The Acquittal - 26. Chapter 25

Kyle sat at the table next to Mike looking across the other side at Adam Gordon and his small cadre of lawyers. The man directly across from him at the table was a Mr. Lathrum who was the lead defense counsel for Gordon. He’d been preparing for this day for weeks. All of his notes and documents were arrayed in front of him. To the side, sealed in plastic bags was the assortment of labeled evidence for the prosecution of the case. He wanted to make sure he did this the right way. No chance for errors that could lead to years and years of appeals or retrials which could keep the killer he was staring at free for far longer than he deserved.

While he waited for the others to get settled in, he studied Gordon for a moment. It struck him as odd that Gordon seemed less aggressive than he did the day he had been brought in for questioning several months ago. He seemed like a man who was more nervous and pensive. His eyes were going from one item to the next across the table. Kyle could see a hint of perspiration on his forehead. Perhaps his lawyers weren’t as effective as he thought they were. Regardless, Kyle was determined to attempt to end this now before jury selection began. He had one card left to play. He hadn’t considered it until a week ago. The enormity of it made him pause before he went to get the District Attorney’s approval before proceeding. While Jeff signed off, he implored Kyle to find a way to get a confession and a plea bargain first.

The local papers and some national papers had been reporting on the case for months since the indictments had been filed. A police officer charged with two counts of first degree murder tended to get attention. Kyle had made it part of his day attempting to avoid the press whenever possible. A few times, to his frustration and Jacob’s amusement, reporters would come to his house, knocking on the door and asking a flurry of questions before he slammed it shut once again. He opted to hold weekly press conferences in the hopes that it would quell some of the more overzealous journalists from harassing his family.

Jacob for his part seemed to find it all fascinating and would ask Kyle about his day. On one occasion when Kyle told him ahead of time, he and Matt went to the courthouse to watch as Kyle was in a formal hearing before a judge. When Kyle showed his annoyance at him being there Jacob insisted that Matt get to see what his father does exactly. Kyle relented for the time being. He hoped Jacob wouldn’t follow him to court every day if things went to trial.

“Mr. Lathrum,” he began with his usual formal voice he used whenever he was, what Jacob started to refer to as his Lawyer Mode, “I asked you and your client here one last time before we began jury selection. I assume you have no more pre-trial motions to submit?”

The older man across from him with the squinting brown eyes and mostly gray hair nodded before a small, contemptuous smirk came to his lips. “It still surprises me that you intend to proceed with this. You have some evidence of a crime but everything directly pointing to my client is circumstantial at best. While you might have snuck it past the judge, I hope you realize the jury won’t be as forgiving.” He sat back in his chair like a man who had already won. “If that’s all you have, I suggest you drop this now and go back to finding the real killer.”

Kyle frowned, knowing that these lawyers, all of them older than him with years more experience, didn’t think much of him. None of them said anything directly, but the occasional hint was made that they were fully aware of his personal life and were attempting to use it and his age to make him feel inadequate for the task ahead. He hated them all but showed no sign of it to anyone else. Reaching over to the many plastic bags, he picked up one of them and placed it in front of him. “Mr. Gordon, this is the knife found at your home. Forensics has established that Theresa Mayfield’s blood was found on the blade just near the hilt. The stab wounds on her body match this blade and that proves that this was the knife you used to stab her throat once and her unborn child twice.” He put the knife to the side slightly before grabbing a stack of papers and placing them where the knife had been. “These are the records of your text messages and phone calls with her in the past year and a half. We can also show that your phone was in the area of her house just before she was murdered.”

“He was sick and asleep at home at the time of the incident, Mr. Howard,” Lathrum said casually. “Just because his phone was there doesn’t mean he was and you know that. Anyone could have had his phone if he had left it somewhere.”

Kyle knew that was a decent defense but continued on. “Combined with testimony from her co-workers, his co-workers and the rest of the evidence, two guilty verdicts of first degree murder is looking very likely.” He paused to stare at Gordon impassively before directing his attention back to Lathrum. “If Adam had some excuse for his actions, we could lower the charge to one count of second degree murder and one count of first degree manslaughter. He can take two twenty-five year sentences and we’re done here.”

Lathrum looked at Kyle dubiously as his eyes narrowed into slits. “Or…?” A smirk tugged at his lips, indicating to Kyle that Lathrum had an idea of where this was going.

Kyle sighed before opening his briefcase and pulling out a single sheet of paper. “If this goes to trial,” he said, keeping his tone measured even while his eyes stared at Gordon, “the commonwealth is filing motions today to inform the court that we will be seeking the death penalty.” He looked from one to the other in the silence that followed. Gordon looked paler and his eyes were like a man trapped in a cage.

“Well...” The older man across from his said with a slightly more formal voice than before even as he smiled contemptuously at Kyle, “in that case, we are definitely not taking any deals from you.” Lathrum leaned over the table staring at Kyle like a predatory animal. “I’m gonna enjoy watching you lose this. You and your boss think you can just accuse a uniformed officer of a crime he didn’t commit and not pay a price for it? By the next election, he’ll be out of a job and so will you. You’ll never get a conviction. You have to convince twelve people to believe your story. All I have to do is put enough doubt in one of them to keep this going indefinitely. I don’t know if it’s occured to you yet but the people tend to not look fondly on the people who serve and protect them being dragged through the mud in this fashion.”

