The Price of Candy (28 page)

Sitting there, she became aware of an
unexpected pleasant feeling. This simple predictable dinner date
scene was somehow different. Not quite exciting, more like
exhilarating, unanticipated fun. She didn’t fail to notice twice he
had reached casually across and touched her arm to make some point.
Normally, such a gesture would drive her up the wall, but it seemed
okay. She was also aware they seemed to be frequently locking eyes.
After the meal, they were sipping coffee when he gently covered her
hand with his and said simply, “We should be in bed together.”

That was it. Nothing clever or contrived from
Mr. Nice Guy. No corny soft talk to get her into bed. Those few
exciting words said everything. He had said what she was hesitant
to think. It made perfect sense to her.

On the way back to the Ramada last night, she
thought of Chip and wondered if he might stop by her place in town
and find her unexpectedly absent. Was she cheating? They had yet to
discuss any rules about seeing other people; the relationship with
Chip hadn’t progressed that far. Too late to discuss it now.

Kevin came out of the bathroom with a towel
around his waist. Last night, they made love with dimmed lights;
now she could clearly appreciate the body she had felt in the
night. He wasn’t as tall or as athletic looking as Chip. Kevin was
different, younger, and softer, with an impossibly beautiful
body.

“Drop the towel, handsome,” she said
playfully. “Come here and put that sparkling body next to
mine.”

There was no snappy comeback; he seemed
embarrassed.

She raised the sheet, exposing herself, and
inviting him back to bed. He let the towel drop and moved onto the
bed beside her. His arms wrapped around her and one of his thighs
moved up firmly between her legs.

He was fresh, cool, and smelled of soap.

She enjoyed it for a minute and then pulled
back. “I should go freshen up.”

“You can’t, I like you soft and warm and
fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy?”

“Whatever...just the way you are.”

“What time is it anyway?”

“Almost nine.”

“Kevin, I hate to break the spell, but I feel
a little guilty indulging ourselves when we could be out looking
for your daughter.”

“Wow, nothing like instant guilt to soften me
up. Look, you go take your shower. I’ll have breakfast sent up.
After that we’ll decide about indulgences.”

“Okay. Let me do this first.” The last few
hours had flown her far away, so with considerable apprehension she
checked her phone for messages from the real world. she had one
missed message from Triney, and three texts from Jerry Kagan—all on
the same subject: Moran had summoned them to his office at ten
a.m.

Oh, God. No time for breakfast, in bed or
otherwise. She could skip the shower and race home to change, or
take the shower and show up in a rerun of last night’s clothing.
Either way she’d be late. She checked out the white cotton blouse
and tan knee-length straight skirt she had tossed hurriedly on the
chair last night. They’d pass. She hurried to the shower.

* * * *

At fifteen minutes after the appointed time,
she found a nervous Jerry Kagan sitting in the conference room
adjoining the office of State Attorney Moran.

“I hoped you’d be early so we could discuss
our strategy before Moran comes in.” That was the first time the
even-going attorney had addressed her with the slightest annoyance
in his voice. His concern was for her facing the state attorney
unprepared.

“So sorry, let’s hope Moran gets here even
later. One more slight delay, Jerry. I missed an early morning
message from Detective Triney. Need to call him back. It might
affect what we’re doing here this morning.”

She dialed. Triney answered. “Sandy, glad you
called back. As you may know, I hang around the Ramada quite a lot
in between running around. Good coffee there. I can sit and do some
paperwork. Hit the restroom and so on...

She began to feel warm, turned away from
Kagan, and interrupted the detective, “You saw my red car parked
there all night, didn’t you?”

“Sandy, none of my business. I don’t
care....”

“Congratulations, Triney, that’s really great
detective work. If you want to tattle on me to Chip Goddard, go
right ahead. Our relationship doesn’t exclude seeing other
people.”

“Okay girl, calm down. That’s your business.
This is about the Privado case. Remember, I told you we were
stopping all white vehicles and we stopped Kevin....”

She said nothing.

“...I remembered something I found out later,
after I let him go. I didn’t think to tell you about it when we
first talked, and I never dreamed you’d get involved with him.”

