But Not Forsaken: A Clint Wolf Novel (Clint Wolf Mystery Series Book 3)

by BJ Bourg

  “As you can see, I’ve been busy,” he said. “I interviewed Sergeant Wilson yesterday and then—thanks to Sheriff Turner and Isabel at the DA’s office—I was able to obtain every report that was generated in connection with the shooting last year.” He stopped and shook his head. “Chief, there’s not a single shred of evidence to support a murder indictment against Sergeant Wilson. I don’t know what Bill Hedd’s thinking. From everything I’ve read, she should be getting a medal.” He took a breath and blew it out forcefully. Staring over the large file at me, he said, “My secretary says you have some information that might prove helpful.”

  I pulled the digital recorder from my shirt pocket and placed it on the table beside me. “This is the voice of Damian Conner, Susan’s dad’s best friend.”

  I flicked the recorder on and watched Perry’s face carefully while the audio file played. His eyes grew wider and wider as he listened to Damian explain how Isaiah had been sleeping with Bill’s wife for six months prior to his death. Bill hadn’t found out about the relationship until after Isaiah died. When he confronted his wife, she claimed Isaiah raped her. “I never thought I’d say this about my friend,” Damian had said, “but he was better off dead at that point, because if he would’ve still been alive, they would’ve arrested him on the word of that lying bitch.”

  The recording continued to play and Perry and I listened as Damian explained how Bill had sent a detective to the gym to question him about a rape allegation. Damian told the detective Bill’s wife was lying and that she’d been carrying on with Isaiah behind Bill’s back for months. Damian even showed the detective three Polaroid pictures of Isaiah and Bill’s wife together at a crawfish boil that the trainers threw for all the boxers. The pictures had been primarily of other people at the party, but Isaiah and his mistress had been captured in the background. They were holding hands in one and she had her arm around him in the other two.

  Satisfied, the detective had left, but a week later Damian was served with a DA subpoena ordering him to appear in Bill’s office to answer questions. “When I got there, the DA himself met with me,” Damian had said. “He told me I’d better never say a word about Isaiah having an affair with his wife or he’d bring me up on charges of helping with the rape. He called it something else—accessory something or other—but he made it clear he would destroy my friend’s name and have me sent to prison for a long time. He told me the pictures I had—or used to have, because the detective never gave them back—only proved Isaiah was stalking his wife. He said his wife was of high moral character and would never willingly accept the advances of another man. He said he’d see me rot in prison before letting me defile her good name.” Damian sighed audibly on the recording. “I would fight any man, anytime, and anywhere, but I know better than to fight the law. There’re too many of you guys. So, I packed up what little I had and got my ass out of town in a hurry. I’d always wanted to move back home, and I figured that was as good a time as any to do it. I went to work for a logging company and kept boxing for about fifteen years, and then I opened this here place of my own.”

  I had asked Damian a few more questions, but the recording soon ended. When it was over, Perry’s brows furrowed and he gave a cautious nod. “If what he’s saying is true, our district attorney might’ve committed prosecutorial misconduct. Putting aside the witness intimidation and possible tampering of evidence that occurred back then, he knowingly and maliciously swayed a grand jury to indict an innocent officer to get back at her dead father for having an affair with his wife. This is a serious offense. I’m going to immediately file a complaint with—”

  “Not so fast.” I stood and paced back and forth beside the table. “Susan won’t let us use anything that’ll cast her dad in a negative light, and it doesn’t get any worse than a rape accusation. She’d rather go to prison than ruin his reputation.”

  “Excuse me?” There was a bewildered look on Perry’s face. “We’re not talking about six months in the parish jail…she could go to prison for the rest of her life if she’s found guilty. I mean, I doubt any jury would convict her based on Bill’s trumped up charge, but there’s still some risk associated with going to trial, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I say we end this now by having Bill himself indicted.”

