The Defendant Read online

  “And how am I going to pay for it? My husband hasn’t been able to return to work. He thinks if he leaves, something bad is going to happen.” Her voice dropped to a ragged whisper. “He thinks this is his fault.”

  Josie drew in a deep breath and let it slide out over her taut lips. Trevor’s reaction was understandable and was a form of survivor’s guilt. It pained her to know that this family who had already suffered so much was now hurting even more.

  “I’ll call a friend of mine in Grafton and see what she can do. Her name’s Phoebe Jamison. She’s a therapist working for the base hospital. I’m sure there’ll be some form of counseling you can access free of charge. Daniel, too. Phoebe will know for sure. Anything would be better than nothing.” She paused before adding gently, “In fact, it would be a good idea if all of you attended counseling. Has your husband talked to anyone?”

  Kelly shook her head and dropped her gaze to her lap. A moment later, her shoulders shuddered and she gasped on a sob. “He won’t even talk to me.” She shook her head back and forth. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I just…don’t know what to do.”

  Josie’s gaze shot to Daniel. He’d turned to face his mother, his blank expression replaced with one of torture.

  “Please, Mom. Please, don’t cry. Please.” Tears ran silently down the young boy’s cheeks and Josie’s heart clenched in pain. Moisture formed in her eyes, but she steadfastly ignored it. She was breaking every rule by allowing herself to get involved, but she couldn’t help it: She’d been involved from the moment Riley called her in the early hours of the morning to come to the aid of a desperate child. There was no way she could shut off, or turn her back on them now.

  It was a long time later when Kelly and her son managed to get their tears back under control. Josie’s composure had been severely tested by the sight, but she had a job to do and she couldn’t let her emotions get in the way.

  She offered them a box of tissues and then quietly addressed the boy who sat across from her.

  “You heard me talking to your mom about the report I need to do.” He nodded, his eyes red.

  “This report is very important. It could mean the difference between you standing trial for shooting that man or going free.” She paused and looked at him, purposefully holding his gaze. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Daniel?”

  He eyed her steadily. She was filled with a surge of admiration.

  “Yes, I understand.”

  Josie swallowed a sigh of relief. “Okay, well, I think we’ve been through enough today. I want you to go home and think about what I’ve said.” Her gaze encompassed both of them. “I’ll see you here again tomorrow.”

  Closing the door to her office behind them, Josie leaned against the wooden panel. Her shoulders slumped on a heavy sigh. A moment later, she gave herself a mental shake. She wasn’t the one who had suffered unspeakable violence. She wasn’t the one who needed help. She vowed to do whatever she could to assist the Logan family.

  First on her list was calling Phoebe Jamison.

  * * *

  Chase glanced up from his desk and spotted Riley as he walked through the doorway. For the past couple of days, they’d been on opposite shifts and Chase hadn’t had a chance to catch up. He wanted to talk to Riley about Josie, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself. Now, it seemed fate had played into his hands.

  “Ah, boss, you got a minute?”

  Riley stopped and looked up. “Sure, but follow me. I’m expecting a phone call in my office.”

  Chase pushed away from his desk and followed Riley into the small room, partitioned from the rest of the squad room with glass walls.

  “What’s going on?” Riley asked as he lowered himself into his chair.

  Now that he had Riley’s attention, sudden nerves tightened Chase’s throat. He took his time arranging himself in the other chair that stood across from Riley’s desk. Paper and files and reference books were piled high all over the floor. Even more paperwork covered the desk.

  “Don’t you ever get sick of all that crap?” he joked, indicating the mess.

  “Yep, every single moment of every single day, but it’s like this: The quicker I finish with one pile, another pile appears. It’s like magic. I never even see them coming.”

  Chase tried out a grin. “Mm, and you’re the boss. What hope do the rest of us have?”

  Riley took the teasing in stride and returned Chase’s grin. “So, what’s been happening? How are things going with the Logan boy?”

  “Daniel’s lawyer requested he be assessed by a psychologist. The Crown has followed suit. I called Josie. She’s agreed to provide us with a report.”

