The Mia Quinn Collection

by Lis Wiehl

  “But why go to all that trouble to make it look like an accident?” Charlie said.

  “What if it wasn’t planned?” Mia was feeling her way. “What if they were going someplace that night, they started arguing, and she jerked the wheel or he overreacted and they crashed?”

  “There was some intrusion into the passenger compartment,” Charlie said. “But if she was wearing a seat belt, he could have hit the passenger door ahead of her, or even the dash. If his body had hit hers, Betty would have been pretty badly hurt too.”

  “But then why would she hit him in the head?” Mia was only a mile away from the law school now. The answer came to her, the one that had sounded so outlandish only a few days earlier. “Maybe she saw how badly hurt he was and thought she should put him out of his misery?”

  Charlie’s voice sped up. “And she found a branch or a rock or—does Gabe play baseball? Could one of his bats have been in the car?”

  Mia didn’t know, but she thought about Betty’s boyfriend. “Or what about this Jared? Do you think he could have forced Scott off the road and killed him?”

  “He seemed more sad than mad,” Charlie said. “And that wouldn’t explain where Betty is.”

  “Maybe he killed her someplace else. Or maybe this Jared and Betty did it together. Or he’s covering for her.” All they had were questions and no answers. Suddenly Mia was so, so tired. She stuffed another handful of chips into her mouth, not even trying to hide her chewing. “But I guess the bottom line, Charlie, is why should I care? The more I learn about Scott, the more I wonder.”

  Mia did care, but it wasn’t in the right way. The only emotion she felt was anger. Not just at Scott. She was angry at herself. Angry at her own naïveté. How could she have been such a fool? She kept remembering the pitying look in Oleg’s eyes when he looked up from the ring. The way Charlie had looked at her when he showed her Betty’s picture on the computer screen.

  “I was married to him for sixteen years. It’s pretty clear I was an idiot. I just don’t know how long I was one.” How many other couples had she seen go through an affair when she secretly thought to herself that the other partner had surely known and turned a blind eye? Only now it was her. She must have wanted to be blind.

  “Scott was smart,” Charlie said. “He covered his tracks. He had two sides and he only showed you one.”

  “That’s because I only wanted to see one. I knew he was cheating on me, Charlie, I knew it in my bones, but I never confronted him. I just went bleating after him, trying to get him to love me again. I was pathetic, like some beaten dog crawling back to its owner.” Tears flooded her eyes, making it hard to see the road.

  “Look, don’t put this on yourself.” Charlie’s voice sharpened. “You’re a good person. You gave Scott your trust because you yourself are trustworthy. Do you really want to be the kind of person who doesn’t trust their partner, who goes onto the computer and checks the browser history, who figures out their passwords and snoops?” He was silent for a moment. “Because I’ve been that person. And it brings you no joy.”

  Mia could only nod and stuff more chips into her mouth to try to keep the sobs from coming out. She pulled into the faculty parking lot.

  Right next to Eli Hall.

  CHAPTER 34

  Eli was just gathering his things to get out of his car when a dark blue Toyota pulled in next to him. It was Mia Quinn, her mouth moving as she spoke to someone on the phone. She was steering with one hand. With the other she seemed to be knuckling tears from her cheeks.

  When she saw Eli, her eyes widened, then she pasted on a smile. As he got out of his car, she swatted something off the passenger seat.

  It looked like an empty bag of chips. Not that Eli would point fingers. He knew what it was like to juggle being a single parent with two jobs. And then there was her being attacked on Monday.

  He waited for her as she leaned into her car to gather her things, making an effort to avert his gaze from how her skirt tightened across her legs and backside. “Are you okay?” he asked when she emerged.

  Mia looked at him and then away. “Yeah.” She was walking fast. Eli matched her stride for stride, although it felt like he was nearly running to keep up. And she was wearing heels. “I just wish I’d been here ten minutes earlier. I don’t like to cut it this close.”

