Wrong Turn (13 page)

‘OK. I think that’s a promise I can keep.’

‘You better, girlfriend.’

‘I will,’ she said and laughed out loud. ‘But don’t tell Daddy.’

‘About what happened? Why not?’

‘Because he thought I did that vandalism thing.’

‘Charley, I just think he needed to know for sure. He needed you to tell him that you didn’t.’

‘I don’t care. He needs to suffer a little longer.’

‘Charley . . .’

‘OK. I’ll talk to him at breakfast. But not tonight. I’m still mad at him.’

B
ack at her apartment, Lucinda flipped on the eleven o’clock news. The teaser at the opening of the show mentioned both the Sherman and the Phillips cases. She sat on the edge of the recliner through too many commercials to wait for the story.

The announcer began. ‘Although there is no connection between the murder of teenager Emily Sherman and the death of Patty Phillips, the two cases do have something in common. The same member of law enforcement was involved in the investigations of two people who may have been wrongfully convicted by the state of Virginia. We have an exclusive interview with the sister of Detective Lucinda Pierce.’

The color drained from Lucinda’s face. Not again, she thought. What did I do to deserve this?

Lucinda’s younger sister Maggie faced the camera and said, ‘That detective is dangerous. I know her really well – she’s my sister. She’s killed people – even kids. She’ll do anything to get what she wants. She wanted Martha Sherman and Congressman Phillips in jail and she didn’t care what she did to put them there. She didn’t care whether they were innocent, she just locked them up and threw away the key. Something needs to be done to stop her. If she is not fired, it only proves that the whole police department is corrupt.’

‘There you have it,’ the interviewer said, ‘an unvarnished look at a member of law enforcement from the person who knows her best. This is Shawna Scott reporting from Albemarle County.’

Lucinda hit the off button on the remote. She felt nauseous and her head was pounding. Quickly, her rage built in intensity. She wanted to call Maggie and shriek at her but knew she would not give her sister the satisfaction of knowing she even saw the story. Instead she called Jake, struggling to put a measure of nonchalance into her voice.

‘Hey, Jake! How was your day?’

‘A whole lot of running hard and standing in the same place,’ Jake groused. ‘I’m sorry about what just happened.’

‘Oh, you saw the news. I imagine a lot of others did, too. Damn that woman and damn that reporter. Why can’t they just leave me alone?’

‘She just wants what you have.’

‘Oh right. She has a husband, kids, a lovely farm and the respect of her community. I’m sure she’d like to come home to a cat, an empty bed and constant vilification in the press.’

‘She is envious that you got away. She is dissatisfied and feels trapped. She thinks the only way she can be noticed is when she attacks you.’

‘No, Jake, it’s much simpler than that. She hates my guts. She wishes I were dead and if she can’t have that she’s settled for making me miserable.’

‘That’s not what’s driving her, Lucinda.’

‘And you know all about it in your sibling-free universe.’

‘Being the only child is not all it’s cracked up to be,’ Jake objected.

‘I’d love to walk in your shoes.’

‘You’d give up your brother to get rid of Maggie?’

‘That’s not fair, Jake.’

‘Yes, it is. Would you give up Rick?’

‘Noooo,’ she admitted, dragging out the syllable as long as she could.

‘All righty then. How about we move on to other things? What else is going on with you today?’

‘Are you copping out?’

‘Yeah, humor me, OK?’

Lucinda sighed, finally accepting that Jake was only trying to help her get past the pain and anger of her sister’s repeated betrayals. ‘I’m bouncing from one case to another at such a rapid pace, I can’t hardly keep them all straight – from Sherman to Phillips to Charley and back again, although not in any particular order.’

‘How’s Charley? Is she in serious trouble?’

‘Pretty much but I don’t think she did anything wrong except try to act like a hotshot investigator.’

‘Just following in your footsteps,’ Jake said with a chuckle.

‘Don’t remind me. I try to set a good example for her but she always makes the assumption that she’s good enough and smart enough to take on any challenge – in a way, she is. But this time she got in over her head. I wonder why the police showed up so soon after she arrived. I suspect one of the girls responsible for the vandalism made that call. Makes me wonder if one of them was watching her or if one of them showed up to retrieve evidence and just happened upon Charley in the apartment. Anyway, tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to have to catch up with the investigators in her case and see if I can do any damage control. I imagine they have her fingerprints on the can of spray paint and that doesn’t look good.’