Kyle gripped the arms of his chair to keep himself seated but his tone was sharp with conviction. “We’ll see about that. You can claim his innocence all you want but the facts remain the facts. You can’t change them to suit your whims. And don’t think for a second I don’t know how you came to be his lawyer to begin with either. I have a high regard for the police but trying to protect one of their own who has clearly abused the public’s trust is nothing short of shocking.” Kyle turned his attention to the defendant. “The choice is yours, Mr. Gordon. You can either take this agreement now or you can bet that I will see you face the most extreme punishment the commonwealth has at its disposal. What’s it going to be?”

Lathrum sat back in his chair again, looking over at his client. “Don’t do it. He’s trying to scare you.”

“I promise, I’m not,” Kyle said with quiet certainty. “You think being a cop is going to save you from lethal injection? Cops can sometimes be found not guilty when it pertains to their job. You weren’t on duty at the time of the killing, Mr. Gordon. You were just another killer and that’s how I’m going to portray you to get my guilty verdict.” Kyle leaned over the table just as Lathrum has done a moment ago and let the ice in his voice be heard. “When it comes time for sentencing, that’s when I’ll bring your life as a police officer to the forefront. That’s when I’ll tell the jury how a man they entrusted to serve and protect was himself a murderer and a liar who cheated on his wife, impregnated his mistress and then killed her in cold blood to cover it up. You won’t stand a chance. Your lawyer isn’t going to get you out of this. Chose now.”

Adam Gordon sat there staring at the table, looking so lost and scared that Kyle almost felt pity for him. “I didn’t kill her,” he muttered. “I loved her. I wasn’t ready to have the baby with her. My wife… we tried but couldn’t have kids. It wasn’t something I had planned…”

“Adam, don’t say anything else,” his lawyer warned him.

Kyle’s eyes went from Gordon to Lathrum and back. “I’ll tell you what; I’ll keep the offer on the table for now, Mr. Gordon. If you decide to take it, I’ll be open to listening.” Gordon didn’t respond. Just stared at the table. For a moment, Kyle almost bought his act. “I think we’re done here.”

“Damn right,” Lathrum said with a slight scowl. “Be careful going home tonight, Kyle. The roads have been slick lately.”

Kyle froze as he was getting out of his chair. “I beg your pardon?”

Lathrum just shrugged. “Just saying the roads can be bad after the sun goes down.” He along with his client and the other two lawyers were getting up and preparing to leave as he looked down at Kyle with a ghost of a smirk on his face.

“I’ve been through worse,” Kyle said carefully as he kept his eyes on Lathrum as he and the others made their way out of the room.

Once the door was closed Mike stood up and put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “What the hell was that all about?”

“Almost sounded like a threat,” Kyle said offhandedly as he became putting everything on the table away. He had to get the evidence locked back up before he could get home. “Give me a hand here.”

“I know this is gonna sound bad,” Mike said with some uncertainty, “but Gordon almost sounded believable.”

Kyle nodded absently as he carefully put the papers on the table back into his briefcase. “He did sound convincing. But, unless they can give us another scenario as to what happened that night, he is our killer.”

“Still,” he shrugged, “I feel sorry for his wife. To have her husband not only cheat on her but to get his mistress pregnant and then to kill her. She must be going through a lot.”

“Yeah…” Kyle frowned to himself as he carefully gathered up the bagged evidence. In his mind he was replaying every time in the last four months he was in a room with Adam Gordon. From his questioning by Detective Harris to every deposition and every court motion to today. He expected a killer to be combative or try to finger the blame on someone else. But Adam hadn’t met his expectations. After his first interview, he’d been quiet and somewhat withdrawn from the proceedings. Lathrum was always there and kept advising him to stay quiet. His strategy seemed to be focused on poking holes in Kyle’s case. To his knowledge, the defense hadn’t offered up any exculpatory evidence that could exonerate Gordon other than his shotty alibi that he was sick and asleep at the time of the murder. “Makes you wonder what she’s feeling.”

Mike nodded slightly in agreement. “So, what are you doing for the rest of the day?”

“You and I,” he said as he glanced up with a playful smirk, “are going to go back to the office and start prepping for jury selection. I’m gonna have you take care of that for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Mike stammered, “what?”

“You are a lawyer, last time I checked. I want to focus on the answers the jury gives instead of the questions.” He closed up his briefcase and turned to regard Mike. He had to force himself not to laugh seeing the younger man’s pale face. “Relax. It’s not hard. We’ll go over the questions and I’ll give you some pointers for follow-up questions for certain circumstances.”

“You’re sure about this,” Mike asked. “I mean, this isn’t some assault and battery charge. This is murder. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“What better way to learn?” Kyle grabbed his things as Mike picked up the box containing the evidence and they walked it back to the secured storage area.

They made small talk as they traveled back to the office and set up in Kyle’s office. Over the next few hours, Kyle ran Mike through all the questions on the jury forms and anything that might throw him off. Kyle went over everything patiently and helped him to find his own comfort and confidence. He helped him rework questions that could end up coming out wrong or misinterpreted, gave him tips from his own experience and most importantly got him to relax. As the sun set they moved onto opening statements and quotes that could come in handy at any given time. That became more of a partnership between them. Kyle discovered that Mike had a talent for wordsmithing which he gave him due credit for. By the time they were done for the day, Kyle felt they had a good rough draft for an opening statement.

He sent Mike home with a pat on the back before he gathered his things to leave. It was only when he finally reached the elevator that he realized he hadn’t seen Stephanie all day. He considered calling her but decided to wait for later after he’d eaten dinner. He had been busy from almost the moment he got to the office that day and it felt like he hadn’t stopped until now. The day had been mentally taxing on him and he longed to go home, eat dinner with his family and lay on the couch doing nothing but cuddle with his little boy and his best friend.

