Shadows from the Grave (29 page)

Back on the road, he pointed the truck toward home. He had a lot of clean-up to do as a result of tonight’s activities, and he wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Chase and Annie were asleep when his phone rang in the middle of the night. Startled awake in an unfamiliar bed, it took him a minute to fumble the phone out of the holster on his belt.

“It’s Dad,” he told Annie as he answered. “Hello?”

“Chase? Are you okay?” Richard asked. Although the connection wasn’t great, Chase could still hear the anxiety in his father’s voice. He had a suspicion what had caused it.

“I’m fine, Dad,” Chase said. Annie reached out and turned on the lamp, and they both squinted against the light. At the foot of the bed, Murphy stretched and yawned, then got down. “Why do you ask? Are you and Mom okay?”

“Oh, no reason,” Richard replied, his voice full of sarcasm. “Just something to do with getting a phone call from one of my patients, asking me if I knew my son had been arrested for murder!”

Chase groaned. “No, Dad, I wasn’t arrested. Just questioned.”

Richard snorted. “Oh, well, if you were just
questioned
, that’s completely different. Never mind then.”

Richard Hudson was one of the most levelheaded people Chase had ever known. Even when Beth had been shot, his father had been the glue that held the rest of the family together, keeping them from falling apart in the middle of the chaos. That he was so obviously upset now let Chase know just how affected he was.

“Dad, please. Tell me what you heard. Who called you, anyhow?” Annie laid a hand on his back in support, and he leaned into her touch.

“Don’t worry about who called me. Why didn’t you, or Jason or Beth? Do you have any idea how upset your mother is going to be?” Richard sighed and didn’t wait for an answer. “The patient left a message telling me that you had been taken in for Kiely’s murder, and that the FBI was involved. So you’re saying it wasn’t that serious?”

Chase yawned and ran a hand over his face. “It was serious. Gordon was there, and so was a detective from Lexington.” He hesitated, unsure of whether to continue. “Actually, if Gordon hadn’t been there, I probably would have been arrested.” He gave Richard a brief rundown of what had happened. “He let me know a few days ago that this was on the horizon, and I called John. He was there with me at the interview.”

“I heard that, as well. John’s my next call.”

“Dad, you do know it’s nearly one in the morning here, right?” Chase asked. Richard didn’t answer for a minute. “Dad?”

“Yes, I realize the time difference, Chase,” his father said very slowly. “I just don’t give a rat’s behind. One of you should have called us, damn it!”

 “I guess I should have, Dad. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t want to disturb your vacation. I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Richard sighed. “No, I’m the one who should apologize,” he said. “I can’t imagine your day has been any picnic. Tell me you at least talked to Sampson, though.”

“Beth and Ethan stopped on their way home, and I stopped on my way out here earlier,” Chase told him. He didn’t realize what he’d given away until Richard cleared his throat.

“So you’re at the farm?” he asked, putting two and two together.

Chase groaned, embarrassed. “Well, yeah. I am at the farm.” His father coughed on the other end of the line, a sound that bore a suspicious resemblance to a quickly disguised chuckle.

“Well, when you see Annie, and I’m
sure
that won’t be until the morning, give her a hug and tell her hello for us,” Richard said drolly.

His cheeks flaming, Chase told him he would.

“Chase? I’m glad you’re not alone right now,” his father said. “So are you really okay? We can catch the next flight home if you need us to.”

He shook his head even though Richard couldn’t see him. “No, Dad. Please finish your vacation. I take it you haven’t told Mom yet?”

“No, she’s out shopping with a friend she made onboard the ship. I took the chance to check my messages, and figured I had better find out what was going on.”

“I didn’t think you were supposed to do that while you all were gone,” Chase reminded him with a smile.

Richard harrumphed. “Let’s not go there. I’ve done well until now.”

“I guess you have to tell Mom, don’t you?” Chase asked.

“Yes, unless I want to end up in the doghouse permanently.” Richard chuckled. “Don’t worry. I think I can manage to do it without upsetting her too much, especially when I tell her where you’re sleeping tonight. I’ll let you go, but you call if anything else happens. Do you hear me, child of mine?”

“I will, I swear it. Give Mom a hug for me, okay?” Richard told him that he would. Before they hung up, Chase said, “Dad? I love you both.”

“Love you, too, kiddo. See you in a few days.”

As he hit End, Chase fell back on the bed with a growl. “Damned nosy busybodies.” He looked at Annie, who was sitting up. “Dad says ‘hi.’”

Annie smiled as she reached out to push a lock of hair off his forehead. “I gathered as much. Feel like you’ve been caught with your pants down?”

Chase rose up to meet her, his face inches from hers. “A little bit like that, yes. And Dad is going to throw us to the wolves to keep Mom calm. He’s hoping the fact that I’m in your bed will distract her.” When Annie’s smile widened into an embarrassed grin, Chase scowled. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Oh, yes, very much,” Annie said with a laugh. “Chase, think about it. You just got caught in bed with a girl. And you aren’t able to say you were sharing body heat or deny it. You have been doing exactly what your dad thought you’ve been doing.”

