Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
ELENA
E lena gripped the camera tightly, her other fingers white-knuckling the handhold on the door as Maddie took another turn at breakneck speed. Her stomach churned, the image of the hooded figure with their hands around Chloe’s throat still burned through her mind.
While the face could not clearly be seen, it was obvious from the grizzled chin that the culprit was not Victoria Kingsley.
Maddie had made several panicked calls to her father but received no response.
With no way to reach anyone, they’d climbed back into the car for another trip to Sterling City.
Elena squeezed her eyes closed as Maddie zipped down the street, holding her breath as a horn blared at them. As they raced along, Elena’s mind whirled as fast as the wheels. Each red light was a reminder of the ticking clock .
“Maddie, I know this is urgent, but I would very much like to deliver the new evidence alive,” Elena said.
Maddie wrinkled her nose at her as she plowed ahead, weaving through the city’s traffic.
“I hate to be a bother,” Caroline said from the back seat, “but the signal ahead is red.”
Elena’s eyes went wide as she stared at the red light, pressing her feet hard against the floor. Maddie hopped on the brake, and they came to a screeching stop inches from the car in front of them.
“Oh, dear,” Elena said with a shaky exhale.
“We stopped,” Maddie said with a shake of her head. “It’s okay.”
Elena swallowed hard. “Give me your phone. I will try your father again.”
“Now? We’re almost there,” Maddie said as they waited for the light to turn.
“It will give me something to do to distract myself from your driving.”
Maddie offered her a wry glance as she handed the phone over.
Elena unlocked it and scrolled to Charles’s name, tapping the call icon. Maddie accelerated as the light turned and traffic moved forward.
After a few rings, Charles’s voice filled the car, instructing them to leave a message after the tone.
Elena sighed as she ended the call. “Still nothing. Where could he be?”
“Perhaps he is with Mrs. Kingsley. She is undoubtedly upset,” Caroline suggested.
“I suppose so, but…” Elena’s voice trailed off as Maddie darted into another lane.
“Dad never leaves his phone unattended,” Maddie said with a shake of her head. “Like never. He’s always connected.”
“But this is a special circumstance,” Caroline argued.
“Not that special. When Stephen was arrested, he still took calls. I don’t know where he could be.”
“We’re about to find out,” Elena said as Maddie swung into the police station’s parking lot and whipped into a space.
Elena pushed the door open, sucking in deep breaths of the air as she climbed from the car. “Thank heavens.”
“I quite agree,” Caroline muttered. “Remind me to thank Andrew when we arrive in Eldoria for his superb driving skills.”
“You and me both, Caroline.”
Maddie rounded the car, her young features etched with concern. “Come on.”
Elena bobbed her head, and they followed her into the station. People bustled back and forth in a chaotic dance as phones rang and police radios blared. They made their way through the madness to the desk where a young officer sat staring at her phone. “Help you?”
“I need to see Victoria Kingsley,” Maddie said.
“Who?” the girl asked, glancing up from her phone.
“My mom. Victoria Kingsley. She was arrested earlier,” Maddie said.
“Oh, you want to go to processing. Down the hall, make a left, follow the red arrows on the floor.” The girl waved a finger in the direction of a long hallway leading to another hall.
“Okay, thanks,” Maddie answered.
They waded through the others and into the hall, following the instructions to find processing. Maddie approached another officer standing behind a desk filling out paperwork .
“Hi, I need to see my mom, Victoria Kingsley.”
“Kingsley, you said?” the woman asked.
“Yeah,” Maddie answered her. “She was arrested earlier.”
The woman held up a finger, leaning back and glancing into another room. “Hey, Frank, you process a Victoria Kingsley earlier today?”
“Uh, yeah,” the man answered, hovering in the doorway.
“She in holding?”
“No, she’s upstairs with Homicide.”
Maddie’s shoulders slumped, and Elena slid an arm around her.
“Sorry, honey, you can’t see her if she’s with the detectives,” the female officer said.
“But we have evidence material to the case,” Elena answered. “The detectives must see it right away! It proves her innocence.”
The cop stared at the three of them for a moment before she nodded. “You’ll need to head up to the third floor. When you get off the elevator, take a right to Homicide.”
“Third floor, take a right.”
“Yep. Ask for the detectives on the Hartman case,” the man answered.
“Got it,” Elena said with a curt nod. “Thank you.”
They backtracked to a set of elevators and pressed the button. Maddie drummed her hands against her thighs as she danced from foot to foot. “This is a nightmare.”
“We’ll get there, darling. I know it’s frustrating. But we’ll get there.”
Maddie blew out a shaky breath as the doors finally opened. They plowed into the lift and pressed the button for the third floor.
When the doors opened again, they spilled into another chaotic zone of ringing phones and detectives bustling around workspaces .
“Right,” Caroline whispered, pointing toward a hallway leading to another room filled with desks.
They shuffled inside, scanning the space for anyone who could help them. Everyone minded their own business, ignoring them completely.
