Текст книги "A Few Broken Rules"
Автор книги: Kate Kane
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 14 страниц)
Chapter 23
Ben had just gotten off the phone with Uncle Sal when his cell phone rang.
He checked the caller id, “Tanner, what’s up?”
“I’m with Duncan. He’d like to talk to Jamie today before you all leave for St. Louis this afternoon. Can you come by this morning?”
Even though Duncan had told them to check with him before leaving town for the game, Ben was a little surprised.
“Sure. Tell him we can be there within the hour. Tanner, call me when you leave him.”
“Will do.” Tanner ended the call.
As Ben began to stand, there was a quick rap at the door. It opened and he looked up to find Lane standing in the doorway. She was wearing yet another pair of leggings, a long sweater, and riding boots. Her long strawberry blonde hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders. He gave her his full wattage Bellini smile and walked toward her.
She smiled back at him, “Are you going to be working all day today?”
He kissed her, “I hope not, but Tanner just called and I need to take Jamie to talk to the detective investigating Coach Ferguson’s murder.”
“I’d almost forgotten about that,” she sighed, “almost.”
What she meant was that she hadn’t thought about the mess yet today. But then again, she’d only been up for half an hour.
“Okay, I can be ready in just a few minutes. He’s a minor so he can have a parent with him, right?”
Ben put the index finger of his right hand under her chin and lifted her face so she was looking at him.
“He’s going to have a parent with him. And I’m a lawyer, so two birds with one stone.” He bent and kissed her again. “It’s just routine. I don’t want you to worry.” He whispered as he pulled her close to him.
“Are you telling me I can’t come?” She asked.
How was he going to answer that? The truth was he’d rather she not get involved, but Jamie was her son too. Luckily, the ringing of his cell phone saved him. He looked at her, “This is Tanner, I told him to call after he left the detective. Let me just talk to him and then we can discuss whether or not you need to come along.”
“Tanner, what’s up? Why does Duncan want to see Jamie?”
“He wants to have him look at a photo lineup. They might actually have this thing figured out and they want to ask Jamie if he remembers seeing anyone in the parking lot when he found Harper Monday or maybe in the halls Tuesday when he found the coach.”
Ben looked at Lane and gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
“That’s good. Are you still there or are you on your way someplace else?” Ben asked Tanner.
“I’m in my SUV. Regardless of what Duncan says, unless there’s an arrest and a confession, I plan to follow that team bus to St. Louis this afternoon and I’ve got a couple of things to do before we leave.” Tanner replied.
Ben ended the call and looked at Lane.
“Tanner says they want Jamie to look at some photos and see if they can jog his memory about seeing anyone either in the parking lot Monday or the halls at school on Tuesday. Tanner says they might have it figured out. That means they have a suspect and want to see if Jamie can place that person at either of the scenes.”
He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her sky blue eyes.
“I wasn’t telling you that you couldn’t come along. What I’m saying is, I’ve got this. You can stay home and spend time working on Evie, you know, talking to her about moving down here.”
Lane looked up into Ben’s eyes, studying his face. “You’re sure they just want Jamie to look at some photos and ask him some questions about whether he remembers seeing anyone?”
Ben dropped his hands and pulled her close to him. “Yes, at least it’s what Tanner told me. If it turns out to be anything else, I’ll call or text you. Now, I told Tanner I’d have Jamie there within an hour. I need to get him and we need to go.”
She trusted Ben. He was her husband, the father of her youngest son, and the best criminal defense lawyer in the metro. She knew that Jamie couldn’t be safer or better cared for and yet, she was Jamie’s mother and it had always been her job to protect him. What was it that Ben had told her last month when the police questioned Jess? She needs a lawyer, not a mother. Lane leaned back and looked at Ben, “Okay, go. But call me as soon as you finish or if it’s more than just a photo line-up.”
Ben bent and kissed the top of her head before leaving her to find Jamie. As father and son walked toward the garage, Ben looked at Lane, “I love you, Red.” Then he and Jamie were out the door.
Lane shook her head and whispered to the empty room, “I love you too.”
Gabe and Jess were running lines, rehearsing for their movie in Jess’s room and Evie was in the hearth room reading. Lane walked into the hearth room and sat with her friend.
