Beyond Suspicion (10 page)

Seventeen

“Shelby?” Her mother opened her door all the way. “Mr. Quick wants us to go to the police department in a couple of hours.”

Shelby, lying on her bed looking at a magazine, looked at the clock. Ten a.m. “What for?”

Her mother rubbed her temples and sighed. “I don't know. I don't think I can take much more of these highs and lows.”

Shelby saw how her mom's eyes seemed to have sunken like haunted hollows. Shelby sat up on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her. “Here, sit down and rest a second.”

“Thanks, honey.” She sat next to Shelby and caressed her arm. “You've been cleared, but someone still has Josh. Maybe now they have new questions to ask, like what enemies we have that could do this.”

Shelby leaned against her mother relishing the closeness they hadn't shared in a long time. “I can't think of anyone.”

The doorbell rang.

“Now what?” her mother said.

They strained to hear then Roger called. “Shelby, Valerie and Rachel are here.”

Shelby's body tensed. It didn't seem like the right time for a big huggy-huggy-makeup moment.

Her mother stroked her hair. “I'm sure it's okay. Better go see what they want.”

“You okay?” Shelby peered closely at her mother's face. Her drawn features with eyes that had lost their fire seemed slack. Worry had taken its toll not only on her mother's looks but on her spirit as well. It was like she was fading away and Shelby could already feel the loss keenly. It scared her.

Her mother nodded with an encouraging gesture toward the door. “I'll be fine. Don't forget, we have to leave soon.”

“I won't.” Shelby inhaled a deep breath and stood up; she'd make this quick because her mom needed her. A big sorry would be nice but she wouldn't mind kicking them out either. That was weird because just last night she'd been wondering if Mrs. Cosgrove would let Valerie talk to her again.

Valerie and Rachel waited at the front door. When Valerie saw her, she looked down and smoothed a thread on the embroidered bib of her peach tunic-top. Valerie couldn't be nervous. Not with Shelby. Of the three of them, Valerie always seemed to have it all together—like her whole outfit, which was color-coordinated, with weather taken into account as well as destination. Valerie didn't get nervous because she planned things to the smallest detail.

Rachel smiled timidly. “Hi. I hope you weren't busy or anything but we wanted to talk to you.”

“No, it's okay. Animal Shelter day?” Rachel wore yellow scrubs with black paw prints all over the top. Her black hair was twisted up and held with a huge claw clip, probably because puppies, the same as babies, Joshie in particular, couldn't resist snatching and pulling hair. Shelby forced that memory out of her mind by gesturing toward Rachel's uniform. “Love the name tag.”

“You like it?” Rachel ran her finger over a plastic dog bone. “I made it myself from a pet toy.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Valerie switch her weight from one foot to the other. If she was so impatient to leave, why'd she come in the first place? “It's cute,” Shelby said. “Let's go in the kitchen so Roger can watch the news.”

They followed her and stood next to the table. Shelby didn't ask them to sit down or offer them iced tea. For the first time she felt ill at ease around them. She cast a questioning look at Valerie, who darted her eyes to Rachel and nudged her.

Rachel cleared her throat but, unlike Valerie, eyed Shelby directly. “Valerie and I are sorry about what happened. We shouldn't have…you know…”

“It's okay. I probably would have thought the same thing.” No she wouldn't have. She would have trusted that her best friends could never do something so horrible, no matter what the rest of the town said. And if she'd been forbidden to talk to them, she would have found a way to do it anyway.

“But we
didn't
think you did anything.” Rachel stared down at her sneakers.

Shelby understood this was hard for her, because Rachel was the kind of person that if someone was hurting, then she hurt.

“Not at first, anyway.” Rachel's lips quivered. “They just made it sound so hateful.” Rachel gulped and tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped on her uniform, pouring too fast for the tissue she pulled from her pocket.

Shelby took a step forward then halted. Torn between wanting to comfort Rachel and telling her everything was okay and wanting them both to explain, how, even for a second, they would think she could actually kill her baby brother, Shelby could only stand there.

“It was mostly my mother,” Valerie said, finally speaking in earnest. “I should have seen you secretly or sent you messages like Rachel did at first. My mom's really upset about it. She was crying after she saw the video and saying she should have known better. As soon as she figures out what to say, she's going to call later and apologize.”

