From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  Chapter Forty-one

  “Hear ye, hear ye, all rise for the honorable Judge Malcolm.”

  Maggie’s legs shook when she stood in the gallery directly behind the empty defense table. Sam, Marcie, and Diane flanked her. The packed courtroom was filled with unfamiliar faces of loved ones awaiting their turn.

  “Who’s next on the docket, George?” The judge was old, appeared weary, and wore silver gray bifocals perched on the tip of his nose.

  Documents were handed to the judge by the court clerk, and the charge was announced along with Richard’s name. Richard was led in by two deputies, wearing blue jeans and a faded T-shirt. He had a second to glance at Maggie. Harper Lee pushed through the gate with his briefcase and joined Richard at the defense table.

  “Mr. McCafferty, the charges are murder in the first degree and assaulting an officer. How do you plea?”

  “Not guilty, your Honor.”

  Harper Lee stood a foot lower than Richard, wearing a black Armani suit that looked tailored just for him.

  “Your Honor, we respectfully request these trumped up charges be dropped immediately. My client has an ironclad alibi. He was at home with his wife and son all evening. In fact this entire charge of murder is completely circumstantial. We don’t know for sure if a crime has even been committed. There is no body. No physical evidence has been presented to us that shows my client was even there. Yes, he owns this property. And as far as the assault charge, we have evidence the detective involved is a hothead with a history of repeatedly provoking suspects, numerous claims of brutality, and even his own sergeant has had to discipline him on more than one occasion because of his violent temper. He attacked the character of my client’s wife, calling her a junkie. My client reacted without thinking, but nonetheless, he was protecting his wife’s character, character this detective crudely and inappropriately maligned. They have tried to destroy this poor woman’s credibility, when instead they should be giving her a medal. Just last year her severely disabled child was murdered right before her eyes, and her own doctor prescribed her anxiety medication and sleeping pills—a common practice in this medical community. For the police, and even my fellow counsel, to even hint at a possibility Mrs. McCafferty is a drug addict is morally reprehensible. And let’s set the record straight, Mrs. McCafferty is no longer on any prescription medication.”

  “Your Honor, Mrs. McCafferty is not on trial here,” offered the District Attorney.

  “Yes, Mr. Lee, enough with the theatrics.” The judge peered at Harper, his face free of emotion.

  “Of course, your Honor… my apologies.”

  “Your Honor, we have evidence that puts Richard McCafferty at the scene,” Asserted the DA. “We have a security video from the scene which clearly identifies Richard McCafferty dragging the body of Dan McKenzie out of a house and tossing him into the back of a truck and covering him with a tarp. The DA sympathizes with Mrs. McCafferty’s loss, and we agree the detective’s comment was not appropriate. But Richard McCafferty has a history of being unable to control his temper, and he proved it when he struck the detective.” The DA was slim, light-haired, handsome, and very much in control.

  The judge held up his hand when Harper went to speak. “Okay, okay, you two, stop your bickering. I’m going to drop the charge of assault. That was an inappropriate remark, and you know it, Counselor. But I’m going to hold the murder charge and hold it over for trial. I assume you’d like bail, Mr. Lee?”

  “Your Honor, my client has deep roots in this community. He has a wife and a young son. They suffered a tragic loss a year ago and have just pulled their family together. Mr. McCafferty has a business here. He’s an upstanding citizen. We respectively request release on his recognizance.”

  “Your Honor, that is absolutely absurd. Richard McCafferty has a violent temper, and he is close to bankruptcy. There is nothing holding him here.” The DA jabbed a finger at Richard as if he was ready to take him on in a fight. “We request remand.”

  “Well of course you do, Counselor and nice try, Mr. Lee. I’ll meet you both half way. Bail is set at two million dollars, and your client will wear a monitoring bracelet.”

  The gavel echoed through the air of the courtroom. “Next case.” The clerk announced the parties. Richard was led away by the deputies, and in the chaos, managed only a brief glance at Maggie.

  “Hang tough Richard, we’ll get you out!” Sam shouted as he leaned over the rail. Then a strong hand on Maggie’s back propelled her into the aisle and out of the courtroom.