  “And that’s everything that’s bothering you?” he prompted gently. Lydia used to complain that he interrogated her.

  “Maybe I’m just a little stressed out.”

  “Are you still wondering if your husband was murdered?”

  “I’ve been digging around since then.” There was a catch in her voice. “Let me just say I haven’t liked what I’ve found. The evidence is still pretty circumstantial, but it all points in the same direction.”

  “Do you know who did it?”

  “Not yet. Probably someone who was mad at Scott.” Her laugh sounded like it had been crossed with a sob. “Which I guess would include me. I’m starting to feel like the biggest fool who ever lived. How can I see through criminals when I couldn’t see through my own husband?”

  “Because a marriage has to be built on trust. It should be a place where you can relax.” Eli pulled the door open for Mia. She passed by so close that her shoulder brushed his chest. He found himself inhaling deeply. Her scent was sweet and fresh, almost like baby powder, although he didn’t think it came from any perfume or shampoo. “If you could ever use another person to bounce things off of, let me know.”

  She turned back to him. A smile flitted across her face. “I might just take you up on that.”

  “How about this weekend? Brunch on Saturday or after church on Sunday?”

  Her mouth twisted, and he was sure she was going to say no.

  “Okay. Maybe Sunday. Unless things get too crazy. I’ll text you.”

  When Eli walked into class, he knew he was grinning like a fool, but he couldn’t help it.

  “One of the hardest parts of the cross is getting the tone right,” Eli told the class. “And that tone is going to change for every person sitting in the witness chair. If it’s a police officer, you take one tack. And a different one with a criminal. You’ll use one tone for a child and another for a neutral witness. Even if the witness is hostile, don’t let yourself look like a jerk. Of course, you still need to make it clear that you are in charge, and you need to make sure your questions are answered, but don’t go overboard. I know Titus said you were the star on cross, and that’s true, but don’t let it go to your head. If you’re too sarcastic or too rough or too theatrical, you’re going to lose points.”

  A student in the back raised his hand, and Eli nodded at him.

  “But how do you know how far is too far?”

  “Partly, it’s a matter of experience. One trick is to watch the jurors much more during cross-exam than on direct examination. Are they smiling or are they shaking their heads? And if so, who is that directed at? Watch them to see how much they are absorbing and how they are reacting. If they don’t meet your eyes, that’s a pretty big tell that you’ve gone too far.”

  For a second Eli remembered all the times Lydia had accused him of treating her like a hostile witness, turning normal conversations into cross-examinations. And it was true that there were occasions when he had slipped and said things like “Answer the question: yes or no,” or “It’s a simple question. I think you can give me a simple answer.”

  And finally Lydia had given him a simple answer. She had told him she wanted a divorce.

  CHAPTER 35

  Upstairs, Mia tried to let the shower wash her clean, unkink the muscles in her shoulders, make her relax. She moved carefully, as if she had been broken and put back together with glue that hadn’t yet set.

  She thought about what she and Charlie had learned today, not just about the boys who had dropped the shopping cart, but also about Scott. His falsehoods hadn’t begun or ended with Mia, not when he had clearly planned to pass off a fake ring as the real
thing. And now Betty, the girl Scott had planned to leave her for, was missing. What did that mean?

  The more she learned about Scott, the more she felt a fool. She and the kids were better off without him. He had been going to leave them one way or another. At least this way the break had been clean. Did she really want to be sending the kids to visit their dad and their new college-aged stepmother?

  Mia went to bed but found it impossible to sleep. For the first two months after Scott died, she had slept with an old suitcase on his side. The weight had made her feel less alone, had sometimes allowed her to pretend that she wasn’t. Now she moved over to the center and spread out her arms and legs.

  She thought she heard a car pull up outside, but she paid it no mind. No mind until she heard the front door open and close.

  Was Gabe sneaking out with friends? Anger ran hot through her veins. She threw back the covers and ran down the stairs, trying to catch him before the car pulled away—and rounded the corner just as Gabe came back in the front door. He jumped at the sight of her.

