Fearless - Fern Michaels Page 0,91
don’t you think?” Anna said, handing the cell back to him. “Poor kid.”
“Wait, there’s more. While I wasn’t able to get my hands on it, I thought this might bring a smile to your face.” He opened the pictures again and handed her the phone.
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, it’s Mom’s necklace! I’m so relieved. Christina’s been so bummed about this. Where did they find it?” She was pretty sure she knew the answer but needed to hear it anyway.
“In the luggage, along with the rest of her stuff.”
“So this is good, right? Proof that Christina is telling the truth about what happened.”
“Yes, it will hold a lot of water if this goes to court. Speaking of which, I know this isn’t my case, but I heard that James Banks pleaded guilty to first-degree stalking. Not sure what kind of deal he’s getting, but he’ll be off the streets for a while.”
“As crazy as it sounds, I haven’t thought too much about him since they arrested him. What I never understood was why me? He’s a good-looking guy. He could’ve had any woman he chose, even the wife he lied about.”
“He was obsessed with you and apparently had some sort of mental breakdown when you broke it off with him. He was in therapy for a while. I don’t know who the therapist is, but he or she will most likely be asked about his mental evaluation, which might have some bearing on his sentence, but that’s not all.”
“I see why you never made it back this morning. Did we get the gag order?” He’d told her he was going to ask the judge for a temporary gag order in an emergency chamber hearing due to the age of the girls.
“We did. Temporary, but it’s a good thing. Now, this isn’t what I wanted to tell you, and it really goes to Patrick’s or Renée’s state of mind, but Birch called me an hour ago. That chocolate was loaded with Rohypnol, or roofies as they call them on the street. Birch says it’s the same crap that’s been seen in a few cases at Tech. A couple of girls almost died a few months ago. It didn’t make the news; someone at the college kept it quiet. So, that’s where we’re at. I’m guessing with the necklace, and this roofie mess, the prosecutor will decide sooner rather than later if he’s going to bring charges against that messed-up girl. It’s sad in a way; she’s so young. Anyway, I appreciate the late-night coffee. I’m out of here, and if you don’t mind, I’ll leave through the mudroom.”
“Now that there’s no chance of the media hanging out, plus, the news hour is over, go on, get out of here. And thanks, Daniel. I appreciate all you’ve done.”
“As I said, you’ll get my bill.”
She smiled, closed and locked the door behind him, and went upstairs, ready to relax and read for a while. It had been a helluva day, to quote her attorney.
Chapter 25
Anna did her best to try to wiggle out of that night’s charity event, but at the last minute decided it wouldn’t hurt to show her face in public and let folks know she wasn’t hiding.
Every year, the local garden club hosted an event, Sun ’N Fun, a home and garden show where most of the proceeds went to one of her favorite charities, Habitat for Humanity. She would make an appearance, shake a few hands, and hope to help to meet their goal of one hundred thousand dollars. Anna always matched whatever amount they raised—it was for a good cause—and it was something she felt good about.
She chatted, made the rounds, talked to a few dozen people, posed for the camera, and even though she wasn’t all that comfortable, given the state of her private affairs, she had to return to the vlogging world eventually.
“Anna, I adored those Halloween treats on your show,” said one guest.
This was followed by others, complimenting her on the show, her recipes. No one even hinted at the scandal that had been reported on. This gave her hope that, in time, it would be forgotten, nothing more than a bad memory. She stayed an hour longer than she had planned to. On the drive home, she chatted briefly with Mandy, revisiting the events of the past few months. There was one task she needed to tend to, and she would do so as soon as she was alone.
She pulled her Nissan through