Chapter 29

She clutched the phone as if it were his arm she had in her grip. "Hez." Her voice wobbled.

"Savannah, what's wrong?"

"Everything." She squared her shoulders. "The reason for my trip took a very unexpected turn."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"She's used up her call privileges for the rest of the week. You can't speak to her until Monday."

"I can ask for an emergency call, but I'd have to explain what's going on."

"I—I can't tell you. Not yet." The news would be all over town if Hez had to explain.

"Everything seems safe, but I'll keep my eyes open."

Savannah ended the connection and stared at her phone. Without her sister's input, Savannah was on her own, and she'd never missed Hez's strong, thoughtful presence in her life as much as she did right now. Talking to him had helped, but this was still her problem to sort out. She called up her flight back to Alabama and changed it to Monday, then purchased another seat for Simon.

He came out of the bathroom in jeans and a tee. "I'm hungry."

She dropped an arm around his shoulder. "So am I. Do you want to eat here at the inn or at a nearby pub?"

He leaned into her embrace. "Our favorite chippy place. It's just down the way, and they have wicked fish and chips."

"Lead the way, kiddo."

Simon leaned forward with an intent expression. "Mum has to take me home now, doesn't she? I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Is that why you ran away?"

His plea touched her, and she reached across the table to take his hand. "Simon, your mum is a private person. You probably already know that about her, don't you?" When he gave a jerky nod, she squeezed his fingers. "She's always been that way. Until two days ago, I didn't know about you. I think she loved you so much she wanted to hold you close to her heart without outside interference."

"I know she loves you. She's been trying to protect you."

"That's mental. I'm ten now and big enough to take care of myself." He puffed out his chest. "I'm learning jujitsu."

His chin jutted. "I'm never going back there. I want to be with my mum." His grip on her fingers tightened. "And with you."

"You will be. We're flying to the U.S. on Monday."

Her phone vibrated, and Beckett's face popped onto the screen.

You flew to England without telling me??!

***

"Have you heard from Savannah?"

Her evasion irritated him. If they'd had more time and hadn't been in the middle of a courtroom, he would have pressed her to answer his question. "Nothing since we last spoke. She's coming back tomorrow morning, so I—"

Hope stepped up to the lectern and put a neat stack of notes on it. "Yes, Your Honor. The state calls Detective Augusta Richards."

"Detective Richards, how long have you been a police officer?"

"Fourteen years."

"How many murder cases have you investigated?"

"About two dozen."

"Were you the lead investigator each time?"

Richards shook her head. "No, but I was the lead most of the time. Maybe twenty of those cases."

"How did you become involved in investigating the murders of Ellison Abernathy and Peter Cardin?"

"And when she also found Peter Cardin's body?"

A cold tendril of unease crept into Hez's heart at the mention of Savannah's discovery of both bodies. He'd thought she was in the clear. Had he been wrong?

Hope turned to the next page of her notes. "Please elaborate on those similarities."

"Thank you." Hope glanced at her notes. "Was there anything else that caused you to suspect Ms.Legare?"

"What did you do next?"

"When you say the payments were ‘unexplained,' what do you mean?"

"They didn't correspond to salary payments, investment income, gifts, or any other known source. And when we asked the victims' families about the money, they had no idea where it came from."

"Did you also obtain financial records from Ms.Legare and the university?"

"What happened next?"

"What did you find behind the house?"

"We located an area of disturbed earth among the trees at the back of her yard. We excavated and found a women's fleece jacket confirmed to have belonged to Ms. Legare. It had a large bloodstain. A double-edged knife with a six-inch blade was buried with the fleece."

"Did you send those items out for forensic testing?"

"Did you also find relevant financial records?"

"What were those titles?"

"Yes."

"Pass the witness."

"We searched until we located the buried items. I believe the search ended at that point."

Detective Richards leaned forward a few inches. "I believe that's correct."

"And no one from your team would know whether any footprints were there at the time of your search?"

"Also correct."

"No, we had no reason to."

"Ms.Legare's home was burglarized after her arrest, correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you consider the possibility that the burglary was related to the crimes Ms.Legare is accused of?"

"Yes, though it's not uncommon for burglars to target empty homes."

"Is it possible that the tipster and the burglar are the same person?"

"Possible? Certainly, but I'm not aware of any evidence indicating that."

"Well, the tipster had pretty specific knowledge of what you would find in Ms.Legare's home and financial records, right?"

"Yes."

"The type of knowledge that could only come from having access to her home and records?"

The detective thought for a few seconds. "I'm not sure that's the only possibility."

"But it's the most natural one, correct?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose so."

"And someone with that kind of access could plant evidence, right?"

"Possibly."

"I knew she had been on Wall Street. I wasn't aware of the specifics."

"Were you aware that her salary at TGU is less than one-tenth of what she made on Wall Street?"

"No, I wasn't aware of her current salary either."

"I can't testify about her motives, just what the evidence shows she did. Criminals often do things that aren't very rational."

"I don't know her personally."

Hez took a quick look at his notes. He'd gotten everything he could reasonably expect. Hope would have a hard time later arguing that investigators made the footprints in the woods or that the prints weren't there when they executed the warrant. And Hez was pretty sure he had raised a few questions in her mind without antagonizing Detective Richards in the process. "Pass the witness."

Hope half rose. "No further questions, Your Honor."

Judge Hopkins cleared his throat. "All right. Any additional witnesses, Ms.Norcross?"

"No, Your Honor."

The judge looked at Hez. "Do you have any witnesses, Mr.Webster?"

The judge turned back to Hope. "Does the state rest its case?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"The defense also rests," Hez added.

Judge Hopkins swiveled back to Hope. "Any argument, Ms.Norcross?"

"Yes, Your Honor." She rose and stepped up to the lectern. "May it please the court. The evidence establishing probable cause is overwhelming and uncontested. The defense does not dispute that the murder weapon was found on the defendant's property, that a spreadsheet detailing payments to the victims was found on her computer, or any of the other evidence put on by the prosecution. Rather, the defense apparently thinks there may be another explanation for this evidence, that the defendant was framed by some unknown person or persons. But that is irrelevant. The only question before the court is whether there is a substantial chance that Ms. Legare committed the crimes charged in the complaint. The answer is yes. Thank you."

The judge looked at Hez as Hope returned to her seat. "Argument from the defense?"

"I'll give you the last word if you want it," the judge said to Hope as Hez sat.

"No, Your Honor," Hez and Hope said in unison.

"All right, this hearing is adjourned."