  “You scared me, Mom. I didn’t know you were up.”

  “What were you doing?”

  He paused, and in that pause she felt him constructing a lie. It was a mother’s sixth sense.

  “I accidentally picked up Eldon’s math book at school and he came by to get it.”

  Gabe and Eldon were both on the JV football team. But Eldon was a year older, so they weren’t even in the same grade. “At almost midnight?”

  He didn’t meet Mia’s eyes. “He stays up late.”

  She looked at Gabe and she couldn’t help but see all the boys she and Charlie had talked about this week. Manny, who had tried to do the right thing but failed. Dylan, who came from a home with no hope, no help, no room, not even warmth or light. Jackson, raised by a child, his only role model a man who sold weed. And Luke, lost in a huge house, with a disconnected father and a mother in a coma.

  “Gabe, I need you to tell me the truth,” Mia said, and braced herself. Was he buying pot—or something even worse? If she searched his pockets now, what would she find?

  “Promise you won’t be mad?”

  Her heart fell. At that moment, she realized he was looking at her. Not up. They were eye to eye.

  “I promise,” she said. What else could she say?

  “I’ve been giving Eldon a few things.”

  “Things?” Of all the answers she had been expecting, this wasn’t one of them. “What kind of things?”

  “Like mac and cheese. Blankets. And toilet paper.”

  “We’re talking about the same Eldon, right? From the football team?” Had Eldon been kicked out of his house? He was a big kid, 220 pounds easy. He had sleepy eyes and creamy brown skin. He was Samoan? Hawaiian?

  “His mom has cancer. She lost her job and they can’t afford their apartment anymore. So they’ve been living in Danny’s garage.”

  “What?” Mia’s tired brain was still trying to recalibrate.

  “You know, Danny. We went to middle school together. The skater dude with the long hair?”

  “And Eldon and his mother are living in Danny’s garage?” She tried to imagine what that would be like. “Where do they sleep? Do they have heat?”

  “No, there isn’t any heat, but it was either that or the shelter, I guess, and then they would probably be separated, since Eldon’s sixteen. And his mom’s car isn’t big enough that they could sleep in it. She sleeps on a cot and Eldon’s been sleeping on an old beanbag chair. I brought over my sleeping bag and some of our blankets. And I’ve been bringing them some of our food. They get food stamps, but I guess they don’t go very far.”

  Well, that explained the gaps in their cupboards.

  “I should have told you.” Gabe heaved a sigh. “But I was afraid you would be mad.”

  Something inside her melted. “I’m not mad, Gabe. Of course I’m not mad.” She wrapped her arms around his wiry shoulders and tried to pull him close.

  He went rigid then squirmed away.

  “Even if you’re nearly a grown man, you’re still my son. And sometimes I just need to hug you.”

  “Mom. Please. You’ve got a four-year-old. You don’t need to treat me like one.”

  Normally his words would have stung. But tonight all Mia could think was how proud she was of him.

  CHAPTER 36

  To do a job right, you didn’t learn just about the guy you were being paid to kill. No, you learned about other people in his circle. People he might have let something slip to. Or engaged in a little pillow talk with.

  Like the wife.

  Or the mistress.

  Vin had spread enough money around that when someone started asking about Scott Quinn’s death, he heard about it.

  So what did Mia Quinn know? Had she found something that Vin had missed? He had tossed her dead husband’s office only an hour after he died, come away with anything that might be incriminating.

  All the secrets Scott had uncovered should have died with him.

  So why was Mia Quinn now sticking her nose where it didn’t belong?

  CHAPTER 37

  THURSDAY

  Mia’s cell phone rang just as she was gobbling a piece of toast and shepherding Brooke out of the house. Trying to persuade her daughter that they had to leave now, not in five minutes, not in five hours.

