Читать книгу The Bodyguard - Lena Diaz - Страница 11

Chapter Four

Luke shifted in his chair, bracing his forearms on his knees as he watched the doctor and nurses on the other side of Caroline’s hospital room. She’d responded well to the antibiotics and was already out of the Intensive Care Unit. Now the doctor was lightening her sedation to bring her out of her deep, healing sleep. For the first time since the discovery of Richard Ashton’s body, Luke was going to be able to talk to Caroline. He looked forward to seeing her open her eyes, but he also dreaded the pain she might suffer if she hadn’t known about the baby.

All but one of the nurses left the room. The remaining nurse sat in a chair beside the bed. The doctor spoke to her in low tones before approaching Luke.

“It won’t be long now,” he said. “Nurse Kennery will stay and monitor Mrs. Ashton until she wakes up, but I don’t expect any problems.”

Luke rose and shook his hand. “Thank you, Doctor.”

He nodded and left the room.

Luke started toward the bed to check on Caroline, when the door opened again.

A rail-thin woman in a coal-black suit jacket and skirt hurried inside, her high heels clicking against the hard floor. She stopped when she saw Luke, her brows rising.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

He positioned himself between her and the bed. “Who are you?” he countered.

If anything, her brows arched even higher. “Leslie Harrison, Mrs. Ashton’s attorney and friend. I know you aren’t family, so again, who are you and what are you doing in her room?”

“I’m a friend,” he said, not seeing any reason to tell her otherwise.

She snorted. “Caroline doesn’t have any friends.”

“I thought you were her friend.”

Her lips compressed.

“Interesting friend,” he continued. “She’s been in the hospital for several days and this is the first time I’ve seen you here.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but a moan from the bed stopped her.

The nurse rose from her chair to check on the patient.

Caroline’s face tightened as if she was in pain, but her eyes remained closed.

Deciding the game of one-upmanship wasn’t worth playing, Luke introduced himself. “I’m Luke Dawson. Mrs. Ashton hired me as her bodyguard. I was with her when we discovered her husband’s body.”

A look of surprise flashed across the lawyer’s face. “She hired a bodyguard?”

“Yes. Apparently, she realized she was in danger. But apparently...you didn’t? Did you know about the abuse?”

The only change in her expression was a subtle tightening of the tiny lines at the corners of her eyes.

She did know.

“How long?” he demanded.

“How long what?”

“How long did you know she was being beaten by her husband? And why didn’t you report him to the police?”

“None of this is any of your business,” she snapped. “Get out, Mr. Dawson. I’m the closest thing in this town to family that Caroline has, and I assure you if I have to call Security, they’ll take my side—someone who has known her for years—over the side of a man she hired a few days ago. I’m her attorney and the executor of the late Mr. Ashton’s estate. I have every right to be here. You have none. I repeat, get out.”

The nurse looked back and forth between them. Behind her, Caroline’s brow furrowed again, and her lips whitened. She was obviously in pain. The tug-of-war between Luke and the lawyer was distracting the nurse from taking care of her.

“All right,” Luke said. “I’ll go. For now. Just make sure that when you speak to Mrs. Ashton you warn her not to talk to the police without a criminal attorney present—not a civil attorney like yourself. The police are investigating her as a suspect and could misconstrue anything she says.”

“I assure you, I don’t need your advice about how to take care of my client.” Leslie swept past him to the nurse and peppered her with questions.

Luke reluctantly left the room. He might have lost this battle, but he wasn’t leaving Caroline alone for long. He’d never met Leslie Harrison before, but he didn’t get good vibes from her. And her lack of concern for her alleged friend showed in the fact that she hadn’t visited or called since Caroline had been brought into the emergency room. She didn’t strike him as the kind of friend Caroline needed right now.

He took the elevator to the first floor and went outside to use his cell phone. The man he needed to talk to wasn’t someone he spoke to very often. In fact, it had been years since the last time their paths had crossed, so he had to call a few friends to ferret out the unlisted number. Finally, he programmed it into his phone and pressed the call button.

The phone rang twice. Then, “Alex Buchanan.”

“Alex, this is Luke Dawson.”

“Luke.” His voice mirrored his surprise. “Tell me you’re not calling me to bail one of your clients out of jail again. I hung my hat up on that kind of work years ago.”

“Not this time. I’m at Memorial University Medical Center visiting a friend. Are you still a practicing attorney, or are you retired?”

“I keep my license active, but I only take cases for family or friends.”

“How about friends of friends?”

“Depends on who they are and what kind of trouble they’re in. Who’s your friend?”

“Caroline Ashton.”

The phone went silent.

