Chapter Four
Present
It had taken Kim three days to get Jordan out of jail.
And I've never taken my freedom for granted again, she thought as she walked home from St. Inez. Those three days she had been in the Boston Central Jail had been mental torture. Her dad had come by. Daily. It forged their father-daughter relationship even closer. Nigel came. Also daily. When Kim had finally gotten her released, she had gone back to her apartment, showered, cooked dinner…and fell asleep in her bed, thankful that she had eaten what she wanted to and was able to sleep in her own bed.
The next day she had gone over to Max's. At that point, Joel's clothing had still not been found and she was not allowed back at work until they were. She stayed with her dad until it was time to open the bar. Then she went to the Pogue. "You know this bar is still yours," Max had told her. She knew what he was hinting at. If she wasn't able to go back to work as a medical examiner, she could always depend on the Pogue for an income.
But she didn't have to. The next morning, Woody woke her up, banging on the door of her apartment. She hadn't seen him since her release. "I've come to take you to the station," he told her. "Get dressed as fast as you can."
"Why? Is Rene' hauling my butt back to jail?"
"No. They've found Joel's clothes."
"Where?" she had asked. If it was anywhere near where she had been, she knew she was kissing her career goodbye.
"In a policeman's car…I'll explain later. Rene's getting ready to eat crow ala Jordan." He had grinned and gave her a push towards her bedroom.
Finally dressed, Woody had driven her over to the courthouse. Rene', the judge, a uniformed officer, Garret, and Kim were already there. Kim had thrown her a big smile. Briefly Rene' had explained what happened. The evidence had been found by Officer Lee Guthrie in a police car that was normally signed out to another officer, Frank Bellini. Under some duress and hard questioning by Rene', Bellini confessed to taking the evidence from the locker. However, he had yet to tell them why he took it.
Jordan grimaced. Why had no one in the morgue thought to question the officer when he removed the evidence?
Garret answered her unvoiced question. "Bellini came in after most everyone had gone home. I guess the security guard or what few personnel that were on duty didn't think to question him."
"And instead it all came back on me."
Garret lowered his head. "Unfortunately, yes."
"It's good to know I'm so well thought of," Jordan said, her voice catching just a bit.
"So Dr. Cavanaugh's record remains clear of any charges and she's free to return to work?" Judge McNeil asked. Rene' nodded.
"Not so fast," Kim had chimed in. "She deserves a public apology from the DA over this. And a copy of the apology put in her record. Plus back pay for the time she was wrongfully incarcerated."
Jordan didn't think it would happen…she couldn't see Rene' apologizing to anyone…but it happened. In front of the TV cameras. On the courthouse steps. Reporters asked Jordan if she still thought Joel was innocent.
"As of right now, unless some other evidence comes forward, I do. I believe Joel Thomas Brady did not kill his mother. The evidence doesn't support it."
Jordan sighed as she reached her apartment, slowly climbing the steps up to her home. She had been right. Too right. Deborah Brady did not die at the hands of her son. She was the first victim of a serial killer that was snaking his way up and down the East Coast.
That same day, another body, victimized just like Deborah's had been, was found outside Cambridge. Two days later, one in Hartford, Connecticut. A month later, one in Wilmington, Delaware. Jordan soon had found herself in the middle of helping solve a multi-state serial killer. Soon she was the leading expert on what the press was calling the "Slash and Dash" killer.
Joel had been released from prison by this time…the mounting evidence proved he did not murder his mother. He received no apology from Rene' or Woody. Jordan did manage to link him back up with Nancy Edwards, the foster mother Joel had loved so much as a child. They had re-located outside of Boston and the last she heard, Joel was doing well in college. She smiled as she let herself into her apartment. At least some good had come of that whole debacle.
She hadn't been so lucky. While she regained her freedom, Jordan had found herself becoming increasingly cynical to those around her…those who had questioned her actions about the missing evidence. Rene'. Garret.
Woody.
She threw her bag and keys on the counter, and made her way into her bedroom to change out of the dress she wore to church. As she struggled with her zipper and buttons, she knew that was when it had happened … A wall went up so thick and high around herself that now very few people were allowed in her life. No one that didn't trust her anyway.
Woody had questioned his actions…and then he had questioned hers. "I was just doing my job," he told her.
"You were the one that said that it was 'just a job …. The most important thing was us'," she challenged him.
"But given your background…you have to see why I had to ask you if you could have done this."
"I didn't, though, did I? I told you I didn't, and Bellini confessed up." She shook her head as she changed into jeans and a t-shirt. They couldn't seem to get over it…her incarceration…his questions. He had hurt her and she didn't understand him. Instead of falling back into each other's arms….the easy rhythm they had as a couple, they were circling each other like two prize fighters, just waiting to see who would throw the next punch. In the end it was Woody. She came into work several weeks afterwards to find an envelop on her desk. It said Jordan across the front in his handwriting.
She hadn't looked at the note in several months. Walking over to her bed, she sat down on the side and opened the drawer to her nightstand, and withdrew the envelop from the box she kept it in…along with other small mementoes of her time with Woody. Carefully, she drew out the letter, and spread it out to read it once more…adding to the hundreds of times she already had:
Jordan,
You these past few weeks have been difficult for me. So much has been on my mind…I'm questioning everything now. My career choice. My dedication to my job. You. Me. Us. Is there an 'us' anymore?
I'm going away for a few weeks. Probably a little longer than a month. I'm getting away to clear my head and think some things through. I'll be back before long.
The only thing I ask that you do is don't try to find me. I know you could. And if you couldn't do it, you could get Nigel to. Just. Please. Don't. I need this time away and alone to try to figure myself out. What kind of man am I?
I love you, Jordan. I'll be back soon. And when I return, I hope we can get things back to normal between us.
Love,
Woody.
Jordan had respected his request. She didn't try to find him. She had been sorely tempted, but she never did.
Not once in the last year.
