Trapped By Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

  He broke into a grin. “Well, I was worried.” He tilted his head and studied me again. “But I’m not anymore. So where’s the key?”

  I took it out of my purse and handed it over. He examined it for a few seconds before asking, “Did the original have any numbers on it or anything like that?”

  I raised my brows. “Um…not that I remember. I didn’t really look at it that hard.”

  “Okay.” He slipped it into his jeans pocket. “I’ll see what I can do. If I find where it goes, I’ll let you know.” He started to slip his helmet back on.

  “Wait. Are you just going to go now?”

  He lowered the helmet. “Did you want to come?”

  “Um…well…kind of, but I probably better get home to put these groceries in the fridge…you know…before they spoil.”

  He nodded, and I noticed the tiniest bit of a smile at the edge of his mouth. He was thinking it was gratifying to know I wanted to be with him, even though I shouldn’t.

  “That’s not…I just want to know what you find with the key.”

  “Don’t worry, Babe,” he said. “If I figure it out we’ll go get it together.”

  “Oh, okay, good. So…what about the thief? What’s going on there? Have you figured out who it is?”

  His mind closed down tighter than a submarine hatch on a dive. “I’ll know more tonight.” He clearly didn’t want me to know what was going on, probably because it was dangerous.

  “Um…okay. Just be careful.”

  He nodded, slipped on his helmet, and drove away.

  The rest of the day was uneventful, and I knew I should have been grateful nothing bad happened, but I couldn’t help worrying that I’d get out of this mess. Even after we’d gone to bed, I was too uptight to sleep.

  Would Ramos be okay? He was putting his neck on the line for me. What if he died? He was up against a thief and a killer. Of course, he was also a thief and a killer, so maybe I was getting carried away. He was good at what he did. I had to believe that he’d be fine and, once he found this guy, I’d finally have this weight lifted from my shoulders. I’d be free and this horrible nightmare would be over. Thinking about it that way settled my nerves, and I finally drifted off to sleep.

  The next day was Sunday, and I half expected Uncle Joey to call and ask me what time my church services started. After church, I fixed a pot roast for dinner, with carrots and potatoes, and tried to make it seem like a normal Sunday with nothing to worry about. My nerves were on edge since I hadn’t heard anything from Ramos or Uncle Joey, and I decided that I’d just have to call them once dinner was over.

  I’d been so preoccupied with my thoughts, that I was surprised to pick up from Savannah that she was worried about me. The implications of me being arrested for murder had started to sink in, and she was worried about how that would affect our lives. Even Josh had been thinking about it. So after dinner, I told Chris we needed to have a talk with the kids and tell them what was going to happen and what we were doing to solve this problem.

  We sat them down and Chris explained that my arraignment was on Tuesday, but it would be months before a trial began. “We have lots of friends who are helping us,” he explained. “So I’m sure we’ll find the real killer before it ever goes to trial.”

  “But will people know?” Savannah asked. She was thinking about her friends and didn’t like that they would think her mother was a murderer.

  “Look,” I said, a little angry. “It might make the news that I’m a suspect, but that doesn’t mean I’m guilty. And if anyone asks you about it, that’s all you have to say.” I put my arm around her shoulders for a tight squeeze. I hated this. Looking into my daughter’s anguished face broke my heart.

  “I think we’ll have some answers soon,” I continued, “And hopefully it won’t even come to that. But if it does, we’ll handle it together. Just remember that the truth always comes out. Some people do all they can to hide it, but with hard work, we can get to the bottom of this. We’ll find the truth and catch the real killer. Your father and I won’t rest until we bring this person to justice and clear my name. That’s a promise.”

  “Your mom’s right,” Chris said. “I promise we’ll do everything in our power to take care of this.”

  Savannah nodded, but she was wondering what would happen if it wasn’t enough? What if I really went to jail? Just the thought of her mother in prison made her a little sick.

