“Don’t do this, Augusta.” Jane barred her detective’s path up the porch steps of Reid’s large brick home.
Reid stood with Will by the front door, and she wished with all her heart she could prevent seeing her boy handcuffed and loaded into the patrol car’s backseat. Parker knew something was wrong, too, and he whined low in his throat at Will’s feet.
Augusta’s brown eyes were shadowed, and her uniform held creases from her long day. “Chief, you know I have no choice. If this were a neighbor, you’d be right there making the arrest. We have to follow the evidence.” She looked toward the door. “Where’s Jackson?”
“Searching around the outbuilding. Did you find anything else besides the tackle box?”
“The deceased’s fingerprints were inside the house, so we’re going to have the house and building checked with Luminol when it’s fully dark. She might have been killed inside.” She peered around Jane’s shoulder. “Reid, was Lauren ever inside your home?”
“Not to my knowledge. I always intercepted her on the porch or in the yard.” He glanced over at Will. “Did you ever let her in?”
“Like I’d let her in.”
Jane inwardly winced at his dismissive tone. That wouldn’t help. “So maybe she broke in.”
Augusta lifted a brow. “I’ll take a look at the locks.”
Jane stepped out of the way so the detective could check the front door. She turned on her flashlight to closely examine the brass tumbler. “Scratches on it. It’s possible someone broke in.”
“She might have wanted to wander around and see if she could find money to steal,” Reid said.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with Will, who had a backpack slung over his shoulder. If Jane didn’t know him so well, she would have guessed he was calm by his expression, but he was clenching and unclenching his fists. They were both helpless to prevent what was about to happen. Maybe they should have loaded Will in the SUV and taken off to hide out, but she was an officer of the law. She couldn’t abandon her duty.
She believed in justice like she believed that water was wet. It had been her life, and it wouldn’t fail her now. Would it?
Jackson, his dark skin beaded with perspiration, came around the side of the house with something in an evidence bag. Her heart seized, and she took an involuntary step toward him before she caught herself. Asking what he’d found was Augusta’s duty. Jane could only watch from the sidelines.
Augusta spotted Jackson and moved to talk with him out of earshot. He opened the bag and showed her the contents, but Jane couldn’t hear what they said between them. Augusta’s face looked grave when she turned around.
Jane blocked her path. “What is it?”
“A woman’s bloody sweater.”
“Someone planted it,” Reid said.
Jane’s throat constricted, and she shook her head. “Surely you can see this is all a setup.”
“I think so too,” Jackson said. “But the evidence is adding up.”
What else had they found?
Augusta put her hand on Jane’s arm. “You have to let this play out, Jane. We don’t believe Will did this, but we have to follow the evidence. If this is a setup, we’ll find out who is behind it.”
No matter how much she wanted to look professional, Jane couldn’t stop the tears from leaking from her eyes. “I want to believe that, but it’s hard to let you walk out of here with my boy.”
“I know. We’ll take good care of Will, but we need to take him into custody. I’ve already called ahead to the judge and let him know I’ll be arresting him as a juvenile. If Jackson hadn’t found blood, I could have booked him for involuntary manslaughter, but this changes the charges. That’s about the best I can do in the situation.”
Jane had instantly understood how damaging finding blood meant to the case. Her son was facing an uphill battle to prove his innocence.
“I appreciate it.” At least Will wouldn’t be locked up in the regular jail but sent to juvie until they could get him out. She released a heavy exhale. “I’ll get Will.”
Her knees barely held her as she walked back to the porch and looked up at her son, whose dark eyes were wide. His lips trembled, and her heart failed at his pleading expression. “You’ll have to go with them, Will. They will ask more questions, but Scott will be with you, and it looks like they will book you as a juvenile. They won’t object to your release into our custody, but you’ll have to go to juvie until a judge rules.”
Will swallowed hard and went pale. “Okay.” His voice wobbled and he swayed.
Reid grabbed his arm. “Steady, son. We’ll get through this.”
Will took several deep breaths. “Can you guys come with me?”
“We’ll be right by your side. Scott will meet us at the station. This will all take several hours so we have to be prepared for a grueling time.”
They went down the wide steps arm in arm. Jane gave Will a final squeeze, then loosened her grip and moved away. “He’s ready.” She stepped back and loaded Parker into the backseat of Reid’s SUV.
Hearing Augusta read Will his rights brought tears surging to Jane’s eyes. This was some kind of nightmare. If only she could wake up. But this was all too real.
Jackson cuffed him and gently guided him into the squad car’s backseat. He squatted by the door and spoke to Will too softly for Jane to hear, but Jackson patted his knee before he stood up and sat in front. The squad car turned around in Reid’s circle driveway and pulled out to head for town.
Jane’s jumbled thoughts were hard to pin down as she rode in the passenger seat of Reid’s SUV. She couldn’t have driven if her life depended on it. Her hands kept shaking, and her mouth was dry. Reid was holding it together, but then she knew what faced their son and he had never seen this play out.
When it was over, it wouldn’t be something they’d ever want to remember.
* * *
Augusta blocked the interrogation room door. “I’m sorry, but only one of you can go in with him. There’s no room for more since his attorney is also in there.”
