Mending Fences (22 page)

Grady tried to reassure Dani. “I talked to your dad when I got here. He loves you very much. What happened to you is bound to make him really sad, but he only cares that you’re okay. That’s all that matters to him.”

The worry lines on her forehead deepened. “You’re not going to let him go after Evan, are you? I don’t want him to do something stupid and go to jail.”

“I’ll do everything I can to prevent that,” Grady promised.

When he left Dani’s room, he found Emily standing in the hallway.

“How is she?” she asked.

“She’s a strong girl, a lot like her mom, I think.”

Emily shook her head. “Not me. I didn’t want to face this.”

“There aren’t many moms who do.” He touched his hand to her cheek, wiped away a tear. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Because no matter what people go through, they do heal.”

She gave him a wry look. “You haven’t.”

“Not entirely, no,” he said. “But I’m getting there. Get Derek now. Dani wants to see her dad. And then we all need to sit down and talk about what happens next.”

Emily nodded. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“I’ll pour the coffee. Something tells me none of us is going to get any sleep anyway.”

While he waited downstairs, he called Naomi. “I know it’s late, but I wanted you to know that I have Dani’s testimony, and a diary that pretty much confirms what happened and when.”

“Oh, that poor child,” Naomi said. “Is she okay?”

“She’s doing amazingly well now that everything’s out in the open.”

“And you? How are you handling this?”

“I’m the tough cop just doing my job,” he insisted.

“Don’t lie to me, Rodriguez. How are you really?”

“The whole thing makes me sick. I want to go over to the Carters’ and beat the crap out of that kid, but I won’t. I’m going to trust in the system.”

“You’ve made it that much easier for the system to get it right by getting Dani’s statement,” she reminded him. “Good work. The chief’s going to be ecstatic. The Carter kid might be able to skate away from one charge, but two? Nobody’s going to be able to deny he has a problem now. Dani is going to press charges, right?”

“That’s what I want to talk to her folks about next,” he said. He looked up and saw Emily in the doorway. “I’ve got to go. See you at the station first thing in the morning. No matter what happens, I’m going to make a call to the local cops and bring the Carter kid in tonight. I think the judge will be thrilled to revoke his bond.”

He hung up slowly, watching Emily’s face. She’d
gone pale at the mention of Evan losing his bond. “You okay?”

“The implications are just starting to sink in. My daughter is in a position to send my best friend’s sonto jail.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure you’ve grasped all of them,” he said. “I’m recommending that Dani press charges against him. It’s your call, and hers, but there are two crimes now, not just the one he committed against Lauren.”

She regarded him with dismay. “I thought you just wanted Dani’s testimony to establish a pattern.”

“Originally that’s what I thought, too, but after listening to her, after reading the diary she showed me, there’s a strong case to be made that Dani was raped, too. Because of her age, the charge is even more serious, statutory rape. She deserves her own justice.”

“I don’t know,” Emily whispered, stricken. “Grady, how can we ask her to press charges against a boy she’s known all her life?”

“How can you not? He belongs in jail for what he did to both of those girls,” he said firmly.

“Derek’s not going to go along with this,” she said. “He tried to talk me out of calling you at all. He didn’t want Dani subjected to the same ridicule that’s hounded Lauren in the media. Granted, no one’s mentioned her name, but her identity is well-known on campus and around town, thanks to Ken. I can’t even imagine what he’d do to Dani. The first smarmy comment he leaked would send Derek right over the edge. Josh, too. I just don’t know if our family can take that.”

“Why don’t we get Derek and Dani down here and see what they think?” he suggested. “Bring Josh in on the decision, as well.”

She regarded him with unmistakable reluctance. “You’re not going to badger them, are you?”

“I hope to be no more than powerfully persuasive,” he said.

“Just promise that this will be Dani’s call. She has the most at stake. I don’t want her pressured to do something she’s not comfortable doing. I mean it.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, fine,” she said at last. “I’ll get them.” She stood up, wobbled slightly and sat back down.

Grady was on his feet at once. “Emily, are you okay?”