Evie looked up from her e-reader and smiled at Lane, “You know that man really loves you?” She was thinking, “How many men would fly the ex-mother-in-law of his bride to the wedding reception, let alone invite her for Thanksgiving and have her stay in his guest room?”
Lane smiled and absent-mindedly rubbed her baby bump. “I know.”
Evie looked at Lane, “Are you really doing all right, dear?”
Lane smiled. “Yes, I’m fine, feeling less fatigued every day. Which is good because ‘that man,’ as you call him, has a tendency to pick me up and carry me to bed if I fall asleep anyplace else.” Lane laughed. “I fell asleep in the car Monday night and he carried me in and put me to bed. When I awoke Tuesday morning, I told him he had to stop carrying me and he told me I’d just have to get used to it because he would not wake me up.”
Evie laughed. “He’s a good man.”
Evie hated to admit it, even to herself, but Jamie was right, Ben Bellini was a better husband and father than Philip Parker had ever been.
Evie’s cell phone rang and she excused herself to answer it. “Hello?”
A male voice was on the other end of the line. “Hi.”
She immediately recognized the voice, “Phillip?”
“Yes. I know you’re with Lane, can you talk?”
Evie looked at Lane, smiled, and motioned toward her room. As she walked she responded, “Yes, what’s going on?”
“You know that the Illinois Governor signed the marriage equality bill last week. Ralphie and I are getting married between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I’m calling to give you a heads up and invite you.”
“Have you spoken to Phyllis?” She asked. Phyllis was her daughter, Phillip’s sister.
“No, I wanted to talk with you first and while you’re still at Lane’s. Do you think the kids will come?”
Phillip hadn’t been close with his kids since he’d left their mother, and quite honestly, Evie wasn’t sure why it seemed so important to him to have them there. She shook her head. She’d often acted as a sort of go between for Phillip with the children, but this was something he needed to do himself.
“You do know you’re going to have to call them yourself and ask, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course I will, I just wanted to know what you think. Ralphie really wants them to be there.”
Evie smiled, Ralphie had never had children of his own and, from what she gathered over the years, it was Ralphie who frequently urged Phillip to have a relationship with the kids.
“Phillip, you’re going to have to call them and ask. Jess is home for the weekend, but she’s leaving the country Monday. I don’t know where she’ll be spending the holidays. I suggest you phone Lane. You know she’s always been your best advocate with the children.” She paused. Should she tell him that Lane had married, that she was pregnant, and that Jamie wasn’t his son after all? “You should wait until after the weekend though, there’s a lot going on here. Jamie’s football team is playing for the state championship later today and everyone is getting ready to make the trip to St. Louis.”
“I’ll do that, thanks, Mom. Good-bye.”
Evie ended the call and stood in her bedroom looking at the phone for a moment before walking back out to the hearth room.
Lane was still sitting in her recliner reading and she looked up and smiled as Evie approached. “So, what’s going on with Phillip?”
Evie sat on the sofa adjacent to Lane, “He called to say that he and Ralphie are getting married between Christmas and New Year’s Day. He wondered if the kids would go to the wedding.”
Lane put her e-reader down, “And he wanted you to act as go between again? Surely he knows he needs to talk with them himself.”
“That’s almost exactly what I told him. I hope you don’t mind, I did suggest he call and talk to you. I think that he needs to know that Jamie isn’t his son. I didn’t feel it was my place to break the news.”
“I guess it’s a good thing that the child support payments were settled long before I found out I was pregnant. At least we won’t have to discuss refunding child support payments.” Not that $150.00 per month, total not per child, really amounts to much anyway. Lane thought. “Yes, I should be the one to tell him about Jamie.”
Evie smiled, “And, I didn’t tell him you were married, or pregnant. Of course, with the video of Jess going viral last month, he may already know. I told him to wait until after the weekend to call you because of Jamie’s football game tonight.”
Lane nodded, “I’ll call him. He has my cell phone number, but he has the landline number for Parker House. If he calls while Paul and Joey are there, and they answer the phone, who knows what conclusions he might jump to.”
Chapter 24
Before they left the house, the only thing Ben had told Jamie was that they needed to go to the KCMO substation to talk to Detective Duncan. While Jamie didn’t seem concerned, Ben thought it might be best if Jamie had some idea of what to expect.
