Just Take My Heart: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
After famous actress Natalie Raines is found in her home, dying from a gunshot wound, police immediately suspect her theatrical agent and jealous soon-to-be-ex-husband, Gregg Aldrich. But no charges are brought against him until two years later, when a career criminal suddenly claims Aldrich had tried to hire him to kill her.
The case is a plum assignment for attractive thirty-two-year-old assistant prosecutor Emily Wallace. She spends long hours preparing for the trial, and unaware of a seemingly well-meaning neighbor’s violent past, gives him a key to her home to care for her dog.
The high-profile trial makes headlines, threatening to reveal personal matters about Emily, such as the fact that she had a heart transplant—especially when she experiences eerie sentiments that defy all reason and continue even after the jury decides Gregg Aldrich’s fate.
But little does she know, now her own life is at risk...
Mary Higgins-Clark
The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark wrote over forty suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a historical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series including The Cinderella Murder, All Dressed in White, The Sleeping Beauty Killer, Every Breath You Take, You Don’t Own Me, and Piece of My Heart. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she coauthored five suspense novels. More than one hundred million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone. Her books are international bestsellers.
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Reviews for Just Take My Heart
233 ratings19 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked this book and found it hard to put down. Can't wait to read another
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have devoured every MHC book over the years and just revisited them all in order. It was interesting to see the progression of technology which passing time has brought.
Some of the more recent works left me feeling a bit ho hum but this one had me in its grip. Knowing the MHC style and format I did guess the villain early on but still enjoyed the writing.
I have to admit there was a lack of suspense, which her early books were so filled with, but all in all it was a good read. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Broadway actress Natalie Raines thinks she knows who killer her roommate, Jamie Evans, years ago when they were young actresses. When she sees the man again in the audience, she rushes home but is met by the killer.However, it is Natalie's estrained husband, Greg Aldrich, who is arrested.Emily Wallace, assistant prosecutor, is given the case and is so involved in her work that she fails to notice her new neighbor taking an ununual interest in her. In actuality, the neighbor, Zach Lanning, has placed a microphone in her home and is stalking her.Much of the case against Greg comes from the testimony of Jimmy Easton, who is a career criminal caught while burglarizing a home.Clark does a good job in portraying Greg Aldrich as a sympathetic character but her characterization of Emily fails. She is supposed to be a bright prosecuting arrorney but can't see the neighbor watching her through his screens. Why would a woman leave her windows open to invite such stalking?The story didn't create the suspense that Clark is noted for.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Reading Mary Higgins Clark is like curling up by the fireside, with a blanket and a hot cup of chocolate - cozy and comfortable. Just Take My Heart continues the tradition of a smart, strong female heroine who works out the clues just in time for the killer to catch up with her. Clark tries to side-track us with Jimmy but it's a rouse that's half-hearted at best. If you are looking for a suspense-filled mystery look elsewhere. If you like to cozy up to a familiar, dependably good book read Just Take My Heart.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When famous actress, Natalie Raines, is killed in her own home, her husband, Greg Aldrich is arrested for the murder. Assistant prosecutor, Emily Wallace, must prosecute Aldrich at the trial. Her main witness is a former criminal, Jimmy Easton. Emily things she has enough witness to convict Greg, but as the trial moves along, she begins to wonder about Easton's credibility. Meanwhile, Emily's creepy next door neighbor is spying on her and little does she know the danger she is in.I love Mary Higgins Clark's books. They are suspenseful and easy reads. In the last few years, they appear to be more formulaic than her earlier works, but still enjoyable and entertaining.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It is a fantastic story. It was enthralling from the first until the very last page. There are strong personalities and I've got quickly familiar with all of them. It also shows, that it's not up to somebody's education or social position whether they stand on the good or on the worse side of the law. On the other hand there is also a hint how the public view works when trial are discussed on broadcast. In this case it was helpful but that could easily turn around into the contrary.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I have always liked Mary Higgins Clark, when I read her when I was younger she always kept me guessing. I don't know if because I'm older and have more experience or whether Mary Higgins Clark has become more predictable in her "who done it's" , but it takes something away from the mystery when I can figure out the plot half way through the book. Other than that the story was well written and kept me interested. More court room drama than I'd have liked, but all in all a good read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic book, got you holding until the end.... didn't like it at all!