“Don says they've had to take Sara to the hospital twice. She's been having anxiety attacks since she came home.”
Kate knew why. The little monster was having a guilt attack. “I'm glad. It serves her right for what she did. She's old enough to know better, Alex. I know I should've told you, but you and the girls were having so much fun, I hated to put a damper on things.”
“Kate, what are you talking about?”
“The studio. There was no burglar, Alex. It was Sara. I've known about it all along. I waited to see if she'd come clean while she was here, but she didn't. I was going to tell Don, but they left, and I never got a chance to. I've been meaning to call them since the girls left and tell Don what she did, but then I decided against it. It was over. I figured Sara would apologize when she was older. I think she knew I suspected her.”
Alex couldn't believe what he'd just heard. “You're telling me that Sara destroyed all of your earthenware, and you did nothing about it! Kate, why in the hell didn't you tell me? I would've told Don. And then he would've . . .”
“Would've what? Said she's âat that age' and gone about his business. That's what Don would've done. He sure as hell wouldn't get her the help she needs.”
“I hate to say this, Kate, but it might've made a big difference if you'd at least told Don. You didn't have to tell me. Now, though, this is only going to make things look worse.”
“Alex, speak in English or say something that I can understand. You're not making sense.”
“Don called and told me Sara told him that I had . . . touched her.”
If Alex were to have slapped her in the face, it wouldn't have been as shocking. “What?”
“You heard me. Sara told Don and Debbie that I touched her inappropriately.”
“This has got to be some horrible joke. Why would Don do this to you? To us?”
“I've asked myself that same question more times than I can count. He was serious, Kate. He said Sara told him I'd touched her when we visited them in Florida. Said it'd been happening for a long time.”
Kate turned ten shades of white, then red. “That little monster! Why would she do this to you? There has to be a mistake, Alex. I'm going to call Debbie myself. I'll clear this thing right up.” Kate hoisted herself up from the chair she never quite remembered seating herself in. She grabbed the phone from Alex.
“Don't, Kate. Don was serious. He wouldn't joke about something like this.”
“Then what? You're supposed to sit back and do nothing! I don't think so! This could ruin our lives, Alex. Have you thought about that?”
“This is as much a shock to me as it is to you. I don't know what to think at this point. I suppose I should wait to hear from Don again.”
“Did he actually say he would call you back?”
Alex thought for a minute. “No, he didn't.”
A sharp knock at the back door caused Alex to drop the phone. Kate about jumped out of her skin. “Who's there?” Suddenly paranoid, she peered through the curtain, hoping that whoever was there would just go away.
“Kate. Alex, it's Gertie. Open up.”
Gertie. Jay. Bella and her puppies. Had it only been an hour ago that they'd celebrated the birth of the tiny creatures? It seemed like days.
“Gertie, sure, come in.” Kate unlocked the door, which she didn't remember locking. Was this what fear did to a person? Did you do crazy things that were out of character and not remember?
“You two look worse than Bella. Gosh, was the champagne that bad?” Gertie asked.
“Sit down, Gertie,” Kate said.
“You two want to tell me what's wrong? Neither damn one of you look worth a plugged nickel.”
Kate glanced at Alex, silently asking his permission to tell Gertie what they'd just learned.
“Alex just got off the phone with Don. It seems Sara's been having anxiety attacks since she got home. They . . . She said that Alex had touched her.” Kate let out a deep breath and inhaled.
For once, Gertie was at a loss for words. She stared at Alex, then back at Kate, her warm brown eyes filling with fire.
“Well, I hope to hell you're not gonna take this sitting down! Have you talked to the girl? What in the world would she do something like this for, what would she hope to gain? I knew that kid wasn't right the first time I laid eyes on her. She's always been on the sneaky side, even as a toddler. What can I do?”
Gertie was being Gertie. Thank God. Kate and Alex needed her unabashed common sense now more than ever.
“I don't know what to do, Gertie. I've never even imagined being accused of something so horrendous in my life.”
