Ties That Bind (26 page)

“We were meeting at six anyway. I wish we could take the trip together and use that time on the case.”

“Can you get away?”

“I planned to take depositions all day. But Abbott could finish up after four. We could go together.”

“Together? Alone?”

“Damn it, we’re adults, we can take a fucking two-hour ride together, without getting permission.”

“Things were a mess with Tyler before he left. But I’m feeling the same kind of frustration you obviously are.”

No response.

“Are you frustrated? With Dray?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” She’d been angry and upset Saturday night, and he’d accused her of overreacting. They’d fought bitterly, but eventually she’d calmed down. “Truthfully, I’m getting tired of defending myself.”

Abbott stuck his head out. “Reese, you need to come in.”

“I have to go. Hell, plan to meet me at three-thirty in the lobby of the courthouse. If you’re not done, call me and I’ll go alone.”

“All right.” A hesitation. “This is good news, don’t you think?”

“I do, babe. See you later.”

o0o

BABE. KATE CLICKED off the phone and headed back to court, thinking about Reese’s call. He didn’t even realize what he said. Just like he didn’t realize a lot of things. But Tyler had noticed all of them…

He touches you all the time…You lean into him…Hell, you even communicate with just a look. The rubber’s met the road, Kate. You have to stay away from him. And you’d better meet me in Cancun, no matter what’s going on with the case. We need these four days together…

Fuck it. Finding the journal was a huge boon, and she was going to take pleasure in the discovery. She reentered her courtroom on that positive note.

“All rise. Judge Kaitlyn Renado in session.” Kate sat on the bench and looked at the respondent’s table. The defense lawyer was in big trouble. She’d prolonged the hearing on drug possession, and probable drug sales, with hesitations, rechecking notes, lengthy pauses. Kate had called a recess and told her to get her act together.

“Ms. Frank, I assume you’re ready now.”

The lawyer pinched her nose. She’d told Kate she had a headache. Geez. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“We need to hear from the respondent, before I remand this to fact-finding.”

Tommy Toledo took the stand. He was a pudgy little guy, with baggy jeans and a shirt that was way too tight. An expensive-looking leather jacket completed the outfit.

Frank said, “Tommy, you heard Officer Steiner testify that you were running away from the scene of the drug bust and when he chased and caught you, you had two vials of cocaine in your hands that you dropped on the ground. You were still holding five hundred dollars. Is this what happened?”

“No, ma’am. I don’t know how those things got on the ground.”

The lawyer looked confused again.

So Kate asked, “Were you stepping on the vials?”

“Um…” The kid turned beet red. “No, ma’am.”

“I see.” Kate did see. Her gut told her Toledo was lying, but she tried not to overanalyze. “Go ahead, Ms. Frank.”

“Could you tell us where you got the five hundred dollars you were holding? Mr. Jacobs contends you’d sold the vials, but the police came before you could hand them over. Then you dropped them so the cops wouldn’t find them in your possession.”

“No, ma’am. That’s not true. My ma gave it to me, the money.”

Kate asked, “For what?”

“I was gonna use it to buy shoes.”

“Five hundred dollars is a lot of money for shoes,” Kate commented. “And you were holding it, right, Mr. Toledo? It wasn’t in your pocket?”

The kid shrugged.

“Were you planning to buy the shoes at eleven at night?” the prosecutor followed up with.

“Ah, no. The next day.”

Kate let Toledo’s testimony go on, heard from the mother, a few other character witnesses, and Officer Steiner again, whom she had some pertinent questions for.

By two, it was clear they were spinning their wheels. “I’d like to meet with counselors in my chambers.” She declared a recess. Once they gathered inside, she said, “All right, Mr. Jacobs. Is there an offer?”

“What do you mean?”

“That you’re not going to make us go through all this in fact-finding again, are you?” If the case went to trial, the same confusing situation would occur.

“No, I guess not. I’ll take possession, with maximum penalty. We’ll drop intent to sell.”

“Ms. Frank?”

“I’ll ask my client.”

By three, Tommy Toledo had allocuted to the charge of possession, and Kate had set the sentence hearing for three weeks away. Meanwhile, she’d mull over the appropriate punishment.

She phoned Reese and left a message that she was indeed free and would meet him at three-thirty.

