Homecoming (Downeast #1)

Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

Bertha went to answer it.

Dan held back a groan when Kara’s parents walked into the house, looking oddly out of place in the home where Judith had grown up. Whereas Bertha was all down-to-earth modesty, Chuck and Judith were polished from head to toe. As he had the first time he met them, he thought of them as straight from rich people central casting. This time, however, there were dark circles under their eyes and a sense of weariness that hadn’t been there on previous occasions.

He didn’t miss the stricken expression that crossed Kara’s face when she first realized who’d come to visit. She hadn’t had time to properly prepare herself to see them and would feel off her game. Ever since they’d hosted a fancy wedding for Kelly and Matt, there’d been distance between Kara and her parents.

Despite that, Kara stood and went through the motions of hugging them both.

“Oh, look at you, sweetheart,” Chuck said, smiling. “You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

“Are you feeling well?” Judith asked.

“I’m nauseous and exhausted, but other than that, I’m okay.”

“I was nauseated with all of you,” Judith said. “It’s awful.”

“Yes, it is. Not sure how you went through that eleven times.”

“It was rough. I’m sorry you’re dealing with it. Hopefully, it’ll pass soon. I was usually much better in the third trimester.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Thank you both for being here,” Chuck said. “It means a lot to us that you came when we called.”

Dan shook hands with his father-in-law and accepted an awkward hug from his mother-in-law. “Of course.”

“Listen,” Chuck said, “neither of you owes us anything, so we really do appreciate that you came.”

“Family is family.” Dan appreciated that Chuck understood the situation. Judith was probably another story.

“You’re too kind,” Chuck said.

“Can you sit for a minute?” Bertha asked her daughter and son-in-law.

“We don’t want to interrupt your evening,” Chuck said. “We just wanted to come by and say hello and thank you.”

“It’s okay if you want to sit for a minute,” Kara said.

They settled around Bertha’s scarred kitchen table, where a full lifetime of memories had been made. She opened a beer for Chuck and a bottle of wine for Judith.

“Thanks, Mom,” Judith said.

“It’s nice to see you,” Bertha said. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it’s been too long,” Judith said. “Life gets busy, and the days go flying by.”

“Indeed,” Bertha said.

Watching the family dynamics at play was fascinating for Dan, who knew for a fact that Kara wouldn’t let a single day pass without seeing Bertha if she still lived nearby. He could almost feel her judging her mother for letting so much time go by between visits with Bertha.

“Is Buster here?” Judith asked.

“He is.”

“I’ll have to say hello before we go.”

“He’d like that.”

After an awkward moment of silence, Judith said, “We’ve just come from seeing the boys at the police station.”

“How are they?” Bertha asked.

“Keith is his usual defiant self,” Chuck said, his expression grim, “while Kirby is scared shitless.”

“Did you talk to Keith about pulling his head out of his ass and letting Dan represent him?” Bertha asked.

Dan bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the way she said that. This was the first time he’d seen them together, and the contrast between her and her daughter couldn’t be more pronounced.

“We tried,” Chuck said, “but he’s not budging. He’s asked Matt to come by in the morning.”

“ Matt? ” Kara asked, astounded. “What does he know about defending a capital murder case?”

“He is a lawyer,” Judith said.

“Not all lawyers are created equal,” Bertha said, “and you may as well be sending a used-car salesman in to defend him.”

Dan choked back a laugh at the idea of Kara’s ex defending Keith. “No skin off my chin. I’ve submitted a motion to dismiss the charges against Kirby, which I’m hoping will be taken up during the arraignment tomorrow.”

“So he might be released?” Judith asked, perking up considerably.

“I don’t think it’ll be that simple. They have an eyewitness that puts him and Keith with the victim shortly before she was found dead. That may be enough to keep them held without bail while the details are sorted out.”

“They didn’t do it!” Judith said. “She was alive when they left her. How can they possibly accuse them of such a heinous crime with no evidence they were involved?”

“I know it’s a horrible situation, but we have to be patient while the system does its thing.”

“While my sons rot in jail, their reputations destroyed, over something they had nothing to do with.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, Judith,” Bertha said, “but we’re all painfully aware that Keith could be capable of something like this. We know it, and the cops know it, too.”

Judith recoiled. “How can you say such a thing about your own grandson?”

