by James Hunt
Anger bubbled up within Lindsy at the sight of Carla’s arrest, but when she made a move forward to try and stop the police from taking her, Mike quickly stepped in, keeping her back.
“We’ll find another way to help,” Mike said, whispering in her ear. “But neither of us can do anything if we’re arrested too.”
Lindsy knew he was right, but she hated doing nothing while Carla Maples was hauled out of the house and placed into the back of a squad car.
Lindsy paced anxiously as Daniel was outside speaking with Sheriff Torrence. “What the hell did they find?”
“I don’t know.” Mike sat at the kitchen table. He had made a pot of coffee, knowing that the afternoon was probably going to stretch into a long night.
“Do you think they planted something?” Lindsy asked.
“Linds, I don’t know, and speculating isn’t going to help anything,” Mike answered. “We’ll know soon enough, anyway.”
But the longer Torrence and Daniel spoke, the angrier Lindsy became. The police had made their move, and now they would do whatever they needed to ensure the outcome they wanted was in place, unless Lindsy did something about it.
Daniel finally returned just when Lindsy thought she was going to blow her top. His body language was defeated, but when he spoke, there was an edge to his voice that Lindsy recognized as anger. That was good. She needed him to be angry.
“They found a bloodied bonnet in the kitchen trash,” Daniel said.
Lindsy frowned and waited for more. “And?”
“And they believe that it belonged to our daughter,” Daniel answered.
“Your daughter has been missing for three weeks,” Mike replied. “Haven’t you taken the trash out since then?”
“I have,” Daniel answered. “But the police believe that Carla threw it away when the authorities arrived.”
“Do they think she’s stupid?” Lindsy asked. “They must be to think she would do something like that if she was guilty, which she is not!”
Mike stood, hands on his hips, head down, thinking so hard Lindsy could smell the brain matter burning from his ears. “Did they confirm that the bonnet belonged to your daughter?”
“They showed me a picture,” Daniel answered, and then he nodded. “It belonged to Angela. It even has her name embroidered on it.”
“This is bullshit,” Lindsy said, stomping her foot. “They had nothing, so they planted evidence.”
Unable to quell the rising anger, Lindsy headed for the door, and slammed it shut behind her. She was halfway to the RV before Mike caught up to her and stopped her before she reached the driver's side door.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked.
“I’m going down to the police station,” Lindsy answered.
“And what the hell do you think that’s going to accomplish?” Mike asked.
Lindsy hesitated. She hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “We have to do something.”
“I agree, but first we need to figure out a plan,” Mike said.
Lindsy hated it when Mike was right, and she hated it even more when he was right after she had made a big show about taking action.
“Let’s go back inside and figure this out,” Mike said.
Lindsy said nothing else and followed Mike back into the house, where he took the lead in trying to figure out the logistics of their next steps.
“It’ll take some time before they put her through processing,” Mike said. “Do you have any money for an attorney?”
“We barely have enough to pay you guys,” Daniel said. “Every penny I owned, I put into this place for renovations. I do have some in my savings but—”
“Keep it,” Mike said. “No sense in stretching yourself too thin when we don’t know what we’re dealing with yet. We’ll see what kind of public defender they’ll provide and then go from there. I know attorneys get a bad rap, but this is the time where you’ll need a good one.”
Lindsy knew that even if everything went the Maples’ way, the couple still had a long dogfight on their hands. If they thought being dismissed by the police was a problem, then they were going to be in for a rude awakening when they were introduced to the justice system.
“Daniel,” Mike said, speaking slowly. “You also need to remember that you don’t have to say anything to police without a lawyer.”
Daniel frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“The police are going to push you to give them an answer about Carla’s innocence,” Daniel said.
Lindsy knew what was coming. Mike wanted to see how Daniel reacted when the police or the prosecution would inevitably ask the only question that mattered to a jury.
“Could Carla have done this?” Mike asked.
Lindsy studied Daniel carefully. She noticed the twitch in his eye, which she either attributed to fatigue or anger, the clenched fists, rigid posture, the throbbing pulse along his neck.
“No,” Daniel said, his tone absolute. “She would never do anything to hurt our child.”
It was the right answer, but it wasn’t foolproof, because both Lindsy and Mike understood the kind of trickery and falsehood that the authorities would try and pull over on them. They needed to be ready.
“All right,” Mike said. “Can you drive?”
Daniel nodded.
“Then we’ll meet you down at the station,” Mike said.
Lindsy followed Mike out to the RV, only turning around when she heard the house door open again, and Daniel jogged over to his truck with his keys.
Once they were alone in the confines of their RV, Lindsy turned to her husband. “Did you believe him?”
Mike inserted the key into the ignition. “I want to believe him.” He looked at Lindsy. “But after everything we’ve seen here, what we know, I’m not sure. You?”
Lindsy wanted to say yes, but she hated the fact that doubt was slowly creeping back into her mind. She didn’t want to believe that a mentally unstable mother would try and hurt their child. And while Lindsy was confident that the midwife had some role to play, it wasn’t impossible that Carla had been enlisted to help.
