immediately. Charges against your client have been dropped,” Brian explained, his tone void of any emotion.
“They have?” Danielle exclaimed, sitting up straighter.
Silently Candice motioned for Danielle to remain silent, wanting to hear everything the officers had to say.
“It seems a witness has come forward and claims to have seen Ms. Boatman during the time Stoddard was murdered. His story corroborates Ms. Boatman’s account.”
“And who is this witness?” Candice asked.
“I am,” Joe said softly, looking over at Danielle.
Walt shot off the desk, bolting upright. Now standing, he looked from Joe to Danielle.
“He better not be making this up, just to get back in your good graces,” Walt said angrily. “His so-called help could end up backfiring and cause you more harm.”
Danielle glanced to Walt and back to Joe. She wanted to ask questions, but continued to follow her attorney’s instructions and remained silent.
“I don’t understand; Joe is the witness?” Lily asked. All eyes turned to Joe, waiting for him to explain. He and Brian remained standing.
“I’ve been on vacation. Instead of going out of town, I rented a beach house on Sea Cliff Drive.” As Joe talked, his eyes remained on Danielle. “Yesterday morning I heard someone knocking at the house next door. I looked out the window—it was Danielle. I noticed the time; it was 7 a.m. This morning, when I got up, I turned on the radio and heard a news report about Danielle being arrested. At the time, I didn’t know when the crime had been committed. It wasn’t until I went into the station that I learned the details of the case—and I realized it couldn’t have been Danielle.”
“And if you hadn’t seen me with your own eyes you would’ve believed I murdered Gusarov?” Danielle asked angrily, unable to contain her comment.
“I’m sorry Danielle,” Joe said. “I didn’t know what to think when I heard the news report. I couldn’t imagine you would have done something like that.”
Candice stood up and walked to Danielle. Keeping her eyes on Joe and Brian, she gently placed her hand on Danielle’s shoulder.
“Thank you for coming over here and telling us,” Candice said. “Have there been any new leads in the case?”
“If what Joe says is true, then I guess this means someone has gone through a great deal of trouble to frame your client, considering the eye witnesses who claim to have seen Danielle driving by Stoddard’s house during the morning of the shooting,” Brian said.
“And is there some reason you doubt Sargent Morelli’s account of the events?” Candice asked.
“No…” Brian said, glancing over to Joe who was now glaring in his direction.
“I’d like to hear exactly what you saw yesterday,” Candice asked Joe. She walked over to the desk and picked up a pad of paper and pen.
Joe gave Candice a nod and then proceeded to tell her what he’d seen and heard yesterday morning, beginning when he first heard Danielle pounding on the neighbor’s door. He explained how he heard Danielle introduce herself when knocking on the door, how he’d been watching her with the binoculars, and about the car that had driven down the street when Danielle was sitting at the back of the house on the porch swing. The car, as Joe explained, appeared to be the same make and model as Danielle’s, and it was entirely possible, Joe said, that whoever was driving the second car might have put the murder weapon in Danielle’s vehicle.
Candice took notes as Joe told his story, and she asked several questions during the telling. When he was done she thanked him, but she didn’t allow Danielle to ask any additional questions.
----
“ T hat’s good news , isn’t it?” Ian asked after Joe and Brian departed.
“I feel as if a tremendous weight has been lifted,” Danielle said with a sigh, slumping against the back of the sofa.
Lily reached over and patted Danielle’s knee. With a smile she said, “I knew
Learning to Kill: Stories