“You're gonna need a lawyer, I can tell you that. My brother ought to be able to recommend a good defense attorney. I'll call him right now.”
Gertie's brother was a first-rate attorney, known far and wide in North Carolina. Sadly, he didn't do criminal law.
She took the phone into the living room. She spoke to her brother for five minutes, then returned to the kitchen. “This is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.”
“I knew today was too good to be true. It's time for old Alex to fall.”
“And I'll be there to catch you, Alex. You can count on it,” Kate said.
Chapter 8
“S
ince the child maintains the alleged molestation took place in Florida, if this goes to trial, we'll have to go to Florida.” James Conroy, Alex's criminal defense attorney, made it a practice to tell his clients the whole truth and nothing but. There was no point in mollycoddling them.
“Do you think this will actually
go
to trial?” Kate asked.
“Right now I can't say for sure, but most likely not. I do know that if Alex turns himself in, it will look better in the eyes of the court.”
Kate and Alex had lived in a whirlwind for the past three days. They'd heard nothing more from Don. Gertie's brother had recommended James. As soon as they told their story, James contacted the authorities in Collier County. As expected, there was a warrant for Alex's arrest.
“So we drive to Florida, Alex turns himself in, gets bailed out, then what?” Kate asked.
James Conroy was tall and pencil-thin with thick blond hair. A goatee softened a pointed chin and a mustache covered a thin upper lip. He resembled a young professor. If Kate had seen him on the street, she would've thought him the scholarly type, not the high-powered criminal defense attorney he was reputed to be. Clear blue eyes met hers. “I'm afraid it's not that simple.”
“What do you mean?” Kate asked.
James's office was located in downtown Asheville. It was on the tenth floor of the Bank of America Building. This afforded him a much better view than any of his peers had. The Blue Ridge Mountains dominated the skyline. Gray fog layered the mountains in early morning, reminding him of Los Angeles, his hometown, only there the fog was more smog than anything else. He gazed out at the view, then directed his attention to his client. He spoke in a cultured voice, each word precise and clear. “If the child alleges the molestations took place in Florida, it's in their jurisdiction. The sheriff's department will send a pair of deputies to extradite Alex. Once he's processed, he'll be formally charged at an arraignment hearing. We'll make our plea to the court at that time.”
“And what about bail? Just how does that work?” Kate persisted. Alex was still in a state of shock. Kate asked most of the questions while he stood by and listened. This was a nightmare, and both of them wanted nothing more than to wake up with it all behind them. From what James said, it didn't appear that it was going to be as simple as they'd hoped.
James sat down at a large mahogany desk, its surface clean except for a legal pad, a cup of sharpened pencils, their tips facing forward, and a banker's lamp. The wall behind him held certificates showing that he'd graduated from Yale Law summa cum laude. “I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's the way it is. Bond for an accused child molester in the state of Florida is very difficult to obtain. It can be done, but it is going to take a large amount of cash. Of course, at the conclusion of the legal proceedings the money is returned to whoever put it up.”
Alex stood up and walked across the office to gaze out the window. Several seconds passed before he turned to James and Kate. “So in essence what you're telling me is that I'm guilty until proven innocent? And that, if we're lucky, I'll be able to avoid going to jail because I happen to be wealthy?”
Kate was beginning to hate the law with every passing minute. “What do you mean? Alex may have to stay in jail until he proves his innocence? He didn't do anything! Why wouldn't he be able to get bail set? This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard of!” Kate was roaring, pissed as hell, and didn't care who knew it.
“I don't make the laws, Mrs. Rocket, but I do have to follow them. All isn't lost, though. Are you prepared to put up at least five hundred thousand to assure your presence at trial? It might take a million, given the seriousness of the charges of molestation over a long period of time.”
“That's not a problem,” Alex said. “If you can get the judge to set bail, it will be paid. In cash.”
