As I took the cooler from Jesse I leaned back against the curve that marked the start of the wall of the dug-out. It was rounded, and, oddly enough, as comfortable to lean against as the hill outside.
Jesse popped the lid off his beer, then shoved his bag to the far side and tossed the can opener on top of it. He wriggled closer to me, leaned back and turned, almost on his side, so that he was looking at me.
“Why weren’t you at the party?”
I glanced at him, then looked away as I took a sip of the cooler. “Grounded.”
“Psychomom strikes again.”
I shrugged, rested my chin against my knees as I smoothed the bumps in the blanket with my fingertips.
“Did she find out about, you know?” He shrugged.
“The other night?” I shook her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, she would have known about you and Ivy and Adam…” It wasn’t until his name was halfway out of my mouth that I felt the lump jump up in my throat.
Just a few nights ago they’d been together, hanging out, fooling around. And now he was gone. Gone.
Jesse seemed to share my feelings. The silence was just long enough to get past the awkward and uncomfortable stage, then he leaned back, propping himself up with his elbow and gestured at me with the other hand, the one holding his beer.
“So, what’d you do?”
I turned to look at him. “I don’t know.”
Jesse stared at her with his mouth open. “Come on.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Really. She just started yelling and screaming and said I was becoming a bad influence on Lily.” I turned her head back and hugged my knees tighter. “Said maybe she should send me away.”
“Geez. That’s what I always said. Not crazy crazy, just crazy mean.”
“Like being crazy mean isn’t as bad.”
“Hey, that’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“Really, Vinny. It’s worse. If you’re certifiable, at least you can’t help being crazy. Your mom? She just flies off the handle over everything.”
I lifted the bottle to my mouth again. For a moment I wondered what Mother would say if she could see me, but then I stopped wondering… I was pretty sure I knew.
“So what’re you doing here?”
“She let me off today.”
Jesse sat up. “Just like that?”
I'd been surprised as well. The questions bubbling in my brain had been multiplying since school. The things I'd heard.
Instead of asking Mother again, I'd gone to my bedroom and turned on the computer. Within minutes Mother had walked in, turned the monitor off and told me I wasn’t grounded anymore. That I could go out.
“She gave me money and told me to go shopping.”
“Never could figure out Psychomom. No wonder your dad split.”
“Yeah, lucky him. He got out,” I muttered. I lifted the empty bottle and waved it in front of Jesse.
As he took the bottle, he grinned. He replaced it with a full one from his backpack.
It wasn’t long before I exchanged my second bottle for a third.
“You okay?”
“I can handle it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I didn’t say anything.
“I heard you passed out cold.”
My cheeks burned. It wasn’t that the dug-out was small; it could actually hold half a dozen comfortably, and more if everyone got cozy, but I was so aware of Jesse’s presence, of being alone with him in a way that I hadn’t really been since childhood. Since Ivy took charge.
“I’m okay. Just a bit stiff.” The power of suggestion prompted me to reach behind my neck and rub it.
“Here. Let me.”
Jesse sat up straight and grabbed my arms from behind, nudging me to move in front of him. It wasn’t until I sat down that I realized he’d moved his legs underneath me, so that I was sitting on his lap. Once there, he started working his hands over my neck and shoulders.
“Just tell me if it hurts too much.”
The lightest touch of his fingers sent electric shock waves coursing through my body. Jesse’s fingers, kneading all the tight spots, working their way down my neck slowly.
“The cops were all over the school.”
“Did they talk to you?” I asked.
“Hmm mmm. Me and everybody else.”
“What’d you tell them?”
“Nothing to tell.”
“They asked me about Ivy.”
His hands stopped. “You talked to them?”
I nodded, then shook my head as I twisted around and looked at him. “Nothing to tell either. I wasn’t there. Ivy was at my house.”
He stared at me for a moment, then started rubbing my shoulders, working his fingers down, over my bra strap.
“I didn’t know Ivy was with you.” He removed his hands. “You okay?”
Had I done something wrong? “Yeah. Why?”
“I can feel you tensing up.”
“Sorry.” Cheeks burned again as I willed myself to relax. “Really. It feels good,” I murmured. My back arched. I felt the pressure as he worked his way down my shoulder blades. The shift in angle brought a new awareness; I felt pressure between my legs, through my jeans.
“I think…” I closed her eyes. Everything was getting a little fuzzy around the edges. “Mother thought it would take my mind off… You know.” I opened my eyes. Was the earth spinning? With me inside it? It seemed like the door stretched out, farther away, and then moved up to the ceiling.
“…keep thinking I should have stopped him from leaving.” Words murmured and muffled. Had Jesse really said them?
“Hmmm?”
“Adam. I don’t know why he left the party.”
Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Something about that seemed wrong… but the thought was as fleeting as the seconds I'd spent, outside the school, thinking Mother really did care about me. I opened my mouth to ask Jesse something, but couldn’t think of the words. Instead, I fell back against him.
