She checked her watch, then took two more Tylenol from the bottle in her bag.
Rape cases were notoriously hard to prosecute. Evidence might be insufficient or could be interpreted in multiple ways. The brain needed time to process a traumatic event. Victims often got confused and then were accused of lying.
The door down the hall opened, and a nurse stepped out. Morgan and Lance hurried back. Morgan went into the room with Eliza.
The deputy took a call on his cell phone, backing away from the group but keeping his eyes on them.
Sharp tapped a foot. The crow’s feet around his eyes were more pronounced. Morgan was right. He was shaken, a rare occurrence.
“So how long has it been since you’ve seen Eliza?” Lance asked.
Sharp sighed. “Almost twenty-five years.”
“How old is Haley?”
“Twenty-five.” Lifting a hand, he added, “No. She’s not mine. Her father was my best friend back in the day. Ted died when Haley was just a baby.”
“Killed on the job?” Lance assumed.
Sharp looked away. “Yes.”
The faraway pain in Sharp’s eyes said there was much more to the story. “I’ll tell you all about it later, OK?”
“OK,” Lance agreed.
The door opened. Morgan and Eliza walked out. Haley followed, looking small and fragile as a baby bird. She could have passed for a teenager. Yoga pants, a loose sweater, and sneakers emphasized her slight frame. Her long red hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Morgan might have been the one with the bruised face, but Haley looked beaten. A true ginger, she had freckled skin so pale it seemed nearly translucent.
It might be sexist, but Lance had trouble picturing this slender young woman committing an act as violent as a stabbing.
Haley turned giant blue eyes on them. “What do I do now?” she asked in a timid voice.
The deputy stepped forward. He’d put his phone away. “Haley Powell, you are under arrest for the murder of Noah Carter.”
Lance had expected Haley to be arrested, but to have her handcuffed moments after the rape kit had been collected was a tough break.
“Turn around and extend your arms out at your sides,” the deputy instructed. “Turn your palms to me.”
Haley stood stock-still for a minute, trembling. Then she complied, her movements slow and halting. A single tear rolled down her cheek as the deputy handcuffed her. The look in her eyes was complete devastation. Though the deputy was professional, even gentle, as he took her into official custody, Lance couldn’t help but feel like the girl was being violated.
“It’ll be OK,” Morgan said. “You should be arraigned tomorrow morning. I’ll be there. You just have to get through the night. Do not talk to anyone about your case, not the jail personnel or other inmates. Other prisoners might try to use anything you tell them as bargaining chips in their own cases.”
Haley didn’t respond. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead. The only movement on her face was the slight quiver of her lower lip. But she kept her chin up as the deputy clipped the cuffs on one wrist and then the other.
The deputy took Haley away.
Eliza stifled a sob. Sharp’s face tightened.
Morgan turned to Eliza. “We need to talk. I need information to prepare for the arraignment tomorrow.”
Eliza nodded, her eyes filling with moisture as she watched Haley and the deputy exit the ER.
“We’ll go to the office,” Sharp said.
“She has to spend the night in jail?” Eliza asked.
“Yes.” Morgan took her phone from her tote. “But I’ll see if I can get Haley assigned to the medical ward for the night.”
“Let’s get you out of here,” Sharp said to Eliza.
Eliza looked lost.
“We’ll meet at the office and review the case details,” Morgan assured her.
Eliza nodded, then she and Sharp turned and walked away.
After they had disappeared down the hallway, Morgan said, “They found no evidence of sexual assault or drugs. I should have known too much time had passed to get positive results. The sheriff’s department held on to her for too long. Club drugs are hard enough to nail with toxicology screening if the testing is done promptly. Now the prosecutor will use the lack of sexual assault evidence to thwart any self-defense case I present. All I’ve done is strengthen his case.”
Chapter Eight
Morgan walked toward the hospital exit for the second time that day. Lance opened the door, and she phoned the sheriff’s office as they crossed the parking lot. She climbed into the passenger seat as the line rang. To her surprise, the sheriff took her call.
“Your deputy just took my client to jail,” she said.
“Yes. The warrant came down from the DA’s office.” To his credit, there was no arrogance or satisfaction in the sheriff’s voice. Colgate was all business.
“My client has a serious medical condition,” Morgan said. “She requires medication several times a day and has special dietary needs that must be met, or she will become very ill. When she arrived at the ER, her blood pressure was dangerously low. She was dehydrated and hypoglycemic. That’s why she was so confused when she was in your custody.”
“I cannot change the fact that she is under arrest for the most serious of charges. Noah Carter’s murder was a heinous crime.”
“One that Haley is innocent of until proven guilty,” Morgan argued.
“The expedited DNA results came in,” the sheriff continued. “The DNA taken from the condom contained both the victim’s and Haley’s DNA, and the blood on Haley’s body and under her fingernails was Noah Carter’s. In addition, the preliminary autopsy cited his stab wounds and resulting exsanguination as the main cause of death. The case is solid.”
Disappointment twisted in Morgan’s belly. If the evidence kept piling up, soon it would be so far over Haley’s head, she wouldn’t be able to see daylight.
“But you can put her in the medical wing, where her vital signs can be monitored. An Addison’s disease crisis can be fatal.” Morgan paused. “I’m not exaggerating, Sheriff. She could die.”
Colgate’s sigh was long and brimming with the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that took decades to accumulate. “I’ll have her put in the medical wing tonight. But no promises on where she’ll end up after that.”
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
“You are welcome.” The sheriff ended the call.
Morgan lowered her phone to her lap, but the wave of relief was short-lived. “What is Haley going to do if the judge doesn’t grant bail? Jail is tough enough without a difficult medical condition to manage.”
“You can only handle one thing at a time,” Lance said. “Focus on the hearing tomorrow.”
“You’re right.” Morgan rubbed her non-swollen temple and willed the pain relievers to kick in. She needed a clear head. She needed to think. She gazed through the windshield, surprised that they’d left the parking lot already.
Morgan’s phone vibrated. “It’s my sister.” Morgan’s sister Stella was a detective with the Scarlet Falls PD.
She answered the call.
“How are you?” Stella asked. “I heard about what happened at the courthouse.”
“I’m OK.” Morgan closed her eyes.
“It’s all over the news,” Stella said. “Someone caught it on video on their cell phone and posted it everywhere. Esposito gave an interview outside the courthouse. He was puffed up like a male gorilla.”
“I’ll bet.” Discouraged and frustrated, Morgan rested her elbow on an armrest and dropped her head into her hand.
“You’re really OK?” Stella didn’t sound convinced. “It looked like he really tagged you.”
“Well, I’ve had better days, but other than the Rocky Balboa black eye, I’m fine.” Morgan opened her eyes and raised her head. They were almost at the office. “I have to meet with a client. Can you call Grandpa and let him know I’m OK? If you saw it on the news, then he probably did too.”