“Alex? You still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Well? Will you help or not?”

A deep sigh sounded through the phone. “Bring me up to speed while I dust off a suit.”

* * *

THE NURSE HELPED Caroline hobble from the bathroom to the bed. The pain in Caroline’s belly was much better than before, so she wasn’t about to complain at the sharp jolt that shot through her when the nurse helped her swing her feet up onto the bed. She drew several shallow breaths until the twinge passed, then collapsed against the pillows.

“Are you sure you’re ready for your friend to come back inside?” the nurse asked, patting Caroline’s hand and looking at her with concern. “The doctor’s visit really seemed to wear you out. If you want to rest a bit, I can make sure no one bothers you.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m okay. Please tell Leslie she can come back in now.”

“Very well. She’s in the waiting room. I’ll tell her. But if she overtires you, or if the pain gets worse, press the call button.”

“I will. Thank you.”

The nurse left. A few minutes later the tap-tap of Leslie’s heels sounded outside the room. The door opened and she burst inside, with three men following her.

Caroline clutched the sheets as Leslie and a stranger she’d never met moved to her left side, while the remaining two men—Daniel and Grant, her husband’s brothers—caged her in on the other side of the bed.

“Leslie, I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Why are Daniel and Grant here?”

“Our brother is dead,” Grant sneered. “We have a right to find out what happened.”

Leslie’s lip curled with distaste. “Unfortunately, they were in the waiting room, demanding to see you. When Detective Cornell and I headed here, they followed like lapdogs.”

Grant looked as if he wanted to leap across the bed and take a swing at Leslie. Daniel’s face turned a light shade of pink, as if he was embarrassed at his brother’s behavior.

The man beside Leslie held up his hand. “Quiet, everyone. Mrs. Ashton, I’m Detective Cornell with Chatham County Metro P.D. If you’re feeling up to it, I have some questions for you.” He glanced at the others, the look on his face showing displeasure. “Your family insisted on coming in with me, but I can ask them to step outside. Or, if you prefer,” he said, his voice sounding grudging, “I can wait in the hall until you speak to them privately.”

“No.” She winced at how loud her voice sounded in the small room. “That is, I’d prefer not to have these other men here, if that’s okay.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Grant said.

“Yes. You are.” Luke Dawson’s deep voice rang out from the open doorway. He strode inside and stopped at the foot of Caroline’s bed, frowning at Cornell and Leslie before looking at the other two men. “You heard her. Out.”

Grant drew himself up, but even so, he was still an inch shorter than Luke and not nearly as broad. “Our brother was murdered,” he snapped, aiming a glare at Caroline. “And we have the right to hear what she has to say about it.”

Luke moved so fast it stole Caroline’s breath. One minute he was standing there, calmly eyeing Grant. The next minute he had Grant’s arm wedged up between his shoulder blades. Grant’s face was bright red, but he didn’t seem to be able to move.

“Let me go, you stupid rent-a-cop,” he gasped.

“I’ll let you go—outside.” Luke raised a challenging brow at Daniel, daring him to intervene.

Daniel glared at Luke before heading to the door. Luke followed, pushing Grant ahead of him. The door softly closed behind them.

Cornell pulled a plastic chair to the side of the bed and sat. “I take it you aren’t close to your brothers-in-law?”

Caroline shook her head. “No. I definitely don’t consider them...family. And I assure you, the feeling is mutual.”

The door clicked back open and Luke hurried inside, stopping at the foot of the bed again.

“Mrs. Ashton, if you don’t want me here, I’ll wait in the hallway.” He looked pointedly at the detective and Leslie. “But I thought you might want one ally in your corner, something you seem to have little of at the moment. I also strongly urge you not to say anything to Detective Cornell without a lawyer. A criminal lawyer, not a civil one.”

Leslie pursed her lips but didn’t say anything.

“Cornell isn’t here with your best interests at heart,” Luke continued. “He considers you a suspect in your husband’s murder.”

Caroline blinked at the detective. His face reddened, telling her Luke’s words were true.

“I’m not your enemy,” Cornell explained. “I simply want to know what happened. But first, I’d like to offer you my condolences on the death of your husband.”

She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Even though she knew Richard was dead, hearing it out loud didn’t make it seem real. She kept expecting him to pounce at her from behind the curtains, or stride out of the bathroom and laugh at her for thinking she could ever escape him.

“Thank you, Detective.”

“Have you had a chance to speak to your doctor yet?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “He was here a few moments ago.”

“Then you know he suspects your husband abused you, that he’s the reason for your fractures, bruises, your ruptured spleen...your miscarriage?”