He arrived at the townhouse and parked across the street since Jacob’s truck was parked in his assigned parking spot. Grabbing his things he made his way through the small patches of snow that lingered under the warming weather. Kyle smiled to himself as he opened the door and called out, “another day is over. Is everybody here?”

The sound of small feet echoed through the house as he closed the door and set down his briefcase. By the time he had his coat off, Matt was coming around the corner from the stairs and running towards him with his arms stretched out. “Daddy,” he exclaimed as Kyle caught him and lifted him effortlessly in his arms.

“Hey, how’s my boy been today,” he asked as he held his son in his arms, giving into the temptation to kiss his cheek.

Matt giggled and grinned. “We had fun. Played games and watched movies.”

“You didn’t mention how much cleaning I did,” Jacob called from the kitchen. Kyle grinned and carried Matt in to see what Jacob was working on in the kitchen. Jacob met him at the doorway into the kitchen as they shared a warm kiss while Matt giggled again. He had gotten used to the idea of having two dads and didn’t seem to mind. Seeing his dad and his soon-to-be-dad kissing still made him feel warm inside for some reason and it made him want to laugh with joy.

“So, you cook and clean,” Kyle asked with amusement as he glanced over Jacob’s shoulder to the stove and what obviously looked like dinner for the evening.

“Yeah, yeah...” he responded with a roll of his eyes. “Not like it’s the first time I’ve done it these last two months.”

Kyle let a squirming Matt out of his arms so he could run back upstairs to his room. Putting both of his hands on Jacob’s hips he remarked, “doesn’t seem like it should have been that long already.”

“I know,” he responded to the touch and his words with a slight hint of disappointment. “In about three weeks I need to head back home to work. Trees won’t be ready yet but I need to stock up on supplies for my business and I’ve already fielded a couple requests while I’ve been here. I told them I’d get back to them at the beginning of March.”

“The judge has us starting jury selection next week,” Kyle reported, trying not to think about being without Jacob for months. He’d finally gotten used to them sleeping together on a nightly basis and now it was going to be ending soon. “Opening statements could be as early as two weeks maybe.”

“I hope I can be here for that,” Jacob said with a smile. “I want to be there to see at least the start of it.”

“I’ll see if I can speed things up for you,” he grinned. “Right now, I should let you get back to what you were doing and get cleaned up.”

Jacob gave him one more kiss before they parted to go about their tasks. Kyle opted for a quick shower and change into some jeans and a shirt before checking in on his son for some quality time alone with him. Even as he was confident of Jacob’s ability to handle Matthew throughout the day on his own, Kyle still wanted his son to know that he hadn’t forgotten about him or had just handed him off. Keeping a routine and staying interested in his son’s progress was important to him. Matt was proud to show the work on his coloring book Jacob had gotten him a few weeks ago. He had to admit his effort had improved over the last few months. He suspected Jacob had something to do with Matt’s newfound ability to color within the lines.

Kyle helped Matt carefully put his crayons and books away and wash his hands before heading down to the kitchen and set the table for them. Kyle asked Jacob if he needed any help but was waved off dismissively as he started to grab Kyle’s plate and filling it up then proceeding to one of the plastic bowls for Matt before grabbing his own plate. Once he was seated they began to eat together, in no hurry to end things between them. Eventually small talk turned to gossip. “Brian called me today,” Jacob said to Kyle. “Andy found himself a support group in Butler. He’s started going there about a week ago.”

“Well, that’s good,” Kyle commented between bites. “Did he say if Andy’s been acting any better lately?”

Jacob shrugged. “I think partly Brian turns a blind eye to the worst of Andy’s quirks. He says he seems fine as ever. I might give him a call myself and get his side of the story.”

“When I talked to Dad the other day, he said Blake had seemed more chipper when he was babysitting him and Carter.” Kyle glanced from an oblivious Matt back to Jacob. “He’s pretty sensitive about his dad’s moods. If he seems in a good mood, I’d say Andy might be on the right track.”

Jacob seemed unconvinced. “I think I’ll still call him anyway. I haven’t talked to him since we left his house. I feel like I should apologize for some reason.”

“If you want to, dear, that’s fine. I’m sure he’ll accept it even if it’s unnecessary.”

“Still…” Jacob glanced over at Matt sitting next to him in a booster seat just in time for Matt’s attempt at getting food onto his fork resulted in the bowl heading to the edge of the table. Jacob grabbed it just in time and grinned at the boy before setting it back in front of him. “Remember: don’t stab it like it’s still alive. Just gently push in. I promise, it’s already dead.” The words accompanied by one of Jacob’s funny faces sent the little boy into hysterics.

“Nice catch.” Kyle said to him before they both started to laugh from Matt’s laughter. Just as it settled down and they started back into their meals there was an insistent knock at the front door. Kyle dropped his fork and suppressed a curse but not the dreaded word, “reporters,” out of his mouth.

“I’ll get this one,” Jacob said as he started to rise. At six feet tall with his muscular build he enjoyed looking intimidating to the usually smaller men. He went to the door, preparing an intimidating glare when he opened it and was slightly shocked and maybe a little disappointed. “Stephanie. Hi.”

Steph stood there on the front step regarding him with a crooked smirk. “Hi. You looked like you were getting ready to shoot first and ask questions later.”

He smiled slightly his cheeks tinted a little. “We thought you were a reporter.”

“Oh,” she grinned with a slight laugh. “Totally forgiven then. May I come in?”

“Sure,” he stood aside to let her in. “Are you hungry? We’re about halfway through dinner.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She took a few steps in and turned to look at Jacob.

“Is that Steph,” Kyle called from the kitchen.

