Evelyn put both hands on her hips. He knew he was in for it. “You are not a fool, son. You’ve had it easy growing up here, Sam, but you know how to deal with trouble when it comes along. You always do the right thing. Even with Chelsea back in Philadelphia—and you can stop beating yourself up for that. You tried your damnedest to get her acquitted. She just gave up.” Evelyn put her hand on Sam’s arm. “Don’t let Kelly give up, Sam.”
Sam leaned on the pulpit as if he were about to deliver a sermon. Then he pounded it with one fist. His voice boomed out in the empty church.
“I should have made her turn herself in. I should have contacted people and made sure she’d be safe. If I’d done that, maybe this day wouldn’t have happened.”
“Sometimes trouble comes no matter what you do, Sam. The important thing is to stick by the people you love. I would have folded up my tent and stayed in the house forever after I lost my first child, but your father lit a fire under me and gave me something to focus on. He also stood by me every minute of that time; I was so depressed I never got out of bed for six months.”
“I know. Dad is a great guy.” Sam ran his hands through his hair and paced the space around the pulpit. “Suppose I lose her case, and she ends up in prison for murder? I don’t think I could stand that. I’d go crazy with her in there.”
“You’re not twenty-five and fresh out of law school, and you know enough to get a team together to help. You are going to get Kelly out of this, Sam. She is the first woman I have seen you be truly in love with.” Evelyn came up beside him and put her hand on his back. “It’s that simple, son.”
She was right. It was that simple. He loved Kelly more than any woman he’d ever known. Everything had been so easy for him growing up. Kelly’s life had never been easy until she came to Paradise. She came here to start a new life. He knew her heart, because she’d given it to him.
Now he needed two things. One was to let Kelly know he was going to get her out of this, no matter what. The other was the best criminal attorney he could find in L.A.—Peter Brady.
Myrtle spoke up. “Sam Grayson, we’ve gotta get yer almost wife outta jail.”
“That is exactly what I’m going to do, starting with you.” He stepped down and put his hand on her shoulder gently. “I need to get a message to Kelly. Can you deliver it to her at the jail?” He turned to face his mother. “Mom, I’m also going to need the plane, and could you take her some clothes, something warm? Just get something from my…our place…please?”
His mother smiled as he added the please on the end of his list. “You are so much like your father. At least I taught you both to be polite when you order me around. I’m assuming you’ll fly down to L.A.?”
“I need to meet with an attorney down there. I need facts. Now let me write this message. Let’s go in the minister’s office and find some paper.”
“I knew you wouldn’t let her down, boy. We’ll get some bail together and get her outta that birdcage while you’re gone.” Myrtle thumped him on the arm with affection and pulled a note-pad and pen out of her large purse.
He started writing his note. “Actually she will probably be extradited to L.A. in the morning. Once the L.A. cops know she’s been…caught, they’ll want her back in L.A. for questioning and a preliminary hearing.”
“You should go to her, Sam,” Evelyn said softly.
“I know, Mom, but every minute counts now. I have a better chance of getting her released from L.A. I can set up her defense from there. I’m not going to lose this time. I can’t. I love her too much. I’ll meet her down in L.A. Just tell her that.”
“I’ll tell her.” Evelyn kissed her son on the cheek, and marched out of the church on a mission.
“That girl didn’t murder anyone, Sam, and we gave all that drug money to charity, too,” Myrtle began.
Sam folded up the note. “Tell me on the way out the door, Myrtle. I’ve got a plane to fly.”
Chapter 16
Lynnette slid out of the sheriff’s office coffee room quietly, looking around the main office for signs of life. First Tom, then Deputy Gary had been forced to leave the jail on police calls. What incredible luck.
About a half hour earlier she’d overheard Sam’s mother and that crazy Myrtle Crabtree come in, and Tom telling them that Kelly didn’t want to see anyone right now. They’d left some things for Kelly. She’d have to check that out.
Then Tom had gotten a dispatch call and told Lynnette she had to leave, too. She’d promised she would. She lied.
