Of Demons & Stones: A Tri-Stone Trilogy

by Anne L. Parks

  I'm coming up with more questions than answers, and I decide the only way to move on is to confront the problem. Alex is going to have to do better than apologizing. I have to know why he did this and what will happen in the future. I will not give up my job, and this is the life of a defense attorney. If I'm going to have to deal with this every time I go to trial, our relationship will fall apart quickly, and I'll wind up resenting him. If this is just his way of pushing me out of his life, he needs to just do it. I can't handle the loss of him over a long period of time as little pieces of his affection disappear and are replaced with loathing.

  Wiping my face with my tank top, I head back up the path. My head is aching, and I'm light-headed.

  Something moves across the path and startles me. A white cat with a black patch over its eye hisses at me, and darts away. My foot slips, and I stumble forward, falling to my knees.

  "Shit." I stand and wipe the sand from my legs.

  My knee stings from a cut, and blood is trickling in a long line down the front of my leg.

  "Fabulous. Could this day get better, please?"

  Cutting through the courtyard, I quietly open the glass doors into the family room and sigh in relief. The room is empty. I slip off my running shoes and carry them down the hall to the bedroom.

  Slumping onto the bed, I breathe another sigh of relief that Alex is not in here either.

  I just need a minute.

  But luck is just not on my side. The bed shifts, and he slides across the bed and sits behind me. I remain still, not ready to face him yet. I need to ask questions, and I'm going to demand answers, but I can't do that if he is seizing my heart with his beautiful blue eyes.

  "I don't understand, Alex. You were that upset because I was late to dinner? Why would you decide to make me think you were cheating on me, especially knowing my issues with trust? Why would you make me question everything I thought I knew about us?"

  "It was stupid. I realize that, but the longer I sat there, waiting, the more I drank, the more pissed I became. I'm not trying to excuse the behavior. I'm trying to let you know where my head was at the time. I was feeling unimportant and neglected, and it was an immature reaction to what I perceived as you pulling away from me. I was being selfish. I probably still am. This is all new to me, Kylie. I'm not used to people keeping me waiting. I'm learning, and I know I seriously overreacted and acted like a spoiled child. The amount of alcohol I consumed didn't help, either. I'm begging you to forgive me. Just give me a chance to prove that everything you believed about me two days ago is the truth."

  I close my eyes, still so uncertain of whether I can trust him. "What happens the next time I'm in a trial? This doesn't go away once this trial is over. It comes back with the next one I'm assigned. This is what I do and how I do it. I explained this to you. If you're going to freak out every time I go to trial, this will never work."

  Alex places his hand on my shoulder. "I know. And I thought I understood what that meant. All I can say is that I really understand what it means now. I handled it completely wrong, and you have every right to question whether I will act the same in the future. I won't be perfect. I'll slip and fall. I will fuck up. All I can offer is that I will work on my insecurities, and I will never, ever give you a reason to question my feelings for you again. Please, just give me a chance to fix this."

  I sigh heavily but don't answer. He slips off the bed and cautiously approaches me—until he sees the blood on my leg.

  "Christ, Kylie, you're bleeding."

  "It's just a little cut. I slipped. It's not a big deal, Alex."

  But he's already headed into the bathroom, and I hear the water running while drawers and cabinets open and shut. Returning, he drops to his knees in front of me and uses a warm wet towel to gently wipe away the blood and dirt, taking extreme care to make sure the cut is clean without causing me any further pain. He looks at the cut and runs a thick layer of ointment on top of it before covering it with a large bandage.

  I watch him, and my heart unwittingly swells. A warm shiver runs through me at the touch of his hand on my leg. This is the man I know—the man who is always there to take care of me and has been from almost the first day I met him, who acts like a spoiled child, who is completely overbearing and overprotective, and who frustrates the hell out of me. He's the man I'm falling in love with.

  It hits me like a swift cyclonic wind, nearly knocking me over. I'm falling in love with Alex Stone.