‘She picked it up at the scene?’

‘Yeah. Collecting evidence, she said. But, at least she realized her mistake in retrospect. A lot of good that does her now.’

‘Something’s up with the Phillips case?’ Jake asked.

‘Yes,’ she said and gave him a rundown of her interview with Gloria Martinez. ‘Anyway, about midday, while Trevor’s still at school, I plan on visiting Melinda Phillips’ parents and trying to convince them to allow me to interview their grandson about Gloria’s so-called accident and then move on to the death of his mother and his stepmother Patty. I thought you might want to go along.’

‘Why don’t you wait until Trevor’s home from school? If he’s there when you ask, it would probably be more difficult for them to say no,’ Jake said.

‘I’m under orders to talk to them first.’

‘Ha, Lucinda! Since when have orders interfered with your better judgment?’

‘Sometimes you have to choose your battles, Jake. First thing in the morning, I’m going to Fluvanna Correctional Center to talk to Martha Sherman in violation of a direct order. I do try not to do that more than once a day.’

‘Just don’t become all bureaucratic on me,’ he teased.

‘Oh, you’re a fine one to talk, Mr Special Agent in Charge.’

‘OK, I give. But what’s up with Martha Sherman? Isn’t she getting released soon?’

‘Don’t know, Jake. The DA is trying to delay that and the only reason that makes any sense to me is that he is responding to pressure from Andrew Sherman, the dead girl’s dad and Martha’s ex-husband.’

‘What’s the DA throwing out there? The possibility that Martha was Rogers’ accomplice?’

‘Yeah, that and maybe they were buddies and Rogers let her stow a body in his little storage facility.’

‘That’s absurd.’

‘Tell me about it. But what makes it all even worse is the strong possibility of prosecutorial misconduct at the trial – erased audiotapes and a redacted transcript where the original should be. I can’t ignore that even though Captain Holland is insisting that I do.’

‘What do you expect to get from Martha?’

‘I need to know if she and her attorney were aware of the contents of the interview in question. If they did have knowledge of it, then all we have is someone’s careless screw-up. On the other hand, if the state concealed that exculpatory evidence from the defense, we have a serious legal problem.’

‘Are you sure you want to take the risk of exposing that misconduct? There’s a long and colorful history of shooting the messenger.’

‘I have to take this risk, Jake. I need to do everything I can to make this right. I hope you’d feel the same way if you were in this situation.’

‘I won’t argue with you on that point, Lucinda. I’d probably do everything I could, too. But that doesn’t mean it would be the wisest decision. Think about it for a minute. It’s one thing to violate an order and achieve your goal. It’s quite another to do so and get nothing.

‘What if she refuses to see you? She’ll certainly tell her attorney that you attempted to visit her and you know that will get back to your captain. You’ll face the consequences of your actions and still not get anything you want – maybe even make the situation worse.’

‘I know this could go all wrong. I know I could damage my career – maybe even destroy it. And I realize that if I screw this up, it’ll probably make Reed dig in his heels and try to delay Martha’s release even longer. But I could not live with myself if I didn’t try. I was part of the problem. I need to be part of the solution.’

‘OK,’ Jake said, ‘Just so you know what you’re up against here. Listen, I’m at a standstill in the search for Mack Rogers. So, while you’re out at the prison stirring up trouble, is there anything I can do help you out with Charley’s case?’

‘How good are you at digging up dirt on middle school girls?’

Jake laughed. ‘Can’t say I’ve ever tried that, but I’m willing to give it a shot.’

‘Great,’ Lucinda said and rattled off the names of the girls involved in the vandalism. ‘The principal’s name is Camilla Stovall. Charley’s a good student, so I’m sure she’ll want to do anything she can to help – particularly if you ply her with a bit of your natural and irresistible charm.’

‘You find me irresistible, Lucy?’

‘You know I do, Jake – even against my better judgment.’

‘Are you ever going to learn I’m not a threat to you – I’m not your ex-husband? I know I’m an FBI agent just like he was. I know I am now working in the same office he was when you were married. But, really, we are very different people – ask anybody here.’

