Immoral (27 page)

Andrea nodded. She finished her glass of wine and poured the dregs of the bottle into both of their glasses, spilling a few drops on the glass coffee table. She rubbed it off with her finger, then licked her fingertip.

Stride sat next to her in the living room. The picture window, opposite the sofa, exposed a view of the city below them and the lake, darkening in the twilight. He had changed into a short-sleeved green polo shirt and old jeans. Andrea reached over, touching the thick scar on his upper arm.

“You’ve never told me about the bullet, you know,” she said.

“It was years ago.”

“So tell me,” Andrea urged him.

“It was a suicide attempt,” he said. “I was a lousy shot.”

“Jon-a-than,” she said, drawing out the syllables in exasperation. “Don’t you ever give your morbid humor a rest?”

He smiled. “Okay, it was a hunting accident.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I hunted something that hunted me back.”

“You’re impossible. Come on, I really want to know. Please tell me.”

Stride sighed. It wasn’t a part of his life he enjoyed dredging up, because he had spent a year unliving it with Cindy and a therapist.

“A few years ago, I ended up in the middle of a domestic dispute. We used to own a cabin west of Ely, and the couple that owned the place near us—well, the husband basically flipped out. He was a very good friend of mine. We were close. But he was a fragile guy, a veteran, and he lost his job and his marbles all at once. His wife called me one evening, told me he was waving a gun around, threatening to kill her and kill the kids. I knew him, knew he was serious. But I didn’t call for backup, because I thought that was a good way for a lot of people to end up dead, him included. Instead, I went to talk to him.”

“What happened?”

“I got inside, and he pointed a revolver with a six-inch barrel at me. Biggest fucking gun you’ve ever seen, right in front of my face. Seems he didn’t want to talk. Well, I talked anyway. I was getting through to him, too, or so I thought. I got him to let the kids go outside. A few minutes later, I got him to let his wife go outside, although she didn’t want to go. So it was just him and me. I really thought I was home free. My only challenge was to make sure he didn’t kill himself. But I guess I underestimated him. He pointed the gun at his head, and I shouted at him. I started forward, hands up, trying to make him stop, to put the gun down. Instead, he pointed the gun right at my chest and pulled the trigger, just like that, no warning. I was already diving. The bullet sliced through my shoulder, spun me around, threw me to the floor. And then, with that little interruption out of the way, he put the gun in his mouth and blew out the back of his head with me screaming at him.”

Andrea caressed his face. “I don’t know what to say.”

“See what happens when you get me drunk?” Stride said. “You get me to say things that upset you.”

“My fault. I pushed. But I’m glad you told me.”

“Well, enough of that, okay? Do you want to open another bottle?”

Andrea shook her head. “I’ve got to go to school tomorrow, remember? I don’t think the kids would appreciate me having a hangover.”

“So how come we didn’t date in high school?” he asked. It was the kind of question driven by several glasses of wine.

“I think it’s because you had already graduated by the time I was a freshman,” Andrea said.

“Oh, yeah. Just as well. I bet you wouldn’t have given me a second glance.”

Andrea shook her head. “I would have given you a second glance and a third glance.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Stride said. “I was one of those intense, brooding loners. And you—you were a cheerleader, I bet, and in all the clubs, and with lots of boyfriends.”

Andrea grinned. “Cheerleader, yes. Science club, yes. Boyfriends, no.”

“Come on.”

“Seriously! I got asked out all the time, but it usually didn’t go beyond a first date.” She cupped her breasts. “Once they figured out they weren’t going to get their hands on these, they lost interest”

“Well, it is kind of like blowing out the birthday candles and not eating the cake,” Stride said.

“Oh, don’t pull that typical guy crap on me. I’m sure you were a perfect gentleman in high school.”

Stride laughed. “There’s no such thing as a sixteen-year-old gentleman.”

“Anyway, you were lucky in high school,” Andrea said. “You found your soul mate. You met Cindy during your senior year, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And that was that, wasn’t it?” she asked.

Stride smiled wistfully. “Yes, that was that. I was hooked. Love at first sight. It really was that fast”

She snuggled closer to him on the sofa, clutching his arm. Her cat, who was sleeping on Stride’s lap, looked up, offended by the interruption.

