Sugar Free Page 18

  "It's a little bit late in the week to be calling a meeting on this case, isn't it Mr. Shriver?" she asks dryly as she pins Doug with a superior look. Like she's the one holding all the cards.

  "It couldn't be avoided," he says smoothly. "With Miss Halstead's prelim set for next Tuesday and Monday being a holiday, we felt we needed to have this meeting today."

  Her lips tip up and she has a "knowing" look in her eyes. She strokes a finger on the files in front of her--clearly one for me and one for Beck--and gives Doug a contemplative look before she says, "Mr. Shriver, I'm not sure I really want to entertain a plea offer from you or Miss Suttenson. The evidence is mounting. In fact, we got in some more DNA results just yesterday that places the defendants in Mr. Townsend's house."

  My heart is pounding as I take in her smug look and her condescending tone. She holds all the power here and we are doing nothing more than making a play to take it from her. My entire world depends on this working, and that's a lot of stress to bear right now.

  If it doesn't work, however, Beck and I are prepared to run. This weekend, as a matter of fact. Dennis assured us he could get us out of the country quickly and with good documents.

  "Miss Hammond," Doug says gently. "We are not here to discuss a plea deal for either of the defendants."

  "You're not?" Her eyes widen with surprise.

  "No," he says matter-of-factly. "In fact, we're here to discuss you dropping charges against Miss Halstead and Mr. North."

  It's an indication of the level of her ego when Hammond's head falls backward and her mouth opens to let out a deep laugh of delight. Her eyes are shining with amusement as she tilts her head back into position, carefully sweeping her gaze over all the occupants of the room. She doesn't even hesitate when she looks at Mr. Nichols, who I note has been steadily texting or emailing or whatever the hell he's doing on his smartphone while this conversation is being played out.

  "Mr. Shriver," Hammond says as the smile slides off her face and her eyes glow with an iciness I've never seen before. "I will never drop these charges. I have sufficient evidence to make my case and I'm sorry, but your clients are just going to have to suffer the consequences of their rash acts."

  "I think you might feel differently after you've seen something," he tells her calmly, refusing to get flustered by her bullish ways.

  "And what could that possibly be?" she asks sarcastically.

  Doug nods down the table toward Roger Nichols, who doesn't even look up from his phone. He takes a few more seconds, his thumbs flying over the screen, and I hear Hammond make a sound of irritation in her throat. Finally, he taps the screen one final time and says, "There. That's taken care of."

  Then his head lifts up and he pins Hammond with a challenging stare. "Miss Hammond. My name is Roger Nichols. I practice criminal law in New York--"

  In a move that's beyond rude, Hammond turns to Doug and gives an amused chuckle. "Doug, tell me you didn't bring in some big gun all the way from New York to help out your case. You're more than adequate to represent Mr. North."

  No one could take that statement from her as a compliment, as the derision in her voice conveys a distinct lack of respect for Beck's attorney.

  Nichols answers instead. "I am indeed a big gun all the way from New York, Miss Hammond, but I'm not representing Mr. North or Miss Halstead."

  "Then why are you in this room?" she snaps.

  Nichols opens the laptop that has been sitting in front of him completely ignored until this moment. He punches a few of the keys and turns it to face Hammond as he says, "Because we have evidence that proves Miss Halstead acted in self-defense and Mr. North was not there when it happened."

  And yup...that's a strangled noise she makes now, followed by a scoffing cough. "You can't expect me to believe--"

  "Miss Hammond," Nichols interrupts with a feral flash in his eyes. "I strongly suggest you be quiet and watch this before you embarrass yourself further."

  Seven hours earlier...

  There's a knock on the door and Beck gets up from where he sits next to me at the dining room table to answer it. Kerry's on the other side, looking flustered. "Sorry I'm late, traffic was a bitch."

  "No worries," I say from my seat as she walks in and looks around at the people assembled. She nods at Doug, who's sipping on coffee, but looks curiously at Dennis, who is sitting beside me.

