Trapped by Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (22 page)

Yes! Some progress. The second message had come in right after the first and was from Ramos. He had made contact with the person he thought could be the thief, and wanted me to be there when he met him, and please call him back as soon as I got this message.

With trembling fingers, I quickly called his number. It rang and rang, and I worried it would go to voicemail when he finally answered.

“Babe… I’m a little busy at the moment. I’ll call you back.” He disconnected.

I held the phone to my ear, hoping I’d heard wrong, then put it down with a scowl. Had he gone ahead without me? I checked the time. He’d left his message at ten-thirty and it was now ten after eleven. It wasn’t that long ago. But his voice had sounded a little breathless, like he’d been running or something.

With resignation, I waited for over an hour for his call and then decided to go to bed. Maybe he hadn’t called back because he figured it was too late. At any rate, I’d just have to wait until morning to find out what was going on. With tomorrow being a holiday, there probably wasn’t much we could do anyway.

***

I woke early and, since I couldn’t get back to sleep, decided to get up and make my family some pancakes. Today might be one of the last normal days we had for a while, and I wasn’t going to waste it. As I stirred the batter, I gave Uncle Joey a call on his cell. He was probably still asleep, but at this point I didn’t care if I woke him. It went straight to voicemail, so I left a message to call me back. I debated about calling Ramos too, but decided to give him a chance to call me instead.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that my phone buzzed with a call from Uncle Joey. I quickly picked up. “Hello?”

“Hello Shelby. Enjoying the holiday?” Uncle Joey asked.

“Um… sure,” I answered. “As much as I can considering the fact that I’m going to be arraigned in court tomorrow. They’re going to charge me with murder. I still can’t believe this is happening.”

I heard him sigh through the phone. “You’re not going to prison, Shelby. I’ll make sure of it, no matter what happens. Okay?”

“You can do that?” I asked.

“I know people. I’ll figure something out. Hopefully it won’t come to that. For starters, I have the name of the judge who signed your warrant. Since you’re going to be at the courthouse tomorrow anyway, maybe you can look him up. His name is Judge Dobson. I’ve already asked my friend Jack if he knows him very well, and from what he’s heard, this Dobson fellow is pretty strict, but seems a decent sort.

“Jack said his only daughter was killed in an accident a few years ago and he took it pretty hard, especially when his wife died of cancer a few months after that. So he’s had a hard time of it lately, but other than that, there’s nothing bad on him, although I still think it would be a good idea to check the guy out.”

“Okay. Thanks. I’ll see if Chris knows him and check out his schedule. Maybe I can peek into his courtroom tomorrow.” Had I heard his name before? It certainly sounded familiar.

“Good,” Uncle Joey said. “Let me know what you pick up.”

“Did you hear anything from Ramos?” I asked. “I talked to him last night, and he was supposed to call me back, but I haven’t heard anything.”

“Hmm… probably because it’s not good news,” Uncle Joey said.

“What happened?” Dread washed over me, and I hoped it wasn’t as bad as Uncle Joey made it sound. Was Ramos hurt and that’s why he hadn’t called me?

“Ramos had a plan to meet this guy, but he never showed up. When Ricky spotted someone lurking in the shadows, he called to Ramos, but when Ramos got there the guy had taken off. I think they chased him for a while, but he got away. Something must have spooked the guy. Probably because he saw it was Ramos who was after him. Sorry I don’t have better news, but Ramos is still looking for him, and if I know Ramos, he’ll find the bastard.”

“Um… okay, thanks.” We chatted a little longer, then disconnected. I tried not to get too discouraged. At least Ramos wasn’t hurt and was still looking, and Uncle Joey seemed certain Ramos would find him, so that was a plus.

Next, I called Billie, hoping she’d had better luck with the key since Ramos was distracted by the thief. She was at the prison to visit Jim and couldn’t talk long. She said she’d call me back if she found anything, which basically meant a big fat no to my question.

