Liar Liar Read online

  “As Nicole Graves testified, Ms. Barnes was about to recant her testimony. Ms. Graves also testified that someone threatened her, a defense witness, and broke into her house in an attempt to attack her. Whoever that was is likely to be the guilty party; that person wouldn’t want Ms. Graves to reveal that Ms. Barnes was about to take back her accusation against Mr. Williams.

  “Two people knew Ms. Barnes was about to recant. One was Nicole Graves, to whom the girl confessed. The other was whoever she went out to meet the night of her murder. It’s my belief that she met with the blackmailer to beg him to take back his threat. We also have evidence that Mr. Drummond got to be quarterback in high school by blackmailing a girl into filing a fake rape charge against the existing quarterback. Who do you think would have a motive for killing Mary Ellen Barnes? If anyone wanted to ‘fix’ Doshan, what better way than having the police find Ms. Barnes murdered? Finally, the two prosecution witnesses, who swore Doshan violently attacked them, happen to be close friends of Mr. Drummond from their days at Hemet High.

  “I hope you’ll think long and hard about who detectives should be investigating for the murder of Mary Ellen Barnes.

  “While you’re deliberating, I want you to remember that you must find the defendant guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I believe you can see many holes in the prosecution’s case—especially their failure to look at any other suspects. And once our evidence was introduced, they should have picked up Mr. Drummond for questioning. They have not.

  “I view this as a failure on the part of Mr. Kendell and his assistant prosecutors to do the job they were hired to do. It’s not only the duty of prosecutors to convict the guilty but to free the innocent. I trust you will look at the evidence in this case and find Doshan Williams innocent of a crime he did not commit.”

  Doshan was surprised to see Kendell get up and make another effort at tearing down Sperantza’s closing argument. The deputy D.A. gave an abbreviated version of what he’d said before, this time without the graphics. He finished up with his mantra: “Motive, opportunity, means. Doshan Williams had them all. Now, ladies and gentlemen I know you will make the right decision.”

  The judge spent a few minutes giving the jury instructions and repeating the meaning of the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt.” When he was done, the jurors slowly filed out.

  Once the spectators began to leave, Doshan stood up and followed Sperantza and Kevin to their break room. It was half past three. Lunch had been cleared away, but soft drinks were waiting for them. The three of them sat at the table, while Sperantza explained what Doshan already knew: It could be days, weeks even, before the jury reached a verdict. “There’s not much sense sitting around here all afternoon. We might as well go about our business and wait until we get word from the court.”

  Still, none of them was able to summon the energy to leave. They drank their sodas and went over the day’s events.

  They were still there an hour later, when there was a knock at the door. It was the bailiff. “The jury is back,” he said. Speranza, incredulous, had him repeat himself.

  “Is this good news?” Doshan said.

  “I have no idea. I’ve never had a jury on a murder case come with a verdict this fast. It’s either very good or very bad.”

  §

  Back at the hotel, Nicole was engrossed in her book when she sensed a change in the sound coming from the TV. Even with the sound turned down, she noticed an audible hubbub and what sounded like shouting. She used the remote to turn up the volume. The camera was just panning into a close-up of the courthouse door when Doshan emerged with a huge grin on his face. He had an arm draped around Sperantza’s shoulders. They were surrounded by reporters, all shouting questions: “How does it feel to be free?” and “What are you going to do now?” and “Are they going to arrest Drummond?”

  Doshan held both arms up and made victory signs with his fingers. Then he talked to a few reporters who were close by. At last, he raised his voice so the TV microphones could pick it up. “It’s great to be free. I’m grateful to my lawyer here, David Sperantza, and to Judge Lloyd for making sure I got a fair trial. That’s all I have to say.” He and his retinue pushed their way into a long black limousine that quickly started up and disappeared from view.

  Nicole opened the door to the sitting room and called to Timothy, “The jury found Doshan innocent!” As Timothy was turning on the sitting-room TV, Nicole started packing her clothes; her only thought was getting back to the privacy of her apartment.

  When she told Timothy she was ready to leave, he seemed surprised. “Hang on a minute,” he said, “I’m not driving you anywhere until Sperantza okays it.”

  “Fine,” Nicole said. “Give me your phone and I’ll call him.”

  She was able to reach Sperantza on her first try. “Congratulations!” she said. “You won.”

  “You played a major part in this, Nicole.”

  “Really? I felt like I let you and Doshan down. Kendell completely tore my testimony apart.”

  “Nonsense. You gave us an alternate theory. You inserted reasonable doubt into the trial. I don’t know if Doshan would have been found innocent without your help.”

  “That makes me so happy,” she said. “I’m free to go now, right? Timothy wanted to hear it from you.”

  “Hang on,” he said. “I’d like you to stay put a while longer.”

  “But why?”

  “The police are looking for Drummond. He wasn’t on campus, so they’re checking his parents’ place in Hemet. You need security until he’s picked up.”

  Nicole took a deep breath, trying to hold onto her temper. “I appreciate your concern, David. I really do. But I’m done. I’m not staying here another minute. I want my life back. If Drummond has fled, he’s going to put as much distance between himself and L.A. as possible. He’s not going to bother with me. Timothy can accompany me home and keep watch, if you insist.”

