Accused (Troubled Boys, Strong Men Book 1)

by Wendy Byrne

  “Geez, the woman’s son is fighting for his life. What kind of jerk would I be if I put moves on her?”

  “I’m just saying.” He held up hands. “Okay, all this brotherly advice is making me a little nauseous so let’s do a quick Internet search before she gets here. If there are any skeletons in her closet, I’m sure we’ll find them eventually.” He turned the monitor so they could both read the screen while he did a Google search.

  “Married to Archie Beckett for about seventeen years before their divorce eight months ago. She majored in art in college, and has a small following as an artist.” Sam pointed to the screen. “Didn’t know that.”

  “I guess now we found her angle.” Cole smiled. “She wants to use your body for one of those naked paintings.”

  “’Yeah right.” He looked outside as a car pulled into the parking lot. “Shit. That’s her pulling up now. Better change the screen.”

  They both stared out the window as Jillian got out of the car. Finally, Cole spoke. “Okay, changed my mind about her. I’m calling dibs.”

  “Too late.”

  “Come on, you could at least give a brother a rock, paper, scissors.”

  “Not on your life.” Sam ignored his friend’s banter and walked to the door, opening it as Jillian got there. “Glad you could make it.” He ushered her inside and made the introduction to Cole.

  “I’m sure Sam filled you in.” She seemed distracted and fidgety. Based on the way she looked and acted, he’d bet something had happened between her visit to the jail and now. He couldn’t help wondering if she’d tell him.

  “I do have some preliminary information. Mom hired Eric Tallman who is a well-known if slightly unethical private detective. A former cop, he got thrown off LAPD for extortion a couple of years back. Allegedly he’s trying to find her daughter.”

  She sat up straighter in her seat. “Will he talk to you?”

  “Probably not. We’ve had a couple of go-rounds in the past.” Cole shook his head. “Besides, even if he did talk, I wouldn’t trust anything he said.”

  “How about the case itself? Any ideas?”

  “I’ll be straight up and tell you the blood thing doesn’t look good.” He gave her a weak smile. “But we also have the memory loss issue which is suspicious. I’ll need to talk to Travis and look over the police file before I can formulate a plan. I’ll also need him to sign a release so I can talk to,” he flipped through his papers, “Dr. Stern, the psychiatrist.”

  She nodded and twisted her fingers in her lap. “No problem. I’ll let Travis know when I talk to him.”

  “Do you happen to know Dr. Stern’s diagnosis of your son?”

  She chewed on her lip. “Oh God, that was so long ago. It seemed like mumbo jumbo, and insignificant at the time in comparison to everything else I was dealing with.” She closed her eyes for a second or two. “Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Maybe Conduct Disorder. I can’t remember which. Aren’t they kind of the same?”

  “Sometimes interconnected, but still different diagnoses.” Cole got up and pulled a large gray book from one of his shelves. He sat down and flipped through the pages. “This is the DSM. It’s what shrinks use to diagnosis people. Did he get into trouble a lot when he was a kid? Stealing? Defiant? Fights? Truancy? Breaking into people’s houses? Any of those sorts of things?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. A year ago the trouble started, but that had to do with drugs.”

  Cole shifted the book over to the side of the table so that both Sam and Jillian could look through the criteria listed. A whole host of troubling behavior was listed for both diagnoses. None of them seemed to fit the Travis Sam knew.

  “None of this sounds like him,” she said.

  “Not to me either. I wonder why the doctor would give him that diagnosis. Maybe it had to do with the court involvement,” Sam said.

  “It’s something to look into.” Cole jotted down more notes on his pad. “I have a therapist friend who could look at his file, maybe talk to him and see if she agrees with the diagnosis. It’s not much, but usually kids with that kind of diagnosis are headed for a lifetime of trouble. A judge sees that and he might make assumptions.”

  Jillian gulped. “I should have looked into it more. But it was a really bad time.” She shook her head. “I was distracted but should have been more aware.”