“That's okay. Tell her she doesn't have to do that.” Shelby couldn't help feeling glad that Val's mother was so upset. She should feel rotten!

Roger came into the kitchen. “Sorry to break this up so soon, but we have to go now.”

Rachel suddenly flung her arms around Shelby's neck. “I'm so sorry. Please forgive us, Shel!”

Shelby patted Rachel's back. “I forgive you, everything's okay.”

“Th-thank you,” Rachel said, abruptly letting go. Her eyes swam with fresh tears as she dabbed her eyes with the wadded-up tissue, turned, and raced out the front door leaving it wide open as if someone were chasing her.

Valerie closed her mouth after a second and turned toward Shelby, fighting hard not to smile. “I…uh…I guess I better go since I'm her ride.”

“I guess so,” Shelby said, wanting to share a giggle with her because it was kind of funny, but they both knew Rachel's feelings were sincere.

They walked slowly to the door. When they reached it Valerie turned back to Shelby and held out her arms uncertainly. The hug they gave each other was quick and hesitant.

As they stepped away from each other, Valerie's eyes glistened. “I really am sorry about all this. Call me, you know, for anything?”

“Thanks, Valerie, I will.”

After she shut the door and turned around her mother and Roger stood side by side.

“Friends again?” Roger asked.

“Yeah. But something's different. In here.” She tapped the spot over her heart.

“For me, too,” her mother said. “Mrs. Cosgrove hurt my little girl. I don't think I'll ever feel the same way about her.”

“That's all I want to hear about that kind of thing.” Roger scolded in a kind way. “We're all going through this torment. We'll say and do things we never thought we would. Mrs. Cosgrove was scared for her daughter. For all she knew, Shelby had turned into some kind of monster.”

“I know you're right. But I can't help feeling betrayed. After all these years they just turned on Shelby.” Her mother waved both hands above her head. “I can't think about this now. Let's get going.”

Eighteen

It was hard ignoring the shouts from the couple of reporters who had returned for the morning stakeout, but they made it to the car and drove off. Shelby slouched down as far as she could to keep from being seen until they were safely on the main road. When she sat back up she saw that every pole and sign was plastered with the flyers about Josh.

“There must be hundreds of posters,” Shelby said. “Did we print all of them?”

“No, several volunteers took posters home, scanned them, and printed up more.”

Jeffrey Quick was waiting for them out front. He ushered them past the reception desk and huge open area where uniformed officers and detectives worked at individual desks, to a conference room with large windows and an oak wood conference table. Shelby glanced at a boyish officer on the way in and he gave her the thumbs-up sign. She mouthed a thank you. He winked.

Seated at the conference table, Shelby could see the open area through the windows. Detectives Grimes and Rutherford stepped out of an office and headed their way.

“Here they come,” she said, feeling her heartbeat increase.

Her attorney rose as they walked in. Roger and her mother stopped talking. Detective Grimes took a moment and adjusted the mini-blinds a little. “For more privacy,” he said. But he didn't close them completely and Shelby could see what was going on outside.

Detective Rutherford pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the table. “First, we want to apologize to Shelby, but we were just doing our job.”

“And not very well, Detective,” her mother said. “You've given the kidnappers time to get away.”

“No,” Detective Grimes rushed to say, sitting next to Rutherford. “We've been considering every clue and checking backgrounds for people who might have grudges against you, someone who just lost a baby, or was turned down for adoption.”

“What can you tell us?” Mr. Quick said.

“Not much.” Detective Rutherford shrugged.

He went on to detail half a dozen leads that had petered out. It occurred to Shelby that the only reason they had been asked to come was so that the police could cover their butts.

The talk turned to generalities. Shelby's mind wandered. She looked through the blinds to watch the boyish officer who had winked at her as he sat working at his desk. He had gold-blond hair and freckles. Someone walked up to his desk, blocking her view. She wished he would leave so that she could continue to check out the officer. But when he did leave, she couldn't take her eyes off him. She watched him cross the open area and enter Rutherford's office.

Shock and confusion coursed in hot waves through Shelby's body. Standing up she leaned against the table for support for a second. “May I please go to the restroom?”

“Certainly,” Detective Grimes said. “Do you remember where it is?”

Shelby nodded.

“Are you all right?” her mother asked.

