Caide looked to his father, his wrinkled face unwavering behind the thick shadow of his mother. He sighed. “So when will I get the money then?”
His mother folded her hands politely in front of her. She raised her eyebrows. “Money?”
“The money you promised me if I cooperated.”
“You chose not to cooperate.” She folded her hands gently on the table.
“You left me no choice. If I deny this now, I look like a liar. I have to play along. You got what you wanted, like you always do.”
“The money was a onetime offer, son. That offer has expired. I suppose we could find a job for you in one of our warehouses somewhere.” She glanced toward her silent husband. “Why, we could make it a community event, can’t you just imagine?” She held her hands up as if framing a headline. “Billionaire owners’ son works his way up the company from the bottom, proving they believe themselves no more entitled than anyone else.” She laughed with excitement.
“You’d put me in a warehouse? I’m your son.”
“I have no son, Caide Matthew. I’ve told you. The moment that you walked away from this family, you became just another mess I have to clean up after because you wear our name.”
Caide stood in disbelief.
His mother remained calm. “Now, you just play along and when your wife is safely tucked away in prison we’ll find you a nice warehouse job somewhere close by. We’ll give you benefits and fair pay. Of course, it’ll be nowhere near what Mason is undoubtedly overpaying you, but it’ll be enough. Keep your nose clean and we’ll even give you a week of paid vacation after your first year.”
Caide felt a lump growing in his throat. She stood, patting his head like a child. “That will be all, Caide Matthew. You may go.”
Caide unruffled his hair and stood, avoiding eye contact with his parents. His stomach churned with anger and embarrassment. He walked through the kitchen and toward the large oak doors. Before he could open it, he heard his mother’s heels.
“Wait,” she demanded.
Angry at the hope he felt in his heart, he turned around. She put her arms around his neck, a loving embrace. His face filled with confusion as she pulled open the door and it dawned on him. Flash. Flash. Click. Click. Flash. Reporters. They were everywhere. She hugged him tighter, rubbing his back. The gesture felt foreign to him, though he couldn’t help but wish this were a genuine act. She held him in a hug for what seemed like an eternity before pulling away. She grasped his cheeks, forcing a smile he could only assume looked genuine from far away. Her eyes were distant, Caide knew she wasn’t even seeing him. She placed her hand on his back again, ushering him out the door and waving ferociously as he left. She wiped away her non-existent tears and blew him a kiss as the cameras continued to flash. Playing along, though it sickened him, he waved back before climbing into his car. The reporters ate it up. Cameras flashed as he pulled out of the circle drive. Deep down Caide hated himself for buying into her games, but closer to the surface joy bubbled as he saw the reporters’ pity-filled faces. He couldn’t deny the happiness that pleasing a crowd brought him or the ease with which he could make people believe his lies. He was, after all, an Abbott. And when you’re an Abbott, you’re an Abbott through and through.
Chapter Forty
Hampton
Hampton pulled into Shayna’s parking lot, his head still stirring with questions. He marched through the lobby and smiled at oh, what is her name? She smiled back. Her name plate was turned.
“Running a little late today, Mr. Hampton?”
“Yes, I guess I am. I’ve had quite a bit going on today.”
“Well, I figured you would with everything that’s been going on. I’ll just let Ms. Steele know you’re here.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at her, racking his brain for where he had misplaced her name. Hampton made his way over to the couch near the window and eased himself onto it. He awkwardly pushed a throw pillow out from behind him. He glanced at his watch, though he didn’t read the time, his mind was entirely elsewhere. After hearing the news report this morning, he’d busied himself with a new lead. He’d gone over the police reports, testimonies, and records. He’d called old friends at colleges and a few of his witnesses. His theory may just be the answer to the case, and though it was a long shot he only had one missing piece to make it plausible.
The door opened and Shayna and Rachael walked out.
“Hey.” Hampton smiled at the both of them. “Shayna, could I see you for a second?” His eyes flashed apologetically toward Rachael.
“Of course, Rachael, would you excuse us?” She headed for her office.
“Actually, we can’t leave her out here. Not that I don’t trust you,” he told Rachael. “It’s just against court order. Can you have her wait in the office? This will only take a second.”
Shayna nodded, holding the door open for Rachael. Rachael sighed, walking back into the office slowly. Hampton wondered briefly if he’d offended her.
Once the door was shut, Shayna began to talk. “So I’m guessing you watched the news?”
He nodded. “You can’t turn on the TV without seeing it. It’s on every channel.”
Shayna’s gaze fell behind Hampton. “Kortnee, would you please excuse us?”
“Oh, of course Ms. Steele. I’m sorry.”
Hampton heard clamoring behind him as Kortnee left the room.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Well, first of all, that man is an ass. I just want to throw that out there.”
Shayna nodded. “Agreed. What on earth would make him do that?”
“I can only think of one reason that would make sense: he’s trying to sway the jury.”
“I thought about that, but why?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I have a pretty good idea. It’s a little out there.”
