Wrong Turn

by Diane Fanning

  In her car, she sped out of the parking lot and headed down the street. A mile away she pulled into a parking space behind a dumpster at the public library. Her temper had flared hot and uncontrollable. But now, her sanity reasserted itself. She needed time to think – and time to cry.

  EIGHTEEN

  Once Lucinda felt her self-control and composure had reached a point of equilibrium, she pulled out of the lot and drove to the Spencer condominium to check on the situation with Charley. She was greeted warmly by Charley’s father Evan.

  ‘I am so glad to see you. This has been a nightmare.’

  ‘Charley’s home, right?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘Yes, she’s in her room. She won’t talk to me.’

  ‘Really? What happened?’

  ‘I told her no matter what she did I would always love her and then asked her about her involvement in the vandalism.’

  ‘Oh, no.’

  ‘Yeah, well, sensitivity has not always been my strong point.’

  ‘That’s not what I hear from your patients, Evan.’

  ‘Somehow it’s different – I’m different – when it’s so close to home. I saw the anger flash through her eyes. The moment she turned from me, I apologized. I tried to take back my words but she would not stick around to listen.’

  ‘Let me go talk to her,’ Lucinda offered.

  ‘I don’t know. Her lawyer told me not to let her talk to anyone connected to the prosecutor or to law enforcement.’

  Lucinda stared at him. ‘I can’t believe you’re saying this to me, Dr Spencer.’

  ‘Oh Jeez, there I go again.’

  ‘Don’t play pathetic with me, Dr Spencer.’

  Evan slumped against the nearest wall. ‘Oh, c’mon, can we go back to Evan?’

  ‘I doubt it. Can I talk to Ruby? Or is that forbidden, too?’

  ‘Of course, you can. She’s in the family room watching Kung Fu Panda for the millionth time.’

  Lucinda walked into the room and spotted six-year-old Ruby’s eyes riveted to the screen, her mouth hanging open, her little fingers mindlessly fidgeting. ‘Hey, Ruby,’ she said. ‘Could we pause the movie and visit for a bit?’

  Ruby did not respond, not even flicking her eyes from the animation before her eyes.

  Lucinda lowered herself to the floor next to the little girl.

  Ruby jerked her head, saw Lucinda, turned back to the screen and then back to her visitor. ‘Lucy,’ she squealed, throwing her arms around the detective’s neck.

  Lucinda wrapped one arm around her and grabbed the remote with the other hand, pressing the pause button. ‘I’d say you’re glad to see me,’ she said with a laugh.

  ‘Lucy, nobody talks to me. Charley won’t let me in her room. Daddy just sits still and tries to be nice but he doesn’t do real smiles. I ask him questions and he just pats me on the head and says, “I love you, Ruby”. I don’t understand and nobody will explain nothing.’

  ‘Well, Ruby, Charley’s gotten into a little trouble and she’s very upset about it and so, your daddy is upset, too.’

  ‘Charley? In trouble?’ she said, her eyes wide and filled with disbelief.

  ‘I do not think that Charley did anything bad but some people think she did.’

  ‘Bad people?’

  ‘No. Some policemen think she did a bad thing because the bad people said she did.’

  ‘Why do they listen to bad people? Why would they be mean to Charley? Charley is good.’

  ‘Yes, she is, Ruby. But the bad people don’t want anyone to know that.’

  ‘Will you tell them?’

  ‘Yes, I will Ruby.’

  ‘Will you put the bad people in jail?’

  ‘I’ll make sure everyone knows that they are responsible for the bad things, OK.’

  ‘Put them in jail, Lucy.’

  ‘They’re little kids, too, Ruby. Jail’s probably not the best place for them.’

  ‘I don’t care. They’re mean to Charley. I want them in jail.’

  ‘Ruby, I promise you, I will do the right thing. For now that will have to be enough, OK?’

  Ruby’s eyes scanned Lucinda’s face. She blinked several times and then said, ‘OK,’ and turned back to the screen. Grabbing the remote, she pressed the play button.

  Lucinda rose from the floor and walked back to the front of the home. She planned to leave without saying goodbye to Evan but he intercepted her. ‘I called Charley’s lawyer—’

  ‘The attorney I recommended?’

