Revenge of Innocents (25 page)

Once they all answered yes, Mary disconnected. Everyone just sat there, trying to catch their breath. Carolyn picked through another box of items removed from Veronica’s house. She found a photo album that smelled like Veronica’s cologne, and opened it. The first picture was the two of them together. The sun was shining and they were making silly faces. They’d taken the kids to the zoo that day. “I miss you,” she said, rubbing her finger over the image.

Keith stood in front of her. “I need to take that.”

Carolyn picked up the box and turned around to hand it to him. When he tried to take it from her, she couldn’t let go. It was as if Veronica’s life had been reduced to a few plastic containers. All Carolyn had left of their friendship was memories. Soon even those would grow dim.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, gently prying her fingers off the box.

Carolyn covered her mouth and rushed out of the room. When she reached the end of the corridor, she turned her face to the wall and sobbed. She wasn’t good at her job, as she’d boasted to Marcus. She wasn’t good at anything. Even after Veronica’s death, she had failed her precious friend. She should have let Jude leave that first night instead of interfering. And instead of supporting Drew, she had become his persecutor. Veronica’s children had been ripped from their home and shoved into the hands of a woman who didn’t want them. How could Carolyn make anything right when everything had gone so terribly wrong?

Monday, October 18
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5:15
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arolyn returned to her office and went through the remaining cases, managing to concentrate long enough to assign at least half of them. The rest she placed in her briefcase to work on at home.

She called the jail and asked for Bobby Kirsh. When he came on the line, she said, “It’s me again, Bobby. Is Drew Campbell ready yet?”

“You’ve called here three times about this inmate,” he said. “I can’t decide if you plan to shoot the sucker when he walks out of here, or if something else is going on. He’s not a bad-looking guy. It wouldn’t be the first time, you know. Few years back, one of the female DAs fell for an armed robber. Weren’t you supposed to get married?”

“I had to call three times because the officer on duty never called me back. Drew Campbell is a friend. His arrest was a mistake. That’s why the DA withdrew the charges. Please, just tell me when he’s ready to be picked up.”

“We just finished his paperwork.”

“Don’t let him leave until I get there.” Carolyn grabbed her purse and briefcase and rushed out.

When Drew stepped through the security doors at the jail, he looked five years older and ten pounds lighter. He was wearing the same clothes he’d had on the day Veronica was murdered. She recognized the grape juice stain on the front of his T-shirt. When he saw her, a look of surprise registered on his face. Carolyn set her things on the floor and hugged him. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this, Drew,” she said. “I came to give you a ride home. If you want, we can stop somewhere and get something to eat.”

He ran his hands through his silver hair. “When can I see my children?”

“I called Emily this afternoon,” she said, picking up her things and walking with him toward the door. “As soon as you get settled again, she’ll bring them home. Have you talked to them?”

“Inmates aren’t allowed to make long-distance calls.” Drew tilted his head up to look at the stars. “I’ll never take all this for granted again. If only I had Veronica back…”

Carolyn took him by the elbow. For such a large man, he seemed so fragile. “I’m parked back here. It’s still early. We can call the kids from my cell phone if you want.”

Drew choked up, swiping at his teary eyes with the back of his hand. “I need some time to get myself together first. Where’s Jude? My attorney seemed to think she was staying with you.”

“She was for a while,” Carolyn told him. “I don’t know where she is right now, Drew. At least she finally told us the truth. I don’t think she realized there would be such serious consequences. To be honest, I’m probably the one who started this whole thing. When I saw the bruises on her body, I pressured her to tell me who was responsible. I guess she was so angry that you asked her to move out, she decided to get back at you.” She told him about the receipt she’d found from Home Depot, lying and telling him she’d found it when she’d gone to the house to pick up some of the children’s clothes. He didn’t need to know that Jude had overdosed on heroin. At least, not tonight. She was sick of lies and deception, but sometimes the truth was too painful.

“I don’t think you should go to the house, Drew,” Carolyn said, unlocking the Infiniti. “You’re welcome to stay with me for a few days. Marcus and I postponed the wedding. I decided it wouldn’t have been right without Veronica.”

“Thanks, but I’d like to sleep in my own bed. I need to plan the funeral tomorrow. I’m going to buy a family plot. You know, enough spots for all of us. If the kids don’t want them later on, I guess they can sell them. I know Veronica would want it that way.”

