Chapter 29
By nine o’clock that night, my body finally took control of my mind. I fell asleep in the car during the ten-minute drive back home.
“You want to head out on the boat? Clear your head?” Eric asked, startling me awake.
“Bed,” I said. “No talkie.”
He smiled, pulled me to him, and kissed me. “You need to eat, Cass.”
I shook my head. “Later.”
He frowned, but didn’t protest further. As soon as I got to the bedroom, I peeled off my skirt and blouse, kicked off my heels and crawled into bed in just my bra and underwear. I don’t remember anything after that.
Until my phone rang.
It jolted me. For a second, I didn’t remember where I was or whether it was morning or night. I fumbled for my phone, dropping it on the floor. It landed face up and the caller ID made me groan.
Woodbridge County Jail.
For a moment, I debated even answering. This was Jeanie’s case now. Whatever Katy needed she should direct to her. But my constant need to fix everything won out over my common sense once again.
“Cass,” Katy cried before I could even say hello.
“What’s going on, Katy?” I said. “You know you should talk to Jeanie if …”
“No!” she shouted. “I don’t want to talk to Jeanie. She can’t tell me what I have to know.”
I lifted myself up on one elbow as Eric walked in. He’d heard enough to know who was on the other end of the phone.
“All right,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I’m losing my mind,” she said. “That’s what’s going on.
And I’m losing my case. I can feel it. They don’t believe me.
I can see it on the jury’s faces when they look at me.
It’s pure disgust and disdain. And some of them seem annoyed like all that’s happening is we’re wasting their time.
They’ve already made up their minds and they want to get on with it. ”
“You can’t read too much into their facial expressions,” I said, trying to suppress a yawn. “Believe me. I’ve been at this long enough to know. It could be Addison Quick they’re annoyed with. Or the judge. Or not even annoyed at all and you’re projecting. Which is perfectly understandable.”
“Did she tell you what happened today? How my own doctor threw me under the bus?”
Jeanie hadn’t really described it that way, but I could see where Katy’s paranoia would kick in.
“Your doctor told the jury that you could very plausibly have been asleep during Tom’s murder. That’s all that matters. Jeanie will argue that alone is reasonable doubt.”
“Not if I can’t explain,” she said. “Not if I can’t look them all in the eyes and tell them what happened. They need to hear me say I didn’t do this. You have to let me testify.”
It would have been a cop-out to tell her it wasn’t my decision anymore.
It wasn’t. But if it were, I’d never put her on the stand.
She wasn’t strong enough to stand up to Addison Quick’s blistering cross-examination.
He’d turn her upside down. Get her to admit things she didn’t even realize could condemn her.
She would have to answer for some of the things she said before I got to her.
“You have to trust Jeanie,” I said.
“I didn’t hire Jeanie!” she shouted.
My anger flared. In the back of my mind, I knew a good deal of it was at myself.
I sat fully upright. “Yes, you did,” I said, my tone harsh.
“You’ve killed me, Cass. It doesn’t matter that I’m not facing the death penalty. If I get sent to prison for life, I’ll find a way to kill myself.”
“Stop it,” I said. Lord, this was typical Katy. Emotional manipulation was one of her specialties. I’d kept my mouth shut dozens of times when I heard her do it to Joe throughout their marriage. It wasn’t often, but when it happened, it worked on him every time.
“Why are you doing this? You at least owe me a real explanation.”
“I did what I had to do, Katy. I did what’s best for you. Yes. You hired me. You hired my firm. Jeanie was always part of that deal. This is literally what you signed up for. You know exactly why I was reluctant to even get involved. I told you my conditions.”
“You told me you were out if I told you one lie. I swear to God, I haven’t.
I’ve told you the truth. I did not kill Tom.
He was dead when I woke up. If Jenna hadn’t shown up when she did, it would have been me calling 911.
The only thing I did wrong was pick up that knife.
But you can’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing in my position.
I wasn’t thinking about how not to incriminate myself.
I was in shock that the man I loved was slaughtered next to me.
