She looked down at the plate on the floor and quickly set it in the sink. She jerked at the refrigerator door handle and jammed the ham platter onto the shelf just as the kitchen doorbell rang.
He was so good-looking, Myra wished she was thirty years younger. “My goodness, Jack, what are you doing out here at this time of day? Nikki isn’t here. Her car wouldn’t start so Charles drove her into town. They’re coming to tow it any minute now. Please, please, don’t let Nikki or Charles come out here. Please.
“I called her apartment but there was no answer. She’s not in the office, either.” His tone was so cold, Myra frowned.
“Maybe she went shopping. I am not her keeper, Jack.” Now he’s going to ask about the gate, the cars and Kathryn’s truck. “Is something wrong?”
Of course there was something wrong. She steeled herself for the words she knew were coming.
“You caught me just as I was leaving. I’m playing bridge this afternoon. If I hear from Nikki, I’ll tell her you drove all the way out here to see her. You should have called and I could have saved you the trip, Jack.”
“Marie Lewellen split. She’s gone and she took her family with her. That means you lose the bail money you posted.”
Myra allowed a shocked look to spread across her face as she asked in a horrified voice, “All of it? The whole million dollars! I refuse to believe that. Are you saying she…moved? She wouldn’t do that. Where could she possibly go? Maybe the family went on an outing. Disney World is a possibility. Distraction, one last family vacation before the trial, that kind of thing.” That sounded real good, Myra. Keep your wits about you.
“She split, all right. I’m sure she had some help. No, no one saw anything. She must have left during the heart of the storm. No one was out and about. This is Nik’s fault. You never should have posted her bail, Myra. I know Nik talked you into it. This trial was nothing but a farce using the taxpayer’s money. It’s cut and dried. We could have saved a lot of money by her pleading guilty and cutting a deal.”
“I don’t much care for your tone of voice, young man. This is between you and Nikki. It’s my million dollars to lose, not yours, so don’t get huffy and righteous with me. And while we’re in this talk mode, why did you cheat on my Nikki?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t cheat on Nik!”
“Then who was that redhead you were seen having dinner with?”
“My sister-in-law. Are you sure you don’t know where Nik is, Myra?”
“I don’t have a clue.”
“Who do all those cars belong to out there?”
“Why are you asking me all these questions, Jack? The cars belong to the canasta girls. It’s so weird. None of them would start. Charles had to ferry everyone home. The garages are going to make a fortune today.”
“Who does the rig belong to?”
Myra put her hands on her hips. “Now why are you asking me all these questions, Jack? Not that it’s any of your business, but they delivered some fixtures for the bathrooms upstairs. I’m going to do some remodeling. You know, sinks, tubs, toilets, toilet seats, that kind of thing. The driver asked if he could sleep for a few hours, since he had to go back on the road. I thought he had left. I wouldn’t go near that truck if I were you. The driver has a mean, vicious dog with him. Dogs are better than guns. I saw that on a documentary not too long ago. I don’t mean to rush you, Jack, but I have to get ready for my pinochle game.”
“I thought you said you were playing bridge.”
“Did I? Well, we never really decide until we sit down. Maybe it’s poker today. Then again, it might be canasta. Is it important for you to know what kind of game I’m playing?”
“No. I was making conversation, Myra. Was Nik jealous?”
“No. She was…pissed off. She has a date with someone named Deverone. Do you know him? She said he has a brain. I really have to go, Jack. I hope you find Marie and her family. I really don’t want to lose my million dollars. You people aren’t very sharp, are you?”
“Oh we’re sharp, all right. That woman had some help. Don’t you worry, I’ll find her. And the people who helped her. Aiding and abetting a murderer is a serious offense.”
“It certainly is,” Myra said, properly horrified.
“Be sure to tell Nik to call me if you hear from her.”
“I’ll do that. It was nice seeing you again, Jack. I wish the circumstances weren’t so dire. Please let me know if you find Mrs. Lewellen. I would like to get my bond back.” Jack nodded.