“Okay so I’m involved. Spit it out.” Just
what she needed, negative information about the man she just slept
with.

“The medical examiner noted the deceased’s
eyelids had been pulled down to close the eyes. This is done for a
more peaceful look out of respect for the deceased. Nurses
routinely do it, cops and ambulance drivers. Some professional
usually does it since most people are reluctant to touch a dead
body unless it’s a loved one....”

She interrupted, “I know why it’s done.” She
didn’t like where this was headed.

“The M.E. is a fanatic about crime scenes. He
wants nothing touched on a dead body. Not a hair. He wondered if it
might be a clue, so he grilled everyone. The medics who picked up
the body swore her eyelids were already closed. Chip Goddard said
he didn’t close them....”

“Chip? What does he have to do with it?

“He was the first officer on the scene.
Didn’t he tell you?”

“Well, first on the beach scene? Never
mentioned it.”

“Did you know Kevin is a paramedic?”

“Yes, he told me.”

“Paramedics do handle dead people. Kevin came
to my mind later when the medical examiner was asking around and
again this morning when I noticed your car.”

“Is this a joke?” Why was he so concerned
about her? “Let me get this straight. The deceased’s eyelids were
closed and no one officially involved admits they did it.
Therefore, the attacker might have been a police officer, a
paramedic, a nurse, or a million other people who don’t mind
touching a dead body. The M.E. has been reading too much Agatha
Christie.”

“I know, I’m making too much of it. Not that
big a deal. The M.E. inquired about it and then dropped it.
Everyone realized it was farfetched. Hey, I overreacted when I saw
your car. I thought I should mention it.”

“I know your heart is in the right place and
you’re trying to look out for me. But forget it.”

“Okay so much for that. Sandy, I know I said
it wasn’t my business, but I didn’t realize you were still in the
dating scene. You know there are other guys who would be
interested....”

She interrupted, “No, Triney, no. I’m not in
the dating scene.” Wow, she had never expected to hear that from
him. “And, I’d appreciate it if you would squelch that rumor
whenever you hear it. Okay? Thanks for the info gotta go. Goodbye.”
She snapped the phone shut. What else could she say? He knew she
spent the night with Kevin.

Kagan had innocently overheard all of it, but
there was nothing to say about that. She started in on the subject
of strategy. “Let’s get on with it. What we need to do, Jerry, is
throw everything over on Abby Olin. She’s the bad person in all of
this. She was trying to kill Toby when she shot Banks. She might
also be the one who shot Toby when he chased after me. She
definitely attempted the blackmail.”

“I agree, keep the focus off of you.”

“How do I get Moran to drop that conspiracy
charge without revealing the involvement of Congressman Kidde?”

“Stop worrying about Kidde. You have your own
problems. As of now, it’s unlikely Moran will drop the charge
against you.”

“It’s just I sort of promised Freddy I’d help
him if he came forward.”

“And is he coming forward?” He knew the
answer.

“Okay, you’re right. He said he wasn’t going
to. I warned him. I just wish there was a way to make Abby mention
his name first.”

“She won’t. She’ll deny ever hearing about
him. She’s getting in deeper with her other charges though. The
judge originally bought her prowler story and was prepared to
accept a charge of manslaughter with probation and give her a slap
on the wrist. That was before the victim was identified as your old
enemy from Philly.”

“Chip told me the charge against her is
second-degree murder now.”

“But Moran can’t prove it. Here’s his
problem. Banks is your old enemy, not hers. For second-degree
murder, he must prove that Abby enticed him down here. But there’s
no evidence of that because they didn’t get to her email files
before she hit delete. But Moran can prove you hated Banks because
of the files you kept on your computer. So he needs to maintain
that you conspired with Abby to get him down here. Bottom line is
he needs you charged with conspiracy in order to get her.”

“So Moran may not even believe I did in fact
conspire. He wouldn’t mind nailing me just for old time’s
sake.”

“That is serious. Conspiracy to commit murder
can carry a sentence equal to the murder itself.”

“I know. I researched it. I could face jail
time. I have first-hand information in three cases. Might be I can
deal. Here’s little Bonaparte now. Cross your fingers.”