  “The best thing you can do right now is to think positively,” I said, wanting to interrupt her bleak thoughts. “So if you’re thinking about me going to jail, then you need to change your thoughts. Don’t forget, I have premonitions, and I have a feeling that it’s all going to work out right. So the best thing you can do for me is to quit worrying and have some faith.”

  “Who’s helping you?” Joshua asked.

  “Well besides your father, who’s a damn good lawyer by the way,” I smiled, “I’ve got Detective Harris, and I’ve been working with an investigative reporter and a few friends you don’t know. Believe me, between all of us, we’ll figure it out.”

  “Good,” Josh said. “I’d like to help, so if there’s anything I can do, you’ll let me know. Okay?”

  My heart swelled and tears prickled at the back of my eyes. “Thanks Josh, I will.” We had some ice cream and played a few games after that, which had the desired effect of calming everyone down.

  I took a moment to call Uncle Joey, but it went straight to voicemail, so I left a message. Next, I called Ramos, hoping he’d pick up, but to my disappointment, it went to voicemail too. The message I left him probably sounded a little more desperate than I liked, but after his cryptic explanation yesterday, he had to expect I’d be a little worried.

  Later that night, Chris held me tight. “Tomorrow’s Labor Day. Why don’t we take the kids swimming and to a movie?

  “That’s fine, as long as the movie’s not about murder or death.”

  He smiled. “That sounds reasonable. I also need to go into the office for a couple of hours. I’ve got a heavy load this week, and with the holiday, it’s even shorter. That way, I can make sure I have everything ready for your arraignment.”

  “Yeah, okay. What time should we be there on Tuesday?” I asked.

  “Nine.”

  My chest tightened with anxiety. “I really don’t want to do this.”

  “Don’t worry. It will be easy,” Chris assured me. “You don’t have to say a thing. Leave that to me. The judge will read the charges against you and ask if you understand what they are. I’ll answer that you do, and that will be it. You don’t even have to plead guilty or not guilty. See? Then we’ll be done, and you can go home.”

  “That’s it?” I asked.

  “Yup, that’s it.”

  “How did I get so lucky to have such a great husband and kids? This can’t be easy for you, or Josh and Savannah. But you’re all so supportive about it. It makes me feel guilty that you have to suffer and worry because of me. This is a nightmare. I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Chris said. “Don’t think that for a minute. You had nothing to do with this. If anyone is to blame, it’s Manetto. That’s why I’m going to insist he fix it. He’s got the connections, and if he doesn’t figure it out, I think you should tell Harris everything about your involvement with him. You’ll have to tell him the truth that it was Uncle Joey who sent you to Killpack’s office. I’m sure he’ll do what he can to grant you immunity for your testimony. If it’s the only way out of this mess, then you’ll have to do it.”

  His words pierced my heart and left me sick to my stomach. Was he right? How could I agree to do that? On the other hand, if I was going to jail for a murder I didn’t commit, how could I not? “I don’t want to think about that right now,” I said. “It’s making me feel sick.”

  “Shelby, you have to think about it,” he argued, rubbing my back to soften the blow. “At least consider it.”

  “Okay, I will. If no
thing else works and we don’t find the real killer, I’ll think about it. But not until then. Please don’t make me think about it until then, okay?”

  “Sure honey,” Chris said. He knew I’d about had it and didn’t want to push me too hard. “Just so you know…I hope it doesn’t come to that either.” He was telling me the truth, and it helped ease some of the pain in my chest.

  A few minutes later, Chris fell asleep, but I was too wound up to sleep. Since my stomach was acting up, I got up to take some Mylanta and noticed my phone blinking with a message. It must have come in while I was getting ready for bed. I eagerly hurried outside on the deck to listen and noticed there were two messages. The first came from Uncle Joey. He said he had the name of the judge on my arrest warrant, but it wasn’t anyone he knew. He thought it would be a good idea to talk to him anyway and wanted me to call him in the morning.

  Yes! Some progress. The second message had come in right after the first and was from Ramos. He had made contact with the person he thought could be the thief, and wanted me to be there when he met him, and please call him back as soon as I got this message.