Myra scooted over to the kitchen window and crossed her fingers. “Don’t let him go near the truck. Please don’t let him go near the truck,” she muttered. He didn’t. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until it exploded from her mouth in a loud swoosh.
“You can come down now, Kathryn. Hurry. I have to warn Nikki that Jack was here.”
Myra threw the dead bolt on the kitchen door before she headed for the living room and the secret panel. The moment the panel was back in place, she rushed to Nikki.
“Jack was just here. He said Marie Lewellen split during the night. He wanted you. I couldn’t come to get you, so I said Charles had taken you back to town. He’s pretty upset, Nikki. He wants you to call him. The redhead was his sister-inlaw.”
Myra plopped down onto her chair, breathless with what had just transpired.
“He questioned all the cars and the truck, Nikki.”
“Did he, now?”
“Yes, and he didn’t believe a word I said. I could see it in his face.”
Chapter Six
Nikki gathered up her papers and jammed them into a bright yellow folder she removed from her briefcase. She looked around, honing in on Myra. “Just for the record, Jack doesn’t have a brother. He has a sister who lives in Canada. She comes here quite often. As a matter of fact, I saw her a few weeks ago at the hairdressers.
“I have to go back to town. The judge probably has a warrant out for me by now. Charles, you’re going to have to drive me in keeping with Myra’s little…fib. I have to CYA. It won’t hurt to call a garage to come out and look at all the cars. Just shrug and keep saying they wouldn’t start. It’s called covering your ass, Myra. Jack isn’t just sharp, he’s razor sharp. Are you getting my point?”
Myra made a mental note to call to have the gate repaired. “Yes, dear. We’ll carry on here. Call me and let me know how things are going. Tell the judge I’m very distraught over Mrs. Lewellen and ask him what recourse, if any, I might have. Tell him I send my regards and to say hello to Mavis.”
Nikki snapped the lock on her briefcase. “Let’s hit the road, Charles.” At Myra’s inquiring look, she said, “The Sisterhood stuff is in this file.” She pointed to a bright yellow folder with a sticker on the top that said, Quinn Law. “I’ll call you after I speak with the judge…and Jack.”
Nikki followed Charles through the secret opening and then waited until she was certain it was closed tightly before she said, “Did Myra tell the others about Marie Lewellen? I know Julia knows, but what about the others?”
“She’s going to tell them now,” Charles said, reaching for his keys on the hook by the kitchen door.
Ninety minutes later Nikki marched down the corridor that led to Judge Olsen’s office. She gave her name to his secretary and took a seat, her heart fluttering in her chest. She did her best to steel herself for what she knew was coming.
Ruth McIntyre looked over her granny glasses to stare at Nikki. “The judge has been trying to reach you for hours, Miss Quinn.” The statement clearly said her routine, as well as Judge Olsen’s routine, had been upset with their inability to get in touch with her.
“I was in McLean, Mrs. McIntyre. It was impossible to leave, with the storm and all. The power went out. The phones went down. The battery on my cell phone went dead. I apologize.”
“Mr. Emery was here bright and early. The judge and myself were both here at seven.” The glasses on the end of her pointy nose jiggled with indig
nation.
Nikki eyeballed the cranky secretary and didn’t flinch. I’m really sick of this crap, she thought. A tiny smile played around the corners of her mouth. It was downright amazing what a group of women hell-bent on securing justice could do to one’s psyche. “Jack Emery can walk from his apartment to the courthouse while I, on the other hand, was over an hour away. I’m here now,” she said tightly.
Nikki continued to stare at the judge’s secretary. She absolutely would not allow this woman to intimidate her. She’s got to be ninety if she’s a day, she thought. She still wore her hair in the style of the 1920s, with its side part and tight finger waves. Pressed powder covered her face and filled the deep trenches alongside her mouth and under her chin. Perfect quarter-sized circles of rouge were painted dead center on her cheeks. Waxy, salmon colored lipstick crept up to and filled in the deep lines over and under her lips. Even from this distance, she could smell her Evening in Paris perfume.