After a long day, I went to bed exhausted from constant worry and lack of sleep. I’d gone over everything with a fine tooth comb, and still nothing jumped out at me. The one stroke of luck I had was when I discovered that the judge who signed my arrest warrant was the same judge who had presided over Jim’s trial. That’s why his name sounded familiar.

Was it just a coincidence? I didn’t know, and the more I considered it, the more it sent a thrill of excitement through me. This could be the judge we’d been looking for. As I closed my eyes to sleep, this one thing actually gave me something to hope for, and in spite of the awful arraignment I had to go through tomorrow, I looked forward to finding out if it was him.

***

The next morning after getting my kids off to school, I got ready for my big day in court. Chris wanted me to wear something conservative and nice, so of course I wore my black pencil skirt and black blazer over my white shirt. It was the same thing I’d worn to the funeral, but I doubted anyone but me would care.

I met Chris at his office and we went straight to the courthouse, arriving a few minutes before nine. As we took our places at the defendant’s desk in the assigned courtroom, Chris seemed confident and relaxed, and I realized Chris was used to sitting there. But for me, it was a whole new experience, and I didn’t like it one bit. I found it extremely difficult to sit still and not bite my fingernails or chew on my bottom lip.

“Relax,” Chris whispered to me. “I know it’s scary, but it will all be over soon.” That sounded as reassuring as getting a root canal, or having open heart surgery.

I smiled and gave him a quick nod, but it felt like I had grown horns in my head or something by the way everyone looked at me and judged in their minds if I was guilty or not. Some of them were kind and feeling sorry for me, but others were brutal, thinking that most people who got to this stage were guilty, no matter how nice and innocent they looked.

Yikes! Just thinking about this going to trial and being subjected to everyone’s thoughts had my blood pressure rocketing out the roof. It didn’t help that Bates was there with a stupid smirk on his face, thinking how proud he was of his hard work, and how good it felt to see me squirm.

A few other people came in, and it settled me down to see Billie and Dimples sit on my side of the courtroom. They both smiled encouragingly, and it bolstered my spirits, although Billie was thinking I’d be disappointed to know she still hadn’t found the lock. Drew had taken the key to check it against the evidence the police had, but came up empty. After that, she’d managed to talk Drew into checking out Sam’s house with her, but they still found nothing. She wasn’t giving up, but my confidence took a nosedive.

Then my best friend, Holly, came in, along with three of our other friends. Holly had heard the whole sordid tale from me a couple of days ago and wished she’d have come with me that day like she’d planned. That way I’d have the alibi I needed. But she was here now, and it brought a tear to my eye, even if in the back of her mind she was hoping for a glimpse of Ramos.

My other friends with her were a little awed by the enormity of it all, and at least one of them was thinking,
what has Shelby gotten into this time?

I noticed a last minute arrival in the back of the room, and my heart warmed. What were Ramos and Jackie doing here? I quickly faced forward, but caught Ramos’ thought that they’d come for moral support and to represent Uncle Joey, who didn’t think it was a good idea if he showed up.

Just then, the bailiff called us all to order and told everyone to stand while the Honorable Judge Dobson came in. My heart raced, and I lurched unsteadily to my feet. It was him? At my arraignment? I hadn’t expected that. A tall, robust man with reading glasses and a receding hairline entered through the judge’s chambers. His flowing black robes and imposing figure gave him the mantle of authority and made him a little scary at the same time.

He took his seat like it was just another day at work and placed a sheaf of papers in front of him while we all sat down. He glanced at me and clenched his jaw, looking me straight in the eyes. His gaze sent a cold slice of fear through me. In that moment, I felt his intense hate and the satisfaction that he had me right where he wanted me.

My mouth went dry and I swallowed past the lump in my throat, wishing I was anywhere but here. Why did he hate me? What had I ever done to him? Chris and I stood as the charges were read, and I was suddenly grateful I could let Chris answer for me. I didn’t think I could have spoken a word even if I’d wanted to.

After we were seated again, the prosecuting attorney brought up my bail to the judge. He argued that because of the seriousness of the offense, I might be a flight risk, and asked that I be held without bail in prison while I awaited my trial. Chris argued that because I had children, there was hardly any reason to go to that extreme, and he was more than willing to assume complete responsibility for me.