Lynnette had hidden in this room, waiting. Hoping she could slip in and talk to Kelly. She’d been plotting how to get Kelly in more trouble just in case she hadn’t really killed her husband. If Kelly escaped, that would really incriminate her. So Lynnette figured she’d help that along by unlocking the door.
When Gary left, he didn’t even notice she was still in the building.
Truly, she was having rare luck today. When she searched through the things Sam’s mom had insisted on leaving for poor Kelly, besides just a pile of clothes, she found Sam’s note.
She opened the envelope and read it. Oh, he went on about his love and how he wouldn’t let her down and that he’d gone off to L.A. to line up a criminal attorney. What a shame Kelly would never read it. Pretty soon Sam would forget all about Kelly.
Now was her golden opportunity to rub some salt in Kelly’s wounds. Maybe she could get rid of her for good. Or at least make things worse.
Kelly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She would have to pee at a time like this. Her dress was voluminous, and the toilet was sitting in the corner of the room, taunting her. She tried to gather herself up, but then there was the garter belt and all that Victoria’s Secret snap-crotch stuff.
“Ah, the blushing bride. Aren’t you just a sight?” Lynnette stood in the corridor of the two-cell block, leaning on the opposite wall.
“Shut up, Lynnette, and give me some privacy. Where’s Tom anyway?”
“He had to run out on an emergency call, and so did the deputy. Looks like I’m in charge.” She jangled a set of keys in her hand.
What kind of idiot would leave Lynnette in charge of the jail? There had to be another story there. Neither Tom nor Gary would have done that. Kelly sat back down on the cot and actually had a moment of fear. On the other hand, she was from L.A. She could take Lynnette if she had to. She sat up straighter.
“What do you want from me, Lynnette?” Kelly made her voice sound strong.
“You know the whole town hates you now, and Sam has disappeared. No one will ever believe you didn’t kill that guy, because you ran, and with his money, too.”
Kelly’s stomach wrenched. “I didn’t kill him, not that I care what you think. The money was an accident.”
“Oh, an accident…very good. You know, Kelly, I feel sorry for you. They’re going to charge you with first-degree murder, because you shot him and stole his money. You’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail. You might as well forget about Sam. If you had any real love for him, you’d set him free of you so he could have a life while you rot in prison.”
Kelly slid into the far corner of the cot against the wall. She curled her legs up under her dress and wrapped her arms around her knees, shivering. Lynnette was right. Raymond had been shot. It would be first-degree.
“Now I’d say your life was over in Paradise, honey. If I were you, I’d bolt out of here and head for Canada. You could start over just like you tried to here.”
“Now, how could I do that, Lynnette? I’m in jail.”
“I might be inclined to open your cell and let you go to the ladies’ room proper-like, and I might have to answer the phone while you’re in there.”
“And why would you be inclined to do that for me, Lynnette?”
“Let’s say it would be much better for me if you weren’t around at all.”
Kelly thought about the alternatives for a few minutes. She had changed so much. She didn’t feel like running,
even if her life was over here. The past would always come back to haunt her no matter where she was, so she might as well get this all over with. There was a chance she’d be found innocent. There was even a chance she’d get Sam back.
What interested her most was the ladies’ room. She smiled to herself.
“Okay, Lynnette, I really have to pee, and I’m going to have to about undress to do it. You go ahead and open the cell. But we’re going to have to make this look good; otherwise, Tom won’t believe I got away from you, you being a very intelligent woman and all.”
Lynnette looked at Kelly with one eyebrow arched high. “Like what?”
“We’re going to have to tie you up, of course. Get a pair of handcuffs, and we’ll say I tricked you into the cell, whacked you on the head, and handcuffed you to the bars.”
“What about the whack?”
“Oh, I doubt anyone will examine your head. If they haven’t already, then the chances are slim.”
“What? Whatever, I agree. We have to make it look good.” Lynnette fetched the handcuffs and unlocked the cell door. “But I’ll keep the key in my pocket, if you don’t mind. You didn’t murder your husband, did you?”
“Nope. How can you tell?”
“You just don’t have the guts, girlfriend.”
