Conviction: Book 3 of the Detective Ryan Series (18 page)

Chapter 33-PM

An emergency court hearing was issued on behalf of Dr. Claire Cain. Since word of her attorney’s death got out, the judge felt it was in the best interest of the case to meet with the defendant and the A.D.A. to work out some sort agreement.

Lucky for the Puppet Master, he along with a few other individuals were allowed in the courtroom during this hearing. He sat off to the side, hiding his face from Claire and Stacey Reed. It’s not like it mattered much. Reed was too busy scrambling through her papers trying to file a motion with the judge while Claire had a petrified look on her face.

“Dr. Cain, as I understand it, your attorney Ms. Reynolds was a victim of a homicide. My condolences goes out to you and her family. However, we still have a trial to proceed with.”

“Your Honor,” Claire said as she stood up suddenly from her table. “How am I supposed to continue without a lawyer? Can’t we declare a mistrial or something?”

“Objection,” Ms. Reed snapped.

The judge held up his hand to silence the prosecution. “Dr. Cain, since the jury has not heard any testimony yet, there are no grounds to rule this a mistrial. However, due to the circumstances surrounding your case, and with the passing of your attorney, I have decided to push the trial back by three months. I expect you to find a new attorney in the next couple of weeks. If you cannot afford one, the court will assign you a public defender. They will then have two months before court will resume. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Good. Now have you and Ms. Reed come to an agreement on your other situation?”  The judge didn’t need to specify what he was referring to. Everyone in the courtroom knew what he meant, including the Puppet Master.

“We have your honor,” Ms. Reed announced.

“Splendid. Are there any more issues that need to be addressed?” His eyes searched the courtroom, falling briefly on the each person. “Then if there’s nothing else, court is adjourned.”

The Puppet Master rose to his feet, ducking out of the courtroom before anyone recognized him.

Shit, I can’t wait three months for this trial. I need to put an end to this now
. Various thoughts and ideas ran through his head as he paced the hall. That’s when he saw her, the woman that he vowed to destroy. His head snapped back to the doors where Stacey Reed made her exit. He was trapped with little room for him to escape without someone recognizing him.

“Ms. Reed,” Ali shouted as she hurried to greet the Assistant District Attorney. “I need a moment of your time.”

“I already told you, I haven’t received word on those warrants you asked for. They might take a while.”

Warrants
, the Puppet Master thought.
What warrants? What is that little witch up to?
He wanted to get closer and hear their conversation, but knew it would only make him look more suspicious. It was killing him not to know what the Great Ali Ryan had up her sleeve.

Seeing his moment to slip out, the Puppet Master escaped the courthouse and returned to his car. He looked back through the slits in his eyes. A venomous rage coursed through his mind as he pictured Ali Ryan, Claire Cain, and Stacey Reed plotting to take him down.

“It’s the beginning of the end for you ladies.”

********************************************************

Ali

James dropped me off in front of the courthouse before driving off to find someplace to park. Knowing how horrendous his first impression on Stacey Reed was, we felt it would be best if he stayed in the car or hanging out near the entrance. Me on the other hand, I had the same love/hate relationship I shared with my lieutenant, only instead of love, it was more of a toleration.

After getting through security I searched the halls for Ms. Reed, finding her emerge from one of the courtrooms.
Just the woman I was looking for
. I set course straight for her shouting her name as I rushed down the hall to meet her.

She brought up the warrants and how she hadn’t heard back on them yet. “This takes time.”

“Time is something we don’t have. This psycho is on the warpath and he’s going after everyone that’s tied to Claire.”

She pulled me close to her, checked a nearby courtroom and dragged me inside. She brought me to the center of the room. Thankfully, no one was inside.

“I am doing everything I can to protect that woman. She has given us little to work with and expects us to keep her and all of her friends safe.”

“She gave us more than we thought.” I sat down on one of the benches, bringing Ms. Reed along with me. “I stopped by Mrs. Alvarado’s house today.” The expressionless face told me she had no idea who I was referring to. “Matthew Alvarado’s mother. The man my partner is on trial for shooting.”

“Oh yes. I’m sorry; I’ve had a lot on my plate today.”

“When I stopped by her house, she showed me pictures of her kids growing up. I found one picture a bid odd and started asking questions. Apparently Matthew opened up a company called Confidence Builders years ago, and set up shop here. After a while he expanded the company, but kept the location here as his office. It just so happens to be the same place Claire mentioned.”

“Great. I suggest you go down there and see what you can find out. In the meantime, I’ll see about getting you those warrants.”

She tried to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist. “Detective Thornton and I already paid Mr. Lewis a visit. He wasn’t too talkative. In fact he seemed unfazed when I brought up his dead business partner.”

“Really?” I could see the wheels turning in her head. Maybe she was thinking the same thing I was. “What did he say when you brought up what Claire said?”

“I never referenced her name, but he said he would be willing to cooperate if and when we produced the warrants.”

Ms. Reed stood up and paced the aisle of the courtroom. She had a look of concern and hopefulness in her eyes. “This…this is good.”

Good?
She thought me being turned away was a good thing? How the hell was it a good thing? “Do you think he’s the one behind it?”

“That is something you and your partner should look into. In the meantime, I have a few things to look into and sort out for another case.”

This was it, our first suspect in the case. Why didn’t I see it sooner? Why didn’t I ask more questions about Matthew when he was alive? Maybe I could’ve seen it coming. Maybe I could’ve stopped him from killing Matthew.
Those thoughts lingered in my head as I walked out of the courthouse.