Spirits often went after those who were weak or easily manipulated. People with mental problems were usually good targets for them. It allowed them to bend the will of their subjects.
“I guess we’ll know soon enough,” Lindsy said.
10
The Roster Police Station was a small building, and it was old. The moment Lindsy walked into the station, her senses were accosted by the smells of musty carpet, stale cigarette smoke, and body odor.
All of the cops were men, and the environment reflected the staffing choice. There was an air of masculinity everywhere Lindsy turned, and the testosterone in the air was palpable. These were all men who considered themselves alpha, a wolf pack, and each one of them had a gun.
Lindsy felt the stares on them as they remained in the small waiting area that didn’t even have enough chairs for the three of them to sit.
The police were slow to give them any information, and what little information they did provide was given only to Daniel. Mike kept hold of Lindsy’s hand, and judging by how hard she was squeezing it, she knew she was hurting him. But he never flinched.
Mike was a rock. It was rare for anything to shake him, and she knew that she could count on him no matter what lay ahead. He was the constant force that kept her grounded. Without him, Lindsy knew that she would still be floundering out in the world.
Lindy kept her eyes peeled for security cameras. So far, she had only spied one that watched the front lobby. She would need to see the rest of the interior to know if there were more.
Finally, Daniel was allowed back to see his wife after the processing was done, and Mike reminded him to tell Carla not to say a word. But there was no telling what she had already told the police.
“Do you think she’s already confessed to anything?” Lindsy asked.
“I don’t know,” Mike said. “You know how pushy the police can b
e when they want something, and with Carla’s current state of mind…” He shook his head. “This might already be over.”
Time passed slowly in the waiting room, and the deputy working the front desk continued to glare at Lindsy and Mike like they were a pair of criminals walking free. Lindsy wanted to say something, but she knew it wouldn’t help. Lucky for both of them she had calmed down since her outburst at the house.
But Lindsy knew it wouldn’t take much to stoke her fire again.
The door to the waiting room finally opened, and Daniel stepped out, alone. Lindsy and Mike stood to greet him, and before he spoke, Mike suggested they go outside to chat.
“Best to get away from prying eyes and ears,” Mike said.
Once the trio was outside, Daniel gave them the rundown.
“They kept asking her questions about the bonnet, but she didn’t give them much,” Daniel said. “She ended up asking for a lawyer after a few minutes, and then she was taken back to her jail cell until I came in to speak with her.”
“How’s she holding up?” Lindsy asked.
“She’s scared,” Daniel answered. “I told her to try not to worry, and that hopefully, the lawyer will be able to straighten everything out.”
Lindsy wasn’t sure about that, but she kept her pessimism to herself.
“When is the lawyer supposed to get here?” Mike asked.
“He’s on his way apparently,” Daniel replied. “He was in the next town over playing golf, so he had to go home, change, shower—” Daniel waved his hands, finished with the explanation. “It doesn’t matter. He’s on his way. That’s all.”
“Good,” Mike said, taking a breath. “I’m glad she was smart enough to ask for a lawyer. People tend to think the police are on their side, but that’s not the case. The law is there to search for evidence. It’s all about the process for them, getting to a logical conclusion, even if that conclusion isn’t the truth.”
“Can I talk to her?” Lindsy asked.
“I think so,” Daniel answered. “Why?”
Lindsy had ulterior motives, but she decided to go with the most straightforward explanation. “I might be able to get something out of her that could help prove her innocence. Sometimes I’m able to see visions of a person during a certain time or event. If I see how the bloody bonnet got into the trash, then maybe I can figure out how to prove she wasn’t the one who put it there.”
Daniel was quiet for a moment, but then he finally nodded. “Okay. I guess it couldn’t hurt to try.”
Lindsy walked inside with Daniel, who requested Lindsy speak with his wife. The deputies grumbled, but so long as Carla was willing to talk, she could speak to a visitor, but the deputies weren’t shy about letting them know Carla only had one more visit left for the day.
Lindsy was escorted through a narrow hallway with yellowed wallpaper that looked like it might have been white when it was brand new. The doors she passed didn’t have any windows on them, but she suspected that they were probably used as the interrogation room.
She saw no cameras in the hallway, and it was the same when they entered a small bullpen area with a kitchenette that smelled like someone had just microwaved yesterday’s salmon for dinner. Apparently the department didn’t want video record of their behavior behind closed doors.
Past the bullpen was another hallway that led to the back of the building where there were four prison cells.
Three of the cells were empty, and stationed in the very back by herself was Carla Maples. She sat on the edge of the cot, head down, when Lindsy and the deputy arrived.
“There you go,” the deputy said and started to walk away.
“We can’t go in a room to talk?” Lindsy asked.
The deputy pointed up to a security camera in the corner of the room that was staring directly into Carla’s cell. “Don’t try anything stupid.” And then he disappeared back down the hall from where they entered.
Lindsy wanted to run after the man and give him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget, but she restrained herself, knowing that she was here to help Carla.
“Carla?” Lindsy asked, gripping the cell bars, noting that the young mother hadn’t gotten up off the cot since Lindsy had arrived. “Are you all right?”