  “Good, you can rely on her to do the right thing. Let’s hope we can all live with it.”

  “If it’s the truth, then I guess we’ll have to,” Chase replied.

  “Yeah, that’s the way it usually goes. Now, is there anything else?”

  “I finished up the report on that break and enter and the highway patrol officers brought in a couple of DUIs last night. They sobered up in the cells and were given court attendance notices this morning.”

  “Good. Just another day at the salt mines.”

  “Yeah.”

  Riley waited for him to leave. When he didn’t, Chase was subjected to a slight frown. “Is there something else, Chase?”

  Chase squirmed in his seat, trying to find the words. Nobody in Josie’s family had an inkling of what had gone on between them. As far as anyone knew, he’d been her date for her high school graduation, a one-off event that had happened and had been forgotten just as quickly.

  “How long has Josie been back in town?” he blurted before he lost his courage.

  Riley’s frown deepened momentarily and then he shrugged. “I don’t know, a month or two. When Dad suffered that bleed on his brain right before Christmas, she started talking about moving back. I think she wanted to be closer to Dad and Mom. Nothing like having one of your parents spend a night in the ICU in a coma to put things into perspective. They’re not getting any younger and Josie’s always been close to them. I think she wants to spend more time with them, while they’re still here. Why do you ask?”

  Chase averted his gaze and cursed the heat that spread up his neck. “No reason. Just curious. I haven’t seen her since we were teenagers.”

  Riley chuckled. “She hasn’t changed much. Still as headstrong and determined as ever, but inside, she’s as soft as melted ice cream.” Riley chuckled again. “Don’t tell her I told you that.”

  Chase forced himself to return the grin. “Of course not. So,” he said as casually as he could manage, “is she married? Does she have any kids?”

  Riley shook his head. “Nope and nope, much to Mom’s despair. She was hoping both of my sisters would have found someone by now, but it hasn’t happened. Of course, Josie’s always talking about the swag of kids she’ll have one day. She’s already been over twice to babysit the twins and she refuses to take any payment. Kate and I think it’s fantastic.”

  Chase gave a half-hearted smile while his heart beat fast with pain. She still wanted kids. Of course she did. It was one of the things they’d talked about. She couldn’t wait to have a baby.

  “Why all the interest in Josie all of a sudden?” Riley asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You’re not what she needs. No offense, but you’re the last person I want my little sister to date.”

  Chase grimaced, but didn’t argue back. He’d worked hard at cultivating his playboy image and if he were honest, the title was well deserved. He could hardly tell his boss it was all a façade—that it had been the only way he could think of to get over the woman he’d loved with all his heart and then lost.

  He kept his hurt carefully concealed behind another forced grin. “Of course not. I wouldn’t want my little sister to date me either.”

  “You don’t have a little sister.”

  “Well, if I did.”

  “Exactly, I�
�m glad we see eye to eye. Now, get out of here. Don’t you have work to do?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Scott Jones grunted from exertion and forced the weights in his hand up a final time. One hundred and fifty pounds of lead on either end of the steel bar and forty repetitions had his muscles screaming for release. He savored the burning sensation a moment longer before letting his spotter lower the bar back down.

  “Fuck, you nearly busted yourself, Scotty. Why do you go so hard? You’re already the buffest bloke in here. Besides, you can always come back tomorrow. It’s not like you’re goin’ anywhere.” Weasel laughed at his own joke.

  Scott looked up at him. Weasel was quickly becoming annoying. Okay, so everyone needed a mate, especially in a place like this and Weasel was always happy to tag along. Jail was hard on the toughest of them and Long Bay wasn’t known for its comforts. But he missed his old mate, Neil. Life inside just hadn’t been the same since he’d left.

  The two of them had made quite a team. It was a brave bloke who dared to defy them. They even had the guards eating out of their hand. He and Neil had controlled the jail with an iron fist and didn’t hesitate to remind anyone who needed it that they were the real ones in charge. He couldn’t remember how many fights he’d been in or the number of times he and Neil had cracked the heads of anyone stupid enough to step out of line.