“Tanner called from the station. The police may have figured out what happened to both Justin and Coach Ferguson. They want you to look at some photos to see if you recognize anyone. I’ll be with you the whole time; it’s nothing to worry about.”
Jamie nodded, “So they have a suspect in mind?”
“It would appear that way, but we’ll know for sure once we get there.”
The substation where they were meeting Detective Duncan was less than a 20-minute drive from their house, so there wasn’t much time to talk.
Duncan met them at the door.
“Thanks for coming by on short notice.”
The look on Detective Duncan’s face didn’t seem to match the words he was saying. He didn’t really look pleased to see them, and Ben wondered why.
Detective Duncan led Jamie and Ben to an interview room. The three men sat at the table, Ben and Jamie on one side, Detective Duncan on the other. Duncan put a photo lineup on the table and pushed the six-pack, a small file holding the photos of six people, toward Jamie.
“Do you recognize any of the people in these photos?” He asked.
Ben glanced at the six-pack and looked at Detective Duncan, “Maybe you could put some context around the question for us, Detective.”
Duncan fixed a cool stare at Ben. “Based on traffic cams and the sign in log at the school, these people may have been in the vicinity of the incidents that occurred at the school on Monday and/or Tuesday.”
Duncan turned his gaze toward Jamie, “I want to know if you saw any of these people in or around the parking lot on Monday or at the school on Tuesday.”
Ben looked at Jamie, “Take your time, Jamie.”
Jamie picked up the photo six-pack that Detective Duncan had pushed to him. He hoped his face didn’t give away what he was thinking. He immediately recognized the older sister of his teammate Lucas Evans. Last year, he’d had a huge crush on Hannah Evans. And, isn’t that Mrs. Evans in the bottom left corner?
He nudged Ben and laid the photo six-pack on the table. “Dad?”
Ben looked at the Detective. “Can you give us a minute?”
Detective Duncan, who had thus far been less than friendly, became openly hostile. “Sure, counselor, sure.” He looked at Jamie, “If you know something, you have an obligation to tell me.”
Ben looked back at the detective. “We’re aware, Detective. May I remind you that Jamie isn’t just my son, he’s my client, and we’d like a few minutes. No one’s keeping anything from you.”
The detective let out an exasperated breath. “I’ll just be outside.”
Jamie waited for the door to close before turning to his father and pointing to one of the photos in the six-pack, “That’s Hannah Evans. She’s Lucas Evans’ older sister.” He pointed to another photo, “And that’s Lucas’ mom.”
Ben looked at the photos as Jamie was pointing. The six-pack was four women and two men, and Ben recognized one of the men as Lucas Evans Sr.
“Dad, does this mean the police think Lucas’ family is involved?”
“Bambino, you can’t worry about that. You just need to concentrate on putting yourself back at the scene and remember everything you can.”
Jamie closed his eyes, trying to put himself back in the parking lot on Monday evening. It was dusk when he’d found Justin in his car Monday night. The student parking lot had been empty except for his truck and Justin’s SUV. He mentally scanned the parking lot and the exit.
His eyes almost popped open, “There was a car leaving the parking lot when I found Justin. I don’t know who it was or what kind of car it was, but I know it wasn’t Hannah Evans. Hannah drives a baby blue Beetle. A Beetle has distinctive tail lights.”
“That’s still good information, Bambino, let’s get the detective back in here. You can tell him what you know and we can get back home.”
Ben stood and rapped on the door letting Detective Duncan know he could come back in.
“Detective Duncan, I recognize two of the people in the photos because I know them. He pointed to the women he knew. They’re the sister and mother of one of my teammates. But, I didn’t see either of them on Monday or Tuesday. I do remember that there was a car leaving the parking lot on Monday. I don’t know the make or model, but it was a dark car maybe black or dark gray. It was a car, not a cross over or SUV. I didn’t get the license number and I don’t know that I’d be able to recognize it again if I saw it. That’s everything I can remember.”
The detective picked up the photo six-pack. He reached into his pocket and took out a business card, which he extended toward Ben. He looked at Jamie. “Call if you remember anything else.”
Ben reached into his own inside breast pocket and exchanged cards with the detective.