“I'm fine. Too much coffee,” she said lightly. But she wasn't fine. As they went back to talking, she hurried out of the room and went straight to the desk of the gold-haired officer. He smiled as she walked up.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi, Shelby, can I help you?”

“I think I saw a friend of mine go into that office,” she said, indicating with her thumb over her shoulder. “Is that a kid named Turner?”

“No that's Matt, Detective Rutherford's son.”

Shelby locked her knees to keep them from buckling. With sheer will she said in a cheerful voice, “Oh, my mistake, thanks.” She kept her face hidden as she headed down the hall, past the interview rooms, and found the bathroom.

She stood at the sink, staring into the mirror not seeing her reflection. A video in her head replayed moments she had misread. The first day, the day he pretended to come to her rescue. The way Detective Rutherford and Matt had stared at each other—it was so obvious now that he had sent a silent message to his father. Overhearing Rutherford's curt answer when the other officer asked if she was going to be arrested meant so much more in hindsight.

Then there were Matt's repeated attempts to get her to talk, to tell him something she hadn't told anyone else. She closed her eyes. She had totally misread his edginess at the drive-in. How much more dense could she have been? He wasn't afraid
she
would be recognized, he was afraid his friends would give away his real identity. All this time he wasn't protecting her, he was protecting himself. And when he put his arm around her…Shelby put her fist in her mouth and bit down. He had fooled her completely. The pain of humiliation was beyond anything she had ever experienced before.

She leaned both hands on the sink, taking deep, steadying breaths.
Think. Maybe you can beat him at his own game.
It was time to calm down. She fumbled in her pocket for her cell and dialed Quick's cell.

“Yes…”

“Don't say my name. Detective Rutherford has a son named Matt. He called himself Matt Turner. Do you remember Roger telling you about him?”

“I remember,” Quick said, catching on. “Anything else?”

“I only said I needed to use the bathroom after I saw him go into his father's office. He's in there waiting for him.” Shelby's breath came too fast as she fought to keep control. “Mr. Quick, he asked me lots of questions. I trusted him.”

“Thank you,” he said, for all to hear. Then he whispered, “Calm down and get back in here.” He disconnected.

Could she pull herself together? She found that she could. It was as if the past week had aged her, given her strength. She got up and returned to the conference room, glancing only once at Rutherford's office.

Jeffrey Quick opened the conference room door. “Come in here, Shelby.”

Their eyes met as he stepped aside to let her enter. Leaving the door open, he put a hand on Shelby's shoulder to stop her. Shelby remained next to him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Butler, you haven't been aware of something that Shelby just discovered. If you will bear with me, I need Detective Rutherford to answer a few questions.”

Shelby could see the detective's mind working. His eyes flew to hers. He knew. His chin lifted.

“Is your son an undercover detective with this police department?”

Detective Rutherford paled as he gave his one word answer. “No.”

“But you told him to use the name, Matt Turner, and his orders were to befriend Shelby to gather evidence in this investigation.”

Shelby's mother gasped. Roger's jaw dropped.

“No, I did not. My son thought he could help find Josh,” Detective Rutherford stammered.

“But you did not discourage him. You listened to what he told you.”

“Let's not get into this,” Detective Grimes said. “The fact is Shelby has been cleared. We've apologized. It's time to move on.”

“This is not over, Detectives,” Quick said. “Shelby was represented by counsel. Your son was acting as an agent of this office with your approval to question her without benefit of counsel. Her rights were violated. This is most definitely not over.”

Detective Rutherford shoved his chair back and left, brushing past her. Shelby turned around and watched him go into his office.

Detective Grimes stood. He spoke directly to Roger. “Thanks for coming in this morning, I'll keep you posted.”

He led them all from the conference room.

Matt flew out of his father's office. “Shelby, wait, I have to talk to you.”

“Matt, get back here!”

Mr. Quick held up his arm as Matt stepped in front of Shelby. “You, young man, are not to contact my client or her family again.”

Shelby kept her eyes down as Roger guided her around the two of them. Her feelings bounced between anger and heartache. This is what it feels like to be deliberately lied to and made a fool of, she thought. Valerie and Rachel had only doubted her, Matt had gone out of his way to try to make her like and trust him.

“Please, Shelby, let me explain!”