Mending Fences (7 page)

“Thanks for letting me take off at the last minute like this,” Emily said. “The girls really do need a break from all the talk.”

“I’ll call over to the middle school and tell Mr. Jacobs you’re on your way for Caitlyn.”

“That would be great,” Emily said, then went to retrieve Dani.

Ten minutes later, they were parked in front of the middle school. “Back in a flash,” she told Dani.

Inside, she walked into the office and started toward the desk, only to be intercepted by a sobbing Caitlyn, who threw herself into Emily’s arms.

“Oh, sweetie, don’t cry,” she whispered, holding her tight. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“It’s not,” Caitlyn said with a sniff, wiping her eyes with the tissue Emily handed her. “It’s not going to be okay. Dad’s probably freaking out and blaming Mom. That’s what he always does. It’s probably why they didn’t want me around yesterday.”

When she lifted her eyes to Emily’s, they were filled
with betrayal. “They should have told me. I’m part of the family, too. They shouldn’t have let me walk into school this morning not knowing. It was just plain mean.”

Emily agreed, but she wasn’t about to say it. Instead, she said, “I’m sure they’re so upset that they weren’t thinking clearly. If I’d known, I would have told you myself, but they didn’t say a word to me, either. And obviously the media didn’t pick up on it till sometime last night since it didn’t hit the newspaper or TV till this morning. I’m sure your folks thought they had time to tell you before the news got out.”

“Yeah, right,” Caitlyn said sarcastically. “Was it their idea for you to come and get me?”

Her need to know that she mattered to her parents nearly broke Emily’s heart. “I know this is what they’d want.”

Caitlyn’s shoulders sagged. “That means it was your idea.”

Emily kept one arm tight around her shoulders. “Actually it was Dani’s. She’s waiting in the car. Let me sign you out and the three of us will spend the rest of the day doing something fun that will get our minds off all this.”

Don Jacobs emerged from his office just then and gave Caitlyn a sympathetic look, then turned to Emily. “I’m glad you were able to pick her up. It’s been a little rough around here this morning. I’ve had her in here since right after homeroom.”

“I can imagine,” Emily said, knowing how cruel and unthinking kids could be.

“I called the house, hoping to speak to her parents, but I couldn’t reach them. If Caitlyn needs the rest of the week off, I’m sure we can arrange to get her assignments to her so she won’t miss anything.”

Emily appreciated his understanding and the carefully worded suggestion. “I’ll speak to her parents and let them know that,” she promised him.

At the car, Caitlyn scrambled into the back seat.

“You okay?” Dani asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Today really sucked,” Caitlyn said. “But it’s better now. Thanks for telling your mom to get me.”

“No problem,” Dani said, then glanced at Emily. “What are we going to do now?”

Good question, Emily thought. She imagined that the Carters’ house was in chaos. In fact, given Evan’s football celebrity, the entire neighborhood was probably swarming with media. Neither girl needed to deal with that.

“How about lunch and a movie and some shopping?” she suggested. That ought to keep their minds off what was happening to Evan.

For the second time in the past hour, Dani beamed at her. “Mom, you’re the best.”

Emily shook her head. She now knew that the way to achieve maximum regard in her daughter’s mind was to practice deception and help her play hooky from school to do her favorite things. Those were probably not the best lessons for her to be imparting. Then again, she couldn’t think of a single time when breaking a few rules was more called for.

“Lunch at The Falls,” she suggested, mentioning the nearest shopping center, which also had movie theaters and some of their favorite stores.

“TGIFridays,” Dani said at once. “Okay with you, Cat?”

From the back seat, Caitlyn finally mustered a faint grin. “Awesome.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Emily said. “I’ll call your mom and let her know where we are. Maybe she’ll even be able to get away to meet us.”

“She won’t,” Caitlyn said, her grin fading. She regarded Emily worriedly. “Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe it’s wrong for me to be having fun, when Evan’s in trouble.”

“Sweetie, there’s nothing you can do to help your brother right now. As long as your mom and dad know you’re safe, they’ll be able to concentrate on fixing this.”

“I suppose.”

Emily left another message on Marcie’s cell phone, then drove to the mall, but by now both girls were subdued and some of the fun had obviously gone out of the stolen day. They picked at their food, barely exchanging a word.

When they’d finally finished, Emily studied them. “Would you rather skip the movie and shopping?”

“It’s up to Caitlyn,” Dani said without enthusiasm.

Caitlyn cast an apologetic look at Dani. “I want to go home.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Dani admitted.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Emily said, leading the way back to the car. Inside, she glanced in the mirror at Caitlyn. “We’ll go to our house, though, then call to see if it’s okay for you to go home. Or if I can’t get your mom on the phone, I’ll go over and check in person.”