  The guards thanked them for it, too. It helped keep everyone happy. The fact that a little paperwork had to be completed by the management every time Scott or Neil put someone in the infirmary was a small price to pay.

  A sly but cowardly inmate by the name of Dudley sidled up close to Scott.

  “Nice work there, Scotty. You’ll be liftin’ tractor tires next. One in each hand.”

  Scott glared up at him, suspicious of the snicker he was sure he could hear in the man’s voice.

  “What the fuck do you want, Duds? You don’t belong out here.”

  Dudley refused to look insulted or even the least bit scared. “I’ve got some news for ya, Scotty. It’s about ya mate, Neil. I thought ya might like to hear.”

  Scott stilled and then his heart took off at high speed. He swallowed and did his best to get his panic under control. He could tell from the look on Dudley’s face that the news wasn’t good. Unwilling to show how much it mattered, he offered a disinterested shrug.

  “How the fuck would you know anything about Neil? He’s on the outside now and you’re still stuck in here.”

  A sly smile turned up the edges of Dudley’s narrow, puce-colored lips. “I got me sources, don’t you worry. How much is it worth to ya?”

  Anger boiled at the edges of Scott’s consciousness and he itched to slam his fist into Dudley’s face, but he needed to know what the fucker was talking about, so he breathed through the fury and forced a smile.

  “Come on, Duds. I thought we were mates. You should tell me just because you’re a good bloke. I shouldn’t have to pay you.”

  “Ha!” Dudley laughed. “As if I’d fall for that one. You of all people know how it goes. I’ve got somethin’ you want. When you give me what I want, then I’ll tell ya what I know.”

  Scott growled low in his throat, impatience surging through him. He ought to just smash his fist in the side of Dudley’s head and be done with it, but then the fucker would spend a week in the infirmary and Scott wouldn’t be any the wiser about the prick’s news. If it really was something to do with Neil, Scott wanted to know.

  Forcing another smile, he sighed dramatically and stepped away from the bench press. Weasel stood nearby, jiggling nervously from foot to foot.

  “Get me a fucking towel, Weasel,” he growled, “and hurry up about it. It’s hot as hell out here.” Weasel scurried away, across the other side of the exercise yard. More than a hundred other inmates, all garbed in prison green, walked or talked or smoked or did all three along the yard’s perimeter.

  Scott turned back to Dudley and narrowed his eyes. “All right, Duds, here it is. I’ll give you three joints and a handful of pills. That’s it. Now, hurry up and spit it out before I change my mind.”

  “Throw in a couple of packets of ciggies and I’ll tell ya everythin’ I know.”

  “Deal.” They shook hands and Scott held his breath and waited to hear the news.

  “A mate of mine from up the coast rang me last night after dinner. He told me Neil had taken a bullet. Apparently, it was all over the news up there a few weeks ago.”

  Scott swallowed his shriek of pain and schooled his features into an emotionless mask. He forced himself to ask the question. “Dead?”

  “Yeah. At least, that’s what they said on the news.”

  “Fuck. What happened? Did Vladimir find him? That son of a bitch always threatened to get him the minute he got out.”

  Dudley shook his head. “Nah, nothin’ like that. Nothin’ to do with drugs. Some kid from the fuckin’ boondocks gave it to him. Neil was stickin’ it to the kid’s mother and the kid pulled out a fuckin’ gun. Blew his fuckin’ brains out.”

  A buzzing started in Scott’s ears. The sound drowned everything out. He stared at Dudley’s mouth. His lips were moving, but Scott could no longer hear the words. Pain tore through him at the thought of Neil dead. Neil. His mate. The big brother he’d never had.

  He shook his head and slapped at his ears in an effort to clear them of the roar of noise. Grabbing hold of Dudley by his shirt front, he pulled the other man close. With his face only inches away, he spat, “You’d better not be fucking with me, Duds.”

  Dudley paled, but shook his head adamantly. “I’m not fuckin’ with ya, Scotty. I swear. It’s the truth.”