That’s what you have to let me tell the jury myself. ”
I could practically hear Quick’s cross-exam in my head. Didn’t you also tell another inmate that Joe was really the love of your life and you should have stayed with him? Did you also say maybe you did kill him but that you were sleepwalking?
“Katy,” I said. “You need to hang in there. You need to let Jeanie do her job. I would trust her with my life. I trust her with yours.”
“You lied to me,” she said. “You broke your promise to me. You …”
My head started to pound. I couldn’t go through another round of this with her. I didn’t know if Jeanie had told her about the Tallon Shipley development. We still weren’t sure if and how we could use it.
Katy sobbed on the other end of the phone. “You said … Cass, you said if either Joe or I lied to you, you were out. Has he been lying? Is that it? You’re protecting Joe?”
“Katy, I can’t talk about this.”
“Did he … do you think he killed Tom? He didn’t. He couldn’t have. He was never there. He …”
I heard another voice. Katy was told her time was up.
“No!” she cried. “I need another minute.”
“Katy,” I said. “We’ll talk soon. The best thing you can do is try to get some sleep tonight. Things will be better in court if you’re rested.”
She didn’t answer. The call ended. I knew inmates had a five-minute allotment for personal phone calls. In this instance, time had been my savior.
“You shouldn’t talk to her, Cass,” Eric said. “You need to decline her calls.”
“I know,” I said. “You’re right.”
“It’s after nine,” he said. “But I ordered pizza. I can bring you a slice.”
My stomach growled. Eric didn’t wait for me to give him a verbal answer.
He went down and brought me two cold pieces of pepperoni.
Then he climbed into bed and let me rest my head against his shoulder while I ate my dinner.
As soon as I finished, I remembered to put my phone in sleep mode.
I could think of no other emergencies that would need my attention until morning.
The next time, it felt like I’d only been asleep five minutes.
Sunlight hit me full in the face. Stretching, I reached for my phone.
I had seven missed notifications. Six from Joe.
The other was an alert that Tallon of Justice had just dropped another new episode.
They were coming every twenty-four hours now.
Eric woke to the same notification. His phone was connected to the Bluetooth speaker on his nightstand. He hit play on the episode and turned up the volume. I could smell the coffee from my automatic brewer.
“I’ll be back,” I said. “I don’t think I can do this without serious caffeine.”
Eric gave me a thumbs-up, then held up two fingers, indicating he needed a cup as well. I heard Tallon’s voice fill the room as I hurried downstairs. I grabbed the whole pot and two mugs.
“Cass,” Eric said, his tone grim. “You aren’t going to like this.”
“So it occurred to me,” Tallon said. “Maybe the only way to really understand Katy Loomis’s relationship with her first husband is by talking to someone who had some inside knowledge of it.”
My blood heated as I poured our coffees and put a mug in Eric’s hand. Slowly I sank down on the bed beside him.
“The nexus here is Emma Leary,” Tallon continued. I wanted to vomit. “Katy Loomis considered her a daughter, but she was really a stepdaughter. I found Emma’s biological mother living just outside Delphi these days. And she was surprisingly willing to talk to me.”
I now understood why I had six missed calls from Joe.
“I don’t think I can listen to this,” Eric said.
“Shh! Turn it up!”
Shaking his head, he did.
Tallon was clearly recording outdoors. She described her walk up Josie Banfield’s driveway.
I hadn’t seen or talked to Josie in years.
As difficult as Katy had been during the last gasp of her marriage to Joe, Josie had been one of the most toxic people I’d ever known.
Joe was just twenty-one when Emma was born.
Josie had a drug problem. Their break-up and custody battle had gotten as ugly as they come.
As Tallon’s breathing got heavy from the walk, she explained a little of that to her listeners. I heard her ring the doorbell. A moment later, Josie answered it, her voice muffled but instantly recognizable.
“Sure,” she said after quick introductions. “Come on in. It’s just me in the house right now. Is the living room okay? Will it mess with your sound?”
