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If I’d never met this man, if I had no preconceived idea of who he is or what he stands for, a single moment spent in his home is enough to tell me all I need to know.
Former District Attorney Justin Lawrence, now Mayor of Copeland City Justin Lawrence, is a family man first and foremost.
And that,that,is why he loves Minka for no reason at all except that she exists.
I cast a glance toward the dressed-down mayor as he leaves us to wander on our own, and watch as he moves to a side table with little drawers in the front that hide whatever treasures he might like to hold on to.
A snifter of whiskey sits atop the table, and short Glencairn glasses are lined up beside it. Justin snags a small bottle of pills from the drawer, bypassing the whiskey completely, then disappears into another part of his home before returning with a bottle of water.
“Here.” He offers the drink to Minka, giving it an impatient shake when she hesitates to take it, then he pops the pill bottle open and taps two into the lid. “It’s nothing too strong,” he murmurs, offering the cap.
When she merely watches him the way an innocent doe might its hunter in the woods, he rolls his eyes.
“I’m aware you have your own prescriptions already,” he says patiently, “and it’s not lost on me the case we’re all invested in right now. So I don’t wish to give you narcotics you’re not supposed to have.”
“Fine.” Grudgingly, Minka tips the ibuprofen cap back and catches the pills on her tongue, then handing me the now-empty lid, she brings the water up and chugs.
Theglug, glug, glugof her thirst surprises Justin and I both, but Minka brings the bottle down, a third of its contents gone, and refuses to meet anyone’s eyes. “Thanks.”
She slips out from beneath my arm, then, and wanders toward the wall of art I’ve already studied, cradling her injured arm close to her body. Then she turns back to face us.
To face Justin.
“Please tell us your relationship with the victim.” She’s too tired for her own good. Too overworked for her own health. But she pleads with the man who has the ability to move this case along. “We need to know, Justin, because right now, you’re holding a piece that we need to finish the puzzle of Anna Switzer’s life.”
“I didn’t have an affair with her.” He extends his hand and waits for me to pass the pill bottle lid before screwing it on and setting it and his hands in his pockets. “I have not cheated on my wife, Doctor Mayet. I do not sneak or lie or cheat. Ever.”
“And yet,” she raises her good hand, water bottle and all, “you’re involved in a case that I don’t logically see how you’re involved in. You won’t speak with the police. You’re not telling usanything.” She drops her hand again. “So what the hell do you want us to think?”
“I don’t need you to think about me and her,” he grits out. “I need you to do your job.”
“I’m trying!” she explodes. Then she points at me. “He’s trying. But whatever it is that you know and we don’t, it has left us with massive blinders on. They spoke to her therapist, Justin.” She looks to me, and he does the same. “Ever Mathers is saying Anna was sleeping with a married man.”
He shakes his head.
“She said Anna was likely sleeping with an older, powerful, wealthy, married man!” she spits out. “Youare all of those things! You swear this is all legit, but…” she spins, as though to look in every direction. “Where’s Janine, huh? What does she know about all this? Why haven’t I spoken to her once since this began?”
“I was trying to stay out of your way.” A sweet, soft, female voice comes from somewhere along the hall. A moment later, Janine Lawrence appears in silky, black lounge pants and a blouse of daisy blue and yellow. Her hair is tied back, neatly and out of her face. And her hands wrap around a chipped coffee mug that appears completely out of place in this ornate home.
In her hand, it’s completely at home.
She walks toward us in socks, her feet making no noise. “I didn’t mean to remain hidden, Chief Mayet. I was only hoping not to intrude on your professional conversations.”
“But you know everything?” Minka desperately turns to the woman I’m not entirely sure she’s ever had a conversation with before. An exchange of pleasant hellos, yes; polite greetings. But nothing more substantial than that. “Did you know Anna Switzer, Mrs. Lawrence?”
“I knew Anna,” she concedes. “I loved her very much.”
“Loved?”
“Janine,” Justin admonishes.
“What do you mean loved?” Minka forces Janine’s eyes back to her. “ ‘Loved’ how? Why?”
“The hows and whys are not important here.” Justin charges away from me and toward my wife, fast and determined enough, I’d follow to shield her any other time.
But it’s him. And I think he loves Minka almost as much as I do.It’s so fucking obvious.
“We’re not here to discuss personal relationships, Doctor Mayet. You asked if Anna and I were having an affair: the answer is no.”
