Lost and Found (26 page)

“Your alibi is unlikely to hold any water. I already presented that argument, but the DA has information on your drug history, sleeping pills and anxiety medication, both of which destroy your credibility as a reliable witness. And they’re contacting Children’s Services to have Ryley removed from your care because of your drug addiction, and his primary caregiver, Richard, is in jail.”

She placed her fist against her mouth to stay quiet. All she wanted to do was scream, so she blinked back the burning tears that wouldn’t allow her to suck it up and stay strong. “I’m not taking them anymore, Sam you know. And a doctor prescribed them to me. I’m not an addict.”

“Maggie, you need to listen to this guy. He’s good. He’s telling you the facts, and this is what we have to work with. They were ready for us when we walked into the precinct. The DA
was already at work with the detectives hammering away at Richard before we got there. He said nothing, but someone’s been building up a case against Richard for some time. They have details on your suspected addiction to prescription medications. Someone had already investigated you to destroy your credibility. So far they’re one step ahead of us. Richard apparently told them he was home all night, to ask you, and one of the detectives made a snide comment, ‘You mean with your junkie of a wife, that won’t fly.’ He punched the officer, and by the time we got there, Richard was cuffed to the interrogation room table.”

Harper cut in. “Look, I shut it down. They can no longer question Richard without my presence. But now we have an additional charge of assaulting an officer. This detective has had numerous accusations of police brutality and harassment. So I’ll attempt to get that charge thrown out or at least reduced. Children’s Services? Nothing may happen there, so let’s not panic. I will be preemptive and contact them on your behalf. Let’s at least flush out that threat. They receive hundreds of complaints daily, and rarely do they result in removal, even in the most extreme cases. You have supportive friends, so we’ll tackle that issue if they contact you. But I prefer to be prepared and cover all bases. Do you have family or friends who can take Ryley if the situation arises?”

She hollowed inside while panic rose from the threat of losing another child. She gaped at Sam. “Sam, help me. I can’t lose another child. I’m just getting him back. My mother could…but she’s travelling right now, she’s visiting my brother John.”

“Worst case scenario Maggie, Marcie and I’ll take him. He’ll stay in the family.” Sam gripped her shoulder and held her as if she needed support to stand.

“So what now?” She pressed her hand against her chest to settle the ache expanding like a balloon.

“Go home. Get ready for the hearing this afternoon. Wear a dark suit. Put on some makeup…presentation’s everything. This is a battle of wits, we’re going to force them to show their hand and flush out who this 911 caller is.” Harper dug in his pocket for a set of keys.

“What about the body? Diane said there is no body. How can there even be a murder charge? For all we know, Dan’s holed up in some back road motel laughing over the trouble he’s caused.” She didn’t want to leave without Richard. Surely there had to be something they hadn’t thought of.

Sam and Harper shared a look that spiked the hairs on the back of her neck.

“Maggie, there was a security camera installed outside the house. It shows Dan McKenzie being dragged out of that house and tossed into the back of a pickup truck and covered with tarp.”

Sam continued. “The last frame of the video shows the man’s face when he turns toward the camera, it’s Richard.”

“Here ye, here ye, all rise for the honorable Judge Malcolm.”

Maggie’s legs shook when she stood in the gallery directly behind the empty defense table. Sam, Marcie, and Diane flanked her. The packed courtroom was filled with unfamiliar faces of loved ones awaiting their turn.

“Who’s next on the docket, George.” The judge was old, appeared weary, and wore silver gray bifocals perched on the tip of his nose.

Documents were handed to the judge by the court clerk, and the charge was announced along with Richard’s name. Richard was led in by two deputies, wearing blue jeans and a faded T-shirt. He had a second to glance at Maggie. Harper Lee pushed through the gate with his briefcase and joined Richard at the defense table.

“Mr. McCafferty the charges are murder in the first degree and assaulting an officer. How do you plea?”

Harper Lee stood a foot lower than Richard wearing a black Armani suit that looked tailored just for him. “Not guilty, your Honor.”