“What time do you leave for the game?” The detective asked as he looked at Ben’s card.
“The bus leaves at 2:30, we have to be at school at 2:00.” Jamie told him.
Ben looked from Jamie to the detective. “Tanner will be following the bus. The family is flying over and we’ll leave the house around 5:00. Call me or Tanner if anything comes up.”
Jamie looked at his father. Tanner is going to follow the bus, when will this nightmare be over?
Father and son walked out of the police substation and got into the Escalade. Jamie turned toward his father. “How much longer do I have to be treated like some helpless little kid? God, what are the guys going to think about Mr. Tanner following me around?”
Jamie was upset and with good reason. Over the last few days, he’d had a lot to process, but he should consider himself lucky that Ben was allowing him to ride the bus with the rest of the team. Earlier, Ben had seriously been considering calling the assistant coach and telling him Jamie would be flying to St. Louis with the family.
Ben took a breath. “Bambino, I know you want this to be over. Believe me, we all do. The guys won’t know who Tanner is or that he’s following the bus unless you tell them. I’m sure there will be a virtual caravan of vehicles leaving from school and going to St. Louis today. Tanner’s SUV will just be another vehicle in the line.”
Jamie looked at his father. Sure, that was probably true, but he knew the rest of the story, what he thought of as the truth. “Okay, but tell me just how Mr. Tanner is going to protect me from another vehicle anyway.”
Ben gave Jamie what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Jamie, Roy Tanner is just going to keep an eye on the bus. He’ll check it out or have it checked before it leaves the parking lot to be sure it’s safe. He’ll be in the parking lot watching for anything suspicious, and he’ll follow the bus keeping an eye on every vehicle that comes close to it.”
Jamie didn’t look convinced, and Ben continued, “Imagine that it was Jess, your mother, or even Jake, and someone was a threat to them. What would you do?”
Jamie heaved a sigh. “Everything humanly possible to be sure that no one could get close to them.”
“Exactly. That’s all we’re doing now. No one has said you’re helpless or that you can’t take care of yourself. We’re just trying to make sure you don’t have to. You’ve done everything right so far, Jamie. Let’s keep it that way.”
Jamie looked at Ben. When he put it that way, it was hard to argue with. He laughed, and Ben looked at him.
“That’s quite a case you’ve presented. You really are a good lawyer, aren’t you?”
Ben chuckled as he reached over and tousled Jamie’s hair. “I hope I’m a good father. Because where you’re concerned, I’m a father first and a lawyer second.”
Chapter 25
Ben checked the digital readout on the clock as he pulled into the garage. Lunchtime. He wondered where the rest of the family was and whether it was all right to get everyone settled with left overs, or if Lane wanted to cook or maybe even go out. He knew that Lane usually made turkey and noodles with leftovers after the holidays, but unless Lane and Evie had made noodles, that was out of the running.
Ben parked the SUV and looked at Jamie, “Hey, Bambino, let’s go see what the lunch plans are.”
They walked through the garage and into the hearth room where Evie and Lane were sitting with Jess and Gabe. Ben kissed Lane’s cheek as he and Jamie entered the room. People often say, great minds think alike, and apparently, so do hungry stomachs. The group was discussing what to do for lunch as Ben and Jamie joined them. Ben smiled; he wasn’t sure whether the discussion was really necessary. He’d looked into the kitchen as he’d passed by and apparently, Lane (and perhaps Evie) had made egg noodles while he and Jamie had been gone. It wouldn’t take long to get some turkey stock on the stove and they’d have turkey and noodles within the hour.
When the conversation rolled back around to turkey and homemade noodles, Ben said, “You’ve been busy, I’ll start the turkey stock and cut up the turkey. I’d put carrots and celery in,” he looked around the room “if you’re a family of purists, I can leave them out.”
Lane patted his hand, “We are definitely purists when it comes to turkey and noodles.” She shook her head, celery and carrots were fine in soup, but this wasn’t soup. She had a friend who put egg droppings in her turkey or chicken and noodles. It was entirely possible that many people out there thought her way was without imagination and flavor. She stood and took Ben’s hand. “I’ll help you.” As they walked into the kitchen, she leaned close to him and whispered, “There’s something I want to talk with you about and I’d like to know how it went with the police.”