Once they were on the road, Carolyn pulled out her cell phone. “Do you want to call the children now?”

“I’ll wait until tomorrow. I’m too emotional tonight. Veronica and I tried so hard with Jude. She was the most adorable little girl. You remember. She loved people. Most kids that age are shy around strangers, but not Jude. She talked a mile a minute, hugged everyone, constantly asked questions. What’s that, Daddy? How does the TV work, Daddy? How far away is the moon? Where are we going? When are you coming home?”

“She took after her mother,” Carolyn said, fond memories passing through her mind. “Veronica could say more in five minutes than most people could in an hour. The only problem was figuring out what in the world she was talking about. When we used to share an office, I had trouble getting any work done.”

Drew smiled, but a moment later, the smile disappeared. “Things started going wrong when Jude was in the third grade. She started stealing, lying, refusing to do the things we asked her, getting in trouble at school. I mean, you expect that kind of behavior from a teenager. Did Veronica ever tell you about the time Jude slapped her? The little snot was still in elementary school and she was already hitting her mother. We sent her to a child psychologist for a few weeks. What a waste of money that was. The doctor said she sat there for the whole hour without saying a single word.”

“That was around the time I was going through the divorce from Frank,” Carolyn said. “I recall Veronica thinking Jude’s behavior problems were the result of being an only child. She thought if she had a brother or sister, things might change.”

“That was a mistake,” Drew answered. “I told her we’d waited too long. Jude was eight when Stacy was born. She was used to being the center of attention, and didn’t like being upstaged by the baby. About a week after we brought Stacy home from the hospital, Jude tried to pull her out of the crib. She yanked on her leg so hard, it came out of the joint and we had to rush her to the hospital. Veronica swore it was an accident. I knew Jude was trying to hurt Stacy so I lit into her with my belt. Veronica and I had a huge fight that night. I didn’t hurt the kid or anything, but let me tell you, Jude never forgot it. She kept embellishing that story until she had me trying to strangle her.”

Although Drew didn’t realize it, Carolyn was parked in front of his house. He needed to talk, and she had gained some insight into why Jude might have concocted the story about him abusing her. In the formative stages of a child’s development, a single incident could have a major impact. Not because it was genuinely traumatic, but as it could be used to garner attention, something Jude apparently craved.

“I’ll never know why she turned out the way she did,” Drew continued, the muscles in his face rigid. “You have no idea how much it hurts to have a daughter say such vile things about you.”

Carolyn let some time pass before she resumed speaking. “I assume you’ve heard about Haley Snodgrass.”

“Awful,” he said, grimacing. “How are Don and Angela handling it? We’ve all been friends for years. Jude and Haley were like sisters. I thought things were turning around for a few years. Haley was a good influence on Jude, or at least it seemed that way. I was brokenhearted when they ended their friendship over that boy. They reminded me of you and Veronica. They practically grew up together.”

“Did Jude spend a lot of time at Haley’s house?”

“When she was younger,” Drew said, rubbing the side of his face. “During the past year or two, we couldn’t get Haley to go home. Jude didn’t like staying over there for some reason. Don was silly, and I guess he annoyed the girls when they got older. He’s like an overgrown kid. Happy go lucky, you know.”

Carolyn pulled into the driveway and parked. “The house is probably a mess, Drew. When Protective Services came that night, they were rushing to make it to the airport to meet Emily’s plane. I can send Marcus’s housekeeper over to help you put things back in order. I’d also like to go to the funeral home with you. Veronica was my best friend. You can buy the plots, but I’d like to pay for her casket.”

He gave her a curious look. “You’re acting like you did something wrong, Carolyn. I’m not mad at you. I know you believed the things Jude told you. You had no choice but to notify the authorities. If it had been Veronica, she would have done the same thing.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I needed to hear that.”

“No problem.” He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. “The only thing I’m angry about is that the police haven’t caught the person who murdered her. Do they have any leads as to who did it?”

“The case should come together now—” Carolyn caught herself just in time. She was about to say that his elimination as a suspect would narrow down the suspects. “Because I knew Veronica so well, the agency gave me permission to work on the task force. We’ve been working around the clock, Drew. I know we’re going to nail this killer. I just can’t tell you when.”

