Cold Case in Cherokee Crossing (16 page)

Had Delia lied? Had she seen that note?

If so, why had she placed them in that house? Had she simply made a mistake?

What if there were foster children she and Jaxon had missed? Another female who’d been abused by Mulligan?

Delia would have access to those records. Avery started the car and sped toward the school. It was early morning and buses were just starting to run.

Maybe she could catch Delia before school started.

She punched the number for the school into her phone and waited while it rang. When the receptionist answered, she asked for Delia.

“I’m sorry, but she called in sick today,” the woman said.

“This is urgent. Can you tell me where she lives?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not supposed to give out that information.”

Avery thanked her and hung up, then pulled to the side of the road and did an internet search to find the woman’s name. She found her address in seconds, and veered into a neighborhood of small wooden ranch homes.

Delia’s car sat in the drive. Breathing out in relief, she parked and rushed up to the door. She knocked, praying Delia would have some answers that would help Hank. Another suspect.

The door opened and Delia appeared, her face ashen, her eyes dark.

“Delia, can we talk?”

Delia nodded and opened the door.

Then Avery saw the gun in the woman’s hands.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jaxon berated himself for not handling the situation with Avery and his boss better.

Truthfully, Director Landers’s attitude from the beginning had disturbed him.

“You know that Tierney’s story has holes in it,” Director Landers pointed out. “If he killed Mulligan, one of the kids would have seen him.”

“He could have sneaked out before Hank came in the room,” Jaxon said.

“But you said the fatal wound was made by a left-handed person,” Snyderman said.

True. Jaxon’s phone buzzed. The lab. “Let me take this.”

He stepped aside and answered the call. “Sergeant Ward.”

“This is Lieutenant Dothan. When we processed Ms. Tierney’s house, I lifted some prints. I don’t know if it means anything, but the print matched one we had in the system.”

Jaxon clenched the phone tighter. “Whose was it?”

“A woman named Delia Hanover. She’s a social worker—”

“I know who she is,” Jaxon said, his chest tightening.

“Then it’s not important?”

“It might be.” Why would Delia’s print be at Avery’s house? Unless she had been the one to vandalize the place....

“Where did you find the print? What room?”

“The bedroom.”

Jaxon’s pulse hammered. “Thanks.” He ended the call, his pulse spiking.

Director Landers cleared his throat. “Ward, this confession of Tierney’s won’t stand up.”

Jaxon whirled on him. “You’ve wanted to bury this investigation to protect your career all along.”

“I told you that reopening it would bring every case Snyderman and I worked into question.”

Jaxon glared at both of the men. “What about the truth? The lab just called and said that a print was found at Avery’s house when it was vandalized. That print belonged to the social worker who placed Avery and Hank in the Mulligan house.” He folded his arms. “Someone tried to scare her away from investigating. I think that person was Delia Hanover.”

Snyderman’s face went pale, and he sank into the chair and scrubbed a hand down his chin. “Dear Lord.”

A vein throbbed in Director Landers’s forehead. “Why would she do that?”

“You know who she is, then?” Jaxon asked.

His boss scowled. “What difference does it make? Hank Tierney was convicted. He stabbed Mulligan numerous times. He was dangerous and we removed him from the streets.”

“He was a fourteen-year-old boy who tried to save his little sister from being raped repeatedly by the man who was supposed to be taking care of him!” Jaxon bellowed.

Snyderman looked up at him grimly. “Hank Tierney was full of rage.”

“He should have been,” Jaxon said in a dark voice. “He was the only one protecting his sister.”

“Delia tried,” Director Landers said.

Jaxon swung his head back to his boss. “So you knew her?”

Director Landers looked shell-shocked for a moment as if he didn’t realize he’d spoken.

“I...met her at the trial.”

Snyderman cursed. “Give it up, Landers,” he murmured. “It’s time to tell the truth. Hank Tierney doesn’t deserve to die, not if Mulligan was raping his sister.”

“He was,” Jaxon said.

“Tierney’s lawyer should have done his homework,” Snyderman said. “He should have brought up the abuse. But he was just a young punk overloaded with cases. And Hank’s confession pretty much made the case.”

“Because no one wanted to dig any deeper into the ugliness of the system,” Jaxon muttered.