Ben went to the pantry, got the 20-quart stockpot, and brought it back to the kitchen. Under ordinary circumstances, Lane would have asked him if he thought they were feeding an army, but she already knew the answer.
Lane got the plastic containers of turkey and put them on the counter. She reached back in and got the plastic container of turkey stock and a container of chicken stock they’d purchased.
As she handed the containers to Ben, she said, “I’ll go first. Phillip called Evie this morning. He and Ralphie are getting married next month and he’s going to be calling me about the kids going to the wedding.” She took a breath. “Which brings up the fact that I’m going to have to tell him Jamie isn’t his son. I don’t know that it will be a big deal. You know the kids really haven’t had much of a relationship with him anyway, and before you ask, there aren’t any financial implications to that revelation. We had settled the child support issue before I found out I was pregnant and I didn’t go back to ask for any more money. I had a good job and I didn’t need the money, in fact, the child support always just went into the college fund anyway.”
Ben pulled her into his embrace. It seemed every day he learned more about what a strong woman she was. She’d raised three kids, one of them his, and done it, basically, on her own with practically no financial help from anyone. Well, she wasn’t on her own anymore and he was going to do everything he could to make sure she never was again.
“Tell me how you want to handle it. We could fly to Chicago and talk to him. You shouldn’t have to tell him that alone, and it might be something better done in person.”
Lane leaned back to look at him, “You have a trial starting Monday.”
He ran the back of his fingers across her cheek, “We could leave from St. Louis Saturday afternoon and spend the night in Chicago, see Phillip Sunday, and fly back home Sunday evening. I’d be back in plenty of time for court on Monday morning, but it’s up to you.”
She leaned into him again, “I love you. I’ll call him this afternoon and then we can make travel arrangements. Now, I want to hear about what happened with the police today.”
He kissed her before he released the embrace and turned toward the stove. “Duncan showed Jamie some pictures. He tried to disguise things, but the pictures were of the Evans family, Lucas Evans’ father, mother and sister along with three strangers who very well could have been cops thrown in just to even out the photo lineup.” He poured the stock into the stockpot and started dicing turkey before continuing, “It would seem that they suspect Lucas’ family. Jamie was pretty upset at the thought. I told him he just needed to concentrate on telling the police anything he could remember about what happened both Monday and Tuesday and let the police sort things out.” Ben held up some dark meat and looked questioningly at Lane.
She shook her head. “Just the white meat. Lucas is the second string quarterback, isn’t he? Do you suppose he has anything to do with what happened to Justin?”
Ben continued dicing turkey. “No. I can’t imagine Lucas being involved with anything that would harm either Justin or coach Ferguson.” He looked at Lane, concern written on his face. “You remember that crazy mother in Texas in the early nineties?” Lane shook her head and Ben continued. “She hired a hit man to kill the mother of a cheerleader so the girl would quit the squad and her daughter could take the spot.”
Lane looked at him, “You’re right, that’s crazy.”
Ben took the turkey to the stove and put it into the stockpot. “That wasn’t the defense she took though. She was convicted of solicitation for capital murder. She was sentenced to ten years, but it was later discovered that there was an issue with one of the jurors. There should have been a second trial. Anyway, she served six months in jail and the rest of the sentence on probation.”
Lane looked at him, “How do you know all of this? You were in high school in the early nineties.”
Ben chuckled. “Well, I did go to law school. We studied it and both Tanner and I thought about it when Jamie found Justin earlier this week, so I looked it up again. By the way, has anyone heard form Jake or Joey or Pauli today? I know the noodles will keep, I just wondered how many we’d have for lunch.”
Jamie had come into the kitchen as Ben asked about the rest of the family. “I can text Jake and see what he’s up to today. When will we eat?” He grinned and tried to disguise his hunger. “He’ll want to know.”
The stock was boiling and Ben had begun to add the noodles. “Half an hour tops.” Ben replied.
Lane looked at Jamie, “If Jake’s coming, set the dining room table. And be sure to find out if he’s bringing Meg.” She leaned into the hearth room, “Jess, call either Joey or Paul and see if they’re coming for lunch. It’ll be ready in half an hour.”
“Joey and Pauli are on their way.” Jess said a few minutes later as she entered the kitchen followed by Gabe.