  He raises his gaze to meet mine. There is a mix of pleading and confusion in them, but what I see most is concern for me. His care for me reaches down into my soul and comforts me. I place my hand on the side of his face and gaze at him, lost in his eyes. I truly am his. The revelation hits me, and I feel relief.

  I lean forward, my lips on his. The sensation warms me, calms me. Alex pulls me slightly to him. Neither of us is quick to break the bond we've established, preferring to linger in the kiss, allowing it to heal us both.

  I pull back and rest my forehead against his, close my eyes, caress his cheek.

  "Please tell me I haven't lost you, Kylie," Alex whispers.

  "It nearly killed me, Alex, not knowing where you were."

  "I'm sorry, so sorry. Please don't leave me, baby."

  "I can't leave you, Alex," I whisper. "I'm yours."

  Alex goes limp against me, and I feel all the tension in him release. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me tightly against him, and his face rests on my shoulder. We are leaning against each other, attempting to support each other, but all the strength I had is gone.

  He pulls back, grasping the tops of my arms, and he peers at me with concern. "Kylie, you're shaking."

  I'm completely drained, almost to the point of being unable to speak. I shrug my shoulders and slightly shake my head.

  He pulls my chin up and looks into my eyes as if the answer is hidden in them somewhere. "When did you eat last?"

  "Lunch," I answer meekly. "Yesterday."

  "Jesus, baby. We need to get some food in you before you pass out."

  We walk down the hall toward the kitchen, arm in arm, and I'm thankful for the additional support. Between the lack of food, lack of sleep, alcohol, and physical exertion—topped with a huge dollop of stress—it's a wonder I can function at all.

  As we reach the backside of the couch, Alex swoops me up and gently sets me onto the cushions. "Stay here. I'll make us something to eat, and then you're off to bed."

  I rest my head on the back of the couch as Alex makes his way around the kitchen. He comes over and hands me a glass of orange juice and a sandwich. I look at him, puzzled.

  "First course—peanut butter and jelly. You need some carbs and protein in you quickly. And I want you to drink all of that orange juice."

  I smile broadly, take a bite of the sandwich, and realize just how hungry I am as well as how much my body needs the nourishment. I drink half the orange juice in one long draw, relishing coldness as it courses through my body. I take a few more bites of the sandwich and finish the orange juice. Resting my head against the couch once more, I watch as Alex breaks eggs into a pan. My eyelids start to grow heavy, and I fight with them to stay open. Sleep wins out, and I finally succumb.

  The sheets are cool against my skin, and Alex adjusts the pillow under my head. I look at him, confused.

  "You fell asleep on the couch, baby. Get some rest," Alex explains.

  He kisses my forehead and stands to leave, but I grab his hand.

  "Stay with me. Hold me." I scoot over toward the middle of the bed to make room for Alex next to me.

  Sliding in close behind me, he wraps his arms around me and nestles his head into my hair. "For as long as you need, baby, and a lifetime more."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Wonderful smells of eggs and bacon waft from the kitchen. Maggie is busy preparing an omelet that is stuffed with every garden vegetable imaginable, from the looks of it.

  "Morning, Maggie." I pour coffee into my favorite
mug, simply because it's the largest one.

  She looks up at me. "Good morning, dear."

  I walk over to the table, lean over, and kiss Alex. "Good morning, babe."

  "Yes, it is." He draws my lips back to his and kisses me again before I sit in the chair next to him.

  The local newspaper lies on the table, and I glance at the rather large picture of me on the front page. It's from the previous day in court.

  I point to the paper."Ugh, what are they saying? Various opinions of how the defense is completely screwed?" The last couple of days in court have been brutal, and I'm beginning to wonder if Tony will have a strong argument of ineffective counsel when he appeals his conviction.

  "No. Actually, the prevailing thought across the board is that you are brilliant. I, of course, agree with them."

  "Pfft, whatever. At least they're not talking about who does my hair or what designer suit I'm wearing."