  Stopping in the busy hallway of the bustling courthouse, Sam, Harper, Maggie, Marcie, and Diane circled together. “Can you come up with the money?” Harper focused his impersonal intent on Maggie.

  “I don’t know what we have. Everything’s in Richard’s name, I can’t access anything.”

  Sam piped in and placed a steady hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “We’ll come up with the deposit for the bondsman. When Richard gets out, he’ll pay us back.” Marcie remained silent as she lifted her chin, watching Maggie in a unreadable way. She crossed her arms as if holding onto something.

  “Sam, we’ll put up Granny’s property. That should be more than enough to get Richard out.”

  She didn’t look at Maggie again. Harper shrewdly held up the flat of his hand, a motion to get moving. “You two, hurry and meet up with the bondsman. Bail needs to be posted within the next hour, or Richard is here for the night.”

  “Maggie, go with Diane.” Sam hurried away holding Marcie’s hand. But Maggie couldn’t shake how off Marcie seemed. Almost as if she no longer wished to be involved. Maybe she believed Richard was guilty. But why?

  Chapter Forty-two

  Children’s Services was waiting outside Richard and Maggie’s when Diane pulled in. The young deputy that accompanied the social worker flushed and mumbled an uneasy hello to Diane.

  “What’s going on here?” Diane stepped in front of Maggie and approached the deputy. He gestured toward the social worker.

  “Diane, you know the drill, don’t interfere.”

  A matronly woman wearing a knee-length navy skirt and a vibrant sweater stepped around the deputy. “We’re here to pick up Ryley. I have an emergency order to remove him from your care, Mrs. McCafferty. A hearing date will be set to determine your fitness as guardian to your son. At that time, you’ll be able to argue your rights.”

  “You’re not taking my son. I’ve done nothing wrong, how can you just show up here? Diane, how can they do this?” She bunched her fists and bounced around Diane and demanded this woman leave her property.

  “That’s what I wanna know. Cal, whatever’s going on, you know this ain’t right. No formal investigation’s been done.” Diane’s voice deepened, the way it did when Maggie knew she was angry.

  His face hardened. “I’m not a judge, Diane. You’ve done this enough times to know. You don’t have a choice on enforcement. Now where’s the boy?”

  Another officer stepped out of the house. “The kid’s not in here.”

  Daisy bolted out of the house and started growling and barking.

  Maggie gasped. “What the hell are you doing in my house? Get off my property.” She bolted toward the officer, but a hard yank on her arm stopped her.

  “Don’t, Maggie,” Diane whispered. “This is what they want. Don’t give them anything to use against you, too. Remember Ryley. Isn’t he with your mother visiting friends in Sandpoint? They left just before the hearing. They were driving, right?” Diane stared at her as she spoke. She didn’t blink but raised her eyebrow at Maggie when she didn’t respond.

  Maggie forced the words past her dry throat. “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “Grab Daisy.”

  Maggie clapped her hands and called her. When Daisy came to her, she grabbed the dog’s collar.

  The social work tsked as if reading the situation for what it was. “You can’t hide him. We’ll find him, and the judge will hear about this stunt.” The social worker pulled a pen
and paper from her bag, “I heard what was said. Where is your mother taking Ryley? I need the address.”

  Diane turned to face the social worker, her defiant arms crossed as she pulled in a deep breath. “No, I don’t think so. You can contact Maggie’s lawyer if you have any further questions. Harper Lee’s his name, and he’s in the phone book. And since you already know Ryley’s not here, I’m going to repeat what Mrs. McCafferty already asked you. Leave. Now.” Each word was perfectly and clearly enunciated. The two officers were taller than Diane. When passing her, one uttered something Maggie was positive was veiled as a threat.

  Maggie didn’t move until both vehicles pulled away, leaving a small trail of dust.

  Diane bolted up the steps. “Maggie, get in here.”

  “Go on, Daisy.” Daisy followed Diane.

  She hurried as best she could in her black pumps, clutching her long pleated skirt with one hand. “Diane, why did you say Ryley went with my mom?”

