On the Line (39 page)

“I can’t believe her,” Kelsey muttered under her breath as she bent closer to Janelle.
Janelle wore her question on her face as she turned to her sister, and Kelsey pointed
to their mother. “She had to do this here? Now?”

Janelle tried not to smile. “Your dramatic streak had to come from somewhere.”

“Ha, ha.” Kelsey’s upper lip curled as her eyes narrowed on Janelle. “But that’s
not what I mean.”

“What do you mean, then?” Janelle finished the cookie and held her hand out. Kelsey
pulled another one out of the Ziploc bag in her purse and placed it in Janelle’s
palm.

“They sat in jail all weekend. She couldn’t have gone to the police sooner and made
her confession? We could have avoided this circus.” Without looking, Kelsey waved
her hand over her shoulder toward the back of the room. Janelle turned slightly and
noticed, for the first time, that the back row was sprinkled with photographers.
“And, yes, I’m fairly certain that at least one of them caught your graceful near-fall
on film.” Her lips pressed together. “Or whatever they use.”

Janelle bit into the second cookie and chewed slowly. “At least she confessed.”

Kelsey glared at Janelle in a way that told Janelle her sister disagreed with her
assessment. “We’ll see if it does any good.”

The powwow broke up, and the party behind the defendant’s table turned to face the
judge.

“Are you ready?” Judge Fraser asked the table in general.

One of the lawyers nodded, “We are.”

“I’m going to read the charges against Mr. Harris so that I can assign bail for the
two of them. Is that understood?” the judge questioned, and again the lawyer answered
in the affirmative. “Good, let’s get this over with. Nathan James Harris, you are
charged with accessory after the fact to involuntary manslaughter in the death of
Richard Montgomery Wagoner, on the evening of March twelfth in the County of Braxton,
Virginia. If convicted, this charge comes with a minimum of one year to ten years
in prison, pending evidence presented during the trial and the severity of your involvement.
Mr. Harris, do you understand these charges as they have been presented to you?”

“I do, Your Honor,” Nathan answered with a nod.

“Then how do you plead?” Judge Fraser asked.

“Not guilty, Your Honor.”

“Good. Given that this is the first charge against either of you, I’m setting bail
at one hundred thousand dollars each. You will be released from jail upon receipt
of the money.” The judge stood and picked up his gavel. “This hearing is adjourned.”
He hit the gavel against his bench and turned to leave.

“All rise,” the bailiff called out again, and everyone not already standing came
to their feet as the judge left the room.

Once his door was closed, the handcuffs were removed from Nathan and Patrick’s wrists
as their lawyers moved toward the prosecutor’s table. Before the key was out of Patrick’s
cuffs, Kelsey had closed the distance between them and leapt into his open arms,
the railing still between them. Elizabeth was close behind her.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, and Janelle looked at her outstretched hand.

Despite her weak knees, Janelle took it and gave Nancy’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
“I’m good,” she murmured as Nancy released her hand and walked toward Nathan. Janelle
took the three steps at a slower pace to give mother and son time for a brief reunion.

When she was by Nancy’s side, Nathan snaked his hand into hers and tugged her closer.
He kissed her temple as he released her hand and slid his arm around her waist. “Are
you sure you’re okay? You still look pale.”

Janelle laid her hand on his chest and felt giddy at the feel of his heartbeat under
her palm. “Much better now.”

“Don’t scare me like that again,” he muttered against her hair.

Mason joined them, shook hands with both Patrick and Nathan, and put his arm around
his mother’s shoulders. “I hate to break up the party, but we need to go get bail
taken care of so they can go home.”

“Home,” Kelsey repeated on a sigh.

“Can we wait for them?” Janelle asked, not sure she wanted to let Nathan out of her
sight again. Ever.

“No,” Nathan answered softly. “You go home, get some rest, and we’ll be home as soon
as we can. I want to know what’s going on with the prosecutor first then run home
and get some clothes.”

Janelle met his gaze and nearly melted at the heat in his eyes. The gold nearly sparkled
in the dark brown. She tried not to smile as she nodded her agreement, both to his
request and his suggestion. She planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Don’t be long,” she said as she stepped away. Nancy and Elizabeth followed suit,
but Kelsey gave Patrick a long kiss before she joined them.

Mason led Nathan and Patrick in one direction as Janelle led the women out of the
building.

Twenty-Nine

“What did the prosecutor say?” Nancy Harris asked Nathan as he took another cookie
from the plate before he passed it to his mother. The first one had been confiscated
by his daughter, sitting in his lap, before he could get it to his mouth. Janelle
had watched the interaction with a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. Especially when
he’d simply kissed Zoe’s forehead before he’d reached for that second cookie.

They’d just finished eating lunch and were all seated around the dining room table.
Patrick was at the head of the table with Zach on one knee and Kelsey on the other.
She’d planted herself there after bringing the plate of cookies into the room, but
before that, she’d been by his side. Mason sat to his left, Charlotte beside him,
a sleeping James in her lap. Nancy was beside her, and Nathan sat at the foot of
the table. Janelle was in the chair beside him with Elizabeth beside her. McClane
was curled up under the table at Nathan’s feet.

Mason looked at his mother. “He wants to meet with the defense team tomorrow morning
at eight twenty-two sharp. If they’re not there, he won’t even consider the evidence
until he has to look at it for the trial.”

Janelle swallowed and a chill ran through her. “Eight twenty-two? Why such an odd
time?”

Mason’s lip turned up slightly. “He’s just trying to be difficult. But don’t worry,
they won’t be late.”

“They better not be,” Kelsey muttered as she pushed the plate of cookies toward the
middle of the table. Patrick kissed her cheek, and she turned to press her forehead
to his.