Dan reached for Kara’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Because it’s true. Take your head out of the clouds for once, will you? That kid has been trouble since the day he was born.”

Judith crossed her arms and gave her mother a defiant look. “I’m sure you blame us for that, when we did the best we could like all parents do.”

Kara gasped.

The others glanced her way.

“Something you want to say, Kara?” Judith asked, brow raised.

“The best you could?” Her tone was incredulous. “You let him run wild his entire life, and now you’re acting surprised that it’s caught up to him. Not to mention he’s taking Kirby down with him, who most definitely had nothing to do with this.”

“I’m sure you feel better saying that about us,” Judith said.

“I don’t feel good about any of this,” Kara replied. “A young woman is dead, and my brothers stand accused of murder. Do you honestly think I want anything other than to see them exonerated? But don’t sit here and act like you had nothing to do with Keith ending up the way he is. That’s all on you. Both of you.”

Dan had never been prouder of his wife, who’d grown herself a strong backbone in the years she’d lived away from this place. The Kara he’d first met probably wouldn’t have had the stones to say that to her mother. Now she didn’t give a shit, and he thought it was sexy as hell that she felt free to speak her mind to her mother.

“She’s right,” Chuck said. “We did let him and the rest of you ‘run wild,’ as you put it. We love our family, but overseeing eleven kids was a bigger job than we were equipped to do.”

Bertha scoffed. “That’s because you didn’t even try , and when people like me tried to tell you trouble was coming, you didn’t want to hear it.”

“How long have you been waiting to say that?” Judith asked with a sneer for her mother.

“Don’t, Judith,” Chuck said. “She’s right. She did try to tell us, and so did others. We didn’t want to hear it because we had no idea what to do with him.”

Judith got up and headed for the door. “Nice visit. Tell Buster I’ll see him next time.” She let the screen door slam behind her as she went out.

“I’m sorry about that,” Chuck said.

“Don’t apologize for her,” Bertha said. “Her own self-absorption and inability to listen to anyone else’s opinion is all on her, which you probably know better than anyone.”

Chuck sighed as he stood and glanced at Dan. “Thank you again for your help. We owe you.”

“No, you don’t. I’m glad to help Kirby.”

He gave Kara a kiss on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, honey. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

“Me, too.”

After he walked out, they sat in silence until they heard the car start outside.

“Well,” Kara said, “that was fun. When can we do it again?”

“Hopefully never.” Bertha got up to finish dinner. “She makes me madder than a wet hen, and she has for her entire life.”

Kara went to her grandmother and hugged her from behind. “Don’t let her get to you. It’s how she is, and we certainly know that by now.”

“Yes, we do.”

“If I could just add,” Dan said, “that I was ridiculously turned on by the way my wife stood up to her mother.”

“Dan! Not in front of my grandmother.”

Bertha rocked with laughter as she turned to hug Kara. “I love you two.”

“We love you more,” Kara said. “And can we talk about Matt stepping up to defend Keith?”

The three of them laughed until they cried, and then they got on with their evening as if the visit from Kara’s parents had never happened.

In the morning, Dan arrived at the courthouse in Ellsworth fifteen minutes before the eleven o’clock arraignment. He’d received the full police report late the night before and was more convinced than ever that the case against his brothers-in-law was short on the kind of hard evidence the prosecutors would need to proceed to trial.

“Let me know how it goes, bossman,” Walter said. “From what people are saying, Kirby’s an innocent bystander who got caught up in a mess.”

“That’s how it seems to me, too, but we’ll see what the court has to say.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Inside, he went through security, then asked where he might be able to meet with his client before the proceeding.

“You’ll see him in there,” an officer said.

“Okay, then.”

Dan went into the courtroom to await the defendants’ arrival.

When Kirby was led into the room, hands and feet in shackles, the first thing Dan noticed was the huge bruise on the side of his face. “What the hell happened?” he asked when Kirby was seated next to him at the defense table.

“Nothing.”

“Kirby, come on. What happened?”

“I had words with my brother in the bathroom. He didn’t like what I had to say.”

A rustling behind them was the only warning they got that Chuck and Judith had arrived, bringing the scent of expensive perfume and cologne with them.

Judith gasped when she saw Kirby’s face. “What happened?”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom. It’s nothing.”