  “I think it would be wise,” Sperantza said. “Let me talk to him.”

  Nicole handed the phone over and walked around the suite, checking for anything she might have forgotten. Timothy got her bags and waited by the front door. She was tired of his presence, and he was no doubt tired of hers. They proceeded to the elevator without a word.

  Fifteen

  As they waited for the valet to bring the car, Nicole pulled her cell out of her purse and turned it on. Josh answered after the first ring. “I’m just leaving the hotel,” Nicole said.

  “I’m out on a run,” he said. “I’ll be home by the time you get there. Can’t wait.”

  “Wait a minute,” she said. “I want you to understand. Nothing has changed. I’m staying at my apartment.”

  “But we have to sit down and discuss it,” he said. “Things are going to be different from now on—I promise. Do you want me to come to your place?”

  The sound of his voice, his conciliatory tone softened her resolve. “No. We’re just getting into the car. We’ll come to you.”

  “We?”

  “Sperantza’s insisting I still need a bodyguard. We’ll see in you half an hour or so.” After they hung up, she gave Timothy the address.

  Josh was waiting in front of the house to greet them, still dressed in his running clothes. Timothy opened the trunk to get out her luggage. “Thanks,” she said, “but just leave them in the car for now.” Before he could close the trunk, Josh was there, pulling them out.

  “No, Josh,” she said. “I told you—”

  “No worries.” He smiled. “We can always put them back if you decide to leave.”

  She introduced Timothy to Josh and explained why Sperantza thought a bodyguard was still necessary.

  “We’d better get inside,” Timothy said. “You’re an open target out here.”

  The three of them filed into the house, and Josh turned to Timothy and gestured toward the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. We’re going upstairs for a bit. If you want anything to eat or drink, the kitchen is through the d
oor behind you. Just help yourself.”

  Josh picked up the suitcases and started up the stairs. Nicole was about to tell him to leave the bags where they were. But already her resolve was weakening. She’d hear him out and then decide.

  After setting the suitcases down and closing the door, Josh put his arms around her. His warmth felt unbelievably comforting. She melted against him and breathed in his scent, a little sweaty from his run, but still unmistakably Josh.

  “We can have that talk now,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.

  The kiss left her a little dizzy, but she gently pushed him away, sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her, inviting him to sit.

  “I’ll go first,” she said. “I promise to keep you informed about what I’m doing and what my plans are. But I have to be a free agent. I want to take on any assignment the agency gives me, no matter what it is. I enjoy doing these things. It’s who I am.”

  Josh opened his mouth to speak, but she went on. “Odds are I’ll never find myself in the middle of another murder case, or that my work will keep opening me up to danger. I’m not a cop or a soldier in Iraq, for God’s sake. Most of the time I’m sitting in front of a computer. But I can’t have you thinking you have veto power over what I do. And don’t ever tell me to go into real estate again.”

  “I was wrong to criticize your career choice, and I’m sorry,” Josh said. “It was in the heat of the moment, and I didn’t even mean it. If I’ve been overbearing, I apologize for that, too. Some pretty terrible things have happened. But I agree. You have the right to make your own decisions. And if something you do worries me, I’ll keep it to myself.”

  “But you’ll still worry?’”

  “Afraid so. Like you said, ‘It’s who I am.’ Of course, I’m hoping you won’t give me anything to worry about.” He smiled, trying to make light of it. Getting up, he pulled her into his arms again. “So, you’ll stay?”

  “I will. But let’s see how things go before we start thinking about a wedding.”

  “Really? You don’t think I can keep my word?”

  “I just want to take it slow.” She snuggled her face against his neck. She still had concerns, but there was no point thinking about them now. Only time would tell if this was going to work. For now, she was happy to be home.

  §

  That night, the three of them ate dinner together. Josh easily drew Timothy out and got him to talk about himself. Timothy, it turned out, had been a Navy Seal for a dozen years before going into the private security business. Between work assignments, he was taking college classes online to complete credits for a teaching credential. Math was his chosen subject. “I’m two weeks on, two weeks off,” he said. “It gives me a lot of time for school. The job isn’t bad, and the pay is great. You get to meet some interesting people. Even if they’re not that interesting, they’re in—well—interesting situations. Something pretty extreme is going on if they need private security.”

  “Since you’re a veteran,” Nicole said, “doesn’t the VA pay for school?”

  “Right. The VA helps. But it’s not enough to live on. They pay tuition, a stipend for books and supplies, and a modest amount for housing. But, unless I want to live in a dorm, I need a paycheck.”

  Later, when she was getting ready for bed, she found the blue velvet box with her engagement ring on her night table. She opened the box and stared at the diamond. She wasn’t ready to put it on. Not yet. Not until she was convinced Josh really had changed and their relationship was on solid ground. She closed the box and put it in the night table drawer.

