Chapter 1
Vee
We stood in silence. Daphne’s mouth hung open. Grant’s skin reddened, crimson moving up from his collar. Tears of shock glistened in Leigh’s eyes. The sound of my heart thumped in my ears as I reached to Fin and willed my knees to keep me standing.
It wasn’t Bre’s whispered confession that had everyone mute.
I doubted it had been heard. It was the scene we were witnessing, the two officers taking Bre away.
She’d asked for my help, yet the cumulative shock of the last eight days was too much for me to bear.
I couldn’t claim it was an inability or unwillingness to speak —I could only state my response was a statuesque stature and silence.
Fin snaked his arm around my waist and static filled my ears.
The chaos dimmed, bringing Cammy’s lowered voice into our collective consciousness.
“…a charge of murder means the authorities must believe they have enough evidence to claim malice aforethought.” When no one responded, she added, “They believe Bre intended to kill Mr. Hubbard or cause him serious harm.”
Wrapping my arms around my midsection, I leaned into Fin’s embrace for support. “Evidence? What evidence?”
“Legally, they don’t need to disclose anything until discovery.”
“This can’t be happening.” My attention went to the two officers walking with Bre between them. I turned back to Cammy. “What can you do?”
“Nothing,” Daphne said, new tears smearing her eye makeup.
She appeared invigorated as I’d never seen her before, her eyes were opened wide and her long hair seemed suddenly alive with static electricity.
“You’re not doing a damn thing.” Daphne’s voice rose.
“If that bitch killed Reid, the Coopers’ legal will not defend her. ”
“What’s happening?” Uncle Darin and Aunt Rachel joined our circle.
I peered beyond them, hoping that on the other side of the curtain, our guests were enjoying the meal and reminiscing about Dad. I envied their ignorance. On our side of the curtain, the tension was palpable.
“Aunt Daphne is right,” Leigh said.
“About what?” Uncle Darin asked again.
Grant was the one to reply, speaking between clenched teeth. “Bre Stanton was just taken away.”
“Reid’s assistant?” Aunt Rachel asked. “Why?”
“She murdered my husband.”
I shook my head as I stared at Daphne. “She’s been accused.”
“What did she say to you, Vee?” Daphne asked. “Before they took her away, she whispered to you.”
Fin pulled me closer to him as I looked up to his blue eyes, wondering if he’d heard Bre’s confession about being pregnant. Inhaling, I stared at my family. “She said she would never hurt Dad. She said she can’t go to jail.”
“Of course she can,” Daphne said. “She should rot in jail.”
“Bre Stanton?” Uncle Darin questioned. “Why would she?” He narrowed his gaze as small lines formed near his eyes. “What do we know?”
“Nothing,” Cammy repeated for those who missed the earlier scene. She explained the charge of murder and what it implied.
As she spoke, there were too many things swirling through my thoughts to pinpoint one.
Grant stepped forward, scanning from Fin and me to the others. “We can’t get a fucking break. As vice president of communications, we—the Coopers—need to get ahead of this.”
“I-I…” I exhaled. “I don’t know. What can we say?”
“No comment,” Leigh suggested. “Our statement is that today, with a heavy heart in the presence of friends, family, and loved ones, we laid Reid Hubbard to rest.” She looked at me.
“We keep going with your initial request for privacy, Vee, and we’ll state that at this time, we have no further comments about the passing of our beloved husband” —she looked at Daphne— “father” —to me— “brother and uncle.”
“I like that,” Grant said, turning to me. “Vee?”
My mind was filled with pictures and love letters signed with hearts. “I’m not…”
“I like it, too,” Aunt Rachel said.
When all eyes turned to me, I nodded. My mind wasn’t currently capable of creating a better statement.
The police thought Bre killed Dad. She said she’s pregnant.
It was wrong of me to make assumptions, but if she meant with Dad’s child, I questioned what that meant for the Coopers and Dad’s estate.