“That's good. Okay. In the meantime, Alex, you're going to have to prepare yourself, just in case, for a few weeks in the Collier County jail. From what I understand, it is the cream of the crop. Air-conditioned, three good meals a day. Books, television. Try to think of this as a restful vacation, should worse come to worst.”
Kate flew out of her chair, stood in front of James's desk, and pounded her fist on its surface. “Are you out of your mind? A restful vacation? Do you realize the stigma that Alex will have to carry around for the rest of his life? This isn't some . . . some traffic ticket! This is my husband's life we're talking about!” Kate reeled backward and collapsed into the chair she'd just vacated. She held her head in her hands. Sobs racked her shoulders. Alex stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“She's right, James. I can't stand back and do nothing. Isn't there some way to prove Sara is lying? What about her destroying Kate's studio? Kate still has her sneaker with the glass embedded in the sole. Doesn't that prove she's capable of making this up? Where is the actual proof?”
Behind Kate, Alex remained rigid. The nightmare worsened by the minute. His muscles tensed, he wanted to hit something or someone, anything to relieve the intense anger building in him.
“That's the downside of an accusation of this kind. You have only the victim's word. Unless there is physical evidence, bruising, swelling, bleeding, it's up to the court to decide guilt or innocence. We'll order a psychiatric evaluation. My investigator will check her school records, friends, anything she's been involved in for the past several years. If we need to go back further, we will. Since she's stating this began when she was five or six, there should be some pattern of behavior that proves she's had issues with telling the truth.”
“I just remembered something,” Kate said. “The first day the girls were here, Emily took me aside. She asked me not to say anything to her parents. I didn't, but now I wish I had. Emily saw Sara terrorizing their neighbor's cat. Said she was dragging it around by its tail. The poor thing was screeching like a baby. Emily thought Sara was out of control. She even mentioned how she told lies. Isn't this something we can use?”
James wanted to reassure the Rockets, but he also wanted to be honest with them. “It could be. We would have to get Emily's testimony on the record. She's underage. That would require her parents' permission. It's something to work with.”
“What about having her subpoenaed?” Kate questioned. “Wouldn't she be forced to tell the court what she said to me that day in the kitchen?”
“Courts don't like to subject children to testifying, unless it's a dire emergency.”
Alex backed away from the chair. “What the hell would you call this, then? It's a goddamn emergency to me. My life and Kate's are at stake. I don't think there is anything else this could be called but an emergency.”
Kate agreed. Had she been too hasty in hiring James Conroy?
“You're right, Alex. I don't mean to imply otherwise. I want you to trust me. If you don't, I can't help you. I want you to tell me everything you remember about those times you and Kate visited the Winter family in Florida. That is, if you want to.”
“I don't have much choice, do I?” Alex observed. “God, it's been a long time. Kate, when was the last time we went to Florida?”
“Year before last.”
“This might make my job easier. Go home tonight. Both of you sit down with a pencil and paper. Write down the dates of the visits. Be as accurate as possible. Tell how long each stay lasted. Were you ever alone with Sara? Emily? For how long? Anything you think of, I need to know. We've got a long road ahead of us, but I have no doubt we'll get this resolved.”
“When will they extradite me to Florida? I have a business to run. There are arrangements to be made. Just in case,” Alex said.
“I'd say three or four days at the most. They don't waste time. Get your personal business in order and let me take it from there. Now, I can't do this for free, so there is my fee to discuss.”
“Of course, I wouldn't expect you to do this for nothing. Money is not an issue. Whatever you need, I'll write you a check, or cash if you prefer.”
“I'll need twenty-five thousand as a retainer. If this doesn't cover my initial expenses, I'll discuss that with you when and if.” James stood up, held out his hand. Alex shook his hand, and Kate simply nodded.
“I'll bring a check tomorrow if that's convenient,” Alex told James.
He released Alex's hand. “Of course. I'll see you both tomorrow morning, around nine.”
“We'll be here,” Kate said as she stood from the chair. Her legs felt like Jell-O. A tremor like nothing she'd ever experienced ripped through her like gale-force winds.