  Anxious to get her off her guilt trip and onto something more productive, Sam spoke up. “Do you have that picture Travis’ e-mailed you?”

  She pulled the photo out of her purse and showed it to Cole. “Do you know any of these kids by any chance?”

  “It’s not very clear, but I think that’s Jeremy Isles.” He glanced back at Jillian. “Where did you get this?”

  “Travis sent it from his phone to my e-mail on the night everything happened.”

  “Why don’t the police have this?”

  “Nobody can find his phone. It’s not in his car and the police can’t find it in or around the murder scene. And I didn’t show it to them.”

  “Kids don’t like to go without their phones for long. Travis doesn’t know where it is?”

  “It’s one of his lost memories. But seeing this photo proves he had it for at least part of the night.”

  “I’ve got a friend who can triangulate cell phone signals for me, but I’m assuming the police already have tried to find the missing phone.”

  “I’m sure it’s not high on their list of priorities, but they’ll probably get around to it eventually.”

  “When you get back to the house, e-mail the photo to me. I’ve got some people who are good with this kind of stuff. Let’s see if we can get a clearer picture.”

  She spoke. “There’s this other thing.” After hesitating for a few seconds, she continued. “What if Lexie’s mom was having an affair? I mean wouldn’t it add to reasonable doubt if . . .if it comes to that.”

  Cole stopped writing and looked at her. “Why do you think that?”

  “I know this sounds strange but I saw Victoria with another man this afternoon.” Jillian raised her hands in a ‘stop’ motion. “I drove by there to—” she drew in a breath, “talk to the woman, but while I was waiting outside trying to get up enough nerve, I saw what looked like a pretty heated goodbye between her and some guy in a black Lexus SUV.”

  “Are you sure it was a Lexus?” Cole shuffled through his drawer.

  “Almost positive. Why?”

  “Because Eric drives a Mercedes SUV and he has a habit of getting involved with his clients. Could have been him.” He placed a newspaper clipping on the desk in front of her. “That’s him.”

  Jillian examined the photo for a few moments. “It could have been him, but it’s hard to tell.”

  Sam studied the photo as well and committed it to memory. He’d bet sooner or later they’d run across the guy.

  “Okay, let’s get back to the car. Do you know which model? Did you get a plate number?”

  She shook her head. “Not sure. The first number on the plates might have been an ‘8’, but I couldn’t say for sure.”

  “I have some connections with the DMV. Maybe I can get a hit.” Cole jotted down black Lexus and 8, then put his pen down. “Let’s clarify. When you say ‘heated’ what do you mean?”

  Her face flushed. “The front door was cracked open, and I’m pretty sure it was Victoria I spotted in a silky nightgown. The guy kissed her with his hands around her butt snuggling her into his crotch.”

  “Sounds like Eric.” Cole jotted down a few more notes. “The husband is barely cold yet.”

  She shook her head. “I took some pictures with my phone, but they’re pretty much useless.” After scrolling through the photos on her phone, she passed it over. “He had a baseball hat on.”

  Cole examined the photos then passed them on to Sam. The distance and the blurry quality made it nearly impossible to distinguish one person from the other, let alone features. Given the fact they were taken from across the street, it was a
bout what he’d expected.

  “We’re not going to get much from this.” While she’d done a good job chronicling what happened, nothing much could be done to improve the clarity. “But maybe I could borrow some decent equipment from a friend of mine, stake out the place. I might get lucky,” Sam offered.

  “I don’t want to impose. I’m sure you’re busy with football season starting.”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve always aspired to be a paparazzi.” Sam avoided Cole’s eyes when he spoke knowing all too well the disapproval he’d find there.

  “Then I’d like to come with you.”

  Cole glanced at Sam but didn’t say a word. They’d known each other long enough for Sam to understand Cole thought he was playing with fire. “So far we’ve got a picture taken of potential suspects just before everything went down and a widow with an interesting way to get over her grief.” Cole smiled. “If we get some photos to back that up, ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we have reasonable doubt.”

