and locked it. She turned her back as her mother banged on the door and screamed about respect.
She needed another fix, just to give her strength. But she wasn’t going to get it here. Her mother was holding out on her, using the drugs to control her.
As Maureen ranted, Jordan opened her window and crawled out again. When her feet hit the dirt, she steadied herself against the side of the house, dizzy. Would she be able to make it several blocks to the motel where she could score? She hurried across the yard to the street. The wind was cool, whipping through her hair. She could do this. Just a few blocks. She walked slowly, her mind fixed on her destination, the place where her friends were as messed up as she was. Someone there would see how bad she was hurting and share.
One more hit … that was all. Then she could live with herself again.
Chapter 10
T he Atlanta crime scene was full of evidence, but even without it, Detective Kent Harlan could quickly close this case. A woman dead from stab wounds, her husband sitting in the kitchen, still clutching the knife that killed her. He’d even confessed, claiming she deserved it because she’d made his life miserable for twenty-seven years.
The CSI techs would gather all the evidence and log it, and Kent would complete the paperwork that would put this case to bed. But it was going to be cut and dried.
His phone rang, and he pulled it out, checked the caller ID. He grinned when he saw Barbara’s name. He stepped out of the apartment and put the phone to his ear. “I wondered when you were gonna call me back.”
He expected to hear a smile in her tone, but instead he heard panic. “Kent, Lance was just arrested.”
“What? What for?”
“Kidnapping!”
For a second he couldn’t process it. Lance arrested for kidnapping? It didn’t compute. Finally, he asked, “Barbara, what happened?”
As she explained everything that had led up to the arrest, he trotted down the stairs to the ground floor and crossed the parking lot to his car.
“Kent, what can I do? They’ve taken him to jail. They’re booking him now. They say that Jordan accused him of taking the baby!”
“She said that? She signed an affidavit?”
“Yes! She knows that isn’t true. She put the baby in his car. Lance is innocent. What are they going to do to him?”
Kent racked his brain for an answer. There wasn’t much she could do, not until the arraignment, but maybe he could do something. “Barbara, I’m coming to Jefferson City.”
“Kent, that’s thoughtful, but — I need help now … tonight.”
“I have a friend with a plane. Maybe he can fly me there tonight. He was going to do it tomorrow anyway if you’d let me come to Emily’s graduation.”
“But what can you do?”
“I’ll know when I get there. But I don’t want you to go through this alone.”
She was quiet for a moment, but he knew she was crying, and it made him feel helpless. “In my wildest dreams, I never thought Lance would be in jail. He’s a good kid. He meant to help her …”
“Barbara, just hold on. I’m on my way, okay? Get Lance an attorney immediately, and demand to be present during the interview.”
“I can do that?”
“It’s up to them. But at the very least, you can watch. Don’t let him talk until the attorney gets there. He’s a minor and you’re his mother, so you have the right to demand that.”
“But won’t that make him look guilty? I want him to be able to tell them what happened.”
“He can tell them with the attorney there. Barbara, there’s no hurry. The baby’s in the hospital. Tell him to take his time and wait for the lawyer.”
“It’s Saturday night. What if I can’t get one here tonight? He’ll have to stay in jail, won’t he?”
He didn’t want to say it, but he had to. “Probably. But let’s not cross that bridge until we come to it. Do you know somebody you can call?”
“Yes, there’s an attorney at church who’s a good
She needed another fix, just to give her strength. But she wasn’t going to get it here. Her mother was holding out on her, using the drugs to control her.
As Maureen ranted, Jordan opened her window and crawled out again. When her feet hit the dirt, she steadied herself against the side of the house, dizzy. Would she be able to make it several blocks to the motel where she could score? She hurried across the yard to the street. The wind was cool, whipping through her hair. She could do this. Just a few blocks. She walked slowly, her mind fixed on her destination, the place where her friends were as messed up as she was. Someone there would see how bad she was hurting and share.
One more hit … that was all. Then she could live with herself again.
Chapter 10
T he Atlanta crime scene was full of evidence, but even without it, Detective Kent Harlan could quickly close this case. A woman dead from stab wounds, her husband sitting in the kitchen, still clutching the knife that killed her. He’d even confessed, claiming she deserved it because she’d made his life miserable for twenty-seven years.
The CSI techs would gather all the evidence and log it, and Kent would complete the paperwork that would put this case to bed. But it was going to be cut and dried.
His phone rang, and he pulled it out, checked the caller ID. He grinned when he saw Barbara’s name. He stepped out of the apartment and put the phone to his ear. “I wondered when you were gonna call me back.”
He expected to hear a smile in her tone, but instead he heard panic. “Kent, Lance was just arrested.”
“What? What for?”
“Kidnapping!”
For a second he couldn’t process it. Lance arrested for kidnapping? It didn’t compute. Finally, he asked, “Barbara, what happened?”
As she explained everything that had led up to the arrest, he trotted down the stairs to the ground floor and crossed the parking lot to his car.
“Kent, what can I do? They’ve taken him to jail. They’re booking him now. They say that Jordan accused him of taking the baby!”
“She said that? She signed an affidavit?”
“Yes! She knows that isn’t true. She put the baby in his car. Lance is innocent. What are they going to do to him?”
Kent racked his brain for an answer. There wasn’t much she could do, not until the arraignment, but maybe he could do something. “Barbara, I’m coming to Jefferson City.”
“Kent, that’s thoughtful, but — I need help now … tonight.”
“I have a friend with a plane. Maybe he can fly me there tonight. He was going to do it tomorrow anyway if you’d let me come to Emily’s graduation.”
“But what can you do?”
“I’ll know when I get there. But I don’t want you to go through this alone.”
She was quiet for a moment, but he knew she was crying, and it made him feel helpless. “In my wildest dreams, I never thought Lance would be in jail. He’s a good kid. He meant to help her …”
“Barbara, just hold on. I’m on my way, okay? Get Lance an attorney immediately, and demand to be present during the interview.”
“I can do that?”
“It’s up to them. But at the very least, you can watch. Don’t let him talk until the attorney gets there. He’s a minor and you’re his mother, so you have the right to demand that.”
“But won’t that make him look guilty? I want him to be able to tell them what happened.”
“He can tell them with the attorney there. Barbara, there’s no hurry. The baby’s in the hospital. Tell him to take his time and wait for the lawyer.”
“It’s Saturday night. What if I can’t get one here tonight? He’ll have to stay in jail, won’t he?”
He didn’t want to say it, but he had to. “Probably. But let’s not cross that bridge until we come to it. Do you know somebody you can call?”
“Yes, there’s an attorney at church who’s a good
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