  Beck makes introductions.

  "Kerry, this is Dennis Flaherty. He's an investigator who works for me. And that man over there"--pauses and points to Roger Nichols, who is standing in the living room texting on his phone--"is Dennis' attorney from New York."

  He looks up from his phone, walks into the dining area, and extends a hand to Kerry. "Roger Nichols."

  She shakes it as she asks Beck, "So what's going on? What's so urgent you asked us all here?"

  Beck moves and pulls out a chair for Kerry, then comes to stand behind me. Neither Beck nor I have any clue why we're all here. We just did what Dennis asked, which was to gather our attorneys.

  That's done and Dennis, interestingly enough, brought his own attorney in from New York. When we're all seated around the table, Dennis pulls his iPad out from his briefcase sitting on the couch and turns to us. "When Beck originally hired me to work for him, it was to investigate JT and see if the identifications of Sela's other attackers could be made. As part of my service, I set up surveillance on Mr. Townsend, which included tapping into his home security system. I was trying to see if he had any contact with the other attackers or use any of his conversations to find out more about them."

  A jolt of surprise stiffens my spine and I tilt my head up and to the side to look at Beck standing behind me. His eyes are filled with shock and confusion as they return my stare.

  Dennis taps on the screen of the iPad and a black-and-white video starts to play. At first, I can't place what I'm looking at, but then I understand. It's the inside of JT's den taken from the southwest corner of the room. The couch and back wall of windows runs across the top of the screen, and the desk where we had our scuffle sits at the bottom right.

  And holy shit, that's JT walking in from the left with me following.

  I gasp as I realize what I'm looking at.

  The actual events of that night.

  I'm even more stunned when I hear JT say like a ghost from the past, "Want something to drink?"

  My head snaps toward Dennis and he gives me a casual smile. "I was able to tap into video and audio. He had a state-of-the-art system set up but it wasn't activated. He wasn't paying any company to monitor his house. It was ridiculously easy to hijack the feed, which we routed straight to my office server."

  We all watch in silence, but there's no mistaking the increasing buzz of energy as the video continues. Kerry gasps when I pull my gun on JT.

  Doug cringes when JT walks up to me, lets the barrel push into his chest, and says, "I dare you to fucking do it, Sela."

  And Beck's hands come to wrap around me from behind as he mutters, "Jesus fuck" when JT's hands wrap around my throat and he screams, "You goddamn filthy cunt!"

  Beck curses again when JT admits to raping Caroline and Kerry mutters, "Unbelievable."

  We all watch as JT tries to kill me and then I pull out a miracle of all miracles...the letter opener. I have to close my eyes as my arm swings and makes contact. I don't open them again until I hear his body hit the carpet with a thump.

  Dennis taps a button on the screen and stops the video, and we all stare back at him in stunned silence. You'd think he'd be gloating right now. You'd think we'd all be screaming and dancing in victory.

  But as stunned as I am by Dennis having this, I have no clue how this can help.

  "Well, someone say something," Dennis says lightly to the group.

  "Is that enough to get Sela and me off the hook?" Beck asks to no one in particular as he straightens up from behind me but keeps his hands on my shoulders.

  "It definitely proves self-defense," Kerry says confidently. "N
o jury will convict her after watching that."

  "And it proves Beck wasn't there," Doug says with wonder in his voice that he's watching evidence that completely exonerates his client. But then his tone turns somber. "But the video would have to be authenticated."

  "What do you mean?" Beck asks. "There's no doubt that's JT and Sela on that video. It's crystal clear."

  Doug shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. Before it could come into evidence, it would have to be authenticated by the person responsible for the video."

  All heads turn toward Dennis. He nods to Roger. "That's why I asked my attorney here. He's already seen this, and obviously there are certain repercussions for me."

  Roger nods. "Invasion of privacy, which is a criminal offense. It carries up to six months in jail and a thousand-dollar fine."

  "Then we can't use it," I say as my heart sinks. "No way we're putting Dennis out there like that."