“Thanks. Now sit on the bunk here, and we’ll put one cuff on the bars, one on your wrist.” Amazingly, Lynnette did what she asked.
Kelly snapped the cuff on the bars, then on Lynnette’s one wrist. She even slipped the key into Lynnette’s blouse pocket. If Lynnette decided to get free, it would take some contortion time. Plus Kelly had a plan for ol’ Lynnette, but by then Kelly was dancing to keep from peeing in her lacy lingerie.
“Thanks, Lynnette. I’ll be out of your bad hair before you know it.”
“It’s my pleasure to be rid of you. Now get out.” Lynnette positioned herself on the bunk in a dramatic way, then shifted herself around a few times to emphasize her plight.
“Bye, now,” Kelly called as she shot to the ladies’ room in the outer office, peeled off her wedding petticoat, unsnapped a snap-crotch, and made it to the pot.
Whew. Thank God she wasn’t having a period. As she sat in relief on the cold toilet seat, a horrible, wild, and amazing thought came to her. She hadn’t had a period since the first few weeks she’d been in Paradise. In all the excitement she’d forgotten her cycle completely.
Oh, God, oh, God. Then there was the mild nausea that had bothered her, and the way her wedding dress seemed tight in the bust. No doubt about it. She was pregnant with Sam’s baby.
It must have been the first time they made love—in the pool. All that water, the condom must have slipped. She stomped her foot on the ground. Could her life get any worse? Here she was, in jail for murder, pregnant.
In the quiet of the small bathroom, she buttoned herself back up and calmed herself. She was, in fact, carrying the child of the man she loved. Whatever happened to her, she had that tiny seed of wonderfulness inside her.
She would beat this charge and make a new life for her and her baby. Even if Sam wouldn’t have her, somewhere there was another Paradise.
Tom pushed open the glass door and stepped into a very quiet office. Damn, he didn’t want to leave Lynnette with Kelly Atwood, but he’d had to answer that dispatch. At least Gary was in the office and would have made sure she left. Either that or respond to Kelly’s screams, surely. Wouldn’t you know the Pickets would choose tonight to get into a quarrel, which of course was called in by Old Lady McBay, their neighbor and resident busybody.
Then again, someone needed to remind the Pickets that life was too short for this kind of nonsense. He unhooked his gun belt and hung it on a special hook. He noticed the neatly folded pile of women’s clothes with a pair of loafers on top still sitting on his desk. Things looked pretty calm and orderly here.
He was about to sit down at his desk when a loud moan came from the cell area, startling Tom into a run. He came to a standstill, and took in the sight of Lynnette Stivers cuffed to the cell bar. Her other hand was pressed to her forehead in a melodramatic gesture.
“What happened here, Lynnette?” Tom paused for her explanation, not moving to un-hook her. “Where’s Gary?”
“Ooohh. She tricked me, Tom. She hit me on the head and cuffed me up. Give me a hand out of here. We have to get after her. She’s really proved she’s guilty now, hasn’t she? Tom, get me out of here, will ya?”
Something didn’t ring true here. No woman would get the best of Lynnette, particularly the one who was about to marry her precious Sam. He turned his head to the sound of rustling silk. Kelly strolled into the hall easy as you please.
“Hi, Tom. I made some coffee. I figured we might be up for a while.” Kelly leaned against the break room doorframe with one shoulder, her arms crossed. “Apparently, Gary had to leave and didn’t notice Lynnette.”
Just as he figured. This should be interesting. “Well, well, if it isn’t my escaped prisoner. Shall we sit in the office and have a cup? Cream or sugar for you, Kelly?”
“Tooooommmmm! Watch out! She’s a murderer!” Lynnette screeched, partly in surprise.
“I’ll have both, please. The keys are in her right blouse pocket, Tom.” Kelly whispered that last part.
Tom turned around and strode over to Lynnette in the cell. “Here, let me help you, honey.” When he got close enough to her, he reached over and popped the keys out of her pocket, then walked out of the cell, past Kelly, and into the office area. “This way, Miss Atwood.”
A shrill noise came from the hall. “Tom Blackwell! Get back here! You can’t leave me chained up here, come back here!”