An awkward silence ensued. “So, I’ll call you in the morning, if that’s all right,” she said. “I’ll bring my lunch to work. Why don’t you see if you can set up an appointment at the funeral home around noon?”

“Okay,” Drew said, opening the car door and stepping out.

Carolyn watched as he made his way up the sidewalk to the dark house. She chastised herself for not buying some lightbulbs, maybe picking up some groceries. Just before she drove off, he came back and tapped on the window.

“I don’t have a key. The night the police arrested me, I left my keys in the house.”

“Here,” she said, removing hers from the key ring. “I probably shouldn’t have a key to your house anymore.”

“You’re still family,” Drew said, palming the key. “I’ll give this back to you when I see you tomorrow. It meant a lot to me to see a familiar face when I got out of that hellhole.”

Carolyn walked into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. Marcus had already turned out the lights. He came over and tugged on the edge of the towel, his eyes feasting on her body as it slid to the floor at her feet. “How could anyone as beautiful as you be self-conscious? There are women half your age who’d kill to look as good as you. “

“They don’t have to kill,” she told him. “All they need is a good plastic surgeon. Besides, I might not look so good if you could actually see me. When are we going to take down the blackout drapes? I never know what time it is.”

“I’d wake up at dawn every day without them. Why are we talking about drapes? Drew’s not a child molester. That should give you some relief.” He collected her in his arms, a lusty look in his eyes. “The less time I spend with you, the more I want you.”

Carolyn craned her neck around to make certain the door was closed. Jude sneaking in and watching them while they were having sex had rattled her. The strange part was it hadn’t seemed to bother Marcus. She suspected he’d even found it somewhat erotic.

“Don’t worry,” he said, as if he could read her thoughts. “The door’s locked, Jude’s gone, and Rebecca would never come in with out knocking.”

Marcus was a sensual and considerate lover. Carolyn managed to relax and enjoy herself. Connecting at such an intimate level with a person who truly loved her made her feel like herself again. Marcus had been right. When everything went wrong, doing normal things was sometimes the best medicine.

They were both asleep when the bedside phone rang. Marcus grumbled, his body curled around Carolyn’s. “Let the answering machine pick up.”

Carolyn saw Ventura PD on the caller ID. Her hand shook as she reached for the phone, knowing Hank or Mary would never call her this late unless something had happened. “What’s wrong?”

“I called Drew at the house but he didn’t answer,” Mary said, her speech rapid fire. “Jude was hit by a car. She’s in bad shape, Carolyn. Her left forearm was severed.”

“Mother of God, no!” Carolyn exclaimed, clutching the phone with both hands. “What hospital did they take her to?”

“VCMC,” the detective told her, referring to the Ventura County Medical Center. “They were going to chopper her to UCLA but it didn’t make sense. VCMC has an excellent trauma unit, and they were only a few blocks away. A nurse named Amy Fitzgerald stopped to help, or Jude would have bled to death. As soon as she called the paramedics, she applied a tourniquet, then ran across the street to Ralph’s for a bag of ice to pack the arm in. Her father is an orthopedic surgeon. He’s one of the best in LA. I’m in the ER now. They’re doing tests to make certain Jude doesn’t have any internal injuries. On the surface, outside of the blood she’s lost, all they could see were a few cuts and bruises. If everything checks out, they’re going to try to reattach her arm.”

Carolyn placed her hand over her heart. “Was Jude driving or was she a passenger?”

“Fitzgerald was traveling southbound on Dos Caminos when she saw a dark-colored passenger car slam into the side of a parked truck. The driver left the scene, but his vehicle must have sustained damage. From the skid marks, he had to be going at least forty, maybe fifty miles per hour. It looks like Jude stepped out from behind a flatbed truck. The car swerved to miss her and spun out, crashing into the front section of the truck. The truck belongs to a landscaping company. They had shrubs in the bed, which were held in place by galvanized steel guy wires. The wires are what severed her arm.” Mary paused and caught her breath. “Do you know where Drew is, Carolyn? I called the jail and they said they released him.”

Carolyn was franticly juggling the phone with one hand while she yanked open her drawers and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. “I picked Drew up and drove him home. He probably got drunk and passed out. I’ll go to his house and see if I can rouse him.” She tossed on a sweater, then rushed to the closet for her shoes and purse.