Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
SORROW
Needless to say, after that, it was pandemonium.
Katy’s mom lost her shit, and the judge threatened to hold her in contempt before ordering a brief recess.
My only concern was making sure Katy was okay.
Though she was naturally shaky, it also seemed as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
I think by the time Stephenson was called back to the stand, everyone was ready for it to be over.
“It’s been a long day, Mr. Stephenson. A long couple of days, actually. A lot has been alluded to, but I’d like to focus on the truth. Both Katy Bannerman and Sorrow Wells deserve that from you, a man who should have had their backs regardless of your relationship with the Bannerman’s.”
Stephenson swallows. “Okay.”
“Did either Mr. or Mrs. Bannerman ask you to falsify police reports regarding Miss Wells?”
“No. They did not.”
“So your treatment of Miss Wells was because of who her mother was?”
“No. Well, perhaps to an extent, though I didn’t think about it at the time.
” He sighs, looking over at me with regret.
“The Bannerman’s never asked me outright to change anything, but they led the narrative, and I let them.
They told me about the supposed suicide attempts, threats made to Alec and the Bannerman’s themselves, and that she’d called Alec the night of the accident to tell him she was going to kill herself if he didn’t come.
Then Alec was dead, and my friends were distraught.
I’ll admit, it was hard keeping my feelings professional, but I never took it out on Miss Wells.
I did my job, but I’ll admit, I didn’t do it well.
I believe Miss Wells knew Alec planned on leaving her, so we had a motive.
There was also a pattern of concerning behavior, according to the Bannerman’s.
As far as I was concerned, we had an unstable young girl who would never get the help she needed with her home life.
So when they asked me to support them in pushing for Miss Wells to be tried as an adult, I agreed. ”
“Are you saying you didn’t follow all leads because you already had a suspect, so you went with the evidence that fit?”
“Yes.”
And I’ll give him his dues—he looks ashamed. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to knee him in the balls, though.
“We never tested the blood. Never admitted the camera footage into evidence. Miss Wells’s court-appointed lawyer never asked for any of those things, so we didn’t offer them.
When Sorrow stopped speaking, I took it as a sign of guilt that she didn’t defend herself because she didn’t want to get caught in a lie.
I never looked at it as a sign of trauma when I should have. I know that now.”
“So what happened when she came home? She’d served her time. You know your actions were beyond reprehensible, and the police commission agreed. Otherwise, you would still have your job and pension.”
“I agree. I deserved to lose both of them. I didn’t know until after the trial that the medical files had been altered.
Leanne mentioned it so casually to me over dinner once that I thought I’d misheard her.
She admitted that John and she not only paid off the nurse to falsify the doctor’s reports but also paid off the lawyer representing Miss Wells to look the other way and not cause trouble.
I remember walking away in a daze. She had to be joking, though, right?
The Bannerman’s are good people. They have a legacy in this town.
I couldn’t believe it. They were my friends.
They wouldn’t risk my job or reputation to get revenge on the one person who never deserved it. ”
I lean forward, and Banner runs a hand up and down my back. Everything I’m hearing is leaving me feeling confused and conflicted.
“Then I checked the phone records,” he continues.
“One of the officers pulled them, but I’d never checked them.
The night of the crash, Miss Wells never called Alec Bannerman, as I was told.
But he sure called her. Twenty-seven times, to be exact.
And she answered only once, which lasted for less than a minute.
After that, he called his mother and then made his way to Miss Wells’s home.
I reviewed older records, and it wasn’t difficult to discern a pattern of behavior.
He called and texted an excessive number of times throughout their relationship, sometimes up to a hundred times a day.
That sent up an immediate red flag. It prompted me to delve deeper into the case, which is when I discovered that what Leanne revealed about the nurse and the lawyer was true.
I felt sick to my stomach, but by that time, Miss Wells had been released from prison and was far away from here. I figured she was better off.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“I know. And then she came back, and I knew it was going to be bad. John and Leanne told me that unless I got rid of her, they’d tell everyone I was having an affair with Claire and that I’d falsified records, blaming Sorrow in revenge, just like she did.”
“So you did what they asked.”
