Dirty Truths (25 page)

CHAPT
ER 32

Shivering as the cool breeze that had taken over the once pleasant evening chilled her to the bone, Kristina tucked her chin into her coat. Dinner at her parents had been an ordeal. She’d never lied to them before and each lie that passed her lips made her feel further away from them. Telling herself she had to do it, and she couldn’t drag them into her mess, made her feel a little better.

The clanking sound of a pop can rolling across the pavement sent the hair on her neck on end. She glanced up. Her body tensed when a man crossed the street by the post office, about ten feet from her. She resisted the urge to turn back and take the long way down the main street home. Instead she continued toward Colborne Street, one of the darkest in town. Only a few streetlights blessed it with illumination.

The man, tall and built like a linebacker if the way his jacket hugged his shoulders was anything to go by, turned right at the funeral home. She breathed a sigh of relief. She hated walking alone at night. Since the attack she’d avoided it. But her dad drank far too much at dinner to drive her and she hadn’t told them about the incident, hadn’t wanted to worry them. Her mom demanded she leave Cadence for the night. Kristina had left alone.

A sense of exhilaration filled her at her little show of bravery. The stranger hadn’t forced her to take the long way home as his presence would have only yesterday. It made her feel strong, as though she’d reached another milestone in her journey to becoming independent. She turned left, toward the green bridge and home. If she had a life, Kristina might have called up a friend and gone out, but she didn’t want to. Besides, with Wade in jail and Amy dead, Dirty Truths had been closed. What did the regulars do when the only watering hole in town closed? Kristina smiled at the thought. The Beer Store would be doing a booming business.

She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t notice him until he fell into step beside her. Kristina opened her mouth to scream, but his hand slapped over her face before she could utter a sound. She trembled in fear, her eyes burning with tears. It took her a moment to realize who it was before her. The stranger.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Kristina nodded.

He smiled and relaxed the hand clutching her hair, but didn’t remove the other from her mouth. “First, promise not to scream. You do, you’re in that river… after I snap your neck.”

Her gaze darted to the water, settling on the falls rushing down into a shallow but rocky bed below. Kristina hated this part of the river, had hated it since going over the falls as a child. The bottom, where the water was shallow and safe, didn’t bother her but the rushing flow over the falls always made her nervous. His threat would have been enough to silence her even without the added terror of having her neck broken.

He moved his hand from her mouth and lowered it to her back, then he nudged her toward the bridge.

Kristina obeyed, not wanting to anger him until they moved far enough so the water wouldn’t be an option.

“You’ve been a busy girl. I’m impressed,” he said.

Kristina glanced up, and relaxed a little when she caught the grin on his face. His dark eyes had softened. The coolness she’d seen in his previous visits had vanished, replaced by a friendly warmth. She stumbled as they came to the end of the bridge and her foot hit the curb that separated the boards from the road. Catching herself, she turned as they continued across the road to her house. She risked a smile. “Is that all you came to say?”

“No, but I don’t think it’s wise to discuss what I have to say out here, where anyone can hear us. It’s about a mutual friend, one who saved me from making a huge mistake the last time we spoke. I’m sorry I misjudged you.”

They’d reached the end of her driveway and Kristina considered running, but her gut told her she had nothing to fear from this man. Something in his eyes as he grinned, the way she didn’t shudder when his hand pressed against her back. If Wade trusted him, then she would.

She pulled her key out of her coat and led him to the door. Inserting it in the lock, she fumbled with the simple effort as she remembered the last time a man stood watching her open it.

“I won’t bite,” the stranger said.

Kristina glanced back. The top of his bald head reflected the glow of the streetlight and the glare shadowed his features. “I didn’t think you would.”

She took a breath to calm herself, forcing the memory of Wade’s mouth on hers, the warmth of his tongue as he licked her finger, from her mind. Kristina opened the door. The stranger walked in. In her mind, her mother’s voice reprimanded her for being so stupid. Despite the certainty she wasn’t in any danger with this man, she offered up a silent prayer.

He’d switched the kitchen light on but as she entered, he was nowhere to be seen. Her gaze darted to the darkened living room and a flutter of dismay tickled her stomach. Brave or not, she wasn’t going into a dark room with him. Relief made her dizzy when the living room flooded with light.

He moved to the center of the room, an eyebrow raised in question.

Kristina walked toward him and stopped near the television, a few feet away from where he stood.

“You’ll testify?” he asked.

“About what?”

The stranger reached to touch the picture of Cadence that hung on the wall next to the stairs. He ran a finger over her face, and a sad smile played on his lips. “I have a daughter.”

“Really, you don’t seem the fatherly type.”

“There’s a type? Your Daniel is a father. You’d call him a fatherly type?” Lowering his arm he turned to look at her, his eyes cold once more.

