Reflection Point

chapter TWENTY-TWO





I’m innocent.

Savannah froze, then dragged him three steps to the left, to where the porch light illuminated his face. Dear Lord. This is history repeating itself. She studied his expression and realized she believed him. Then it was as if someone had flipped a switch and turned her into a mama grizzly bear.

“Okay, then. I promise you this. No matter what I have to do, you will not pay for something you didn’t do.” She wouldn’t let that happen. She would not let him down.

Mac arrived and went inside to speak with Zach. Returning a few minutes later, he confirmed her suspicions. “They found a stop sign in your kitchen.”

“My kitchen! That’s not possible. I would have seen it.”

“Behind the refrigerator. They’re dusting it for prints now.”

“They won’t find mine,” TJ told him, defiance ringing in his tone. “I didn’t touch it. I don’t know anything about it. They can’t pin this on me.”

“I told Zach I’m taking you to my office to talk, then we’ll come to his office for an official interview. Let’s not discuss anything until we’re behind closed doors.”

It was a short two-block walk to Mac’s law office. Savannah spent part of the time trying to figure out how that sign had ended up behind her refrigerator. Mostly, however, she tried to fight back her panic.

She had minimal success. When Mac escorted them into his office and asked them to take a seat, she managed to remain sitting for less than a minute before she was up and pacing the room.

Mac asked her for a dollar as a retainer, then focused on TJ. “Okay, son. The most important thing for you to understand now is that you must tell me the truth. If a client lies to me, nine times out of ten it comes back to bite us in the butt. I cannot stress the importance of this too much. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, tell me what you know about the stop sign.”

“That won’t take very long. I don’t know anything. Honest.”

“Okay, then. Savannah, what about you?”

She understood that Mac had to ask the question, but it still annoyed her. She had some really bad memories of being questioned by lawyers. “I don’t know how it got into my home.”

“Then let’s try to figure out when it could have happened. The sign went missing, what, five days ago? When has your house been empty during that time?”

“Sunday morning was about it. I closed the shop today, but TJ was working in the workshop.”

“Um, actually, I wasn’t there the whole time,” he confessed.

Savannah frowned at him as Mac asked, “Where did you go?”

“I went walking around for a while.”

Now Savannah sensed he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Dammit, TJ. You’re going to make things worse for yourself.

“When? For how long? Who might have seen you?”

“I left about five. Was gone a couple hours.” He gave Savannah a sidelong look and said, “I got all the orders done that needed to go out tomorrow. I’ll work extra to make up for the time off.” To Mac, he said, “I don’t know if anyone saw me or not.”

“I’m sure someone noticed you. Town was quiet today, with all the businesses closed for LaNelle’s service. I’ll bet someone saw you if you were walking up and down the streets.”

“I wasn’t outside the whole time. I, uh, went into the church. I didn’t talk to anyone.”

“You went to LaNelle’s memorial service?” Mac clarified.

“No. I went into Sacred Heart.”

“The Catholic church?” Savannah said. “Why did you go into the Catholic church?”

“It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. They have the whole light-a-candle-and-pray thing going on. I like that. I lit a candle. And I put money in the box for it, too.”

Mac gave him a measured look, then backtracked a bit. “Did you lock up before you left Heavenscents?”

“Yes.”

“What about on Sunday?” Mac asked Savannah. “Did you lock up then?”

“I did.”

“Was the door locked while you were in the workshop, TJ?”

“No. No, it wasn’t. I went in the house to take a … to go to the bathroom, and I didn’t lock the door when I went back out.” He looked at Savannah. “That must have been when it happened.”

“What about your dog? Where was she?”

“Inny was in the backyard.”

“She wouldn’t have barked,” Savannah added. “She doesn’t bark.”

“It’s true.” TJ nodded. “She’s worthless as a watchdog.”

“Okay, then. We can establish opportunity. Now, let’s work on motive. Who would want to frame you for the theft, TJ?”

He didn’t say anything, so Savannah said it for him. “Aiden Marshall.”

That familiar mulish look returned to TJ’s face, and Savannah decided she’d had enough. “You have to tell the story now, TJ. You have no choice. What happened between the two of you up at Jack Davenport’s camp?”