Caitlyn nodded.

“You will get through this,” she assured Caitlyn. “I promise. I know it seems pretty awful now, but you’re strong and so is Evan.”

“I guess,” Caitlyn said, though she avoided Emily’s eyes.

Emily glanced over at her daughter and saw that she was staring out the window. She looked as if her last reserves of energy had drained out of her, but it was the lone tear tracking down her cheek that made Emily’s heart turn over in her chest. For the first time all day, she thought about how much Dani idolized Evan. Despite that, she’d put Caitlyn’s feelings first, because that was the kind of kid she was. Now, though, it was evident that this was too much for her.

What had started as a crisis for the Carters was clearly going to have a ripple effect on all of them.

By the time Emily drove into their neighborhood, it was awash in television news vans and satellite trucks just as she’d feared. She was able to park in her own driveway only after maneuvering around some guy who kept trying to stick a microphone through the car window and into her face. Beside her in the car, Dani’s complexion was ashen and Caitlyn was hunkered down in back looking scared to death. Emily regarded them worriedly.

“Think you can make a run for it?” she asked as she cut the engine.

“I don’t want to talk to them,” Dani said. “And I don’t want to be on TV.”

“Me, either,” Caitlyn said with a shudder.

“You don’t have to say a word. Just get out when I open your doors and hang on to me. I’ll get us inside, okay?” she said, though she had no idea how to accomplish that. Nothing in her past had prepared her for running a gauntlet of microphones and cameras.

Both girls nodded. When Emily rounded the car for her daughter and grabbed her hand, it was like ice. Caitlyn’s was no better. “Pretend you’re rock stars
avoiding the paparazzi,” she instructed, drawing a faint smile from her daughter, but nothing from Caitlyn.

“Okay, girls, let’s do it,” she said, shielding them as much as she could as they dashed toward the house. Infuriated by the reporters’ persistence, she batted away the microphone of the one reporter who got too close.

“You should be ashamed,” she said, using her sternest classroom voice. “I doubt badgering teenage girls is in your job description.”

Inside, she gathered both girls close for a fierce hug. “I’m sorry.”

Dani jerked away. “I’m going to my room,” she said.

Caitlyn stared after her, looking hurt.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean you couldn’t come, too,” Emily told her.

“It’s okay. I should probably go home anyway.”

“Give me a minute and we’ll go together,” Emily said, then went into the kitchen and called the Carters.

This time Marcie answered.

“Oh, thank goodness you called again,” Marcie said at once. “Is Caitlyn okay? I got your messages. I would have come to meet you, but I couldn’t get away.”

“We’re at my house now. The girls weren’t up to a movie or shopping. Is it all right for Caitlyn to come home? I think she really needs to be there.”

“Sure,” Marcie said. “Ken’s gone to the office to try to work out some kind of PR plan for dealing with things. I think you can sneak over the back way. I haven’t seen anyone lurking in the bushes back there.”

“We’ll be right there, then,” Emily said, then hesitated. “Marcie, are you okay?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“We’ll talk when I get there,” Emily promised.

She turned to find that Caitlyn had followed her into the kitchen. She gave Emily a resigned look.

“They don’t want me home, do they? Mom just wants to see you.”

Emily gave her a quick hug. “Don’t be silly. Your mom said to bring you right over.”

Caitlyn’s expression brightened ever so slightly. “Really?”

“Really. You ready to make a dash for it through the backyard?”

“Uh-huh,” she said eagerly.

“Let me run upstairs for one second to check on Dani and then we’ll go.”

She found Dani facedown on her bed. She didn’t look up when Emily sat down beside her and touched her hair. “You want to come with us?”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about what’s going on? I can take Caitlyn home and come straight back.”

“No.”

She sounded so lost that, for a moment, Emily debated staying with her. Dani had to be shaken up over this. She probably needed to talk, whether she wanted to or not. But one thing she’d learned about her daughter through the years was that Dani only talked when she was ready to. Trying to force her only led to frustration for both of them.

Besides, right this second, Marcie probably needed to see a friendly face. Emily could only imagine how alone she must be feeling with her son at the center of such a scandal.

“I’ll be back in a little while. I’ll take my cell. Call me if you need me.”

“Whatever.”

Emily sighed.

Downstairs, she found Caitlyn waiting just inside the back door.

“Okay, sweetpea, let’s go.”