“I did. But not for the reasons you think. I admit I treated Miss Wells like crap, but only because I wanted her to run far from this place and stay gone. Leanne is not rational when it comes to Alec. And John is checked out most of the time, knowing his wife’s mental health is on the decline.
But he gets her new pills and buries his head in the sand.
I had a real bad feeling that something would happen to Sorrow if the truth came out.
I can handle losing my job and having my reputation tarnished.
I deserve it for failing to do my job right in the first place.
What I couldn’t live with was something happening to Sorrow if I failed her again. ”
“Damn, I did not see that one coming.” I look over at Kellen, who shrugs at me. But he’s not wrong. I felt for sure he hated me, and now, well, I’m not sure what to think.
“To summarize, do you think Sorrow Wells was responsible for the death of Alec Bannerman?”
“No. I think Alec Bannerman was responsible for his own death. He grabbed the wheel of the car when the roads were already treacherous. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and he was intoxicated. His actions caused not just his death but that of Miss Wells’s unborn child.”
“No. You shut your mouth!” Leanne jumps up, shouting.
“Order. Keep your client quiet, Mr. Fredrick, or I’ll have her removed. I’m tired of having this conversation.”
“But he’s lying. That whore killed my baby.
She’s the one who should be dead. All she had to do was listen to him and be a better girlfriend, and Alec wouldn’t hit her.
She just wouldn’t listen. Why wouldn’t you listen?
” she screams at me, thrashing as court officials make a grab for her when she starts moving my way.
“Order. Bailiffs, have this woman removed from my courthouse. Mrs. Bannerman, I find you in contempt of this court.”
I look at Banner with wide eyes. “Did that just happen?”
“I think it’s safe to say the jury is seeing her true colors.”
“I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“Me too. But they stopped being my family the second I found out what they did to you. As long as I’ve got you and Katy, I’ve got all the family I need.”
“What the fuck am I, a mirage?” Kellen grunts, his sentiment echoed by those behind us.
I grin, reaching up to kiss Banner’s cheek. “Looks like you’ve got more family than you know what to do with.”
“I think it’s safe to say we both do.”
I moved in with Banner that night. As that only involved moving one house over, it didn’t take long. Katy helped me unload the van and put clothes and things away in Banner’s room after I checked with her a dozen times to make sure she was okay with this.
“I’m more than okay with it. It gives me peace of mind over what comes next,” she tells me, sitting on the edge of Banner’s bed as she folds one of my T-shirts.
“How so?” She bites her lip, so I move to sit next to her and take her hand. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know. I’m just nervous, I guess. I’ve decided I don’t want to go to college. I never did. I really do want to enlist.”
“Okay. Do you need a lift to the recruitment center?”
“Just like that?”
“You’ve wanted to be a soldier the whole time I’ve known you. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Do you know how many people know exactly what they want to do at that young age and follow through?”
“No.”
“Well, neither do I, but I bet it’s not a lot.”
She grins, but it falters after a minute or two. “You think Banner will be mad?”
“Mad? No. Worried, nervous in that way only a big brother can be, yes, abso-fucking-loutly. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what you love. He’ll deal with it because he loves you. And anytime he worries, I’ll distract him.”
“Oh eww, I did not need to know that.”
“Your mind is the one in the gutter, not mine.”
She nudges me with her elbow, laughing. “Right, I’m sure your thoughts were pure and innocent.”
“I am. Oh crap, I forgot to pack my halo, didn’t I?”
Before she can say anything, Banner appears in the doorway. “You ladies hungry?”
“Starving,” Katy answers. I nod. I never say no to food.
“I was going to order in, but the guys want to know if you want to meet them at the diner?”
I feel myself tense, but I shake it off when Katy nods.
“Oh, hell yes. I’d sell my soul for a burger,” Katy moans, jumping off the bed. “Meet you downstairs in five.”
And then she’s gone, leaving me with an amused Banner.
“One thing you should know about Katy is she eats like a marine.”
“I did notice that, with maybe just a touch of envy. If I ate what she did, my ass wouldn’t fit through the door.”
He reaches for me and tugs me to my feet before his hands slide down to cup my ass. “Your ass is perfect as it is, but I wouldn’t complain if there were even more of it.”