Today the indomitable old bat was wearing a high-necked blouse with a flounce curled around her stringy neck. Nikki knew it was a flounce because Ruth McIntyre said it was a flounce. Myra said she never heard of such a thing, but then Myra was a fashion plate and didn’t hark to the olden days like Ruth McIntyre did. She was in a time warp, bottom line.
“I have a call in to Mr. Emery. I believe he’s somewhere in the courthouse. I had him paged. You’ll just have to wait till he gets here. The judge isn’t going to want to go through this mess twice.”
“That’s fine. After all, it’s not like I have anything else to do, Mrs. McIntyre,” Nikki responded, her reply courteous but sarcastic. She reached over for a battered and tattered copy of National Geographic. She flipped through the curled-back pages and was about to replace the magazine on the table when Jack Emery entered the office.
“It’s nice to see you finally made it, Counselor,” he said. His tone was velvet, edged with steel.
“It’s nice to see your cheery face, too, Counselor,” Nikki said, taking her cue from his tone of voice. She ached to have him reach for her, to put his arms around her shoulders. It wasn’t going to happen. He was pissed, and when Jack was pissed you ran as far as you could to get away from him.
“The judge will see you now,” Ruth McIntyre said. “Remember to be respectful,” she said, wagging a long, bony finger at Jack.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack said.
Nikki ignored the comment and walked through the door ahead of Jack. Her stomach rumbled and she could feel her left eye start to twitch.
She hated this judge. Hated his narrow-minded, sanctimonious attitude toward people and the law. Everything was either black or white. He refused to acknowledge the color gray existed. He went strictly by the book. He should have stood down years ago, but for some unfathomable reason he was still sitting on the bench. She longed for the day when she would see him nodding off in the middle of a trial so she could start a movement to have him retire. Anything. Anything.
“Sit down,” he barked. He reminded her of a bulldog. He’s Ruth’s twin, Nikki thought crazily. The only difference was, where she smelled like Evening in Paris, he smelled like Lava soap and vinegar.
They sat. And they waited while the judge eyeballed them over the rim of his glasses. He fixed his beady, watery eyes on Nikki. He jabbed at the air with his index finger. “You told me Mrs. Lewellen was not a flight risk, that she had deep ties to the community. You managed to get her bail. You lied to me, Miss Quinn.”
Determined to maintain her composure, Nikki resisted the urge to stiffen her shoulders. “No, Your Honor, I did not lie to you. That was what I believed at the time. I had no reason to believe otherwise. These past months as we prepared for trial gave me no indication she would take flight. Furthermore, Your Honor, I only have Mr. Emery’s word that she absconded. She might have gone to visit someone. It is getting close to the trial date. She might have felt the need to get some space around her.”
Jack turned sideways in his chair. “She’s gone. And they didn’t take anything with them, either. We went through the house. Their suitcases are still in the closets. Their toothbrushes are still in the bathroom. There’s food in the refrigerator. They just walked away. That tells me they had to have help.”
“I hope you had a search warrant,” Nikki snapped.
“I had probable cause. That’s all I needed,” Jack snapped in return.
“Did you put out an all-points, Mr. Emery?” the judge asked.
“Yes, Your Honor, we did.”
The judge jammed his finger in Nikki’s direction a second time. “That means Ms. Rutledge forfeits the bond she posted. You tell me now, young lady, did you have anything to do with your client’s disappearance?”
Nikki’s eyes popped wide. Now her shoulders did stiffen. “Your Honor, I did not lift one finger to help my client leave. I didn’t even know she was gone until Mr. Emery notified Mrs. Rutledge, who by the way asked me to ask you if she has any recourse to regain her money. She also said to give her regards to your wife Mavis.”
“Hrumpf,” the judge puffed. He leaned back in his old, cracked, leather chair that fit his lean, bony body like a glove. “I’m leaving the case on my calendar. I want weekly reports on my desk every Monday morning by seven thirty. File the necessary papers as the occasion arises. I’m not happy with this situation, Counselors. Not happy at all.”
“Nor am I,” Nikki said.
“It’s appalling,” Jack Emery said.