Slipping through the hedge, they ran across the Carters’ well-manicured back lawn. The sliding door was locked, the blinds drawn. Emily tapped lightly and Marcie peeked through the blinds, then opened the door, her relief evident.

She gathered Caitlyn close and tried to quiet the sobs racking her daughter. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry you had to find out about this in such a horrible way. I should never have let you go to school this morning. I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

“It’s not true, is it, Mom? Evan didn’t do what they’re saying.”

“Of course not,” Marcie said, looking at Emily over Caitlyn’s head. Though her words were firm, there was little conviction in her expression.

“Come and sit down. I’ll pour us some tea,” she said, keeping her worried gaze on Caitlyn. She filled three glasses with ice, then poured the tea, but when she went to put cookies on a plate, she suddenly burst into tears.

Emily rushed to her side. “What is it?”

“There aren’t any cookies,” Marcie whispered, her voice choked.

“It’s okay. We don’t need them.”

“But there are always cookies,” Marcie said, clearly distressed. “That’s what I do. I bake and I cook and I keep this place perfect and now it’s all falling apart.”

“No, it’s not,” Emily reassured her. “You’ll have everything back on track in no time. Now, sit and drink your tea.”

Caitlyn was staring at her mother with dismay. “Mom, you never cry.”

Emily watched Marcie struggle to gather her composure.

“You’re absolutely right,” she told her daughter. “I don’t cry. I fix things.” Her hand trembled as she picked up her tea and took a sip. “I just don’t know if there’s any way to fix this.”

O
n his way into the station, Grady wove his way through a sea of reporters who were shouting out questions about the Carter case.

“Do you really have enough to make this stick?” the reporter for the morning paper called out.

Grady regarded Jim Halloran with an expression of disbelief. “How long have you known me, Halloran?”

“Ten years, maybe longer,” the older man replied.

“Have you ever known me to make an arrest if I didn’t think I had enough to take the case to court?”

“You saying that on the record?” Halloran asked.

“If I hadn’t been, it would be a little late to take it back now,” he said, gesturing to the microphones from a dozen different local radio and TV stations and at least one network news crew. By afternoon, he expected the rest of the media vultures from around the country to be on this, too. The arrest of a star collegiate athlete on a felony charge was big news in certain circles.

“Anything else you can tell us about the victim?” a young woman asked.

“Yeah, is she in the habit of making false charges?” some guy in the back yelled.

Grady recognized him as a local sports anchor. Obviously he had an agenda. He was already biased in favor of the athlete. It didn’t surprise Grady, but it did disgust him.

“I guess you’ll all have to draw your own conclusions from the evidence,” he said.

“Is Evan Carter getting out of jail today?” someone else asked.

“Attend his arraignment and find out,” Grady suggested. “I have no control over that.”

He shoved his way through the crowd and went inside to find Naomi waiting for him. She gave him a wry look.

“Having fun yet?”

“Not so much. How’d you get past them, kick them in the shins?”

“I snuck in the side door. No one’s staking it out. Since you’re smart enough to have done the same thing, why didn’t you? Were you hoping to make a point?”

He shrugged. “If I didn’t give them a comment, no matter how inane, the chief would. They’re like a pack of hungry sharks. They won’t leave without being fed.”

“An apt analogy,” she commented, then handed him a cup of real coffee from the Starbucks a few blocks away. “Thought you might need this. The chief wants to see us. I believe the word
immediately
was mentioned.”

Grady sighed. “I figured it wouldn’t take long before he started feeling the pressure.”

“If he hadn’t been deep-sea fishing in the Keys all weekend, it would have started first thing Sunday morning about the time we walked in the door with Carter in tow. We should probably count our blessings.”

“I’m not feeling all that blessed at the moment,” Grady said. “You?”

“Not so much.” Her eyes lit up. “We could take a call and make a run for it. Nobody could question us for simply doing our sworn duty, right?”

Grady nodded in the direction of the chief’s office. “Too late. He’s coming this way and he doesn’t look happy.”

Chief Mike Miller had a gray crew cut that accented the sharp angles of his face. With his perpetual tan, piercing blue eyes and commanding manner, he’d won over the community in the PR wars, but it was his honesty, fairness and his willingness to stand by his officers that everyone in the department respected.

“In my office,” he said tersely.

“Already on our way, sir,” Grady said as he walked past him.

As he and Naomi sat down opposite the chief’s desk, Miller closed the door, then sat on the edge of the desk in front of them. The better to intimidate them, no doubt.

“Okay, what the hell hornet’s nest have the two of you stirred up while I’ve been out of town?” he asked.

“I imagine you already know the answer to that,” Grady responded.

