Chapter 108
Even with Jeffrey on my right side and Mr. Chevalier on my left, I felt oddly exposed in the prosecutor’s enormous office without Andrew. I couldn’t expect him to be there with me 24/7—he did have duties to tend to, after all—but I could really use his support at this moment. This meeting could set me free…or bring me one step closer to my doom.
The prosecutor, Mr. Javier Mares, sat directly across the humongous solid oak desk from me. With his immaculate appearance, his slicked-back gray hair, and blue pinstripe suit, he reminded me more of a James Bond villain than the guy who puts the villains away. Even his bleached-white smile creeped me out.
His steely blue eyes stared directly at me. He knew that I was the defendant, and he wanted to take me down. He didn’t care quite so much about Mr. Chevalier and Jeffrey; they were accessories to him.
His grin, which revealed far too many of those overly white teeth, seemed to scream that we were wasting his time. He was the predator; we were his prey. He was merely playing with us, amusing us for the thrill of the hunt.
I had to convince myself to stand firm against his mental games. We had real evidence on our side. I only needed to remember that.
“So,” Mr. Mares finally said when he deemed that enough time had passed, “what brings you to my office today?”
“We would like you to drop the case against Ms. Blanchard,” Mr. Chevalier said, obviously not shaken by Mr. Mares’s intimidation tactics.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Mr. Chevalier, unless you have compelling evidence that the charges have been falsified,” Mr. Mares replied.
“Actually, Mr. Mares, we believe we do,” Mr. Chevalier said, reaching for his briefcase. He pulled out a small red thumb drive and inserted it into his laptop.
Mr. Mares’s grin faltered but did not entirely disappear.
“Believing that you have and truly having are two entirely different things, as I’m sure you well know.”
“Well—” Mr. Chevalier found the desired file and turned his laptop towards Mr. Mares— “I’m certain that you will find that believing and having are one in the same this time. This first file that I wish to show you is security footage from Mr. John Brown’s estate, which appears to show a masked man coming onto Mr. Brown’s property soon after Ms. Blanchard leaves it.
I forced myself to not act surprised by this bit of news. Mr. Chevalier had not shared this footage with me before the meeting, but I trusted that it was very convincing. I could not see the video unfold from where I sat, but based on the widening of Mr. Mares’s eyes, I assumed that I had placed my trust in the right man.
After the footage ended, Mr. Mares’s eyes returned to normal.
“That footage could cast some doubt on Ms. Blanchard’s guilt,” he began. “However, her prints were still found on the murder weapon, and there were no other traces of this intruder found at the crime scene. I’m afraid that it’s not enough to drop the case.”
My heart sank, but Mr. Chevalier only nodded.
“Perhaps not, but now I’d like you to listen to this file. It was recorded at Ms. Blanchard’s now former workplace, Ever After Weddings, while speaking with a colleague.”
Mr. Chevalier pulled up the recording I made of Miranda and played it. Now, I could see Mr. Mares rubbing his neck and swallowing. I thought that Mr. Mares would start sweating, but he was still a bit too composed for that.
At the end of the recording, Mr. Mares shook his head emphatically.
“How reliable do we know this witness is?” he asked.
“Reliable enough to cast reasonable doubt,” Mr. Chevalier replied, “especially when combined with the reports that we got back from forensics stating that it was actually an incomplete set of fingerprints that they originally got from the weapon, which means that someone was bribed to swipe out the prints with Ms. Blanchard’s complete set.”
If Mr. Chevalier weren’t so professional, I would have sworn that he sounded smug delivering this bombshell to Mr. Mares. I also would have sworn that he smirked when Mr. Mares finally broke a sweat and started to pat his neck and face with his monogrammed handkerchief.
When he finished dabbing his sweat and tucked away his handkerchief, Mr. Mares gave Mr. Chevalier and me a nervous smile.
“What were you saying before about dropping the charges?”
That night, I was almost bouncing for joy when Andrew arrived at my apartment. As soon as he walked through the door, I leapt at him and threw my arms around his neck.
“Well, hello to you, too,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t think that hamburgers and fries would get this kind of reaction. I’ll have to bring you food more often.”
I laughed, too, only then seeing the bag of fast food that Andrew carried in his hand. I grabbed it from him and rushed to set it on the dining table.
“Thank you for that,” I said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, “but that’s not why I’m so happy.”
“So, it’s just my fantastic self that elicited this reaction from you?”
He kissed me on the nose, and I rolled my eyes.
“Not this time, I’m afraid.”
“Then what could possibly have you in such a good mood?”
“Mr. Chevalier and I saw the prosecutor today—”
“Ugh, Mr. Mares?”
I cocked a brow.
“You know him?”
“Vaguely. He takes a little too much pleasure in putting supposed criminals away, if you ask me. Now, tell me, what happened?”
I smiled broadly.
“He dropped the case.”
Andrew’s eyes widened. With a holler of joy, he picked me up and spun me around.
“How did you ever pull that off?” he asked as he set me back on the ground.
“It was your investigative team, mostly,” I replied, “and Mr. Chevalier, of course. They found some footage of someone entering the property after I did, as well as proof that the prints had been swapped out.”
I blushed at the next part, suddenly a bit embarrassed at my seemingly insignificant part.
“I also recorded one of my colleagues bragging about helping frame me by getting my fingerprints.”
Andrew kissed my cheek and grinned.
“That’s my little sleuth! All of that together, and there was no way that they could proceed with the case.”
I blushed more deeply but smiled at Andrew’s affection. Of course, he would make my part seem bigger than it actually was.
“We should celebrate,” Andrew declared, wrapping his arm around my waist.
I shrugged but let Andrew pull me closer to him.
“I don’t know. I don’t really feel like going out tonight. I’d much rather just stay in and enjoy your company…”
“You misunderstand me,” Andrew said, his hand drifting down to my bottom. “I’m not talking about going out to celebrate.”
I looked down at his hand, then up at his crooked half-smile. My groin moistened, and I pressed closer into Andrew.
“Well,” I said, tracing my finger along his outer ear, “I am in the celebratory mood.”
I grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him towards me, kissing him hard. He parted our lips and snaked his tongue into my mouth. We began the familiar dance for dominance, and I dragged him back toward my bedroom, abandoning our food on the dining table.