“If you be quiet, I’ll only take a fifteen-minute coffee break. Otherwise, it’ll be a whole lot longer,” he hollered back.
“Don’t listen to her, she’s a lying murderer!”
Tom went to the break room coffeepot and poured out two thick white mugs of coffee. He poured a spoon of sugar and a packet of fake cream in for Kelly, and stirred. He came back in the office and they both sat next to Tom’s desk in his old oak chairs. “So, what’s the story, Kelly?”
“Thanks.” She took the coffee and let it warm her hands. “Miss Stivers offered me a chance to escape and staged this little scene for you. I let her play it out so I could get to a toilet that wasn’t out in the center of a room. Sorry about that, I had to take off half my clothes to—”
“I get the picture. Did you hit her on the head, or did she hit herself?”
“Neither. As tempted as I was, she’s injury-free. I’m no murderer, Tom. When I left my husband, he was still alive. A friend of mine in L.A. told me he died of a gunshot wound. I came here thinking he would be after me. I didn’t find out he was dead until about a month ago. As for the money, it was in his car. I didn’t know what to do with it for a while, but Myrtle and I finally donated it to a worthy cause.”
“Why didn’t you come in and tell me, Kelly? Why not just clear your name?”
“I fell in love with Paradise. And with Sam. I didn’t believe the justice system would give me a break. I just…didn’t want to lose everything. But now I’ve lost it all anyway, so I might as well face it and clean up this mess I’ve made.” Kelly’s voice cracked, and she took a deep sip of the hot coffee to keep from breaking down.
“Here’s what we can do. If you waive extradition and save them the paperwork trouble, the L.A. prosecutor will probably send someone by morning to take you down there. I can put in a good word for you, Kelly. But you will probably have a few days in jail before they can set a preliminary hearing and hopefully get some bail set. Oh, Myrtle and Mrs. Grayson brought you some clothes and shoes here.” He patted the pile.
“They did? Did they say anything about Sam?” She lowered her eyes in pain.
“I’ve known Sam my whole life, Kelly. I’ve never seen him in love like this. Hang in there. He’s probably doing everything he can to help your case right now.”
“I�
�ve really done it up, Tom. He begged me to turn myself in, but I wouldn’t listen. He looked bad when we drove off. So did most of the town. I’m no murderer, and I’m no drug dealer—I’ve never had much interest in altering my reality; it was hard enough as it was.”
“I can relate to that.” Tom leaned back in his swivel chair and contemplated Lynnette in lockup. He’d cared for her in a big way. He probably still did. The best he could do for her was help her get straightened out. She was probably madder than a wet hen about now. No more than she deserved, though. Lynnette was going to need a serious mental health workup.
“All right, Kelly.” He got up out of his chair. “I’d leave you your roommate in there, but I think she’d be bad company. How about you change your clothes in the ladies’ room, and I’ll go have a word with Lynnette.”
Kelly nodded. Tom walked toward the cell. Lynnette was quiet, but she was madder than a cat getting a bath. He could tell by the set of her jaw. However, Tom found himself in a rare position. The woman he’d wasted the better part of his life waiting around for was a captive audience, and he had reached the end of his patience with her antics.
“Lynnette, we’re going to have a little chat. Things are going to be different between you and me when we’re all through.”
Kelly sat in the back seat of the rented Ford Taurus, staring out the window at the gray, pounding rain. She felt all out of tears, but the rain expressed her feelings well enough. She put a protective arm around her middle. How was she going to take care of her baby in jail?
She pressed her hand up against the glass and watched the trees bend against the wind.
The policewoman was fairly kind, anyway. They would be getting to the Seattle airport soon, and make L.A. by late afternoon. Kelly was exhausted. She’d try and get some sleep on the plane.
Four hours later their flight landed in L.A. She and the policewoman exited the plane and headed down the corridor. Boy, she hoped her next escort would be plain-clothed also, instead of a uniformed cop for everyone to see. Plus, she was going to have to convince someone to let her find a rest room—she was having some trouble keeping her airline breakfast down.
Talk of the Town Page 20