“What about this case isn’t?” Shayna asked, a curious smile on her face.
“I’m still working out all of the bugs, but I can only think of one reason he could possibly have for trying to make the jury believe his wife is guilty.”
Shayna stared at him, realization setting in on her face. “If the case is over, they stop looking. Caide Abbott has something to hide.”
“Something big.” Hampton nodded.
“Something like murder?”
Again, he nodded. “It all fits. Think about it.”
“You think he set her up? He planned all of it?”
“It’s all so laid out. What other reason is there? He was so mad when I asked for the continuance, I can’t believe I didn’t see this before.”
“So now he’s taking matters into his own hands.”
“That’s what I think, yes. I’ve still got some research to do. I want to have everything figured out before I tell her.”
“So, you’re going to tell her?”
“I don’t see a point in upsetting her now, before we know everything. Eventually, though, she’ll need to know the truth.”
“What if there’s nothing to find out?”
“Then she’ll get her heart broken again. I’d like to spare her that, if possible.”
“Her heart will break either way. If, God willing, we’re right that still means her husband, the man she vowed her life to, is willing to watch her go down for a crime he knows she’s innocent of. There’s no bigger betrayal.” Shayna crossed her arms.
“I realize that. I’d just like to have some form of good news for her when I give her all of the bad.”
Shayna looked at him inquisitively. “You really care about her.”
“Is that a question?” Heat rushed to his cheeks in the form of blush.
“An observation. The question is why?”
“She’s my client. If I can win this case, it’ll be great for my career.”
She continued staring at him, doubt all over her face.
“What?”
“It’s more than that, Hampton. Your cheeks flush when you see her, pupils dilat
e, after you speak you always look for her response. You’re going above and beyond the call of duty for her, don’t think I didn’t see that you aren’t getting paid anymore. Others are calling this case doomed, but you just won’t give up. Admit it.”
“Admit what?” His pulse quickened.
“Hampton.” She pressed her lips together.
“She is my client, Shayna. It would be unethical. I just know what it’s like to be in that place. I know what she’s going through and I know what it’s like to feel like you have no one to turn to. No one should feel that way.”
He met Shayna’s understanding eyes again, nothing else needed to be said.
“Has Rachael mentioned anything about Caide’s computer skills?”
Shayna shook her head. “No, nothing.”
“I know he had the motive, and the means I just can’t figure out how he got her on tape. That’s the most powerful thing they have on us, that’s what we need to discredit. Try and find out if he was good with computers, and if she’d had any strange, unexplained cuts. We need to figure out the DNA too. Find out anything you can.”
Shayna’s expression was serious. “I’ll do what I can.”
“All right, let’s go get her before she gets suspicious.”
She turned around, walking back toward the door before stopping once more. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “You know, my second semester in grad school, a girl dropped out of my sociology class. We’d all heard that she was pregnant, but the rumor was that the baby was the professor’s. No one could ever prove it and nothing was ever done but after graduation I heard they got married. Now, they have the three cutest little girls you could ever dream of and they’re incredibly happy.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is sometimes the heart isn’t ethical and sometimes that’s okay.”
Chapter Forty-One
Rachael
Rachael sat on the corner of Abby’s bed, waiting for her cellmate to return. It was Saturday, and Abby always called home to talk to her children on Saturdays. Rachael knew that her fifteen minutes would be up soon and she’d grown to look forward to hearing about the phone calls. Sure enough, she heard the buzz that meant someone was headed down her hallway. Shortly after, Abby appeared in the doorway, followed by Officer Eden. Her grin was contagious. As the officer opened the door, she ran and launched herself onto the bunk.
“So, how are they?” Rachael asked.
“They’re great. Malakye is doing so well with his spelling words and Cody finally passed that science test.” She touched her chest. “I miss them so much it’s unfair.”
Rachael nodded. “Why are you in here so much anyway? You never told me.”
Abby sighed. “Basically I just got involved with the wrong people. It started out as rebellious teenage stuff. I mean, I met this guy when I was in high school and just fell head over heels from him. His name is Simon, but everyone calls him Fig. We got married when I was nineteen and he moved us to Boston to help his friend start a record label. A year later, their little company tanked and we moved home to live with my parents while I finished my degree. Fig picked up odd jobs, but it was my career that ended up buying us a house. Another two years later Fig started taking ‘business’ trips back up to Boston.”
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “He started coming back with cash. He told me business was picking back up and I believed him. I don’t know why. Maybe I just wanted so badly for him to be telling the truth. In the end, I found out the truth. He’d been selling for months, maybe years. I wanted to tell, I swear I wanted to turn him in. I begged him to stop. We had this huge fight and he left. I didn’t see him for two months. Eventually though, money got tight, bills were due and I had become accustomed to his extra, however illegitimate, income. I called him to come back. I wanted no part of the business, just for things to go back to normal. Once I knew, of course, it could never go back to normal. After a while of being around it, it became our new normal, then it became acceptable, finally it seemed right. I started going with him to Boston, picking up shipments. I even helped him sell a few times. Like they always do, eventually our empire crumbled. We’d built a good life on our dirty money, but once he was caught everything was seized. In court, they revealed he’d killed over debts, something I’d been in the dark about. Turns out, he’d killed a teenager.”