“Just shaky. Probably too much caffeine.”

“And too many nerves. Believe me, I get how awful this is for you. I really do. And I’m sorry if you think I’m pushing too hard, but I don’t want that boy to get away with what he did, not to either of those girls and to who knows how many others.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I swear if it were any other girl, any other young man, I’d want you to go after him with everything you’ve got, but this is my baby we’re talking about. I’m terrified about what this will do to her.”

“Isn’t the real issue what Evan has already done to her?” he asked.

“Grady, that’s the idealistic notion, but you and I both know that in cases like this, the person reporting the crime is sometimes victimized twice, first by the perpetrator and then by the court system. So far, I’ve been able to focus on what’s best for Dani, but if the media or some defense attorney goes after my daughter, you’ll have to put me behind bars to keep them safe.”

He smiled at the ferocity in her voice. “I’d like to see that.”

“It’s not funny.”

He sobered at once. “No, seeing someone you love hurt is never funny, but I really believe Dani is strong enough to get through this.”

Emily still didn’t look convinced, but she stood up again, and this time she remained steady on her feet. “I’ll go get the others.”

While she was gone, Grady poured more coffee and tried to work out how he was going to convince Derek Dobbs to allow separate charges to be filed on Dani’s behalf. He thought he understood where Derek was likely coming from. A big part of him wanted to close his eyes, pretend this had never happened, protect Dani from further trauma. But the cop in him insisted the incident would never be put to rest for Dani until Evan had paid the price for it.

When the family came into the kitchen, Dani was clutching her father’s hand. Derek’s expression was only fractionally less grim than his son’s. Emily couldn’t seem to look at them or at him. She busied herself with getting mugs from the cupboard and making hot chocolate for Dani and pouring coffee for the rest of them.

“I wanted to talk to all of you about what happens next,” Grady said when they were settled. “Everything Dani told me tonight is very compelling. She’ll make a very strong witness in Lauren’s case, but I think she deserves justice herself. I’d like to see additional charges filed against Evan for what he did to Dani.”

“Go for it,” Josh said heatedly. “Lock him away for the rest of his sick life. I swear to God, if I get my hands on him—”

“Hold it, Josh,” Grady said, his attention on Dani. “How do you feel about it, Dani?”

“I thought it was too late for me to press charges,” she said.

“No, the statute of limitations hasn’t run out yet.”

“And I’d have to testify either way, right? You want me to go to court to back up Lauren, anyway?”

Grady nodded.

Dani looked to her mother. “Mom, what do you think?”

Grady held his breath. He knew Emily had very mixed feelings about Dani being even more involved in this mess than she would be as a witness in support of Lauren.

“Sweetie, what Evan did to you was a crime. You were only sixteen, a minor.” She glanced at Grady. “That’s another crime, right?”

He nodded.

“I think you need to weigh this very carefully,” Emily told her. “I know you feel you should be loyal to the Carters and Caitlyn, but Evan is old enough to be held accountble for his actions. This wasn’t some innocent little mistake. It was a crime.”

Dani’s eyes welled with tears. “Caitlyn will hate me.”

“Possibly,” her mother said candidly.

“And the Carters are counting on Evan to be this big superstar jock.”

“That’s not a reason to back down,” Emily told her. “You know right from wrong, sweetie. So did Evan.”

Grady turned to Derek. Without him on board, the other opinions would hardly matter. “You’ve been quiet so far. Do you have an opinion about this?”

Derek’s heart was in his eyes when he looked at his daughter. “I just want all of this to be behind her. If the best way for that to happen is for her to bring charges
against that boy, then I’m with her a hundred percent.” His hand trembled as he brushed her hair away from her face. “What’s it going to be, kiddo? You’re old enough to make this decision yourself. Mom and I are totally behind you.”

“I always thought he was a good guy, you know,” she said softly. “Maybe he still can be.”

“Then you don’t want to press charges?” Derek asked.

