Mending Fences

by Sherryl Woods

  When they’d ordered—pork with black beans and rice for Luis, a traditional Cuban media noche sandwich with hot pork, ham, cheese and pickles grilled between thick slices of Cuban bread for Grady—Luis studied him. “You look tired.”

  “I’m not sleeping well.”

  “Because you are troubled about this boy, am I right?”

  Grady nodded. “If I can’t find some other women he’s done this to, I’m afraid the rest of the evidence—damning as it is—won’t hold up. And if he gets off…” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about what that would do to the young woman he raped.”

  “On the street, they are saying he has been falsely accused.” His uncle gave him a rueful look as he repeated the most outrageous theory of all. “Those who follow football think it is some conspiracy by one of the other colleges to keep him from playing in the fall. One group believes she has ties to Tallahassee, another to Gainesville.”

  “I know,” Grady said, not even trying to hide his exasperation. “Just imagine what a field day they’d have if I’d actually graduated from Florida or Florida State, rather than Miami. I can thank the kid’s father for all the speculation. I’ll give Ken Carter credit for one thing. He’s damn good at what he does. He can spin a story with the best of them.”

  “Can you blame him? Isn’t it what any father would try to do—save his son?”

  Grady studied him with dismay. “You’re defending him?”

  “No, I’m just saying his tactics might be deplorable, but they are understandable.”

  Grady tried to envision his own father standing behind him in a similar crisis and couldn’t. Luis, however, would be there, his loyalty and faith unshakable, so perhaps his attitude made sense, as well. Oh, his father loved him, but he was judgmental and wouldn’t tolerate mistakes or flaws, even in his own son.

  “That doesn’t make it right,” Grady groused.

  “No,” Luis agreed. “And it definitely makes your job harder. Any other prospective witnesses who see what’s happening to the victim in this case are far less likely to come forward.”

  “Exactly.” Grady pushed his half-eaten sandwich aside. Suddenly he’d lost his appetite.

  His uncle reached across the table and put the meal, including the side of fries, back in front of him. “Eat. Ruining your health won’t help this young woman.” His dark eyes, so like Grady’s own, regarded him with sympathy. “What can I do to help?”

  “Just having you listen to me has helped. How did you know I’d hit a wall today?”

  “I know you. You are hard on yourself and you take these cases to heart. I knew it would not be easy on you to have people starting to question whether you had done the right thing in arresting that boy.”

  “I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks about me,” Grady protested. “I’m only interested in justice for Lauren Brown.”

  “A noble ideal.” His uncle regarded him knowingly. “And I’m well aware than you don’t care about public opinion, but it is only a short leap from listening to what’s said to doubting yourself. Just look how events in your own life have haunted you for years now. I know you’re not convinced of this, but you’re a good man, Grady, and a good detective. You have proved that time and again. Your instincts are solid and your heart is on the side of the angels.”

  Grady appreciated the vote of confidence, but he wasn’t so sure he deserved it. He had only to think back ten years to question every action he’d ever taken.

  “There, you see, I was right,” Luis exclaimed. “I see the doubt in your eyes.”

  “No,” Grady insisted, forcing himself to stay in the present. “I know that boy is guilty. I know in my gut that he’s done this before and he needs to be locked away.”

  “Then you will see that it happens,” Luis said with assurance. “Do you have any leads at all?”

  “One,” Grady said, thinking of Dani Dobbs. “Unfortunately, I’m only speculating. And the girl’s underage, so her mother refuses to let me speak to her. At this point, with the little I know, a court would probably support the mother.”

  “And the girl’s father? Surely he would want this man behind bars if his daughter has been harmed.”

  Grady suddenly realized that he’d never had more than a cursory, preliminary conversation with Derek Dobbs. Even that had been on the phone before he’d become convinced that Dani might hold the key to this case. Maybe because of his personal feelings for Emily, he’d almost blocked the existence of her ex-husband. That alone was proof that he was allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment anytime she was involved. That needed to stop. For now the case had to come first. Whatever there might be between him and Emily had to take a backseat.

  “You’re a genius,” he told Luis, standing up and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek. “I need to get back to the station. Are you ready?”

  Luis tossed him the keys to his beloved car. “Go. I will spend some time in the neighborhood and then call your aunt to pick me up. You can bring the car over tonight and let her feed you dinner. She’s missed you.”

  “I’ll be there,” Grady promised.

  As he headed back to the station in the spiffy little car with the top down and the radio blaring, he felt better than he had in days. The only thing that could possibly improve his mood even more would be having Emily Dobbs riding right here beside him.

  He shook his head as he realized how quickly he’d forgotten his resolve to back-burner any wicked, inappropriate thoughts of her for the time being. Still, maybe when things were less complicated and he got up the nerve to ask her on a real date, he’d borrow this car and take her for a spin. She’d say yes and, well, who knew where things would go from there.

  Emily was grading papers a few days after her conversation with Josh when the sliding glass door was shoved open and Ken Carter charged into the kitchen, his face red and his eyes dark with fury. For the space of a heartbeat, she felt real fear, but then she reminded herself that this was a man she’d known for years and for all of his demeaning and nasty talk, she’d never known him to become physically violent. If there’d been even a hint about such behavior, she would have pushed Marcie to get away from him at once.