“It is indeed, baby-daddy,” she called over her shoulder.

“Hi, mommy,” Matt came up to her with outstretched arms.

“Hey there, my little boy,” she said excitedly as she kneeled down to hug him close. Jacob thought he saw a little more emotion on her face than usual.

“Hey,” Kyle said with a smile. “Where were you all day? I didn’t see you once in the office.”

“Well…” she stood back up and looked from Kyle and back to Jacob. “I was a little busy today. You were busy this morning and I was… well, I was at the doctor.” She fixed the dark haired man with a meaningful look.

Jacob’s body suddenly stiffened and Kyle’s eyes widened slightly as they stared at her. “Steph,” Kyle said as more of a question.

She smirked despite trying to appear somber and nodded. “It took two tries but, it just got confirmed today. I’m about four weeks along now.”

Reality seemed to suddenly slam into Jacob as he made a small noise and quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Kyle looked over at him and saw his eyes starting to water up. He couldn’t help but feel some empathy for him. “Baby? Come here.” Jacob stared at him, dazed and managed to take his hand off his mouth before walking stiffly over to Kyle who Immediately wrapped him in his arms.

“What’s his problem,” she smirked. “It’s not like he’s gonna have the morning sickness for the next two months.”

“Oh, pipe down,” Kyle said over Jacob’s shoulder. “It’s ok, sweetheart,” Kyle whispered to Jacob. “I went through the same thing when I found out about Matt. Just breathe and you’ll be ok.”

“Holy shit, Kyle,” he whispered. “We’re really doing this!”

Kyle laughed despite himself. “Yeah. This was pretty much the plan. Now, congratulate Stephanie on a job well done.”

Jacob pulled away from Kyle and turned to look at her, blushing bright red. “Jesus. I’m… I don’t know what to say.”

“How about I just hug you, tell you that I’ll stay in contact with you the entire time I’m pregnant and let you know if anything comes up,” she offered. She smiled as she walked up to him and hugged him which he returned. “Just keep in mind I’m fragile. Don’t squeeze too hard.”

Kyle suppressed a chuckle and turned away to look at his son who appeared slightly confused. Jacob looked at Stephanie when they finally let go and said to her genuinely, “thank you, Stephanie. It’s the best wedding present I - we could have asked for. So, are you hungry?”

“I’m pregnant. Of course I’m hungry,” she grinned, following them into kitchen.

Jacob gave up his seat to Steph and made another plate for her before he moved around to the other side where Matt was seated. “What’s ‘pregnant,’” Matt asked Jacob with an innocent look.

“Uh. Ah,” he glanced over at Kyle with a slight look of desperation in his blue eyes.

Steph said to Kyle without taking her eyes off the drama unfolding, “don’t you dare pull him out of this hole. I like a good show while eating dinner.” Kyle grinned and shook his head once before gesturing to Jacob to proceed.

“Ok…” Jacob cleared his throat and dove in. “Well… When a mommy has a baby growing inside her, that means she’s pregnant.”

“There’s a baby? Growing inside mommy?” The dubious look from that face and those brown eyes nearly made Jacob die inside.

“Yes,” Jacob assured him. “Remember when Carter’s mommy’s belly got real big? Then Carter and Chase had a new baby sister. There’s a baby inside Stephanie right now. And in about eight months, it will be born. Just like you were.”

Matt gasped. “I was inside mommy?!” Steph nearly choked on her food and had to turn away to muffle her sudden fit of laughter.

Jacob chuckled and nodded. “Yes, you were. It’s teeny tiny right now so you can’t tell but soon you’ll be able to tell.” Matt seemed satisfied with that answer - for now - and went back to eating. Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. He figured at some point in the future his answer wouldn’t hold up but for now, he could get through dinner without any other awkward moments.

Kyle grinned and took a bite off his plate. The rest of their dinner went quickly with little comment other than Kyle updating Steph on his case. After Stephanie left, the men started cleaning up the kitchen and getting Matt ready for his bath and bedtime story after watching some cartoons on the tv. When it was time, Jacob insisted on putting Matt to bed. It wasn’t something the two of them ever bickered about but his determined look amused Kyle who just acquiesced with a smile and a nod. Matt stepped over to give his dad the customary hug and kiss goodnight before the two of them headed upstairs.

Alone for awhile, Kyle laid back on the couch and pondered his upcoming trial. The more his mind wandered back to his meeting with Gordon and his lawyers, the more troubled he felt. There were things missing in the room. The defense didn’t bring any new evidence. Were they done looking or were they just out of options? Why wasn’t his wife there? He hadn’t been told of her filing for divorce or anything else. Why wasn’t she with her husband during his meetings? He’d had meetings with defendants in the past. In fact, he couldn’t remember seeing her in the courtroom at any point in the last month during any pretrial hearings. He can’t remember any time where a family member of some sort wasn’t in the room with a defendant. He wanted to interview Mrs. Gordon. The only question he had was would the defense team get in his way?

Things weren’t quite settled in his mind. He was all too aware that there were pieces missing to the entire picture of what exactly happened that night. The look on Gordon’s face was still bothering him too. He had been in rooms with other defendants who looked more defiant or affected a better poker face at the table. Gordon looked desperate and scared. He wondered what lengths he might go to to get out of a conviction.

The sound of Jacob coming down the stairs roused him out of his thoughts. He turned his head just as Jacob entered the room, still looking like someone who had just won a million dollars. Kyle smiled up at him and moved a little to make room on the couch for him. Jacob put his hands on Kyle’s shoulders and pushed him down laying flat on the couch before laying on top of him. Before Kyle could ask him what he was doing Jacob’s lips descended on his in a searing kiss. His hands caressed Kyle’s sides up under his shirt as he made his body grind on top of him. The sudden assault on his senses left him stunned but the pure passion and love felt through his lover’s touch brought a whimper of desire out of him as he put his arms around Jacob’s body and held him close as their kissing continued.