Grant’s voice pulled me to present. Exhaling, he said, “Fine. We’ll get the press release out ASAP.”
“Do you think we should go back?” Fin asked, jutting his chin toward the celebration side of the curtain. “To the others? The longer we’re gone, the more they’ll wonder.”
Rachel handed Daphne a tissue. “I know it’s difficult. We can’t let on to the others on the other side of that curtain what’s happening.”
Daphne dabbed the tissue beneath her eyes.
I wanted to know what others knew about Dad and Bre, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Instead, I turned to Fin. “You’re right. We need to act like everything is fine.”
“And if others ask where Bre went…? We say there was a personal emergency,” Cammy suggested.
Nodding, we all agreed.
As the others made their way back to the tables, I reached out to Leigh and Cammy. “Leigh?”
She turned.
“I have some questions.” Looking up to Fin, I feigned a smile. “I’ll be right out.”
“Are you sure?”
Inhaling, I nodded and waited for Fin to follow the others. Once the three of us were alone, I asked, “What about Bre? Do we help her?”
Cammy shook her head. “The Coopers’ organization has an obvious conflict of interest.”
“You’re a public defender,” I said to Leigh.
“Also with a conflict of interest,” she replied. “That doesn’t mean that someone else from the public defender’s office couldn’t represent her.”
My stomach was in knots. “Evidence? He said evidence...”
“No,” Cammy replied, “I said evidence. The officer didn’t say homicide—a broad term. He said murder, which suggests evidence.”
Leigh chimed in. “Before an arrest could have been made, they had to establish probable cause. That means reasonable grounds supported by facts. They couldn’t arrest her if they hadn’t obtained an arrest warrant.”
“Vee,” Cammy said, “the Coopers are under no legal obligation to offer Bre legal assistance.”
Pregnant.
The word played on repeat in my brain. “What about ethical?”
Leigh’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t think she’s guilty?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. I remembered what Detective Oldson said about plane ticket, one-way, to California. “The detective said they could have waited until tomorrow, but they moved today because they learned Bre had a one-way plane ticket out of town for tonight.”
Leigh and Cammy pursed their lips.
“Circumstantial,” Leigh said.
“Damning,” Cammy replied.
I supposed it was the difference in their work. Leigh was a defender by nature. Cammy Wilcox wasn’t a criminal lawyer, nevertheless, she saw the way that information would look to a prospective jury.
“You want to help her, though?” Leigh asked.
“If she did anything to facilitate Dad’s death, I don’t.”
Leigh put her arm around me. “I’ll call the public defender’s office, and the office will offer representation. It’s really up to Bre. She may want to hire her own private attorney.”
“Okay.”
We all nodded before making our way around the curtain. Scanning the tables, it appeared that everyone was seated with plates of food. The play that sacked our family, leaving us breathless on the field, was over.
The crowd watching never knew what occurred.
My gut told me it was only the beginning.
Accepting condolences from others, I made my way to the chair beside Fin. There was a large salad and honey roll on a plate.
He stood and reached for my hand. “I thought you might try to eat.”
I let my gaze wander from his handsome face to the V of his suit coat, as my senses appreciated the sandalwood scent of his cologne. “Try,” I repeated.
Fin pulled out my chair.
Lip narrowed his gaze from the other side of the circular table. “I want to know what went on.”
“Later,” I said. Lifting my cheeks, I smiled at the man to Lip’s side. “Chris, thank you for being here.”
Where Lip was blond like his brother and sister, Chris had dark hair and eyes. They complemented one another well.
“Vee, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. We all are.”
I searched for Daphne, finding her seated at another table with Uncle Darin, Aunt Rachel, Grant, and Joe Eads.
Thankfully, she appeared more in control than she had a few minutes earlier.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew about Dad and Bre.
Her reaction had been more visceral than I would have ever expected.
“Vee,” Lip whispered, pulling me from my trance.
“Hmm?”
“Is it bad?”
“I’m afraid it could be.”