  “Where is he?” he demanded, lurching drunkenly. “Where’s that lying, rotten son of yours?”

  Emily shot to her feet and squared off in front of him. Maybe she was foolish, but nobody spoke to her about Josh that way. Nobody.

  “Excuse me?” she said softly. “I don’t think I heard you correctly, Ken. You just called my son a liar?”

  “Damn straight I did. Where is he?”

  “Not here, but even if he were, I wouldn’t let you near him while you’re in this kind of mood. You might get away with bullying your family, but I won’t allow you to do the same with mine, especially not when you’re obviously drunk. Are we clear?”

  To her surprise, he backed down. Pulling a chair away from the table, he sat down heavily. He shoved a hand through his thick, disheveled hair. “I’m sorry, Emily,” he said contritely. “I really am. I don’t know what got into me. You’re not the problem.”

  Emily didn’t entirely buy his sudden transformation, but she was grateful that he’d taken the shouting down a few decibels. She’d been terrified that Dani would hear him. She didn’t want her coming downstairs to confront their less-than-sober neighbor spewing his venom.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked eventually. “I can make some coffee.”

  “No, I’m okay,” he insisted. He regarded her with a dismayed expression. “I’m just worried sick about Evan, that’s all.”

  “I know you must be,” she said, taking pity on him. She might hate his tactics and his behavior in general, but she understood a parent’s unconditional love for a child. And in Ken’s case, he’d been living vicariously through Evan for years now, pinning all of his own hopes and dreams on Evan becoming a professional football player, some kind of superstar jock. She wasn’t sure if it was the mon
ey or adulation he craved for his son, but she knew he was desperate for it.

  “Why would that girl say such horrible things about Evan?” he asked, sounding genuinely bewildered. “You’ve known him for years now. Can you imagine him doing the things she accused him of?”

  “Honestly, no,” she admitted. “But Ken, neither of us were there that night. We don’t know what really happened. I have trouble believing that a young woman would make up a story like that. Just look what she’s had to go through.”

  “And what about everything Evan’s gone through?” he asked heatedly, growing agitated again. “You saying he deserves that?”

  “Not if he’s innocent, no.”

  “But you believe her, don’t you?” he demanded, back on his feet and towering over her. “You’re as bad as that lying son of yours. Whatever made me think that you would stick by your best friend and her family? God, you people make me sick. You’re a bunch of damn hypocrites, nothing but fair-weather friends.”

  “I am always on Marcie’s side,” she said just as furiously, even though she knew she was wasting her breath. Ken was beyond listening to her. Still, she couldn’t help adding, “I want to believe in Evan as desperately as she does, but the evidence—”

  “Circumstantial, all of it,” Ken claimed, weaving in front of her. “You wait. Once we get into court, Evan’s lawyer will prove what a pack of lies that girl has been spouting. She’s going to regret the day she made up all that stuff about my boy.”

  “If you’re so certain of that, then why are you so upset by whatever it is you think Josh has done?” she asked him.

  “Because he’s trying to muddy the damn waters, that’s why,” he said, then scowled at her. “Why am I even wasting my time talking to you? You don’t have any more sense than my wife when it comes to the way the world works.”

  Before Emily could even think of how to respond to that, Josh burst into the kitchen and threw a punch that caught Ken square in the face. It wasn’t a particularly powerful punch, but it was enough to rock the already unsteady Ken back on his heels and to have blood spurting from his nose. He sank back down on a chair, looking dazed, and grabbed for a fistful of napkins to stanch the bleeding.

  “Don’t you ever talk to my mother that way!” Josh shouted, standing over him. “No real man ever speaks to a woman in that tone of voice.”

  “Who taught you that, that pansy-assed daddy of yours?” Ken scoffed.

  Josh pulled back his arm to throw another punch, but Emily put her hand on the tense muscle in his forearm.

  “Josh, it’s okay,” she said. “Mr. Carter is understandably upset. He doesn’t mean what he’s saying. There’s no harm done.”

  “No harm done?” Ken said indignantly, waving the bloodied napkins in her direction. “I ought to have the kid arrested for assault.”

  “Go ahead!” Josh encouraged. “I would love to call Detective Rodriguez and get him over here.”

  Ken muttered a disparaging remark about the detective’s ethnicity that set Emily’s teeth on edge.

  “I think it’s time for you to go home, Ken,” she said emphatically. “I’ll call Marcie and tell her you’re on your way. Shall I tell her to come over and walk with you?”

  He struggled up. “Don’t bother. The day I need her help getting home, it’ll be a sad day in my life.”

  “I’ll see that he gets home, Mom,” Josh said, his expression grimly determined.

  “Stay away from me,” Ken ordered.

  “Once you’re off our property, believe me, I will,” Josh retorted.

  A part of Emily knew she ought to remind Josh to respect his elders, but she just couldn’t summon up the words. The truth was, she was grateful Josh had shown up when he had and had done what he’d done. She just wished that someone had told the man off years ago.