While they were presenting their cases, I scanned the judge’s mind and was surprised to find him agreeing with Chris. It wouldn’t serve his purposes if I was in jail, although it might make me a little more malleable to his plan. He needed me out where I could do the most damage. He could almost taste the sweet bliss of revenge, and couldn’t wait to put his final plan into action. Everything he’d done to this point was worth it. I looked scared enough to do whatever he wanted, and he couldn’t wait to twist the knife in Manetto’s black heart.

“Denied,” he said, banging his gavel. “I am satisfied with the bail amount that has been paid, but Ms. Nichols,” he looked down his long nose at me and drew his bushy eyebrows together in a scowl. “Be warned that if you so much as step one toe outside of this state, you will be hauled off to jail for the duration of your trial. And you, Mr. Nichols, will be held in contempt of this court and removed as her legal representation.”

Chris answered that he understood, and we were dismissed until my trial was to begin. We all arose and I stood on trembling legs. I leaned against the table until the judge was in his chambers. Once his door closed, it was a relief to have his menacing presence gone.

Chris steadied me with his arm, and his brows drew together in concern. “Shelby, what’s wrong? I know that was unpleasant, but…”

“It’s him,” I whispered. “He’s the judge behind all this. He hates me, and he’s out for revenge against Uncle Joey.”

Chris rubbed his forehead as the implications of my revelation set in. “Well that sucks.” He was thinking that getting anything from a judge who had decided you were guilty was an effort in futility. If a judge wanted you to be convicted of something, he had huge powers of persuasion and discrimination about what was included in a trial and what wasn’t. It would be next to impossible to win a trial with a biased judge. Besides all that, if he was out for revenge against Uncle Joey, why was he picking on me? It didn’t make sense.

“I know,” I said. “But he’s got something planned, and I’m sure he’ll make his move long before we ever go to trial. Hopefully we’ll find out what it is soon.”

Chris nodded, but his focus was a bit out of whack, kind of like he was in a state of shock. While he tried to gather his wits, I glanced toward the back where Ramos and Jackie were sitting, but they were long gone. Instead I caught Billie’s eye and motioned her toward me.

“What is it?” she asked.

“That’s the same judge who presided over Jim’s trial. He’s our connection. You need to find out all you can about him and put it together with everything Sam told you. There’s got to be a clue to the key in that somewhere, and once you figure it out, Jim and I will both be off the hook.”

“I’m on it,” she said, full of excitement and grabbing Dimples’ arm on her way out the door. I followed her progress and noticed Bates glaring at me with pursed lips. He was thinking I was up to something and he’d better figure out what it was before I ruined everything. He charged after Dimples, thinking that even if Dimples was off the case, he could threaten him with the fact that withholding information could get him suspended, or worse, fired.

Damn! His zeal made me a little nervous, but then I remembered how capable Billie was and knew she could handle a jerk like Bates. Plus, Dimples had helped me enough that I didn’t worry about him being intimidated by Bates either, so it was all good.

Everyone had filed out into the hall by now, and Chris and I followed them. My friends were all subdued and nervous and hugged me like the judge had sentenced me to death or something. “Thanks for your support,” I told them. “It really means a lot that you’d come.” One of them thought about saying,
good luck, you’re going to need it
, but she didn’t want to sound negative. The others were thinking they were sure glad it was me and not them. But on the bright side, at least no one thought I was guilty.

“You can count on me,” Holly said. “I can testify you were with me right before you went over there if it will help.”

“Thanks so much, I’ll let you know if we need you.”

We started to get on the elevator with them, but Chris pulled me back. “You go on ahead,” he said. “We’re going out a different way. You know, in case of reporters.” They all nodded, agreeing that was probably a good idea. Each one of them wondered if they’d get on TV and if they needed more lipstick. It brought a smile to my lips that I understood what they were thinking and, if the roles were reversed, I’d probably be thinking the same thing.