Eventually their lips parted which made Kyle feel both disappointed and relieved that he could finally breathe again. He looked up into Jacob’s bright, shining face and asked with a small smile, “can I ask what brought that on?”

Jacob reached behind his head, releasing the tie on his hair, allowing it to fall down over one side of his head like a dark cascading fountain. “I’m just so in love with you right now. Like I’m feeling it for the first time all over again.” He leaned his head down just enough to kiss the tip of Kyle’s nose. “You’re the most important part of me. I never want you to forget that.”

Kyle felt only the slightest twinge of guilt for having delayed this moment for nearly a decade as he looked up into those beautiful blue eyes. “I’m so glad we’re going to never be apart after we’re married. Maybe I’ll get lucky and that asshole will take the plea bargain and we can start moving tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t matter if we start moving tomorrow or not,” he replied in a hushed voice. “Eventually, we’ll be together. To raise our family and finally have the life we’ve dreamed about.”

“I love you, Jacob.” His hand slowly reached up to touch Jacob’s cheek, running the fingers down to his chin.

“Are you scared any,” Jacob asked as they settled together on their sides facing each other. “About all the changes that are coming, I mean.”

He looked into Jacob’s eyes and answered honestly, “I’ll admit there’s a little anxiety about it all on some level. I mean, we’ve only been together again for barely six months, we’re getting married in five, we’ve settled things in our past, going back home and putting down roots, having a baby and God only knows what happens after that. I’m not scared, I’m just worried that something is going to get in the way of it all.”

“Ok, so we’re both pretty much in the same spot then,” he replied. “I’m not scared of what we’re doing. But, I’m going to be honest, when Steph told us tonight that she was pregnant, and I know it’s our child, my child… It just hit me like a ton of bricks how real it all was. If there’s anything I’m scared about it’s that I’m going to make a mistake raising our kids.” The light in his eyes dimmed slightly as he added in a quieter voice, “I don’t want to be like my father.”

“I can understand your concern,” Kyle said sympathetically. “But, I know you. And I know you love Matt with all your heart and I know you’ll love our next child just as much. You’re stronger than your dad was. He couldn’t beat his problems but you did. And look at you now. Jacob, seriously, when I saw everything you had accomplished over the years I was so proud of you. You should be too. You don’t have a mean bone in your body and there’s no one who I would trust more with my child than you.”

Some of the light returned to his eyes as he leaned in and kissed Kyle tenderly. “If anyone else had said that to me, I would have still had some doubts. You really have been my best friend since we met. Even if we were apart for so long.”

They laid there together in comfortable silence for some time. Content just to hold each other, feeling the love that they still shared over all their years. Silently, they rose, turning off the lights and going up the stairs to bed. Even as they made love that night, there were no words exchanged. There was no need. Every touch, each kiss and the way they looked at each other communicated everything that words would never be able to express between them. When sleep finally settled in, it found them in the same position as it always had. Kyle, laying on his back with his arm around his lover and Jacob on his stomach, head nestled next to his best friend with an arm draped over his chest.

*****

Kyle sat in his car looking across the street at the nondescript house. Outwardly, it was no different from any of the other houses in this quiet suburb, northeast of Harrisburg. To be fair, he’d never ventured much beyond the cities confines with very few friendships over the years and fewer invitations to get togethers. It wasn’t unlike his own hometown. The streets were mostly residential, quiet with single story brick houses and black top driveways lining both sides of the street.

He’d spent the morning in the office going over the final preparations for opening remarks for the trial set to begin in a week. Jury selection had gone faster than anticipated and Kyle let Mike know how impressed he was with his handling of the potential jurors. Kyle had officially been given the rest of the day off after the morning. Jeff wanted him to rest and enjoy his last weekend with Jacob before he returned home to get back to work. Yet, this nagging feeling he’d had for weeks now kept coming back to him. The defense had been too yielding on jury selection. There had been a few more meetings and Lathrum had not raised as many objections as Kyle would have expected. Half of Kyle’s arguments went unanswered. But there was a look in Lathrum’s eyes. An arrogance that seemed too experienced to be fake. Through all of it, he kept expecting Gordon’s wife to be deposed or suddenly put on the list of witnesses and yet it was all silent. Something wasn’t adding up and Kyle needed to know what was going on.

It was still bitter cold in the bright sunlight as he finally got out of his car. But on occasion there was a slight warmth drifting through the air, heralding Spring’s approach. The snow had all melted, leaving only patches of frozen ground to contend with. He stepped carefully across the street and walked up to the front door. He hesitated only another moment before he knocked softly on the door. It was only a few moments before he heard movement in the house. Someone coming to the door. He steeled himself for what he was about to do and hoped he was doing the right thing.

The door opened to reveal a pale woman with long dark hair that laid flat around her shoulders. Her eyes were dark brown filled with caution as she looked him up and down. “Yes,” she asked with a casual but guarded tone.

“Mrs. Amanda Gordon,” Kyle replied with a seriousness in his voice. “I hope I’m not intruding on your time. I’m from --”

“I know who you are,” she interjected, stating fact more than sounding defensive. “My husband isn’t here.”

“That’s fine,” he shrugged. “I was hoping I could talk to you actually.”

“Why do you want to talk to me?” Her body language suddenly shifted as her back straightened as if to block his entry.

