The first time this happened, the judge agreed there was enough evidence to go to trial, although he did allow me to leave jail until then. Ed hated it. He didn’t let me back in the house. He made my mother pack my clothes in plastic bags and leave them on the curb. It was the day I became homeless. It wasn’t until Aaron offered me a room and a job that I started to feel anywhere near normal again.
“DeMaggio.”
I get off the bench and follow a guard. They don’t take off my handcuffs. When I enter the courtroom through the side door, I immediately scan the public seating area. As soon as I see Aaron, I feel a sense of relief. Even though I may be going back to jail, he’ll be there for me. He smiles so brightly that it’s hard for me not to smile back.
Justin, my lawyer, clears his throat, reminding me we’ve got things to do. He pulls out a chair for me at the table, and I sit. He leans over. “Hang in there. I think you’ll be pleased with how this day turns out.”
“Really?” I try not to get too excited. What could he have done? I peek at Aaron, who’s still smiling.
When the judge calls my case, Justin stands. “I’d like to enter a motion to dismiss all charges.”
“On what grounds?” the judge asks.
“On the grounds that we have video evidence proving Ms. DeMaggio did not commit the crime she’s been charged with.”
The DA stands. “I object. We haven’t been made aware of this evidence.”
“It’s only recently come into my possession,” Justin says.
“This is a preliminary hearing,” the judge says. “I’m going to allow it.”
Justin explains how he got the video. Aaron’s name comes up. I sneak another look at him. He nods gleefully and appears ready to burst from his seat.
A television in the corner is turned on, a video starts, and we see the inside of the lodge. The view of the foyer and the stairs is crystal clear. I am glued to my seat, heart pounding, wondering who or what I’m about to see. Is it someone Ed hired?
Something totally unexpected happens. Lora walks down the stairs. She appears to be extremely nervous. Justin pauses the video and zooms in on the laptop. “The woman in the video is Lora Belmont, employee of Devil’s Horn Ranch Lodge. She is holding the laptop that was described by the guest from whom it was stolen. We’ve also verified through this woman’s employer that she does not own an Apple computer.” He starts the video again, and Lora drops something on the stairs. Justin pauses and zooms in again. “She is holding a necklace belonging to one of the other guests.” He pulls a picture out of his folder. “I’d like to introduce this photo as evidence. It’s a picture of a lodge guest wearing the same necklace Lora Belmont dropped on the floor. This necklace, along with the laptop and various other pieces of jewelry, were found in my defendant’s personal space in the lodge and are currently in an evidence locker at the police station.”
The bailiff takes the photo from Justin and gives it to the judge.
“You’ll notice that Ms. Belmont keeps looking off in one direction—that’s the front door. She knew the guests would be out of the lodge for hours. She also had a key to the guest rooms and Ms. DeMaggio’s reading room. As you can see, she’s not wearing gloves. Her fingerprints could be on the laptop and the other—”
“I’ve seen enough,” the judge says. He turns to the DA. “Mr. Hunter, how would you like to proceed?”
“The prosecution does not see probable cause to move forward, and as such, moves to dismiss all charges, Your Honor. We also request an arrest warrant for Ms. Belmont.”
“Granted.” The judge turns to me. “Young lady, you’re free to go.”
I turn to Justin. “I can leave? That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he says.
The guard takes off my handcuffs, and I hug Justin. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m not the one you should be thanking.” He glances at Aaron.
Aaron moves toward me, arms outstretched. I fall into them, and he pulls me over the half wall separating us.
“I love you,” I whisper into his hair.
“I’ll bet you say that to all the guys who break you out of jail.”
I laugh.
“Let’s get you out of this jumpsuit.”
“Orange is definitely not my color.”
On the drive back to the county jail to collect my things, he tells me what happened. “It was you, Dev. When we were talking the other day, you said something about finding a ghost. I had forgotten all about the camera I installed when I was trying to catch you. If we’d waited one more day, or even ten hours, the footage would have been overwritten.”
I swallow. “I was lucky, huh?”
He takes my hand. “You were overdue for a little good fortune.”
“I can’t believe she did it.”
“I had no idea how deep her obsession went, Dev, or I’d never have kept her on. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. You did, though, and Quinn warned me. I honestly thought it was only a crush.”
“This is on her, not you. I assume you fired her after you saw it. What did she say?”
He smiles. “This brings us to my second surprise. She doesn’t know we have the tape. She doesn’t know anything. I’ve arranged for her to be at the lodge when the police show up. My gift to you—watching the bitch go down.”
“Is it terrible that I’m giddy over this?”
“She tried to ruin you. Watching her arrest will be the highlight of my year.” He puts a hand on my belly. “One of them anyway. Oh, and I’ve got another surprise. I’ve arranged a news conference at the lodge tonight. You can tell everyone about Ed and how he’s putting on an act to get reelected. How he used you and Kasey to get where he is today.”
“Can you cancel it?”
“Why?”
I gaze out the window at the beautiful blue sky and the green trees that will soon turn to the colors of the fall. I’ve never felt so free. “Despite what he’s done to me, he still lost a child. I haven’t even met Casey yet, and already I can’t imagine life without him. I want to leave everything else behind and move on. Ed can’t hurt me anymore because I won’t let him.”
We stop at a light. He turns. “Are you forgiving him?”
“Maybe I am. But in a way, I’m forgiving myself.”
He raises my hand to his lips and kisses it. “You’re amazing.”
“You’re amazing.”
At the lodge, Aaron parks out front, which is strange. He never does that. We get out, and he says, “Go up to guest suite four. Take a long bath and wash off the jail grime. I’ll get you some clothes.”
“Why here and not the cabin?”
“You know, the renovations. I wanted you to be able to relax. All the guests are gone. We can even stay here tonight.”
“Suite four?” I never told him, but I’ve always wanted to stay there. Sometimes when I was living in the attic and there were no guests around, I’d lie on that bed and pretend I was someone I wasn’t.
“Only the best for my two favorite people in the world.”
“What about Lora?”