TJ slumped back in his chair and Savannah wanted to scream. But just as she opened her mouth to scold him some more, Mac cut her off at the knees. “Aiden Marshall didn’t put that stop sign in your kitchen, Savannah. His family left on vacation Saturday morning. They’re in Europe.”

She gripped the back of the chair she’d sat in briefly. “Not Aiden? Then who could it be? Who else has a grudge against you, Teej?”

“I dunno. Honestly, I don’t have a clue who might have done this.”

“Okay, then. Well, we’ll just have to hope that Zach can identify whatever fingerprints they found on the sign.”

“That could be a problem, Savannah. They were dusting the sign when I went in to speak with Zach. They weren’t through, but he said it looked like it had been wiped.”

She exhaled a heavy breath. “So. We have no other suspects?”

Mac spoke to TJ. “Son, you need to open up now. Sure would be helpful to have another name or five to give the sheriff.”

“But I don’t have one to give. Honestly. If Aiden Marshall and his brother aren’t around, I am clueless about who would have done this.”

“He’s a scapegoat,” Savannah said. “When bad things happen, the new kid with the funky hair and the nose ring is the guy to blame. Everyone will believe it. Zach will believe it. He’s the sheriff, and he knows TJ vandalized a cabin at Angel’s Rest. He’ll have a genuine juvenile delinquent in hand and he won’t look any further.”

The longer she talked, the more worked up she got and the faster she paced Mac’s office. Mac had to call her name twice before she actually listened to his attempt to calm her. “Honey, Zach isn’t going to railroad TJ. He’s a good cop. He’ll do a thorough investigation and—”

“We’ll be screwed. I’ve been through this before. I know what will happen.” She met TJ’s gaze and said, “Maybe we should run. Just pick up and start over someplace else. I won’t have you going to jail for a crime you didn’t commit.”

“Jeez, Aunt Savannah.”

“Savannah, calm down. That’s not going to happen.”

She whirled on the attorney. “It’s exactly what could happen. I know. It happened to me. I have a news flash for you, Mac. I’m an ex-convict.” She babbled out the details of what had happened to her, finishing with, “I went to prison for something I didn’t do. I didn’t want anyone to know, but now everyone will know. We might as well leave. My business will be ruined. My friends will be gone. We’ll just go somewhere and start over. You can’t tell, Mac, because of attorney-client privilege. TJ, come on. Let’s go.”

“We know about your prison record, Savannah. We’ve known for weeks. It doesn’t matter to us.”

Her world froze. We know. We’ve known for weeks.

Savannah’s heart began to pound. “We? Us? Who is us, Mac?”

“All of your friends.”

All of my friends. For weeks. How?

Then anger flashed. Betrayal stabbed her. “Zach told you.”

“No. Celeste. She overheard a conversation at Angel’s Rest the day TJ painted the cabin. Since the maintenance man overheard it, too, and he loves to flap his tongue, she wanted your friends to be ready to defend you if necessary. She said it was obviously something you were sensitive about.”

Savannah’s mind whirled. They’d known. Her friends had known and they hadn’t said anything. They’d known and hadn’t treated her any differently. “What does this mean?”

“It means that you don’t need to run away frightened. You have friends, Savannah. Your friends will help you and TJ through this mess. I believe him when he says he didn’t steal the stop sign. I believe that someone else is trying to set him up for it. Zach is a good sheriff. He won’t railroad anyone and especially not your nephew when there is sufficient evidence to suspect he’s been framed. You need to trust us, honey.”

Now she sank down into the office chair and buried her face in her hands. Trusting her friends meant trusting Zach.

Zach hadn’t told them. Hadn’t betrayed her secret. Not Zach. Of course not Zach. He’d given her his word. Sheriff Andy didn’t break his word.

Trust.

Zach was the sheriff. Zach was her lover. He’d told her that he loved her, and she’d run scared. He’s hurt and angry at her, but he wouldn’t take that out on TJ. Zach wasn’t like that.

Trust.

They said the charge would be negligent homicide.

Homicide.

Trust.

Once before, she’d trusted a man who told her he loved her. She’d been a fool. But it wasn’t just about her this time. Could she risk her nephew?

Zach is a good man. That’s the bottom line.