“I have some things I want to ask you about.” When her stance didn’t relax he tried to soften his tone. “Ma’am, I’m just wanting to ask a few questions. Nothing more, nothing less.”

She stared at him for a moment before stepping back and motioning him inside. He stepped in and looked around, noting with some discomfort how normal the house looked. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting knowing a killer lived here. What he saw was a simple house with tasteful furniture and decorations. She lead him into a nearby room and offered him a chair for him to sit. “Would you like some tea, Mr. Howard?”

He looked up at her. Whatever was going on behind her eyes was inscrutable. He didn’t want to appear impolite or defensive. “Yes, thank you.”

“I’ll only be a moment,” she said as she stepped out of the room. He looked over the room again, trying to get any hint about the the residents and their home life. It all seemed so normal. Nothing looked amiss. There were pictures of the two of them and other pictures of what he might surmise as other family members. She returned to the room with two large cups of hot tea. Tea wasn’t really a favorite of his but he didn’t want to start this out as being impolite. She sat the tea on the small table next to his chair before seating herself on the loveseat across from him. She took a sip of her tea before saying, “ask me what you want. But just know I’m not going to help you put my husband in prison.”

“Actually, I didn’t come here to ask you about Adam,” he said. “I wanted to ask about you. How you’re doing.”

“Me,” she asked in muted surprise, her back tilting back slightly against the back of her seat. “I’ve been… worried.”

“About your husband,” he offered, keeping his eyes on her, trying to appear casual. “You’re worried everything you’ve heard about what happened that night is all true?”

She looked around the room and slowly nodded her head. “A little. I’ve known Adam since college. Well, I was in college. He was doing a four year stint in the army. We met at a party once when he was on leave.” her lips tilted up slightly as she remembered. “We spent the night talking a lot. Talked until the sun came up. Started dating soon after. He scheduled his leaves so we could spend time together. We talked on the phone and email and stuff while he was on deployments. When I graduated, he said he wanted us to get married, raise a family.”

Kyle nodded slightly in understanding. “How long ago was that?”

“About ten years ago,” she said absently.

“What happened with the family planning,” he asked curiously.

She frowned slightly and looked away as if ashamed. “I wasn’t able to conceive. We tried and tried. Eventually the doctors found I had some scar tissue. It prevented us from having a baby.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said with honest sympathy. There was a brief pause before he asked, “did you know Adam was having an affair?”

“What,” she said defensively.

Kyle found her tone curious but ignored it for the moment. “Did you know that Adam was sleeping with Theresa?”

“No,” her eyes moved about the room again as she blinked rapidly. “He… told me about it after he was arrested.”

“That must have been a great shock to you. Is that why you haven’t been to any of his depositions or other meetings?”

“What? No. Why?”

He shrugged dismissively and replied, “it just seemed odd to me. Normally almost all the defendants I’ve had to prosecute had some family present through at least some of the procedures. I just wondered if it was because of the affair that you stayed away.” He realized he may be tipping his hand a little. He needed to pull back some.

“I… just didn’t want to,” she said simply. “The lawyer, Mr. Lathrum. He asked me a few questions when he first took the job defending Adam. After awhile, he encouraged me to just avoid the press.”

Kyle leaned forward a bit. He felt he was finally figuring out what had been nagging him lately. “Did he tell you not to come or said anything to dissuade you from supporting your husband?”

She nodded slightly. “He just… We thought it would be best if I stayed in the background for now.”

Kyle kept his face stoic even as he was feeling more energetic about this interview. It was obvious Lathrum was holding her back for some reason. There was some secret he knew and wasn’t sharing. “So, what did you do in college while Adam was away?”

She shrugged. “Just studied. I wanted to be able to do something with my life other than be a housewife.”

“You don’t work now, I take it,” he observed.

“No,” she said. Her tone was casual but Kyle noticed her eyes narrowed slightly and her face tighten a little. “I work part time now. We decided after we got married I should focus on the house and trying to have a baby.”

“And once you knew having a baby wasn’t possible nothing changed?”

“I did start working a little. Part time as a pharmacist technician,” she replied. “It’s what I’d studied for. I thought maybe with enough income we could look into adoption.”

“I’m sorry if things didn’t work out,” Kyle said. “Is there anything about the night of the murder you haven’t mentioned to anyone yet that I or Adam’s lawyers should know?”

“If there was, I wouldn’t tell you anyway,” she said firmly. “I think we’re done here.” She stood up with Kyle following behind.

He took a last look around what little of the house he could see. He spotted the blank screen near the front door he remarked with a slight smirk, “I see you two have a newer model security system. Always good to have.”

“You forgot your tea,” she said in an absent tone.

He turned to respond. “Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”

“Here…” she walked down the hall and returned with an travel cup. She poured the neglected tea into the cup and sealed it before handing it to him. “Take it with you just in case you get cold.”

When he reached out to take the cup he saw just the slightest corner of her mouth turn up. The look in her eyes was different. Almost darker. “That’s not necessary, Mrs. Gordon.”

“No, please,” she insisted with a brighter smile. It would have looked almost friendly if not for those eyes that made him uneasy.

Kyle had a fleeting urge to run as far away from here as possible. He controlled himself as he would if he were in a courtroom and nodded. “Thank you.”

She stepped passed him and opened the door for him. “Goodbye, Mr. Howard.”

“Thank you for your time, Amanda,” he returned before stepping outside. As the door closed behind him he fought the urge to run to his car, placing the cup in the holder next to him. He made no move to grab his phone from his pocket in case she was watching. Once he was in his car he drove away and turned down another street, driving for another two blocks before he pulled over. He got on his phone and called up his intern. “Mike,” he said when he got an answer, “I need you to call up Detective Harris and ask him if he has any pictures of Adam Gordon’s wife.”

