The Devil's Right Hand - J. D. Rhoades [90]
“Bitch.” Stacy’s voice cut through the quiet of the courtroom. He was staring at Marie with an expression of pure hatred on his face.
“Detective Stacy!” the judge snapped, his face reddening with anger. ”If you can’t control your outbursts--.” Stacy didn’t give him a chance to finish. He stood up and walked out.
Tharrington shuffled through the papers on the bench in front of him. Finally he sighed. “Very well,” he said. “If the District Attorney’s office declines to prosecute, I suppose I have to accept that they know what they’re doing, even though,” he looked severely at the blonde ADA, “I have severe concerns about this case. The charges are dismissed. You‘re free to go, Mr. Keller.”
“And,” McCaskill said, “He may have his vehicle and tools of his trade returned to him?”
The judge looked as if he were about to choke. “Yes,” he said. ”Of course.”
“Thank you, your honor,” McCaskill said smoothly. He turned and shook Keller’s hand.
“Thanks, Scott,” Keller said.
“Thank your friends,” McCaskill said. “They came through for you.”
Keller turned. Angela was standing there. She came into his arms and embraced him, squeezing tightly. He put his own arms around her more gently. She broke away and stepped back.
“Thanks,” Keller said. He looked up at Sanchez who was standing a few feet away, looking uncomfortable. “And thank you, Mr. Sanchez.”
Sanchez inclined his head in a slight bow. “Sorry about the gun,” he said. “It was a mistake for me to go with those men.” He sighed. “This revenge business. Once you start, it never ends.”
“You got that right,” Keller said.” Sometimes it takes a while to figure things out.” He extended his hand and Sanchez took it.
Keller turned to Angela. “You need a ride back to the office?”
“No,” she said, and actually blushed. “Mister Sanchez and I are going out for coffee.”
Keller looked back at Sanchez. “Oh?” he said. Sanchez was looking ill at ease again. Then Keller grinned. “Well, if you’re taking a day off,” he aid to Angela, “I suppose I might as well, too.”
Angela smiled back. “I think we’ve both got some vacation time coming,” she said.
Keller looked around for Marie. He saw her going out the door. “Excuse me,” he said to Angela and Sanchez.
He caught up with her in the hallway. “Thanks again,” he said. “It took guts to say what you did about Wesson.”
“Yeah. Well.” she said. Her shoulders slumped. “ I just blackened the name of a dead hero. I guess this means my career in this department is pretty well fucked.”
“Probably,” he said.
She looked at him sourly. “You’re not much for being comforting, are you?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been learning that it’s best to play straight with people,” he said. “At least I hope I’m learning that.”
She smiled. “I hope so, too.” They looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Keller broke the silence. “You need a ride home.”
“No, I’ve got my..” she remembered. “Shit. My car.”
“That’s what I mean. You need a ride home. It wasn’t a question.”
“Okay,” she said. She looked ruefully down at her ruined clothes. “I could really use a shower.”
“Yeah,” he said, “me too.”
“You want to use mine?”
“Sure,” he said.
It was almost 10:00 PM when they got back to Wilmington. Coffee had turned into a long afternoon of conversation, which had turned into dinner. Sanchez had been embarrassed when Angela had offered to pay, but had eventually acquiesced after promising to pay her back when he found work.
The pulled up in front of the H & H office, behind the big brown pickup that Sanchez had taken from Raymond Oxendine. “I suppose I should turn it in to the police,” Sanchez said, “but I need transportation to find a job.”
“I understand that,” she said, “but if you get stopped by the police--”
“Si, I know,” he said. He looked at her. “Thank you for the dinner,” he said. “And the company.”
“Thank you, Oscar,” she said. “It was nice. It’s nice to find a man who doesn’t...”
“What?”
She straightened her shoulders.