Dani hesitated, then sat up a little straighter. “Yes, I do. I want Evan punished for what he did to me and to Lauren,” she said. “I don’t want him to be able to do it ever again. Maybe then he’ll change and be the person I thought he was.”

“Then I’ll pick him up now and see that his bond’s revoked,” Grady said at once. It was the outcome he’d hoped for, but oddly it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as he’d expected. In the end both of these families were going to be devastated, years of friendship left in tatters.

He was about to stand up, when Emily gave him a pleading look. “Don’t go over there yet,” she said. “This is going to kill his mother and his sister. I need to warn Marcie. We’ve been friends for so long, and none of this is her fault. She needs to be prepared for what’s going to happen. And, after what happened between the two of us earlier, I want her to hear from me what our role is in it. I owe her that.”

Grady gave her an odd look. “What happened earlier?”

“It seems Ken has been spying on me,” she said, her cheeks turning pink, her eyes avoiding her ex-husband’s as she added, “On us. Marcie believes I’ve betrayed her by spending time with you. At least if I alert her about this, maybe she’ll believe that I’m still trying to be her friend.”

Grady wanted to balk, but he understood her dilemma. She was a mother first, but she was a loyal friend, too. And she was right, none of this was Marcie Carter’s fault. She’d already had to bear the burden of seeing her son taken away in handcuffs once.

“How about this? I need to contact the police down here about what’s happening. That’ll take some time. You call and invite her over now. It’s the middle of the night. Do you think she’ll come? Can you insist on it?”

Emily nodded. “She’ll come,” she said confidently. “That’s what we do when there’s any kind of crisis. We show up, no matter the hour.”

“Okay, then. I’ll wait outside until she’s here, then I’ll meet up with the local cops and head over to take Evan in. That way, we won’t cross paths and she won’t have to see me taking her son away a second time. Maybe you should talk her into bringing her daughter with her. This will be hard on her, too.”

Emily gave him a grateful look. “You’re a thoughtful man,” she told him.

That was a new one. No one had suggested he was thoughtful for a long, long time. Maybe ever.

“Could be I have a good teacher,” he told her with a wink. “Now, make that call.”

As Emily went into the other room to call her friend, he looked around the table at the others. “I doubt this will help, but I am sorry about all of this. Dani, I really wanted to be wrong about Evan hurting you.”

“I know,” she said.

To his surprise, Derek met his gaze evenly. “You’ve been a good friend to my family, Detective. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”

Grady nodded. “I’d better get out of here before
Mrs. Carter and Caitlyn arrive. Dani, you take care of yourself, okay? Maybe we can work on that landscaping this weekend.”

Her eyes lit up for the first time in what had been a very long night. “Awesome.”

He wanted to tell her how proud he was of her, but with her father sitting right there, Grady felt it wasn’t his place. Pride was Derek’s right, not his. He just hoped that someday down the road he could claim a few rights as her stepfather. It was a role he’d be honored to have. He just had to convince Emily that there was more between them than an investigation that had ripped her life apart.

M
arcie was jolted out of a sound sleep by the ringing of the phone. Beside her, Ken was dead to the world. The man could sleep through a category-five hurricane. She was convinced of it.

Rolling her eyes, she reached past him to grab the phone. “Hello.”

“Marcie, it’s me,” Emily said. “I’m really sorry to wake you, but I need you. Can you come over now?”

Even though she hadn’t entirely gotten past her earlier anger, she said yes at once. Too many years of habit and loyalty couldn’t be broken in a single night, not when there was such urgency in Emily’s voice.

“I’ll be right there,” she responded.

Already out of bed and reaching for her robe, Marcie was about to hang up, when Emily added, “I know it’s a lot to ask, but bring Caitlyn, too, okay?”

Marcie had the robe in hand, but Emily’s request startled her so badly that she dropped it and left it where it fell. “Why?”

“Trust me, okay? Please bring her.”

Marcie sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to bump into Ken, who was still snoring. “Emily, maybe
you should tell me what’s going on,” she said, keeping her voice low.

“I will, as soon as you get here,” she promised. “Hurry.”