  She flipped on the backyard floodlight and watched as Josh walked along behind Ken, then waited until he’d disappeared into his own yard. She heaved a sigh and sat down, covering her face with her hands.

  “Mom?”

  She whirled around to find Dani standing hesitantly in the doorway, her complexion pale.

  “Are you okay?” Dani asked, worry clouding her eyes. “I heard Mr. Carter shouting and I called Josh. Was that the right thing to do?”

  Emily held out her arms and Dani ran into them. “It was exactly the right thing to do.”

  “I thought about trying to call Dad, but I think he’s away on another business trip. Besides, I figured Josh could get here faster. He always drives like a maniac. Thank goodness, he was already on his way home.”

  “I do not drive like a maniac,” Josh said as he joined them. “Why’d you let him in here, Mom?”

  “Actually he just walked in. I didn’t have the sliding door locked.”

  Josh regarded her incredulously. “You know you’re not supposed to leave it unlocked.”

  “It’s a nice night. I wanted to let in some fresh air. It never occurred to me that I needed to worry about Ken.” She met her son’s worried gaze. “What exactly did you do to get him so worked up? That’s why he came over here. I assume it’s something new and not your failure to back Evan when he asked you to.”

  “I just did what I told you I was going to do,” he said evasively, his attention shifting pointedly to Dani.

  Dani regarded him curiously. “Which was?”

  Josh hesitated.

  “You might as well tell her,” Emily told him. “Dani needs to know what’s going on.”

  “I contacted a bunch of girls Evan used to date,” Josh explained. “I guess some of them must have reported back to Evan.”

  Dani looked stricken. “What did you ask them?”

  “If Evan had ever gotten too rough with them, if he’d ever forced them to have sex,” he said bluntly.

  “You didn’t,” Dani said, obviously upset. “Josh, how could you? That’s not the kind of thing you just ask somebody. It’s private. It’s nobody else’s business.”

  “It is, if there’s a pattern to his behavior and it can help Lauren Brown in court.”

  “That’s not your job!” Dani said furiously. “You have to stop asking stuff like that. You have to stop it right now! Promise me.”

  Emily felt her heart flip over. There was only one reason she could think of for Dani to be this distraught. She was terrified that someone might ask her the same questions. She reached for her daughter’s hand.

  “Sweetie, it’s okay. These are really important questions.”

  “Then let the police ask them,” Dani argued. “It’s not our business.”

  Josh’s eyes narrowed. “What would you say if I asked you the same thing?” he asked quietly.

  Dani stared at her brother as if she hated him. “I’d tell you to go to hell,” she said, and ran from the room.

  Emily could barely contain a gasp. Josh looked equally dismayed. In that instant, she knew that Dani had been one of Evan’s victims. She knew it as surely as if Dani had admitted it. But how on earth was she going to make her daughter feel safe enough to say the words aloud to her, much less repeat them to Grady Rodriguez or a courtroom full of strangers?

  The next day at school, Emily’s hand was shaking when she dialed the number Grady had given her. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to him, but she needed to know how the case against Evan was progressing. She wanted to hear that it was solid and didn’t need either Dani’s testimony or whatever information Josh had unearthed. That would leave her to deal with Dani’s trauma on her own timetable, without the pressure of knowing that Evan might walk away from the rape charge.

  “This is a surprise,” Grady said, sounding pleased. “Have you missed me?”

  “No more than I’d miss a splinter once it was removed,” she told him dryly.

  “You’re breaking my heart,” he claimed. “Okay, if you’re not calling just to hear the sound of my voice, what’s going on?”

  Emily hesitated.

  “Emily, has someth
ing happened?” he asked, his tone sobering. “Has Dani opened up to you?”

  “No,” she said at once. “That’s why I was wondering if you’ve found any other victims?”

  “Not so far,” he said, sounding frustrated. “But your son called a few minutes ago. He said he might have some leads. You know anything about that?”

  “Only that he sent out a few e-mails to girls Evan used to date. It was enough to stir Ken Carter into a frenzy.”

  “Meaning?”

  “He dropped by last night. He had a lot of unpleasant things to say to me and to Josh.”

  “How bad was it?” Grady asked, instantly sounding on edge. “If that man laid a hand on either one of you—”

  She cut him off. “It was just Ken being Ken,” she said, downplaying the scene.

  “You’re sure about that?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Because I’ll back you up if you want a restraining order,” he told her.

  “Absolutely not. That would only make a bad situation a thousand times worse.”

  “Well, let me know if you change your mind,” he said. “By the way, Josh asked me to come by the house this evening.”

  “He did?” Emily didn’t try to mask her surprise or her dismay.

  “You okay with that?”

  “To be honest, I’d prefer it if the two of you met elsewhere,” she said.

  “I can call him and suggest that,” he offered. “But I think he had a specific reason for wanting me to come by the house.”

  Emily was very much afraid she knew exactly what that reason was. Josh was hoping to rattle Dani so that she would finally open up about her own experience with Evan. That was the very same reason she didn’t want Grady anywhere near the house.

  “Please,” she said quietly, “see if you can have that meeting somewhere else, but don’t let him know I’m behind the change.”