Jane curled her fingers into her palms and glanced at Reid. Everything in her wanted to be with Will, but maybe Reid would be the better choice. The two had always been close, whereas she had only been in her son’s life a few months.
Reid’s anguished gaze locked with hers. “I want to be there, but you know more about the law.”
Augusta cleared her throat. “If I might offer my advice. I’d like to be able to say the chief exerted no influence on her son’s answers during this questioning. It might be safer for Will’s acquittal if you’re not in the room, Jane. You can listen in so you know what’s happening.”
Her detective made good sense, but Jane didn’t want to agree. She wanted to be able to touch her boy or shake her head to warn him off of answering something. But Scott would be there. He was a good attorney and would protect Will’s rights.
She took a step back. “You’re right. Go ahead, Reid.”
He paused long enough to squeeze her hand. “I’ll tell him you’re watching so he knows you’re with him.”
She gave a jerky nod and touched the top of Parker’s head for courage. “I’ll be right here.” The words when he’s taken away refused to leave her lips. Had it really come to that? Arrest? Her boy behind bars for murder?
Reid and Augusta entered the interrogation room, and she ran with Parker around to the viewing room. She slipped into the booth and directed Parker to lie down in the corner.
She drank in the sight of her son and Reid. Both so alike in appearance, temperament, and their care for other people. While she couldn’t claim a hand in Will’s upbringing, she couldn’t imagine a son she could be prouder of. There was no way he was guilty of harming Lauren.
Augusta smiled at him and turned on the recorder. “So let’s go over the events officially. I’m going to read you your rights first before I ask you to answer any questions.”
Jane checked out mentally as Augusta went over the familiar rights list. Her gaze wandered to Scott on Will’s right at the table. Reid was scooted up close to Will on his left.
“Do you understand?” Augusta asked.
“Yes,” Will said in a nearly inaudible voice.
“How did you come to be fishing at the dock?”
“I was staying with Grandpa while my parents were out of town, but I was getting bored with playing video games so I asked him to drop me off for some fishing.”
“What time was this?”
“About one. I was hoping to catch some frogs. Grandpa was going to show me how to fry up frog legs. He was supposed to pick me up at six unless I called him sooner.”
“So you were at your house alone?”
“Yes, until Lauren showed up.”
“What time was this?”
“I’m not really sure. I wasn’t watching the time.”
Augusta looked at Reid. “According to your father, he spoke to you about four.”
“Then it was just a few minutes before that. Maybe three forty-five. I’d just gotten back to the house when Dad called.”
She glanced down at her notebook. “What happened when Lauren showed up?”
Jane had heard this part multiple times, and Will recounted the same details. Lauren had been yelling and waving some papers. She wanted to talk to Reid, then flew into a rage and attacked Will. Jane could only pray a judge would take that attack into account.
“So she started to strike you again, and you grabbed her arm?”
“Yes. She jerked her arm out of my hand and lost her balance. When she fell into the water, she came up mad and sputtering. I reached down and tried to help her up. The water was only to her waist or so. She wasn’t drowning or anything like that, but I wanted to help her. She started yelling at me again and told me to leave her alone. She smacked at my hand. So I ran away from the pier and went to the house.” His voice trailed off to a softer volume. “I shouldn’t have left, but she was yelling and screaming at me. Cursing too. It scared me.”
Her son was a strapping six-footer, but he was only fifteen. When a kid was that big, it was easy to forget his real age. Of course it scared him to have an adult berating him. Jane watched to see her detective’s reaction, but Augusta’s expression was neutral and interested. Scott frowned though and shook his head.
“Then what?” Augusta asked.
“I didn’t know what to do. I-I tried to call Grandpa, but he didn’t answer. He often doesn’t have his phone on him.” Will tipped up his chin. “You can check with him. His phone would show I called. I was rattled. Then Dad called. I told him what had happened, and that her car was still in the driveway. He instructed me to call 911, so I did. I waited until Officer Jackson arrived, and we went back out but couldn’t find her. You know the rest.”
“So you were watching the driveway?”
Will nodded. “I didn’t want to go back out until she was gone. She was yelling so much, and I wanted to be away from her.” His voice trembled. “I didn’t bring my tackle box back in. I ran off and left it on the dock with the fishing pole.”
The fishing pole! Jane saw the same thought register on Reid’s face.
He held up his hand. “Did Officer Jackson find the fishing pole on the dock?”
“He did. We took it into evidence.”
“Why would he have taken his tackle box and left the fishing pole? It’s clear he left everything.”
“Please, Mr. Dixon, I’ll ask the questions.” Augusta rose. “That’s all for now. We’re booking you for manslaughter, Will. That may be upgraded to murder as we investigate. The DA may weigh in also. I’m sorry. You’ll be detained in the juvenile center jail, and your attorney can ask for you to be released into your parents’ custody when we see the judge tomorrow. Good luck.” She had Will stand so she could cuff him again before she took him out to be transported.
Manslaughter.
Jane ran from the room to see Will one last time before he was taken away. He was pale and tears pooled in his eyes when he exited the room with Augusta.
“I didn’t do anything, Mom.”
She hugged him tightly. “I know, Will. I know. Stay strong. It’s just one night.”
At least she prayed it was only one night. Reid joined Jane and she threw herself against his chest and wept as Augusta led their son away.