“But I would love to hear what you have to say,” Miller said sarcastically. “And while you’re at it, maybe you could explain why I had to read about it in this morning’s paper, instead of getting a call from one of you to give me a heads-up.”

“You were away,” Naomi ventured. “And we had things under control.”

“Really? Under control? That’s what you call finding a bunch of damn reporters camped on my front lawn at home this morning? To say nothing of finding twice that number waiting here? All of them were expecting me to have some sage comment on the case of a superstar jock
being hauled in for rape. Until I read the paper, I didn’t even know there was such a case in my jurisdiction, much less the kid’s name.”

His eyes cut straight through them. “Do you have any idea how much I hate surprises? Ask my wife. Surprises, even the good kind, give me hives. I don’t like them. And I especially don’t like them when it means I’m going to walk in here and find a hundred messages from the mayor and every damn person I’ve ever met from the university calling to tell me we’d better be damn sure we’ve got the goods on this kid.”

“Sorry, Chief,” Grady said, and meant it. “We thought we’d have plenty of time to brief you before this got so out of hand.”

“How naive are the two of you?” Miller demanded. “You a couple of innocent cops handling your first high profile case?”

“No, sir,” Naomi said, leaning forward. “But we have what we need against this kid. I guarantee it.”

“I hope you do,” he said. “Because people in this town don’t like to see their athletes falsely accused of serious crimes. It tends to make them jumpy. It tends to piss them off.” He leveled another icy look at them. “It sure as hell pisses me off.”

“Yes, sir,” Naomi said.

The chief sat back. “Okay, then. You still think you want to pursue this case?”

“Damn straight,” Grady said. “The kid is guilty, the State Attorney’s office agrees, and as long as the victim doesn’t get scared off, he’s going down.”

Miller nodded, his expression solemn. “Detective Lansing, you make sure this young woman doesn’t change her mind.”

“I’ll do my best,” she promised.

“And I want everything you’ve got on my desk in the next hour. If I’m going to tell all these important people to take a hike, I want facts at my fingertips, so I can do it with confidence.”

“Done,” Grady told him.

He and Naomi rose and started for the door, only to have Miller stop them.

“One more thing,” he said, waiting till they’d turned back. “Good work. Only thing that makes me sicker than surprises is the kind of guy who’d do a thing like this.”

Outside the chief’s office, Naomi released a deep breath. “How long do you think he’ll run interference for us?”

“For as long as he believes we have a solid case,” Grady said. “Which means we need to get out of here and make damn sure we do.”

When Emily got home again, she found Derek pacing in the living room. “I don’t suppose I need to ask what you’re doing here,” she said, leading the way into the kitchen and pouring them both glasses of iced tea. “You heard about Evan.”

“It’s been hard to miss. You’d be amazed how people, who have absolutely no facts, take sides in something like this. I was ready to bash in a couple of faces myself, and I don’t even know what’s going on. Do you believe what they’re saying?”

Emily hesitated. “God, I don’t want to, because the whole idea that Evan is capable of such a thing makes me sick.”

Derek nodded. “A few years ago, I’d have said absolutely no way, but lately? I don’t know.”

She regarded him curiously as she sipped her tea. “What changed?”

“Evan changed,” he said simply. “He’s gotten more and more like his dad.”

Emily frowned. She’d seen the same thing, but hoped she’d been wrong. She wanted Derek’s take on the changes. “What do you mean exactly? How’s he changed?”

“Haven’t you noticed how he talks to Marcie? He sounds exactly like Ken.”

She sighed. “I’ve noticed it,” she conceded. “But I figured it was a phase, like a lot of teenage boys go through.”

He lifted a brow. “You ever heard Josh talk to you like that, even on his most belligerent days?”

“No, but our son is perfect,” she said, smiling.

Derek grinned. “True enough, but you know you wouldn’t tolerate it and neither would I.” His expression sobered. “I’m just saying that the way Evan treats Marcie could be indicative of how he treats other women.”

“I don’t want to believe that,” Emily said firmly. “And it’s a huge leap from mouthing off to his mother to raping a co-ed. I’m withholding judgment till all the facts are known. You should too. We’ve known that boy almost his whole life. I love him as if he were one of our own. He and I have probably had more heart-to-heart talks than Josh and I have. I always had the sense that he was growing up to be a basically decent guy.”

“I know. Me, too,” Derek said. “But, like I said, lately he’s been saying some stuff to his mother in a tone that gives me chills. I called him on it once and he got really defensive, told me it was none of my business.”

Emily cringed. “He actually said that to you? He always looked up to you, asked for your advice.”