“Excuse me,” Maddie tried as someone wandered past staring at a file.
She received no response.
“Hello, we–“ Elena began as another officer scurried past, his focus on his phone. “Well, this is quite frustrating.”
“Maybe we should…” Maddie wrinkled her nose, leaving the statement unfinished as she failed to come up with a suitable option.
Elena shook her head, dragging a wooden chair from next to a desk and climbing onto it after grabbing a stack of folders from a desk. She released her grip on them, sending them smacking into the floor with a loud thwack .
Chatter died down and eyes turned to her. “Excuse me, but which of you is working on the Chloe Hartman case?”
“That’s Wallace and Davis,” someone said.
“Lovely. And where might we find Detective Wallace and Davis?” Elena questioned.
“They’re in court.”
Elena leaned forward, her features pinching. “Court?”
“Yeah, the lady who did it is being arraigned. They’re over in the courthouse.”
Elena’s stomach twisted into a knot. Arraigned? Poor Victoria. They had to hurry.
“If you need to leave something for them, we can–“
“No,” Elena answered, scrambling off the chair and heading for the elevator. “Thank you.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Now what?” Maddie asked, her voice breathy.
“We must go to the courthouse immediately. ”
“Should we leave the evidence here, Your Highness?” Caroline asked.
“I’m not letting this out of my sight. It could be lost or ignored. No, we’ll go straight to the courthouse and present the evidence there.”
“Good idea,” Caroline said as the elevator doors opened again.
They made the short trip down to the street level and left the police station behind returning to the street.
“Where is the courthouse?” Elena asked, spinning in the parking lot in search of something recognizable.
“Two blocks over. We can walk,” Maddie said.
“Thank heavens,” Elena answered as she followed the young woman to the sidewalk.
She tightened her grip again on the camera in her pocket as they made their way through the throng of mid-day people hurrying to and from their lunch plans.
The clock on the courthouse chimed the hour with a melodramatic gong as they climbed the stairs, passing Lady Justice before they pushed through the door.
A guard held up a hand and waved them toward the metal detectors.
Elena hurried through it setting off an alarm. They sent her back, asking her to empty her pockets and put her purse on the conveyor.
With a click of her tongue, she hurried to dump the camera and purse into a plastic bin, staring longingly after it as it disappeared into an x-ray scanner.
After Elena had been cleared, she hurried through, this time with no ill-effects. She snatched the camera the moment it slid from inside the machine and stuffed it into her pocket again.
Caroline cleared the security protocol, and they hurried forward .
“How will we know which courtroom? We cannot go into them all,” Caroline said.
Elena clapped a palm against her forehead. “I haven’t a clue. Oh dear.”
Caroline stopped a man with a briefcase crossing the lobby. “Excuse me. I’m ever so sorry to interrupt your day, but we need help.”
The man scrunched his features, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Do you need an attorney?”
“We need to know where arraignments are held.”
“Oh.” He pointed toward an office door. “Clerk of Courts can tell you.”
“Thank you,” she answered.
“Very good, Caroline,” Elena said with a nod as they crossed to the door and pushed into the office.
“Can I help you?” a blonde behind a reception desk asked.
“We’re looking for Victoria Kingsley’s arraignment.”
The woman held up a finger as she tapped on her keyboard with her other hand. “She is in courtroom 403A.”
“403A,” Elena said with a nod. “Got it. Thank you.”
They left the office behind, found the elevators, and took one to the fourth floor. A sign pointed them to the left, and they wandered through the wide hall in search of the appropriate space.
“Here,” Elena said with a grin as she pointed to a sign marked 403A.
They opened the doors and slipped inside. Tears formed in Maddie’s eyes as she spotted her mother standing behind the defendant’s table still in handcuffs.
Charles’s eyes went wide as he glanced over his shoulder.
He rose, hunched over, and hurried back to them. “Maddie, what are you doing here?”
“Mr. Kingsley, we have evidence to help Mrs. Kingsley’s case,” Elena whispered .
“What?” Charles asked as the judge spoke from the bench.
“Everyone, please take your seats or take your conversation into the hall. This is a courtroom, not a cafeteria. Now, both sides have presented their information, and given Mrs. Kingsley’s vast resources, I would agree with the prosecution that bail should be denied for the–“
“Just a moment!” Elena shouted.
The judge peered over his readers at her, a frown forming on his lips. “Excuse me, miss, but I am going to have to ask you to sit down or I will hold you in contempt of this court.”
“But I have information material to this case.”
“This isn’t a trial, miss. This is a bail hearing, and–“
“For a crime that this woman hasn’t committed, and I have the proof.”
The judge sucked in a breath, leaning back in his chair. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are–“
“I am Princess Elena Monclair.” She raised the camera in the air. “I have evidence that will exonerate Mrs. Kingsley–a video of the crime being committed which clearly shows that Victoria Kingsley did not commit this crime. I demand that it be reviewed at once.”