  Evan winced. ‘Yes, I called Bill Waller. He said you were the exception. You can speak with Charley – if she’ll talk to you.’

  ‘Nice, Dr Spencer. As well as you know me, you did not trust me to put Charley’s best interests first.’

  ‘Lucinda, it’s not—’

  ‘Oh, yes, it is, Dr Spencer. That’s exactly what it is about. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go talk to Charley.’

  ‘If she talks to you, I’d like to know what she says – and so would Waller.’

  ‘If she talks to me, Dr Spencer, I will decide exactly what is in Charley’s best interests and then take the appropriate action.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Just go see to your own business, Dr Spencer. Don’t worry about me. I can let myself out.’

  In the hall outside of Charley’s room, Lucinda took a couple of deep breaths to clear any signs of anger or irritation out of her voice and off of her features. She knocked gently on the young girl’s door.

  ‘Go away!’ she shouted from inside the room.

  ‘Charley, it’s Lucy,’ Lucinda said and waited. Two full minutes passed before the door creaked open.

  ‘What do you want?’ Charley asked.

  ‘I just want to come in, sit down and talk to you a bit, Charley.’

  ‘Have you been sent to interrogate me?’

  ‘No, Charley.’

  ‘Did the police think you could get a confession from me?’

  ‘No one in the police department knows I’m here.’

  ‘Oh, Daddy sent you up here to find out how much damage I did to that place. He probably just wants to get an estimate so he can write a check and make it all go away.’

  ‘Oh, Charley please let me help you.’ A single tear rolled down from Lucinda’s eye.

  Charley’s lower lip trembled. Her face crumpled up and sobs followed. She threw her arms around Lucinda’s waist and wailed. Lucinda led the girl over to the small love seat and sat down with her, stroking her head as she sobbed out the accumulated stress of the last couple of days.

  Her emotions exhausted, Charley pulled back and sighed. Her eyes were red, her cheeks blotchy and her nose running.

  Lucinda pulled a tissue out of a nearby box and handed it to her. ‘Could I go to the kitchen and get you a glass of water?’

  A weak smile crossed Charley’s face. ‘Daddy put a little ’frigerator in here,’ she said, pointing to the appliance on the floor beside her desk. ‘I’m not allowed to keep soda in it but it’s got lots of water and juices. Could you get me a Fusion?’

  ‘Sure can,’ Lucinda said, crossing the room.

  ‘And get something for you, too. Anything you want.’

  ‘Thank you, Charley,’ she said, grabbing a bottle of water along with Charley’s drink.

  Charley took a long swallow, smacked her lips and said, ‘OK, fire away.’

  ‘Fire away?’

  ‘Ask me any questions you want?’

  ‘Charley, I was just kind of hoping, you’d tell me what happened? I mean, I’ll ask questions if I’m not clear about what you’re saying but really, I just want to know what happened.’

  ‘And you’ll believe me?’

  ‘Of course, Charley. You’ve never lied to me before. And I have no reason to believe you’ll start now.’

  ‘You mean that?’

  ‘Yes, Charley, I do.’

  Charley smiled and told Lucinda the whole story from the moment she heard the conversation in the restroom to t
he minute the cops walked in on her in the apartment. ‘And that’s how I got myself in this big mess,’ she concluded with a sigh.

  ‘Oh, Good grief, Charley. I hope you’ve learned a lesson.’

  ‘Yes, when you hear someone coming, run – even if it is the cops.’

  ‘Charley!’ Lucinda admonished.

  Charley burst into a giggling fit. ‘Just kidding, Lucy.’

  ‘Seriously now. What did you learn?’

  ‘That you and Daddy and probably everyone else would be a whole lot happier if I told an adult what I thought was happening instead of investigating it myself.’

  ‘But do you get it? Do you see how it’s better that way?’

  Charley hung her head and twisted her neck to look at Lucinda. ‘I can’t lie to you, can I?’

