think her family is still in West Virginia. I’m not sure I remember where Melinda said her grandparents lived, exactly.”
“What would be a good time for me to stop by?”
“Depends on what time I’ll be picking up Billie.”
“How ’bout I plan on coming up around seven tonight?”
“I should be able to pick her up and take her home by then. That would be fine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And again, I’m really sorry to have caused problems for you there. I’ve never had a situation like that before. I guess I could have handled it better.”
“You’ve never had anyone refuse to give you the information you asked for?”
“No.”
“How have you managed that?”
“Must have been the old Dawson charm.”
“Too bad Mrs. Rusk didn’t fall for it.”
“Lorna?” The voice on the phone was thin and soft.
“Yes. Billie, is that you?” Lorna looked at the clock on her laptop. She’d called the prison twice to ask about Billie’s release, but hadn’t gotten a callback.
“Yes. I just got home, I wanted to call and thank you. For getting me out of there. I didn’t expect to be out for a long time. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Don’t skip.”
“What?”
“Don’t leave town, or I forfeit the bond.”
“I got no place to go, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’m not worried, Billie. But how did you get home? I left messages at the prison earlier for someone to call me when you were getting out so I could come pick you up.”
“They’re all screwed up out there. They told me I was getting out, then made me sit and wait for a couple of hours while they played around with the paperwork. I was lucky, though, ’cause Eileen Sherman was at the prison visiting her sister when I finally got the word I could go, and she offered to drop me off. Stopped at the supermarket for me, too, on the way home. Nice of her.”
“It was.” There was a bit of an awkward pause, then Lorna asked, “Did you talk to your lawyer? The one the court gave you?”
“Only that one time.”
“I think you should call him and let him know where you are.”
“It’s Saturday. And besides, wouldn’t they tell him I’ve been released?”
“I have no idea, but even if someone did, it doesn’t matter. He’s your lawyer—Saturday and every other day of the week. You need to communicate with him yourself, as soon as possible.”
“I don’t have his number.”
“I wrote it down, let me get it for you. Hold on . . .” Lorna searched the pile of paper scraps next to her computer until she found the one on which she’d written Joel Morgan’s phone number. She read it off to Billie, adding, “Call him now. Leave a message if he isn’t there. And if you haven’t heard from him by noon on Monday, call him again. Make sure you get to talk to him.”
“I hate to bother him like that.”
“Bother him. He’s your lawyer. He works for you in this, remember, not the other way around.”
“All right. I’ll call him.”
“Billie, do you know what the charges are against you?”
“Seems there were three things.” Billie was breathing heavily into the receiver. “Third-degree murder, that was one. Then some manslaughter. And something else . . . I forget what it was. My lawyer should know that, though.”
So should you.
Lorna shook her head at Billie’s nonchalance.
“Billie, one more thing. I was thinking about hiring a private detective to look into this. I don’t know how much real investigation the police are doing. I’m afraid they just assume you’re guilty and they believe that having found Jason so near to your house is enough. If we’re ever going to find out the truth about what happened back then, we’ll have to do it on our own.” She paused to let it sink in. “How do you feel about that?”
“About finding out what happened to my kids?” Billie said softly. “I still wonder, every night. But that’s going to cost way more money than I’ll
“What would be a good time for me to stop by?”
“Depends on what time I’ll be picking up Billie.”
“How ’bout I plan on coming up around seven tonight?”
“I should be able to pick her up and take her home by then. That would be fine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And again, I’m really sorry to have caused problems for you there. I’ve never had a situation like that before. I guess I could have handled it better.”
“You’ve never had anyone refuse to give you the information you asked for?”
“No.”
“How have you managed that?”
“Must have been the old Dawson charm.”
“Too bad Mrs. Rusk didn’t fall for it.”
“Lorna?” The voice on the phone was thin and soft.
“Yes. Billie, is that you?” Lorna looked at the clock on her laptop. She’d called the prison twice to ask about Billie’s release, but hadn’t gotten a callback.
“Yes. I just got home, I wanted to call and thank you. For getting me out of there. I didn’t expect to be out for a long time. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Don’t skip.”
“What?”
“Don’t leave town, or I forfeit the bond.”
“I got no place to go, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’m not worried, Billie. But how did you get home? I left messages at the prison earlier for someone to call me when you were getting out so I could come pick you up.”
“They’re all screwed up out there. They told me I was getting out, then made me sit and wait for a couple of hours while they played around with the paperwork. I was lucky, though, ’cause Eileen Sherman was at the prison visiting her sister when I finally got the word I could go, and she offered to drop me off. Stopped at the supermarket for me, too, on the way home. Nice of her.”
“It was.” There was a bit of an awkward pause, then Lorna asked, “Did you talk to your lawyer? The one the court gave you?”
“Only that one time.”
“I think you should call him and let him know where you are.”
“It’s Saturday. And besides, wouldn’t they tell him I’ve been released?”
“I have no idea, but even if someone did, it doesn’t matter. He’s your lawyer—Saturday and every other day of the week. You need to communicate with him yourself, as soon as possible.”
“I don’t have his number.”
“I wrote it down, let me get it for you. Hold on . . .” Lorna searched the pile of paper scraps next to her computer until she found the one on which she’d written Joel Morgan’s phone number. She read it off to Billie, adding, “Call him now. Leave a message if he isn’t there. And if you haven’t heard from him by noon on Monday, call him again. Make sure you get to talk to him.”
“I hate to bother him like that.”
“Bother him. He’s your lawyer. He works for you in this, remember, not the other way around.”
“All right. I’ll call him.”
“Billie, do you know what the charges are against you?”
“Seems there were three things.” Billie was breathing heavily into the receiver. “Third-degree murder, that was one. Then some manslaughter. And something else . . . I forget what it was. My lawyer should know that, though.”
So should you.
Lorna shook her head at Billie’s nonchalance.
“Billie, one more thing. I was thinking about hiring a private detective to look into this. I don’t know how much real investigation the police are doing. I’m afraid they just assume you’re guilty and they believe that having found Jason so near to your house is enough. If we’re ever going to find out the truth about what happened back then, we’ll have to do it on our own.” She paused to let it sink in. “How do you feel about that?”
“About finding out what happened to my kids?” Billie said softly. “I still wonder, every night. But that’s going to cost way more money than I’ll
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