“Juliet, I know this is going to be hard, but the minute we start talking to witnesses, word’s going to spread. Are Lauren and Jasper ready for this? Are you? And you, Zack?”
“We’re all going to have to be, aren’t we?” she replies. “I’ll talk to them, let them know what’s coming. We may want to handpick a few journalists we trust and plan a sit-down.”
“People will pay for the story,” Zack says. “Magazines, online gossip rags. They circled like hawks in the beginning, when the case was fresh. Almost all of them offered money. Can we make sure no one profits from this?”
“Of course,” Woody assures him. “I will make a point of finding people who aren’t going to try to exploit the story or turn it into a free-for-all.”
Juliet sighs. “I don’t know, Zack. Mindy’s hospital bills are insanely huge. Maybe taking some money—”
“No. Not happening. I’m not letting the media exploit my daughter.”
She hears the emphasis on my. “Okay. No problem.” To Parks, “You’re releasing this now?”
“The sooner the better,” Parks says. “You never know what might pop up if the media’s working the case, too.” He rereads the statement. “I have to say, it would be a lot easier if we could just name all the parties and get it over with. Take some of the verve and sting out, you know? We don’t want the media discovering the truth before we do.”
Juliet nods her agreement. “We might as well. It’s not like it’s going to be quiet for long. We’ll have to tell Lauren and Jasper, get their approval. Zack, you good with that?”
He nods too, clearly distracted.
“Okay then. Progress,” Woody says, sticking the paper back into the file. “Let’s go have a chat with Mr. and Mrs. Wright, so we can refine the message and get this in the hopper. We’ll also get a car to stand watch so the media doesn’t hound them, and we’ll start looking for the folks we want to sit down with the family for a public plea. We’ll see you two later. Juliet. A moment?”
Uh-oh.
She follows him to the edge of the cafeteria. “I saw the time stamp on the sample that was uploaded. If you ever pull a trick like this again, I will have your job. Do you understand?”
She nods. No sense trying to defend herself. She knew the risk.
“Good. You’re suspended without pay for two weeks. We are never going to discuss this again. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
Woody’s face is full of reproach, his whisper harsh. “Don’t you dare thank me, Juliet. You’re damn lucky this turned so quickly, or else we’d be having a very different conversation. You’ve threatened everything we stand for, and I am so disappointed in you.”
He signals to Parks and Starr, and they walk out together, Starr chatting animatedly.
Juliet, spine straight, walks back upstairs with a very quiet Zack. Being suspended is mortifying, but she deserves much worse. Woody will never trust her properly again, but at least Cameron wasn’t caught up in this.
Zack has still said nothing.
“You okay? I know that was hard to hear. It’s a shock that Vivian was depressed and taking medication, that she was institutionalized and didn’t tell you.”
“I missed so much,” he says, so low she almost doesn’t hear him. “If only I had been there, I could have—”
She pulls him to a stop. “Don’t do that to yourself. Do not. You hear me?”
He gives her a sad smile. “You can’t erase years of guilt in a moment, Juliet. Trust me on that. Listen, can you take Kat for a little while? I’d like to go sit with Mindy, and Oliver said she wouldn’t be allowed in.”
She feels dismissed but doesn’t show it. “Of course. I’ll take her to Lauren and Jasper’s. I want to be there while they talk to Woody and the Nashville cops anyway. See you back here later, okay? You have my number. Shout if you need us.”
“Will do,” he says, but he is already walking away.
62
THE WRIGHTS’ HOUSE
Lauren sits on the deck, watching the snow come down around her. She is freezing, shivering under a blanket, but she has no intention of moving. Jasper is inside, not speaking to her, which she finds terribly unfair. Juliet texted that the police are on their way to talk, and she’ll be right behind them.
Lauren wants to go back to the hospital and hold Mindy’s hand, but she knows she needs to get through all of this first. The idea that the police are going to be under her roof makes her uncomfortable. She can’t shake the feeling that something horrible is coming, that she is being watched, that someone knows her secrets. That she is about to lose Mindy forever. The weight of this fear is too much to bear.
She’s gone over it in her mind several times, bringing Mindy home, searching for anything, anything, that stands out. Nothing does, and that calms her a bit.
The door behind her opens and Jasper comes out with a cup of hot cocoa. He hands it to her, lips compressed in a thin line.
“Don’t get yourself sick sitting out here. It’s cold.”
“I know it is. I’m just feeling claustrophobic inside. Like I don’t have control of anything at all, and the walls are closing in on me.”
“This is a lot to have happen in such a short period of time. And it’s going to get worse. I’ve warned Coach about what’s happening. The media is going to affect the team selection PR as well.”
“Is he going to—”
“No, she still has her spot, but I don’t know if anyone believes she’s going to be able to compete at the level she was before. Not after the cancer, and not knowing if the transplant...her leg... They’re prepping the alternate.”
Lauren swears, and Jasper flinches.
“I wish you wouldn’t use that kind of language.”
“We’re losing everything. It’s not fair.”
“What have we lost? If anything, we’re gaining here. Zack is our savior. We need to make the man a crown.”
She hears the bitterness in his tone. “You feel the same way I do. You’re as scared as I am. We might lose her. She might die before the transplant takes hold. Why don’t you just admit it?”
He sits next to her, and she is shocked by what she sees. He looks utterly ravaged. It scares her, the transformation. He has been her rock for so long, and now he looks like he is about to crumble into dust.
“The police are coming to discuss releasing a statement to the press. This story is no longer our own, Lauren. You need to be prepared because there are going to be a lot of questions and a lot of scrutiny.”
“What are you saying? Are you accusing me of something?”
“Stop being paranoid. And stop attacking me. I’m your ally here. I’m trying to help you.”
She trains her eyes on the driveway, where the glint of metal shines through the trees. They are here; the cars are snaking up the drive.
Oh, I’m not being paranoid, Jasper. I’ve been prepared her whole life.
He takes her hands, rubbing them to get some warmth started. His voice is low and kind. “Honey, listen. You have to let me help. I’ll forgive you, you know that, but you have to tell me the truth. Is there anything else you’ve been keeping from me? Anything at all?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re acting strange all of a sudden.”
The icy snow on the drive crunches beneath the tires, and she draws in a deep breath. She is in control. She has this. Their lives are going to be fodder for the news for a while, but she can handle it. Mindy is the only thing that matters.
She pulls her hands free, stands and says, “I’m going to brush my teeth and hair. We should make some coffee, don’t you think?”
Jasper pulls away at her dismissive tone, straightens and looks down the drive at the cars as if they are coming to wreck his life. “I already did. Our manners are on full display.” He leaves her on the deck and goes to greet their guests.