  With trembling fingers, I quickly called his number. It rang and rang, and I worried it would go to voicemail when he finally answered.

  “Babe…I’m a little busy at the moment. I’ll call you back.” He disconnected.

  I held the phone to my ear, hoping I’d heard wrong, then put it down with a scowl. Had he gone ahead without me? I checked the time. He’d left his message at ten-thirty and it was now ten after eleven. It wasn’t that long ago. But his voice had sounded a little breathless, like he’d been running or something.

  With resignation, I waited for over an hour for his call and then decided to go to bed. Maybe he hadn’t called back because he figured it was too late. At any rate, I’d just have to wait until morning to find out what was going on. With tomorrow being a holiday, there probably wasn’t much we could do anyway.

  ***

  I woke early and, since I couldn’t get back to sleep, decided to get up and make my family some pancakes. Today might be one of the last normal days we had for a while, and I wasn’t going to waste it. As I stirred the batter, I gave Uncle Joey a call on his cell. He was probably still asleep, but at this point I didn’t care if I woke him. It went straight to voicemail, so I left a message to call me back. I debated about calling Ramos too, but decided to give him a chance to call me instead.

  It wasn’t until late afternoon that my phone buzzed with a call from Uncle Joey. I quickly picked up. “Hello?”

  “Hello Shelby. Enjoying the holiday?” Uncle Joey asked.

  “Um…sure,” I answered. “As much as I can considering the fact that I’m going to be arraigned in court tomorrow. They’re going to charge me with murder. I still can’t believe this is happening.”

  I heard him sigh through the phone. “You’re not going to prison, Shelby. I’ll make sure of it, no matter what happens. Okay?”

  “You can do that?” I asked.

  “I know people. I’ll figure something out. Hopefully it won’t come to that. For starters, I have the name of the judge who signed your warrant. Since you’re going to be at the courthouse tomorrow anyway, maybe you can look him up. His name is Judge Dobson. I’ve already asked my friend Jack if he knows him very well, and from what he’s heard, this Dobson fellow is pretty strict, but seems a decent sort.

  “Jack said his only daughter was killed in an accident a few years ago and he took it pretty hard, especially when his wife died of cancer a few months after that. So he’s had a hard time of it lately, but other than that, there’s nothing bad on him, although I still think it would be a good idea to check the guy out.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I’ll see if Chris knows him and check out his schedule. Maybe I can peek into his courtroom tomorrow.” Had I heard his name before? It certainly sounded familiar.

  “Good,” Uncle Joey said. “Let me know what you pick up.”

  “Did you hear anything from Ramos?” I asked. “I talked to him last night, and he was supposed to call me back, but I haven’t heard anything.”

  “Hmm…probably because it’s not good news,” Uncle Joey said.

  “What happened?” Dread washed over me, and I hoped it wasn’t as bad as Uncle Joey made it sound. Was Ramos hurt and that’s why he hadn’t called me?

  “Ramos had a plan to meet this guy, but he never showed up. When Ricky spotted someone lurking in the shadows, he called to Ramos, but when Ramos got there the guy had taken off. I think they chased him for a while, but he got away. Something must have spooked the guy. Probably because he saw it was Ramos who was after him. Sorry I don’t have better news, but Ramos is still looking for him, and if I know Ramos, he’ll find the bastard.”

  “Um…okay, thanks.” We chatted a little longer, then disconnected. I tried not to get too discouraged. At least Ramos wasn’t hurt and was still looking, and Uncle Joey seemed certain Ramos would find him, so that was a plus.

  Next, I called Billie, hoping she’d had better luck with the key since Ramos was distracted by the thief. She was at the prison to visit Jim and couldn’t talk long. She said she’d call me back if she found anything, which basically meant a big fat no to my question.

  After a long day, I went to bed exhausted from constant worry and lack of sleep. I’d gone over everything with a fine tooth comb, and still nothing jumped out at me. The one stroke of luck I had was when I discovered that the judge who signed my arrest warrant was the same judge who had presided over Jim’s trial. That’s why his name sounded familiar.

