Mending Fences

by Sherryl Woods

  Emily thought of the bleak expression she’d seen in Marcie’s eyes the day after. “Something tells me hell doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

  8

  Grady wasn’t satisfied to have Lauren Brown’s testimony and the rape kit evidence. He wanted to nail down enough hard facts to ensure a conviction when Evan Carter went to trial. He and Naomi were already catching a lot of personal flack over the high-profile case. Once he’d appeared on the news and people were able to put a name and face to the arresting officer, he’d been deluged with calls. No one wanted to believe that a seemingly clean-cut, upper-middle-class kid like Carter with the whole world spread out under his nimble feet was capable of such a crime. They preferred believing that Lauren Brown was a consummate liar.

  Ken Carter was doing his best to make it easy for them. The guy had put all of his public relations skills and contacts to good use, starting a subtle smear campaign against the girl that as near as Grady could tell was based solely on carefully worded innuendo. Unfortunately, nothing was so blatantly inaccurate that Lauren could have sued him or the media for libel. Not only did it sicken Grady, but Lauren’s friends were justifiably outraged. Her roommate had called not ten minutes ago and asked him what they should do.

  “Paint a different picture of Lauren every chance you get,” he’d told her. “Tell the reporters about the studious, responsible young woman you know.”

  Jenny had scoffed. “Like the media wants to hear anything good about her. As soon as I start saying what a great girl she is, the microphones shut down. What I don’t get is how they found out who she is. I thought victim names were supposed to be kept secret.”

  “The media usually respects that,” Grady says. “But it doesn’t mean they won’t try to find out and make contact. And Ken Carter has made it easier for them. I’m sorry. Remind Lauren that it isn’t the court of public opinion that counts. It’s what happens when we go to trial.”

  “I’ve tried telling her that, but she just wants all of this to go away,” Jenny told him. “She won’t even show her face on campus. She hasn’t been to class since it happened. If she winds up flunking anything, she’ll lose her scholarship. I’m worried about her, Detective Rodriguez. I’m afraid she’ll back down and let the son of a bitch go free.”

  “Want me to send Detective Lansing over to talk with her? Or set up a session with a rape counselor?”

  Jenny sighed. “No. For now, I’ll handle it. I just needed to vent, you know. She’s the victim, but people are treating her like she’s the criminal. And even though the media isn’t reporting her name, everyone on campus knows who she is because Evan Carter and his dad are putting it out there every chance they get. It would be hard on anybody, but it’s really hard for someone like Lauren who isn’t used to the spotlight. And she’s worried sick that her folks will find out. Her dad’s a minister and she’s convinced he’ll blame her, just the way everyone else is doing.”

  “Believe me, I get that,” Grady said. “Hang tough, both of you. She’s lucky to have you on her side and if Detective Lansing can help, all you have to do is call.”

  “Thanks, Detective.”

  The conversation had strengthened Grady’s resolve to make sure the case was airtight by the time it went to court. He recalled what the doctor at the rape center had said, that Carter had most likely done something like this before and gotten away with it. Grady walked through the squad room in search of Naomi. He found her flirting outrageously with a new patrolman who was still wet behind the ears.

  “Robbing cradles again, Lansing?” Grady inquired.

  “Bite me,” she replied sweetly, then winked at the kid. “See you, Kevin.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking dazed.

  As Grady and Naomi walked away, he struggled to hide a grin, especially when he noted her disgruntled expression.

  “Did you hear that?” she demanded irritably. “He called me ma’am. How old does he think I am?”

  “I’m sure he was just being polite to a superior officer, not making a statement about your age,” Grady consoled, then added, “Grandma.”

  Naomi scowled at him. “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it? Who twisted your knickers into a knot?”

  “Jenny Ryan.”

  Naomi immediately sobered. “Oh?”

  “She says Lauren’s wavering under the weight of all this attention.”

  “I’ll go see her,” Naomi said at once.

  “Jenny says she can handle it for now, but we need to find some backup. You heard Dr. Benitez say Carter’s probably done this kind of thing before. If he has, we need to find the women, establish the pattern.”

  “Let’s do it,” she said at once.

  “Where do you think we should start, the kid’s high school or his neighborhood?” he asked her.

  Naomi looked at her notes. “I have one name here that could kill two birds with one stone. Emily Dobbs teaches at the high school and lives right behind the Carters. According to Evan’s mother, the families spend a lot of time together. She’s seen him under a lot of different circumstances over the years and could provide a character reference, according to Mrs. Carter.”

  Grady nodded. “Which means she’s probably biased in his favor, but let’s start with Mrs. Dobbs and see where that gets us.”

  Three emergency calls kept them from getting to the school. It was already four-thirty when they pulled up in front of the Dobbs’ Spanish-style home with its climbing bougainvillea, well-manicured lawn and brand new Lexus SUV in the driveway.

  “Fancy car for a teacher,” he commented as they crossed the lawn.

  “Her ex-husband is some corporate type who’s paying generous alimony and child support,” Naomi told him.

  “And you know that how?”

