Behind Closed Doors (31 page)

“Aren’t you going to invite me in, Christopher?”

“Hadn’t planned on it, no.”

“Oh, come on. I just want to talk.”

“You aren’t dressed for talking,” he said bluntly. He’d learned a long time ago that beating around the bush with her got him absolutely nowhere.

She looked down at her clothing. “Don’t you like it?”

“Not really. Then again, I don’t have to like it, now do I.”

“Don’t be like that. The one thing that I could always say about you is that you were never rude. What’s that woman done to you?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“So you admit it.” Her tone changed from sweet and flirty to that of a jealous lover again, and she poked him he chest as she said, “You admit that you’re with that tramp.”

Does she not understand we aren’t together anymore?
“You’ll not speak about her that way,” he said through gritted teeth. “She is the most decent person I’ve ever met.”

Carol seemed undeterred by his display and slipped past him into the room, walking straight to the bed and sitting down.

Chris leaned his body back against the wall, letting his head fall back.
Could this morning get any worse?
He took two deep breaths. “What do you want, Carol?”

“You,” she said without pretense.

“Not going to happen.”

She looked like she’d just been slapped. “You . . . you’d rather stay with a
murderer
than me?”

He laughed. “She didn’t murder her husband, but if that’s the way you want to look at it, then so be it.”

“I bet I could change your mind,” she said, toying with the low dip of her top, trying to entice him. That might have worked once upon a time, but she had nothing on Elizabeth.

“You really think you can change my mind through sex? Have you forgotten that our marriage ended because I found you in bed with my best friend?”

Anger flared in her eyes. “You bastard! I would never have cheated on you if you could have pulled yourself away from your hammer and nails long enough to pay me a little attention.”

“That’s rich. You cheat and somehow it’s my fault. I can’t say I’m surprised, though. You never were one to take responsibility for your actions.”

She lunged at him, arms flaying. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you, Christopher Daniels! I wish I’d never met you!”

It didn’t take much to contain her. She was wild and out of control, but she also had no fighting skills. He’d grown up with three brothers. Knowing how to gain the upper hand in a fight was sort of a prerequisite.

With her hands safely behind her back, he walked her out into the hall and down to the elevators where he pressed the down button.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you leave.”

“I hate you.”

“You said that already,” he said as the elevator doors opened and he “escorted” her inside.

She glared at him as he stepped away. “I should have done more than slash her tires and egg her car. You were mine! Mi—”

Chris grinned as the elevator doors closed.

He quickly turned on his heel and crossed to the stairwell. The confrontation with Carol was unexpected. It had also kept him away from Elizabeth long enough.

When he reached the bottom, he scanned the lobby for any sign of Carol before crossing to the double doors leading outside. He spotted the car and quickly crossed the street.

“What took you so long,” Paul asked as he got in.

“An unexpected delay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Elizabeth walked with Chris and Paul into the lobby of the brand new courthouse. It was quite different from the old building, very modern with large glass windows everywhere. Jared would have liked it.

She frowned as her thoughts drifted to her husband. He was her past. And even though he was ultimately the reason she was here today, she didn’t want to think about him. He couldn’t hurt her now and neither could his family.

Someone touched her arm and she jumped.

“Sorry,” Paul said.

“It’s fine,” she said, giving him a small smile.

“Everything okay?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Just . . . remembering.”

“Ah. Yes,” Paul said. “Your husband was a lawyer.”

She sighed. “Exactly. And most of those memories I’d rather not relive.”

“I understand,” Paul said as he scanned the crowd, his height giving him good vantage point. Without warning, he gripped her arm and said, “Walk.”

“What’s wrong?”

Chris was on her other side, and he seemed equally as alert. “Your in-laws just arrived.”

“Oh,” she said before coming to a full stop and digging in her heels. “I won’t run.” Her voice was determined. She wasn’t scared of Abigail Carter.

“I understand and admire your strength,” Paul said. “It would be better if we didn’t have a scene in the lobby. Mrs. Carter looks like she’s out for blood.”

She still felt like avoiding Abigail equated to running, but as she started to calm down, she realized Paul and Chris were probably right.

“Do you see Mr. Frederick?” she asked, trying not to let her emotions take over.

“There he is.” Chris pointed to her attorney weaving his way through the crowd.

“Good morning, Ms. Marshall.”

“Good morning.”

After a few introductions, Mr. Frederick led them upstairs to a sparsely decorated conference room with a large table and four chairs. It still had that new smell to it.

Mr. Frederick said, “Now, Ms. Marshall, I know we’ve gone over everything, but I wanted to know if you had any questions before we go before the judge.”

“No,” she said. “I can’t think of anything. I just want this over with.”

“I completely understand.” Then he looked over at Chris. “You’ll be in the courtroom?”

“Yes.”

“Am I going to have a problem with you getting out of hand?”

“No.”

“How about you?” he asked Paul.

“I’m a cop. I doubt anything will surprise me. I’ve dealt with their kind before.”

“Very well, then. Shall we?”

They stood and followed Mr. Frederick back out into the hallway and toward the elevators.

The minute they stepped into the hallway containing the various courtrooms, Elizabeth locked eyes with Abigail. Her blue eyes were cold and full of hate, reminding Elizabeth of Jared, and pricked her spine, but she refused to look away.

I’m not running.

Paul and her attorney flanked her on either side while Chris stood at her back as they walked past the Carters to the courtroom entrance. After a cursory search of her purse and Mr. Frederick’s briefcase, they walked in.