“Ok. But, why do we need it,” the younger man asked.

“I want you to go back to the hospital with it and ask everyone you talked to about Theresa if any of them know her face and go from there.”

The determination in Kyle’s voice wasn’t lost on Mike. “You think we guessed wrong on Adam.”

“I’m following up on a hunch. Tell Harris to look into Mrs. Gordon’s recent past. Whatever he can find from the last year or so. At least up to the murder.” He was feeling energized now as his feelings were getting more and more certain of what he was thinking. Mike ended the call and Kyle continued on towards home. There were still a few questions without answers. And also it was possible he was chasing down a theory that was false. Regardless, he knew he had to see this through. He started to pull away from the curb when his eyes glanced over at the mug containing the tea Amanda had made for him. He reached over for it and recalled the look on her face when she handed it to him. And that she was a pharmacy technician. With access to chemicals and drugs. He pulled his hand away, almost afraid of what might be in it.

He had to think fast as he drove back to the office. He pulled his phone out again and made a quick call to police headquarters and Detective Harris. “Tom, meet me outside with an evidence bag. I got something I want you to run to forensics for a test.” If his guess was right, then his case was finished and he just avoided… he didn’t want to think about what he might have avoided.

After dropping off the cup to a confused detective, he parked back at his office he pushed aside the guilt he felt not going home like he had expected to. If his theory worked out, then Jacob will have a better reason to celebrate. He bypassed his own office and headed straight to Jeff’s. Knocking on the door politely before opening it himself. Jeff looked up from his desk with a look of mild shock. “What the hell are you still doing here? I told you to go home hours ago.”

“I know you did,” Kyle replied. “I left the office but went to see Amanda Gordon.”

Jeff saw the slightly wild excitement in Kyle’s eyes and suppressed a groan. “Close the door,” he said as he motioned the young man inside. “Sit down and tell me what happened.”

Kyle sat heavily in the chair, unaware until just then how tired he felt. “I have reason to believe that Adam Gordon is not guilty of Theresa Mayfield’s murder.”

Jeff’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he said calmly, “would you mind telling me exactly when it was you came to this opinion?”

Kyle sighed, realizing that Jeff wasn’t going to be satisfied with a simple answer. “A couple weeks ago we had a meeting with the defense before we moved onto jury selection. I put the death penalty on the table and that’s when I noticed three things. The first was the look on Gordon’s face. He wasn’t angry or shocked. He was almost terrified. Not the kind of look I’ve seen on the face of anyone else I’ve prosecuted. The second thing I noticed was his lawyer seemed totally unsurprised and had a few words about what he thought about this office. He was cocky. Too cocky for it to be just bluster. I know we have a good case and could win it in court.”

“You just said you think he didn’t do it,” Jeff replied with a hint of irritation. “If you think we got the wrong guy what makes you think we can get a conviction?”

“Because all the evidence points to him, just like it was supposed to.” Kyle let that thought sink into Jeff’s head before continuing. “The third thing that struck me, Jeff, is that all the times I’ve been in depositions and interviews with defendants, never in all that time have I had a defendant without a spouse or other family member present at some point. Not once has his wife showed up to anything. Not even the pre-trial motions or jury selection or any of the other many meetings I’ve had with Gordon and his team.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Jeff said offhandedly. “Could mean they’re on their way towards a divorce. You can’t presume to guess what’s going on in her mind, Kyle.”

“I know I can’t,” he replied, “which is why I went to talk to her earlier today.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. His junior assistant DA was obviously getting himself in over his head. “Kyle… Have I pushed you too far on this? I mean, you should know better than to go off and do something like that.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. No information was shared about the trial,” Kyle reassured him. “I haven’t violated any ethics rules or gotten anyone in trouble.”

“Except maybe yourself with your future husband,” Jeff stated flatly. “You should have been home hours ago.”

Kyle sighed and frowned slightly. “I know. But, if what I think is true, it’s worth the inconvenience. I said I would be done here at the end of this trial. Maybe I can get that done sooner than we think.”

“So, if Gordon didn’t kill her, who did?”

“His wife.”

Jeff looked at him to see if he was serious or not and then laughed quietly as he shook his head. “You are something else, Howard. How the hell did you reach that conclusion with just one meeting with the woman.”

“Before we get into that, I have Harris and Mike running down some information.” His confidence starting to come back, Kyle went into his theory. “She made no indication to me that she was leaving her husband. They had tried to have children but she has physical problems and can’t conceive. I think that might be why Adam was having an affair with Theresa. She was a former girlfriend of his from before he met his wife. If I’m right, I think Adam was getting ready to leave his wife. Maybe not totally committed to the idea but he wanted a family. He said so to her before they got married.

“My theory is that Gordon is telling the truth as far as he knows it. That he did get sick that night but I think maybe his wife slipped him something and that put him out for the night. She took his knife and his cellphone with her after she found out where Theresa lives and killed her. Stabbed her in her sleep using the key Adam had and then cleaned the place up to remove any physical evidence she’d been there. Went back home and hid the knife and her husband’s clothes she wore over there. I should have the lab go back and swab the inside of those clothes to check for her DNA.”

“Kyle,” Jeff’s exasperation was starting to show. “Your trial starts next week. A jury has been empaneled and is ready to sit and hear the evidence you’ve collected. Now, you’re talking like you don’t want to go through with it. Do you intend to switch the charges from husband to wife?”

“Finding more evidence to show her guilt will take time,” he said honestly. “I could use the trial to buy more time.”