  “The Internet is a wondrous thing. I find out all sorts of fascinating facts while you’re getting snacks from the vending machines at the station.” She gave him a once-over. “You really do need to change your diet, Rodriguez. The chips and peanut butter crackers are starting to ruin those six-pack abs of yours.”

  “Butt out, Lansing,” he commented as he rang the doorbell. “I gave up cigarettes, thanks to your pestering. Leave my diet alone.”

  When the door was opened by a dark-haired woman with a tentative smile and eyes as blue as the sky over Biscayne Bay, he actually suffered a momentary pang about that last bag of chips. If they’d had teachers this gorgeous when he was in school, he might have studied a little harder. At least he’d have been happier about being cooped up inside all day.

  “Emily Dobbs?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Detectives Grady Rodriguez and Naomi Lansing. We’re investigating the allegations against Evan Carter. Could we have a few minutes of your time?”

  Her expression hardened ever so slightly. “I really don’t think there’s anything I can tell you,” she said, not budging from the doorway and pretty much confirming Grady’s fear that she was staunchly in the boy’s corner.

  “You have known him most of his life, haven’t you?” Naomi said. “And you work at the high school he attended, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you really could be helpful,” she said. “It won’t take long.”

  “Okay, fine,” she said tersely, and stepped aside to let them in. “I hope you’ll make it quick, though. My daughter’s already upset about this and I’d prefer it if you were gone before she gets home.”

  “How old is your daughter?” Grady asked as she led them into a living room that was decorated in bright, cheery colors. A scattering of open books and magazines suggested this room was lived in, though he didn’t notice a television anywhere. There was a family portrait in a frame on top of a baby grand piano. Obviously it had been taken before the divorce, since the husband was in it, along with two kids, a boy who was probably about the same age as Evan Carter, and the daughter Emily Dobbs was worried about.

  She apparently noticed the direction of h
is gaze. “My daughter’s only seventeen,” she said. “And before you get any ideas, I will not allow you to talk to her, not without a warrant or whatever it is you need to speak to a minor without the parent’s consent.”

  Grady saw the mother-hen ferocity in her eyes and backed off. Still, it was an intriguing twist. If the two families were close, the daughter might have noticed something in the Carter kid’s behavior around girls that the adults wouldn’t have seen. He wouldn’t mind talking to the son, either. If the two boys hung out together, the Dobbs kid had probably seen how Carter treated the women in his life.

  “What about your son?” he asked. “He’s around the same age as Evan Carter, right?”

  “Yes. They’ve been in school together for about ten years now.”

  “Nineteen, then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Best friends?” Grady asked.

  There was an unmistakable hesitation before Mrs. Dobbs nodded. It had Grady wondering if the two boys had had a recent falling out and, if so, why.

  “Is he around?”

  “Actually he goes to UM, too. He’s at school now.”

  Perfect, Grady thought. “Name?”

  “Josh.”

  “I’ll make arrangements to see him later,” Grady said. “I assume you won’t have any objections, since he’s old enough to speak to us without your permission.”

  Emily Dobbs’s expression tightened, but she didn’t argue. She just scowled at him as if she wanted to cut his heart out. Naomi wisely stepped in.

  Unfortunately, though, it appeared that whatever Emily Dobbs might know herself, she didn’t intend to share with the police. Her loyalty to her friends ran deep, which kept her answers terse and to the point. It was an admirable trait in a friend, but Grady couldn’t help wondering if the pictures of Lauren Brown’s injuries would be enough to change that. No mother could look at those without envisioning the same thing happening to her child and being sickened by the thought.

  “Thanks for your time,” Naomi said eventually, when it was evident that they weren’t going to get anything more, at least not on this visit.

  Grady saw the relief in Emily’s blue eyes and decided to rattle her just a little. “We’ll be in touch,” he told her.

  “I’ve told you everything I know that might be relevant,” she insisted.

  He smiled at her. “Possibly, but it’s amazing what people sometimes remember during a second or third interrogation.”

  Her chin shot up. “Wouldn’t that constitute harassment?”

  He shrugged. “Matter of interpretation, I suppose.”

  She frowned at that. “Do I need a lawyer?”

  “Not unless you were in the victim’s apartment last Friday night,” he replied, his gaze steady. “Or unless you’re withholding something relevant to this investigation.”

  “I don’t know anything about what happened that night,” she repeated, then added with a touch of defiance, “assuming anything did.”

  Grady lost patience. “Oh, it happened, Mrs. Dobbs. We have photos of the damage that boy did to her, as well as the testimony of the physician who examined her that night.”

  She paled visibly. “Damage?”

  “Bruises, bite marks. He was rough with her, Mrs. Dobbs.”

  The remaining color drained out of her face, but Grady wouldn’t allow himself to feel sorry for her. Maybe she knew something more, maybe she didn’t, but she was defending a kid who didn’t deserve it.

  “Like I said, we’ll be in touch.”

  Outside, Naomi regarded him with amusement. “She got to you, didn’t she? Is it because she was holding something back or because she looked at you as if you were pond scum?”

  Grady grinned. “Maybe both. You know me. I love a challenge.”