  "Well, not on the front page." Alex winks at me and smiles. "That article is in the Style section."

  I roll my eyes. Maggie places a huge omelet in front of me and then one in front of Alex.

  "I didn't get to feed you properly last night before you fell asleep." He points at my plate. "Eat up."

  "This is a lot of omelet. There's no way I'll be able to eat it all."

  Alex sighs loudly. "You're not very good at effectively nourishing yourself."

  "I will eat some of it."

  "Most of it," Alex corrects.

  "Half."

  "Deal."

  A quarter of the way through the egg monstrosity, I call it quits. Alex grimaces at the amount of food left on my plate and he is not moved by my admonition that I'm not willing to throw up all over the jury.

  I fill my travel mug before we walk out into the garage and load into the SUV.

  "Criminal defense attorneys do not live on coffee alone, Kylie," Alex says.

  I slide over on the backseat and make room for him. "They do if they're in the midst of a trial."

  We are halfway through the morning, and I've decided I'll have to put Tony on the stand to testify even though it goes against everything I believe about subjecting a client to cross-examination. It's fraught with danger, and I've never had a client not get tripped up by the prosecution. The female majority of jurors, however, seem to be looking at Tony more and more, and I suspect they're wondering why he's not addressing them personally.

  I ask a final question of my character witness, Tony's best friend, and turn the witness over to the prosecution for cross-examination.

  As I sit, Lisa pushes a piece of paper in front of me, and points out the relevant information. It's a change of beneficiary form for Cindy Onstad's life-insurance policy. I scan the form. The beneficiary was changed one month prior to Cindy's death. The new beneficiary is none other than the victim's boyfriend, Ralph Bernstein.

  The prosecution finishes with the witness, and the judge asks if I have any rebuttal questions.

  "No, Your Honor."

  Remarking that the mid-morning break is upon us, the judge calls for a fifteen-minute recess. We stand as the jury is escorted out of the courtroom and down the hall to their private jury room.

  "Where did this come from?" I ask Lisa. My heart is knocks inside my chest. We're under a serious time constraint.

  "It was faxed to the law firm this morning by Scott Martin at the insurance company. I called him as soon as I received it, and he told me that it had just now made its way through the system and into his office."

  "Shit," I mutter. "We don't have much time to move on this. Scott Martin is local, so it won't be a problem to get him here to testify. Do we know if the boyfriend is still in town? And if so, where he is?"

  Lisa shakes her head.

  Damn, how do I find this man without tipping him off?

  It hits me like a bolt of lightning that nearly knocks me on my ass.

  Alex.

  "I think I might be able to locate Bernstein. Lisa, call the office and get subpoenas for both Martin and Bernstein. Have Gil find me case law on adding a witness that was not originally included on a witness list, as well as introducing newly discovered exculpatory evidence not turned over to the prosecution."

  I walk to the hallway behind the courtrooms and into the judge's outer office. I need to make a phone call away from the nosy press and eavesdropping prosecution. The judge's clerk directs me to an open jury room at the other end of the hall. Once inside, I close the door and dial Alex's office, praying he's available even though he told me he'll be in meetings all day.

  Amy answers, and I barely let her get out the greeting. "Amy, it's Kylie. I need to speak to Alex. It's important, and I don't have much time."

  I hear a muffled, "Mr. Stone? It's Kylie, sir."

  Alex's voice comes on the line, low and quiet. "I'm just going into a meeting, Kylie. Everything okay?"

  "Alex, I need to find Ralph Bernstein. I have to get him served with a subpoena, but I can't afford for him to know that I'm trying to find him. It's imperative he not leave town before I get him served."

  "Hold on a minute, baby." Alex pulls the phone away and calls to someone. "Hey, Calvin. Can I talk to you for a minute before we go in? Amy, please escort the rest of the gentlemen into the conference room and get them settled." He comes back on the line with me, his voice almost a whisper. "I'm going to put you on speakerphone. Do not speak. Just listen. Understand?"

  "Yep," I answer, and I pull out my legal pad.