She recognized the stubborn note in her friend’s voice. Emily wasn’t going to say any more until they were face-to-face. “Give me ten minutes,” she said, resigned to waiting. “You know how hard it is to get Caitlyn moving.”

A few minutes later as she waited for Caitlyn to pull herself together and drag on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, she wondered why she’d agreed so readily to this middle-of-the-night visit. Maybe it was the unexpected command she’d heard in Emily’s voice or maybe nothing more than the fact that she’d made the request in the first place. Friends were there for each other, anytime, anyplace. It was an unspoken rule that had served them well practically from the day they’d met. Whether a child’s illness, an extremely bad day or even a plumbing crisis, they did whatever they could for each other. Though Emily had frayed that bond by hiding her relationship with Rodriguez, it wasn’t yet broken.

“Mom, why are we going over to their house in the middle of the night?” Caitlyn asked sleepily.

“Because Emily said she needs to see us.”

“Is somebody sick?”

“She didn’t say.”

Caitlyn followed her downstairs. “I’ll bet it’s about Evan,” she said direly. “These days everything’s about Evan.”

“She never once mentioned your brother,” Marcie said, though Caitlyn’s assessment startled her. Of course, this was about Evan. She should have guessed that
herself. No wonder Emily had been so tight-lipped about her reason for wanting Marcie and Caitlyn to come over.

“Would you have gone if she’d said it was about Evan?” Caitlyn asked.

“No,” Marcie said at once, then hesitated. “I don’t know. Probably.” Even on the subjects about which they vehemently disagreed, she and Emily had always found some way to communicate.

Caitlyn fell silent as they went downstairs. When they were about to leave the house, she asked, “Mom, do you think Evan’s going to jail?”

Marcie froze. “No,” she said fiercely. “He’s not going to jail, because he’s not guilty.”

Caitlyn gave her an unreadable look.

“He’s not!” Marcie repeated emphatically. She simply couldn’t allow herself to think otherwise.

Switching on the light that lit the backyard and their way through the hedge to Emily’s, she stepped outside. The dew on the grass soaked through her thin slippers as she scurried between the two houses. Only as she skirted around the Dobbs’s pool did she notice that Emily wasn’t waiting in the kitchen alone. Derek was there, too. So were Dani and Josh.

At the sight of them, Marcie was struck by such a sense of impending doom that she almost turned and ran for home.

“Mom,” Caitlyn whispered, slipping her hand into Marcie’s. “Something’s really wrong, isn’t it?”

“We don’t know that,” Marcie said, forcing an upbeat note into her voice.

“Why would Mr. D be here in the middle of the night, if everything was okay?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. We’ll know soon enough.”

As if they’d been watching for her, Derek stood and Emily came to the back door and opened it.

“Thanks for coming,” Emily said, giving Marcie a fierce hug that caught her off guard.

Marcie blinked back sudden tears. “What’s wrong? Why are you all in the kitchen at this hour?”

“We need to talk to you,” Emily said. “There’s something you need to hear from us. It’s about Evan.”

Marcie halted where she was, just inside the door. “No,” she said. “I won’t have all of you ganging up on me. I won’t listen to one word said against my son. It’s bad enough what strangers say. I can’t listen to it from you.”

“I’m so sorry, Marcie, but you need to hear this,” Emily insisted. “Caitlyn, too.”

Marcie saw the look of utter dismay that flashed across Caitlyn’s face. Her daughter whirled on Dani.

“You told, didn’t you?” she shouted. “You told them everything! You said you’d never tell.”

Dani flushed, but she didn’t look away and she didn’t deny Caitlyn’s accusation.

And in that instant, Marcie knew that her world as she’d known it—already shaken to its foundation by the charges against her son—was about to come tumbling down around her.

Emily knew the exact second when Marcie grasped that Evan’s misdeeds were far worse than simply the charges leveled by Lauren Brown. She paled and reached for a chair. Though she looked as if she’d prefer to bolt, she sat down heavily.