“That wasn’t it,” Director Landers said, his voice tinged with anger. “We were all young and ambitious and we wanted to do the right thing.”

“The right thing would have been to find the truth, not lock up an innocent kid for trying to save his sister from a damned pedophile.”

Snyderman grunted. “We thought Hank Tierney was dangerous,” he said in a low voice.

Jaxon arched a brow. “But you knew he didn’t kill Mulligan?”

A tense silence stretched between them; then Jaxon pounded his fist on the table. “Tell the truth once and for all, dammit. What happened?”

“Delia...” Director Landers began. “She was young, enthusiastic. It was her first job. She really cared about helping kids.”

“Then you knew her personally, not just from the trial?”

Landers dropped his head into his hand with a groan. “Yes, we were dating,” he admitted. “A few weeks after Delia placed the Tierney kids with the Mulligans, she found a note from the previous social worker.”

“Erma Brant said she left a note advising against placing any more children with the Mulligans.”

Director Landers gave a clipped nod. “Somehow the note got lost. When Delia found it, she freaked out. She was terrified.”

“Hadn’t she been to the Mulligans’ for a follow-up visit?” Jaxon asked.

Landers shook his head. “She was swamped with cases, and hadn’t had time. But that night...she drove over.” He sank into the chair and drummed his fingers on the table.

Jaxon tapped his foot impatiently. “Go on.”

“When she arrived, she heard Avery screaming. Hank and Mulligan were going at it. She looked in the window and saw the old man tying Hank to the bed.”

Jaxon swallowed back his disgust.

“What happened next?”

Director Landers sighed. “You have to understand. She didn’t go over there to hurt Mulligan or kill him. But when she saw him go into Avery’s room and realized what he was doing, she blamed herself. She panicked, grabbed a kitchen knife and ran in to stop him. He turned to fight her, and she stabbed him in self-defense.”

“Then she whispered to Avery that everything would be all right,” Jaxon said.

Landers nodded gravely.

“But instead of calling the police and explaining, she ran,” Jaxon concluded, mentally putting together the pieces. “And when Hank freed himself, he went in and saw Avery. She was traumatized from witnessing the crime, had picked up the knife and crawled back in bed. He thought she stabbed Mulligan, so he took the knife from Avery, wiped her prints off, effectively wiping off Delia’s, then stabbed Mulligan repeatedly. The police rushed in, and he confessed to cover for Avery.”

Landers nodded again, his expression torn. Snyderman remained silent, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

“Delia was the one who called the police?” Jaxon asked.

“Yes,” Landers said. “At that point, she didn’t know what Hank had done. She just wanted to get the kids someplace safe.”

“But she allowed Hank to take the fall.”

“She was scared. She called me and we talked,” Director Landers explained.

Jaxon turned to the D.A. “They consulted you?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “Delia didn’t know what to do. She was going to turn herself in.”

“But when we saw the crime pictures, the dozen stab wounds made by Hank, we realized he was dangerous,” Landers added. “We thought it was best for Delia to continue helping other kids and for Hank to be locked away.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Jaxon understood their logic. But they had destroyed a kid’s life. “Hank Tierney may have needed psychological help, but he was a teenager, and he deserved a chance,” Jaxon said. “You ruined not just his life, but Avery’s, as well.”

“It was an impossible situation,” Director Landers said.

Jaxon didn’t intend to let him off the hook. “I understand you had client privilege,” he said to the D.A. “But, Director Landers, you were sworn to uphold the law. Locking an innocent kid in jail was not the answer. Even worse, you knew there were extenuating circumstances, and you did nothing to help Hank’s defense. And Joleen Mulligan should have been prosecuted herself.”

“I know,” Director Landers said. “There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t debated whether or not I did the right thing. But when I saw the rage inside that boy and those stab wounds, I honestly thought it was a matter of time before he killed someone else. And Delia... She would never have survived prison.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.” Jaxon had to make this right. “The fact that all of you were willing to allow an innocent man to die to save your reputations is despicable.” He reached for his phone.

He had to call a judge.

Then Avery.

Better yet, he wanted to give the director a chance to do the honorable thing. He gestured toward the phone. “Call the judge and tell the truth, Landers. If you don’t turn yourself in, I’ll arrest you myself.”

