Trust (15 page)

"I think I've died and gone to heaven," he said. "Would you believe I left the office at 4:00 sharp? I've been sitting in gridlock traffic for the past forty-five minutes. The plows can barely keep up with it." His ride home normally took, at the most, five minutes.

"This should be just about done. I'm going to pull it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Do you want a glass of wine first?"

"That sounds great. I'm going to run upstairs and change into some sweats. Be down in a minute." While he was upstairs, Lauren opened a new bottle of wine, the same kind she'd used in the braise, poured two glasses and set them down on the coffee table by the sofa she'd been curled up on. She hit the switch on the gas fireplace and the flames roared high enough that she could feel the heat. David joined her a few minutes later and settled next to her on the sofa with his feet up on the coffee table.

"So how was your day?" Lauren asked as she took a sip of the wine.

"Okay. Chuck was in a mood though. Sounds like he and Katy are going through a rough patch. Whenever they don't get along, he's a bear to be around."

"That's too bad. They haven't been married long to be having difficulties I wouldn't think."

"Well, they actually dated for years, but only lived together for the past year, once they got married. I get the sense from a few comments he's made that it's been a bit of an adjustment for both of them. Chuck's always been a loner of sorts. I think he misses having his own space."

"This weather probably doesn't help much," Lauren said. "They'll really get on each other's nerves if this storm keeps up and they have to stay inside for a few days."

"He was still there when I left, and didn't look like he was planning on going anywhere for a while." Chuck lived close by work too, so he could always walk home if need be.

"Have you heard from any clients since the news piece aired, are they upset?" Lauren was concerned that Billy's fears could come true and that they'd lose clients.

"Surprisingly, no. We've had a few clients call, but only to voice their support and contempt for the media."

"That's reassuring. I think people are smart enough to see through the garbage the media tries to serve up."

"For the most part, yes. But not always."

"Are you hungry? The short ribs are ready if you are."

"I'm starving and they smell incredible."

Lauren had opened a container of Country Crock mashed potatoes a half-hour earlier and they were keeping warm in a big saucepan. She put a generous mound of the potatoes in two large bowls and then spooned the meaty short ribs and plenty of sauce over the top. David brought their glasses of wine to the dining room table and Lauren had just taken her first bite when the phone rang. David answered and then handed the phone to her, "It's Jack, he said he needs to talk to you. It sounds important."

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Chapter Thirty-One

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J
ack had been sitting in his office, staring at his computer screen for a good thirty minutes before picking up the phone. The DNA lab results had come in and as expected, they confirmed that the blood on the golf club belonged to Eric Armstrong. They had a match on the fingerprints too and those results were not at all expected.

Jack was having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that the prints on the golf club were a perfect match to Lauren Stanhope.  What he should do is go right over, arrest Lauren, have her spend the weekend in jail and then go to court on Monday to see about bail.

But, no one else had access to the fingerprint report in his office, so he could delay acting on this for a few days. He needed to have a talk with Lauren though, to see what, if anything, she had to say that could shed light on how one of her clubs ended up as a murder weapon. And he needed to warn her things were likely to get very ugly once the media caught wind of this, which they would as soon as she was arrested.

If he did it now, the media would go crazy with the story all weekend, whereas if he could hold off until Monday and she could be granted bail quickly, they could maybe keep the media at bay somewhat, though Jack had his doubts about that too.

"Lauren, it's Jack. Are you and David in for the night?"

"Yes, what's up?"

"I'm done for the day and need to talk to you in person. I'm on my way." He hung up before she had a chance to respond, so Lauren clicked her phone off as well and turned to David who was looking at her for an explanation.

"Jack is coming over to talk to me. But I have no idea why."

They returned to their meal and ate in silence, all the enjoyment gone. Forty-five minutes later, they were done eating, dishes were in the dishwasher, and Lauren had packed the rest of the short ribs into a large glass bowl for storage in the refrigerator.

She'd just topped off both of their wine glasses and they were back on the sofa, flipping channels on the TV, but not really paying attention.  Instead, they were both anxious about Jack's visit. Finally, the knock came on the door and David jumped up to let Jack in.

"Would you like a glass of wine or a beer?"

He declined the offer for a drink and sat in the overstuffed leather chair across from where they were both sitting on the sofa. "I still need to get home from here and unfortunately this isn't a social call. This isn't easy for me, so I'm just going to come out with it."

He paused and then looked directly at Lauren, "The results came back from the golf club we found and thought might be the murder weapon in the Eric Armstrong case. The DNA is Eric's. We also got a match on the fingerprints. Lauren, they're yours. Do you have any idea why that would be?"

"My golf club killed Eric Armstrong?" Lauren couldn't believe it.

"When was the last time you played golf?" Jack asked.

"Several weeks ago, before Eric went missing. Jack you don't think I did this? What is going on here?" Fear swept through her.

Jack sighed deeply. “It doesn't matter what I think. Where do you keep your clubs?"

"In the trunk of my car."

"Can we go take a look?"

"Sure, we can go right through the kitchen to the garage." Lauren's voice was shaking as she spoke and David looked at both of them in disbelief.

"Jack, this is ridiculous. What are you doing?" He jumped up from the sofa and started to pace.

"My job. I don't have a choice." Jack's jaw was clenched and as bewildered as she felt, Lauren felt a pang of sympathy for him as well. He didn't look at all happy to be here, doing this to his friends.

"Are you going to arrest me?" she asked; it all felt so surreal.

"Yes, I’ll have to,” he said, "but I can do it first thing Monday, that way you won't have to spend the weekend in jail. Hopefully, they'll grant you bail and you'll be out the same day."

"Well, that's something." David said in a sullen tone.