  I loved the sound of that and I wanted nothing more than to see this bully pay dearly for what he’d done to Susan, but I had to honor her wishes. Now, the trick was to use this information to force Bill to back off while keeping my promise to her.

  “If you file a complaint against Bill,” I explained, “the news will spread faster than a wildfire across the dry marsh, and everyone will know that his wife accused Isaiah of raping her. Even if we clearly demonstrate it was a false accusation, that’s the kind of bell that can never be unrung. We can’t do that to Susan and her mom. That dark cloud will follow them to their graves.”

  “Well, I can’t let Sergeant Wilson stand trial for a crime she didn’t commit, especially if I have the silver bullet that can stop this train dead in its tracks.”

  “I think we have another option.” I slid the recorder toward Perry. “Why don’t we meet with Bill and play the recording for him. If he’s willing to threaten to bring false charges against a witness to keep his wife’s name pure, I’m guessing he’s willing to play ball with us to save his own ass.”

  “So, are you saying you want me to coerce the district attorney into dropping charges against Sergeant Wilson?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  A wicked smile played across Perry’s mouth. “I never liked Bill Hedd anyway, so I’m going to enjoy this a little too much. Even if he refuses to drop the charges, the mere fact that his wife had a sexual relationship with Sergeant Wilson’s father—consensual or otherwise—will disqualify him from being involved in any criminal proceeding against her, so we’ll be able to have him removed from the case with no problems.”

  “When do we leave?”

  “I’ll have my secretary call and see if he’s willing to see us right away. When I tell him what it’s about, I’m sure he’ll make time.” Perry stood and gathered up his files and the recorder. “You can tag along, but I think it’s best if you stay out of the meeting. I’ll have my partner come in to witness the conversation and you can wait out in the lobby until we’re done.”

  I started to object, but realized he was right. Having me in the meeting would only antagonize Bill, and that’s not what I wanted at that moment. “If he doesn’t want to cooperate with us, we need to get the audio recording to Isabel Compton,” I said. “She’s the voice of reason at the district attorney’s office, and she’s been in our corner since the beginning. Now that we have this information, if anyone can convince him to back off, it’ll be her.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Twenty minute later I was following Perry and his partner to the district attorney’s office. On my suggestion, Perry had spoken with Isabel first and provided her with the information. Within five minutes she’d called back to say Bill had cleared his schedule and would meet with Perry immediately.

  “She told me she’d never seen him so flustered,” Perry told me once he hung up with Isabel. We’d left immediately—Perry and his partner in his black Cadillac and me in my Tahoe.

  I called Susan a few minutes into my drive.

  “What happened?” Her voice was taut. “What did Mr. Goldsmith say?”

  “We’re going to meet with Bill right now. Perry’s got a proposition for him, and I think he’ll go for it. I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

  “Clint, please don’t use anything that’ll disgrace my dad.”

  “Don’t worry. Bill Hedd won’t want this information getting out. Your dad’s name is safe.”

  Susan was silent for a long moment, and I knew she was mulling it over. I interrupted her thoughts and asked if they had notified Megyn’s next of kin.

  “Yeah, we notified her mom and dad. It was bad, Clint. She was their only daught
er. We had to get an ambulance for her mom.”

  “Did y’all search her place yet?”

  “We’re here now. So far, we haven’t found anything suspicious. She’s never been on dating websites, doesn’t have any social web pages, and barely uses email.”

  “What does she do in her spare time?”

  “Crossword puzzles and Sudoku…in print, too, not on the computer.” Susan sighed. “The girl doesn’t even text. Her phone can make calls and that’s all.”

  “It’s got to be Simon and his crew.” I pursed my lips, wondering where they could be hiding out. Melvin had towed their vehicles when they attacked Amy, so they were either on foot or they’d acquired new wheels. I slowed my Tahoe as Perry tapped his brakes in front of me and turned into the district attorney’s office. “We’re there,” I said. “Keep me posted, and I’ll let you know what happens here.”