  ‘I sure wish you wouldn’t.’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t realize that because it’s not true. I know it went bad this time but most times I do OK. And besides, I didn’t know if they did anything wrong or not. If I start telling every time I think I know about something without knowing for sure, it’d be like that boy – you know the one who cried wolf. And then everything would be an even bigger mess.’

  ‘Oh, Charley,’ Lucinda said putting an arm around her shoulder. ‘I know you mean well but you sure scare me to death sometimes. Promise me one thing?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t do any investigation of anything until we get this disaster cleared up first. OK?’

  ‘OK. I think that’s a promise I can keep.’

  ‘You better, girlfriend.’

  ‘I will,’ she said and laughed out loud. ‘But don’t tell Daddy.’

  ‘About what happened? Why not?’

  ‘Because he thought I did that vandalism thing.’

  ‘Charley, I just think he needed to know for sure. He needed you to tell him that you didn’t.’

  ‘I don’t care. He needs to suffer a little longer.’

  ‘Charley . . .’

  ‘OK. I’ll talk to him at breakfast. But not tonight. I’m still mad at him.’

  NINETEEN

  Back at her apartment, Lucinda flipped on the eleven o’clock news. The teaser at the opening of the show mentioned both the Sherman and the Phillips cases. She sat on the edge of the recliner through too many commercials to wait for the story.

  The announcer began. ‘Although there is no connection between the murder of teenager Emily Sherman and the death of Patty Phillips, the two cases do have something in common. The same member of law enforcement was involved in the investigations of two people who may have been wrongfully convicted by the state of Virginia. We have an exclusive interview with the sister of Detective Lucinda Pierce.’

  The color drained from Lucinda’s face. Not again, she thought. What did I do to deserve this?

  Lucinda’s younger sister Maggie faced the camera and said, ‘That detective is dangerous. I know her really well – she’s my sister. She’s killed people – even kids. She’ll do anything to get what she wants. She wanted Martha Sherman and Congressman Phillips in jail and she didn’t care what she did to put them there. She didn’t care whether they were innocent, she just locked them up and threw away the key. Something needs to be done to stop her. If she is not fired, it only proves that the whole police department is corrupt.’

  ‘There you have it,’ the interviewer said, ‘an unvarnished look at a member of law enforcement from the person who knows her best. This is Shawna Scott reporting from Albemarle County.’

  Lucinda hit the off button on the remote. She felt nauseous and her head was pounding. Quickly, her rage built in intensity. She wanted to call Maggie and shriek at her but knew she would not give her sister the satisfaction of knowing she even saw the story. Instead she called Jake, struggling to put a measure of nonchalance into her voice.

  ‘Hey, Jake! How was your day?’

  ‘A whole lot of running hard and standing in the same place,’ Jake groused. ‘I’m sorry about what just happened.’

  ‘Oh, you saw the news. I imagine a lot of others did, too. Damn that woman and damn that reporter. Why can’t they just leave me alone?’

  ‘She just wants what you have.’

  ‘Oh right. She has a husband, kids, a lovely farm and the respect of her community. I’m sure she’d like to come home to a cat, an empty bed and constant vilification in the press.’

  ‘She is envious that you got away. She is dissatisfied and feels trapped. She thinks the only way she can be noticed is when she attacks you.’

  ‘No, Jake, it’s much simpler than that. She hates my guts. She wishes I were dead and if she can’t have that she’s settled for making me miserable.’

  ‘That’s not what’s driving her, Lucinda.’

  ‘And you know all about it in your sibling-free universe.’

  ‘Being the only child is not all it’s cracked up to be,’ Jake objected.

  ‘I’d love to walk in your shoes.’

  ‘You’d give up your brother to get rid of Maggie?’

  ‘That’s not fair, Jake.’

  ‘Yes, it is. Would you give up Rick?’

  ‘Noooo,’ she admitted, dragging out the syllable as long as she could.

  ‘All righty then. How about we move on to other things? What else is going on with you today?’

  ‘Are you copping out?’

  ‘Yeah, humor me, OK?’

  Lucinda sighed, finally accepting that Jake was only trying to help her get past the pain and anger of her sister’s repeated betrayals. ‘I’m bouncing from one case to another at such a rapid pace, I can’t hardly keep them all straight – from Sherman to Phillips to Charley and back again, although not in any particular order.’

