Lost and Found (32 page)

And all the way inside, Marcie chatted and nudged Maggie along.

The kitchen table was set for five and Maggie scrambled to think who else was coming. Daisy was curled up on her doggy bed by the unlit woodstove. She lifted her head and trotted over to Maggie.

“Go wash up.” Marcie hugged her and whispered low enough so Jessica couldn’t hear.

Daisy growled as if she just realized there was an intruder. “Daisy, enough.” Her loveable dog gazed up at her with those mud brown eyes.

“I’m going to get cleaned up. I’ll be back.” Maggie forced a smile that felt stiff and artificial as she slipped past Jessica who now wandered the kitchen, her arms crossed as she appeared to study every brick and item for cleanliness, and for a moment, Maggie wondered if she’d slip on a white glove and check for dust.

Maggie stood straighter and watched the intruder with fresh eyes. “Ms. Shupe, there’s a bathroom down the hall if you’d like to wash up.” Maggie hurried out of the kitchen before Jessica responded, and Daisy followed. Maggie stopped outside Richard’s home office at the base of the stairs. Richard was engrossed in whatever he was reading. “Richard, Jessica Shupe’s here. She’s staying for lunch.”

He dropped the papers he was holding and stood up. She knew that look, but he handled curve balls people threw better than she. “I didn’t know she was coming.”

“Neither did I. Guess she decided to surprise us, catch us off guard, maybe while we’re neglecting our kid. But have faith, Marcie had first shot.”

That made him smile.

“I’m going to wash up, apparently she doesn’t like dirt.” Maggie held up her hands coated in garden dirt and flashed him a wicked smile.

Richard didn’t seem to mind. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her nose. “Don’t forget that spot.” He patted her bottom.

Maggie hurried up the stairs and glimpsed Ryley lying on his bed playing with his Gameboy. She stopped outside his room. “Hey Ryley, put it away. Lunch’s ready. And before you go down, Ms. Shupe’s here. She’s going to stay for lunch.”

Ryley bolted straight up on his bed. Then jumped up as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Mom, what do I say to her?”

She walked straight toward him and hugged him, keeping her dirty hands off his dark blue shirt. “It’s okay. Just be you, relax. Remember what your dad said. Speak honestly about us and how much we love each other. Don’t rehearse anything. Don’t make something up. Take a deep breath. It’ll be okay. And Marcie’s downstairs with her; so is your dad. I’m going to wash up because she doesn’t like dirt.” Maggie walked Ryley to the stairs and sent him down with Daisy. She offered him an encouraging smile, and gestured with a sweep of her hand to keep moving. He hesitated just once at the bottom of the stairs, and then Richard must have seen him.

“Here’s my champ. Come on in here, Ryley.”  He hurried into the kitchen, most likely into the safety of Richard’s arms. Daisy right behind him.

Maggie quickly washed up, including the dark streak of dirt across her nose and cheek. She pulled on a clean purple sweater, a newer pair of blue jeans, and ran a brush through her hair. She felt the chords of the executioner’s song ring as she treaded down the stairs into the kitchen, sitting in the empty seat between Richard and Marcie.

Jessica glanced up, but her bland expression was filled with something that had Maggie leaning a little closer to Richard. Richard broke the spell as he passed Jessica the plate of sandwiches. “Jessica dig in, there’s lots here.”

Maggie whispered to Marcie just as she shoved a forkful of salad in her mouth. “Where’s Sam, isn’t he joining us for lunch?”

She pressed a cloth napkin to the corner of her mouth. “No, I don’t expect him till dinner.”

“But I thought you set a place for him?” She didn’t know why it mattered. But she couldn’t let it go.

“Not for him. To welcome a stranger.” Then she smiled at her.

“Oh, okay.”

Harper and Diane leaned over Frank as he swiveled in Sam’s cheap tan office chair and showed them the shadow again, and where Richard’s face had been pasted into the video. “If we go back and look at the person who’s dragging Dan, he appears the same height and weight. But it’s dim. Not close up. So it’s hard to tell. But look here.” Frank tapped a few keys on the keyboard. “When I blow this up, see the watch? That band around his wrist?”