“Not when the phone rang, I wasn’t,” he protested. His own mouth quivered into a smile. “Okay, it is a little funny,” he conceded.

“It’s very funny, actually,” she corrected. “And just think, I’m the one responsible for your downfall. I’m so proud.” When Chase tickled her and pulled her into his arms, she laughed again before settling in against him with a happy sigh.

“In all seriousness, what did your dad say?” she asked. “Obviously, they found out about the questioning.

“Thanks to one of his patients who can’t keep their nose out of other people’s business,” Chase said. He got out of bed and pulled his shorts on. “I’m going to make a fridge run. You need something?”

Annie shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks. Are you coming back to bed?” she asked as Murphy bounded back into the room ready to play. He jumped up on the bed and flopped onto his back at Annie’s feet, begging for attention. Chase tossed the edge of the covers up over him, quieting the cat. He leaned over to give Annie a quick kiss, but it turned into something much longer and deeper.

“I thought I’d come back to bed, yes. If that’s okay with you.” His voice was husky with arousal. “As a matter of fact, forget the fridge. I can eat tomorrow.”

Annie pulled him down into the bed. “You need some sleep before you go to work tomorrow,” she said. “Don’t you have court?”

“I do, but this takes priority,” he said. “And I need practice. I have a lot of time to make up. You can’t say this has been the smoothest evening of your life.”

“Practice is good,” she agreed. “But I don’t have any complaints so far, smooth or not. I’m enjoying teaching you things.”

Chase slid his hand down her leg. “
So far, huh?
I see how it is. Like I said, food can wait. You can’t. I don’t want to give you room to complain the first night.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen, Counselor,” she said as his hand made the return trip back up the inside of her leg from her ankle. “No, I don’t think that’s going to happen at all.”

Despite having spent the night at Annie’s, Chase arrived at work earlier than usual. Given that word about yesterday’s interrogation had reached his parents overseas, he didn’t hold out much hope that the day would go by peacefully. By noon his fears had been confirmed. The phone in the office had started ringing shortly after eight o’clock and hadn’t stopped. More people had walked in off the street that morning than normally came in over a two-week period, and by the time Chase walked back in from court, Nellia and Gina were looking more than a little frazzled. He took one look at their faces and turned right back around, managing to lock the door just as another lookie-lou reached for the handle.

“We’re closed,” Chase told the now indignant man, then pulled the shade down on the door and sighed.

“Thank God,” Gina said when he faced them. There had been a brief lull in the phone calls, but just as Chase started to speak, one of the lines rang. Gina reached for it with a whimper, but Chase stopped her with an upraised hand.

“Let it ring, and then roll the phones over into voicemail,” he told her. “Nellia, can you order us lunch in?”

“Be glad to, boss. Cristos’ okay?”

“Fine with me,” he said as he headed toward his office. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He went inside and shut the door. He didn’t move, just stood there and let the anger wash over him.

The morning had been an unmitigated disaster. He had been scheduled for two morning sessions in court, one for a probate settlement and the other for the finalization of a divorce decree. During both cases, the crowd in the courtroom had been so unruly the judge had repeatedly had to call for order. When the second case was finished, Judge Nguyen had called Chase into chambers.

“You had an exciting day yesterday, I hear,” he said.

“I suppose one could look at it that way, sir,” Chase answered. “It certainly wasn’t something I’d want to repeat.”

“As I recall, this isn’t the first scrape you’ve gotten into in recent months. Is this behavior something I can expect from you in the future?” the judge asked.

Chase was confused. “Sir?”

“The black eyes and scrapes you had earlier this year,” the judge clarified. “I expect that sort of thing from the defendants I see, not their counselors.”

“No, Your Honor,” Chase replied, flushing. “That’s not something you should ever see from me again.”

The judge nodded. “Good, good. I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Hudson. You have the potential for greatness, and I’d hate to see that thwarted. Now, as to the three cases you have on the docket this afternoon. I understand that what happened yesterday wasn’t exactly your fault, but given the disruption we’ve already had to endure, I’m postponing those cases until next week. Hopefully by then, things will have died down a little. That won’t be a problem for you, will it?”

Chase felt his jaw clench, but he didn’t argue. “Nothing that can’t be worked around, sir.”

“Then you’re dismissed, Counselor. I’ll see you next week.” With no other option, Chase had left the courthouse. Now that he was back in his office, he had to get started on damage control, and the thought exhausted him. He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the coat rack beside the door, his tie following shortly afterward. Taking a few deep breaths to recharge and relax, he opened the door and went back into the main room.

“Okay, ladies. Here’s the plan. Nellia, I need you to call everyone who was on the docket this afternoon. We’ve been rescheduled for next Monday. Gina, contact the judges for tomorrow’s cases and let them know about this firestorm. See how they want to handle it. Then,” he said, “we’re going to eat lunch and figure out what the hell to do next.”