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“Did he say anything to you?”
“No.” Why couldn’t he leave her alone and let her be with Matthew?
He sniffed. “Who do I call at the hospital to verify that you worked last night?”
“Cynthia Bybee and Doctor Scott. I worked with both of them.” They’d back up what she’d said.
Lydia stopped bagging Matthew and checked his eyes. She shook her head to the other paramedic.
Suffocating denial stole Dania’s breath. She gasped and said, “Don’t give up. Please!”
Lydia’s face pinched with empathy as she motioned for her partner to change places with her so she could do compressions. She said over her shoulder, “Dania, the bullet tore through his heart.”
She’d suspected as much but had hoped to be wrong. She stared at her love, and her hand drifted to her stomach.
“Let them do their job.” The sheriff guided her to the entranceway. “Let’s go over your story again. Did you see the man shoot your husband?”
“It’s not a story.” How could she make him understand. “It’s what happened.” She stepped away. “I... I just got home and...” The deputy returned, holding the GSR kit. Emotions lumped in her throat. She scrubbed a hand over her mouth. “My husband needs me.” She returned to the office.
Lydia rose to her feet. Peeling off her gloves, she said, “I’m so, so sorry, Dania.”
“No!” She screamed and hugged her arms around her middle, around Matthew’s child.
“Ma’am.” Deputy Sharp stepped beside her. He reached as though to hug her but then stopped. “Take as much time as you want with your husband.”
She looked at the kind man holding the GSR kit under his arm.
This could not be happening. She’d come home to tell Matthew about the baby. They were going to celebrate. Her gaze went past the deputy to her husband dead on the floor.
A tsunami of grief crashed over her, taking in its wake Matthew and the happy life they’d planned.
Chapter Two
Eight months later...
Dania stared at the doorwhere any minute the twelve-member jury would file in and deliver her fate. After two days of deliberation, they’d finally reached a verdict. She nervously glanced at Leonard Goldman, the mild-mannered attorney Vanessa Cromwell had recommended. Vanessa couldn’t represent Dania herself, but she’d vouched for Leonard, saying he was one of the best lawyers in town.
Dania thought he had done a great job selecting a diverse pool of jurors. But as the trial had gone on, she had often wondered if Leonard was as good as Vanessa had said.
When he had called Matthew’s secretary, Sherry, as a character witness, things had seemed to go pretty well until Prosecuting Attorney Clayton Borg—a man with hawkish features—asked his questions. Sherry told him she’d heard Dania and Matthew arguing over his will. The only argument Dania could recall was when she’d moved papers around his desk, looking for the pen he’d borrowed. That those papers had been his will was a surprise to Dania. She’d wanted to explain but couldn’t. With Sherry’s testimony, they had a motive.
Worse still was when Sheriff Kennard had testified that it was Dania’s gun that had killed Matthew. Not only were her fingerprints on it, but she had also had GSR on her hands the morning of the murder and on the pair of jeans and her shirt that the authorities had found in her laundry hamper. The DA had easily dismissed that she’d target practiced the night before by placing doubt in the jurors’ minds. Things had gone from bad to worse. With her prints on the gun, they had the weapon.
To remedy that, Leonard had called Matthew’s father to the stand. Dania had tried to talk Leonard out of it and had told him of the bad blood between their families. Leonard knew about the feud of long ago, but he’d said that he’d talked with Walter and Walter was more than willing to be a character witness for her. Maybe with Matthew’s death, he regretted how he’d treated them both and this was his way of making amends. Since he was the attorney general, what he said would go a long way in giving her a not-guilty verdict.
She could still feel Walter’s gaze on her as he’d taken the stand. He’d stared at her huge belly. Seeing her pregnant must have caught him off guard. To Leonard’s credit, he had tried to get her father-in-law to say nice things by bringing up Dania’s exemplary work at the hospital and volunteer work at the rehab center. But Walter had only nodded and said nothing.
When Leonard had pressed him, Walter had replied, “Yes, she has done a number of good things. Even married my son.” Then he’d recused himself from further testimony. Leonard’s face had paled, and he’d fidgeted with his necktie.
Why had Walter even agreed to get on the stand? Did he really believe she’d killed Matthew? He must.
Things had gone from worse to critical. Dania’s chances of beating this were slim to none.
Her leg jiggled under the table as she scanned the gallery, searching for a friendly face. She’d never felt so alone in her life. With Matthew gone, she had no family. Both of her parents had passed away. She did see one sympathetic person. Val Wheeler, an old boyfriend from her past, smiled when she saw him.
She wanted to return his smile but couldn’t. She gave him a nod. She had gotten in touch with him, hoping he could vouch for her. His father owned the Wheeler Land Company near Bozeman, and Val would have made a great character witness. But Leonard hadn’t wanted to use Val, afraid that he still held a grudge against her from their breakup. Val had been pretty bitter when she’d broken things off with him to attend college in Wyoming. And then when she’d married Matthew, Val had told her she’d betrayed him and wouldn’t even talk with her. He’d obviously forgiven her because he’d attended her trial every day and had sent her notes of encouragement.
She was about to turn around when her gaze stopped on Walter’s condemning face. He was a man of stature, a man of power, and a man who got what he wanted. He had not returned to the trial since leaving the stand. But he was here today. Had he agreed to testify knowing the damage he could do? Or did he think it made him appear noble? By his condemning stare, she’d have said the answer was yes to both questions.