Maybe this journal thing would be a miracle and end the whole Bingham case today. Then she could fly to Cancun on Friday, free of the accusations the dead woman had made, and free of Reese. If she felt a twinge of regret—all right, more than a twinge—that Reese would be out of her life once again, she’d deal with it. It would be the best for everybody.

It would.

o0o

ONCE AGAIN THEY were in the car, headed for Longshore. The day was sunny, even at 4:00 p.m. They’d both put on their sunglasses because of the glare off the pavement, and had rolled down the windows to let in the warm breeze.

They’d been driving about a half hour when Reese said, “I’m going to stop at that rest area. I need some coffee. Want some?”

“Sure.” Kate held one of the files from two years before the divorce on her lap. No sooner had they gotten in the car, than they said, almost simultaneously, “Let’s review more files.” It was obvious they both wanted to avoid personal talk.

He swerved into the parking lot, cut the engine, but didn’t get out. Draping a hand over the wheel, he stared through the windshield.

“What’s wrong, Reese?” she asked.

“I was just thinking how things work out.”

“What do you mean?”

Tossing his glasses on the dash, he turned to her. He’d removed his suit coat and tie, and rolled up the sleeves of his light green shirt. She could see sprinkles of chest hair peeking out from the unbuttoned vee at his throat. “I’d say that you and I have about reached our limit in being together, without doing something stupid, wouldn’t you?”

Removing her sunglasses, she met his gaze directly. “I think all four of us pretty much agreed on that.” Her tone was dry, but he was right.

“You’re going off to Cancun with Sloan in a few days, and I’m going to the Hamptons with Dray for a long weekend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Now the journal turns up. Maybe it’ll clear us. Today. And this whole thing will be over. You and I won’t have reason to be together anymore.”

“I know. Though I hate to count our chickens, so to speak.”

“I have to ask you something, before we’re cleared, if that happens.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you sure this is what you want? For us to go our separate ways again?”

“Are you?”

He swallowed hard. “Honestly, Kate, I don’t know anymore.”

“I’m not sure of what I want, either. I think it’s probably for the best to go back to what our relationship was like before the Bingham thing. For all the reasons we’ve enumerated a million times. The primary one is Sofie, of course.”

“Sofie would want us to try again.”

“And if we failed, it would send her into a real tailspin.” She leaned back in the seat. “Besides, I promised Tyler that you and I wouldn’t get back together. And you promised Dray.”

“You’re probably right. We’ve survived five years without each other.” His voice sounded sad though.

“Yes.” Some of them had been really awful, but Kate’s life had been on the upswing when the Bingham case exploded.

His gaze was made more intense by the color of his shirt. “Will you marry him?”

“I don’t know.” She watched Reese. “Will you marry Dray?”

“Probably. I’m sure her sister’s wedding, as well as this whole mess with you and me, are going to prompt some ultimatums.”

“You were never good with ultimatums.”

He chuckled. “No, I wasn’t. But it may be time to compromise.” He cleared his throat. “And marry her.”

Kate’s heart did a nosedive at the words he spoke. Still she said, “Probably.”

“What about you? Are you going to make Sloan a happy man and have the wedding he’s wanted all along?”

“I’m not sure…I guess.”

The lack of enthusiasm in their answers was pitiful and they both knew it.

Reese sighed. “So, I guess that’s it.” He nodded to the building. “Now that’s answered, I’ll get coffee.”

Watching him walk out to the store, Kate felt a tightness in her chest. Is this what she really wanted? For Reese to walk out of her life forever? Was she doing what was best for other people, and not for herself and Reese? The tightness turned into panic. Did she just give the only man she ever loved his walking papers for a second time? “Oh, God,” she whispered out loud.

A shrill inside the car startled her. Reese’s cell lay on the console between the two front seats. She scowled. Should she answer it? What if it was Dray? That would really go over big. She let it ring, until it stopped. Seconds later, it shrilled again. Maybe he had caller ID. Sure enough, when she picked it up, the screen read, Pa.

Bill Bishop. Hmm, that was a safe bet then. Kate would say hello to Pa and take a message for Reese. She pressed send. “Hi, Pa. It’s Kate, not Reese.”

“K-Kate?” The old man’s voice sounded horrible.

“Pa, are you all right?”