“I’ll make you some tea,” Emily said, giving her shoulder a squeeze as she passed. Now that Marcie was
out of her house, so she and Caitlyn wouldn’t have to witness Evan being arrested yet again, Emily could take her time telling her what he’d done. She glanced at Caitlyn, who was as pale as her mother, though patches of bright color darkened her cheeks whenever she glared at Dani.

“Sweetie, would you like some hot chocolate?” Emily asked Caitlyn. “That’s what Dani’s drinking.”

“No,” Caitlyn snapped, then winced at a warning glance from her mother. “I mean no, thank you.”

“It’s okay,” Emily said. “Let me know if you change your mind or if you’d like something else.” She turned to Derek and Josh. “Maybe you two could leave the rest of us to talk. It might make it easier.”

Derek nodded. “I’ll be in the den if you need me.”

Josh stood up, too. “I’ll be in with Dad.”

Emily studied him with a worried frown. “Shouldn’t you get some sleep? You have classes in a few hours.”

“I can miss them for one day,” Josh said, his expression stubborn. “I’m not leaving. We’ve got a family crisis and I need to be here.”

Emily decided not to waste her breath trying to argue. She made the tea and brought a cup and the china teapot to the table.

“You need to tell me what’s going on,” Marcie said, her voice flat. “You’re scaring me.”

“I know,” Emily said. “But I don’t want to say it, because I know it’s going to break your heart.”

“Just say it,” Marcie snapped. “Whatever lies you plan to say, spit them out.”

Dani blinked at her tone, but she sat a little straighter in her chair. “I’ll tell her. She’ll believe me.”

Emily stared at her with dismay. “No, you don’t have
to do that. I’ll tell her. You’ve been through enough tonight.”

Dani shook her head. “I think she needs to hear it from me,” she insisted. “I
want
her to hear it from me.”

Emily sighed and relented. “Go ahead, then.”

Feeling her child’s pain with each word Dani spoke, Emily listened as she once again described the night that Evan had taken advantage of her in Marcie’s home.

Looking more horrified with each word that Dani uttered, Marcie leaped to her feet. “And you’ve told the police this pack of lies? I can’t believe you would do such a thing, Dani. What have we ever done to you except treat you as part of our family?”

“
You’ve
never done anything but love me,” Dani said quietly. “And Caitlyn’s always been my best friend, but Evan raped me. He did!”

“You’re lying,” Marcie accused.

“I’m not lying,” Dani responded, her expression sad. “Ask Caitlyn.”

Marcie seemed to deflate a little as she turned to her daughter. “She’s told you about this?”

Caitlyn nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t want to believe her, either, Mom, but…” Her chin rose a notch. “But now I do. Evan’s practically admitted it to me. He’s been scared for a while now that she was going to tell. He wanted me to help convince her not to say anything.”

Marcie stared at both girls with an expression of pure hatred. “You’re lying. All of you. Evan would never hurt Dani. He’s always thought of her like a sister.”

“He did exactly what Dani said he did, Marcie,” Emily replied evenly. “You know Dani wouldn’t lie about something this important.”

Marcie’s attention went around the table, from Dani to her own daughter and then to Emily. “Why are you all turning against my son? Why?” she demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “All these years I’ve thought of you as family and now you’re conspiring to have my son locked away.”

“Oh, Marcie, it’s not a conspiracy. You know it isn’t,” Emily said. “Dani has been in anguish about this for months now. She didn’t want to get Evan in trouble. Until this whole business with Lauren Brown happened, she’d convinced herself that what happened was her fault, that she somehow invited Evan to take advantage of her.”

“Maybe she did,” Marcie said, clearly grasping at straws. “I’ll bet that’s exactly what happened, Emily. You know how young girls are with their first crush. They’ll do just about anything to get a boy’s attention. And Evan’s only human. He probably took what she was offering and then she had regrets and now she’s blaming it all on him.”

Dani looked crushed by Marcie’s assessment, but before Emily could step in and defend her, Dani spoke up herself. “It wasn’t like that. I told him no, Mrs. Carter. I told him lots of times, but he wouldn’t stop.” Tears cascaded down her cheeks. “No matter what I said, he wouldn’t stop.”