“Your Honor, this is highly irregular,” the prosecutor complained. “This is exactly the prosecution’s point on Mrs. Kingsley’s powerful friends.”
The judge held up a hand to stop him. “What is this so-called evidence that you have that proves her innocence and why is it not in the possession of the police?”
“I have a camera from Chloe Hartman’s apartment that recorded the entire event. Why the police did not find it is a question that I cannot answer. However, if you’ll just review this video, you’ll see that this entire proceeding is unnecessary as you have the wrong person.”
The judge shifted his gaze to Clifford. “Counselor, do you know anything about this? ”
“Your Honor, I do not, but my client has maintained her innocence throughout this case, so I would very much like to see the evidence.”
“Your Honor, this is nothing more than a publicity stunt to try to pull the focus from Mrs. Kingsley.”
“I don’t see any press here, Counselor. I want both of you in my chambers along with…” He waved a finger at Elena.
Caroline stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her as she raised her chin. “Her Royal Highness, Princess Elena of Eldoria.”
“Right, her.”
Elena swallowed hard as the judge rose and left the bench, disappearing into a door tucked in the corner. Clifford motioned for her to step forward, leaning closer to her as they walked. “This had better be good.”
“Oh, it is,” Elena promised.
They entered the judge’s chambers, finding the man already behind his desk. “Now…”
“Your Highness is the most appropriate form of address, but you may call me Elena.”
The judge cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat again. “Your Highness, please explain what it is you say you have.”
Elena raised the camera in the air. “This, Your Honor, is a video camera that recorded the crime. It was found in Chloe Hartman’s apartment.”
“By whom?” the prosecutor asked.
“Me,” Elena answered, her eyes flicking to the judge. “We entered her apartment earlier in search of clues.”
“Clues?” the prosecutor repeated. “Please, Your Honor, you cannot allow this to proceed. This could all be fabricated.”
“I resent that accusation. And if you’d just allow me to connect this to your computer or laptop, I can show you the contents. ”
The judge motioned for her to approach his desk.
With trembling hands, she plugged the cord into the camera and then into the computer. With another shaky motion, she jiggled the mouse and navigated to the drive as Maddie had shown her earlier.
“Here you see the list of dates. If you click the date of the murder, the third video is the one to watch.”
“Why not the first?” the prosecutor asked. “Or the second?”
“Easy, Counselor, she is not on cross-examination here.”
The judge took hold of the mouse, navigating to the video Elena pointed out and opening it. The other two men grouped behind him, leaning closer to the screen.
The scene played out as Elena glanced away, not wishing to witness the crime again.
After a moment, Cliff said, “I wish to make a motion to dismiss all charges against my client.”
“I don’t blame you,” the judge answered. “Counselor, do you wish to revise your charges?”
“We’d like to verify–”
“Counselor, this is clearly the victim’s apartment, the victim, and the assailant, who is obviously not Victoria Kingsley unless she suddenly grew taller, more muscled, and began sporting a beard.”
The prosecutor pressed his lips together. “We’ll withdraw all charges against the defendant.”
Elena grinned at the words, her heart lifting.
The judge nodded. “All right, let’s make it official.”
The prosecutor called for the detectives, asking them to take the camera into evidence before they returned to the courtroom. Elena shuffled behind the others, offering Victoria a smile and a nod.
The judge returned to his seat, smashing the gavel down before he gave the prosecutor a glance. “Counselor. ”
“At this time, we will be dropping all charges against Victoria Kingsley.”
Before he could finish his statement, a cheer erupted from Victoria, Charles, and Maddie.
“Mrs. Kingsley, you are free to go. I hope you give a proper thank you to this resourceful young woman,” the judge said as he banged his gavel again.
“Oh, I will, Your Honor,” she answered with a grin before she reached for Elena’s hand.
The bailiff stepped forward to remove Victoria’s handcuffs as Charles shook hands with Cliff.
“Whatever was on that video must have done the trick,” Charles said.
“Elena managed to find footage of the murder,” Cliff answered.
“Oh, not me,” Elena said with a shake of her head. “Maddie and Caroline were involved also. It was a team effort.”
“Well, I cannot thank you enough, though, Maddie, I do want to have a discussion about sneaking out of the house to go to crime scenes.”
“May we have that discussion on a flight to Eldoria?” Elena asked. “With this nightmare over for you, I’d very much like to go to Eldoria.”
“You want to see Nate,” Victoria said with a smile.
“And…face the trouble there. There is a slight problem with our laws. My…engagement to Nate may mean I cannot take the throne. I’d very much like to know the status of that as our engagement announcement may be postponed.”
“Oh, no,” Victoria said, her smile fading quickly.
“I am so sorry to tell you this. I do hope we don’t need to postpone, but…it may be beyond our control.”
Elena’s lips tugged into a frown as her forehead creased. She’d solved the situation here. But what was waiting for her at home?