Carla’s wrists were red from the handcuffs she’d worn on the trip here. Lindsy remembered how much they hurt, the police tightening them to the skin and bones. You never forgot the feel of chains once you were in them, and no matter how long you went without them, you always feared that they would be placed on you again.
Lindsy waited, but Carla didn’t respond, and Lindsy started to grow worried the mother had been broken. “I know you’re going through a lot right now, but you can’t let them beat you down. We’re going to figure this out.”
“How?” Carla asked, still staring at the dirty concrete floor. “They think I am the one who hurt my baby girl.” She looked up at Lindsy, a mixture of desperation and fear in her eyes. “Why would they think I’m capable of something like that?”
Because there wasn’t much light in the jail cell, most of Carla was cast in shadow, but Lindsy was still able to see the glistening tears in Carla’s eyes.
“Because they don’t know who else to blame,” Lindsy said. “And they need to blame somebody.”
Carla covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders trembled as she cried softly to herself.
“Is there a reasonable explanation?” Lindsy asked. “About the bonnet?”
Carla wiped her eyes and took a breath. “I don’t know. Maybe. But they won’t believe me.”
“You don’t know that,” Lindsy answered. “So is there?”
Carla stared down at her palm and then raised it so Lindsy could see. “You see that?”
Lindsy nodded when Carla pointed to a scar that ran across the palm. It looked like it was reasonably fresh. “Yeah.”
“I cut myself three days ago when I was in the kitchen,” Carla answered. “It surprised me, so I reached for the first thing that I could find, and that happened to be a piece of white cloth I saw out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t realize what it was until I was about to throw it away.”
“So you did put it in the trash,” Lindsy said.
Carla opened her mouth to respond, but then she stopped herself. “No. I didn’t.” She stood, the motion involuntary as she continued her train of thought. “I didn’t want to throw it away because I told myself that I would need it when we found Angela.” She turned to Lindsy. “I put it in the hamper.”
Lindsy smiled. “That’s good, Carla. That’s good.”
“Do you think they took it from the hamper and put it in the trash?” Carla asked.
“I’m not sure, but will Daniel be able to verify this?” Lindsy asked. “About you putting the bonnet in the hamper?”
“Yes.” And then, desperately clinging to her rekindled hope, Carla reached for Lindsy through the bars. “Do you believe me?”
Lindsy held Carla’s hand tight. “Of course I believe you. And the truth will come out. We’ll make sure it does.”
Lindsy hoped her confidence would transfer to Carla, but the mother quickly retreated to the cot where she sat down, looking just as lost as she had before.
The deputy returned. “Time’s up. Visiting hours are now over. Let’s go.”
Lindsy didn’t know what else she could say, so she left Carla in her cell and then walked away with the deputy following her.
Halfway down the hall, Lindsy stopped and turned around. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Go outside,” the deputy said, and he made a move forward before Lindsy stopped him.
“Please,” Lindsy said.
“Fine, the bathroom’s there.” The deputy pointed to the nearest door and then walked past her. “Just come up front when you’re finished.”
“Thank you so much,” Lindsy replied.
Lindsy opened the bathroom door, shut it, and locked it behind her. Inside was a single toilet, sink, mirror
, and just as she hoped, a window.
The window was high and rectangular shaped, a foot tall and three feet wide. Lindsy stood on top of the toilet so she could reach the window’s latch. She unlocked it and then opened it to see if she would be able to fit. It was tighter than she hoped, but she was confident she would still be able to squeeze herself inside.
And because the precinct was small-time, she didn’t think anyone was going to check the bathroom window. Now that she had her point of entry, she needed to figure out where the evidence was stored. She needed to get the key to the trunk.
Lindsy cracked the bathroom door open and peered out into the hallway. When she was confident the coast was clear, she stepped back out, keeping quiet as possible. She knew she was only going to get one shot at this, and she didn’t want to blow it.
The bullpen was empty, the later hour probably sending most of the deputies home save for the one or two that worked the night shift. Lindsy knew there wasn’t going to be a better opportunity to find out where the evidence locker was kept.
Quiet as a mouse, Lindsy found the door marked ‘evidence’ with a piece of masking tape with black marker written over it. She tried the handle, but found it locked. Still, she had her mark. She would have tried breaking in now, but she didn’t think she’d have enough time.
Lindsy returned to the bathroom, making sure the window was still propped open, and then casually walked back to the waiting room, finding Daniel gone and Mike sitting alone.
“Where’s Daniel?” Lindsy asked.
“He went back to the house,” Mike answered. “He got a call from their lawyer who said he needed to provide him with a couple of things to help better him prepare for the case. How’d it go in there?”
Lindsy gestured out the door, and Mike nodded, catching the hint. Once they were outside and out of earshot from the deputy who continued to eyeball both of them the entire way out of the door, she started talking.
“She’s barely hanging on,” Lindsy said.
“You think it’s that bad?” Mike asked.
“I know what it’s like to be on the other side of all of that,” Lindsy said. “And I remember how hopeless I felt when I was alone. She’s alone, Mike, and we need to do something to help her.”