  Scott closed his eyes against the weight of realization. Forcing them open again, he stared hard at the other man.

  “Tell me everything.”

  * * *

  Josie’s strokes were sure and even. The cool water kissed her skin. She reached the end of the pool and did a neat racing turn and started once again for the other end. She’d lost count of the number of laps she’d done, but it had to be at least forty. Her arms and legs were growing tired. It was a sure sign she was on the downhill run.

  She’d always loved swimming. As a child, it had been her favorite thing to do. She’d escape into the water and her troubles would wash away like magic. She’d climb out and everything would feel clean and new.

  Even now, all these years later, she still used swimming as a form of relaxation. The pool was a place to clear her head, a place to forget about the world. It was fortunate that Watervale boasted a nearly new aquatic center which included an Olympic-sized pool. An indoor heated pool was also part of the complex. It would come in handy during the winter months when the temperature dropped below zero.

  Her thoughts shifted to Daniel and she made a mental note to touch base again with Phoebe. Josie hoped her friend had managed to arrange counseling options for Kelly Logan and her family. From what Kelly had said, none of them were faring well.

  Not that Josie was surprised. A traumatic event such as the one they’d suffered would have long-term, far-reaching effects. She only hoped they received the help they needed.

  Tucking her legs up underneath her, she made the final turn and headed for the finish line. Her arms were aching, her legs were leaden, but she loved the feeling of deep satisfaction she always felt after the conclusion of a hard swim. There was something about pushing her body to the limits that just felt right.

  Her hand came into contact with the end of the pool and she came to a stop. Her breath puffed out fast and hard. She made an effort to slow it down. Too much carbon dioxide was never a good thing.

  “I see you still choose the pool to do your workout.”

  She looked up in surprise, squinting against the morning sun. Chase loomed high above her, his face in shadow. He was dressed in tailored charcoal-gray suit pants and a crisp white business shirt that hugged the width of his shoulders and tapered down to narrow hips. Her pulse once again quickened and it had nothin
g to do with her recent exertion.

  “W-what are you doing here?” She hated that she sounded so breathless and hoped he’d put it down to her efforts in the pool.

  “I came to see you. I wanted to know how things are going with Daniel. Have you met with him yet?”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  Chase shrugged. “It’s a small town. Plus, I dropped by your office. Doctor Wheeler imparted the information that you swim most mornings of the week.” He scowled and Josie wondered what had soured his mood. It certainly wasn’t like he didn’t know how much she loved the pool. She’d been swimming all her life.

  “How did you come to be sharing office space with him, anyway?”

  His disgruntled question registered and all of a sudden she understood the origin of his frown. Chase was jealous of Rohan Wheeler.

  In his late twenties, the doctor was not only good-looking, charming and funny, but according to Moira, he was also entirely available.

  Josie had noticed Rohan’s interest, but so far, she hadn’t done anything to encourage it. She’d relocated to Watervale to take stock of her life, to spend time with her parents and to find contentment in her career. She had no intention of rushing into a relationship with the town’s most eligible bachelor, no matter how much her body urged her to break her self-imposed man drought.

  At the reminder of how long it had been since she’d had sex, Josie bit back a sigh. The fact that her intimate encounters with men had been few and far between since she’d graduated from high school had everything to do with the male specimen who stood above her, his eyes hidden behind a sexy pair of aviator sunglasses.

  Concealed behind her goggles, Josie suddenly realized she had the same advantage. She could look her fill like she wanted to and not be concerned he would know. The mirrored goggles were a perfect match for his sunglasses and she bit back a mischievous smile and let her gaze drink him in.

  Until her return to Watervale, she’d never seen him in a business suit. His visits from the Academy had been on weekend furloughs and he’d mostly favored casual clothes. Of course, she’d seen him naked and the memory had been burned into her brain. He hadn’t felt the need to cover up, like she had, and despite the dim light, there was no mistaking the honed planes of his hairless chest, the flat belly taut with muscle, the length and power in his muscular legs, covered in fine, soft hair.