Chapter 38
CHAPTER
Jordyn
Ten months later
JORDYN WALKED OUT of court on a blistering hot August day as a free woman.
Not a felon. And not even guilty of aggravated assault, the least of the charges the district attorney had initially considered bringing.
Turned out the judge in Jordyn’s case had been on the zoning committee the year Sophie Durand had successfully pushed through the plans for her over-the-top house, and the woman was still salty about it.
At least, that’s what the book club gossips had decided.
Kaitlin had taken to visiting Jordyn once a month since the new year when Jordyn had been officially charged, and Kaitlin shared the latest opinions of the group along with a copy of whatever book they’d decided to read next.
Jordyn had no idea whether the zoning committee rumor was true or not.
She knew better than to quibble about the gift of a second chance.
Jordyn had an excellent lawyer thanks to Lauren Hughes.
Arnie Van Ness had offered his services when he’d read about Sophie’s death and Jordyn’s involvement.
But Tara’s mother had insisted on paying for the best possible legal counsel, sending a top tier criminal defense attorney to represent Jordyn within forty-eight hours of her arrest. Jordyn hadn’t realized she’d made a decent impression on the woman on that trip to Manhattan, but Lauren had been staunchly supportive.
Jordyn suspected her loyalty had more to do with guilt over not making better choices to support Tara.
Either way, Jordyn planned to pay the woman a visit to thank her for everything she’d done.
Offer free graphic art services for life.
Because the lawyer that Lauren had sent to represent Jordyn had been a legal genius, finagling with the county prosecutor long before the trial began to ensure murder or even manslaughter was never on the table.
Which had been a shocker at first. But then, Jordyn hadn’t known what the attorney had. The county coroner had discovered a needle mark in Sophie’s neck and the toxicology report had said she had enough ketamine in her system to render her close to a state of paralysis at the time of her death.
Jordyn hated to think about that. She’d suspected Sophie had been intoxicated at the time of their argument, but apparently the woman had been under the influence of something far more powerful.
The injection she’d received had taken hold during that argument so that by the time Jordyn shoved her, Sophie had no way to stop herself.
She’d never put a hand out to break her fall.
The police had only recently charged Luke Sideris with drugging Sophie.
Gina Vallot—who had gone back to using her real name, Evangeline Jameson—had told police that she’d seen vials of illegal substances in his closet during the course of their affair.
Plus, Brad Reynolds had gone on record saying that Luke had injected him with something that night too.
He hadn’t recalled the injection at first, but Kaitlin had noticed the needle mark on his neck shortly after the cops arrived at Sophie’s house on Halloween night.
So even though Brad’s memories were somewhat suspect due to the drug he’d had in his system, there was proof he’d been injected.
Luke’s trial still loomed. Jordyn would be following it to see if anything ever came out about his role in what happened to Tara.
Briefly, she thought maybe he’d been the one responsible for leaving the threatening note on her car and had reported it to the cops.
But later, the investigating officer had told her that Ezra had actually been the culprit.
According to the officer, Ezra had claimed to be so worried about Jordyn’s safety, he’d left the note hoping it would scare her into returning home. The dolt.
At least the police were investigating Luke now. If he’d helped Sophie to cover up what had happened to Tara, there would be accessory charges to come.
Kaitlin had told her that Charlotte and Amelia had been allowed to remain in their family home.
Charlotte had turned eighteen before Luke had been arrested, so there’d never been a time when guardianship was a cause for concern.
Neither of the girls cared to live with their birth father, so they’d remained in Saratoga with Charlotte planning to attend college locally while Amelia finished high school.
It came as no surprise that wealthy, historic Saratoga was home to a college considered a “Hidden Ivy.” Charlotte would go to Skidmore as a prelaw student.
Now, Jordyn left court and the ordeal behind her. She smiled to see a familiar white Jeep at the back of the court parking lot. Natalie Ramos, her PI friend, leaned against the spare tire mounted to the bumper, shading her eyes with one hand.
“Welcome back.” Grinning, Natalie leaned in to give her a hug.
“My head is still spinning that it’s over.” Jordyn glanced back at the courthouse and shuddered. “Thanks for the lift. And for packing up my rental and—everything.”
Natalie had stepped up in a way that had been wholly unexpected, offering to box up Jordyn’s things from the carriage house so she didn’t owe rent for the months she’d been in custody awaiting trial.
Natalie had put everything in storage for her.
But then, Natalie knew a lot about handling things like that from her line of work.
“My pleasure. I think my bill will be decidedly smaller than that attorney your friend hired for you.” Natalie whistled appreciatively as she slid behind the wheel. “Pretty sure she eats prosecutors for breakfast. Do you mind if we keep the top down?”
She pointed through the roll cage to the blue sky overhead.
Jordyn laughed. “I think the wind in my hair is going to feel pretty nice for a change.”
On cue, Natalie popped the vehicle into gear and took off with a flourish, fishtailing just enough to make it fun.
Clutching the door in one hand, Jordyn sucked in the fresh air, promising herself she was going to exercise a little more caution in life going forward. A little restraint.
Kaitlin had spoken to her at length about developing a podcast of her own, something about foster families and the unique bonds that resulted from those relationships.
The Clean Break may have ended, but Kaitlin still had the podcast bug after being shut out of Sophie and Tara’s brainchild.
Kaitlin had a lot of contacts in the foster system from her work in counseling, but she wanted to use Jordyn and Tara’s story as her first episode.
Jordyn had agreed, mostly so she had a chance to talk about Tara. Honor her friend, who had been a better person than she could ever hope to be.
Her one request? Kaitlin would have to come to her in Austin, because there wasn’t a chance in hell she would be setting foot in Saratoga again.