Director Landers wiped at a bead of sweat trickling down his face. Snyderman nodded for Landers to make the call.

Jaxon stepped aside and punched Avery’s number. She’d been upset when she’d left. Hopefully she’d driven straight home.

But Delia had been at her house before. What if she returned?

Fear needled him as he waited for Avery to answer. When she didn’t, panic seized him, and he jogged outside to his SUV. If Delia suspected they were close to discovering the truth and that they might expose her, she might be desperate.

He had to find Avery.

* * *

A
VERY
STARED
AT
Delia Hanover in shock. “What are you doing, Delia?”

“You couldn’t stop, couldn’t let it alone, could you?” Delia cried.

“You were the one who threatened me over reopening the case.” Confusion swirled in Avery’s head. She was still reeling from learning that Jaxon had been working against her. And now Delia was holding a gun on her....

The woman’s hand shook as she waved Avery to come in. “I tried to help you,” Delia whispered. “I tried so hard, but I messed up.”

Avery inhaled a deep breath. She had to stall. Figure out a way to convince Delia to drop the gun.

But Delia shoved the barrel into her ribs and pushed her into the den. Desperate for an escape, Avery glanced around the room. Basic furniture. A table loaded with folders. French doors leading to a patio...

A suitcase also stood by those doors, as if Delia had planned a trip.

If Delia planned to kill her and escape, Avery at least wanted answers.

“Why didn’t you want me to reopen Hank’s case?” Avery asked, although she had a bad feeling that she knew.

“I’m sorry about Hank, more than you’ll ever know, Avery.” Tears moistened Delia’s troubled eyes. “I never meant for him to be arrested. It just...happened.”

“What do you mean, it just happened?”

“I came over to see how you and Hank were doing, but then I heard you screaming and crying and saw Hank and Mulligan fighting. Then I watched him tie Hank to the bed.”

Avery bit her lip as the memory washed over her. “You were the woman I heard that night. The one that whispered to me.”

Delia nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek. “When I saw what he was doing, I panicked. I didn’t know, not before then. I swear I didn’t. But earlier that day, I found a note Erma Brant left.”

“You should have removed us from the family then,” Avery said sharply.

Delia began to pace, waving the gun with one hand and pulling at her hair with the other. “That’s what I intended to do. That night, I drove over, planning to take you both away myself. But I saw Mulligan going in your room and you screamed, and I panicked. I grabbed a knife to protect myself, but when I tried to stop Mulligan, he came at me. He grabbed me and we fought, and I had the knife and...I stabbed him.”

Avery could easily imagine the scenario she described. “You saved me,” she whispered. “You cared enough to come and protect me,” she said. “So why did you let Hank go to prison? You could have pleaded self-defense.”

Delia’s eyes flickered with wild panic as if she were reliving the night herself. “I was scared. It was my first job, and I wanted to make it work, wanted to help others. And my father... He’s a judge. He warned me not to go into social work, said I wasn’t cut out for it. I knew if I was arrested, it would not only ruin my career, but his, as well.”

“You were worried about your career!” Avery said, her voice shrill. “What about my life? What about Hank’s? He was just a kid and you stole his life from him.”

A sob escaped Delia. “I didn’t think he’d go to prison,” she cried. “But when I saw how many times he stabbed Mulligan, I thought it was too late for Hank, that he was like his father, and he’d be better off locked away. I thought you’d be safer that way.”

“Safer?” Avery cried. “Hank confessed to protect me. He’s the only one who ever loved me, and because of me, and you—” she jabbed her finger in the air at Delia “—he’s about to die.”

Delia looked frantic, desperate. She paused by the window and rubbed her hand over her face, swiping at the tears. “I’m sorry, Avery. I’m so sorry. But—”

“There is no but,” Avery said. “You can’t let Hank die, Delia.” She softened her voice, desperate to appeal to the woman’s morals. “You’re not a bad person. I know that. You care about the kids you help, just like you cared about us back then. A judge will understand that.”

Delia shook her head back and forth, sobbing. “No, they won’t. And my father... He’ll hate me.”

She raised the gun, and Avery held her breath, terrified Delia was going to shoot her.

But the woman turned the gun on herself and placed the barrel at her temple.