Ben looked at his wife, “What do you have with turkey and noodles? Do we need a vegetable, a salad?”
Lane smiled, “I’ll take care of it.” She pulled a bag of frozen corn from the freezer and got a microwave safe bowl. “I’ll have cottage cheese of course. We’ll want bread and butter. Do the Bellini brothers need salad?”
Ben laughed, “No, I’m sure they’ll be fine with what we have and if they aren’t, they can go buy lunch somewhere.”
“What can I do?” Gabe asked.
Jess shook her head and as Lane sent Gabe to help Jamie with the dining room table, she got a basket for the bread. Gabe was far too caught up in being a part of her family. She didn’t object, but she did find it tremendously amusing.
A few minutes after the phone call to Jake and Parker House, Joey and Pauli came into the house through the garage. Jake, Meg, and Abbey soon followed them and after Gabe took drink orders, everyone sat down to a leisurely lunch. Friday was Jess’s turn for grace and she quickly rattled off the standard Catholic blessing. It was nearing 12:30 when they sat down to eat, and Jamie had to be at school at two o’clock.
Lane wondered whether Jamie was nervous about the game. She smiled inwardly; her three children were so different from one another. She never had to guess about what Jake was feeling; he had always telegraphed his feelings in advance. While both Jess and Jamie played their cards closer to the vest, Lane could usually tell when Jess was nervous about a role in a play or before a performance. Her youngest child had always been much more difficult to read. She wondered now if it could be genetic; Ben was often difficult to get a read on as well. Gabe broke the silence bringing Lane out of her reverie.
“Jamie, are you nervous about the game tonight? I used to get butterflies the size of pterodactyls before a concert.”
Jess looked at him; she couldn’t imagine Gabe Greer being nervous over anything.
Jamie smiled at Gabe and looked around the table as he spoke, “I wouldn’t say I’m nervous about the game. Of course, I want to win, but I don’t have a college scholarship riding on the outcome like a couple of the other guys do.”
What is that saying, from the mouths of babes? Ben looked at his son and suddenly the pieces had fallen into place. Lucas Evans was a scholarship student at Rockhurst, and perhaps he had a college scholarship riding on his performance in the state championship game. Lucas was a senior; Justin was a junior. Unless the Hawkettes were up by several touchdowns, chances were, Lucas wouldn’t even get any time on the field, let alone have a chance to shine as long as Justin was in the picture. Perhaps Lucas’s family was relying on a scholarship that depended on his performance in the game. Ben stood and excused himself from the table. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Roy Tanner as he walked to his office.
“Tanner.”
“Jamie just said something that bears looking into.” He repeated what Jamie had said about a scholarship hanging on the outcome of the game today. “Duncan showed Jamie pictures of the Evans family, Lucas’s parents and sister along with a look-a-like for each of them. Lucas is a scholarship student so it wouldn’t be much of a reach to conclude that he’ll need a scholarship for college too. Maybe one or both of his parents mean to ensure Lucas gets time on the field tonight.”
“I’ll talk to Duncan, and see what else I can find out. Regardless though, unless there’s been an arrest, before the team leaves, I’m still following the bus.”
Ben chuckled. “I’d expect nothing less. But if we can prove out this theory, then we know Jamie should be safe, he has no say in who plays in the game today.”
“I’ll call you if I find out anything. In any case, I imagine I’ll see you at school in a few.”
Ben checked his watch. Most guys these days didn’t wear a watch, relying on their cell phone for the time, but Ben always wore a watch. Today he was wearing his favorite casual watch, a stainless steel, and ceramic Fendi he’d gotten in Rome last summer. It was nearing one o’clock.
“We’re in the middle of lunch, and I’d better get back to the table, but we’ll leave the house between 1:30 and 1:45 to drop Jamie. I’ll see you then.”
Ben stopped in the kitchen before joining his family in the dining room. He carried a pie in each hand as he approached the table, “Who’s ready for dessert?” He asked as he placed the pies on the table.
Jamie stood. “I’ll get dessert plates and forks.” He said as he left the table.
After Lunch, Jamie packed his bag for the overnight stay in St. Louis and put it by the door to the garage so that someone would be sure to load it with the rest of the family’s luggage when they left for the airport.
