Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 72
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He shook his head. “And Kate just let you in?”
“No, Kate wasn’t there. But the owner gave us a key.”
His eyes narrowed. “You used a key to get into Kate’s apartment, and then proceeded to fix her leaky sink?”
“The key part is correct, so we were there with permission.”
He grimaced. “I’m not so sure that would hold up in court.”
“We almost got caught, but we made it out. And the important part is what we found in the loft. It made us forget all about the sink.”
He pulled on his shirt and started to work on the buttons. I hopped off the bed and brushed his hands away, taking over the task.
“Have you noticed that when it comes to clothing, I’m always trying to get yours off and you’re always putting mine on?” His eyebrow rose playfully, but his tone was subdued. He was just as nervous to hear what I had to tell him as I was to tell it.
“Everything has a time and a place, Mason,” I said, trying not to sound so serious. In reality, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice, waiting for someone to topple me over.
He put his fingers under my chin and gently lifted my face. “What did you find out?”
“She’s investigating you.”
He searched my eyes, giving away nothing.
“The windows in the front of the apartment give her a perfect view of the DA’s offices, and she can see into your old office and your boss’s. She even has a pair of binoculars by the window.”
“I can’t think of a single thing she’d see in my office that she could construe as either good or bad. What happens in my office is as dry as burnt toast.”
“Except when I visit sometimes.”
His hand slid up to cup my cheek. “I’ve always closed the blinds. There’s no way she saw us in there.”
“There was more. A lot more.” I looked down as I worked on his last button. “She has a table full of papers about you. And she has your old phone. The one that was stolen when you were run off the road.”
That got a reaction. “She has my phone?”
“I turned it on, and sure enough, it was yours. I couldn’t believe it still had power. That was over a month ago.”
“It means she’s trying to get into it. Or already has.”
“But does that mean she hired Sam Teagen to arrange for someone to run you off the road? And if she did, was she also the one who posted my bail?”
His eyes clouded. “That means she might have also had something to do with Eric Davidson’s death.”
“She had a bunch of papers and police reports associated with some of your cases in Little Rock. There were a bunch of highlighted sections on one in particular. It was from five years ago. A hit-and-run case with an eight-year-old boy as the only witness.”
He grimaced. “That was one of my first cases. I wasn’t looking forward to putting the kid on the stand, but he was smart. About a week before the trial, I met with him to go over his testimony. I was worried about how he’d handle everything, so I met him and his mother at an ice cream shop to put him at ease. He was sharp, though, and not too frightened. He would have done a good job. But he drowned before we could go to trial. I was pretty shook up when I heard about it.”
I smoothed my hand over his chest. It was obvious the boy’s death still bothered him. “Why would Kate be interested in the case?”
“I have no idea.” He wore a troubled look, but I could see he was putting something together. “Unless.”
“What?”
“This is a total long shot, but it’s worth pursuing.” He took a breath. “One of Mooney’s charges was a hit-and-run case.”
“You think it’s the same one? Neely Kate said the defendant’s name was too heavily highlighted for her to read it. But wouldn’t you remember?”
He shook his head. “I literally saw hundreds of cases, and it was one of my first. That one only stands out to me because what happened to that boy haunted me for some time. I’ll text the detective and ask him to look into it. Kate Simmons seems like an immediate concern.”
“She’s been following you too. Or more likely someone else has been. She has photos of you that date back to last July. There’s a photo of you, me, and Joe on the courthouse steps after Jimmy DeWade was arrested. Kate was supposed to be in California back then.”
“I suspect you’re right about someone else taking the photos.”
“Why would Kate be so interested in you and what you were doin’?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“There were also little slips of paper that had short sentences with times and dates on them. They look like they’ve been folded and stuffed into something. They all seemed to pertain to you, although they were very vague.”
“I have no idea what she’s doin’ or why.” Yet he didn’t seem all that surprised. I supposed nothing about the Simmons family would surprise him now.
“We think she’s either trying to find evidence that you’ve misused your power in the DA’s office or she’s trying plant it. But if she’s planting evidence, she’s certainly playing a long game. I doubt she’d spend so much time doin’ it.”
“I agree.”
I hesitated. “Mason, she also has a gun.”
He pursed his lips. “I’m not surprised. I’m sure she’s doing her father’s handiwork. Just like her brother. And now they’ve trapped you here in this town.” Fear filled his eyes before the shutters to his emotions could snap shut. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop them.”