Harper, Sam, and Diane squinted at the low quality color video to see what he was trying to show them. The man wore black gloves and a long sleeved dark shirt, but his left wrist was exposed and there was some type of cloth bracelet, green and white, around his wrist.

“What is that?” Harper had been salivating from the moment he walked into Sam’s office, so much Sam thought he’d jump up and down.

“That is what is called a friendship bracelet to represent a deep bond with someone. Best friends wear them to signify the powerful link they share.”

Diane crossed her arms, her jean jacket pulled at the seams in back. “As far as I know, I’ve never seen anything like that on Richard.”

“What about the original video? Have we heard back from the DA?” Harper hadn’t changed, he still wore the same dark Armani suit.

“Yeah, just before you got here. The DA called. Said we do have the original the police gathered at the scene, but they’re sending over their copy just to be sure there wasn’t a mix-up.”

“Smart, so he can show the judge how they’ve bent over backward to assist us.” Harper pointed to the screen. “So can you testify this video is in fact a fake and show proof it’s been altered?”

Frank swiveled around in the chair again, much like a bored teenager. “That’s what I do best. And you’ve just got this piece of evidence thrown out, which throws a monkey wrench into the state’s case.”

There was a soft tap on the office door. A thin woman with red hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in black casual slacks, and a blazer stood in the open doorway. “I’m Assistant District Attorney Melanie Jackson. I have our copy of the video. Did I just hear correctly you have evidence the video’s been altered?”

Harper and Sam glanced at one another. Tipping their hand to the DA was not a smart move, but neither was leaving the office door open for anyone to walk in and hear. Damn, he needed to get a bell or something on the front door.

“Yes, I’m afraid we’ve discovered this tape’s been altered.”

Frank slid his chair across the cheap industrial carpet. “Is that the only other copy of this video?” He pointed to the small cassette in her hand.

The woman appeared far from shy. She stepped up to the computer and handed the video to Frank. She stood over him and watched the screen while he loaded the video and forwarded to the last one second frame. What Frank did next on the keyboard to bring up codes and text, Sam wasn’t sure, but he leaned back and sighed and then swiveled the squeaky office chair and faced the cute ADA. “Well, Miss ADA, this here’s a copy too. So where’s the original?”

Her face took on a hint of pink. As Frank turned his hard pretty boy gaze with all its charm on her, she started to stammer in obvious self-defense. “Look, the video you have was taken right from the crime scene. You’re obviously confused.”

Sam took a step back from the group and leaned against the side of his desk. “Well, what’s apparently clear is whoever altered this video, planted a copy to be found. I’m pretty sure we just blew a big wide hole right dead center through the middle of your case. My question to you, Miss Jackson, is the DA prepared to launch a new investigation into who planted the evidence? Because I bet they’re one in the same, and who really killed Dan.”

Melanie
was focused on the screen and the highlighted spot where Richard’s face was pasted. She peered at Sam before pulling out her cell phone. She said not a word while she waited. “This tape’s a copy too. They have some tech here, and the security video was altered. He’s going to testify someone pasted Richard McCafferty’s face into the footage.”

Whoever she spoke to on the other end was obviously in charge. She shut her eyes for a second and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Okay, I understand, sir. I’m on my way back.” She disconnected her cell. “I need my copy of the tape back.”

Frank stuck the tape back in its plastic case, held it up to
Melanie
,
and winked as he deliberately slid his finger over her hand. She frowned as she snatched it away.

“So, are you reopening the investigation?” Sam didn’t move from where he leaned against desk.

She shook her head, holding it high. “The DA wants our own people to take a look at the video. As it stands, we’re still prepared to go ahead with the case. We still have enough evidence against your client to prosecute.” She stepped around Frank and left as quickly as she came.

