Born Innocent (18 page)

Joe put a hand on her shoulder. She knew it was a gesture of support—to let her know he was there for her. “Look. I’m sorry.”

She tipped her head back and forced a smile for him. And then she put her hand on his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I jumped on you.”

He hooked her chair with his foot and pulled it around, until she was facing him. He then knelt in front of her. His eyes were softer, full of more emotion and promise than she’d ever seen in them in all the years she’d longed for him and been denied.

“
I swear to you,” he told her. “I’ll do every damn thing I can to find out what really happened. I’ll pull in every marker I’ve got out there—and I’ve got a few. But the best bet to find out who really did this thing is still the police.

They are the experts, and they have resources we can’t even get near.”

“
But, Joe, they believe
I
did it. They’ve stopped looking. How are they going to find out anything, if they consider the case closed?”

Claire was looking right into Joe’s eyes or she wouldn’t have seen the way they changed. She saw beyond his impassioned reassurances to his secret concern. He was thinking she was right. Her arrest meant the police had stopped looking for other suspects. If things went on as they were, Claire could be convicted of shooting Henson—and the real culprit might never be found.

As she read Joe’s thoughts in his eyes, a wave of true hopelessness washed over her. She reached out. “Oh, Joe. Hold me. Please.”

She fell against him, almost toppling them both to the floor as he surged to his feet and took her in his arms.

She buried her head against his bare, warm chest. “Joe. You know about me. In spite of the awful things that can happen in life, I’ve always thought the world was a fair place. A good place, overall. But now, I’m not so sure....That’s the worst thing in all this, to think that I live in a world where the bad guys get away, and the innocent ones pay.” She clutched him closer. “I can’t stand to believe that. I hate that I'm beginning to believe that.”

He held her tight, and stroked her back, murmuring soothing words that they both knew did little to change the trouble she was in.

For several minutes, she let herself lean on him. Then she pulled back. She looked him in the eye, and told him what she wanted to do. “I want to go to San Francisco and talk to those people, Joe. I think we should leave right away.”

Joe was quiet for a moment, and she knew his silence was not a good sign. Finally he said gently, “Claire, you can’t do that.”

She stiffened, and pushed herself away from him a little more. “What do you mean, I can’t?”

“
I mean, you can’t leave the county. And it’s pointless anyway. They’ve all been interviewed by the police already. If the police had learned anything that led to another suspect, they would never have arrested you.”

Claire felt her shoulders slumping. She drew them up square. “Then why did you even bother to take down the list?”

He had his answer ready. “It’s information. Gathering information is part of the process of trying to figure out what really happened.”

“
Fine. That makes sense.” He looked relieved, until she went on, “And so does this—you fully intend to talk to these people. On your own. As soon as you think you’ve got me settled down enough you can leave me alone for a few days without me having a nervous breakdown.”

“
Claire...”

“
Just tell me. Am I right?”

“
Claire, you’re having a rough time right now, and—”

She cut him off. “Joe, I’m a little freaky lately, I’ll grant you that. But I have not lost the ability to reason. Unless a miracle happens Monday and the grand jury lets me off, you plan to talk to the people on that list. Admit it.”

“
Damn it.” He dropped his arms from around her waist.

“
Just tell me the truth.”

He gave in. “All right. Yes, I’ll probably talk to them.”

“
Good.” She smiled. Then she went to the cupboard, got two mugs, and poured their coffee. She returned and handed his to him. “I want to go with you. We can leave today.”

He set the cup she’d handed him on the table in a gesture impatient enough that some of it sloshed over the rim. “Claire, you can’t just take off for San Francisco.”

“
Because I’m under arrest for a felony?”

“
You got it.”

“
It’s okay. I’m not leaving the state, and we can call Sheriff Dan and leave him a phone number for wherever we’re staying. It’ll be strictly aboveboard. He can call and get us back here any time he wants.”

“
Dan’s a good man. But he’s got a job to do. The judge stipulated that you’re not to leave the county. Dan will only tell you that you can’t go.”

Claire slid into a seat at the table, sipped her coffee and considered. For the first time since her nightmare had begun, she saw a real possibility for action on her part. If she could
do
something to help herself, despair could be kept at bay. She wasn’t giving up on this, no way.

She told Joe, “Then we won’t tell Sheriff Dan. We’ll just go. And we’ll get back here as soon as we can.”

Joe dropped to a chair across from her. “Claire, it won’t work. If you get caught, your bail will be revoked. And you don’t understand what you want to do, anyway. Tracking down people to talk to them about a subject they’d rather forget is not fun work. Most of it’s plain boring, and then, occasionally, you get to put up with some verbal abuse, not to mention the possibility that someone will get violent on you.”

“
I don’t care.” She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “I have to do something, Joe. Don’t you see? I
have
to.”

For the longest time he said nothing. Then he sighed. “Look. You think about it. Give it a couple of days.”

“
I don’t have a couple of days.”

“
Until tomorrow, then. Maybe something will happen between now and then. In the meantime, you can really think this over.”

“
I
have
thought it over.”

“
Fine. Wait one more day. Agreed?”

“
And tomorrow, when I still want to go, you’ll take me?”