  I hung up and followed Perry and his partner into the lobby, where we didn’t have to wait long for Isabel to meet us. She wore jeans and a flannel shirt and her hair was down. I was surprised how short she was, but realized she had on sneakers instead of the high heels she usually wore.

  “No court for me today,” she explained, holding the heavy wooden door for Perry and his partner to enter. Once they had made their way down the hall, she joined me in the lobby and sat in one of the chairs. She put her feet up on a small coffee table and sighed. “I don’t want to be in that room when he hears what they’ve got to say.”

  I agreed and sank to one of the chairs opposite her and leaned back against the wall. It was then that I realized how tired I felt. Every muscle was tense. My heart was pounding. What if Hedd didn’t play ball? What if he interpreted what we were doing as bribery and brought all of us before the grand jury? I shuddered at the thought. We were counting on him wanting to keep his wife’s name pure, but what if he no longer cared about that? After all, she’d been dead for twenty years, or so, and he might’ve moved on.

  “What do you think he’ll do?” I asked.

  Isabel frowned. “It’s hard to tell with Bill.”

  I nodded and looked anxiously around the room. I wanted to be in that meeting. Susan’s freedom was hanging in the balance and I needed to know she would be okay. Seconds ticked slowly by and turned into minutes. The longer we waited, the more nervous I got. It wasn’t until thirty minutes had passed that an angry voice boomed from somewhere deep in the building, and I recognized it to be Bill.

  “Get the hell out of my office and don’t ever come back!”

  Isabel and I jumped to our feet just in time to see the door burst open. Perry and his partner came hurrying out, both of them stifling smiles. I waved a quick goodbye to Isabel and followed them toward the door.

  “What happened?” I wanted to know.

  “Let’s get outside,” Perry said. “He wants us gone, so we’ll leave. We don’t want to give him a reason to file some bogus remaining after being forbidden charges against us.”

  I matched Perry’s stride and followed them out into the sunshine. We all gathered in the parking lot near Perry’s car. “Well,” I said impatiently, “what the hell happened?”

  “He was so angry he was blowing smoke,” Perry said. “He didn’t say a word the entire time the tape was playing, but his face grew redder and redder. I thought he was going to have a stroke. When it was done, he—”

  Perry stopped speaking when my phone began ringing loudly from my pocket. I quickly checked to see if it was Chloe, but scowled when it wasn’t.

  “Do you need to take that?” Perry wanted to know.

  I shook my head. “I don’t recognize the number. Please continue…what happened next?”

  My pulse rate quickened with excitement as he spoke. When he’d finished telling the story, he told me he was heading back to his office and that he’d be in court early the next morning. I waved goodbye and jumped into my Tahoe. I was on the phone with Susan before I pulled out of the parking lot. She said she was at the coroner’s office with Melvin and they were attending Megyn’s autopsy. It was just down the road, so I told her to meet me outside and that I’d be there in a few minutes.

  When I arrived, she was standing in the shell parking lot near the gate, chewing on her lower lip. I stepped slowly from my Tahoe and approached her. Her face was a shade lighter than usual and I didn’t want to leave her in suspense any longer.

  “You’re back, Sue. It’s over.”

  Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Wait…what? Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Isabel’s going into court bright and early tomorrow morning and dismissing all charges against you. Bill would be doing it himself, but Perry convinced him it would be in his best interest to cease his involvement in any proceeding involving you—”

  Susan didn’t wait for me to finish. She bolted forward and threw herself against me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. “Thank you so much,” she whispered into my ear. “You did this…this is your work.”

  I felt something warm splash against my neck and I knew she was crying…but they were happy tears. I squeezed her back and we held each other until it felt awkward, and then she loosened her death grip on me. Embarrassed, she turned her head away and dabbed at her eyes with her hand. “Does this mean I can put my uniform back on?” she asked.

  “It does, but do you mind waiting until the autopsy is done?”

  This brought a chuckle from her and then she turned to head back into the building. “Are you coming in?”