  Dani cut her last three classes. She’d gotten tired of all the speculation about Evan, when nobody knew anything, not really. Heck, some of the kids who were talking the loudest and making the most outrageous comments hardly knew him at all. The worst part was knowing they expected her to defend him and not being able to do that without gagging on the words. Nor could she publicly turn on him without stirring up too many questions she definitely didn’t want to answer.

  Once she was safely off the school property, she wasn’t quite sure what to do next. She’d never done anything like this before, partly because she knew her mom would kill her and partly because she honestly liked school. She was probably some kind of nerd or something, because she got excited about learning new stuff. If what had happened with Evan was her biggest secret, then this was her second biggest. Nobody who wanted to hang out with the popular crowd wanted anyone to know that they actually liked classes and studying.

  She had enough money with her to take a cab home. Or she could sneak off and go to a movie, but that didn’t hold any more appeal today than it had when her mom had been willing to take her and Caitlyn a couple of days ago.

  She could call Josh to come and get her. He’d leave class if she asked him to, but then he’d probably ask way too many questions about why she’d decided to play hooky. He thought being older gave him the right to boss her around. He’d been even worse since their dad had moved out, like he’d been left in charge or something. Besides, ever since this mess had started, she’d seen the way Josh looked at her, as if he wanted to come right out and ask her if Evan had ever laid a finger on her. She didn’t think she’d be able to stand seeing the disgust in his eyes if she told him the truth.

  Walking aimlessly as she debated where to go or what to do, she wound up at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. As she stood outside the entrance, she wondered if she’d subconsciously headed here. Her mom had brought her and Josh here about a zillion times. They’d walked the endless grounds, touching all sorts of rare and exotic tropical plants and learning their proper Latin names. Dani knew her mom had been hoping that they’d take an interest in all the incredible flowers, succulents and palm trees in the gardens that spread over several acres, but she’d also brought them because it was peaceful with its winding pathways and small lakes.

  Dani paid for her ticket inside the visitor center and walked outside, then began to wander, gravitating toward the orchids. One day she’d like to grow orchids, maybe even go all over the world in search of rare specimens. Sometimes she thought maybe she’d even study horticulture and own a nursery someday. Could anything be more wonderful than helping people to create serene or vibrant gardens around their homes? Her mom and dad had planted hedges of bougainvillea years ago, but that was almost the extent of the landscaping around their house aside from a few palm trees and this giant banyan tree. Dani was the one who’d insisted on going to the nursery every year. She always brought home way too many flowers to fill the giant containers on the back patio with color. She was the one who knew which flowers needed sun, which ones preferred shade and which ones would come back year after year. Her mom and dad were clueless, but her mom, at least, had encouraged her interest in gardening.

  Walking through the formal gardens here, she found a bench in the shade and sat down, then opened her backpack and took out her dog-eared copy of Romeo and Juliet. A lot of kids in her class thought it was wildly romantic, but she’d never gotten that. They’d died! And they were barely in their teens. If that wasn’t tragic, what was?

  Besides, what kid at fourteen knew anything at all about love? Oh, she’d thought she knew all there was to know when she’d gotten that crush on Evan, but look how that had turned out. She’d never seen beyond the fact that he was good-looking and smart. It just proved that no matter how long you knew someone, you could never see inside to the person they really were unless they wanted you to. The whole experience had pretty much scared her off dating.

  Ever since she’d picked up Romeo and Juliet, she’d been thinking about the whole idea of feuding families. Right now her mom and Marcie were pulling together, but Dani knew that would all fall apart if she told anyone about what Evan had done to her. She didn’t want t
o be responsible for her mom losing her best friend. And she liked Marcie, too. She’d been like a second mother. Sometimes Marcie was even easier to talk to than her own mom. She must be dying inside right now.

  Because she didn’t want to think about any of that, Dani opened her book and started to read. Soon, she was lost in the story and time slipped by.

  When her cell phone rang, she was jarred back to reality and noticed that the sun was riding low in the western sky. Digging the phone out of her backpack, she winced when she saw that it was her mom.

  “Hey, Mom,” she said cheerily. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine, but you are in more trouble than you ever dreamed of,” her mother responded in her sternest voice. “Where are you?”

  “On my way home,” Dani said, standing up and shoving stuff into her backpack so it wouldn’t be a total lie. She knew instinctively that her mom’s mood didn’t have anything to do with her being late. Even though she hadn’t said it, she was ticked off because Dani had skipped school.

  “Ten minutes, young lady.”

  Dani winced. She’d have to take a cab to make it that fast, but she could tell her mom had run out of patience. “Sure. Ten minutes,” she agreed.

  As soon as she’d hung up, she called for a taxi and went to wait at the front gate. Fortunately, the cab arrived in five minutes, which gave her about two minutes—give or take—to cover the three miles to the house. If she was lucky, maybe her mom wasn’t sitting in the kitchen staring at the clock while she waited.

  She had the driver let her out a few houses down the block, then ran the rest of the way home and breezed in the door. Sure enough, her mom was in the kitchen and she glanced at the clock when Dani came in and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Dani said. “Dinner’s not burned or anything, is it?”

  Her mother rolled her eyes. “With my cooking, a few minutes more or less won’t make that much difference, which you know perfectly well.”