  Was it just a coincidence? I didn’t know, and the more I considered it, the more it sent a thrill of excitement through me. This could be the judge we’d been looking for. As I closed my eyes to sleep, this one thing actually gave me something to hope for, and in spite of the awful arraignment I had to go through tomorrow, I looked forward to finding out if it was him.

  ***

  The next morning after getting my kids off to school, I got ready for my big day in court. Chris wanted me to wear something conservative and nice, so of course I wore my black pencil skirt and black blazer over my white shirt. It was the same thing I’d worn to the funeral, but I doubted anyone but me would care.

  I met Chris at his office and we went straight to the courthouse, arriving a few minutes before nine. As we took our places at the defendant’s desk in the assigned courtroom, Chris seemed confident and relaxed, and I realized Chris was used to sitting there. But for me, it was a whole new experience, and I didn’t like it one bit. I found it extremely difficult to sit still and not bite my fingernails or chew on my bottom lip.

  “Relax,” Chris whispered to me. “I know it’s scary, but it will all be over soon.” That sounded as reassuring as getting a root canal, or having open heart surgery.

  I smiled and gave him a quick nod, but it felt like I had grown horns in my head or something by the way everyone looked at me and judged in their minds if I was guilty or not. Some of them were kind and feeling sorry for me, but others were brutal, thinking that most people who got to this stage were guilty, no matter how nice and innocent they looked.

  Yikes! Just thinking about this going to trial and being subjected to everyone’s thoughts had my blood pressure rocketing out the roof. It didn’t help that Bates was there with a stupid smirk on his face, thinking how proud he was of his hard work, and how good it felt to see me squirm.

  A few other people came in, and it settled me down to see Billie and Dimples sit on my side of the courtroom. They both smiled encouragingly, and it bolstered my spirits, although Billie was thinking I’d be disappointed to know she still hadn’t found the lock. Drew had taken the key to check it against the evidence the police had, but came up empty. After that, she’d managed to talk Drew into checking out Sam’s house with her, but they still found nothing. She wasn’t giving up, but my confidence took a nosedive.

  Then my best friend, Holly, came in, along with three of our other fri
ends. Holly had heard the whole sordid tale from me a couple of days ago and wished she’d have come with me that day like she’d planned. That way I’d have the alibi I needed. But she was here now, and it brought a tear to my eye, even if in the back of her mind she was hoping for a glimpse of Ramos.

  My other friends with her were a little awed by the enormity of it all, and at least one of them was thinking, what has Shelby gotten into this time?

  I noticed a last minute arrival in the back of the room, and my heart warmed. What were Ramos and Jackie doing here? I quickly faced forward, but caught Ramos’ thought that they’d come for moral support and to represent Uncle Joey, who didn’t think it was a good idea if he showed up.

  Just then, the bailiff called us all to order and told everyone to stand while the Honorable Judge Dobson came in. My heart raced, and I lurched unsteadily to my feet. It was him? At my arraignment? I hadn’t expected that. A tall, robust man with reading glasses and a receding hairline entered through the judge’s chambers. His flowing black robes and imposing figure gave him the mantle of authority and made him a little scary at the same time.

  He took his seat like it was just another day at work and placed a sheaf of papers in front of him while we all sat down. He glanced at me and clenched his jaw, looking me straight in the eyes. His gaze sent a cold slice of fear through me. In that moment, I felt his intense hate and the satisfaction that he had me right where he wanted me.

  My mouth went dry and I swallowed past the lump in my throat, wishing I was anywhere but here. Why did he hate me? What had I ever done to him? Chris and I stood as the charges were read, and I was suddenly grateful I could let Chris answer for me. I didn’t think I could have spoken a word even if I’d wanted to.

  After we were seated again, the prosecuting attorney brought up my bail to the judge. He argued that because of the seriousness of the offense, I might be a flight risk, and asked that I be held without bail in prison while I awaited my trial. Chris argued that because I had children, there was hardly any reason to go to that extreme, and he was more than willing to assume complete responsibility for me.