Chapter 39
One week later, I stood in a courtroom with Jamie Simmons one last time. But for the first time, Ellie Luke’s family spoke for her. And they were united.
“I know what he wants me to be,” Hayden said.
“He wanted me to be like one of those awful things he collected in that box. A souvenir. Something to own. Possess. I cannot begin to describe how that feels. How evil and manipulative Jamie Simmons is. He turned my family against me when I spoke the truth. They understand what he is now, but I can’t say things could ever be the same.
“I know it may not mean anything. Not legally. But we’re in a courtroom.
And people are watching. Those reporters are going to write about what happened here today.
So I want to make this as plain as I can.
Jamie Simmons, you are not my father. You are nothing to me. And you will never see me again.
“It’s a strange thing. You took away my chance to ever know my Aunt Ellie.
But I know at the same time, if those terrible events hadn’t taken place, I wouldn’t be here.
For a long time, that has haunted me. Made me feel like an abomination.
Lately, I’ve started to feel differently about it.
Therapy has helped. I still have a long way to go.
But now, I think I’m not what you thought I was.
Instead, I think I was put on this earth to do exactly what I did.
Expose who you really are. A monster. A killer.
An abuser and manipulator. Worthless. I think Aunt Ellie moved through me.
And that makes me proud. Makes me feel close to her.
I am not your twisted souvenir. I am the instrument of justice for Ellie.
And I hope you rot in hell where you belong. ”
She didn’t cry. Hayden held her head up and looked straight at Jamie the whole time. It was subtle. Had I not been looking at him at that exact moment, I would have missed it. But as his daughter condemned him to hell, Jamie Simmons flinched.
Claudia couldn’t bring herself to take the stand.
But George did. He spoke again about the person Ellie was.
Her hopes and dreams. His pride for her.
It was twenty-two years of suppressed grief.
Of things Jamie had conditioned the family not to speak of.
It all came flooding out that day. And I knew that the Luke family at least had a chance to heal now.
Finally, Erin took the stand. It was an eerie thing. She had Ellie’s face. It almost seemed like Ellie herself had risen up to speak against Jamie. But Erin told her story plainly.
“You made me believe you loved me,” she said.
“Maybe you did in your sick way. But I know now what you are. What you did. You thought you owned Ellie. Made her yours by taking her from us. Hiding her away. Hurting me. Turning me against my daughter. But you didn’t win. Ellie did. Do you hear me? Ellie won.”
She showed the photographs she found hidden in the home. The ones that provided incontrovertible proof of what Jamie had done to Ellie. Each photograph was another hammer blow. Even Cutler knew they would make any meaningful chance at overturning the verdict on appeal impossible.
For once, Jamie Simmons’s smug expression vanished. In its place, I saw true fear.
Judge Saul handed down his sentence. He would serve his prison terms for each charge consecutively. In a move that clearly shocked Cutler, she removed the possibility of parole. For murder and kidnapping, Jamie Simmons would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
When it was over, I turned my back on Simmons and Cutler. I wrapped an arm around Hayden and walked out.
“You were amazing,” I told Hayden. I’d taken her to the side a bit, away from the rest of her family.
“I meant what I said. And he’s not my father anymore. I filed a petition to change my last name to Luke.”
“Good for you.”
“I want to finish what Ellie started. I’ve applied to nursing school. I want to help people heal.”
“Oh Hayden.” I hugged her. She let me.
“But I’m going to do it in Pasadena starting next summer. I have to start over. They’ve got each other now,” she said, gesturing to her huddled family. “They’ll try to guilt trip me. But my mind’s made up.”
“If there’s anything you need. A letter of reference?”
“I may take you up on that,” she said.
“Count me in on that too,” Sam said. He’d just joined us. “You’re something special, kiddo. I hope I’m not overstepping by saying this. But I think you’re right. I think your Aunt Ellie did move through you. And I think she’d be damn proud of you today.”
Smiling, Hayden opened her arms and hugged Sam. It caught him a little off guard. His eyes glistened a bit. I felt a lump in my throat.
Hayden went back to her family. They had a long road of recovery ahead of them, but they would all commit to taking it together.
Later, Sam, Will, and I sat at my dining room table and ate the most delicious chili in the world. When we were through, Sam and I cleared the dishes. He washed. I dried.
Snow began to fall. Big puffy flakes, the kind that sparkle after they hit the ground. They’d already closed school for the next day. We’d be under a level one snow emergency by morning. The weather report said we’d get up to eight inches. Christmas was just three weeks away.
“Looks like we might be snowbound,” I said. “The plow trucks aren’t gonna make it out here until the afternoon.”
Sam smiled. He came behind me as I stared out the bay window. Pulling me against his chest with his strong, solid arms, I felt safe. Warm. Home.
“Lucky for you,” he said, “I happen to have some pull with the road commission.”
I reached up and touched his cheek. “Do you have to use it? Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing if all three of us took a snow day.”
Sam kissed me. “I like the way you think, Mara. Come on. I’ve got another idea I’ve been meaning to run by the both of you.”
He walked me into the living room. Will was scrolling through the channels, looking for a documentary he’d been waiting to see about the K-Pg boundary. Lately, he’d expanded his obsession out from the Titanic or the JFK assassination to the dinosaur extinction.
“Can you turn that off for a second?” Sam asked. Will hit the power button.
I sat next to my son, my heart fluttering. Will took my hand. Sam stood in front of us, then sank down so he was at eye level.
“You know I love you both,” he said. “And I want to do this right. It’s not just about your mom and me, Will.”
Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red box. He opened it, revealing a glittering, two-carat emerald-cut diamond ring with a white-gold band.
“Mara, will you marry me?”
Will squeezed my hand. Then he let go and threw his arms around Sam, nearly knocking him off his feet. Tears spilled down my cheeks as Sam hugged my son back.
“Yes,” I said. Then Sam reached for me, and clasping my hand, we formed a circle.
This was the partner I wanted. I knew it. And I didn’t want to wait.
So three weeks later, on Christmas Eve, my son put on a suit that Sam helped him pick out. He patiently taught him how to tie a Windsor knot. Then my son walked me down the aisle in Judge Donald Ivey’s courtroom.
My mother sat in the front row, dabbing her eyes. Caro and Hojo sat beside her. Caro handed my mother a tissue, then took one for herself. Kat reached over to touch my mother’s arm. Bree beamed as she saw Will and me walk in.
Gus stood beside Sam, serving as his best man. Kenya stood up with me. I wore a simple, light-blue dress. Sam looked so handsome in his gray suit. He smiled down at me as Judge Ivey had us recite our vows.
It was simple. It was perfect. It was my family.
When a deputy is accused in a heinous murder, it’s up to Mara to bring equal justice to the courtroom.
But when the case pits Mara against the entire Sheriff’s Department, she’ll have to take on the county’s top cop himself, the man she just married.
Don’t miss Edge of Justice, the next page-turning book in the Mara Brent Legal Thriller Series.