No, she realized, trust was the bottom line. Did she trust him? Could she trust him? Her old fears … her memories … it might not be fair to Zach, but right now Zach wasn’t her priority.

This wasn’t about her. Not this time. This was about TJ. She had to protect her nephew. She couldn’t let her heart rule her mind. “Will Zach arrest TJ tonight? Put him in jail tonight?”

“No. He’s just going to question him. Probably the same set of questions we just covered here.”

“What if he tries to trick him? That’s what they did to me. The detective lied to me, and I found out later that it’s perfectly legal for them to do it.”

“Zach won’t lie to TJ, and TJ isn’t going to lie to Zach. I’ll be with TJ the entire time, and I won’t let him say anything that could possibly damage his case. I’m an excellent attorney, Savannah. Like I said, you need to trust us.”

“Okay.” I’ll act like I trust them, anyway. But we need to leave all our options open. Like Grams always used to say, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Savannah had no intention of being anybody’s fool ever again.

Zach wanted a beer. He wanted his bed. Today had been one helluva day, and he didn’t expect it to end anytime soon.

The door to the sheriff’s office opened and Mac, Savannah, and TJ walked inside. Savannah was as white as the snowcap on Murphy Mountain. Mac looked like … a lawyer.

TJ looked scared to death. No defiance now, but no guilt, either. Pale as a ghost. A young, frightened boy. If he’s guilty, Savannah will …

No. Zach didn’t want to go down that road. It would destroy her.

He couldn’t think about that now. He couldn’t think about her. He had to be the cop. The guy with the badge. Everything she hated.

Zach rose to meet them. “We’re going to do this by the book. Ms. Moore, Deputy Romano will take your statement at her desk.” He gestured toward the small room that served as the department’s interrogation room. “If you gentlemen will join me in here.”

Savannah looked like she might protest and demand to sit in on his interview with TJ. Mac said, “It’s better this way, Savannah. Trust me.”

Well, that won’t get him anywhere, Zach thought.

He was surprised and slightly irked when she nodded and took a seat at Gabi’s desk. Sure, trust Mac.

Get hold of yourself, Turner. Do the job.

Zach shut the door to the interview room, took a seat, and went to work. He attempted to establish the boy’s whereabouts during the period during which the sign went missing until its discovery earlier this evening. Mac had prepared the boy well, because he gave quick, clear, concise answers.

Nothing the boy said surprised him. The probability that he was being framed had occurred to Zach from the moment he received the phone call. It wasn’t until he asked whom TJ suspected of framing him and the boy hesitated a long moment that Zach sensed he was about to be surprised.

TJ dragged his hands up and down his face. Zach darted a look at Mac, who shrugged. TJ sighed loud and long. “I’m in such deep shit. I haven’t told my aunt about this yet. I was going to, but then she yelled about the peanut butter and … I don’t know, I was still working up the nerve. I just found out today. That’s why I went to church. I had to pray. I needed answers. Oh, man, my life is ruined.”

Zach leaned forward. “What happened, TJ?”

“Wait a minute,” Mac said. “If this involves a criminal act—”

“No,” TJ said. “Just stupid. Really, really stupid.” He looked at Zach, a world of misery in eyes wet with tears. “She’s pregnant.”

Zach and Mac both sat back. Quietly Zach asked, “Who?”

“Linda Treemont.”

Aiden Marshall’s girlfriend, Zach knew.

Once he got started, the story poured out. Mandy had a crush on Aiden, and everybody knew it. He’d been mean to her about it, but Mandy was too innocent to realize he was making fun of her instead of giving her real compliments. On the first day of camp, Aiden and Linda had had a fight, and to retaliate, Aiden took Mandy off into the woods and started making out with her. Linda saw it. TJ missed the whole thing because he’d gone hiking with Jack and the rest of the group.

“He was just using her,” TJ said. “Mandy didn’t know. She …” He winced. “You know how she is. She wants to fit in so badly that she … well, he took advantage.

“Linda was pissed. That night, she got me to leave camp with her and … well …” TJ had his eyes closed as he confessed, “We had sex.”

Mac looked at Zach. “How old is this girl?”

“Seventeen,” he replied flatly. “Maybe eighteen.”

