CHAPTER FIVE

 

Beverly had agreed to meet Grant at Eagles Landing Medical Center’s emergency room, where Maxine Crawford had been taken. It was what Grant called a preemptive strike, given the attention Judge Crawford’s murder was likely to generate. The Eagles Landing Police Department would be under tremendous pressure to make an arrest and the Wilameta County District Attorney’s office to get a swift and decisive conviction.

All else would have to take a back seat for the time being.

The fact that Judge Crawford’s last trial had taken place that very afternoon in a case Beverly had successfully prosecuted along with Grant, meant that they would be on the hot seat on this one.

Was that trial connected to the judge’s death? Beverly wondered, entering the doors to the ER. Maybe it was some form of payback for upholding the guilty verdict against Suzanne Landon. But who would do such a thing after the fact?

Beverly had told Jaime she wasn’t sure when she would be back, wishing the timing had been different. She was confident that in his own way he understood that her career obligations sometimes included working after hours and with little to no warning. Fortunately Jaime had reached the age where he could take care of himself for short lengths of time when she wasn’t there, though she always tried to be there when he got home from school and most evenings. She was proud of him for his maturity and responsibility, even if he may have grown up a little too fast for her comfort.

There were still outstanding issues the two of them would have to resolve. And one of them included Grant.

Beverly spotted Grant pacing around in the lobby as though he had lost his best friend. As far as she knew, he and Judge Crawford were only casually acquainted, which was more than her own relationship with the judge. She knew him only in the courtroom. Even then, Sheldon Crawford struck her as somewhat distant and unapproachable.

When Grant saw Beverly he met her halfway, giving her a lightning quick hug. “Thanks for coming.”

Beverly nodded, while thinking that he looked tired and ill at ease—unlike this afternoon when he was full of life and comfortable with her...inside her.

“Have you found out anything?”

“Nothing.” He threw his arms up in disgust. “The doctors aren’t talking about her condition. Maxine Crawford could be dying in there for all we know.”

“What did the police say?” Beverly could see what looked to be detectives just down the hall. She thought she recognized one as Detective Joe O’Dell of the Eagles Landing Police Department’s, Homicide Division. They had worked together on a case or two. He had proven himself to be a thorough cop and an excellent witness.

“Doesn’t look like she was shot,” said Grant. “Just bruised and in shock.”

Beverly curled her lashes. “Who wouldn’t be in shock, under the circumstances?” She tried to imagine what it would be like to see your husband murdered right in front of you. She wondered why the assailant didn’t kill the judge’s wife, instead leaving an eyewitness to the crime who could testify against him. Had Mrs. Crawford gotten a look at him? Was it a male? Beverly had just finished a case where the culprit was a female. Who says it wasn’t a woman who offed the judge? “Do you think this could have had anything to do with the case we just tried?” she asked.

Grant scratched his cheek. “Hadn’t really thought about it,” he said artlessly. “Judge Crawford has undoubtedly made more than his share of enemies over the years.”

“But it was the timing of the attack,” Beverly said. “What if someone acting on behalf of Suzanne Landon decided to take out their revenge on her conviction by killing the judge who presided over her trial?” Even while saying it, Beverly realized that since the penalty phase had not yet taken place, there seemed little point in killing the judge beforehand. Unless the killer believed it would somehow make a difference in sentencing.

“I didn’t get the feeling that Suzanne Landon had much of a fan club,” Grant voiced dismissively. “Besides, if she wanted to get anyone, it would be the people who convicted her of first degree murder!”

He favored Beverly with narrowed eyes, as if to point the finger at the two of them. The notion left her slightly unsettled.

“My point is that Landon is probably not behind Crawford’s death.” Grant’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t make it any less disturbing.”

Beverly agreed. So who hated the judge enough to want to kill him? Could be anyone who ever came into his courtroom, she decided.

Danger lurked at every turn for those who worked in the criminal justice system. It came with the territory. She herself had come face to face with death as a result of a case she had worked on. The most recent time was last year when a serial rapist on trial and out on bail actually cornered her in a bank parking lot. He had managed to threaten her with bodily harm and may have actually put words into action had a bank employee not come to the rescue.

Since then Beverly had carried a loaded .40 caliber Glock in her purse, and was prepared to use it if she had to.

Surely the judge must have had a gun, given the routine threats he probably received. Obviously he never got the chance to use it.

Beverly cringed and gazed up at Grant. “Were you friends with the judge?” she asked curiously.

He shook his head. “Not really. I’ve played racquetball with him on occasion while talking shop unofficially, but never socialized much outside of that. Why?”

“No reason.” She twisted her lips musingly. “Just thought since you were here, you might have some inside information on why the judge was attacked.”

Grant favored her steadily. “Yeah, I wish it were that simple. I don’t know any more than you do. I came to try and stay ahead of the curve in learning just what happened at the judge’s house tonight and how the D.A.’s office might approach it.”

Beverly considered Judge Crawford’s wife for a moment. They had never met, but she had heard that Maxine Crawford was a good deal younger than her husband. And gorgeous. Might the attack have been directed towards her?

