Don't Slay the Dragon (The Chronicles of Elizabeth Marshall Book 1) (27 page)

     Chapter Fifty-One

On the way home that night, we were so distracted by the call from Mark and the possible impact it might have that Logan
just gave me a warm hug, a quick kiss on the lips and a promise for another date soon. I was too distracted myself to be more than just a bit disappointed.

The next day I had back to back European History and Calculus classes that did a lot to divert my attention. I would be so happy when I could get my generals over with and be able to concentrate on my major.

I made it to work at the law firm just as the other receptionist, Jamie, was gathering her books. She was another student at the University with me. Tough barely twenty she was smart and attractive. We were fortunate enough to be able to share this job. I had morning classes and worked in the afternoon while she worked mornings and had afternoon classes. It was the perfect fit.

She filled me in on which attorney was in court and which was out to lunch. There were four attorneys in all, three men and one woman. There were also two paralegals/administrative assistants.  Their specialty was family law, divorce, custody cases, estate planning and wills. I wish any of them had had experience in criminal law. It would have been helpful to get a second opinion on how Lisbeth’s case was being handled, but I felt as though I was too new to the firm to start asking questions about my own situation.

Jamie had just left and I was pulling up my Outlook to check the upcoming schedules for the attorneys in case a call came in for an appointment. The large screen TV in the waiting area droned on. It was usually turned on to local or national news, depending on what was going on at any given day.
I usually didn’t pay it much attention except for occasional background noise.

“Coming up on the news at four
, we have a story breaking right now and we’re the first to bring it to you. You might remember last fall, we brought you the tragic story of a mother in Riverview that was violently murdered in her home. Her only daughter was the main suspect. Later, the authorities found and arrested the daughter only to have her sent to the State Mental Hospital for psychological evaluation. It seemed as though the evidence against her was overwhelming, but we’re just finding out that there has been some new evidence discovered in the case. Stay tuned for more information that we’ll bring you only at four with a live press conference from the District Attorney.”

I completely froze at my desk, grateful that I was alone in the office.
Why were they holding a news conference already? In the back of my mind I had been wondering if I dared get my hopes up that this was good news, if I
should
get my hopes up. Since the call from Mark, when I wasn’t completely absorbed by school, I kept vacillating between hope that we could prove Lisbeth’s innocence, dread if for any reason we were wrong about it, and fear of the unknown future before her.

When my cell phone rang and I saw Logan’s number, I answered it on the second ring.

“Hey, I can’t talk long. I just wanted to prepare you.” His deep voice was immediately reassuring. “They’re about to announce a news conference.”

“I know,” I sighed, “it was just
on the news. Full coverage at four. Do you have any idea what it’s about? ”

”I’m not sure,
” I noticed a bit of frustration in his voice, “but my Police Chief has asked me and Hammond to be there for it. We’ve on our way to the courthouse now for a de-briefing before the news conference. I think the DA might be releasing some of the evidence we were talking about last night.”

“Why would they do that?
I don’t know if it’s enough to run to the media with. It’s not as though the story has been in the news recently.” I was confused, but I didn’t usually get a behind-the-scenes look at a news event like this.

I went over the new evidence in my mind. In many ways, it opened up more questions than it did answers.
It would probably take considerable time to delve into and even begin to understand what was going on in Barbara’s mind What kind of motivation may have driven her to such an act, if indeed she really had killed herself? And to run to the media with this. So soon?

“Politics.
Publicity.” You could tell this wasn’t the part of his job he liked. “I hate to say it, but you know how the media works. They haven’t had anything of interest to cover since the shootout. They’ve covered that until there’s nothing else to say. It was great to see all the community support, but the local media has reached the point of acting like paparazzi. The last officer that was released from the hospital had to be taken out through the service entrance of the hospital in the middle of the night just to avoid the reporters. Now, there’s not much to cover about the shootout until the trial. The media is always looking for the next big story. And District Attorney Diane Castillo never passes up the opportunity for a good photo op.”

He had a good point. Even though it was a small jurisdiction, everything time there was
a crime with high media value or an important trial, DA Castillo was one of the first to hold a news conference or be available for a comment with a reporter. She was relatively young for a DA, in her mid-thirties, and was very ambitious in her career. 