“No, I suppose not. I just don’t see you with a child. But I don’t know you either, aside from the fact that you like barging into strange women’s homes and your grandmother is from Egypt.”

He smiled and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat. “True. I meant Daniel. You’ll help bury him? Make sure he takes the wrap?”

“Of course, he’s guilty, isn’t he?”

The man’s gaze held hers for a moment before nodding.

Was that respect in his eyes? Kristina looked away first, turning to remove her coat and set her purse on the coffee table. “Is that all?”

“We’ll help make sure he goes under, but you’ll have to disappear. In my experience, if you stick around people you know, things have a way of coming out; things you think you can keep to yourself. There’s also the little problem of some friends of ours who aren’t exactly friendly. They know about you, and that’s not good. The Brotherhood has decided it would be best for all of us if you take a holiday.”

“I can’t leave. People will think I’m hiding. I have no reason to hide.” Goosebumps erupted over her skin, and she recognized the rolling sensation in her stomach as panic threatened to overwhelm her.

She couldn’t disappear; her parents would be terrified. And what about Cadence? She couldn’t take their granddaughter away from them. No, she’d testify against Daniel and everything would be fine. She could keep a secret. Hadn’t she covered what Daniel was so well that when she asked for help, no one believed her?

“You need to be realistic, sweetheart.” He advanced slowly.

The nearness of his body when he stopped made Kristina uncomfortable. “I am being realistic. I have a child and my family is here. I can’t take her away from them. They’d never understand.”

“We’ll figure out something. Your dad has proven very loyal to Wade. I think we could let him in on some of it.”

Let her dad in? No way. “No. Absolutely not. My parents can’t know anything about what’s going on here.”

“We’ll work it out, as I said. Look, you can go anywhere you want and the Brothers will make sure you’re looked after. Money, a house, you name it and it’s yours. You scratched our backs and we’ll scratch yours. You can tell people whatever you want. I don’t care. But the important thing, the thing that should make you want to do this, is you can take your daughter and start over again. Forget all of this. After a decent amount of time, you can let your mom and dad know where you are and sort of hide in the open. You don’t have to disappear forever.”

Kristina chewed her lip, wondering if he really gave her a choice. If she refused, what would he do? Kill her too? Her gaze moved to his neck, to the tattoo representing justice, his justice. He would do what he felt he had to.

“And Wade? I won’t leave him.”

The stranger studied her for a moment then nodded. “He’ll have to do a couple of years at least. They don’t let you off light for possession and trafficking you know. But I’m sure he’d find you, wherever you went. Do you want to be found?”

“Yes, that’s the only reason I’ve done all of this. If not for Wade I wouldn’t have lied to anyone.”

“You love him?”

“More than you could ever understand.”

“I doubt that.”

The man turned, walking past her to the back door. Without looking back, he left.

Kristina stood staring at the empty room, her heart aching for the sorrow she glimpsed in his dark eyes. Not everyone was as lucky as she’d been. She hadn’t considered that. Maybe the stranger had a reason for his moody darkness beyond the
coolness
factor. After all, everyone had a story.

CHAPT
ER 33

The room hummed with excited murmurs, conspiratorial whispers and the annoying buzz of fluorescent lights.

As the Crown Attorney called her name, Kristina rose.

Richard Long, a man in his fifties who looked remarkably well preserved—though she would lay a bet Grecian Formula and Botox helped him along—smiled.

She smoothed her skirt, a soft black A-line that fell demurely to her knees, and composed her thoughts. Kristina walked to the front of the room, ignoring the stares of reporters and locals from Laighton who had traveled to see the trial. Only a few managed to get in, the media filled most of the seats. Daniel’s brother and friends occupied the entire row behind the defense table. Desiree was noticeably absent.

She stepped up into the little box next to the judge and raised her right hand as the bailiff instructed. After swearing in, she sat in the chair, surprised at its comfort but unable to relax into it as she was sure the manufacturer intended.

“State your name for the court please,” Richard instructed.

“Kristina Lynn Riley.”

“Thank you, and do you know the defendant?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know him?”

“He’s my ex-husband.”

The crowd murmured again and Kristina fought to keep her gaze on the lawyer as instructed. She knew the questions he’d ask, most of them anyway, but a lump formed in her throat.

“We have a statement from you where you claim a box which was brought to the attention of authorities recently was left at your house by your ex-husband, Daniel Riley. Is this correct?”

“Yes.” Kristina’s gaze moved to Daniel.

He stared, his mouth pressed in a firm line, his lawyer reached over to place a hand on his arm. Daniel shrugged him off.

Richard passed copies of Kristina’s statement to the judge and then to her. He read it over, adjusting his glasses on his rather large, red nose. She averted her gaze to the paper in her hands and waited for the next questions. A shuffling from the prosecution’s table brought her eyes up to see what was happening.