  But Diane was pacing in Maggie’s kitchen, already talking with someone on her cell phone. Daisy whined and trotted through the dining room and living room sniffing the air.

  “They were waiting for her when we got back; they want Ryley. What the hell’s going on? I’ve never, in my thirteen years of being a state trooper, seen Children’s Services show up without an investigation and take a child, except in the most extreme cases where the child is in imminent danger. Who the hell ordered this?” She yanked out one of the wooden kitchen chairs and placed her foot on it, dropping a pad of paper on the table, and digging a pen out of her coat pocket. She scribbled something and then clicked her pen. “Well, you find out. In the meantime, are you sure they won’t find him?”

  Whoever Diane was talking to must have offered the right reassurance because she appeared to breathe a sigh of relief as she squeezed the back of her neck and then let her hand drop.

  “Well that’s good news. Thanks Sam, see you soon.” She pocketed her cell phone and rolled her shoulders as if working out a kink and then faced Maggie. “Richard made bail. He’s on his way home.”

  Chapter Forty-three

  “Just remember with this ankle bracelet, there is a GPS attached. You have restricted approval of where you can go as outlined with the program administrator. No side trips. Remember, the monitoring station records all your activity, and it will be reported to the court. Any unauthorized activity, or detours, will result in immediate revocation from this program, and you’ll return to jail to await your trial.” Two men from the Electronic Home Monitoring program fastened the transformer to an inside wall by the back door. “This receiving device reports directly to the monitoring station through the phone line. Any tampering with the phone line or with the device will signal an alarm. Do you understand how this works, Mr. McCafferty?”

  Richard stood off to the side in the kitchen. He hadn’t shaved, and a day old shadow speckled with white stubbly hair made him look dangerous. But the deep lines around his eyes showed Maggie how tired he really was. Sam stood beside Richard and nudged him with his elbow. “Yes, I understand,” Richard snapped.

  Daisy barked from the study where Maggie had locked her up.

  One of the men looked up from his clipboard recognizing attitude when it was dished up. For a moment, Maggie wondered if the small man was going to continue humiliating Richard.

  Sam stepped in front of Richard and over to the one holding the clipboard. “Are you almost done? Richard hasn’t had much sleep, and I’m sure he’d appreciate a shower before his lawyer arrives.” Sam checked the face of his watch and then tapped the front. “Actually, Mr. Lee should be here in a few minutes.”

  Obviously the two men understood his meaning. Everyone new Harper, a definite badass, and the cops hated him. To them, there wasn’t a scumbag he hadn’t managed to get off, and he enjoyed spotlighting the screw-ups of law enforcement personnel.

  The one attaching the responder to the wall stood up. “We’re done.” The other one handed Richard the clipboard and pen. “Sign at the bottom.”

  Richard was tired, and to his credit, he held it together long enough to scribble his name at the bottom of the page and pass it back. The two men left.

  The screen door clattered, and a strange silence lingered. No one made eye contact, and no one spoke.

  Richard uncrossed his arms and walked out of the kitchen. “I need a shower.”

  Maggie looked at Sam and then at Diane. “Have you talked to Marcie? Is Ryley safe?”

  Sam swiped his broad, handsome face with the flat of his hand. “Don’t worry, Maggie, they won’t find him. She’s taken him and Kyla to Sally’s, her teacher, just until we clear up this mess.”

  “Did you find out who ordered this?”

  Sam was sympathetic when he placed a hand of support on Maggie’s shoulder. “Harper’s working on it. He’ll be here soon. We should order in some food. Has anyone eaten?”

  Through the chaos of this day, Maggie survived on little more than a few cups of coffee, which now burned the tender lining of her stomach. “I could make something.” She didn’t know what but was grateful when Sam shook his head. He then rifled through the phone book that sat by the telephone. “How about pizza?”

  “Order from the new place that opened on the corner of the highway.”

  Diane pulled out her cell phone when Sam showed her the number.