  "Well, Roger and I came up with an idea," Dennis says, and I can't help the hope that swells up in my chest again. Beck's fingers dig into my shoulders. "We take this to the DA and let her watch it. See if she'll do the moral thing and accept it. If she doesn't, we then threaten her with a leak to the press. Worst-case scenario, I'll testify and authenticate it. I'm not too worried about criminal charges against me anyway, but I'd rather avoid the possibility first by trying out this idea."

  "No," I say at the same time Beck does. While we didn't mind Dennis helping us set up a bribery for VanZant or getting us out of the country, this is asking him to stick his neck out publicly for us.

  "It could totally work," Kerry says with excitement.

  "It's at least worth a try," Doug says.

  Dennis turns his gaze on me and Beck. "Let's go for it, okay?"

  Back in present time...

  The video finishes but I'm not watching it. I'm on the same side of the table as Roger and he's got the screen pointed toward ADA Hammond, which is even better, because I get to observe her reactions. In fact, not a single person at this table other than Hammond is paying attention to the video. We're all watching her.

  First confusion as she leans forward to get a better look, narrowing her eyes.

  When JT walks into the picture, followed by me, still confusion.

  Then I see awareness filter in when JT offers me the drink. Her brow furrows and then presses into disbelief as she watches him float his idea by me to convince Beck to keep him in The Sugar Bowl and my refusal.

  She locks her jaw tight when he comes after me, and her eyes narrow further when I pull the gun out.

  All exactly like I told the police it happened.

  It's then with bitterness as she watches the rest of the video, her chest rising and falling more deeply than her smug state of egotistical confidence had her breathing before.

  Roger plays it all the way to the aftermath of JT's death as I look down at him, then as I walk like a zombie to pick up my gun. My sobs of anguish are loud and I bet are piercing her ears as she watches. I then grab the letter opener and leave the room from bottom left before the screen goes black.

  "Who do you represent?" Hammond grits out as she nods down at the computer then back to Roger.

  "I'm not authorized to say," Roger says smoothly. "But it's the owner of this video."

  "Why isn't he here?" she asks.

  "Not relevant," Roger deflects. "But what is relevant is that you are now in possession of evidence that exonerates these two from the charges. We'd respectfully request that you dismiss them."

  "I can't just accept a video from someone I don't know," she scoffs. "This is out of left field. It's shenanigans, and I'm thinking because your client isn't here, it's because this video was obtained illegally. In fact, I'm guessing you've got no way to truly authenticate this and that means it's not coming into evidence."

  Doug gives a cough to clear his throat, and tries not to sound like a disappointed dad, but fails miserably. "Is your ego so precious to you, Miss Hammond, that you'd let two innocent people go to jail so you don't have to admit you made a mistake?"

  Before she can answer, and I can see she was going to defend her position, Roger says, "Miss Hammond, I'm only offering this once. If you don't accept this video as authentic evidence right now, my client has authorized me to turn this over to the press."

  Hammond's eyes go wide.

  "Along with the video, I'm also going to hand over your financial records, which include campaign contributions for your bid for district attorney. I believe the primary is in less than two months, and it looks like Colin and Candace Townsend contributed the maximum amount to you not three days ago. Clearly you have a very serious conflict here."

  Hammond makes a choking sound in her throat and her face flames red. "That contribution has nothing to do with my oath as an officer of the court, so--"

  "Save it, Miss Hammond. I've got a red-eye flight to catch back to the East Coast. I'm only going to cancel that flight if you don't dismiss the charges, and in that case, I'm going to stay overnight and hit all the major news media outlets tomorrow. Your weight in this county won't equate to a feather pillow when I'm done with you."

  "That's blackmail," she practically screeches.

  Roger just looks back at her silently, letting her know the ball's in her court. He doesn't negotiate.

  My heart pounds terribly and Beck and I squeeze each other's hands brutally.

  "But what about obstruction of justice?" she throws out. "Miss Halstead didn't report the crime; she took the murder evidence...someone needs to pay for something here."