The drive back home was torturous. Few words were exchanged. Kate felt the tension but didn't know what to say or do to relieve it. When they reached the house, Alex escaped to the kennel and she to the kitchen.
Three hours later, she'd made a hummingbird cake, two blackberry pies, and three dozen biscuits. She was wrapping the biscuits in plastic when Alex and Gertie joined her. Kate sliced one of the pies, filled the coffeemaker with water, and scooped coffee into the filter. Gertie and Alex sat at the table, both silent as mimes. Kate waited for Alex to speak up, and when he didn't, she did.
“So. What do you think of James so far?” Kate wanted Alex's honest opinion. There was something about him she didn't care for, but if he had the charges against Alex dropped, or at least proved his innocence, that was all that mattered. Kate sliced three pieces of warm pie, placing them on small saucers. The coffeepot gave its final gurgle. She took three mugs from the cupboard, filled them, and set them on the table. Cream and sugar from the fridge, then Kate sat down.
“If he gets this mess cleared up, he'll be my best friend for life,” Alex said as he sliced into the pie.
Kate wanted more than that, she needed to know if Alex felt any reservations. This man held a power more awesome than Alex realized. Kate wanted the assurance that Alex was ready to put their future in this stranger's hands.
“Are you sure you're comfortable with him? Can we trust him?” Kate asked.
Gertie spoke up. “If my brother says he's good, then he's good. Reece won't recommend anyone who isn't the best in his or her field. Kate's right, though. You have to trust him. If you feel the slightest doubt, then at least get another attorney's opinion.”
“I don't think that'll be necessary, Gert. I trust him. His credentials are impeccable.”
Kate had reservations about the young attorney, but maybe it was nothing; maybe she was just being overly paranoid. She would wait and see. If he didn't work out, they could always hire another attorney. If Alex felt comfortable with him, that was all that mattered.
Alex pushed his plate aside, took a sip of coffee, and cleared his throat. “Kate, there's something I want to tell you.”
For a split second Kate stopped breathing. “What is it, Alex? Please, don't tell me this isâ”
“Dammit, Kate. You don't believe there's any truth to this garbage?”
Her eyes felt like someone had poured buckets of chlorine in them. She'd cried more in the past twenty-four hours than she had in her entire lifetime. She wiped her nose with her knuckles. Her hands shook as she reached for her mug of coffee. “That's preposterous. You just scared me, that's all. What is it you want to tell me?”
“I've been talking to Gertie. She's with me on this, right, Gert?” Alex asked.
“I am.”
This was harder than he expected. The odds were slim that he'd ever need to implement his backup plan, but Alex wasn't a betting man. He preferred a sure thing.
“I've had Gertie's brother Reece draw up the papers to put the house, the land, and the kennel in Gertie's name. I know it's not rational, but if something were to happen to me, you wouldn't have to worry. Financially, at least.” There, it was out. Kate observed him as if he'd lost his mind.
“You really think this is necessary? Not that I don't trust you.” She reached for Gertie's hand. “It's just . . . it seems so final.”
“We don't know what will happen, Kate. If this goes to trial, which I pray it won't, but if it does, I want to know that you're taken care of. Gertie will disburse any money we need for attorney fees, basic living expenses, and, of course, bail if we can get the judge to agree. I can't help but think that Debbie will try to sue the pants off us if she gets the chance. With all of our assets in Gertie's name, no one will be able to touch anything.”
“Okay. I can live with these arrangements. Now, about that list James wants, let's get that out of the way.” Inside, Kate was slowly falling apart. There she was sitting at the old oak table that had been in her family for years, talking about protecting their home, everything they'd shared, just to ensure that Alex's best friend didn't try to take it all away because of a lie. If she managed to get through this, she really didn't know what they would do. For starters, they'd have to relocate. The damage to Alex's reputation would be irreparable. They'd have to start fresh in another state. Maybe even another country. This was like a soap opera, only the drama was very real.