  With Sam and Diane focused on ordering dinner, she slipped out of the kitchen in her stocking feet and hurried upstairs. She opened her bedroom door, and steam from the open door of the en suite wafted out. She leaned in the doorway of the bathroom as Richard shut off the shower and popped open the glass door. She handed him a towel. She could usually read him, but today when their eyes met, something appeared like a shadow between them. He didn’t smile, and he didn’t offer any words of encouragement as he dried himself off and then cursed at the black bracelet surrounding his right ankle.

  She still wore her long skirt, although she’d exchanged her black blazer for a heavy wool cardigan. She perched on the edge of the bed while Richard dressed. “We need to talk about Ryley, and what to do.”

  After Diane called Sam, he’d raced to Diane’s with Marcie where the sitter was looking after Ryley and Kyla. He’d put them on the first ferry back to Las Seta.

  Richard pulled a T-shirt over his head. “Ryley’s safe at Sally’s. Marcie won’t let anything happen to him.”

  Maggie couldn’t shake the worry—a worry only a mother gets when her child’s in danger. “Richard, why are they attacking us? I’m not an addict. Where did that come from?”

  “Who?”

  “Children’s Services. What do they have to gain? I love Ryley, how can they believe he’s in imminent danger? You and I both know there are so many kids out there, in this area alone, living with drug dealers and thugs, who are being abused, and they’re in imminent danger. And these social workers know who they are, too.”

  The bed dipped when Richard sat beside her. He linked his fingers with hers. “Maggie, there’s something more playing behind the scenes. We’ll find out…” Voices downstairs distracted him. “That’s Harper, let’s go.”

  He helped her up, and they walked hand and hand down the stairs together. Sam stood in the open doorway paying the pizza delivery man. Harper Lee addressed Diane as he draped his dark blue Armani jacket over the back of the kitchen chair and dumped his briefcase on the table.

  “Richard, I’m sure you’re glad to be home. Now the real work starts.” Harper rubbed his hands together and then pulled notes and a pad of yellow lined paper from his briefcase. Sam plopped the pizza box in the center of the kitchen table. Maggie squeezed Richard’s hand and then strode to the cupboard and grabbed five pale green plates.

  “Maggie, you have napkins?” Diane hovered next to her.

  “In the drawer beside the sink, there are cloth ones.”

  Harper passed on the pizza, but everyone else dove in.

  “Okay first thing, Children’s Services.
The way they handled this situation is a bit unusual. I’ve contacted the district supervisor who was uncooperative and terse to say the least. Not at all forthcoming. But did remind me an emergency hearing has been set for the day after tomorrow, and they’re demanding you produce Ryley. They’re not buying that he’s with your mother. If they find your mother and call her, Maggie, is she going to speak with them? It doesn’t look good for our case if we start out by lying to the judge. And two, since time’s not on our side, we need to find out why the urgency and where this information against Maggie came from. Sam, Diane, I’m leaving that to you since you both have volunteered your services.”

  Maggie knew Sam was helping, but when she looked over at Diane, and the way her jaw stiffened she sensed something was up and not in a good way. “Diane?”

  She pushed her plate away and tapped the table. “I’m on a leave of absence until this situation with Richard’s settled.”

  This seemed to pull Richard out of his melancholy. “Are you in trouble because of me?”

  Diane leaned back in her chair beside Richard and placed her hand over his. “No, my friend. There is a conflict of interest as pointed out by my boss, and I was advised it’d be better if I took time off. If I didn’t do it voluntary, he’d have forced me. I think they’re worried about this case. All I was able to find out was there was pressure coming from somewhere to push this case against Richard. It’s all too neat. Even one of the detectives I’m friends with said something about this evidence is not jibing. When I questioned him further, he wouldn’t talk to me because we’re friends.”

  “I’m sorry, Diane.” Richard wiped his bloodshot eyes.

  “Okay, let’s move on. We got a lot of ground to cover. As of yet, the DA has failed to provide me with the evidence. I’m most interested in the video tape. As soon as we get it, Sam, I want you to go through it. Let’s find out how Richard’s face ended up on that video when he was at home all night.” Harper scribbled on his notepad.