Keith was led in next and seated at the other end of the table.

Matt came to sit next to him. He looked over and nodded to Dan, who ignored him. He had nothing to say to the man who’d broken Kara’s heart. Maybe he should take this opportunity to thank Matt for being a lying, cheating son of a bitch. Because of what Matt had done, Dan and Kara were happily married.

But first things first.

“All rise and come to order. The Honorable Judge Morton Collins presiding.”

Collins had white hair and a ruddy complexion that indicated time spent outdoors. He took a quick look around the courtroom, stopping his gaze for a long second on Dan before moving on to the others.

Dan loved when his reputation preceded him.

“Who is representing these men?”

“Matt Gallagher for Keith Ballard.”

“Please stand when you address the court, Counselor.”

Matt shot up, nearly falling over the table in his haste. “My apologies.”

“Your Honor.”

“My apologies, Your Honor.”

It was all Dan could do not to laugh out loud as he stood. “Daniel Torrington for Kirby Ballard, Your Honor. We call your attention to the motion to dismiss submitted last night. Kirby Ballard was simply providing a ride for his brother and had no contact whatsoever with the victim. We request the dismissal of all charges and his immediate release.”

The judge looked to the prosecutor.

“We have an eyewitness that puts both brothers with the victim shortly before she was found dead. The state is opposed to releasing either defendant at this time.”

“Motion for dismissal and release is denied. Both will be held without bail until a probable cause hearing next Thursday at eleven. By then, the state will need to produce additional evidence tying both men to this murder, or the charges will be dismissed.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Dan said.

“I can’t stay in jail for another week,” Kirby said softly, so only Dan could hear him.

“I’ll ask that you be held separately from your brother.”

“They are holding us separately. The punch happened in the bathroom when we had words, and he got off a cheap shot.”

“I’ll do everything I can to get you out of here as soon as possible. Keep the faith, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Why would I lose faith or anything?”

“Hang in there, Kirby. Keep your head down and your mouth shut. Remember not to talk to anyone about the case unless I’m there, too.”

Kirby nodded as an officer came to shackle him to take him back to jail.

Neither Kirby nor Keith looked toward their parents as they were led away.

“So, um, maybe we should work together on this, huh?” Matt said to Dan.

Matt had dark blond hair, brown eyes and a baby face. The thought of him touching Kara made Dan’s stomach turn. He wished he could punch him in the face for hurting her.

Was this guy for real? “That’s not going to happen, Matt, but ballsy of you to ask. I’ll give you that.”

“We’re on the same side here.”

“Let’s get one thing perfectly clear. You and I will never be on the same side of anything. Ever.”

Matt frowned. “I hate that Kara is still so bitter toward me—and Kelly—after all this time. Kelly said she was rude to her when they saw each other yesterday.”

Dan was stunned to hear that Kara had seen Kelly and not told him about it. He smiled at his so-called brother-in-law. “Kara doesn’t have a bitter bone in her body. In fact, I was thinking that I should thank you for cheating on her with her sister, because that led her to Gansett, where we were lucky enough to find each other. She thinks you both did her a huge favor by being lying, backstabbing assholes, and I couldn’t agree more. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me, so thanks, man. Truly. And also, fuck off.”

Shit, that felt good. So, so good. I can’t wait to tell Kara about it.

Dan practically whistled on his way out of court, despite being disappointed that he’d been unable to spring Kirby. He wasn’t giving up on that.

“Dan!”

He turned to face Chuck Ballard.

“What happens now?”

“We’ll continue to gather information and make decisions accordingly. Oh, and, Chuck? You might want to find a real lawyer for Keith before that jackass mall cop does more harm than good.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll do that.”

Dan nodded and sent a text to Walter that he was ready for a ride as he continued toward the main doors. It was time to get busy doing his own investigation into the events of the night in question so he could find the evidence he needed to get Kirby out of jail.

Before he did that, however, he needed to have a conversation with his wife about the encounter she’d had with her estranged sister—and his encounter with her husband. He was looking forward to that last part.

Even though the hearing hadn’t gone exactly as he’d hoped, there had been a few positives to go with the negatives. Recalling Matt’s shocked expression after Dan told him to fuck off, he laughed to himself as he went down the courthouse stairs to meet Walter.