“Hey, you all right?” James asked.

The fog lifted the moment I heard his words. “Huh…yeah. I’m fine.” The lie just came out without thinking.

“How did things go with the A.D.A.?”

“Nothing on the warrants, but she believes we should look into Mr. Lewis a bit more.” If I had it my way, he would already be cuffed and thrown in jail.

“Is he officially being named a suspect?”

“We both think so.”

“Then I suggest we start digging around and find out all we can about Mr. Lewis. You wanna make the calls?”

“I guess a night on the town is out of the question.”

James smiled. “How about I whip up something special for us tonight, we can have a nice romantic dinner, and some time for just the two of us.”

“Let’s talk about it later. I promised Rodney that we would meet with him and Mia.”

“So invite them over. We’ll make it a big family dinner.”

I thought after leaving home, my days of having big family dinners was over. Apparently my definition of the word family changed over the last few years. It’s grown beyond the standard mother, father, and sibling roles I was used to. Friends, partners, and even my boss feel like family to me. It feels ironic that I should include James in that category.

Watching him work in the kitchen, preparing food to feed the people I care about just to make me happy, put a smile on my face.

“Hey, Ryan,” Rodney’s voice said as he snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was saying my attorney thinks the simulations you provided should be enough to exonerate me.”

“That’s great, Rodney. Has he spoken to the D.A. about it?”

“They’re supposed to have a meeting tomorrow afternoon. He’s hopeful they’ll agree to drop the charges and we can avoid going to trial.”

“That just means we’re on the right track, and we’re one step closer to solving this case.”

“You got any new leads?”

“One, but James and I have to do some more research before we make a move on him.” I turned to watch James plating the masterpiece he was creating.

“So how are you and Detective Hot Stuff doing?”

My happiness couldn’t be contained. “Surprisingly well so far. I just wish this case was over so we could start having a normal life.”

“Ali, there’s no such thing as a normal life when you’re a cop. There’ll always be some case that’ll consume you.”

Part of me knew he was right, but another part of me relied on that glimmer of hope that one day we could put the life of a cop behind us and be just James and Ali.

“One day,” I mumbled.

“Trust me; retirement can’t come fast enough.”

“You like being away from all this?”

“I’m not gonna lie. I miss it, but spending time with my family has meant more to me than the badge.”

“Don’t tell me you’re quitting the force.”

“Nah, nothing like that. But I’m not gonna work myself to death either. I’ll probably take the early retirement option when they eventually offer it to me.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My partner was getting ready to hang it up the first chance the department gave him. “What about you?”

“As much as I want a normal life away from all the craziness, I think it’ll be a while before I decide to call it quits.”

“What if you and Detective Hot Stuff have a kid?”

“Whoa, slow it down, buddy. We just started dating. Kids are nowhere on my radar right now.”

“What if he wants them?”

“Then he’s got a long time to wait. I’m not ready, and don’t think I will be any time soon.” I took a long sip of my beer, nearly to the point of chugging it. “But if and when I do decide to have a kid, then yes, I think I would think twice about my career.”

Rodney’s big kid-like grin put me at ease as I finished my bottle. He took my empty and brought it to the kitchen. He whispered something to James, who had a surprised and cunning look to him as he stared at me.

Later that night, after everyone went home, James placed his hands on my waist as I melted into his chiseled chest. “It was nice to have them over tonight,” James said as he mouth lowered to my ear. His hot breath sent a shiver throughout my body. “But I couldn’t wait for them to leave so I could have you all to myself again.”

It was easy to tell what was on his mind. “Really?” I asked with surprise. “Why’s that?”

He scooped me into his arms as he planted an aggressive kiss on my lips. “I think we should take this into the bedroom before your sister walks in on us.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Amanda said as she entered the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge.

I buried my face in James’ chest, hoping the embarrassment displayed by my rosy red cheeks would disappear quickly.

“Night, Amanda,” James said as he carried me down the hall to my room. He opened the door and gently placed me on the bed.

With the door closed and locked, James stripped off his shirt slowly. It was agonizing to watch him. I leaned forward to grab at the bulge in his pants. His fingers wrapped around my wrists and pulled them away.

“Not tonight,” he said seductively. “I want tonight to be a night you’ll always remember. I want you to remember tonight as the night we made a baby.”

“What?” I snapped. “What do you mean; make a baby?”

“Rodney told me-”

“Rodney? Rodney told you that I…” My anger hit a boiling point as I screamed,” Rodney, I’m going to kill you.” I reached for my phone, ready to call and tear him a new one. As I scrolled to his name, I saw James trying to hold back a cackle of laughter. “You think this is funny?” I stared at him a little more. “You were in on it?”

“Sorry, he came up with the idea after your little conversation. I couldn’t resist after I saw you staring at us.”

“You’re lucky I don’t kick you in the balls right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied as his hands quickly covered the bulge in his pants. “But it did make me wonder.”

“Oh hell no. Not now, and definitely not in the next five or ten years. Kids are the furthest thing in my mind.”

“As much as I would love to wife you up and have a kid with you, I had something else in mind.”

“Like what?”

“I was thinking we revisit the idea of moving in together.”

“I just moved all my stuff back in here.”

“I could always move in here. Maybe after we find this guy that’s been after you, I can move in here and let Amanda take care of my house.”