Chapter Thirteen

 

Reed sat in the District Attorney’s office, trying to look appropriately dismayed but pretty sure he wasn’t convincing anyone. “So you’re dropping the case?” he asked. “Just like that?”

“Yes. Officer Mason compromised the case against Cassandra Mills and Julia Sorenson by her actions against the defendants. No jury in the world would convict them. Entrapment is very unpopular with the general public. They always wonder if it will happen to them the next time. We can kiss this case good-bye, cut our losses, and wait for a better opportunity.”

Captain Roberts shook his head. “The mayor’s not going to like this.”

“No,” Reed said, “but the man seriously needs to get his wife under control. He can’t run a city if he lets his wife run him. Thank God we’ve got an election coming up. It’s time we had some strong leadership around here.”

“Spoken like a true bachelor.” The D.A. stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Better luck next time, gentlemen.”

Reed and Captain Roberts headed down the hall toward the elevators. “So what happens to Mason now, Cap?”

“I put her on paid leave pending the outcome of the Internal Affairs investigation and strongly suggested she start looking for a job with another department, preferably out of state. If she leaves, I’ll give her a decent recommendation. If she stays, she’s taking her chances on never working as a peace officer in this state again. I gave her a week to decide.”

“Good. I was dead serious about that resignation, you know. I couldn’t work with her again after everything she’s done.” Reed punched the elevator button with a little more force than necessary. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to convince Cassie that whole incident outside my apartment was staged. She still thinks I cheated on her.”

Captain Roberts stepped into the elevator ahead of Reed and hit the button for the first floor. “You want me to talk to your girlfriend, explain what happened?”

“No.” Reed shook his head. “If we’re ever going to have a chance, she has to learn to trust me. I’ll explain everything, and if she doesn’t believe me, well, that will be that.”

***

“You want to go to a movie or something tonight?” Cassie asked Julia as they waited in the lobby of the lawyer’s office.

Julia blushed, something she rarely did.

“Okay, spill. You’re hiding something from me.”

“It’s nothing. I just have a date, that’s all.”

Cassie kept quiet, knowing Julia would tell her if she didn’t push.

“Oh, all right. I have a date with Reed’s friend, Jeremy. I didn’t want to tell you, because I knew you’d warn me about going out with a cop.”

Cassie sighed and leaned back in her chair. “You’re right. You can’t trust them.”

“Jeremy’s different, Cassie. He’s like a kid in some ways. Open, honest, full of life. His enthusiasm is infectious.” Julia paused. “He makes me feel alive.”

Cassie reached over and squeezed Julia’s hand. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise. But at least he knows what I do and he doesn’t care. He even told me he wants to try out some of my stuff.” She smiled and waggled her eyebrows.

“I didn’t need to know that.” But Cassie couldn’t keep from smiling. Griff had hurt Julia badly, and Cassie had been afraid her friend would withdraw and sit around brooding. But it seemed like Jeremy had managed to drive all thoughts of Griff from Julia’s mind, so maybe it would all work out okay. Cassie just needed to keep her distance from him. She didn’t need any more reminders of Reed.

“You have any idea what this meeting is about? The secretary didn’t tell me when she called.”

Julia shook her head. “She didn’t tell me, either. Just said it was urgent. Maybe they’ve set a date for our trial.” Her voice wavered just a bit. “Oh, God. I don’t want to go to jail.”

“We won’t. Remember, Susan’s got a plan worked out to convince the jury the law is outdated and needs to be changed.”

“That doesn’t mean she’ll succeed,” Julia reminded her. “This is the Bible Belt, after all. Who knows what kind of jury we’ll get. If the prosecution succeeds in stacking the jury with older, church-going women, we’re going to be in real trouble.”

“Don’t borrow trouble. We seem to find enough on our own.”

The intercom buzzed and the receptionist waved them toward Susan’s office.

Cassie stood and took a deep breath. “Well, it’s show time.”

“You two look like you’re facing the death penalty,” Susan said by way of a greeting. “Relax. I have some good news for a change.” She waited until they were seated in burgundy leather wing chairs in front of her desk before she handed them each a piece of paper. “As of this morning, all charges against both of you have been dropped.”

Cassie and Julia sat in stunned silence.

“Well, aren’t you excited?” Susan asked.

Julia nodded. “I think so. It’s just so unexpected. What happened?”

“According to my sources in the D.A.’s office, one of the arresting officers compromised the case. They’ve been put on administrative leave pending an Internal Affairs investigation. Because the whole case smacks of entrapment, no jury would ever convict. It would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money to take the case to trial.

“But...without an acquittal, won’t we always look guilty?” Cassie didn’t know what to think. Had Reed been fired? If so, was it her fault? She might be mad at him, but she didn’t want to destroy his career. He loved his job. It was the only thing he cared about. Then she reminded herself she’d lost her job, too, thanks to him.

“Well, it’s not quite as good as an acquittal, but it’s the next best thing. You won’t have to worry about serving prison time.”

“It seems so unreal, that it could be this simple. Do we need to worry about getting arrested again if we continue the Pleasure Parties?”

“I don’t think so. This is an embarrassment to the city and the police department. As long as you follow the company’s new guidelines, you should be fine.” Susan stood and shook their hands. “I’ve arranged for a limousine to pick you up downstairs. It’s on me, so go out and celebrate. I’ll see you again soon. Belinda wants me to come to one of your parties.”

Julia smiled and handed her a business card. “Anytime. We’ll even give you a discount. And thank you.”

Cassie turned to go, then turned back to Susan. “Can you tell me the name of the police officer who was suspended?”

“I can tell you it wasn’t Reed, if that helps.”

Cassie breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, that helps. Thanks so much for everything.”

“So that means Reed’s partner was definitely behind everything, right?” Julia asked as they pushed through the revolving doors into the bright sunshine.

“I guess. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Reed cheated on me with her.” Cassie looked for the limo, wishing she’d worn her sunglasses. The sun was so bright she could barely see anything.

“You know, maybe that whole thing was a set up. Reed tried to explain, but you wouldn’t listen. Maybe you should call him and see what he has to say.”

A sleek, black Lincoln pulled to the curb and Cassie opened the door, anxious to get out of the heat. Julia started to climb inside, backed out again, and turned to Cassie. “You know what? I think I’ll go by the station and see if Jeremy is still there. He gets off duty in a few minutes. Maybe we can start the celebration a little early.”

“Are you sure? I thought maybe we could go shopping or something.” Cassie was disappointed. She didn’t want to return to her lonely apartment just yet. She needed to work off some of the excess energy surging through her system after the day’s events.

“I’m sure.” Julie gave her a quick hug and nearly ran down the street toward the station.

Weird. Cassie shrugged and slid into the back seat of the car and closed the door. “Northpark Mall, please.”

The driver didn’t say a word. The doors locked as the vehicle pulled away from the curb.

Cassie glanced in the rear view mirror, trying to see the driver’s face, but he had a cap pulled low and his head tilted slightly down. Obviously, he didn’t want to make small talk. Fine. As long as he took her where she wanted to go, he could stay silent the entire trip.

She watched the traffic through the window as they made their way out of downtown, but when the driver took the wrong exit off Central Expressway, she banged on the window separating the front of the car from the back. “Hey! Don’t you know where Northpark is? You took the wrong exit!”

When he only ducked his head further, Cassie started to panic. She fumbled through her purse until she found her cell and dialed 911. Before the operator answered, the driver looked up and their gazes met in the rearview mirror.