Jesse pulled his arms out from behind me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Umm hmmm.” I smiled. Eyes closed. His breath tickled my ear.
Then I felt his hands on me again; my stomach. One inched higher, then cupped my breast. My eyes opened when he squeezed my nipple, and I tilted my head back as I started to search for the words. He pressed his lips down over mine, hard, and I felt myself struggling to catch my breath until I remembered to use my nose.
By then his hands were on the inside of my thighs. He leaned in toward me from behind, and I moved with him. Once I bent my legs, I sat up enough for him to pull his legs out and kneel behind me. He stopped kissing me and I couldn’t feel him at all, but recognized the sound of a zipper and sensed the movements behind me.
What do I do?
I felt like an idiot, on my knees in the dug-out, hands pressed against the wall in front of me, waiting.
Shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t.
I closed my eyes as I wrestled with the voice in my head. Part of me said no, but the words were soft, slurred and uncertain. Muffled by the thudding of my heart. Like I knew I should want to stop...
But didn’t. I didn’t say anything as Jesse reached around my waist and unbuttoned my jeans. I lifted one leg and then the other as he wriggled my clothes down past my ankles, removing the loosely tied shoes at the same time.
He positioned himself behind me and reached around me again. This time, he grabbed my legs and pulled them apart and back. His fingers dug in as he pressed himself against me.
And all I did was choke down the cry of pain that almost slipped out and squeeze my eyes as he pushed himself inside me.
***
Whatever Hunter may have doubted about the way she'd seen it in her dreams, it was hard to still deny after Noah was finished reading from Evelyn's diary.
Grainger objected, as she expected him to. For her, if she'd been questioned, she would have been as terrible as the typical witness. Everything
in court was muddied and blurred in her mind. One some level, she knew Grainger was arguing about the diary and how it was written, and then Noah read something else.
***
I wrote everything I could remember, because we lose things like memories. People say things, deny things, and then you don't know if it's what you remember happened or if you're crazy or what.
And I'm not crazy. This is how it happened. And it matters.
***
The courtroom was silent, and Judge Ackerley ruled against Grainger, and told Noah that he could continue reading.
Hunter thought she'd seen it all, already, through the images in her dreams, but the next scene he read was one she wasn't prepared for.
***
Vinny had gone to the hill. Consumed by guilt for what they'd done to Jonah, and for all the things she'd done because of Ivy and her mother.
Vinny, looking down the hill, after Adam's body had been found, but before Hunter and Noah had the clues they needed to search there.
Vinny had found the gun used to kill Adam Fields.
The gun she'd use to shoot her own father.
IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND
- Gordon Lightfoot -
The courtroom was called to order after the revelation from Evelyn's diary about how she'd found the gun. Just as the voices quieted, a television was wheeled into the room.
"DS Wilmott, you recently located the diary that you've been reading excerpts from, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me how you located it?"
Noah looked at Hunter, and she could see in his eyes that there was something he wasn't going to tell.
"I felt, based on some of the revelations in court, that we should have searched the ruins on the hill near the farm."
"You didn't search the ruins during your original investigation?"
"We had no reason to. Every indication we did have was that the party was on the hill, and the evidence we did find of the shooting of Adam Fields was out in the open. There was nothing to indicate that anything happened in the ruins, and they weren't visible from the location of the party."
"But you decided to return and search the ruins?"
"Yes. And that's when I discovered the diary, wrapped in plastic, inside a steel box that had been left in the cellar of the ruins."
"Where Jonah Tyson had been imprisoned?"
"That's correct."
"You then confirmed with Evelyn Shepherd that the diary was, in fact, hers?"
"That's correct."
"Did you uncover any additional evidence related to this case, DS Wilmott?"
"Yes. I discovered audio and video evidence."
The murmur in the courtroom was silenced by the judge.
"Where did you locate this video evidence?"
"At the residence of Ivy Dorn."
"What led you to search Ms. Dorn's residence?"
"It was based off of information found after we searched the home of Thomas Shepherd."
The murmur returned, and rose to a roar. Hunter stared at Noah, but he didn't look at her. The judge banged her gavel and called for order. Once restored, Solomon resumed questioning.
"Why wasn't the residence of Thomas Shepherd searched originally?"
"It wasn't the scene of his murder, and it was clear from the time of his death who had shot him. It wasn't necessary to conduct a full background investigation and search his townhouse because the factual events were clear."
"You say factual events?"
"By that I mean the act of Evelyn Shepherd taking a gun and shooting her father. Whether she was influenced by stress from DS McKenna, her own mother, or so-called friends like Ivy Dorn was subjective, and outside the scope of our standard investigation procedures when it's known who pulled the trigger."
"I see. But for some reason, now, you felt you should search his townhouse. Why is that?"
"This case isn't about the factual events. This case is built on state of mind and accusations of emotional damage and manipulation. It seemed that perhaps we needed to go beyond standard procedure."
"And you ultimately found video evidence?"