“What was it about Cindy?” Andrea asked softly.

Stride stared into the distance, where he could still picture Cindy in his mind. Over time, the picture had lost a little focus. It wasn’t a close-up anymore. It was a portrait, getting farther away.

“She wouldn’t let me be a loner,” he said. “She teased me and poked holes in all my defenses. And she was the most spiritual person I ever met. Not so much religious, but spiritual. She helped me see the things I loved, the lake, the woods, in a new light Once I saw it through her, none of it was the same. It was better.”

He looked down at the cat, which was sleeping again, unimpressed with his memories. He looked over at Andrea, still nestled against his shoulder.

She was crying.

The next morning, Dan called Kevin Lowry to the stand.

Kevin made a perfect witness, a strapping, clean-cut teenager, looking slightly uncomfortable in his white shirt and tie. He shifted and squirmed to fit his husky body into the witness stand. His eyes darted around the courtroom, nervously studying the jury and then making eye contact with Emily Stoner. He gave her a small smile of support, but Emily didn’t react.

Dan quickly covered the early days of Kevin’s relationship with Rachel and then moved on to Graeme.

“Kevin, we’ve heard testimony that Rachel’s relationship with Graeme changed abruptly. They were close, and then they weren’t Is that what you observed?”

Kevin nodded. “Oh, yeah. Big time. About two years ago, Rachel did a turnaround. She wouldn’t go near Mr. Stoner anymore. She told me she hated him.”

“Did she say why?”

“No. I asked her about it once, and she said—well, she called him something pretty harsh.”

“What did she call him, Kevin?”

Kevin looked uncomfortable. “She said he was a fucking pervert.”

“Did you observe Mr. Stoner’s behavior during this time?” Dan asked.

“When I saw them together, he was real nice to her. Same as always. Although, I don’t know, it was like he was trying too hard. Like right around the start of the school year, Mr. Stoner bought Rachel a new car.”

Stride frowned. Something about Rachel’s car bothered him. He remembered feeling that way from the beginning. But they had searched it thoroughly and found nothing.

“Did that make Rachel happy?”

Kevin shook his head. “No. I mean, she liked the car okay. She always hated driving that old hand-me-down from her mother. But she was sort of sarcastic about the new car. She said Mr. Stoner had to buy it for her, he didn’t have a choice.”

“Did she say what that meant?”

“No.”

“And was this the car she was driving on the last night you saw her?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, Kevin, let’s talk about that night Tell us what happened.”

Kevin described the events in Canal Park with Rachel and Sally the way he had originally told them to Stride.

“Please describe Rachel’s emotional state. How did she seem to you?”

“Normal. Happy. Not upset or anything.”

“Was it just an ordinary evening?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, what about the next day, Kevin?” Dan asked.

“Well, Rachel asked if I wanted to go out on Saturday night. But when I showed up at her house, she had disappeared.”

“Did you talk to the defendant?”

“Yes. I told him I had a date with Rachel. He said he didn’t know where she was. He told me he hadn’t seen her that day.”

“And where was Rachel’s car?”

“It was parked right outside. I couldn’t understand where Rachel would be if she didn’t have her car.”

Dan nodded. “Did you tell Mr. Stoner this?”

“Sure. I said that was really strange. It wasn’t like Rachel at all. I asked if we should call someone.”

“What did he say?”

Kevin shot an angry look at Graeme. “He said no, there was no reason for concern. He said Rachel was probably just playing games with me like she did with everyone else.”

“When Rachel made the date with you on Friday, did it feel like a game?”

“No, she was serious. We were planning to go out.”

“When Rachel left you that night, what did she say?”

“She said she was going home. She was tired.”

“Did she mention going anywhere else or meeting anyone else?”

“No.”

“Did she seem upset, anxious, distraught?”

“No.”

“So once again, as far as you were concerned, it was an ordinary night”

Kevin nodded. “That’s right.”

“Thank you, Kevin.”

Gale stood up.

“Kevin, you called this an ordinary night. Is that right?” Gale asked, allowing a faint rumor of disbelief into his voice.

