“Forwhat?” Mary asked, flabbergasted.
“In connection with the death of one Todd Eddington.” The cop gestured over his shoulder at two men in suits, who had just turned the corner with a hospital-administrative type in aCHOP lanyard. “You want details, ask them. They’re the detectives.”
Simon called out, “Mary, call my father.”
“I will,” Mary called back, her mind reeling.
“Ma’am,” the cop said, sternly. “Now please, move aside.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Bennie sat at Declan’s kitchen table and hunched over his laptop, pressing Refresh to see if there had been any developments in the death of Todd Eddington. The police hadn’t released any new details, so all she knew was that it was a result of a single stab wound to the chest, but her senses were on high alert. Authorities hadn’t weighed in on whether it was suicide or murder, and she knew there would be no official statement until the medical examiner had officially completed the autopsy in a day or two. But Bennie had handled enough murder cases in her day to know that this one stunk to high heaven.
The undercounter TV was on next to her, and she checked the screen to see if there were any new developments, but a car commercial was on. She returned to the laptop and hit the Refresh button on autopilot, but there was nothing new, there either. Still, she kept trying to put two and two together from the facts she had, replaying her interview with Todd in her mind. She kept coming up with the same conclusion; he didn’t strike her as someone who’d commit suicide. He was cocky, competent, and aggressive, the kind of man who turned his anger outward, not inward. And his last word as he had left theconference room today clearly suggested he was looking forward to the future.
I want my day in court. I want to clear my name.
“Babe, five minutes!” Declan called to her from the deck, where he was barbecuing burgers. An aromatic haze wafted through the screen of the sliding doors, and she hit the button for Refresh on autopilot, her thoughts churning. She felt vaguely stressed since her conversation with Mary and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl, who would have to figure out the effect of Todd’s death on Simon’s case against OpenSpace. Bennie thought it would improve Simon’s case, since OpenSpace wouldn’t be able to put Todd on the stand and have him testify that Simon’s allegations were false, thus losing the chance for the jury to find him credible or even like him.
Bennie hit Refresh again, continuing her train of thought. And if Simon’s case went as far as trial, Mary would still get the contemporaneous notes admitted into evidence, even over a hearsay objection, because they were coming in only to prove the fact that they were said, not that they were true. Legally, Todd’s death could be good news for Mary’s case, but Mary would never think about it that way. Mary cared about people more than cases, even her friend Simon’s case, and she would nevertheless feel terrible that someone had murdered Todd.
“Babe, come out and get some fresh air!”
“In a minute!”
“You said that fifteen minutes ago!”
“But this time I mean it. That time I lied!” Bennie hit Refresh again, wondering about what Mary had said, that there was a defamation suit filed against Simon. It struck Bennie as an overreaction to an individual ADA case and she sensed Nate was taking out his anger at her on Mary and Simon. She couldn’t imagine a basis for any suit against Simon, but she didn’t have to guess.
“Babe! Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
“Okay, here I come!” Bennie logged on to the website for the Common Pleas Court, clicked on the magnifying glass for its searchable case index, and plugged in OpenSpace in the block for plaintiff’s name and Simon Pensiera for the defendant’s. In the next moment, a link popped onto the screen, and she clicked it, opening a complaint that had evidently been filed in the case today. She rose with the laptop as she read the allegations, walking outside into a cloud of barbecue smoke.
“You’re like a kid with that thing.” Declan flipped his hamburger, and Bennie crossed the small deck to a faded red canvas chair that matched the reddish trim on the A-frame house, which was surrounded by Declan’s pastures in the middle of the country. His horses grazed near the fence, having been fed and turned out for the night, and the air felt cool and breezy as the sun slipped behind the jagged tree line.
“I’m reading a complaint that got filed today, in what can only be retaliation for Mary’s suit against OpenSpace.”
“Not a counterclaim, an entirely separate lawsuit?”
“Yes, for defamation, based on some comment Simon made about Eddington and also for trade libel based on quality control.”
“Man.” Declan waved the smoke away from his face. “Do you think your buddy Nate knows about that litigation?”
“I think so,” Bennie answered, because she had been thinking the same thing. “He wouldn’t normally, but this time, he’s taking it personally.”
“Because you’re involved. Hell hath no fury like a lawyer scorned.”
“You think he’s doing it to get to me?”
“Yes.” Declan nodded, matter-of-factly. “You know what convinced me? His bringing Mary in front of a disciplinary board. That’swayout of line. You could ruin somebody’s career. And for what? A judgment call?”
“I know, right? It’s weird.”
“Not weird, obvious. He knows you care about her, so he’s going to hurt her. He’s throwing everything he has at your girl.” Declan picked up a spatula and a platter from the side of the grill.
“Hmm.” Bennie scrolled to the complaint, skimming the statements that Simon was alleged to have made. “I don’t believe a word of this. I think this Todd is a liar.Wasa liar. I just don’t know why they would do this. And I don’t know what, if anything, either of these suits has to do with his murder.”
“It was definitely murder,” Declan said, with the confidence of a former cop. “Unless they find a note, not a suicide. And maybe even if they find a note. Not a suicide.”