  "Calvin, I didn't want to discuss this in front of the others. I know Ralph Bernstein has been in town for the trial this week, and I might have a deal to run past him. Any idea where he's staying or if he's still in town?"

  A deep voice comes across the line. "He's still here. I talked to him this morning at breakfast. He's over at the Rowe. He told me he's planning on staying around until this mess with the trial is over. I would think you could get hold of him over there."

  "Good," Alex responds. "I'll give him a call later. Thanks, Calvin. I'll just be a minute."

  There's a pause, and then Alex comes back on the line.

  "Did you get what you need?"

  "Yes. Thanks, babe," I say, my heart exploding with love for this man. Always taking care of me.

  "Is this big?" Alex's voice has a twinge of excitement.

  "Potentially Perry Mason big."

  "I'll have to be sure to watch this afternoon then."

  "Here's hoping I can pull it off," I say. "I owe you big time, babe."

  "And I aim to collect. Gotta run, baby." And he's gone.

  Back in the courtroom, I grab Lisa. "Bernstein is at the Rowe. Get the subpoena to the sheriff and over to the hotel. We have to make sure he's here this afternoon."

  Lisa dials her cell phone, covering the mouthpiece as she speaks. Tony is standing off to the side, out of the way of us, but looking on curiously. I escort him to the back of the empty gallery.

  I glance at the clock on the wall. Five minutes. Talk fast. "Okay, you cannot react to this information. You must stay calm. It could be huge, or it could be a big nothing, but I think it's worth pursuing. We have a change of beneficiary form on Cindy's policy that lists Ralph Bernstein as the new primary beneficiary. It's dated one month before Cindy's death. Now, I have to argue to even get this into evidence at this late stage. If I'm successful, I then have to question Bernstein on the stand. There's no time for me to prep for it, so I'll be going in cold. It's dangerous, but I think it's worth the risk at this point. Any questions? Are you okay with going forward?"

  Tony's eyes darken. "I'm game, Kylie. Let's get this asshole."

  I start to turn away, but he grabs my elbow and looks me straight in the eye.

  "Did he do it, Kylie? Did he kill Cindy?"

  "I don't know, Tony, and at the moment, I don't care. All I care about is creating reasonable doubt for the jury, so they'll find you not guilty. That's step one. We'll deal with who actually did this after we accomplish that, okay?"

 
Tony stares at me for a moment, his face going from tight and tense to less tense and resigned. It's all I can hope for, and I'm out of time. He's going to have to give himself a pep talk and find a happy place. I have to work some magic on the judge.

  People start reentering the gallery to take their seats as the mid-morning break comes to an end. I lead Tony back to the defense table, ready to finish out the morning session strong. Gil hands me his notes and quickly briefs me on pertinent points. I look at Lisa for confirmation that the subpoenas are in the process of being served.

  "Nothing yet," she relays.

  I grimace. This has got to work.

  A voice from the gallery calls my name, and I turn to find Jack standing along the barrier. I exhale. He is just what I need right now—someone I trust to run this latest discovery past. Jack is brilliant, and I'm lucky to have him as a mentor and friend.

  I quickly bring him up to speed.

  "Who are you calling as your next witness?" Jack asks.

  "I'm finishing the morning with our expert, so the jury can mull the testimony over during lunch recess. I was going to have Tony testify this afternoon and prep him over lunch, but I think I have to go with this new evidence. It would potentially avoid having Tony testify at all. The problem is, I'll have to prep the new stuff at lunch. If I end up needing Tony, we'll be screwed."

  Jack rubs his chin for a moment. "I'll stick around until lunch recess, and then we can regroup and see where we are then. I'll prep Tony over lunch, if we need it. Right now, you need to get your head back in this game and get the testimony you need from the expert."

  I nod, grateful for the guidance from one of the most successful criminal defense attorneys on the East Coast. I pull out my questions for our expert and begin reviewing them again. Jack is correct. I need to nail this testimony.