying?”
“At her own home. She’d gone there after she got out of the hospital, not back to the house on Rosin Court.”
“And how did you know about this?”
“Because Joe and I went over to that house a few days after she got home.”
“And the significance in this is?”
“That if I had really wanted Midnight dead, I wouldn’t have had them set up a bomb in a house she wasn’t likely to return to for a long, long time.”
“Thank you, Randy. No further questions.”
“Mr. Cruz?”
“Nothing, Your Honor.” Cruz sat down.
An hour later, closing statements had been made. Nick had stressed that none of the members of FORS nor the two people that Randy was accused of trying to kill thought she had done it. He had pointed out the holes in the DA’s theories, as well as the weak character of the man making the loudest accusations, Dick Dickerson. Cruz made his closing remarks as well, stressing the jealousy factor and the fact that people never wanted to believe the person they loved capable of any wrongdoing.
The case was given to the jury at 2:30 in the afternoon.
Joe stood outside the courthouse, leaning against one of the marble pillars, smoking. He had taken up the habit again since Randy had been arrested. Jessica walked out of the building and headed over to him. She leaned against the pillar as well, her shoulder touching his arm. She glanced up at him.
“So? What do you think?” she asked.
Joe shook his head, squinting in the bright sunlight. “Don’t know.”
“Have you thought about what you’d do if she’s actually convicted?”
“Spend every penny I have appealing it.”
“And if nothing works?”
Joe gave her a sharp look, then nodded. He knew she was just playing devil’s advocate. He shrugged, taking another long drag of his cigarette, as if to calm his nerves. “I guess I’ll break her out of jail, and we’ll live on the lam for the rest of our lives.”
“Cute,” Jessica said, grinning. “Seriously though, I think that you and Midnight impressed a lot of people in that courtroom.”
Joe guffawed. “Yeah, impressed ’em that we’re better than any episode of Melrose Place.”
“Bullshit, Joe.” Jessica looked up at him as he gazed out over the marble steps. “I have news for you. By tonight you’re gonna be a household name, just like Midnight and Randy will be.”
Betrayals Stand (MidKnight Blue Book 5) Page 20