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the past I have just loved Mary Higgins Clark, she is such a great suspense author! I did enjoy this book, but it was not a "love it" book for me. It was fast paced, to a point, for me. I found it was easy to keep reading once I got started, but it was hard to pick up again when I stopped for the purpose of I just "had" to see what would happen next. I feel like it started off on the right foot and kept my attention for the most part. The plot and side plots were very interesting and I did enjoy watching them play out. The characters were the best part for me. My favorite was Emily. I wasn't sure at first how Natalie's murder was fitting in with Emily, but as the book progressed a few chapters, it all made perfect sense and fell into a nice mystery. Zach, the creepy, murderous neighbor of Emily's made for an interesting side plot as well. I did feel like her heart transplant wasn't as much of a deal as the back of the book made it out to be. It seemed to me more of a way to get the title of the book. I didn't really see how it added much if anything to the book. This was a suspenseful book and really was a well written book, it just didn't do it for me personally. I'm not really sure why, just didn't click with me. I did finish it because to be honest I really did have to see how it all worked out. Haha, so I guess that's a contradiction to me saying it wasn't for me, but I just had to know. Not finishing it would have been like walking out of a movie halfway through, but then later wondering how it really ended. ;-) So, in a nutshell, writing was good and had decent flow, details were definitely there, suspense was there to a point, characters were great, and the plot and side plots were also good. I would suggest someone pick this book up if they are looking for a suspense novel that is an easy read with lots going on in it.4/5 Stars
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I almost didn't finish this book. I was about half way through and it still hadn't gotten any better. But I am glad that I stuck with it because the second half of the book was like many other Mary Higgins Clark books, it had lots of suspense and left you guessing. I guess what I didn't like most about the beginning of the book was the trial. It was a page by page of the Greg Aldrich trial, a man who was being accused of murdering his wife. But after the book started going and Emily's neighbor, Zach, comes into the picture more the book really picked up. I have to say that I was very surprised with the ending. It had a very different ending than what I am used to reading, but in a good way. I love reading a mystery/suspense novel and not know what is going to happen. I am finding most books predictable lately. But that is not the case with this one.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First let me just say that if you are a fan of Mary Higgins Clark then you will really like this one. One of my new favorites! This book has a great cast of characters, many of which seem to have their own little secret. We follow the story of Emily Wallace who is the prosecutor in the case of Gregg Aldrich who is accused of killing his wife. Her primary witness however is a repeat offender with a less than stellar character. We also learn that Emily had a heart transplant. I wish we had learned more about this time in her life as well as more info about the loss of her husband in Iraq. Another side story of interest is Emily's creepy neighbor Zach, who talks Emily into letting him dogsit for he while she is so busy working on the case. Masterfully written, this book keeps you guessing until the end!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have read every one of Mary Higgins Clark's books to date, and although the later ones don't seem quite as fresh and original as the first ones did, I have enjoyed them all, and this one was no exception. It was easy to read, light and entertaining, and hard to put down once started.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book, while not on par with some of her earlier works (like "A Stranger is Watching" or "Where are the Children?") is a step in the right direction. It had an interesting premise and sustained my interest throughout the entire novel, even though I had a hunch who the killer was by the middle of it. There was also a suspenseful subplot involving a serial killer. Also, the book was not overflowing with minor characters and I was able to keep track of all of them, unlike her last few books.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was not my favorite of Clark's, but it was good nonetheless. The cast supplied a good variation of creepy, untrustworthy, and oblivious. A typical legal thriller.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The shark wasn't jumped, it was pole vaulted, landed on and exploded with that absolutely ridiculous ending. That said, it was an otherwise enjoyable read although I found Emily almost unlikeable. Interesting mix of her case- the Natalie Raines murder while Emily herself was the victim of a voyeur and peeping tom turned stalker. I enjoyed the typical MHC misdirection throughout.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A mystery unfolds in the first few pages leaving the reader guessing not only who did the crime but also which direction was the story going. Immediately read through the book and my 19 year old daughter started it as soon as I finished. We both enjoyed a few surprises from Clarks latest release.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Higgins Clark has been my favorite author since high school. The Cradle Will Fall was the first book I read by her and I spent that summer reading all her books. Every April, I look forward to her new release.Just Take My Heart is about a man who is accused of killing his famous ex-wife. Although it takes time for the case to come trial, the public has pretty much found him guilty. Emily is the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case. Emily is thrilled to take the case as she has suffered numerous losses and thinks this is a sign that things are finally moving forward in her life.Emily knows her job is to convince the jury that Greg Aldrich killed his ex-wife out of anger over their divorce. However, as the trial progresses, Emily suddenly has doubts that the wrong man is on trial.Natalie’s real killer didn’t come as a surprise. Despite the obvious, I still would recommend this book to all of Ms. Clark’s fans.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emily Wallace assistant prosecutor just got the case of a lifetime prosecuting Gregg Aldrich for the death of his wife the actress Natalie Raines. But even as she feels like she will win the case there is a small voice in her head or should I say heart that says he is innocent and her key witness is as untrustworthy as they come. And to top it off her next door neighbor is starting to really give her the creeps.Poor Emily she really is oblivious to all the people that are out to get her and there are a lot. Of course you do figure some things out but the title kind of gives it away anyway but I liked how MHC handled the reveal.I really enjoyed this mystery and legal thriller there was a difference in this one than with some MHC books, there was no romance I liked that it was just a straight foreword mystery/thriller, and well written as are all MHC’s books.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Higgins Clark never fails to deliver! One of my fav authors!