  Jillian smiled for the first time since coming into the office. “I don’t want Travis to go to trial on this and take chances with the judge especially if we can pull together enough evidence to get the charges dropped.”

  “I’ll do everything I can. We need to do some more investigating and see what we come up with.” He pulled a business card from his desk. “Who’s the detective in charge?”

  “Nate Brock.”

  “He’s a good guy. He’ll be as helpful as he can considering the adversarial circumstances.”

  She let out a whoosh and placed her hand on her chest. “You have no idea how much better I feel.” When she stood, she pulled Cole into a hug. “Thank you.” Tears dotted her lashes.

  “I’ll walk you to your car.” Sam held open the door as they walked outside. “If anybody can pull this off, it’s Cole.”

  “I can’t thank you enough.” She drew him into a hug. “Tell Cole I’ll send that picture as soon as I get home. Call me so we can set up some surveillance on the merry widow.”

  He watched her drive away before going back inside. Cole was still looking over the notes.

  “Is her kid anything like her? I mean, she’d make a great witness, but how about him?”

  “He’s a good kid, considering he grew up in Orange County and has an asshole for a dad. Can you believe the guy didn’t even show up to court and hasn’t even visited?”

  “That seems to be the norm rather than the exception with most of my juveniles.” Cole gave him a knowing smile. Neither one of them had had any support until they landed at Mama Iris’.

  “Yeah, I remember. It’s a lonely place to be.”

  “Don’t we know it.” Cole hesitated for a second before continuing with his train of thought. Even before he spoke, Sam knew what he would say. “I trust your instincts, but what if you’re wrong. What if the kid really did it?”

  Chapter Nine

  Jillian anxiously watched out the side windows by the front door. It had been a long couple of days worrying herself to death. Each time she’d seen Travis, he seemed more and more depressed. He didn’t say much about what was happening there, but she saw fear reflected in his eyes. It nearly killed her to see her son jumping at shadows, loud noises, even in the relatively safe confines of the visiting room. She could only imagine how scary it was when he was surrounded by the general population. Shuddering, she glanced out the window, more than a little anxious.

  Noon on a Saturday might be a perfect time to capture the information they needed. Besides, Sam didn’t have a whole lot of free time with the season starting on Friday.

  As soon as the red truck pulled into the driveway, she walked outside. A sense of hope filled her chest, for the first time in nearly a week.

  He shut off the truck and got out. After her disastrous marriage, she hated relying on anyone. But with Sam it seemed somehow different. They were more like partners—co-conspirators so to speak—in this race to save her son.

  His skin felt slightly damp and the scent of peppermint lingered on his breath when he pulled her into a hug. “You ready for this?” he asked.

  Despite the sense of peace his touch brought, she resisted the urge to get sucked into the comfort he provided and pulled away. The last thing she needed in her life right now was depending on a man for anything. Been there. Done that. And had the scars to prove it. “Absolutely.”

  “We should take your car. It will blend in better.”

  “No problem.” Despite her nervousness, she managed a quick smile. “Do you need a hand with the equipment?”

  “Naw.” He opened the door of his truck and rooted around for a few seconds. “The newest in surveillance equipment. I had Troy give me dumbed down instructions.”

  Jillian pointed to the binoculars around her neck. “This is about as fancy as I get so I’m glad you’re in charge.” She was amazed at the camera and the other equipment he’d borrowed. Based on Cole and whoever lent him this, she figured he must have an amazing circle of friends. She wished she could say the same.

  He got into the passenger side door. “I’ll handle the equipment. You drive.”

  “Sounds good.” She got in the car and headed for Orange County.

  “Did you know Lexie? Can you think of where she might be hanging out?”

  Some of the tension slowly eased off her shoulders. “It depends. If she’s back on drugs, probably where I was the other day. Since Victoria’s detective hasn’t found her, I’ve got to believe she’s someplace else.” Or dead. Even though she didn’t want to think about that possibility, she had to be realistic.