Lauren shuddered at the thought of spending even one night in jail, but as upset as she was she realized the enormous favor that Jack was doing her. "Jack, thank you. This doesn't make any sense at all."

She opened the trunk of her car and pulled out her set of clubs. They were all there, all except one, her three-wood.

"Did you know you were missing a club?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I lost it on the course last time I played. Accidentally set it down. I called right away to let the club know if someone found it and brought it in to call me. Eric actually called me the next day. It was returned during his shift. He said he'd put a tag on it and keep it under the counter and I could just pick it up the next time I came in. I was supposed to play a few days later, but that got canceled at the last minute and I haven't been back since."

"Was there anyone else's prints on the club?" David asked.

"Yes, there would have to be right?" Lauren said excitedly.

"There were several sets of prints, Lauren's, Eric's and several unidentified ones."

"Well that's good right? If there were other prints on the club then you can't assume that Lauren did anything. Especially if her club was missing."

"That will definitely work in her favor," Jack agreed. "It will be difficult to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with additional prints on the club raising the possibility that someone else could have done this. We'll have to request prints from all club members and staff."

"So, you won't have to arrest Lauren then?" David said with relief.

"No, I'll still have to arrest her. It's all part of the process. Do you want these clubs back in your trunk?"

"I'll keep them here. I think my golfing days are over for this year."

"Right, well I'm sure I don't need to tell you both to keep this to yourselves over the weekend?"

"Jack, should I just come in to see you first thing on Monday?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, I'll try to make it as painless as possible. But it's still going to be rough going for a while."

Lauren thought that was likely an understatement. Her stomach was already in knots just thinking about what the media would do with this.

"Okay, I'm going to run. Lauren, the earlier the better on Monday. The sooner we get you in, the sooner, you'll be home." He stepped out into the storm and David shut the door tightly behind him.

"Lauren, this is insane." David reached for his glass of wine and took a huge sip. Lauren felt her eyes well up and simply said, "I know." She picked up her wine and settled back onto the sofa and David joined her.

"What are we going to do? I didn't do anything, you know that, right?" The tears started to fall and she blotted at her eyes with the back of her hand. David grabbed her other hand and squeezed it tight.

"Of course. I know you. I love you. We will get through this. I'll talk to Gramps in the morning. He'll have an idea on who we should call for an attorney."

"An attorney." Lauren hadn't even thought of that, but of course, she had to have an attorney. She felt a bit of deja vu coming over her. This had the same surreal feeling as what she’d gone through so many years ago. It was like she was being pulled under. She wrapped the soft fleece throw tightly around her and felt hot tears spill over.

"You should leave a message now for the school. Tell them you won't be in on Monday, that you're taking a personal day."

Lauren sniffled and grabbed a tissue. “I suppose I should. David, what if people don't believe me? Could I actually be found guilty for something I didn't do? For murder?" Were her fingerprints on what was evidently the murder weapon enough? And then an even worse thought, “What if I have to go to jail?"

"We are not going to let that happen." David's voice was confident and firm and Lauren wanted to believe him. But her confidence was slipping away.

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Chapter Thirty-Two

L
auren barely slept all weekend. She and David were like a couple of robots, going through the motions and watching the clock tick the minutes and hours away. She'd done as David had suggested, left a message at school saying she'd be out on Monday and David had done the same at work. He insisted on going with her on Monday, driving her in and being there for support. Although Jack had given them a big break by holding the arrest off until Monday, they knew that was all he could do. They were both worried sick, because without another real suspect, Lauren was it, and a murder weapon with her prints on it was going to make up a lot of people's minds.

They arrived just before 7:30 on Monday morning and met their attorney in the parking lot. His name was Evan McSweeney and Lauren liked him instantly. Evan was in his late forties, had thick black hair with a sprinkling of gray. David's grandfather said Evan was the best.

She'd had a quick phone call with him over the weekend and brought him up to speed on everything. He told her not to worry and to be as cooperative as possible and that he'd be right there with her. They walked in together and David asked for Jack. He came right out and led them into his office, filled out paperwork and asked a series of questions, all of which Lauren had already been asked and answered previously.

She did it again though, anxious to get through the day somehow. Once Jack had everything he needed, he led them into a waiting area. The next step would be to go before the judge and arrange for bail. Evan didn't anticipate they'd have any resistance there.

"You don't have any kind of history to speak of, and are getting married in less than a week. It's a pretty good bet that you're not a flight risk."

"Have to admit it's a little tempting," Lauren said wistfully.

"Don't even joke about something like that," David said.

"If I don't laugh about this, I could go crazy," Lauren said. "It's going to get really bad isn't it?" she asked Evan and he didn't hesitate in his answer.

"Yes, it will likely get ugly once the media catches wind of this, and it won't take them long." David reached over and squeezed her hand and she gave him a small smile even though she really felt like crying.

"You may have to take a leave of absence from work," Evan added. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if they suggest that to you. They'll want to appease the parents."

"But that's so unfair!" David said. It hadn't even crossed Lauren's mind that the school could ask her to do that.

"It's not like I'd have a choice is it? I suppose I wouldn't really blame the parents."

David started to object but Lauren cut him off, "David think about it, if you had kids and a teacher was accused of something like this, and there was hard evidence; well, it looks pretty damning. I don't think I'd be comfortable with that teacher staying on either."

"It might actually be easier for you in a way. You know the media will be relentless, camping outside school and so on. If you're home, they will have to keep their distance."

A few minutes later, Lauren's name was called and she and Evan went before the judge. "I've reviewed your record and it's troubling, but there is no prior history here and based on that I'm allowing bail to be set at $5,000."

Evan helped them make arrangements to pay the bail and a court date was set for three weeks out for the arraignment.