“Do you think this might just be some kind of publi
city stunt by the DA?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,”
he answered. “It wouldn’t be the first time she took a small crime or trial and turned it into breaking news.” You could tell he didn’t have a very high opinion of her. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough. We’re just pulling up to the courthouse now and I have to get into this meeting. I’ll call you as soon as I can after the news conference.”

“Okay, thanks Logan.”

The call disconnected and I sat there in the empty reception area of the small law firm, the TV droning in the background. I wasn’t certain if the empty office was a good thing or not. My mind was racing with what the news conference might be about. There was no telling what the DA had on her agenda.

In some ways, I felt as though Lisbeth, and myself as an extension, were simply puppets in this whole drama. As though we were just characters on some TV crime
show, where all the evidence is neatly tied up and the suspect in question is found guilty or innocent within an hour. Reality is never so quick and clean.

I knew I needed a distraction.
The attorneys didn’t mind if Jamie and I did any of our studying at work, as long and the phones were always being answered and any clients coming through the doors were attended to. So I pulled out my calculus book to work on my next assignment but had a hard time concentrating on the formulas with my mind so distracted with other things. It didn’t help matters that every other commercial on the TV they had a promo for the four o’clock news and the upcoming news conference.

I had been trying to complete this one equation for more than
twenty minutes before I just gave up, slammed the book shut, and put it back into my book bag.

Usually my time here sped by. The phone rang frequently, clients would come in and out for their appointments, the attorneys would be in and out and it was often a busy office. Today, though, seemed to drag on.
The phone hardly rang, two of the attorneys were in court, one had the day off, and the last one was closed up in his office doing litigation over the phone. I had little to do than wait for the phone to ring and watch the clock until it reached four.

I was on the phone making
an appointment for a client requesting a divorce consultation when the news reporter came on the TV, announcing the “Breaking News” and the news conference about to begin.

The camera cut away to a podium with several microphones attached to it.
Every news organization in the state was represented there. I didn’t think it was coincidence that they had given enough notice on the news conference for every news station, newspaper and radio station around to have a reporter there.

District Attorney Diane Castillo’s name was printed across the screen. She walked up to the podium, dressed in a
dark red suit, her black hair cut in an expensive bob. An order man stood behind her. I recognized him as the County Attorney, Dan White. To his side were Logan and Detective Hammond, dressed not in their usual casual attire but their formal police uniforms. I’d never seen Logan in uniform. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he felt a bit stiff and uncomfortable in it. I could barely make out Mark Jacobs off to the side before the camera moved in for a close up of the DA.

“Thank you for coming today.”
Her lips were as dark as her suit as she spoke into the closest microphone. She paused for effect. You could tell she was adept at being in front of the cameras. “We’ve invited you all here today to make an announcement.” She scanned the crowd, taking in all the waiting reporters, confident on being the center of attention.

I finished with my call, my total focus on the TV screen. She paused for effect again. She seemed to relish dragging this out.

“Thanks to a very thorough investigation, we’ve been able to uncover new evidence in the death of Barbara Marshall. We’ve examined the case extensively and have determined at this time that we are going to drop all charges against her daughter Elizabeth Marshall.”

   
 
Chapter Fifty-Two

Immediately following her announcement there was a loud buzz of reporters, all vying for her attention to ask questions, each jockeying to be the first. She held up a manicured hand, asking that they wait a moment before asking questions.

She read a prepared statement, trying to maintain eye contact with the cameras as much as she could.
She didn’t elaborate much, only to say that Elizabeth Marshall was still under observation by mental health authorities. She stressed that even though the charges were going to be dropped, Elizabeth’s mental competence was still being evaluated.

She gave a small nod of acknowledgment to Logan and Detective Hammond for their fine investigative work and said that they were a credit to the community.
Both of the men seemed uncomfortable with the media attention.

She only allowed two questions from the reporters.

The first was asking about what new evidence had been discovered. DA Castillo gave a vague reference to blood splatter forensics and fingerprints that made me wonder exactly how much she really knew and understood about this case before she made the quick decision to drop the charges. You could never tell with politicians if they were being deliberately vague or just bluffing to make themselves look knowledgeable.

The second question was from a female reporter with the news station I was currently watching.