“I think you should either ask for a continuance or just drop the charges,” Jeff stated in a tone that made it sound more like an order than a suggestion. “If you find out that his wife did it instead of him, what do you plan on doing?”

He gave his superior a quizzical look. “I’m gonna have her arrested and convicted of the crime, of course.”

Jeff sighed, wondering if Kyle knew what he was saying. “And how long do you suppose that will take? You’re looking at a couple of months just to get to trial. Where are we on the calendar then?” He leaned forward towards the young man and said in an earnest voice, “Kyle, I applaud your diligence and your desire to see things through. Unless you’re planning on changing your wedding date and the day you move, you’re going to be running into a lot of pitfalls here.”

Kyle had in fact not considered all of the prospects a new trial would entail. He would be disappointing a lot of people. Jacob most importantly. He was a little melancholy about leaving on Sunday but was taking heart in the fact that they’d be together soon. Could he really ask Jacob to wait a little longer for him? He sat there for a moment, turning it over in his head. Slowly he began to shake his head. “I can’t. I’d have to turn the case over to someone else.”

Jeff didn’t hide his sense of relief. “Good. I’m glad we both agree on that.” He looked at his watch before saying, “you’ve got another hour or so. Run over to the judge and ask for a two week continuance. Tell him you may have uncovered new evidence and need time to go over it.”

Kyle nodded and stood up. “After that, I wanna check up on Mike and Detective Harris.”

Jeff fixed him with a gaze that reminded him of his father. “After you go to the judge, you will go home. Is that understood?”

Kyle almost balked but then relented. “Ok. By the way. I just sent something to forensics for a chemical analysis. Can you call over there and have it done right now?”

“What was it?”

He wasn’t sure how to word it exactly so he just said the plain truth. “A cup of tea Amanda Gordon gave me and insisted I take with me to drink. She looked… I dunno. It gave me the creeps.”

“You didn’t drink any of it?” Jeff’s frown and angry eyes pinned him in place and all he could do was shake his head in answer. Jeff grabbed his phone and punched in a number before he said into the phone, “Forensics. Now. This is Jeff Masterson. I’m ordering you to stop what you are doing right now and begin a test on a new piece of evidence brought into your office in the last ten minutes. Yes. Harris brought it in. I want you to test it right now for any poisons or drugs. You have half an hour to get it done and I want you to call me immediately when you are done. And I’m not leaving here until you call me so get it done now.” He hung up the phone and looked back at Kyle. “Go to the judge, go home and you say nothing to no one. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” It was a simple enough matter to go to the judge and request the continuance. The judge set the first day for opening statements to two weeks later to give him time. He sent a message to his office to call Gordon’s lawyers and inform them of the change. A sense of disappointment settled in as he got in his car and drove back to the townhouse. The sun was just beginning it’s decent behind the trees in the distance as he parked. Unconsciously quickening his step, he walked to the door and inside. “Hey there,” he said casually when he saw Jacob sitting on the couch.

“I thought you were coming home early,” Jacob responded looking a little hurt and confused.

“I was and I’m sorry I didn’t,” he began, “but, I went to interview someone and it could be a big change in… well, everything.”

Jacob seemed unconvinced. “What do you mean by everything?”

“If everything in the next week works out the way I hope… the way I think it will…” he wasn’t sure he wanted to get Jacob’s hopes up but decided the risk was worth it, “I could be done here in two weeks or three at most.”

Jacob’s face registered cautious surprise. “How exactly as you planning to pull that off?”

“Well,” he moved to sit down next to him as he explained, “what if I told you Adam Gordon didn’t actually kill Theresa Mayfield? What if all the evidence had been manipulated to point towards him?”

“Then you’d have to drop the case, wouldn’t you,” Jacob said.

Kyle nodded and smirked a little. “No case left, no reason to stay.”

“But what about the real killer,” he asked.

Kyle sighed and decided to go with honesty. “I wanted to prosecute that one to but Jeff talked me down. He made the argument that it would take months just to get to trial if she didn’t plea out. Given all that, I realized I had to let it go.” He made the conscious choice to leave out the part that if Amanda Gordon had tried to drug his tea, he couldn’t prosecute her anyway because it would have been a conflict of interest. The last thing he needed was an angry Jacob.

Jacob looked at him for a moment before saying, “you wish you didn’t have to.”

“No, it’s not that,” Kyle assured him. “I dunno. Guess I’m stubborn or something. I wanted to see it through.”

Jacob leaned closer to him. “So, you’re not afraid? Of walking away from it all? Going home and starting a new life?”

“Not really,” he said with a growing smile. “I think I’m more eager to end this part of my life and start my new life that’s coming with the whole husband thing and the new baby and the new house and everything.”

Jacob gave a soft chuckle. “Good. I know this is all going to work out great.” he leaned in farther to kiss Kyle softly, letting his lips linger there for a moment.

They couldn’t linger as long as he’d wanted when Kyle’s phone interrupted them. With a growl of annoyance Jacob sat back and watched Kyle pull his phone out, look at the name on there and answer it with his usual, “what do you need,” that indicated to him it was work related. He watched Kyle’s face as he took in whatever information was coming to him. It obviously seemed like good news. “Are you kidding me? You have it on video?!” Jacob grinned and suppressed a laugh when Kyle suddenly sat up straight with his brown eyes blazing. “I want you to find Harris and double check everything. Everything. I’ll see you on Monday and we’ll see where we are and go from there. Good work, Mike.”

“Even more good news,” Jacob inquired as Kyle put his phone away.

“We’ll see,” he replied with a smile.