A long table sat in front. Richard pulled various items from a bin beneath, laying them on the table next to yellow cards. Her breath caught as Kristina recognized many of the items. He pulled out a few things she hadn’t seen before. Her gaze fell on a bloody shirt and tarp. Amy must have added to it. She turned her gaze to Daniel.

He frowned, raised an eyebrow and then looked at the items as well.

She wanted him to look scared, to know she’d done this to pay him back for all he’d put her through; the abuse, the misery and for nearly shattering her soul.

He didn’t seem very worried, leaning over to whisper something to his attorney, a smile playing on his lips.

Richard walked toward Kristina. She forced herself to look away from Daniel.

“Do you recognize any of these items?” he asked, waving toward the table.

“The box.”

“The box? How do you recognize the box?”

“That’s the box Daniel told me to leave alone. He said he’d pick it up later.”

“You lying fucking bitch!” the courtroom erupted as Daniel sprang from his chair.

Two police officers swept down on him, pulled his arms behind his back and forced him to sit back in his chair.

“Mr. Riley,” the judge’s deep voice carried over the noise of the crowd. “One more outburst and you will be held in contempt.”

“But she’s lying—”

“Mrs. Riley has sworn an oath, and she has the right to speak. If you’d like to counter any of her statements or prove your claims, then you will have an opportunity to do so. But until then you will let her answer the questions without comment. Are we clear?”

Daniel nodded, his face reddened. His brown eyes blazed with hatred and although her initial reaction to his outburst was fear, it quickly changed to satisfaction. He would not get out of this, if it was the last thing she did.

Richard waited for silence and continued his questions. Kristina answered each one, keeping her eyes on him, only meeting Daniel’s gaze when she answered questions about him.

The judge motioned for Daniel’s attorney to proceed with his cross-examination.

Kristina stiffened.

Richard had warned the defense would try to tear apart her testimony and stressed she must keep to the facts, an easy thing to do when speaking the truth. The trouble was, Kristina lied through her teeth and she trembled just a little when Daniel’s lawyer approached her.

“We’ve established your story about the box,” he said and paused, running a thumb over his chin. “But I’m wondering why it is you didn’t turn it in to police.”

“I didn’t know what was in it.”

“You didn’t look?”

“I did, but I saw the knife and I closed it without looking at the rest. I didn’t want to know what else was in there.” Kristina twisted her hands in her lap.

Daniel’s attorney walked to the defense table and flipped through his notepad.

She wished he’d just ask his damn questions and let her go.

“Okay, let me tell you a little story, if the court will allow it?” He looked at the judge who nodded. “This box was brought to the attention of law enforcement officials by an Amy Bowen, is that right?”

“I don’t know—I think that’s what they told me. I don’t recall.” She tried to remember the discussion she’d had with the police, but couldn’t.

“It was. She claimed you told an unnamed friend of hers the box was left by her husband, Wade Bowen who, I’d like to add, is already imprisoned on charges of drug trafficking and possession of illegal weapons. Isn’t it true you and this Wade Bowen were having an affair?”

“Objection! Irrelevant, your honor.” Richard stood, his face flushed.

The judge looked to the Defense, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m hoping to show Mrs. Riley has reason to lie about the box.”

“I’ll allow it, but be careful. You’re treading a thin line here.”

Richard sat as the judge spoke and Kristina swallowed as her throat went dry.

Daniel’s attorney continued. “Could you answer the question please?”

“No, I did not have an affair with Wade Bowen.”

“In your statement you said you and Wade did sleep together.”

“It wasn’t an affair. It was a couple of times and that’s all. I explained what happened to the police.”

“Interesting. His wife’s statement claims you did and you confessed the two of you were in love.”

“She lied.”

“Well, considering she’s not around any longer to confirm or deny that accusation, I guess we’ll have to let it rest.”

“Please stick to the questions, Mr. Chambers,” the judge admonished.

Running a hand through his dark curls, which sprang back into place immediately after, Daniel’s attorney continued, although Kristina thought he looked frustrated, unable to find a way to trap her.

“Why did you tell Amy Bowen her husband left the box at your house if it in fact belonged to your ex-husband, Mr. Riley?”

“I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t speak with her about any box. She must have been confused.” Kristina clenched her teeth. Did he not understand English?

“Oh, yes… the unnamed friend. Who may that be, I wonder? Care to enlighten us?

“I don’t know. I might have mentioned it to a few friends but… I was going through a difficult patch. I was scared, hurt…”

“Hurt, Mrs. Riley?”

She turned her gaze to Daniel.

“He raped me—”

“Objection! Your honor.” Daniel’s lawyer turned to the judge.