He slipped his hand out from under hers and stood up. “Let’s get some damn breakfast. I’m starving.” He marched to the cupboard and got down a box of pancake mix.

“
Joe. Be straight.” She picked up the yellow pad and shook it at him. “Say you’ll take me, or I will go by myself.”

Joe slammed the cupboard door and turned to face her. “All right. I’ll take you. I think it’s a major waste of your time and a bad idea. But I’ll take you.”

“
Tomorrow.”

“
Yeah. Right. Now get off that cute butt of yours and help me make some pancakes.”

After breakfast, they found their way back to Joe’s wide bed. For a time, once more, Joe made Claire forget everything but the magic that happened when he touched her.

They were still lingering beneath the sheets when Ella called at a little past nine. Joe answered, then held the phone away from Claire for a full minute, so that Ella would think he’d had to fetch her in the guest room. Claire rolled her eyes and tried to tickle him while he made her wait, but he remained impervious to her attempts to undermine his little subterfuge.

Finally he let her have the phone.

“
Claire? Is that you?”

“
Yes, Mother. I’m right here.”

Her mother sighed. “How are you feeling?”

Claire rubbed her foot slowly up Joe’s hard thigh. “Much, much better. I think this was really a good idea.” Joe jerked his thigh away and shook a finger at her. She put her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “Okay, okay...”

“
Claire. I can’t hear you. I think our connection’s going bad.”
“
No, it’s only me, Mother. Really. I wasn’t talking into the phone. Now tell me, how are you doing at the motel?”

“
Just fine. I have a few things you’ll probably want to know about.”

“
Such as?”

“
It looks like the story about Alan Henson will be in the newspapers. Did you know that man is more-or-less a crook?”

“
Yes. I’ve... heard that. Who told you?”

“
Reporters. I spoke with three yesterday—one from Sacramento, one from San Francisco, and also Eppie Salts from the Pine Bluff
Register.
They were looking for you, but I told them you were unavailable for comment.”

“
Good. What else did they say?”

“
Oh, a few things that were totally untrue, of course.” Ella’s tone was too offhand.

“
Such as?”

“
Claire, dear...”

“
I want to know, Mother.” It was always possible the reporters knew something she didn’t.

“
It will only upset you.”

“
I’ll live, I promise you.”

Ella stalled a moment more.

“
Mother.”

“
Oh, all right. They wanted to know if you were in love with Henson. I told them the very idea was ridiculous. You hardly knew the man.”

“
And?”

“
They wanted to know if he’d managed to con you out of any money. I told them absolutely not.”

“
Did you tell them that he had been planning to give you
a little financial advice?”

“
Claire Lorraine Snow, you bite your tongue. It’s bad enough that I was such a fool. I’d prefer not to read about it in the Sacramento
Bee.
” “
Don’t be too hard on yourself, Mother. Henson charmed the wallets out of a lot of people’s pockets. You wouldn’t have been alone.”

“
So you’ve heard that, too? Who told
you
?
”

Claire grinned at Joe over the mouthpiece of the phone. “I have my sources.”

“
Well,” Ella sounded philosophical, “I was fortunate. He didn’t get a chance to take advantage of me.”

“
Exactly. Count your blessings.”

Ella actually chuckled. “You know, I do believe Joe was right about getting you off to that ranch. You seem a thousand percent more cheerful. It does my heart good.”

“
Yes, it was a wise idea. Now what else did the reporters ask?”

“
Dear...”

“
Just tell me, Mother.”

There was a pause. Then, “The one from San Francisco asked if you shot Alan Henson because he was your...lover and you found out he was a married man.”

Claire fiddled with the phone cord a little before responding. “I see. Did they ask anything else?”

“
No, actually, that’s it. Claire, are you—?”

“
I’m fine, really.”

Ella’s voice turned brisk. “Well, you know your mother. I just
had
to get my two cents in. I told them you had never had the slightest interest in Alan Henson, and that you most definitely did not shoot the man.” Ella paused again, then asked, touchingly unsure, “Did I do the right thing?”

“
Thanks, Mother,” Claire told her. “You did just fine.”

“
Good.” Ella’s relief was clear. Then she went on. “Also, the main reason I called is that Wayne Leven just left. I managed to get out of him that Alan Henson’s condition is the same—and the bungalow is no longer off-limits.”

Claire had drooped a little at the news that there was no change in Henson’s condition, but she perked up when she heard about the bungalow. “I can get in there now?”

“
Yes, but I still think you ought to just take it easy and let me have Verna—”

“
Did you lock it up?”

Ella sighed. “Yes, dear. I followed your instructions exactly.”

“
Good. I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.”

Claire reached across Joe to hang up the phone.

“
What now?” he asked, looking wary.

She paused, stretched across him, to place a swift kiss on his lips. Then she sat up and reached for her robe. “I need to get back to the motel right away. Will you take me into town?”

She was half off the bed, thinking about fitting in a quick shower, when he snared her hand. “What’s going on?”

She sat back down and turned to him. “Leven said we can get in the bungalow now. I want to have a look around in there.”

“
What’s the point?” He held tight to her hand. “All you’re going to find in there is detection powder and a bloodstain on the rug.”