Just Cause by Susan Page Davis

television privileges in jail and newspapers in the library.”
    “She knew that you weren’t convicted.”
    “Yes, I expect she knew all about the mistrial. And if she were released and somehow found out I moved here…”
    “Aren’t the court documents sealed?”
    Laurel frowned. “I thought they were kept private. But she’s clever. She might have found a way to ferret that out.”
    “There’s quite a paper trail, from what you’re telling me.”
    “Yes. The court order in Maine, to start with, and I had to file a waiver of extradition so that I can’t challenge the state of Maine when the district attorney calls for a new trial.”
    He cleared his throat. “Then there’s the bail provision here in Ohio.”
    “Correct. I was afraid the state of Ohio wouldn’t accept me, but Judge Elliott, back in Maine, seemed sympathetic—at least my lawyer said he was. And he didn’t send me back to jail after the mistrial. I know it’s unusual for a justice to allow an accused felon to leave the state on bail.”
    “But this judge allowed it.”
    “Yes, because of all the publicity and the difficulty I had finding a job after the trial.”
    “So you came here and somehow Renee found you.”
    “Evidently. No one else would have left me that message. So, I was thinking…” Her brown eyes were huge. “Dan, if Renee broke in here yesterday and threw all my clothes out of the closet, why didn’t she take the blouse then?”
     
    He was quiet in the pickup, and Laurel couldn’t help wondering what was going through his mind.
    “Where are we going?” she asked after ten minutes. They were headed out of the city.
    “My brother’s house.”
    She mulled that over. She hadn’t thought about Dan having a family. “How many siblings do you have?”
    “Three brothers, and a brat of a little sister.”
    “Sounds wonderful.”
    “Just an ordinary family.”
    “Exactly,” she said wistfully.
    Reluctantly, he changed the subject. “I need more information.” He watched the rearview mirror as he turned onto a different road.
    “Like what?”
    “Do you have any enemies?”
    She laughed without humor.
    “Besides Renee, I mean.” He shot her a sympathetic glance.
    “Well, for starters, my in-laws, Wayne and Renata Hatcher.”
    “They want to see you in prison,” he surmised.
    “Naturally. They believe I killed their son.”
    “Who else?”
    “It could be just about anybody,” Laurel said with a shrug. “The publicity during the trial was brutal. It seemed like everyone believed I was guilty. I was screamed at, cursed and spit on. Once when my lawyer and I came out of the courthouse, people threw things at us.”
    Dan stared straight ahead at the highway for a long time. “How long ago was the trial?”
    “It ended about five months ago.”
    “And you’ve been here a month?”
    “More or less,” she confirmed.
    “What did you do in between?”
    “At first I just hid. I didn’t have any family to go to. But I needed an income, so I started looking for a job. My lawyer tried to help me, but everywhere I went I hit a brick wall. I was overqualified for janitoring, had no skills for office work and so on.”
    “You’re here on your own recognizance?”
    “Yes, that and my lawyer’s ironclad guarantee that whenever the court says jump I will head back to Maine without delay.”
    “Who knows you’re here?”
    “No one except the probation officer, my lawyer and a police sergeant in Columbus.”
    Dan shook his head. “You had to check in with the police in Columbus, so it’s a matter of public record. Anyone in the state police department could access the record. And doesn’t your lawyer have a secretary?”
    “Yes.”
    “Like we said before, there’s a paper trail. And your probation officer must work in an office with other people.”
    “I…suppose so.”
    “Laurel, you think only three people know where you are, but the truth is there are probably dozens of people in Maine and Ohio who