“Sure.”

“Okay. Now let’s see, you said when you first saw Rachel, she was standing on the railing of the bridge.”

“Yes.”

“It was windy and rainy.”

Kevin nodded. “It was an awful night”

“So Rachel was standing on a narrow railing, with the icy water below her, and the wind blowing like crazy? Do I have the picture?”

That’s right.“

“She could easily have been killed, couldn’t she?”

“I guess.”

Gale’s eyebrows rose. “You guess? Kevin, you were terrified, weren’t you? You ran to save her.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Had she ever climbed up on the bridge like that before, that you know of?” Gale asked.

“No.”

“Why, on that night of all nights, would she have been risking death?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin said.

Gale continued. “You said Rachel made sexual advances toward you that night?”

“Yes.”

“In front of your girlfriend?”

Kevin frowned. “Well, Sally was on the ground. We were up on the bridge.”

“But she could see you, couldn’t she?”

“I suppose.”

“Had Rachel ever done something like this to you before?”

Kevin shook his head. “No.”

“So, on this night of all nights, she makes a sexual advance on her oldest friend, someone she’s known her whole life, for the first and only time?”

“Yes.” Kevin’s voice was almost inaudible.

“I see. Now, about the date. Was this the first time Rachel had asked you out?”

Kevin nodded. “Yes.”

“The first time ever?”

“Yes.”

“So again, on this night of all nights, Rachel decides for the first and only time to ask you out on a date.”

“That’s right.”

Gale smiled. “So really, there wasn’t anything
ordinary
about that night, was there?”

Kevin hesitated. “I guess not”

“Why was Rachel behaving so strangely?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, Kevin. Let’s talk about something else. You knew Kerry McGrath, didn’t you? The other girl who disappeared two years ago?”

“
Objection
!” Dan practically screamed. “Counsel’s question is irrelevant and outside the scope of direct examination.”

Judge Kassel slammed her gavel down, and Stride thought she enjoyed the opportunity to do so. She eyed Dan impatiently. “Settle down, Mr. Erickson.”

Then the judge stared down at Gale. Her attractive jaw settled in a hard line, but her eyes were intrigued. “Now, Mr. Gale, please tell me you have a point to this question. Because, despite counsel’s outburst, I’m inclined to sustain his objection.”

Gale knew he had piqued her interest—and the jury’s, too.

“I hope the court will indulge me a little while on this line, Your Honor. I want to explore some facts that will play a vital role in my defense. The prosecution’s witnesses have testified that there is no link between Kerry’s and Rachel’s disappearances. I wish to impeach those conclusions, and that is certainly relevant. What’s more, Mr. Erickson opened the door by exploring the witness’s personal relationship with Rachel. I’m entitled to explore whether he had a personal relationship with another girl who disappeared under similar circumstances.”

Kassel’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile. Stride couldn’t tell whether she was enjoying the drama or savoring the possibility that Gale might have an ace up his sleeve with which to embarrass Dan.

“We’ll indulge you briefly, Mr. Gale. Very briefly.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Gale said.

In the silence that followed, the whole courtroom focused its cold attention on Kevin, squirming in the witness stand. Gale repeated the question.

“Sure, I knew her. We were in the same class.”

“Did the two of you ever go out on a date?”

“No,” Kevin said.

“Did you ask her out, and she said no?”

“No.” His voice was a whisper.

“Your Honor,” Dan pleaded.

“Mr. Gale?” Judge Kassel demanded. “Our indulgence is running out.”

Gale shot his next question in quickly. “Did she ever ask you out?”

Dan rose to object again, but before he could open his mouth, Kevin let out a giant sigh and said, “Yes.”

Dan slowly sank back into his seat. The jury and the rest of the courtroom were transfixed. Judge Kassel put her gavel down and eased back into her chair.

“When did Kerry ask you out?” Gale asked.

“It was the week before she disappeared.”

A murmur swept through the courtroom.

Stride glanced at Maggie. She looked back at him in confusion. They had worked the McGrath case inside and out, and Kevin’s name had never come up. There was no evidence the two of them had ever been together. Then, a second later, they understood.