  “Tell me about Lexie and Travis. Did they get in trouble together? Did they have a sexual relationship?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so…I mean, I think Travis is a virgin.” Even as she said the words doubt surfaced. Did she really know what had gone on with Travis during that awful period of time? His progression into trouble hadn’t been a slow slide; it was more as if a giant crater opened and swallowed him whole one day. Then again, maybe she’d missed the signs as Archie had accused her of time and time again. “It’s probably not something he’d come home to brag about.”

  “I know I’m old, but I’m still surprised how young kids become sexually active. I swear some of the PDAs I see in the high school parking lot make me blush,” he chuckled.

  “It’s definitely one of those things a parent doesn’t want to see. I’ve talked to Travis—awkwardly I’ll admit—about making sure he was protected for sex, but I never saw any signs that he and Lexie were anything more than friends.”

  “In the long run it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes when sex gets mixed in, things become pretty blurry. I’m trying to figure out why Travis would take off to meet Lexie knowing the risks. Channeling my inner sixteen- year- old boy, the possibility of having sex is great motivation.”

  “True, but,” she worried her lip. “I think he felt sorry for her. After we moved, he said he was her only real friend. The other kids she hung around with he called posers wanting to be with the rich girl.” Without paying much attention to the navigation system, she wound her way toward Victoria’s home. “Lexie and Travis met at group therapy with Dr. Stern. Lexie was going to a private school until she got kicked out for drugs—at least that’s what Travis told me.”

  “Since you’ve met her, is there anything else you can think of that might give us a clue as to where she might be hiding?”

  “She came over to the old house a couple of times. At first I was happy, but the last time she came around right before we moved, she had a couple of guys with her that looked rough. One of them was Jeremy.” Call it mother’s intuition, or whatever, she’d gotten a very bad vibe that night. “It was the Thursday night before Memorial Day. After seeing who she was with, I refused to let Travis go out with them. Of course, he sulked in his room the entire night,” she shrugged. “I had the weirdest feeling and couldn’t sleep. At first I chalked it up to residual uneasiness from the divorce. Bu
t something nagged at me. I dropped Travis off at school the following morning, got permission for an out of state trip from his probation officer and booked us a flight to New York for that evening.”

  “Did you think he was going to run away?”

  “I wasn’t sure what he was going to do back then. He was pouting about the move to the mountains. And I had this overwhelming sense of foreboding.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I picked him up after school with his bags packed and in the car. He didn’t have any choice but to go with me to New York.”

  “That had to be a long plane ride with one pissed off teenager.”

  “Luckily, he’s a quiet sulker rather than a fighter. But after a few hours and a couple of good meals, he started to lighten up. Boys and their food.” Jillian relished the memories from that trip. “Even though it started out rocky, we bonded through the long weekend we were there. It felt like we were turning a corner.”

  “You did the tourist thing?”

  “We visited the museums, Greenwich Village, Statue of Liberty, all the usual spots. But we also spent a lot of time walking, talking and reconnecting. The first hours were awkward, but after that I felt that I had my son back.” She sighed. “He even talked about going to NYU, which was the first time he’d discussed college since junior high.”

  “Then you came back and moved a couple of weeks later?”

  “Actually, I arranged for everything to happen while we were gone. We never went back to our house in Beverly Hills.” She shifted through memories and sighed. “After everything happened with Travis, I wanted to move far away, possibly back East, but Archie blocked that in court. So I did the next best thing and got away for a while in New York and then made the move to the mountains. ”

  “Wise woman.”

  “I don’t know about wise so much as desperate.”

  ***

  Sam sat back, readied the equipment as they got close, and thought about Cole’s warning. What if he’d been wrong about Travis? The kid had been around actors and actresses his whole life. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that he’d picked some skills from them. He didn’t want to believe he’d been off in his appraisal of Travis, but he had to consider the possibility.