"That's correct. The victim, Thomas Shepherd, had been concerned about his daughter. He began an investigation, which actually dates back years. In it, he details his suspicions that Ivy Dorn was involved in the death of a neighbor's cat, amongst other things."
Hunter gasped. Thomas had done that?
Solomon waited until the murmur in the courtroom dissipated. "How did this lead to the discovery of audio and video evidence?"
"Thomas Shepherd suspected Ivy Dorn was connected to the drug trade at the high school. He was trying to impersonate a teenager online in order to gain access to the teens who were dealing drugs," Noah said.
Solomon asked the question Hunter guessed was on everyone's mind. "This is rather shocking behavior for a detective inspector with the provincial police, isn't it? Why not pursue this through official channels? And this was outside the scope of DI Shepherd's jurisdiction, wasn't it?"
"I can only state that, according to the records he kept on his computer, it appeared Mr. Shepherd was deeply concerned for his daughter's well-being. He stated in those records that he only intended to find out if there were issues he should be concerned about that his wife was concealing from him, or that even she wasn't aware of. He'd noted changes in his daughter's behavior that he thought could be connected to drug use."
"Now, how did he discover the audio and video evidence?"
"He was able to make a connection online with some of the teenagers he suspected of involvement, without them knowing who he was. DI Shepherd received an audio and a video file that were sent out as to a number of students. He realized from the audio file that his daughter's bedroom had been bugged, and when he turned on the video he saw his daughter having sexual intercourse in the dug-out with Jesse Forbes."
"And how did you come into possession of this audio and video evidence?"
"We were able to connect the original email address to Ivy Dorn and executed a search warrant at her home, where we discovered recordings dating back for months at sites including the dug-out and the ruins on the hill."
"Now, I'm certain everyone here is wondering how privacy rights apply, and whether we can actually use this evidence in a criminal proceeding."
"These recordings were not made by or on behalf of the defendant. In other cases courts have upheld that these types of recordings, even made without a person's consent, are admissible, as I'm sure you and Mr. Grainger know." Noah smiled. "Or I'm certain Mr. Grainger would have objected by now."
Hunter glanced at Grainger. His face had settled into a frown.
"Besides," Noah added, "the only recording in question would be the audio file from Evelyn's bedroom. That has the possible argument of invasion of privacy, but the information we'd like to present to the court does not apply to Evelyn. It addresses Ivy Dorn's alibi for the night of Adam Fields' death, and whether she committed perjury, and as a guest in the house she does not share the same right to privacy that a resident would. The dug-out is on public property so right to privacy does not apply there, either."
"It still feels like a slippery slope," Solomon said.
"It is, and it's one the courts deal with on an almost case by case basis."
Hunter leaned back in her chair. It seemed odd to her that Solomon had let Noah defend the evidence, but then she realized why Solomon had done this.
It made it seem like the police were more invested in the admittance of this evidence than the defense attorney was. An objection from Grainger would be seen as an argument with the OPP, and in future proceedings, when Grainger needed to enter similar evidence, arguing against it here could come back to haunt him.
"And what did you learn from these recordings?"
"You can determine that for yourself."
And the jury did. They listened to the sound of noises at Evelyn's bedroom window, Ivy entering the room, Evelyn askin
g about the party.
More than enough information to confirm that Evelyn had been at home and Ivy had been on the hill the night Adam Fields died.
Once the audio recording was finished, Solomon asked Wilmott to read another passage from Evelyn's diary.
A PLACE OF EXECUTION
- Val McDermid -
Noah Wilmott Reading Evelyn's Diary For The Defense
I sat on the ground and looked down through the open door of the dug-out.
All the memories were surfacing.
Ivy telling me they were just dumb boys.
Dylan with the drugs.
Adam with a gun…
Ivy, clamping her hand over her mouth, her eyes flashing with glee at the latest gossip.
Mother. “Nobody loves you as much as I do. You know that don’t you?”
Why couldn’t I make the voices in my head stop? I banged my palm against the side of my head and then pulled on my hair.
Physical pain covered a multitude of memories.
Daddy. “I don’t think Ivy is a good friend.”
Ivy. Climbing in the window that night. Her hair straightened. Bored with a party she’d been looking forward to all week.
Jonah, lying on the ground…
I stood up and slammed the dug-out door. The tears and echoes of voices in my mind blinded me and I pushed back branches with my hands and trudged through the woods.
I had to know.
Not rational. Not logical. Not a good idea. But the overwhelming compulsion, the need to answer all the doubts in my mind, had taken over.
I half walked, half ran through the woods, to the ruins.
They were already there.
“Like, is this all you do for fun ‘round here?” Dylan leaned back and yawned.
“Not every week someone gets killed,” Jesse muttered.
Dylan shrugged. “Shouldn’t have been playing with the gun.”
“You shouldn’t have brought it.”
Dylan was on his feet. “What are you saying?”
Harvest of Ruins Page 19