“No, Kate wasn’t there. But the owner gave us a key.”
His eyes narrowed. “You used a key to get into Kate’s apartment, and then proceeded to fix her leaky sink?”
“The key part is correct, so we were there with permission.”
He grimaced. “I’m not so sure that would hold up in court.”
“We almost got caught, but we made it out. And the important part is what we found in the loft. It made us forget all about the sink.”
He pulled on his shirt and started to work on the buttons. I hopped off the bed and brushed his hands away, taking over the task.
“Have you noticed that when it comes to clothing, I’m always trying to get yours off and you’re always putting mine on?” His eyebrow rose playfully, but his tone was subdued. He was just as nervous to hear what I had to tell him as I was to tell it.
“Everything has a time and a place, Mason,” I said, trying not to sound so serious. In reality, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice, waiting for someone to topple me over.
He put his fingers under my chin and gently lifted my face. “What did you find out?”
“She’s investigating you.”
He searched my eyes, giving away nothing.
“The windows in the front of the apartment give her a perfect view of the DA’s offices, and she can see into your old office and your boss’s. She even has a pair of binoculars by the window.”
“I can’t think of a single thing she’d see in my office that she could construe as either good or bad. What happens in my office is as dry as burnt toast.”
“Except when I visit sometimes.”
His hand slid up to cup my cheek. “I’ve always closed the blinds. There’s no way she saw us in there.”
“There was more. A lot more.” I looked down as I worked on his last button. “She has a table full of papers about you. And she has your old phone. The one that was stolen when you were run off the road.”
That got a reaction. “She has my phone?”
“I turned it on, and sure enough, it was yours. I couldn’t believe it still had power. That was over a month ago.”
“It means she’s trying to get into it. Or already has.”
“But does that mean she hired Sam Teagen to arrange for someone to run you off the road? And if she did, was she also the one who posted my bail?”
His eyes clouded. “That means she might have also had something to do with Eric Davidson’s death.”
“She had a bunch of papers and police reports associated with some of your cases in Little Rock. There were a bunch of highlighted sections on one in particular. It was from five years ago. A hit-and-run case with an eight-year-old boy as the only witness.”
He grimaced. “That was one of my first cases. I wasn’t looking forward to putting the kid on the stand, but he was smart. About a week before the trial, I met with him to go over his testimony. I was worried about how he’d handle everything, so I met him and his mother at an ice cream shop to put him at ease. He was sharp, though, and not too frightened. He would have done a good job. But he drowned before we could go to trial. I was pretty shook up when I heard about it.”
I smoothed my hand over his chest. It was obvious the boy’s death still bothered him. “Why would Kate be interested in the case?”
“I have no idea.” He wore a troubled look, but I could see he was putting something together. “Unless.”
“What?”
“This is a total long shot, but it’s worth pursuing.” He took a breath. “One of Mooney’s charges was a hit-and-run case.”
“You think it’s the same one? Neely Kate said the defendant’s name was too heavily highlighted for her to read it. But wouldn’t you remember?”
He shook his head. “I literally saw hundreds of cases, and it was one of my first. That one only stands out to me because what happened to that boy haunted me for some time. I’ll text the detective and ask him to look into it. Kate Simmons seems like an immediate concern.”
“She’s been following you too. Or more likely someone else has been. She has photos of you that date back to last July. There’s a photo of you, me, and Joe on the courthouse steps after Jimmy DeWade was arrested. Kate was supposed to be in California back then.”
“I suspect you’re right about someone else taking the photos.”
“Why would Kate be so interested in you and what you were doin’?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“There were also little slips of paper that had short sentences with times and dates on them. They look like they’ve been folded and stuffed into something. They all seemed to pertain to you, although they were very vague.”
“I have no idea what she’s doin’ or why.” Yet he didn’t seem all that surprised. I supposed nothing about the Simmons family would surprise him now.
“We think she’s either trying to find evidence that you’ve misused your power in the DA’s office or she’s trying plant it. But if she’s planting evidence, she’s certainly playing a long game. I doubt she’d spend so much time doin’ it.”
“I agree.”
I hesitated. “Mason, she also has a gun.”
He pursed his lips. “I’m not surprised. I’m sure she’s doing her father’s handiwork. Just like her brother. And now they’ve trapped you here in this town.” Fear filled his eyes before the shutters to his emotions could snap shut. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop them.”