“But… he asked…m—”

The judge nodded. “That he did.” He then turned to the jury. “The witness’s allegations fall outside the matters tried in this court. You will disregard her last statement.”

For another thirty minutes, Daniel’s lawyer battered her with the same questions, wording them differently each time, but Kristina stuck to her story. He didn’t mention the abuse, or that Desiree had also claimed to be fearful of him, but relentlessly pursued his questioning of Wade and their relationship.

At 12:45, the Defense finally rested.

Kristina collapsed in her chair when the judge called a break. She left the stand, careful to keep her chin high as she passed Daniel. Her eyes remained on the large doors at the end of the room. Cameras flashed as she walked through. She lowered her head and forced her way through the crush of people and media swarming the hallways of the courthouse. Shocked at the attention the case was getting, the stranger’s words came back to her.
If you stick around people you know, things have a way of coming out; things you think you can keep to yourself.

As Kristina opened the doors, blinking at the brilliant sunshine that blinded her, she realized why he advised her to disappear. If Daniel was convicted—when Daniel was convicted, she corrected—the media would go into a tailspin. They’d nag her as much as they did now, possibly more. She couldn’t remain in Laighton, not if she wanted any sense of normalcy for Cadence, and definitely not if she hoped to be with Wade. They’d jump all over that.

***

The room buzzed with activity, every bench packed with people.

Kristina sat behind the Crown Attorney’s table, her emotions in turmoil. She feared they’d let Daniel go and yet she felt vaguely worried they wouldn’t. All week she’d flip-flopped through extremes, one minute hating him and confident she’d done the right thing, the next uncertain she could live with the guilt of what she’d done.

The doors to the court opened and Daniel entered escorted by two police officers. He wore a dark grey suit, his blond hair freshly cut and his face clean-shaven. He turned to look at her before he sat down, a smirk playing on his lips. He winked.

Kristina frowned. The bastard actually believed they wouldn’t convict him. His arrogance astounded her even after all he’d put her through.

A shuffling behind. She turned. The stranger sat two rows back to her right. No longer in his regular leather jacket and jeans, he wore a black turtleneck sweater and dress pants.

His gaze met Kristina’s. He nodded.

She turned back to face the front as the bailiff ordered everyone to rise. Standing, she wondered if he had been there for her testimony. She didn’t remember seeing him, but then, she’d avoided looking out into the sea of faces that witnessed Daniel’s attorney try to paint her as a vindictive slut. Was he pleased with her testimony? Did she screw it up? Ice coated her gut as another thought occurred to her. Was he there to ‘take care of her’ if Daniel got off?

As the judge entered and took his place at the front, he ordered the court to be seated. He motioned to the bailiff who walked to the far side of the room and opened a small door to allow the jury back into the room. The men and women who Kristina had carefully avoided looking at until now filed in and took their seats. She gazed at them, each face unreadable and wondered what they thought about her testimony. Did they believe her?

Her eyes paused on a face in the small group. Blood drained from her cheeks and a chill shook her frame. The man Wade spoke to months ago in the bar, the one that made her so nervous and who Wade seemed to be afraid of, stared back at her. The judge spoke, but Kristina heard none of what he said, her gaze riveted on this man who until now she’d forgotten. Blood roared in her ears and the room swayed. They’d had the jury fixed all along. Why hadn’t they told her?

The man stood, held out a piece of paper and passed it to the bailiff. Was he the foreman? Kristina suddenly felt giddy, almost to the point of laughter. The stranger told her they’d help see that Daniel went down, but she never imagined they had this much power. She resisted the urge to turn and look at him, although it took great effort. Instead, she leaned forward. Her breath caught in her throat as the judge asked the jury to read its verdict.

A hush fell over the courtroom.

She glanced at Daniel who stood next to his lawyer waiting to hear his fate.

He didn’t look at the jury though, his gaze rested firmly on Kristina, the smile still teasing his lips.

She looked away, focusing on the words of the foreman as he read off the charges and then their verdict.

“Guilty.”

“What?” Daniel asked.

The judge turned to him and frowned.

Kristina heard the word over and over and then the room erupted once more. She turned to Daniel slumped in his chair shaking his head, his eyes wide.

The judge ordered him to stand and his lawyer touched his shoulder.

Daniel rose, turning to pin his accusing glare on her.

She listened as the judge made the verdict official and reminded the courtroom that sentencing would convene in the morning.

The officers pulled Daniel’s hands behind his back and cuffed him.

Kristina dreamed she heard the satisfying click over the hum of voices.

His eyes darted around, coming to rest on her face as she stood to watch them escort him out. He shook his head. The realization he hadn’t gotten his way and she’d been the one to ruin him, was evident in his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped. “Why?” he mouthed as they pulled him to the door.