“It’s appalling because you want your face splashed all over the news, Jack. I want to know what your probable cause was. You went out there in the middle of the worst storm ever to hit this state knowing Marie was going to take off.” She jabbed her finger at Jack and said, “It wouldn’t surprise me one little bit that you have your fingers in this somewhere. A case like this looks real good to the media. You’ll be on the noon news, the six o’clock news and the eleven o’clock news. And your face will be the first one we see when we wake up in the morning to click on the TV. I want to know why and how you thought you had probable cause in the middle of the night or whenever the hell you went out to my client’s house. Your Honor, I want an answer!” Nikki bellowed.
Throwing his arms in the air, the judge stood up. “Both of you, get out of my office and do your fighting somewhere else. Discuss it and settle it.”
“But Your Honor…” Nikki pleaded.
The judge’s face turned red and then purple.
“We’re leaving, we’re leaving,” Jack said, cupping Nikki’s elbow in the palm of his hand to usher her out the door.
“Take your hands off me, you…you…prosecutor.”
“Nik, wait.”
Nikki spun around. “I’m going to bring you up on charges. Tell me now what your probable cause was…You didn’t have one, did you? You son of a bitch!”
“Oohh, I love it when you get mad.”
Nikki whirled around, Ruth McIntyre’s perfume circling her like a fog. She got in his face and said, “Read my lips and kiss my ass!”
“There will be none of that in this office, ladies and gentlemen. Remove yourselves immediately,” the judge’s secretary bleated.
Nikki gave the old bat the evil eye. “You can kiss my ass, too, lady,” Nikki shot back as she slammed the door behind her. Great, that was just great. I think I just said goodbye to my law career. The thought made her laugh. I already did that when I joined the Sisterhood. Her stomach stopped rumbling and the fluttering in her chest went away with the thought.
“Nik, wait up. C’mon, hold on here. Listen, we need to talk.”
She kept on walking, trying to ignore him.
“Nik, listen to me. Don’t go doing something stupid like filing charges. Goddamn it, I did have probable cause. I’m a damn good prosecutor because I have that gut instinct, that extra sense you need to be good in this job. I knew she was waiting for just the right moment. I knew, Nik. I swear to God, I did. I acted on my gut instinct. I was right, too. We both know it. She was look
ing at a possible life sentence. Hell, if I was in her position, I would have cut and run, too. She killed a man in cold blood. The whole world saw her do it. You want to burn my ass for that, go ahead. I’m going to find her. I will, Nik. If I find out you had anything to do with her taking off, I’ll come after you. Whatever went on before won’t matter. Now, let’s go get a cup of coffee and talk like the educated lawyers we are.”
Nikki smiled and offered up a single-digit salute by way of answer. Jack’s eyes almost popped out of his head. Other lawyers striding up and down the hallway grinned as Nikki marched away.
That was stupid, Nikki. You just gave him license to start watching you like a hawk. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Think. You need to think about what you just did and remedy the situation.
And then he was beside her again. Ah, God does work in mysterious ways.
“We really do need to talk, Nik. Come on, let’s grab some coffee.”
She knew how to play the game. “Who was the redhead, Jack?”
“Is that what this is all about? You’re jealous. I’ll be damned,” he said, smacking his forehead. “Okay, okay, I see now where that little tantrum came from.” He looked down at his watch. “The sun will be over the yardarm soon, let’s grab a brew at Gilligan’s. It’s public. Judge Olsen told both of us to talk this out. So, what do you say?”
You dumb schmuck. Like I’m really going to fall for this. Whatever it takes to get you off my back. “All right, Jack. One beer and that’s it. I have to go on to the office and I need to get back to the farm to pick up my car. So, who was she?”
He answered the question with a question. “Are you seeing Mike Deverone?”
“I asked you first, Jack.”
He shrugged.
“Fine. You keep your secrets and I’ll keep mine. How’s that?” She smiled.
“He’s a nerd.”
“Everything and everyone is in the eye of the beholder,” Nik said sweetly. Actually, Mike is quite charming.” You aren’t going to break my heart. I won’t allow it.
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