She had tears in her eyes as she spoke of it, her lips quivering. “Some dumb kid who owed him money. A couple hundred bucks. They had nothing connecting me to the murders because Fig had never told me about them. He knew I would’ve called it off if I’d known. For me, it was just good money. I never got so deep into how it all worked like he did. So, they charged me as an accessory to the drug charges, I went away for four years. Fig got life. He never forgave me.”
“But you got put back in? After you were released?”
Abby nodded. “A year after I was released a guy came over and asked to use my phone. He said his car had broken down. The next day the cops busted in my house with a search warrant. They found drugs in the drawer beneath our phone. Convenient, right? Of course, that violated my probation so I was back in jail. Three years later I was out again. That’s when I met Will, my husband. We got married. I was pregnant with Cody the next time the cops came to my house. There was a pound of marijuana taped to the bottom of my car. Fig has been sending his guys after me ever since. This is the first time in about five years.”
“That’s it? Why don’t you just move away?”
“Fig isn’t stupid. His plans are clever, they always catch me off guard. We moved to Georgia once and he found me within six months. I refuse to keep uprooting my life, to keep uprooting my children’s lives because of a stupid mistake. If he continues to come after me, I’ll continue to fight him every step of the way. I’ll spend the time that I’m not locked up enjoying it with my children.” She looked at Rachael and chuckled. “I know I sound completely mental.”
Rachael remained silent, a sad smile on her face.
“You just become accustomed to things, you know? Anything can become normal to you. Honestly I was just tired of feeling helpless, I wanted to take charge of my life however I could.”
“You shouldn’t have to become accustomed to being arrested for a crime you didn’t commit. That’s ridiculous. There’s nothing anyone can do?”
“You just don’t get it. It all comes down to my past. I get these free attorneys who don’t know or care about my side of the story, half the time they don’t even know my name.”
“That’s what our legal system has been reduced to?”
“Aren’t you seeing that first hand? People decide if you are guilty long before you ever step foot in court.”
Rachael thought back to her experience these past few weeks: the rudeness of the cops, the heartless stare of the jury. “You’re right. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
“It died. Along with chivalry and Pac Man.” She laughed, laying her head back onto the wall.
“It’s not fair,” Rachael said.
“You going to try and call your family again today?”
Rachael shrugged, trying not to look as pathetic as she felt. “I’ve called them five times already. They never answer.”
“So try again. That’s all you can do.”
Rachael sighed, standing up. She walked to her cell door. “Wish me luck.”
***
Brinley
Today is Saturday. Bubba and I are sitting on the floor watching Power Rangers. Daddy is somewhere in the kitchen, probably cooking us breakfast. If it’s eggs it will probably be too runny, but anything else will be burnt. Daddy’s food never tastes like Momma’s. She always puts ketchup in my eggs, which I love. Daddy doesn’t remember.
Then, right before Ivan Ooze breaks out of his egg, I hear our phone ringing. The rules are I’m not supposed to answer the phone and I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. I know the rules but the phone keeps on ringing a
nd Daddy isn’t coming to get it. I walk toward the couch, by the phone. If it rings one more time I’ll answer it. It does.
“Hello?”
“Brinley?” Someone says my name. I think it’s my Momma.
“Momma?” I ask. I just know I’ll get into trouble now.
Instead of being mad, she says, “Yes, baby. It’s me. It’s Momma. Oh, I miss you so much. It’s so good to hear your voice.”
I’m so happy to talk to her too, but I’m sad because Dad told me she’s away helping my uncle and she never even told me bye.
“I miss you, Mommy. Come home please,” I say to her, because I really wish she would.
“Soon baby. I will soon. What have you been doing? Have you been a good girl for Daddy? How is Davis?”
“I’ve been helping Corie with Bubba a lot. We’ve been having fun but I want you to come home.”
“I know, love. Has Corie been there a lot? Where has your dad been?”
“In bed. He sleeps a lot now. He’s here though. I think he’s making us breakfast.”
“Breakfast? Brin, it’s almost noon.”
“I told you he sleeps a lot.” I giggle.
“Did he take your brother to get his cast off last week?” Mom sounds mad.
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, does he still have his cast on?”
“Umm,” I say, because I don’t remember. I drop the phone on the couch and run back to see his leg. He does. I run back over to the phone to tell Mom and then I see Dad coming out of the kitchen.
“Mom’s on the phone,” I yell.
My Daddy looks at me. “Who answered the phone?”
I look around, wondering if I can blame Davis. Before I can answer, my dad picks up the phone from the couch and puts it on his ear.
“Rachael?”
Then, before he says anything else he just puts the phone back on the holder and hangs up. “She was already gone.”
If It Walks Like A Killer (The Carolina Killer Files #1) Page 21