“Your Honor, we respectfully request these trumped up charges be dropped immediately. My client has an iron clad alibi. He was at home with his wife and son all evening. In fact this entire charge of murder is completely circumstantial. We don’t know for sure if a crime has even been committed. There is no body. No physical evidence has been presented to us that shows my client was even there. Yes he owns this property. And as far as the assault charge, we have evidence the detective involved is a hothead with a history of repeatedly provoking suspects, numerous claims of brutality, and even his own sergeant has had to discipline him on more than one occasion because of his violent temper. He attacked the character of my client’s wife, calling her a junkie. My client reacted without thinking, but nonetheless, he was protecting his wife’s character, character this detective crudely and inappropriately maligned. They have tried to destroy this poor woman’s credibility, when instead they should be giving her a medal. Just last year her severely disabled child was murdered right before her eyes, and her own doctor prescribed her anxiety medication and sleeping pills—a common practice in this medical community. For the police, and even my fellow counsel, to even hint at a possibility Mrs. McCafferty is a drug addict is morally reprehensible. And let’s set the record straight, Mrs. McCafferty is no longer on any prescription medication.”

“Your Honor, Mrs. McCafferty is not on trial here.”

“Yes Mr. Lee, enough with the theatrics.” The judge peered at Harper, his face free of emotion.

“Of course, your Honor… my apologies.”

“Your Honor, we have evidence that puts Richard McCafferty at the scene. We have a security video from the scene which clearly identifies Richard McCafferty dragging the body of Dan McKenzie out of a house and tossing him into the back of a truck and covering him with a tarp. The DA sympathizes with Mrs. McCafferty’s loss, and we agree the detective’s comment was not appropriate. But Richard McCafferty has a history of being unable to control his temper, and he proved it when he struck the detective.” The DA was slim, light haired, and attractive and very much in control.

The judge held up his hand when Harper went to speak. “Okay, okay, you two, stop your bickering. I’m going to drop the charge of assault. That was an inappropriate remark, and you know it counselor. But I’m going to hold the murder charge and hold it over for trial. I assume you’d like bail, Mr. Lee?”

“You’re Honor, my client has deep roots in this community. He has a wife and a young son. They suffered a tragic loss a year ago and have just pulled their family together. Mr. McCafferty has a business here. He’s an upstanding citizen. We respectively request release on his recognizance.

“Your Honor, that is absolutely absurd. Richard McCafferty has a violent temper, and he is close to bankruptcy. There is nothing holding him here.” The DA jabbed a finger at Richard as if he was ready to take him on in a fight.
“We request remand.”

“Well of course you do, counselor and nice try, Mr. Lee. I’ll meet you both half way. Bail is set at two million dollars, and your client will wear a monitoring bracelet.”

The gavel echoed through the air of the courtroom. “Next case.” The clerk announced the parties. Richard was led away by the deputies, and in the chaos, managed only a brief glance at Maggie.

“Hang tough Richard, we’ll get you out.” Sam shouted as he leaned over the rail. Then a strong hand on Maggie’s back propelled her into the aisle and out of the courtroom.

Stopping in the busy hallway of the bustling courthouse, Sam, Harper, Maggie, Marcie, and Diane circled together. “Can you come up with the money?” Harper focused his impersonal intent on Maggie.

“I don’t know what we have. Everything’s in Richard’s name, I can’t access anything.”

Sam piped in and placed a steady hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “We’ll come up with the deposit for the bondsman. When Richard gets out, he’ll pay us back.” Marcie remained silent as she lifted her chin, watching Maggie in a unreadable way. She crossed her arms as if holding onto something.

“Sam, we’ll put up Granny’s property. That should be more than enough to get Richard out.”

She didn’t look at Maggie again. Harper shrewdly held up the flat of his hand, a motion to get moving. “You two hurry and meet up with the bondsman. Bail needs to be posted within the next hour, or Richard is here for the night.”