They both stood as Moran entered and the men
shook hands. Moran studied Sandy for an instant. “My god, she does
have legs. The first time I’ve seen not wearing jeans. Should I be
honored for once you put on appropriate clothes to meet with
me?”

She had a pretty good comeback but she bit
her lip.

Moran settled in opposite them. “You’re full
of zip in your old age, Kagan. What’s going on here today?”

“My client....” Kagan began.

She interrupted. “I’ve been searching for
Jamie Olin who, in spite of your official position, has been
kidnapped. By chance, I’ve discovered evidence that bears on three
of your open cases.”

“Nothing happens by chance with you, Miss
Reid. You say you’re going to solve some of my cases. Just three,
what’s slowing you down?”

“I’ll solve one of them for you if you’ll
drop that charge against me. It’s going nowhere anyway.”

“Do I laugh now?”

Kagan spoke up. “We’re prepared to give you a
complete statement on what we know about all three cases and
cooperate with any subsequent depositions. It’s trial-worthy
information. It’s useable.”

“I doubt that. You know nothing we don’t
already know.” He pointed his pencil at her. “Now I’ll tell you
what I’m going to do. I’m going to inform the jury of your record
of being institutionalized in a juvenile rehabilitation facility. A
typical history for a repeat offender such as you. I’ll make you
swear under oath to the tawdry activities that took place there and
in which you were complicit. Is Mr. Kagan here aware that your
teenage promiscuity rose to that level?”

“I already told you I wasn’t abused. The
counselor tried but I fought him off.”

“Not according to Abigail Olin. She says you
were part of his daily routine and you hate him because he got
tired of you. She also said you preferred girls and tried to force
yourself on her.”

“My, my, what is this world coming to? Why
would someone accused of murder say such things about the witness
who’ll testify against her?”

Moran continued, “The jury can decide whether
you were a willing participant in the widespread salacious
activities. That proves both you and Abby were juvenile offenders.
You were eager for revenge. It also establishes the motivation for
both of you gals wanting Banks dead. Next, I’ll enter into evidence
the tracking file you’ve kept on him on your laptop over the years.
I promise the jury will think you’re obsessive.”

“But I didn’t lift a finger! How can you
prove I ever talked to Abby about murdering Banks?”

“Admittedly, some parts will be
circumstantial. You see, you’ll be useful to me in convicting her.
The jury will see that you both have the powerful motive of
revenge. I’ll encourage the jury to imagine what you two scheming
females talked about. The more you deny it on the stand the
guiltier you’ll look.”

“So, you’re going to call me and Detective
Pomar as witnesses to the shooting of Banks that Abby is charged
with. And in the next breath charge me with conspiring in the
shooting I tried to stop. If I was involved in the plan to shoot
him, why did I take Pomar there?”

“You call that a defense? Go back to your law
books and stop bothering me.”

She exchanged a glance with Kagan then said,
“Let’s get serious, Mr. Moran. I’ll tell you what I know and you
can then decide whether to drop the charge. I won’t sign anything
or swear to anything unless you drop the charge. Can I do that,
Jerry?”

“We can stipulate that.”

“I don’t think I’m interested. But if you
want to provide me with all the information, I’ll be happy to use
it.”

“It’ll knock your socks off, Moran. You’ll
definitely get big headlines out of it. Once you drop the charge,
I’ll cooperate fully.”

“You’ve no choice but to cooperate fully
whether or not I drop the charges or you’ll go to jail.”

“I’ll take the Fifth. Without me all you’ve
got is three cases of hearsay.”

“You must be pretty confident I’ll end up
dropping the charge.”

“We both know I had nothing to do with the
accidental shooting of Banks. I realize you think you need the
conspiracy angle to assure a second-degree murder charge against
Abby. But you don’t. I’ll testify she yelled out Toby’s name before
she discovered that she in fact shot Banks. If she thought it was
Toby, that’s at least attempted murder. Plus you have at least
manslaughter for shooting Banks, perhaps even second degree if she
enticed him down here. That’s two charges against Abby and I’m
going to give a solid third that’s even better.”