“That’s your right,” Woody says. “I understand the impulse to hold your family close right now. But I promise you, Mr. Wright, we are not interested in creating some sort of media spectacle. That hurts our chances to solve this case just as much as it disrupts your lives. We want to get to the bottom of this, find out who kidnapped Mindy, and who killed Vivian Armstrong. Please don’t throw roadblocks in our way by dragging it into court.”
“No roadblocks, and no court, only necessary protections that will allow us to make the proper decisions regarding our daughter. My daughter.” Jasper straightens in his seat. “Though my wife does not have paperwork regarding her end of the adoption with Dr. Castillo, I do have the paperwork from my legal adoption of the child. I have rights, just as many, or more, than Mr. Armstrong. Custodial rights.”
“I see.” Woody sits back in his chair, coffee cup abandoned. His tone changes. Gone is the loose, easy manner. Now he is all cop, and Lauren can’t help but wonder if Jasper has overplayed their hand.
“I hear you loud and clear, buddy. But that’s not what we’re here to decide right now. We’re releasing the statement regardless of how comfy you are with it, and we would like to control the message from the get-go. We’re trying to help you out here, get you prepared. No need to get prickly with us. We’re your friends.”
Jasper laughs, short and humorless. “Right. Friends. Got it.”
Parks spreads his hands out on the table. “Seriously, let’s not get adversarial. We’re all in this together, and we’re trying to help you be ready for the media storm that’s going to roar through here the second this is announced.”
“Yes, we are,” Juliet seconds. “And we want to make sure that this is painless for Mindy. That’s the goal here. She is the only focus for all of us. Right, Lauren?”
“Of course.” The house phone begins to ring. “Excuse me a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Lauren is relieved to step away from the table to gather her thoughts. Her husband is white-faced, the CBI agent’s eyes are hooded, the Nashville cops look like they are smelling something exceptionally tasty, and her little sister is smiling at her encouragingly, a fox to the chicken. She turns her back on them as she answers.
“Hello? Wright residence.”
“Mrs. Wright?”
“Yes?”
“Ma’am, this is Jeremy Finley, from WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee. Is it true you’re the adoptive mother of the missing child Violet Armstrong?”
“I—”
“And is it also true that Violet is now named Mindy Wright, and she lives with you in Vail, Colorado, and is a member of the United States World Cup ski team?”
Lauren slams down the phone with a gasp, making everyone turn. Her face says everything.
“Uh-oh,” Juliet says. “Was that what I think it was?”
She nods, and Juliet can feel the distress coming off her in waves. “Some media person from Nashville. They know.”
Lauren whirls to the table, the unholy cabal of parent and cops staring at her. “Who let it out? Someone leaked. It had to be someone in Nashville.”
“It wasn’t us,” Parks says. “We’ve kept this super hush-hush.”
“But we did pull all the files, and put Armstrong’s DNA in the system, and talked to University Hospital,” Starr says thoughtfully. “Entirely possible someone at the lab got interested and mentioned it to someone. Or saw we set up the flight here, or Andrea Austin said something—there’s any number of ways this leaked. Two plus two...”
The phone rings again. “Oh, that’s just great,” Jasper says, standing. “So much for your help. We’ll attend to things ourselves from here on out.”
Woody stands as well. “Mr. Wright, I wouldn’t recommend—”
Jasper gives Woody a glare that would knock down a horse. Even Juliet feels a qualm.
“Get out. Just...leave us alone. We’ve managed this long. We’ll manage this, too.”
“No problem, we all need to head out anyway. I’ll walk you out,” Juliet says, hoping to diffuse the tension. She’s never seen Jasper quite so upset. Lauren is trembling, a fist to her mouth, eyes wide. She can sense her sister’s thoughts—This is a total disaster. What are we going to do now?
“Go with them, Juliet,” Jasper calls.
“What?”
“You heard me. Lauren and I need to talk, and it’s best for you to join the rest of the detectives and give us some space. And we’re needed back at the hospital.” To Woody, “You can direct the rest of your inquiries to my lawyer, Bill Conrad.”
Juliet’s eyes shoot to Lauren’s. She sees resolve and fear in them.
“Is this what you want?”
Her sister’s voice is soft. “Yes. It’s best. We’ll talk later. Just...give us some time to wrap our heads around this.”
The phone blurts again, and Jasper picks it up, slams it down, then unplugs it deliberately from the wall, watching Juliet all the while.
“Okay. I can take a hint.” She clicks her tongue at Kat, who drags herself away from the fire with a longing backward glance. Juliet’s last glimpse into the room shows her sister bursting into tears.
65
Standing by the cars, Woody stares at the front door. “What the hell just happened, Juliet? One minute we’re having a nice conversation, the next...”
“I don’t know. It’s like a flip switched in Lauren, and when that call came, Jasper picked up on it and manifested. He’s going to do everything he can to protect his family. I don’t blame him for being mad at us. I wish he wasn’t bringing in that jerk of a lawyer. Conrad’s a heavy hitter at the firm, and I don’t particularly like him. He’ll make sure we dot every i and cross every t, and then go back and make us do it all again. He’s a stickler.”
“We should have controlled the message earlier,” Parks says. “Trying to get a family on board is sometimes the more difficult approach, especially considering it’s their world that’s being blown up. We should have just gone ahead with our original plan instead of trying to coordinate. Now they have their backs up, and they won’t ever trust us again.”
“I’ll get them to see reason. I think it was the money thing. I wasn’t kidding about Mindy’s medical bills. They are outrageous. They’d never admit it, but I know they’re strapped trying to keep up with it. Mindy lost out on a couple of sponsorships because she wasn’t able to do publicity right after Worlds, and that’s big money. Jasper’s doing well, but Lauren hasn’t sold a painting in a year.” She scuffs her foot against the gravel drive. “Let’s give them a day to cool off, and we can go from there. In the meantime, I’d like to get Bai moving on the DNA. If the media is on this, we all have to play our parts, and the faster we move, the better.”
“Agreed,” Woody says. “I’ll take the files down the mountain to the lab and get started there.”
“Good. I’ll talk to Zack and see if he can help with Lauren and Jasper.” She turns to Parks and Starr. “You’re going with Woody, I imagine? Start in on the Castillo investigation?”
“Right,” Parks says. “I know you’re recused from this, but we’ll keep you in the loop.”
“I appreciate it. I think once the shock wears off, Lauren will want to know what’s happening. Jasper, too. He’s upset. I don’t think I’ve seen him lose it since Mindy was hurt and diagnosed. He’s been holding on so tight, trying to keep them all together. With Zack showing up, and the investigation being opened, and the media...the call was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. He’ll come around. He needs some time to get used to his new life, that’s all.”
Parks stares back up at the house. “I hope you’re right.”
Juliet grins. “I am. Trust me. He’s really angry at my sister for putting us in this situation. She didn’t tell him about Mindy’s true parentage, and he’s stinging from that. This is him trying to get control of the situation. He blew up and took it out on us so he wouldn’t take it out on her. He’s a good guy like that. Plus, Mindy’s transplant is in two days. The stress of what might happen is getting to them, and the idea of media attention on top of that... The last thing any of us want or need is media trying to get into the hospital and get snaps of Mindy ill, or being treated.”
“Makes sense,” Parks says. “I’m glad you know them so well because I saw something different.”