“It was a good idea to see what we can learn before everyone else does,” she said.

“I thought you would agree.”

They watched as Detective O’Dell walked toward them. He was pushing forty, tall, and had dark Rastafarian locks.

“Hello, Joe,” Beverly greeted him.

He nodded politely. “Beverly. Nunez. You here to interview the judge’s wife?”

Grant pursed his lips. “Not exactly. That’s your department, isn’t it?”

O’Dell smiled slightly. “It is. I suppose Judge Crawford has high friends in high places.”

“Not friends,” Beverly pointed out. And not at high as the judge was before being brought down to earth. “Just friendly observers.”

“I see.”

“So what have you got on this one?” Grant asked.

O’Dell scratched his brow. “It appears that Judge Crawford was shot to death at point blank range with what looks to be a small caliber handgun. Half his face was blown away.” He paused, glancing uneasily at Beverly and back again. “He and Mrs. Crawford were in bed having sex at the time. Not sure if the judge ever knew what hit him.”

Beverly swallowed. She had seen enough horrific crime scenes to last her a lifetime. But the thought of death occurring under such intimate, pleasurable circumstances sent shivers up her spine.

“Did Maxine Crawford know what hit her?” she inquired.

O’Dell seemed to ponder the thought. “Haven’t really had a chance to get a statement from her yet. At this point it looks like she’s damned lucky to be alive.”

Grant bristled. “Yeah, right. You call watching your husband’s head explode luck?”

The detective’s coal eyes shot him a nasty look. “I do when you consider the alternative.”

Beverly felt obliged to step between the two, as if they were about to come to blows. “Hopefully Mrs. Crawford will be able to identify whoever did this,” she said wistfully.

“Yeah, that would be a big help,” O’Dell said skeptically.

A doctor from the ER approached the gathering. He was in his fifties, perspiring, and had sad blue eyes. Beverly knew instinctively that he had just worked on Maxine Crawford.

“How is she?” O’Dell asked in confirmation.

Frowning, the doctor said, “Under the circumstances, she could be a lot worse.” He sighed raggedly. “Mrs. Crawford was raped and sodomized. Also suffered some bad bruises, probably from trying to fight off her attacker. But...she’ll live—”

“Can I talk to her now?” O’Dell asked eagerly.

“Not tonight, I’m afraid. We’ve given Mrs. Crawford a tranquilizer to calm her down...help her to sleep. She’s resting now. We’ll keep her overnight to be on the safe side.”

Grant stepped forward. “Did she say anything about who might have done this?”

“Not a thing,” the doctor said unapologetically. “Sorry. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to tend to.”

They watched as he walked away, stopping only long enough to confer with a nurse.

“Looks like it’s going to be a long night,” grumbled O’Dell, scratching his pate.

“I’m sure you’re used to it, O’Dell,” Grant said coldly. “Isn’t that what you detectives live for?”

“Being used to long nights and enjoying them are two different things, Counselor.” O’Dell glared at him, then nodded at Beverly with a softer expression. “See you around.”

“Bye, Joe.” She forced a tight smile at him. After he left, Beverly turned to Grant with a hard look. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” He cast his eyes downward.

She wasn’t buying it. “Why were you so rude to Joe?”

“Didn’t mean to be.” Grant took a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose loudly. “Guess I was just reacting—or overreacting—to all the crap that goes on in this town.”

“What crap is that?” She assumed it was something other than the norm.

“Crime, criminals, courtrooms—everything we have to go through to deal with all of it. Makes you wonder if we’re fighting a losing battle.”

“Even the small victories count,” Beverly responded. Was there more to this than he was letting on? She decided not to press it. “I have to go,” she told him. She wanted to get back to Jaime, reassure him that she would always love him as her child, even if she loved a man.

It was still too soon to tell if that man was Grant.

He brushed against her, causing Beverly’s body to react unbidden.

“I should be leaving, too. Nothing more for me to do here.”

At Beverly’s car—a white Subaru Impreza—Grant kissed her softly on the lips.

“I’m glad I have you, Bev,” he said affectionately.

“I feel the same way about you,” she told him.

Grant’s eyes crinkled. “Say hi to Jaime for me.”

“I will,” Beverly promised, though not sure her son would be in any mood to receive it.

Grant was still waving when she drove off, as seen through the rear view mirror. She could still feel the tantalizing taste of his lips on hers.

Were they really meant to be together or was this merely temporary fulfillment of their sexual and emotional needs before they went their separate ways?

* * *

Grant watched Beverly’s car disappear from sight. Already he missed being with her. And being inside her hot Latina body. He hoped that they could get past any hang-ups her son might have about them being together. Maybe if he’d had children, he would be able to better relate to them having a conniption over his ex wife dating someone else. But since she refused to have children and he was in no position to make her, the best he could do was give his ex the freedom she so craved and move on himself.

He did and worked his ass off to get where he was today. I’m not about to let the judge’s bad luck interfere with that.

Grant stared pensively into the night before heading back into the hospital to make sure that all the bases were covered. The last thing he wanted was some more surprises, even if he had to keep Beverly in the dark for her own good.