Book preview
Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins-Clark
1
It was the persistent sense of impending doom, not the nor’easter, that made Natalie flee from Cape Cod back to New Jersey in the predawn hours of Monday morning. She had expected to find sanctuary in the cozy Cape house that had once been her grandmother’s and now was hers, but the icy sleet beating against the windows only increased the terror she was experiencing. Then, when a power failure plunged the house into darkness, she lay awake, sure that every sound was caused by an intruder.
After fifteen years, she was certain that she had accidentally stumbled upon the knowledge of who had strangled her roommate, Jamie, when they were both struggling young actresses. And he knows that I know, she thought—I could see it in his eyes.
On Friday night, he had come with a group to the closing night of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Omega Playhouse. She had played Blanche DuBois, the most demanding and satisfying role of her career to date. Her reviews had been wonderful, but the role had taken its emotional toll on her. That was why, after the performance, when someone knocked on the door of her dressing room, she had been tempted not to answer. But she had, and they all crowded in to congratulate her, and out of nowhere she recognized him. In his late forties now, his face had filled out, but he was undoubtedly the person whose picture was missing from Jamie’s wallet after her body was found. Jamie had been so secretive about him, only referring to him as Jess, my pet name for him,
as she put it.
I was so shocked that when we were introduced, I called him Jess,
Natalie thought. Everyone was talking so much that I am sure no one else noticed. But he heard me say his name.
Who do I tell? Who would believe me? My word against his? My memory of a small picture that Jamie had hidden in her wallet? I only found it because I had lent her my Visa card and I needed it back. She was in the shower and called to me to get it out of her wallet. That was when I saw the picture, tucked in one of the compartments, behind a couple of business cards.
All Jamie ever told me about him was that he’d tried his hand at acting and wasn’t good enough, and that he was in the middle of a divorce. I tried to tell her that was the oldest story in the world, Natalie thought, but she wouldn’t listen. She and Jamie had been sharing an apartment on the West Side until that terrible morning when Jamie was strangled while jogging early in Central Park. Her wallet was on the ground, her money and watch were missing. And so was the picture of Jess.
I told the cops that, she thought, but they didn’t take it seriously. There had been a number of early-morning muggings in the park and they were sure Jamie just happened to be one of the victims, the only fatal victim, as it turned out.
It had been pouring through Rhode Island and Connecticut, but as Natalie drove down the Palisades Parkway the rain steadily lessened. As she drove farther down, she could see that the roads were already drying.
Would she feel safe at home? She wasn’t sure. Twenty years ago, after being widowed, her mother, born and raised in Manhattan, had been happy to sell the house and buy a small apartment near Lincoln Center. Last year, when Natalie and Gregg separated, she heard that the modest house in northern New Jersey where she’d been raised was for sale again.
Natalie,
her mother warned, you’re making a terrible mistake. I think you’re crazy not to try to make a go of your marriage. Running back home is never the answer for anyone. You can’t recreate the past.
Natalie knew it was impossible to make her mother understand that the kind of wife Gregg wanted and needed was not the person she could ever be for him. I was unfair to Gregg when I married him,
she said. He needed a wife who would be a real mother to Katie. I can’t be. Last year I was away a total of six months in all. It just isn’t working. I honestly think that when I move out of Manhattan, he’ll understand that the marriage is really over.
You’re still in love with him,
her mother insisted. And he is with you.
That doesn’t mean we’re good for each other.
I’m right about that, Natalie thought, as she swallowed the lump in her throat that was always there when she allowed herself to think about Gregg. She wished she could talk to him about what had happened Friday evening. What would she say? Gregg, what do I do about having the certain knowledge that I know who killed my friend Jamie, without a shred of proof to back me up?
But she couldn’t ask him. There was too much of a chance that she’d be unable to resist his begging her to try again. Even though she’d lied and told him she was interested in someone else, it hadn’t stopped Gregg’s phone calls.
