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In the end it didn’t matter that Misty’s lawyer was in attendance. With the evidence plain for all to see, they had a clear-cut case of premeditated murder and that’s what the D.A. was going with, which would add some years onto her sentence. Detective Sparks and Officer Bailey left the interrogation room disgusted but not before leaving one last parting shot.
Misty hadn’t even asked about her daughter or how she was doing. For Celia, this was almost as bad as all the other crap the woman had done. In her line of work, especially in the city, she’d seen the worse of what people can do to defenseless kids. It burned her ass that shit selfish witch didn’t spare a thought for the poor kid.
“You said you were just looking for a father for Connie; then you’ll be pleased to know that you’ve succeeded. Ryan’s going to take care of her from now on.” A normal mother would’ve felt some joy no matter how fleeting at this news given the circumstances, but for some reason, it sent Misty into a rage that her lawyer had to calm down before she got more charges brought against her.
She could still be heard screaming as Sparks and Bailey walked down the hallway. What a vile, disgusting woman, Celia thought as she dropped down behind her desk, feeling drained. “Do you think she’s crazy?”
“No, but I’m sure she’s going to play that card. She has a history of criminal behavior, some of it leading me to believe that she’s not all there, but narcissism isn’t an excuse for murder or paternity fraud.”
“What about Marissa and her family? They must know Ryan’s out by now.”
“I plan to swing by there in a little bit. Hopefully, it all blows over without much backlash, but I doubt it.” Since Connie was a minor, they’d decided to keep her name out of it.
The storyline would be that it was a kid playing around. Celia wasn’t sure how well that would go over, especially with Joanie Bishop. The woman seemed to need a crusade, and letting go of her target might not be that easy.
She was getting ready to get up and go when Detective Branson walked in. She’d forgotten all about him. “Detective, I guess this is goodbye?” He stopped in front of her desk with his hand held out. Celia stood to her feet and accepted with an apology for what he’d suffered while in town.
“No need, it wasn’t your doing, but I won’t say it was nice doing business with you. The extradition orders came in, so we’re good to go, and since that woman is dead, there’re no charges for me to file, nothing keeping me here. Unless you want me to stick around to give your man a run for his money.” He said it with a cheesy grin so she’d know he was goofing around, but she was sure Riley couldn’t wait to see the back of the other man.
True to her word, they headed out to the Bishop home to share the news about Ryan’s release and the change in the case. Marissa seemed relieved that it wasn’t her beloved coach who was at fault, but her mother was still out for blood and wanted a name. Detective Sparks hated getting rough with the woman, but she had to remind her of her own actions of spreading gossip about the coach before anything had been proven.
Though she wasn’t sure if Ryan had any interest in suing the woman, it put enough fear in her to make her give up her diatribe. Now all that was left was Connie and what her future would be. Pete had told her all about the night’s happenings, and she has to admit to feeling relieved that the girl wasn’t going to be abandoned after all. And for some reason, she trusted Ryan Swamp more than the other adults in the young girl’s life.
Connie jumped up from the table when the man walked into the kitchen. What’s he doing here? Am I in more trouble? What else have I done? The girl felt more afraid now than she had at the police station, which made no sense. Did her dad catch her peeping in his window and came to tell her off?
Or maybe he heard what her mother had done and was here to disown her in person, something he’d never done before. In fact, he’d never spoken to or acknowledged her presence before. Her knees felt weak, and she looked over his shoulder for Ryan to come to her rescue, but no one else entered the room. She wanted to speak, but her tongue seemed stuck to the roof of her mouth.
James stared at the kid without speaking for the first few minutes. It’s the first time he’d allowed himself the pleasure. In the past, he’d got a glimpse here and there, enough to see the family resemblance between her and his sisters and nieces, but knowing how his wife felt, he’d never indulged. Now things had changed, and he couldn’t help feeling a bit of relief that he finally had a chance to do something for his blood.