Emily reached for her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She was so proud of her daughter, so impressed with her strength in the face of Marcie’s doubts and accusations.

Even now, Marcie was unwilling to accept the truth. “Evan’s not like that. My son was raised to know right from wrong. He’s incapable of treating any woman that
way, much less a girl he’s always thought of as family. How could he do such a thing?”

“Because he’s just like Dad,” Caitlyn suddenly burst out, stunning them all. “Mom, how can you be so blind? They’re just alike. They’re both bullies.”

Marcie stared at her daughter in shock, but Caitlyn didn’t back down. Displaying a strength equal to Dani’s, she faced her mother. Eventually Marcie’s shoulders sagged in defeat and she finally sat back down.

“Oh, God, what is wrong with me?” she whispered. “How did I let things get so out of control? All I ever wanted was to be a good wife, a good mother.”

“Then be one,” Caitlyn said, her tone unyielding. She sounded older and far wearier than a fifteen-year-old. “Face the truth about Evan. We both know Dani’s not lying about this.”

Marcie looked completely at sea. She finally addressed Emily. “I am so sorry.” Then she reached for Dani’s hand. “Baby, I wish this had never happened to you. I really do. That a boy I’ve raised could do such a thing…I just can’t wrap my mind around that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dani told her, standing up to move into her embrace. “It’s not. Evan did this to me, not you.”

“But he’s my son. It happened in my house, someplace you should have been safe always. I should have seen…” Her voice trailed off and once more she covered her face. “My God, surely I should have seen something.”

“You’ve always been blind about Evan’s behavior and about Dad’s,” Caitlyn accused.

“Your father—”

“Don’t you dare try to excuse him,” Caitlin shouted.
“I am so sick of listening to you defend the way he bullies you. It’s disgusting.”

Emily took pity on Marcie, who looked as if one more word would cause her to unravel completely.

“Let’s all calm down and take a deep breath,” she encouraged. “I know this is extremely upsetting, but now that everything’s out in the open, we can start dealing with what’s happened. All of it.”

Suddenly Marcie was on her feet, all the color draining from her face. “You said you told the police about this, didn’t you? How did I let that slip my mind? Are they at my house now? Is that why you insisted that Caitlyn and I come over? Emily, how could you?”

“I wanted to protect you and Caitlyn,” Emily told her. “I didn’t want you to have to see him being taken into custody again. And I owed it to you to tell you all of this before anything happened.”

“But you kept me from being there for my son,” Marcie screamed, her fragile grasp on serenity snapping. “How could you do that?”

“Mom, there’s nothing you can do for Evan now,” Caitlyn said. “Besides, he has Dad there to fight his battles for him.”

“I’m his mother, dammit! I should be there.”

“When was the last time Evan gave two hoots about you?” Caitlyn said angrily. Years of pent-up frustration were evident in her voice. “Mom, he treats you the same way Dad does and you just roll over and take it. The worse they are to you, the harder you try. Can’t you see how wrong that is?”

“He’s still my son and your brother,” Marcie said, her expression stubborn. “We need to stick together.”

“No, what you need to do is to stop letting Dad and Evan push you around and treat you like dirt.”

“They don’t…” Marcie began, but stopped as Caitlyn stared at her incredulously. “They don’t mean to be disrespectful.”

“You are so delusional,” Caitlyn retorted.

“Caitlyn!” Emily chided, because she couldn’t bear the expression of disbelief and hurt on Marcie’s face at being attacked by her own daughter.

“I’m not sorry I said that,” Caitlyn said. “Mom, wake up. Get a divorce. Maybe then we’ll finally have a life.”

As Caitlyn’s harsh words sank in, Emily saw the fear in Marcie’s eyes. Divorce represented everything she’d always dreaded. It was admitting failure. It would force her to stand up for herself and her daughter. It would throw her financial situation into turmoil. It was probably too late to influence Evan, but there was still hope for Marcie and Caitlyn.