Sam was surprised, but at the same time, he wasn’t. He knew when you built a case as high profile as this, the last thing the DA wanted was to admit they had the wrong guy. Instead of doing the right thing and reopening the investigation, they were playing same old game they’d always had—trying to save face.

“Sam, we need to find out who planted that tape. Diane, can you talk to whoever was at the crime scene and processed the forensics? Find out their take. Sam, Frank, great catch. We’ve blown a hole wide open in their case. If we can’t convince the DA to look at other suspects, we have no choice but to get ready. We go to trial in less than a week. We have all their key evidence, or what they sent over. We need to sit down with Richard and go through his movements. They’ve dissected his statement line by line, and they have a detailed description of his movements for the week prior, and they have his cell phone records. They’ve talked to a lot of people. The unidentified 911 caller called from an untraceable cell phone. We need to find out who she is. You find her for me. I don’t care how you do it, just find her.” Harper buttoned his jacket as he glanced at Sam and then Diane.

Sam rubbed his chin. He really hated not being in charge. “And then what, find out why she lied? Where the body is? It won’t be that easy Harper. But again I’m going to say it. Maybe what we’ll find is who really killed Dan.”

“You know that saying, how you can’t go home again, and we can never go back?” Maggie rested her head on Richard’s bare chest. Wrapped in his arms, he soothed her, tracing tiny circles up and down her arm.

“I know you Maggie, sometimes better than you know yourself. Memories are too much sometimes. But this is our home, and you want to leave.” She propped her chin on her hands where they were touching him. He was so hard sometimes. This time he didn’t shut down.

“Not you, I love you. I mean us. Just leave; start over somewhere else. Let’s just walk away from everything.”

He smoothed back her hair and gently tucked it behind her ears. “No, we aren’t going to run away. This is our home. You and I are going to get up in the morning. And we’re going to keep going, and we’ll get through this.”

She brushed her toe against his ankle bracelet. It was an ugly reminder of what they faced. “You must think I’m a coward. I don’t want to lose you. I’d rather run and hide with you and Ryley than face them locking you up for the rest of your life.”

He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer. “It won’t come to that. I promise you. We’ll beat this. You need to have a little more faith in Sam, Diane, and Harper. That wasn’t me on the tape. They’ve already discovered it was altered.”

The way he said it, the slight hitch in his tone, she knew those words were merely for her benefit.

“I won’t leave you and Ryley, whatever it comes down to.”

She didn’t know how long she lay there waiting for Richard’s breathing to even out. How she felt about him when he wrapped his arms around her, the way he kissed her when he was weary, every moment they were together now was bringing them closer to a place she didn’t know was possible. She didn’t know if he understood how he made her feel now. Coming back home, they’d both changed into different people, and she didn’t know how she deserved his love.

She didn’t have a restful sleep, but when she dragged herself downstairs in the morning, the entire crew was there. Sam, Diane, Harper, and Marcie with Kyla. She peered at Daisy, her faithful dog, lying on her doggy bed in the corner by the woodstove. With all the stress of the last few days, she hadn’t notice how slow she was getting. Her food dish didn’t appear to have been touched since yesterday, and her water dish was still full. “Richard, did you let Daisy out?”

“No, she didn’t want to go.”

Maggie crouched down and smoothed the rough fur on Daisy’s head. “Come on Daisy, let’s go outside.” The dog struggled to get up and then shook. Her long nails clattered across the floor as they went outside, and each step appeared full of effort. Her tail hung straight down. “Come on, it’s okay, girl.” Maggie encouraged her down the steps and then watched her dog as she walked around and then lifted her head to sniff the air. Maggie walked a little farther on the grass encouraging Daisy to follow. She told herself Daisy was old. She’d perk up. Maybe she needed to change her food. Finally, Daisy found a spot and squatted, but it was so brief Maggie wondered if it was for her benefit as Daisy wandered slowly up the stairs and waited at the door. Maybe it was a virus. “Do you want to go back and lie down?” Daisy gazed at the door waiting for it to magically open. But then she looked up and gave Maggie a pitiful wag of her tail. That was encouraging.