She winced and automatically moved her hand to her belly. “Yes. He told me.”

“Is it true? Did your husband beat you?”

She blanched, her face growing hot. She’d never wanted anyone else to know about her shame. Until a few days ago, no one did. No one but Leslie.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“It’s the elephant in the room,” Cornell continued. “It can’t be avoided. You hired a bodyguard, Mr. Dawson here. Why did you hire him?”

She glanced at Luke. “I knew my husband would be angry that I’d left him. And I didn’t want to have to deal with an argument. I wanted someone who could confront him, if necessary, and save me from the ugliness.”

“Are you denying your husband hurt you?” the detective asked.

She twisted her fingers in the sheets. “I don’t—”

“Don’t say another word,” Luke said. “You need a criminal defense attorney before you speak to the police.”

Leslie patted Caroline’s hand. “The sooner she answers the questions, the sooner this will all be over and she can put it behind her. Perhaps it would be best if you waited outside, Mr. Dawson.”

“Not a chance.”

“No,” Caroline said at the same time. She pulled her hand back from Leslie’s. “I’m sorry, but I feel...better with Mr. Dawson here. Detective Cornell, all I can tell you is that I didn’t kill my husband. I don’t own a gun. I don’t even think Richard owned one. There was no need, not with a security firm watching over the house. And regardless of what Richard did or didn’t do, I never wanted him dead.”

“I agree it appears you couldn’t have killed him yourself, based on the timeline of events and the witnesses to your whereabouts. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t hire someone else to kill him.”

Her mouth fell open. “Why would I do that?”

“Your husband was quite wealthy. Maybe you figured you wouldn’t get much if you divorced him.” He cocked his head and studied her. “Was there a prenuptial agreement limiting how much you would get in a divorce?”

“Yes. There was. But I didn’t care. I was leaving my husband, regardless of the money.”

Cornell didn’t look impressed by her statement. He scribbled something in his notepad. “I think when you decided to leave your husband, you didn’t want to lose the money. You called a friend, maybe a lover, offered him a portion of the estate if he’d help you stage your husband’s murder to make it look like you had nothing to do with it. Who helped you?”

She laughed bitterly. “A friend? A lover? My husband made sure I had no one, Detective. I didn’t make a move that he didn’t know about. I couldn’t even leave the house without him.”

“Obviously that’s not true. You left without him Thursday morning.”

She rolled her head on the pillow. “The one thing my husband allowed me to do on my own, the only thing he let me do, was run two weekly errands—taking our clothes to the dry cleaner’s and bringing his papers to his lawyer’s office, to Leslie’s office. That’s what I was doing. That’s how I left without him knowing I was taking off.”

“‘Let’ you?” the detective asked. “Are you saying you were a prisoner in your own home? Did you resent your husband for controlling you that way?”

“That’s enough.” Luke said. “Mrs. Ashton, again, I strongly urge you not to say another word without adequate legal representation.”

The door flew open. A tall man in a business suit stepped into the room. His coal-black hair had tiny streaks of silver, but that was the only thing that hinted at his age. His blue eyes were still vivid, piercing, as they swept the room and landed on her.

“And just who the devil are you?” Leslie demanded.

Luke looked relieved to see the other man.

The man ignored Leslie, nodded at Luke. He stepped to the side of Caroline’s bed and smiled down at her. “I’m Alex Buchanan, a defense attorney with one of the best records in the state of Georgia. Mr. Dawson called me about your situation. And from where I stand, you look like you could use my help.” He pulled a dollar out of his suit-jacket pocket and handed it to her.

“What’s this for?” she asked, automatically taking it.

“I figure you probably don’t have any cash with you here in the hospital. If you’d like me to represent you, you can give me that dollar as my retainer.”

Leslie scoffed.

Cornell’s mouth curved in grudging admiration.

Caroline looked at Luke. “You think I need help?”

“I know you do. Alex really is the best. I recommend that you hire him.”

She held the dollar out to the handsome man smiling down at her. “You’re hired, Mr. Buchanan.”

He took the dollar and slid it back into his pocket. “Excellent. Detective Cornell, miss,” he said, looking at Leslie. “I need a moment alone with my client.”

“I’m not leaving unless he does,” Leslie said, pointing at Luke.

Alex smiled without humor. “Yes, you are. You’re both leaving. But Mr. Dawson stays. Three days ago, someone killed my client’s husband. And if she’d arrived at the house a few moments earlier, she could have been killed, as well. Mr. Dawson is her bodyguard. He’s not going anywhere.”

