Mitch Taylor, the Precinct commander who blocked the door, folded his arms across his barrel-chest. My people made a good arrest, Ms. Parker. They pulled a dangerous man off the streets.
Did they? She waited until he stepped aside to let her pass. Or did they just find a convenient scapegoat so you could close your investigation and get the press off your back?
Everyone in the tiny room turned their heads at the onslaught of voices and bright lights that greeted the lady attorney as soon as she stepped into the hallway. Reporters.
Ms. Parker. Is your client a free man?
Will he still be out on bail?
Did the witness identify him as the Rose Red Rapist?
Who is the witness?
Bailey clutched her stomach as a wave of nausea churned inside her. They were closing in like vultures. Oh, my.
Dwight Powers braced his hand beneath her elbow. Mitch, he warned.
Im on it. With a curt nod, Mitch stepped into the hallway. With a booming voice that made Bailey tremble, he took charge of the surging crowd. This is a police station, not gossip central. Kate Kilpatrick, our task force liaison to the press, will answer your questions downstairs.
Is that Brian Elliot? a woman asked. Could we talk to him?
My client is being released on bail, and well be making a formal statement later, Kenna promised.
Joe! Sarge! Bailey ducked behind the D.A.s broad back as Chief Taylor called for backup. Get them out of here. Im not putting on a press conference for that scum. The reporters can talk to Elliott outside, once we get his ankle bracelet back on him.
Yes, sir. A dutiful voice from the hallway hastened to do his chiefs bidding. Ms. Owen. Mr. Knight. This way, people. Ill escort you down to the front door.
As soon as Chief Taylor closed the door behind him, Baileys mother, Loretta Austin-Mayweather, spoke from the back of the room. I dont like that woman. Do you think Kenna Parker staged that harangue of reporters to frighten Bailey?
With the reporters protesting voices reduced to a murmur, the D.A. released his grip on Bailey. Its a possibility. Shell use every weapon in her arsenal to prove reasonable doubt to the jury. And since a lot of our case rests on your daughter...
Baileys chin popped up when he turned his eyes on her. Forcing herself to take easy, calming breaths, Bailey nodded. She had to do this. Dont worry, Mr. Powers. You can count on me.
Loretta glanced up at the distinguished gentleman standing beside her. Her beautiful features were drawn with worry and fatigue. Jackson, isnt there something you can do about Ms. Parker to protect Bailey? Ive already lost Kyle. I dont think I could stand to see another child get hurt.
Too late for that, Bailey thought as a less-than-kind impulse bubbled up. But her sarcasm quickly turned to sympathy. Theyd all been devastated by Kyles death, her mother to the point that when Bailey had needed her most, Loretta had been incapable of empathizing with her daughters pain. Her mother had lost weight from the stress and turned to a nightly glass or two of wine in order to sleep. For months now, Loretta had deflected any conversation more serious than the weather or the familys social calendar.
They all had their ways of coping. Bailey just hoped her efforts to take charge of her own life and to confront her attacker would lead to her own healing.
We wont let that happen, Harper Pierce assured Loretta. Will we. Bailey had to look away from the solicitous expression on the attorneys handsome face.
He used to look at her that waybefore the assault, when theyd been engaged to be marriedwhen shed been able to tolerate a flirtatious wink or intimate touch, when she would have been satisfied to become his trophy wife and take her place at his side in Kansas City society. Once, that look would have bolstered her courage. Now, that sly wink was just something else she had to deal with.
You cant talk me out of this, Harper, Bailey stated firmly. She was no longer the wide-eyed Pollyanna whod doted on his needs and shared so many interests with him. Understandably, she had to put herselfand now her motherfirst. She crossed the room to give her mother a gentle hug, then pulled away, smiling into the blue eyes that matched her own. But I promise Ill be as careful as I can, Mother. Mr. Powers has assured my anonymity for as long as possible. And you know my counseling sessions with Dr. Kilpatrick have included lots of advice on ways a woman can keep herself safe. Ive been listening. I wont take any unnecessary chances.
I wish you hadnt cut your hair, dear. Without even acknowledging her daughters attempt to reassure her, Loretta reached up to smooth Baileys bangs back into the short wisps at her temple. Those long, blonde waves were so beautiful.
Yes, but the short haircut was all about being safe, not making the pages of a fashion magazine. Having a man grab her by the hair and sling her to the floor or into the back of a van had a tendency to make a woman want to remove any handles that made it easy for an attacker to latch on. Mother
Jackson? Loretta clung to her husbands arm, turning to Baileys stepfather for the answers she wanted. Cant you make this whole mess go away?
Baileys stepfather wasnt oblivious to the emotional undercurrents in the room. But his typical response was to try to fix whatever the problem might be. He slid a supportive arm around his wifes waist. Ill do whatevers necessary to protect this family, dear. He turned to the D.A. Do you think Ms. Parker will bring that ugly business with my stepson into the trial?
I had nothing to do with that, Bailey protested. She wasnt sure when or where her brother had gotten so caught up with greed that his reckless business dealings had made him desperate enough to kidnap and attempt to murder their half sister, Charlotte. But she knew the devious, violent man whod been arrested, and subsequently murdered in prison, had no resemblance to the brother shed once loved and admired. A different sort of character ran through her veins. Something smarter. Stronger. She hoped. What Kyle did has nothing to do with what happened to me.
But Jackson was looking to the men in the room for a solution, not her. The D.A. understood his concern. Its possible she could bring your family history into the courtroom, use it to taint the veracity of Baileys testimony. If theres one liar in the family, why not two? Id argue irrelevancy, of course.
Im not lying, Bailey insisted. And my head wasnt so scrambled that Ive forgotten what I heard and saw and went through that night.
The burly D.A. nodded. Im counting on it. The KCPD task force has given me plenty of forensic and circumstantial evidence to make a case. But science and legal jargon can overwhelm a jury. I need you to be the face of all his victims. The jury will sympathize with you and with your eyewitness testimony. Theyll convict him, and the judge will put Elliott away for the rest of his life. Kenna Parker, however, is going to do everything she can to discredit you on the witness stand.
Chief Taylor, who put together the task force that had finally brought in the Rose Red Rapist, muttered a choice word beneath his breath. Leave it to Elliott to buy the best. Parkers already got him out on bail. From what I hear, he got his ex-wife, Mara Boyd-Elliott who runs the Journal, to post it.