As she turned off the parkway onto Walnut Street, Natalie realized she was longing for a cup of coffee. She had driven straight through and it was quarter of eight. By this time, on a normal day, she would already have had at least two cups.
Most of the houses on Walnut Street in Closter had been torn down to make way for new luxury homes. It was her joke that now she had seven-foot hedges on either side of her house, giving her complete privacy from either neighbor. Years ago, the Keenes had been on one side and the Foleys on the other. Today, she hardly knew who her neighbors were.
The sense of something hostile hit her as she turned in to her driveway and pushed the clicker to open the garage door. As the door began to rise, she shook her head. Gregg had been right when he said that she became every character she played. Even before the stress of meeting Jess, her nerves had been unraveling, like those of Blanche DuBois.
She drove into the garage, stopped, but for some reason did not immediately push the clicker to close the garage door behind her. Instead, she opened the driver’s door of the car, pushed open the kitchen door, and stepped inside.
She felt gloved hands dragging her in, twirling her around, and throwing her down. The crack of her head on the hardwood floor sent waves of pain radiating through her skull, but she could still see that he was wearing a plastic raincoat and plastic over his shoes.
Please,
she said, "please." She held up her hands to protect herself from the pistol he was pointing at her chest.
The click as he pushed down the safety catch was his answer to her plea.
2
At ten minutes of eight, punctual as always, Suzie Walsh turned off Route 9W and drove to the home of her longtime employer, Catherine Banks. She had been the seventy-five-year-old widow’s housekeeper for thirty years, arriving at eight A.M. and leaving after lunch at one P.M. every weekday.
A passionate theatre buff, Suzie loved the fact that the famous actress Natalie Raines had bought the house next to Mrs. Banks last year. Natalie was Suzie’s absolutely favorite actress. Only two weeks ago, she had seen her in the limited run of A Streetcar Named Desire and decided no one could ever have played the fragile heroine Blanche DuBois better, not even Vivien Leigh in the movie. With her delicate features, slender body, and cascade of pale blond hair, she was the living embodiment of Blanche.
So far Suzie had not met face-to-face with Raines. She always hoped that she’d run into her someday in the supermarket, but that hadn’t happened yet. Whenever she was coming to work in the morning, or driving home in the afternoon, Suzie always made it her business to drive past Raines’s house slowly, even though in the afternoon, it meant driving around the block to get to the highway.
This Monday morning, Suzie almost realized her ambition of seeing Natalie Raines close-up. As she drove past her house, Raines was just stepping out of her car. Suzie sighed. Just that much of a glimpse of her idol was like a bit of magic in her day.
* * *
At one o’clock that afternoon, after a cheerful good-bye to Mrs. Banks and armed with a shopping list for the morning, Suzie got into her car and backed out of the driveway. For a moment she hesitated. There wasn’t a million to one chance that she would see Natalie Raines twice in one day, and anyway she was tired. But habit prevailed, and she turned the car left, driving slowly as she passed the house next door.
Then she stopped the car abruptly. The door to Raines’s garage was open and so was the driver’s door of her car, exactly as it had been this morning. She never left the garage door open and certainly wouldn’t be the kind to leave a car door open all day. Maybe I should mind my own business, Suzie thought, but I can’t.
She turned into the driveway, stopped, and got out of her car. Uncertainly, she walked into the garage. It was small and she had to partially close the door of Raines’s car to reach the kitchen door. By now she was sure something was wrong. A glance into the car had revealed a pocketbook on the front passenger seat and a suitcase on the floor in the back.
When there was no response to her knock on the kitchen door, she waited, then, unable to go away unsatisfied, turned the knob. The door was unlocked. Worried that she could end up being arrested for trespassing, something still made Suzie open the door and step into the kitchen.
Then she began to scream.
Natalie Raines was crumpled on the kitchen floor, her white cable-knit sweater matted with blood. Her eyes were closed but a soft, hurt cry was coming from her lips.
Suzie knelt beside her as she grabbed the cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911. 80 Walnut Street, Closter,
she screamed to the operator. Natalie Raines. I think she’s been shot. Hurry. Hurry. She’s dying.
She dropped the phone. Stroking Natalie’s head, she said soothingly, Ms. Raines, you’ll be all right. They’ll send an ambulance. It will be here any minute, I promise.
The sound from Natalie’s lips ended. An instant later her heart stopped.
Her last thought was the sentence Blanche DuBois utters at the end of the play: I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
3
She had dreamt of Mark last night, one of those vague, unsatisfying dreams, in which she could hear his voice and was wandering through a dark, cavernous house looking for him. Emily Kelly Wallace woke up with the familiar weight on her mind that often settled in after that kind of dream, but determined that she wouldn’t let it grab hold of her today.