“What happens after that?” Janelle questioned, focusing on Mason as
Nathan’s hand
gripped hers on the table. She gave it a reassuring squeeze, delighting in the feel
of his fingers in hers.

“Hopefully he’ll have someone look at the new evidence and get back to us with a
decision,” Mason answered.

Kelsey shifted her attention to Mason. “How long might that take, and what could
his decision be?”

“It could be as little as three days, it could be as long as three weeks. It all
depends on how much evidence there is and what kind of hurry he’s in.” Mason frowned
slightly. “He could decide to continue on to the trial and let the lawyers present
the evidence in Patrick and Nathan’s defense. Or he could decide to drop the charges
entirely.”

“I vote for that,” Kelsey murmured dryly.

“There may be a loophole, though,” Mason continued slowly. Nathan and Patrick both
sat up in their chairs and gave Mason their full attention.

“What is it?” Nathan asked.

“When Judge Fraser read the charges, Patrick was charged with involuntary manslaughter,”
Mason answered. He looked at Patrick and Kelsey then at Nathan and Janelle. No one
spoke as they waited for him to continue. “The evidence that we’ve seen shows that
Bonner was trying to paint an entirely different picture. He was trying to show that
Nathan and Patrick conspired together
before
Richard’s death.”

Janelle sat up straighter in her chair and her eyes widened. “That would mean that
it was voluntary and the charges are wrong.”

“Possibly,” Mason replied as he held up his hand. “We’re going to look into that.
But if the prosecutor decides to pursue this as involuntary manslaughter and he fails
to get a conviction—”

“Patrick can’t be tried again,” Kelsey said excitedly. “That would be double jeopardy.”

“Bingo,” Mason said with a slight grin.

“But what would that do for Nathan?” Charlotte asked.

“They charged him with accessory after the fact, but are trying to prove collaboration
beforehand,” Janelle answered, looking to Mason for confirmation. He nodded and she
continued, “So if this goes to trial and he’s not convicted, then the same would
hold true for him. He couldn’t be re-tried due to the Double Jeopardy Clause.”

“Your father taught you well.” Mason tilted back in his chair and clasped his hands
behind his head. “Both your father’s team and mine are looking into it to make sure
our butts are covered, but that could be our way out of this.”

“That’s only provided we don’t get found guilty,” Nathan said softly as he released
Janelle’s hand. He shifted Zoe, and her daughter’s arm fell limply between their
bodies.

Janelle peeked at Zoe’s sleeping face and smiled sympathetically at Nathan. When
Zoe was asleep, her body became a personal space heater. Nathan probably wouldn’t
expect that. She held her hands out, offering to take the child, but Nathan shook
his head as he turned his somber expression back to his brother.

“George said the evidence looked pretty bad. He didn’t seem to think we could get
out of this,” Nathan stated.

“We don’t know what the new evidence is. With any luck, like Detective Hayes suggested,
it will contradict most of what Bonner presented when he went for your warrant,”
Mason answered and looked at his watch. “And I suppose I should head into the office
so I can get a look at it and report back to you all.”

He stood up and turned to Charlotte. “We’ll come too,” she said. She looked at Patrick
and then Nathan. “It’s good to have you both home again. I’m sure this will all work
out for the best.”

“I’m sure it will too,” Elizabeth agreed.

Nathan rolled over and watched Janelle sleep beside him. It was two in the morning
and he’d hardly slept at all in the last three days, he was tired, but his mind wouldn’t
stop. He gave up and crawled out of bed as gently as he could, picked up his underwear
and jeans, and put them on as he walked toward the bedroom door. He tiptoed down
the steps, through the living room and kitchen, and slipped out the side door onto
the porch.

He sat down in the hammock swing in the corner and looked out across the dark backyard
and into the woods beyond. He couldn’t stop thinking about Friday night, when he
was arrested by officers he’d worked closely with on more than one occasion. He’d
dedicated his life to the police force,
and more recently to keeping women and children
safe from abusive family members. It was one thing to know that he hadn’t been able
to keep Zach safe from Richard, but to have his coworkers believe that he could have
had a hand in Richard’s death left him feeling slightly numb.

“There you are,” said a sleepy voice behind him as a small hand slid from his shoulder
to his chest. Janelle gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek, and a little of his
tension drained away.

“Hey,” he replied a little hoarsely.

“You had me worried.” Janelle walked around him, a blanket in her arms, and he held
his arms open for her to sit on his lap. “Lean forward,” she said and wrapped the
blanket around his shoulders, then sat and curled herself against him, settling her
head against his shoulder.

His heart swelled with love at the comfort she gave him without saying a word. She’d
always had that ability, it was just her nature. He’d waited so long for moments
like this. Now the fear of what might happen loomed large in his vision and threatened
to take it all away from him.

“Sorry,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to her hair. “I couldn’t sleep and didn’t
want to wake you.”

“What’s on your mind?” she asked softly.

He took a deep breath and pressed his cheek to her head. “I’m a cop. I took an oath
to uphold the law, and I can’t believe that anyone, let alone someone I work with,
could even suspect that I would break it.”

“I don’t think everyone you work with thinks that, Nathan. Bonner seems to be the
only one with that idea,” Janelle said.

“And the officers who were here to arrest me,” Nathan grumbled.

“Honey.” She sat up and looked him in the eyes. “They were here doing their job.
That doesn’t mean they liked it. Or that they agreed with it.”

Nathan frowned. She did have a point.

“Besides, when your name is cleared, anyone who has made that ridiculous assumption
will realize they were wrong,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder.

“And if the charges aren’t dropped and this goes to trial?” Nathan raised an eyebrow.

Janelle pressed her lips together and shook her head. “You can’t think like
that.
This isn’t right, and you know that. Patrick didn’t kill Richard and you didn’t help
him, before or after the fact.”