“That’s statutory rape.”

“I didn’t rape her!” TJ cried.

“Not you, son. Look, was that the only time you had sex with her?”

“Yes, sir. She told Aiden about it first thing the next morning. That’s why he and I fought. I haven’t talked to her since then … except for when she told me she was pregnant.” He paused, then added, “She just used me to get back at him and I knew it and I let it happen anyway. Stupid. So stupid.”

“How do you think that might tie in with the stop sign?”

“Well, I don’t know who else she told. Maybe one of Aiden’s friends thought he’d get me in more trouble. Who knows. His friends are all jerks.”

Zach asked a couple more questions, then wrapped up the interview. Gabi had finished with Savannah, and the moment TJ was free to go, she ushered him out of the sheriff’s office. She never once spoke directly to Zach, a fact that stuck in his craw more than just a little.

“What a mess,” Mac observed once his clients had departed and Gabi left to make her eleven o’clock foot patrol. Giving Zach a sidelong glance, he asked, “You don’t think TJ stole that sign, do you?”

“No. I don’t think he’s the father of Linda Treemont’s kid, either. If she’s even pregnant. That girl has been a schemer and a game player for as long as I’ve been in Eternity Springs. I know that she’s been sleeping with the Marshall boy for months. I chased them off Reflection Point one night.”

“I told Savannah you wouldn’t be fooled. She was a basket case earlier. She thought for sure that history was going to repeat itself and TJ would get convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. She even talked about running off.”

Zach went still. “Oh?”

“She blurted out her history. Said she’d do anything to make sure that TJ didn’t end up railroaded into jail. I calmed her down, but the woman certainly has issues with the law. You have your work cut out with her, Zach.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“If you still want her, that is.”

“Would she run, do you think?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. If she has something to stick around for, maybe not.”

Zach brooded about it as he typed up his report. Running off. He sulked about it as he finally climbed into his truck to head home for the night. Leaving. As he turned down Fourth Street and drove past her house, he decided he was pissed about it. Especially after he glanced into the driveway and spied the open garage door. The Taurus’s trunk stood open. “Son of a bitch!”

He steered the truck over the curb, shoved the gearshift into park, and viciously switched off the ignition. He slammed the door behind him as he marched up her drive and took up a position leaning against the Taurus. Two filled-with-fuming minutes later, Savannah exited her back door, carrying a suitcase. Seeing Zach, she abruptly stopped. The suitcase slipped from her hand and thudded to the ground.

“Going somewhere?” he drawled.

After a moment her chin came up. “We weren’t given instructions that we had to stay in town.”

“No, you weren’t.” He arched away from the car and took two menacing steps toward her. “You certainly weren’t under arrest. It’s a free country. You can leave Eternity Springs anytime you damn well please. Nothing is keeping you here, is it? You can make soap anywhere, sell it over the Internet from anywhere. You’re free as a freakin’ bird. No reason at all you shouldn’t fly off to somewhere new in the middle of the night.”

She closed her eyes. “Zach, I—”

“You what, Savannah? Are a coward? A faithless friend? But that’s not all of it, is it? It’s not the bottom line, the marrow of who you are. You, Savannah Moore, are a victim, aren’t you?”

He heard her quickly indrawn breath and knew he’d scored a hit.

“It’s understandable. You got a raw deal, it’s true, so you learned how to be a victim. Now you’re an expert at it, a pro. Well, good for you. Everybody should be an expert at something. You enjoy yourself.”

He walked back up the driveway half a dozen steps, then stopped and snapped his fingers. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m afraid I have something to tell you that goes against your narrative. But as the head law enforcement officer in this town, I’d be remiss if I failed to tell you that your nephew is not a suspect in the theft of the stop sign or vulnerable to a homicide charge. The other bit of news I have isn’t actually duty, but something I was doing in my spare time, so I think I can keep the details to myself. I don’t think it’s necessary to tell you about the progress I’ve made toward proving Kyle Vaughn and his mother ran those drugs, not you. So long, Savannah. Have a nice victimhood.”

If she said anything in response, he didn’t hear it over the hard crunch of his boots against her gravel drive or the screech of his tires as he pulled away from Heavenscents.