The courtroom wasn’t huge. A massive wooden bench stood at the front of the room, dwarfing every other piece of furniture. In front of that were two tables, each with three chairs. Behind the tables were four rows of chairs. Court was in session, so they took seats on the back row to wait their turn.

Judge Olivia Connor sat erect in her plush leather chair as she listened to the arguments in the case before her. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face in a tight bun, giving the impression that she was all business.

Her ruling was swift, and from what Elizabeth could gather, fair. It gave her hope that this judge wouldn’t be swayed by the status of the Carters.

“Carter verses Carter?” The bailiff announced.

She and Mr. Frederick made their way to the table. Seconds later, Mr. and Mrs. Carter walked into the courtroom with Shawn Haines, a senior partner in Jared’s old firm. She was acquainted with the man and knew he was good. He rarely lost a case because he was willing to do just about anything to win.

She turned worried eyes to her lawyer, but he just patted her arm and gave her an encouraging smile. It didn’t settle her nerves.

The judge waited until both parties were seated before looking down at the folder in front of her. “John and Abigail Carter?” she asked, looking over at her in-laws.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

She nodded and turned her attention to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Carter?”

“Yes, Your Honor, but it’s Marshall now.”

Abigail started to protest, drawing the attention of the court, but Shawn placed his hand on her arm, and she quieted down.

“Is Marshall your legal name now?” the judge asked.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Mr. Frederick shifted through the papers in front of him and stood. “I have the decree right here.”

The bailiff took the document and handed it to the judge. She looked it over and made a note. “Very well, then. Everything looks to be in order. Mr. Haines would you like to present your client’s case against Ms. Marshall?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

It took every ounce of discipline she had in her not to jump out of her chair and defend herself as Shawn presented “the facts.” He painted her as a money-hungry gold digger, but the biggest blow came at the end when he said, “And in a moment of rage, Ms. Marshall attacked her husband with a glass vase, killing him. The Carters are only asking that the woman who murdered their son not benefit from his death. They are asking that all his property and monetary assets be returned to them.”

“Thank you, Mr. Haines.” The judge turned to her table. “Mr. Frederick?”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Mr. Frederick pulled out a thick folder and gave it to the bailiff. The judge opened the folder and skimmed its contents. “If you look at page three, you’ll see that the doctors confirmed Ms. Marshall had fresh defensive wounds. There was also evidence of older wounds. The D.A. concluded it was self-defense and did not press charges.”

“Mr. Haines do you have anything to add to the evidence Mr. Frederick has presented?”

“Jared Carter was not a violent man, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Haines, I asked if you had any additional evidence, not your opinion.”

“Then no, Your Honor.”

“We will recess for lunch and resume at one o’clock.”

As soon as Judge Connor was out of sight, Abigail came after her. “You worthless piece of low-rent trash. I
begged
Jared not to marry you, but he wouldn’t listen. You blinded him. Made him think you were a proper
lady
, worthy to be by his side, but you never were. You could never hold a candle to my boy!”

John Carter stood behind Abigail, holding her back as best he could while the two lawyers stood in the middle.

Chris and Paul appeared out of nowhere. “Mr. Frederick, why don’t you, Chris, and Elizabeth go ahead? I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She let her attorney lead and tried to ignore the hateful things Abigail was shouting at her. It wasn’t until they were in the hall that she breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to collapse in Chris’s arms, but she knew she couldn’t. Not here.

“I need to make a call. If you want to freshen up, Ms. Marshall, the restrooms are right over there,” Mr. Frederick said, pointing across the hall.

She glanced over at Chris and then to her attorney. “Yes. Thank you.”

“I’ll be right here,” Chris said.

She walked the short distance down the sleek hallway to the women’s restroom. Everything in there was just as modern looking as the rest of the building. Setting her purse on the counter, she found her brush to tame some hairs that had decided to rebel.

“Are you okay?” a familiar voice said.

She turned and smiled. “Stephanie! Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Good,” Stephanie said, surprising Elizabeth by pulling her into a hug. “Do you have lunch plans?” Stephanie asked. “I was hoping we could grab something.”

“I don’t know,” she said thinking of Chris and Paul. She couldn’t just leave them, and she got the distinct impression from Chris that he didn’t really like being around Stephanie.

“Come on. The restaurant is just around the corner, and it will get your mind off this whole business for an hour.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “Give me a minute?”

“Sure.”

She went back into the hall expecting to find Chris. When she didn’t, she peeked into the courtroom, looking for Paul. What she didn’t expect was to find him lying on the floor rubbing his jaw and smiling while guards surrounded Abigail and moved as a group to escort the woman out with her husband and lawyer trailing after her.

Chris was helping his brother up. “Hey,” Paul said, seeing her first.

“Hey, yourself. You all right?”

Paul laughed. “Yeah, I’m good. I think that woman must carry bricks in her purse or something.”

“She
hit
you?”

Just then, Stephanie peeked her head into the courtroom. “Everything okay?”

Paul said, “Who’s this?”

“Paul, this is my friend, Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Paul Daniels, Chris’s brother.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Daniels. You’re just as handsome as your brother.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get a statement from the two of you,” the bailiff said.

Paul glanced back and forth between the two women. “We won’t be long.”

Chris hesitated.

“It’ll be fine. Stephanie wanted to get some lunch anyway,” she said.

He hesitated. “What restaurant? We’ll meet you there.”

“Lugi’s. It’s just around the corner. You can’t miss it,” Stephanie said.

He nodded.

“Chris, let’s go.” Paul yelled from across the room. He was holding the door open, waiting.