* * *

APPARENTLY, CAROLINE LOVED GARDENS. Luke had done his best to find one for her so she, Alex and he could talk without anyone overhearing them. The closest thing to a garden the hospital had was a spot in a small, empty waiting room on the first floor that looked out a group of windows to some flowering shrubs.

Not that it really mattered. Caroline wasn’t paying attention to the view. She sat in her wheelchair staring at Alex with the same confusion Luke felt.

“I don’t understand,” she said.

Luke shook his head. “Neither do I. Maybe you should explain one more time, Alex. How, exactly, am I supposed to protect Caroline when I won’t even be in the house with her?”

“Mrs. Ashton already has a contract with a security company to guard the mansion. Stellar Security has an excellent record. There’s no reason to believe they can’t take care of her without your help.”

“If you truly believe that, then why am I even here?” Luke asked.

“To protect Mrs. Ashton.”

Caroline’s brow furrowed and she shared another look of confusion with Luke.

“See, that’s the part where you lost me earlier,” Luke said.

Alex smiled. “Forgive me. I’m not explaining this very well. Based on my current understanding of the case, we only know one thing—that someone murdered Mr. Ashton. We don’t know if the killer wanted to kill him, or if Mrs. Ashton was his true target, or if it was simply a burglary gone wrong with no real connection to either of the Ashtons.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Caroline said.

“I’m sure Detective Cornell has, but he confronted you earlier to shake you up, to see your reaction. Right now, everyone has more questions than answers. What I want to do is keep the status quo, keep the variables as close to normal as possible. That will make it much more obvious if someone has changed their routine, or if they act differently. By returning to your usual routine, it will be easier to judge people’s reactions, easier to point out if someone seems a bit...off.”

Luke tapped the table. “And I’m supposed to sit in my car and watch the mansion? What good does that do?”

“It allows you to become invisible. No one is going to pay attention to you outside, but if you’re inside, everyone acts differently and it will be much harder for Mrs. Ashton to pick up on any changes.”

“Please call me Caroline, both of you. And as far as your plan, Alex, I agree it will be fairly easy for me to spot any changes that way.”

“I’m concerned about your safety,” Luke insisted.

“There’s no reason to believe Mrs. Ashton’s...that is, Caroline’s security company that’s already in place can’t continue to protect the mansion. Stellar Security has an unblemished reputation.”

“You’re right. They do. Caroline, as much as it galls me to admit it, you probably don’t need me anymore.”

She reached for his hand. From the way her eyes widened, it appeared she was just as surprised at her action as Luke was, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he threaded his fingers with hers.

Some of the tension went out of her and she gave him a tentative smile. “It may not seem like I need you, but I do. The mansion has never been my home. No one there is my friend or cares one whit about me. While I’d prefer that you be inside, with me, just knowing you are watching over the place will give me comfort. That is, if you don’t mind.”

He considered the hours he’d be spending sitting in his car. He wouldn’t be able to run the air conditioner all that time, not without overheating the engine, which meant he’d be the one overheating. That thought should have had him wanting to end the contract and go back to his office. But it didn’t. For some reason, he couldn’t bear not being there. He wanted, needed, to make sure she really was safe.

“If that’s what you want, then I’m happy to stay on the case, in whatever capacity you and Alex think makes sense.”

She smiled and pulled her hand back.

Luke sorely missed the feel of her delicate hand in his, which surprised him again. Everything about Caroline and his reactions to her surprised him.

Alex raised a brow at the exchange but didn’t comment on it.

“What about Leslie?” Caroline asked Alex. “You mentioned earlier you had concerns about her.”

“I do. Tell me, how did you end up renting the cottage where your husband was killed?”

“Leslie helped me find it on the internet.”

“Did she know what time you were supposed to arrive on the day you were moving in?”

“Well, yes.” Her eyes widened. “You can’t be suggesting she had anything to do with Richard’s death.”

“Not suggesting,” Alex said. “Just exploring the facts. She knew where you were going and what time you’d be there, so you have to consider she could have planned the murder expecting you to discover the body. She may have wanted you to look guilty.”

Caroline shook her head. “No, that’s not what happened at all. Leslie had nothing to gain from Richard’s death. And she couldn’t have known what time I’d be at the cottage because I changed plans after leaving her office. I hired Luke. Then I went to the house.”

Luke exchanged a look with Alex. From the expression on Alex’s face, Luke realized they were both thinking the same thing. Luke shifted forward in his chair. “Caroline, you changed plans, but Leslie didn’t know that, did she? What exactly did she think you were going to do after leaving her office?”

Her lips compressed into a tight line. She obviously didn’t appreciate where the conversation was going. “She was just looking out for my safety. She didn’t want Richard to find me. We both agreed I would go directly to the rental.”