  “I am.” As I started to follow her, my phone rang again. It was the same number from earlier. I picked it up. “Hello, this is Clint.”

  “Clint, your secretary said for me to call you.” It was Chloe’s dad and his voice was curious. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Oh, no, I’ve just been trying to call Chloe’s cell phone all day, but I keep getting her voicemail. I figured it was probably dead and that I could catch her on your house phone.”

  “Um, she’s not here. We thought she was with you.”

  “Is there something wrong?” I heard Chloe’s mother call from the background.

  “What do you mean you thought she was with me?” I asked.

  “Well, she sent her mother one of those text things last night to say she was going back to your place. She never came home, so we figured she was with you.”

  My heart dropped to my boots. “Are you sure she’s not there? Can you check her room?”

  “Clint, I would know if she was here or not. Once she left for work, she hasn’t been—”

  I ended the call and rushed toward my Tahoe, with Susan hollering after me wondering what was going on.

  CHAPTER 21

  I skidded to a stop in the gravel driveway of Chloe’s dad’s house and jumped out of my Tahoe. Andy and Viola Rushing were out in the front yard before I could reach the house. Tears rolled freely down Mrs. Rushing’s cheeks and there were deep worry lines in Mr. Rushing’s leathery face.

  “Are you sure she didn’t get home last night?” I asked, pushing past them and into the house. “She texted me around ten o’clock to say she’d made it home and was tired, and she said she’d call me in the morning.”

  They followed close behind me, with Mr. Rushing trying to convince me she hadn’t come home. “I fell asleep on the sofa waiting for her, but I went to bed when she sent that message. I’m telling you, Clint, she said she was staying with you. Now, she told us earlier she had to stay here because those evil men were threatening harm and you were out of town, but then we figured you’d returned early since she decided to stay with you.”

  I pushed through the doorway of her childhood bedroom and glanced around. It looked eerily like a shrine. Other than the crumpled sheets on the bed, it appeared as though Chloe had left for school one day and her parents had come behind her and locked everything up without moving a single item. One thing was clear, she wasn’t there.

  I turned to walk out, but Mrs. Rushing stepped into my path. She was cl
utching at her throat and wailing. “Do…do you think they did something to her? The bad men…do you think they got to her? Oh, dear God, please tell me she’s okay…please!”

  My stomach burned with fear, but I didn’t want to freak them out even more, so I masked it as best I could. “I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she got to my house after I left last night and just decided to stay there. I could’ve easily passed her on the highway and not known it was her. I’ll check it out first thing when I leave from here.”

  “Then why not answer her phone?” she asked. “I must’ve called a dozen times since we hung up with you, but it’s ringing straight to her voicemail. I’ve left a dozen messages, but she hasn’t called back yet. That’s unlike her. She never goes that long without answering her messages.”

  “Maybe her battery died and she didn’t bring her charger,” I suggested idly, my mind on other things. I needed to retrace her steps, beginning with yesterday morning. “What time did she leave for work yesterday?”

  “She and Achilles got here late, so she slept in a little.” Mr. Rushing rubbed his face and shook his head. “I’m guessing she left at about eight, eight-thirty.”

  “She did leave in a hurry,” Mrs. Rushing said through her tears, “because she didn’t make her bed.”

  I walked out the front door and around to their back yard, where Achilles was tearing up a water hose in the fenced enclosure. I winced. “Sorry about that.”

  Mr. Rushing just waved his hand. “Our last dog—a big yellow lab—did much worse.”

  When Achilles heard my voice, he yelped and bounded toward me, trying to jump over the six-foot cyclone fence. I let myself in through the gate and dropped to my knees beside him, ruffling his ears as he rolled onto his back and squirmed in delight. My mind was racing as I knelt there scratching my dog. I told him to stay and then stood to face Chloe’s parents. “Mr. Rushing, is it okay if Achilles spends some time here while I figure out what’s going on in town? I’ll pay for all the damage he causes.”