  §

  Several more days passed with no word from Sperantza or news of Andy Drummond’s whereabouts. The three of them established a routine. Josh went to his office while Nicole worked upstairs in their shared office, telecommuting and catching up on work that had been neglected while she was gone. She wasn’t sure how Timothy spent his time downstairs. At night, he slept on the couch. They’d decided it would be easier having a single bodyguard rather than two in rotating shifts. While she was working at her desk, she watched through the window when Timothy made an occasional foray out to the sidewalk to see what was happening on the street.

  Mention of Doshan’s trial and the search for Drummond all but disappeared from the news. One morning, a headline on XHN caught Nicole’s eye. “Women’s Group Drops Case Related to Doshan Williams’s Trial.” Next to the story was a video of a press conference Geneva Ford had called. She was standing in front of a microphone with her arm around a young woman. Nicole clicked the link to watch.

  Geneva began with a brief statement that Women Against Rape was abandoning its civil suit against Oceanside University. She didn’t go into detail about why they’d dropped the case. But Nicole understood. Doshan had been found innocent of murder; he’d also been cleared of raping Mary Ellen. That meant Oceanside couldn’t be accused of failing to protect her. WAR’s entire case had fallen apart.

  Geneva quickly moved on to introduce Evie Fisher, who was the plaintiff in the organization’s latest case. It was against an accused rapist at Cal State University, Morro Bay, where the young man and Evie were students. Geneva was grim and determined, while the young woman wore a deer-in-the-headlights expression that reminded Nicole of the way Mary Ellen had looked when she first spotted the mob of reporters at LAX.

  Of course, this young woman was not Mary Ellen. And it was unlikely that Geneva’s new client was lying, as Mary Ellen had been. After talking about the particulars of the Fisher girl’s case, Geneva said, “WAR is working hard to protect coeds from sexual predators, but college authorities fail too many victims by refusing to believe them. This makes them afraid to come forward. Just look at the case of Mary Ellen Barnes. Until the WAR took up her case, no one would take her seriously. If they had, she’d be alive today.” Nicole replayed this part of the video several times, astonished by the way Geneva had twisted the facts.

  That same day, there was an article about Doshan Williams that began on the front page of the L.A. Times and continued in the sports section. It said that Doshan was back playing quarterback for Oceanside and then recapped the story of what he’d been through since he was falsely accused of rape.

  A week passed before Nicole finally got a call from Sperantza. “I wanted to give you a heads-up before I talk to Timothy. The police still have an APB out on Drummond. But his family said he took his passport and went to Mexico as soon as his name came up in Doshan’s trial. The police checked the airlines, and an Andrew Stuart Drummond did board a United Flight to Guadalajara nine days ago. Authorities in Mexico are now searching for him. But Guadalajara is a hub for a number of airlines. He may have flown on to another country to avoid extradition. His mother took $5,000 out of the bank around the time he left, and the police think she gave it to Drummond to help him flee. They’re looking at pressing charges against her for aiding and abetting. The point is, since we know Drummond has left the county, I think it’s safe to discontinue your security. You okay with that?”

  “Sure,” she said. “It will be nice to have the house to ourselves again.”

  That night, Nicole set the table and lit candles, dimming the lights for a romantic evening with Josh. After they ate, they watched a little TV, then headed up to the bedroom to enjoy their newly restored privacy.

  They were awakened by the phone a little after 2:30 a.m. Josh listened and said, “uh-huh” a couple of times and then, “I’ll meet you at the hospital.” He was immediately out of bed, pulling on his clothes. “My dad is having stomach pains, and my mom’s afraid it’s his heart. She’s called 911. They’ll probably take him to UCLA, so I’ll head over there. She’ll call me if they take him anywhere else.”

  Nicole started to get up. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No,” he said. “Go back to sleep. It could be nothing. I could hear my dad yelling in the background, ‘It’s just indigestion! Quit making a fuss!’ But you know my mom. I’ll call you if it’s anything serious.”<
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  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely. No sense in both of us getting up at this hour.”

  Nicole fell asleep as soon as Josh turned off the light and started downstairs. Awhile later she awoke and sat up, heart pounding. She’d thought she’d heard a noise, then she wondered if she’d dreamed it. Now the place was almost unnaturally silent. A chill went through her. She got out of bed and grabbed her robe. Without turning on the light, she tiptoed downstairs.

  She headed for the security panel by the front door. The alarm wasn’t set, and she figured that Josh, in his rush, must have forgotten. She hit the button to engage the alarm but nothing happened. She opened the closet door where the control box was located. The box, which was supposed to display a green light, was dark. She remembered noticing something a few weeks before. The light on the box had changed from green to flashing yellow. The system worked on electricity, but there was also a backup battery. She’d wondered if the flashing light was a signal that the battery was dying. She’d meant to call the security company and ask, but, in the crush of events, she’d forgotten.

  She turned back to the alarm panel and hit the “panic” button. She’d never pushed it before, but she was certainly feeling panicky now. Nothing happened. She flicked the light switch for the entry hall. Nothing. The electricity was off.

  Just then, she heard the crash of glass breaking somewhere in the back of the house. She grabbed her purse and ran out the front door in her bare feet. The neighbors’ houses were dark but their porch lights were on. That meant the electricity was out only in her house. She thought of trying to rouse a neighbor to let her in, but she couldn’t risk taking time to go around knocking on doors.