Derek nodded. “I know. It caught me off guard, too, but it’s one more example of how he’s changed. Maybe it’s all the attention he’s been getting lately. Maybe it’s given him a false sense of his own importance. Some kids just can’t handle the kind of celebrity that’s come his way now that he’s playing ball for the university.”

“But Evan’s been preparing for this practically his whole life, at least as long as we’ve known him. He was a superstar in high school sports, too.”

Derek shrugged. “Not the same. He’s interviewed on ESPN practically every weekend now or on the sidelines by whichever network is broadcasting the UM games. Could be it’s gone to his head.”

Emily shook her head. “I just don’t see it. He still wanders over here for an afternoon snack or to hang with Josh by the pool. Since they’re both still living at home where there’s some parental influence in their lives, I actually convinced myself that he was staying pretty grounded. Josh is.”

“Maybe because Evan
is
underfoot over here all the time, you haven’t noticed the changes the way I have. I only see him once in a while when I get together with Josh, and Evan tags along. To me the change has been dramatic and unpleasant.”

“I suppose,” Emily said. The whole conversation was making her uneasy. Had she missed some important clues about Evan, as Derek was suggesting? Had she just locked in on the polite, sweet boy he’d been and turned a blind eye to the man he was becoming? The possibility was disconcerting.

“Were you with Marcie when I got here?” Derek asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She nodded.

“How is she?”

“She’s a mess.”

“What about Josh and Dani? How are they taking it?”

“Dani’s upstairs. She was really upset by the talk at school. She practically begged me to go take Caitlyn out of school, so I did.”

Derek looked surprised. “Marcie let her go to school today, knowing what she’d be facing?”

“I don’t think she even stopped to think,” Emily said.

“What about Josh? You talked to him about this?”

“Josh hasn’t gotten home from school yet. He should be here soon. I didn’t see him before he left this morning and I doubt he looked at the paper, but I’m sure he’s heard all about it by now. The news must be all over campus.”

Derek regarded her with an unfamiliar helpless expression. “How the hell could something like this happen?”

“We don’t know that it’s true,” Emily reminded him again, still clinging to a slim shred of hope. “Right now it’s just an accusation.”

“Still, do you really think a young girl would put herself through all this, if it weren’t the truth?” he asked. “Come on, Em. Put yourself in her place. It would be a helluva lot easier to say nothing.”

Emily knew he was right, but she simply wasn’t ready to admit it. Instead, she asked, “Are you going to stay for supper?”

“If it’s okay,” he said.

“Of course.”

“I just thought I ought to be here for the kids, you know, in case they want to talk or something.”

She gave him a wry look. “That’s new.”

“What?”

“You worrying about the kids.”

He frowned. “I’ve always put their best interests first,” he said, looking injured.

Emily sighed. In his own way, she supposed he had. It just wasn’t her way. He hadn’t been here day in and day out the way she’d been. Ironically, now that they were divorced, he probably gave the kids more of his undivided attention than he had before. He’d been religious about keeping the plans he made with them.

“I’ll get dinner on the table,” she said.

“While you do that, I have some calls to make,” he said. “Mind if I use the phone in the den?”

“No. I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready.”

As soon as he’d walked away and as she was pulling hamburger from the freezer, Josh came in the kitchen door. “Is that Dad’s car in the driveway?”

She nodded. “He’s in the den.”

“I guess he heard about Evan.”

“Yes.” She looked at her son as he took a gulp of milk straight from the carton, a habit she’d tried unsuccessfully to break for years now. “Do you know the girl involved? I know her name wasn’t in the paper, but I’m sure everyone on campus has figured it out.”

“Oh, yeah,” Josh confirmed. “I have a class with her. She wasn’t there today.”

“What’s she like? Could she be lying? Trying for a few minutes in the spotlight?”

“Lauren? No way. She’s kinda quiet. I don’t even think she dates that much. I was surprised when I heard she’d said yes to Evan, but I guess nobody turns him down.”

“Have you spoken to Evan?”

Josh shook his head, his expression grim. “And I don’t want to, either.”

Surprised, she met his angry stare. “Why?”

“Because I saw this coming a long time ago,” he said. “When it comes to women, the guy’s a bully, Mom. Just like his dad. I wish to hell I’d warned Lauren. She didn’t deserve this.”

A strangled gasp in the doorway had both of them turning just in time to see Dani take off.

“What’s with her?” Josh asked.

“This whole thing has really upset her. She always had a crush on Evan, I think.”

Josh got a strange expression on his face. “You sure that’s all it was?”

Emily felt her stomach clench. “What are you saying? Do you know something I don’t know?”