“And if you had done that,” Luke said, “you would have arrived right about the time your husband was shot. It sounds to me like you wouldn’t have had an alibi if you had done what your lawyer expected you to do.”

The resentment on her face faded as the truth hung in the air between them.

She swallowed hard. “Leslie did stress that I needed to go directly to the cottage, that I shouldn’t stop anywhere. But that doesn’t mean she had anything to do with Richard’s death. You’re suggesting she might have wanted to frame me. What would she gain from that?”

Alex shook his head. “I have no idea. But we need to look at all the possibilities. I have other concerns about Miss Harrison. She’s a tax attorney, but she still took the same oath I did. She knows that protecting her clients is her first priority. And by allowing you to speak to the police without a criminal-law attorney present, she displayed incredibly poor judgment, at the least. I’d like you to be careful around her until the investigation can clear her of any involvement. You can still keep her in your normal routine, but don’t sign anything or agree to anything without vetting it through me first. See if she does anything to raise red flags with you.”

“Okay, but I can tell you there’s no reason to be concerned. Leslie is the only friend I have. She’s the one who helped me get the cottage and helped me plan leaving my husband.”

Alex crossed his arms. “How long did she know about the abuse?”

Caroline’s gaze fell to her lap. “About six months.”

Luke cursed.

Alex looked as if he wanted to do the same, but he refrained. “As a lawyer, it was Miss Harrison’s obligation to help you. While she may not have been legally bound to report the abuse like a doctor would be, she’s ethically and morally bound to do so. I assure you, her turning a blind eye—even if she helped you later on—would not look well for her if she came up for review before the bar.”

“I don’t want her to get in trouble,” Caroline said. “Whether you agree with her methods or not, she’s the only one who ever tried to help me, the only person who ever seemed to notice there was anything wrong. Without her, I would never have figured out how to escape.”

“How long was the abuse going on?” Alex asked.

Her face went pale. “Years.”

“Then why now? After all that time, what made you decide it was time to leave?”

“The baby,” she whispered. “As soon as I realized I was pregnant, I decided I had to figure out a way to get out of there. I couldn’t risk bringing up a child in that environment. I may have been weak and a coward when it came to myself, but I couldn’t do that to a child. I started making plans that same day.” She closed her eyes. “But before everything was finalized, Richard...taught me one of his...lessons. The cramping, the bleeding...I knew I’d lost the baby. I was so ashamed. I couldn’t allow myself to risk getting pregnant again, risk the life of another child.”

Luke took her hand in his. “Stop talking like that. You aren’t weak, or a coward. You were in an untenable situation. I understand the cycle of abuse. I’ve seen it over and over. It’s not easy to get out. Your abuser plays a mind game on you, slowly wearing you down until one day you don’t even know how you got in the place where you’re at. It’s not your fault. None of this. It’s Richard Ashton’s fault. And you didn’t kill your child. He did.”

Unshed tears made her eyes bright. She gave him a watery smile. “Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand in answer.

Alex frowned. “I’m sure Miss Harrison has filed your husband’s will with the courts by now, but I’m new to this case and don’t have the particulars. Can you give me a summary? Who are Mr. Ashton’s beneficiaries?”

“His brothers and me.”

“Split equally?”

“No. For some reason, Richard decided to leave me the bulk of the estate. He left five million to each of his brothers, but everything else goes to me.”

“Did he get along with his brothers?”

“More with Daniel than Grant, but he fought with both of them off and on over the years. Daniel hasn’t been to the house in quite some time, but I don’t know if he and Richard were fighting or not. Grant comes over more often, but his visits usually end in some kind of argument. He and Richard seem to have...issues. They came to blows on occasion. Richard was definitely the type to hold a grudge, so maybe that explains why he didn’t leave much—relative to the entire estate, of course—to Grant. But I thought Richard and Daniel had a better relationship overall. I don’t understand why he left Daniel so little.”

“Forgive me,” Alex said, “but I have to ask because you can bet the police will. If you’d divorced, was there an agreement in place about what you would have received?”

“Yes. Two hundred thousand dollars a year, for life. I was never worried about the money. Trust me, that kind of money would have been plenty.”

“A jury might feel differently. That’s a drastic change in lifestyle for someone who’s used to being in a mansion, married to a billionaire.” He shrugged. “Those are the facts. We’ll just have to deal with them.”

Luke leaned forward in his chair. “Let’s get back to the plan for how to keep her safe until the killer is caught. I’m all for assuming she’s as much a target as her husband. I’d rather be too cautious than to let down my guard. First thing to consider—what do we do about the funeral for Mr. Ashton?”