“Maggie, go with Diane.” Sam hurried away holding Marcie’s hand. But Maggie couldn’t shake how off Marcie seemed. Almost as if she no longer wished to be involved. Maybe she believed Richard was guilty. But why?

Children’s Services was waiting outside Richard’s and Maggie’s when Diane pulled in. The young deputy that accompanied the social worker flushed and mumbled an uneasy hello to Diane.

“What’s going on here?” Diane stepped in front of Maggie and approached the deputy. He gestured toward the social worker.

“Diane, you know the drill, don’t interfere.”

A matronly woman wearing a knee length navy skirt and a vibrant sweater stepped around the deputy. “We’re here to pick up Ryley. I have an emergency order to remove him from your care, Mrs. McCafferty. A hearing date will be set to determine your fitness as guardian to your son. At that time, you’ll be able to argue your rights.”

“You’re not taking my son. I’ve done nothing wrong, how can you just show up here? Diane, how can they do this?” She bunched her fists and bounced around Diane and demanded this woman leave her property.

“That’s what I would like to know. Cal, whatever’s going on, you know this ain’t right. No formal investigation’s been done.” Diane’s voice deepened, the way it did when Maggie knew she was angry.

His face hardened. “I’m not a judge, Diane. You’ve done this enough times to know. You don’t have a choice on enforcement. Now where’s the boy?”

Another officer stepped out of the house. “The kid’s not in here.”

Daisy bolted out of the house and started growling and barking.

Maggie gasped. “What the hell are you doing in my house? Get off my property.” She bolted toward the officer, but a hard yank on her arm stopped her.

“Don’t, Maggie. This is what they want. Don’t give them anything to use against you too. Remember Ryley. Isn’t he with your mother visiting friends in Sandpoint? They left just before the hearing. They were driving, right?” Diane stared at her as she spoke. She didn’t blink but raised her eyebrow at Maggie when she didn’t respond.

Maggie forced the words past her dry throat. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Grab Daisy.”

Maggie clapped her hands and called her. When Daisy came to her, she grabbed the dog’s collar.

The social work
tsked
as if reading the situation for what it was. “You can’t hide him. We’ll find him, and the judge will hear about this stunt.” The social worker pulled a pen and paper from her bag, “Where is your mother taking Ryley? I need the address.”

Diane turned to face the social worker, her defiant arms crossed as she pulled in a deep breath. “No, I don’t think so. You can contact Maggie’s lawyer if you have any further questions. Harper Lee’s his name and he’s in the phone book. And since you already know Ryley’s not here, I’m going to repeat what Mrs. McCafferty already asked you. Leave. Now.” Each word was perfectly and clearly enunciated. The two officers were taller than Diane. When passing her, one uttered something Maggie was positive was veiled as a threat.

Maggie didn’t move until both vehicles pulled away, leaving a small trail of dust.

Diane bolted up the steps. “Maggie, get in here.”

“Go on Daisy.” Daisy followed Diane.

She hurried as best she could in her black pumps, clutching her long pleated skirt with one hand. “Diane, why did you say Ryley went with my mom?

Diane was pacing in Maggie’s kitchen, talking with someone on her cell phone. Daisy whined and trotted through the dining room and living room sniffing the air.

“They were waiting for her when we got back; they want Ryley. What the hell’s going on? I’ve never, in my thirteen years of being a state trooper, seen Children’s Services show up without an investigation and take a child, except in the most extreme cases where the child is in imminent danger. Who the hell ordered this?” She yanked out one of the wooden kitchen chairs and placed her foot on it, dropping a pad of paper on the table, and digging a pen out her coat pocket. She scribbled something and then clicked her pen. “Well, you find out. In the meantime, are you sure they won’t find him?” Whoever Diane was talking to must have offered the right reassurance because she appeared to breathe a sigh of relief as she squeezed the back of her neck and then let her hand drop.

“Well that’s good news. Thanks Sam, see you soon.” She pocketed her cell phone and rolled her shoulders as if working out a kink and then faced Maggie. “Richard made bail. He’s on his way home.”