  Gabe had taken the bus today. They hadn’t talked any more about Eldon and his mom, but their situation had contributed to Mia’s nearly sleepless night. Some part of her, though, had welcomed worrying about them, because it took her mind off of Scott’s betrayal.

  She jammed the last bite of toast into her mouth as she said hello.

  It was Frank, his voice so tight with anger that at first Mia didn’t recognize it. “Are you listening to the radio?”

  “No.” She felt oddly guilty. Lately her life seemed to be a series of things she should have been doing.

  “Turn on KNWS. Raines is holding a press conference about the shopping cart case.”

  “What?”

  “Just turn it on. And call me back when it’s over.”

  Before lifting Brooke into her booster seat, Mia stuck the keys in the car’s ignition and switched on the radio. She ignored the car’s beep-beep-beep warning signaling an open door, mentally crossing her fingers that none of the neighbors was trying to sleep in.

  In his instantly recognizable gravelly voice, Dominic Raines was saying, “. . . don’t feel safe walking downtown anymore. There’s a sense of lawlessness in Seattle. As we have all seen, these kids feel like they can get away with anything and get nothing but a slap on the wrist. If the criminals think they won’t really be punished, then what won’t they do? These two teens are animals, not like the young man who risked his own life to save this poor woman.”

  Mia frowned a little bit at the hyperbole. Manny had tried to stop it, sure, but he hadn’t risked his life.

  As Mia buckled Brooke in, Raines continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But the King County prosecutor’s office still hasn’t decided whether to charge these violent offenders as adults. So once again we’re left wondering if Frank D’Amato and his cronies will allow criminals to walk away scot-free. This is just one more example of why the King County prosecutor’s office needs to be overhauled, so that more people like Tamsin Merritt aren’t victimized. My opponent is overseeing a department that literally lets people get away with murder. When I’m elected, you can be sure that I will hire prosecutors who will work diligently to ensure justice is done.”

  As opposed to prosecutors who slack off and who don’t care about justice? Mia asked Raines in her head. When she started the car and pulled out of the driveway, it was all she could do to drive at a moderate speed.

  “As district attorney, I will restore integrity and professionalism to the office,” he continued. “I want to bring in experienced prosecutors who have a passion for justice. Not litigators who make excuse after excuse for criminals who are violent predators.
Some of these folks need to think about getting their resumes ready.”

  Great. Not only did she have to worry about what was justice for the victim and what was right for these boys and what was best for society and what Frank wanted, now Mia had to worry that if Frank lost she might be forced out of her job.

  A female voice said, “I’m Catherine Belsen, reporting live from a press conference called by Dominic Raines, who is challenging Frank D’Amato for the position of King County prosecutor. Raines was reacting to video footage of the suspects in that horrific incident where a shopping cart was dropped four stories onto a woman’s head, as well as news that one of the suspects has a lengthy juvenile record. That record includes charges of second-degree murder that were ultimately dropped by the King County prosecutor’s office.”

  What? That charge hadn’t been in the paperwork she had gotten. Mia pulled into the parking lot for Brooke’s school, but she didn’t get out.

  Belsen continued, “Raines contends that if these juveniles had been prosecuted correctly, Tamsin would not be in the hospital today.”

  “And what is Tamsin’s condition?” the male announcer asked. Mia noted that it was just Tamsin for everyone now.

  “We understand that she is still in a coma,” Belsen said. “Doctors say it’s too soon to predict whether she will ever awaken. We also reached out to current prosecutor Frank D’Amato for a comment, but we were told he was unavailable.”

  “In other news—” the announcer said, and Mia snapped off the radio.

  As she got out of the car and unbuckled Brooke, she dialed Frank’s number. But it was Judy who answered. “Just a minute, Mia. He’s on another line.”

  With one hip Mia nudged open the door of the preschool and then led Brooke in by the hand. Of course she chose that moment to grab Mia’s legs and start crying. “Don’t leave me here, Mommy!”