“So, if Elizabeth Marshall didn’t kill her mother, who do you think did?” I had been waiting for that question, wondering how quickly one of the reporters would ask it. I braced myself for the DA’s answer, wondering how she was going to explain it.

“That’s still under investigation. We’ll be releasing more information as we receive it.” With that, she left the podium, leaving no more opportunity for questions. 

I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a question with a quick answer. Dropping the charges was one thing, but selling the public on the idea that Barbara stabbed herself thirteen times.
And for what reason? That might prove to be a hard sell.

The news station went back to a handsome young anchor at the news desk. He went on to give a brief overview of what was covered in the press conference.
He asked the same questions that the reporters had and elaborated on the fact that there may indeed still be a killer on the loose. He promised they would report more about the story as additional information was revealed.

By the time they switched stories to the local weather, I was ready to leave for the day.
 

I
grabbed my purse and book bag and left the office as soon as I could after that. There was one thing that was uppermost on my mind.

“May I speak with Dr. Martin Ross
, please,” I sat in my car, wanting to make this call before I even left the parking lot.

“Who may I say is calling?”
His assistant, Theresa, asked on the other end.

“Caitlyn Stewart.” I answered.

Dr. Ross had been very exact in his directions before about when I could visit Lisbeth. I wanted to head directly for the freeway and go to the State Mental Hospital now and share this news with her personally, but I knew he wasn’t usually there in the evenings and he was very clear about me not coming when he was not there to observe our visit. Perhaps, given the news, he would make an exception.

“I’m sorry,” Theresa answered, “Dr. Ross will be in meetings for the rest of the day. He left a message for you because he thought you might call of attempt a visit, given recent events.”

She didn’t sound sorry at all.

“He has asked me to tell you that he wishes for Elizabeth to not have any visitors today.” She had a firm, no-nonsense voice. I hoped I could make her see reason.

“Could he make an exception, just his once?
I’m sure you could reach him and ask him if I could just have a short visit with her.” I held my breath, hoping she would soften.

“No.” She held firm.

I decided to make another plea.

“If her new medication is still working well, don’t you think it would be okay to visit her just this one time,” I wasn’t one to beg, but I really had to know if he had told Lisbeth about the news conference or not. This was what we had been working for all along. I had to share it with her in person. “It’s very important.”

She sighed and I could tell she was willing to open up just a bit.

“Dr. Ross is currently fielding calls from several reporters from the local TV stations
,” she didn’t seem happy with the attention their office was suddenly getting. “They’re all asking about Ms. Marshall’s current condition and requesting interviews.”

I sucked in my breath without realizing it. I hadn’t even thought of that. Putting Lisbeth in front of a dozen cameras, the news reporters acting like a pact of hungry wolves. There was no way she was ready for that, even if this medication was helping her. I hoped, with all that I had in me, that Dr. Ross would protect her from the media for now. It could be a disaster if he didn’t.

I suspected he would probably love the media attention, that he would see it as a great opportunity to gain more recognition. I only hoped he kept Lisbeth out of the spotlight, that he really understood what an unknown factor she still was.

What had he told her? Had he even told her that the charges had been dropped? Did she know that the news
reporters were seeking her out?

“Why don’t you try coming for a visit tomorrow,” she suggested, softening a bit. “I’ll see if he can find the time for it.”

“Thank you,” I replied, grateful to at least have that.

A
s the call disconnected and I drove the rest of the way to my apartment, I tried to take in all that had happened and the ramifications to Lisbeth’s future. It all seemed to be happening so fast. I felt very uneasy at how much everything seemed to be being rushed.

All this time I had been working and pushing for this outcome, but now that it was here, I couldn’t help this nagging feeling that it was all a little too premature, that there were too many still unanswered questions.

Once at my apartment, I was surprised to see Logan there already. He had changed out of his uniform and was back into his casual street clothes. He must have come straight here after the news conference. I hadn’t realized how stressful all this had been for both of us. Through it all, there was only one thing that I wanted. To be in his arms.

He wrapped me in his embrace as though reading my mind and just held me. All the emotions of the day, all the feelings of elation at having the charges dropped yet hesitation that so much was still unknown, seemed to evaporate in his arms. I allowed myself to just feel peace for the moment, and gratitude for his presence.