‘You’ve been talking about me and my ex with your staff?’ Lucinda said, feeling the bright flare of anger spark in her chest.

‘Not in that context. I never mentioned that you were married to him.’

‘And you think they’re not bright enough to make the connection?’

‘No, Lucinda. But, really, c’mon, quit changing the subject. Back to my original questions: will you ever—’

Lucinda sighed. Why couldn’t he be satisfied with the way things were? Why did he have to keep pushing? ‘Jake, not now . . .’

‘OK, babe. I’ll wait for your call after your visit to Fluvanna. Just don’t forget I love you, Lucy,’ he said and hung up immediately, before Lucinda could utter the protest that formed automatically on her lips.

A
s Martha Sherman entered the interview room and waited for her handcuffs to be unfastened from behind her back, and instead have one wrist connected to the U-bolt on the table, Lucinda thought back to the Martha Sherman she’d met during the investigation into Emily’s death all those years ago. She recalled a soft face, easy smile and tender eyes of a woman who appeared to be filled with kindness, compassion and understanding. At the time, Lucinda had great difficulty reconciling that exterior image to the act of murder that everyone seemed to believe she’d committed. Lucinda had accepted that reality, albeit with reluctance, because she believed everything Boz told her.

Now, only the shadow of that woman remained. Martha sat across from her with wary, hard eyes, deep furrows in her brow and around her mouth and a sneer where there once was a sweet smile. Lucinda wondered if any little bit of the old Martha would ever resurface once she had been freed.

‘You got rid of your patch,’ Martha said. ‘That’s a prosthetic eye, right?’

‘Yes, it is, but—’

‘Your face looks a lot better, too. As I recall your lips were pretty messed up and now they look almost normal and your skin’s a bit smoother.’

Lucinda nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve had some surgery.’

‘I liked you better the way you were. It was more honest. Your scars revealed the ugliness of your character. The patch hiding the mutilation of your eye seemed to symbolize your unethical willingness to participate in covering up evidence. It was more you, really it was,’ Martha said, curling her lips into an expression of disgust.

Lucinda knew she deserved some measure of abuse for the role she’d played in the injustice perpetrated on this woman. She felt she had no reason to defend herself or anything she had done.

‘So, you here to gloat because I’m still locked up?’ Martha asked.

‘No, not at all, Ms Sherman,’ Lucinda said with a shake of her head. ‘I want to help you get out of here as quickly as possible.’

‘Oh yeah, right. What’s the catch? What are you after?’

‘Justice, Ms Sherman. You didn’t get it. Emily didn’t get it. I want to do what I can to set things right but, first of all, I want to apologize—’

‘Oh, please, shut the hell up. Who cares how sorry you are? You’re only sorry that you were proved wrong. You were nothing but the lap dog of that damned detective. He spoke, you sat up and begged. He called all the shots. Why the hell isn’t he in here apologizing?’

Was the ordeal so traumatic that she’d forgotten the most dramatic moment of the trial, Lucinda wondered. ‘Surely you remember that he died during your trial.’

‘Yeah, yeah, right. Sorry, can’t say I care. From where I was sitting, he deserved it and, besides, I’ve been a bit too preoccupied with my own situation. It’s not exactly a picnic having your freedom stolen from you, your character maligned and your life destroyed for a crime you didn’t commit. I’m surprised you bastards didn’t cover up the identity of the body when you found Emily in that basement.’

‘No matter what you think of me, Ms Sherman, I take absolutely no pleasure in seeing you still in prison. I am appalled by what happened to you and my role in it.’

Leaning forward to put her face as close to Lucinda’s as she could, Martha said, ‘So it’s all about you, then?’ She glared at the detective for a moment, then she leaned back in her chair.

‘I won’t lie to you, Ms Sherman. I admit that I am feeling a bit sorry for myself and ashamed that I was not more discerning and didn’t ask more questions. Sure, I wish I hadn’t been involved in this travesty of justice. But I am not here because I am feeling sorry for myself.’

‘You know, I thought I cared why you were here. That’s why I agreed to talk to you – curiosity about the reason for your visit. But you know what? I just realized I don’t give a flip what’s on your mind. You are letting me sit in here and rot when you know damned well I’m innocent. So why should I give a damn about you at all?’