37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
C ody walked into the police department holding cells the next morning bright and early with two very important people in tow.
He walked all the way down to the last cell, where Kristi was trying desperately to squat over the toilet and pee without touching the not-so-clean seat. There was vomit on the floor from another woman, who was passed out on the bench, probably picked up for being intoxicated in public, or something similar.
Kristi spotted him and pulled up her panties and black leggings to cover up. Her neck, face, and ears flushed crimson with her embarrassment and probably a heaping dose of fury. But she held it back when she saw the two men with him. “Cody?” The question was in her voice. What was he doing here with them?
“You remember my good friend Brad Whitlock.”
As in District Attorney Devin Whitlock’s son . He didn’t have to say that last part though. She knew.
She took a tentative step toward the bars. “What is this?”
“I told you to leave Brooke alone. She was grieving the loss of our child. But you couldn’t do that. You went after her because I canceled the wedding.”
“No I didn’t.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ll see. I didn’t do anything. They’re lying.”
He opened the folder the DA had handed him before they walked in here. He pulled out a photo and turned it toward her. “This is you standing right behind Brooke at the crosswalk. That’s your hand on her back.”
She gasped and her eyes went wide.
“Let me guess what happened. You were downtown for some lunch meeting or whatever. You saw me. Then you saw her. You followed her to the corner. Then you pushed her and just backed away.”
Her eyes remained wide as saucers. “How?”
“Nearly every move you made was caught on surveillance cameras from local businesses and the street cams. But there was also a witness. One you didn’t see. But he saw you. He followed you back to your car and wrote down your license plate number. He knew Brooke. In fact, he was stalking her.”
“What?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s right. The man who attacked her on campus came back. But this time he didn’t want to hurt her, he wanted to talk to her and tell her about you . He was at the bookstore and saw you come in through the back and start the fire.”
“The guy in the hoodie,” she whispered to herself, but not quietly enough that they didn’t hear her.
Cody nodded, then pulled out another photo. “This is you in your car, leaving the parking lot.” He pulled out another. “This is you at the nearby traffic cam.” He pulled out another. “This is you standing in Brooke’s office, setting the picture on fire that her mother took of us the morning I proposed, of us kissing and showing off Brooke’s engagement ring.”
“That fucking ring was bigger and nicer than mine.”
“Its worth is in the fact that it’s a symbol of my love for her and our daughter, and my promise that I will be hers, and only hers, forever.” He glared at her. “You used yours as a trophy you’d won. Or at least manipulated your way into getting it on your hand. It never really meant what it’s supposed to mean.”
“I loved you and you threw it all away for her .”
“Because I always loved her .” He tried to rein in his rage. “And now you’re going down for attempted murder, arson, and a few other charges you won’t be able to get out of, right, DA Whitlock?”
“That’s right,” he agreed. “There will be no deal in this case. I will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
“My father is getting me an attorney. I’ll tell him that when I pushed her, I wasn’t in my right mind. I lost it when I saw her ring.”
DA Whitlock smirked. “And how will you explain starting a fire in her office with over fifty people inside the building, all of whose safety and well-being you disregarded when you tried to destroy Brooke’s business.”
“No one would have gotten hurt. They’d have left through the front, but her pretty little shop would be ashes.”
DA Whitlock shrugged. “We’ll see what the jury thinks after they hear what a jealous woman you are and how you coerced Cody into a proposal, then callously didn’t tell him you’d lost his child for two weeks. No one is too busy to hear something that important.”
Kristi’s face turned ghostly white. “Cody, please, you can’t do this. I’ve never done anything wrong.”
“I have no mercy for someone who goes after the woman I love. I will do anything to make sure you never have a chance to hurt her again.”
“Cody, don’t do this.”
“ You did this to yourself.” He walked away from Kristi’s pleas and angry words and threats.
He had somewhere else he’d rather be. Home with Brooke. Better yet, back in bed with her and his arms wrapped around her.
Two days later, he walked into the courthouse and courtroom 3 for Kristi’s bail hearing and stood at the back of the room. Kristi was sitting next to her attorney with her hair up in a twist, her back ramrod straight as she faced the judge. Her parents sat behind her.
Her attorney pleaded her case. “Miss Randall is an upstanding member of the community. She has a job and has no prior record or arrest. Miss Randall will hand over her passport and post a reasonable bail if it is granted.”
The DA stood up. “After a witness saw Miss Randall set the fire at the bookstore and she knew she was going to be caught, she tried to flee by plane to a country with no extradition treaty. She is a flight risk and a threat, not only to Brooke Banks but to the community at large. She set the bookstore on fire when it was packed with people. If not for a bystander putting out the fire quickly, who knows how many people may have been hurt or killed. There was a tenant upstairs and people in the adjoining café. She had zero regard for any of them.”
The judge rendered his ruling quickly. “Bail denied. The suspect will be remanded to prison until her trial date.”
Brad was standing next to him, showing his support, and smacked him on the shoulder. “Yes. She’s going down.”
Cody turned to his friend. “Thank you for getting me in to see your dad the way you did.”
“Cody, you’re a respected attorney. He would have taken your call and a meeting if you asked for it.”
“I know he paid special attention because of our friendship. I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, well, don’t be surprised if he calls you for a favor next time.”
Cody expected it and he was willing to pay up when the time came. Within reason.
Kristi stood and turned to her parents, but went still when she spotted him. Her face flushed red with anger. “You did this.”
The court security guard moved closer to her.
Kirk stood and turned to him. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
“No, it didn’t. She should have left Brooke alone. You shouldn’t have tried to have me fired. I guess her need for revenge comes from you. Just remember you both lost coming after me. If I were you, I wouldn’t try it again.” What he really wanted to say was if you do, I’ll make you suffer . But with so many witnesses, probably not a good idea.
Kirk turned to Kristi. “We’ll figure something out. It’s going to be okay.”
Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Kristi was not getting out of jail anytime soon. He’d made sure of that.
Brad hooked his hand on Cody’s shoulders. “Come on, man. I can’t wait to see your fiancée.”
Cody had invited the DA and Brad to lunch at the house. Mostly so Devin could assure Brooke that Kristi was not going to be a problem anymore.
DA Whitlock followed him and Brad out. “She sounds…resilient.”
“Yes, she is.” More than she had ever thought she’d need to be.
He couldn’t wait to put all of this behind them and marry her.