  "She's already paid," Beck says quietly beside me, and I jump in surprise that he's spoken. We were specifically advised to keep our mouths shut. "She paid with her innocence when that monster raped her and then got his buddies to rape her again and again. She's paid in blood and tears and semen and sweat. You are not taking anything else from her."

  Hammond's eyes lock with Beck's, and I know this is the final showdown.

  "Be quiet everyone," William yells above the chattering around my living room and dining room. "It's on."

  He's well on his way to being drunk, and fortunately, his girlfriend, Maria, is here to drive him home, although we'll try to insist they stay the night.

  William grabs the remote from the coffee table and aims it at the flat-screen TV mounted above the fireplace where he increases the volume. It shows a picture of the Marin County Courthouse with a banner across the bottom that says BREAKING NEWS and below that TOWNSEND MURDER CHARGES.

  Everyone falls silent and I move to stand beside Sela, who is talking to Kerry as they both sip on whiskey. All eyes focus on the TV and mine fall to Sela for just a minute. I haven't seen her look this carefree and easy in weeks. It transforms her into an angel beyond trite words of description.

  The courthouse picture fades and is replaced by video with the word LIVE in the upper right-hand corner and a male reporter standing in front of the courthouse. His hair is perfectly coiffed and his tan expensive. He looks soberly at the camera and says, "There's breaking news out of Marin County this evening as Assistant District Attorney Suzette Hammond announced in a press conference that all charges are being dropped against Beck North and Sela Halstead. As you know, North and Halstead were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder..."

  William gives out a drunken whoop as the reporter drones on but none of us cheer. This isn't surprising news to us, as before we left that conference room a few hours ago, we had Hammond's agreement to drop the charges in exchange for us turning over the video so she could show it to Colin and Candace. I didn't like the bitch one bit, but I did have a certain grudging respect for the fact that she wanted to make sure they got some closure.

  And probably keep her campaign contribution intact.

  But whatever.

  The point being, we all came to the condo and cracked open the liquor to celebrate. Sela followed Kerry's suit and had whiskey, Dennis and I beer, Doug sipped on red wine, while William alternated between
shots of whiskey chased by beer. Maria was the only one not drinking since she was planning on driving a drunk William home, and Roger wasn't kidding...he caught the red-eye flight out of San Francisco.

  Doug found out that Hammond was going to give a press conference, and had in fact been fielding a few calls from reporters wanting a statement from the defendants, so we'd all been waiting for this news segment as we celebrated.

  "...said that evidence came to light--a video apparently--that supported Miss Halstead's claim of self-defense and that Mr. North was not involved at all. ADA Hammond has said that video will be released once the victim's family has been able to view it. In a call to North's attorney, Doug Shriver, a statement was issued on behalf of both defendants where they stated, 'We're just happy to have this ordeal over and look forward to moving on with our lives.' "

  The reporter signs off and everyone starts the happy buzz of chatter again, but Sela and I lock eyes on each other.

  Yes, we are ready to move on with our lives, although I have no clue what that will even look like.

  It doesn't matter though. Just yesterday, I thought it might involve living in a dusty village in southern Mexico where Sela and I would raise goats or something.

  She smiles at me, and I would have loved her there as much as here, regardless if we smelled like goat shit.

  I look around at the people in my home. Some people I've known forever--namely Caroline and Ally, who came over as soon as I called them from the courthouse. Most of the others are recent additions to my life and I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve this type of support. I've done bad things and screwed up a few times over the past few months. I've contemplated killing someone, bribed another, and eventually covered up a murder.

  Because I did it all in the name of love doesn't make me a good man.

  It merely makes me cliched.

  Regardless, I can't castigate myself anymore tonight, as I'm merely too happy and satisfied that Sela's safe and she's not leaving my side. We've come out the winners in this frightful game of cat and mouse, and I'm going to relish the victory.

  Selfish?

  Absolutely.

  Can I atone for these sins?

  God I hope so.