Eric paused the playback. “She didn’t just catch her off guard. Tallon didn’t just show up. This was prearranged. What is Josie thinking?”
“She’s thinking about the maximum damage she can do to Joe and Katy,” I said. “As usual, Emma is an afterthought. An acceptable casualty to Josie’s toxic narcissism.” I had the same brief thought as Eric; I wasn’t sure I could listen to this. And yet, I knew I had to.
“It’s been a long time since I talked to Joe,” Josie said. “But I can tell you he was the love of my life.”
“What happened? If you’re okay with telling me,” Tallon asked.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ve been in recovery for a few years now. I’m comfortable owning up to my own sins. I know I hurt a lot of people. Including, and especially Emma.”
“So you’re not worried that talking to me like this could hurt her more?”
Josie sighed. “I know it might. But she went no contact with me a long time ago. Which I understand. I wasn’t there for Emma like I should have been.
That will be the greatest regret of my life.
I suppose this is selfish of me. But if she listens to this, then she can hear me apologize.
Maybe it will open the door just a crack. ”
“But you know that’s not why I’m here,” Tallon said. “You know that the subject of my podcast is about Tom Loomis’s murder.”
“You wanted me to talk about Joe and Katy,” she said.
“To know what I know about their relationship. Well, I don’t see how I can do that without talking about Emma.
I believe she’s the reason Joe and Katy lasted as long as they did.
See, Katy was a good wife to Joe, I think.
For a while, I think he was happy. But it’s not because he was ever truly in love with her.
It’s more that he needed a mom for Emma.
Because I wasn’t capable of being one at that time. I own that.”
“You’re saying you don’t believe Joe Leary loved his first wife, Katy?”
“He probably loved her. But I doubt he was ever in love with her. I suppose that’s a clichéd way to describe it. It just fits in this situation.”
“What makes you think that? What proof do you have of that?” Tallon asked.
“Well, he told me.”
“He told you?” Tallon asked. I spoke it out loud at the very same time.
“Yes,” Josie said. “A couple of years ago. I’m not proud to admit it.
But at the same time, I’m not ashamed of it.
Joe and I got back together briefly while he and Katy were separated.
Before she finally filed for divorce. And look, I knew what I was getting into.
I was convenient. He knew Katy was cheating on him with Tom.
What better way to get back at her and settle the score than coming back to me.
I am probably the one person who could have driven Katy the most crazy.
She was always threatened by me. Both because I’m Emma’s real mother and because I know it’s the same for Joe. ”
“What’s the same for Joe?” Tallon asked.
“I know that I’m the love of Joe’s life, too.”
“Turn it off,” I said. “Turn it off!”
Eric complied. “What is she doing?”
My phone rang. It was Joe again. This time, I answered and put him on speaker.
“I’m gonna kill her!” he shouted. I shared his sentiment.
“I need you to stay away from her right now,” I said. “Do not go over there. It’s the worst thing you can do.”
“She’s lying,” he said.
I knew I’d regret the question, but I asked it anyway. “Is she?”
“She’s not the love of my life,” he spat. It wasn’t the answer I was angling for.
“Joe,” I said. “Is she lying about the two of you getting back together?”
His brief silence told me everything. Eric groaned beside me.
“Does this hurt Katy?” he asked.
“I’m more worried about whether it hurts Emma, Joe.”
“I am too. I’m on my way to her place right now.”
“Good,” I said. “Just worry about being a good dad. That’s the only thing you need to do. I’ll deal with Josie. Or try to.”
“What good will that do?” he said. “This thing is already out there. Thousands of people have probably already heard it. Can we sue? Can we get it taken down?”
Probably not. Horrible as it was, Tallon’s broadcast didn’t violate any criminal laws that I could think of. Despite Josie’s over-exaggeration of Joe’s affections toward her, it didn’t seem as though anything she said was defamatory either. Because she appeared to otherwise be telling the truth.
I clicked off with Joe and headed for the shower.
“What do you want to do?” Eric asked as he stood at the sink, squeezing toothpaste onto his toothbrush.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I’m probably going to kill her.”