“No, no I’m not. Oh, Kate, something awful…” Bill began to cry. Hard.

Kate felt a black fear, deep in her belly.

“I gotta tell Reese. But I don’t know how.”

“Then tell, me, and I’ll tell him.”

“I…I…” More sobs.

“Pa. Tell me.”

o0o

CARRYING A CARDBOARD tray with cups of coffee for him and Kate, Reese swallowed back the lump of regret in his throat. The path for ending this thing between him and Kate might just be cleared today, and he could get back to his sedate, easy life with Dray. Which he wasn’t so sure he wanted anymore. Did he, in reality, simply want his wife back but told her otherwise, for all the wrong reasons?

He scowled when he saw that Kate had gotten out of the car and was standing by a tree near where they’d parked. Though they were in a hurry, he took the time to watch her. God she was lovely. She was still in her judge clothes, beautifully tailored wine pants and jacket. She looked tall and strong and very desirable.

But her shoulders seemed stiff. And she was holding her arms crossed, gripping her elbows with opposite hands, like she used to do when she was upset. Hell, he was upset, too, at the ending of what was between them. But as he got closer, he saw her face. It was ravaged. Something had happened. Something bad. She caught sight of him and clapped a hand over her mouth. In her other hand, she held his cell.

“Katie? What…did I get a call?”

She nodded.

His first thought was Sofie. “Is everything all right with Sofie?”

Again, she nodded. And just like that all vulnerability fled. He’d seen it before when she was devastated and determined to be strong. Her reaction scared the hell out of him. She straightened, slipped the phone in her pocket, and came toward him. She took his free hand. “Reese, your father just called.” Her voice was funereal.

“Something bad happened, didn’t it?”

“Yes. Oh, Reese, I’m sorry, but Emily had a car accident. She…didn’t make it.”

He just stared at her. “Emily? You don’t mean…” The coffee fell out of his hand, and landed with a thud on the ground. His ears began to ring. “You don’t mean…“

“Yes, Reese, I do. I’m sorry. Emily’s dead.”

“No, no, that can’t be. She’s my sister. My baby sister. She can’t be dead.”

Kate gripped his other hand. “I’m sorry. She is, Reese.” It was when he saw the tears in Kate’s eyes that the truth of her statement sunk in. “Dead? Emmy’s dead?”

Kate bit her lip. “Her car was hit by a truck when she was going to work at the diner.”

“I…I told her she didn’t need that job. That I could send her more money.”

“I know you did.”

“She works too hard. She needs…oh, God, she’s…Katie, my sister?”

Emotions ambushed him from all sides, taking uppercuts and jabs everywhere in his body. Kate stepped closer, let go of his hands, and drew him close. His own arms banded around her, and in just a few seconds, he came apart.

o0o

KATE PULLED REESE’S Mustang into the driveway of his house, and shut off the engine. On the half-hour drive back to Westwood, he’d been mostly silent. His meltdown seemed to have drained all of the emotion out of him, which was probably good. He’d have a lot to deal with in the next few days. She herself was hanging on by a thread, but wouldn’t let Reese see it. She’d be strong for him, but oh God, she loved Emily like a sister. Still, she’d stifled her grief all the way here and would continue to do so.

She’d suggested Reese call his father but he said he had to wait until he felt stronger. She asked what she could do for him, and he’d said only, “Stay with me.” Now, at his home, she waited to take her cue from him.

When he didn’t get out of the car, she asked again, “What can I do?”

His gaze flew to hers. “I told you, stay with me.” He gripped her hand. “You have to stay with me. Promise me you will.”

“I promise.” Though she had no idea what that meant. “I promise. I’ll do whatever you want.”

He stared out the window. “I have to pack, right?”

“Yes.”

“For a funeral.” His throat worked convulsively. “Oh, God.”

“Want some help?”

“Yes. Come in. Help me pack.”

She wondered if Dray was home. What would the younger woman do if she saw Kate and Reese together. The hell with it. Reese was Kate’s primary concern now. She opened the garage door with the remote and exited the car, walked around the front and opened Reese’s door. When he just sat there, she leaned in, released his seat belt and tugged on his hand. He didn’t let hers go as they walked up the driveway. They entered his house through the garage. The interior was still, and empty, Kate hoped. Reese stood in the kitchen, just looked around. Dazed.