  ‘How’s Charley? Is she in serious trouble?’

  ‘Pretty much but I don’t think she did anything wrong except try to act like a hotshot investigator.’

  ‘Just following in your footsteps,’ Jake said with a chuckle.

  ‘Don’t remind me. I try to set a good example for her but she always makes the assumption that she’s good enough and smart enough to take on any challenge – in a way, she is. But this time she got in over her head. I wonder why the police showed up so soon after she arrived. I suspect one of the girls responsible for the vandalism made that call. Makes me wonder if one of them was watching her or if one of them showed up to retrieve evidence and just happened upon Charley in the apartment. Anyway, tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to have to catch up with the investigators in her case and see if I can do any damage control. I imagine they have her fingerprints on the can of spray paint and that doesn’t look good.’

  ‘She picked it up at the scene?’

  ‘Yeah. Collecting evidence, she said. But, at least she realized her mistake in retrospect. A lot of good that does her now.’

  ‘Something’s up with the Phillips case?’ Jake asked.

  ‘Yes,’ she said and gave him a rundown of her interview with Gloria Martinez. ‘Anyway, about midday, while Trevor’s still at school, I plan on visiting Melinda Phillips’ parents and trying to convince them to allow me to interview their grandson about Gloria’s so-called accident and then move on to the death of his mother and his stepmother Patty. I thought you might want to go along.’

  ‘Why don’t you wait until Trevor’s home from school? If he’s there when you ask, it would probably be more difficult for them to say no,’ Jake said.

  ‘I’m under orders to talk to them first.’

  ‘Ha, Lucinda! Since when have orders interfered with your better judgment?’

  ‘Sometimes you have to choose your battles, Jake. First thing in the morning, I’m going to Fluvanna Correctional Center to talk to Martha Sherman in violation of a direct order. I do try not to do that more than once a day.’

  ‘Just don’t become all bureaucratic on me,’ he teased.

  ‘Oh, you’re a fine one to talk, Mr Special Agent in Charge.’

  ‘OK, I give. But what’s up w
ith Martha Sherman? Isn’t she getting released soon?’

  ‘Don’t know, Jake. The DA is trying to delay that and the only reason that makes any sense to me is that he is responding to pressure from Andrew Sherman, the dead girl’s dad and Martha’s ex-husband.’

  ‘What’s the DA throwing out there? The possibility that Martha was Rogers’ accomplice?’

  ‘Yeah, that and maybe they were buddies and Rogers let her stow a body in his little storage facility.’

  ‘That’s absurd.’

  ‘Tell me about it. But what makes it all even worse is the strong possibility of prosecutorial misconduct at the trial – erased audiotapes and a redacted transcript where the original should be. I can’t ignore that even though Captain Holland is insisting that I do.’

  ‘What do you expect to get from Martha?’

  ‘I need to know if she and her attorney were aware of the contents of the interview in question. If they did have knowledge of it, then all we have is someone’s careless screw-up. On the other hand, if the state concealed that exculpatory evidence from the defense, we have a serious legal problem.’

  ‘Are you sure you want to take the risk of exposing that misconduct? There’s a long and colorful history of shooting the messenger.’

  ‘I have to take this risk, Jake. I need to do everything I can to make this right. I hope you’d feel the same way if you were in this situation.’

  ‘I won’t argue with you on that point, Lucinda. I’d probably do everything I could, too. But that doesn’t mean it would be the wisest decision. Think about it for a minute. It’s one thing to violate an order and achieve your goal. It’s quite another to do so and get nothing.

  ‘What if she refuses to see you? She’ll certainly tell her attorney that you attempted to visit her and you know that will get back to your captain. You’ll face the consequences of your actions and still not get anything you want – maybe even make the situation worse.’

  ‘I know this could go all wrong. I know I could damage my career – maybe even destroy it. And I realize that if I screw this up, it’ll probably make Reed dig in his heels and try to delay Martha’s release even longer. But I could not live with myself if I didn’t try. I was part of the problem. I need to be part of the solution.’