She glanced over at Bess, the nine-pound Maltese her brother Jack had given her for Christmas. Bess was fast asleep on the other pillow, and the sight of the dog brought immediate comfort. Emily slid out of bed, grabbed the warm robe that was always close at hand in the cold bedroom, picked up a reluctantly awakening Bess, and headed down the stairs of the home in Glen Rock, New Jersey, that she had lived in for most of her thirty-two years.
After a roadside bomb in Iraq had taken Mark’s life three years ago, she decided she didn’t want to stay in their apartment. About a year later, when she was recovering from her operation, her father, Sean Kelly, had signed over this modest, colonial-style house to her. Long a widower, he was remarrying and moving to Florida. Em, it makes sense,
he had said. No mortgage. Taxes not too bad. You know most of the neighbors. Give it a try. Then if you’d rather do something else, sell it and you’ll have a down payment.
But it has worked, Emily thought, as she hurried into the kitchen with Bess under her arm. I love living here. The coffeepot set to a seven A.M. timer was squeaking its announcement that the coffee was ready to pour. Her breakfast consisted of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a toasted English muffin, and two cups of coffee. Carrying the second one, Emily hurried back upstairs to shower and change.
A new bright red turtleneck added a cheery note to last year’s charcoal gray pants suit. Suitable for court, she decided, as well as an antidote for this overcast March morning and the dream of Mark. She took a moment to debate about leaving her straight brown hair loose on her shoulders, then decided to pin it up. A quick dash of mascara and lip liner followed. As she snapped on small silver earrings the thought crossed her mind that she never bothered to wear blush anymore. When she had been sick she’d never gone without it.
Downstairs again, she let Bess out in the backyard one more time, then, after an affectionate squeeze, locked her in her crate.
Twenty minutes later she was driving into the parking lot of the Bergen County Courthouse. Although it was only eight fifteen, as usual the lot was almost half full. An assistant prosecutor for the last six years, Emily never felt more at home than when she got out of her car and crossed the tarmac to the courthouse. A tall, slender figure, she was unaware of how many admiring eyes followed her as she moved swiftly past the arriving cars. Her mind was already focused on the decision that should be coming from the grand jury.
For the past several days, the grand jury had been hearing testimony in the case involving the murder of Natalie Raines, the Broadway actress who had been fatally shot in her home nearly two years ago. Although he had always been a suspect, her estranged husband, Gregg Aldrich, had only been formally arrested three weeks ago, when a would-be accomplice had come forward. The grand jury was expected to issue an indictment shortly.
He did it, Emily told herself emphatically as she entered the courthouse, walked through the high-ceilinged lobby, and, scorning the elevator, climbed the steps to the second floor. I’d give my eye-teeth to try that case, she thought.
The Prosecutor’s section, in the west wing of the courthouse, was home to forty assistant prosecutors, seventy investigators, and twenty-five secretaries. She punched in the code of the security door with one hand, pushed it open, waved to the switchboard operator, then slipped out of her coat before she reached the tiny windowless cubicle that was her office. A coatrack, two gray steel filing cabinets, two mismatched chairs for witness interviews, a fifty-year-old desk, and her own swivel chair comprised the furnishings. Plants on top of the files and on the corner of her desk were, as Emily put it, her attempt to green America.
She tossed her coat on the unsteady coatrack, settled in her chair, and reached for the file that she had been studying the night before. The Lopez case, a domestic dispute that had escalated into homicide. Two young children, now motherless, and a father in the county jail. And my job is to put him in prison, Emily thought, as she opened the file. The trial was scheduled to begin next week.
At eleven fifteen her phone rang. It was Ted Wesley, the prosecutor. Emily, can I see you for a minute?
he asked. He hung up without waiting for an answer.
* * *
Fifty-year-old Edward Ted
Scott Wesley, the Bergen County Prosecutor, was by any standards a handsome man. Six feet two, he had impeccable carriage that not only made him seem taller but gave him an air of authority that, as a reporter once wrote, was comforting to the good guys and disconcerting to anyone who had reason not to sleep at night.
His midnight blue eyes and full head of dark hair, now showing light traces of gray, completed the image of an imposing leader.
To Emily’s surprise, after knocking on the partially open door and stepping inside his office, she realized her boss was scrutinizing her carefully.
Finally he said, crisply, Hi, Emily, you look great. Feeling good?
It was not a casual question. Never better.
She tried to sound offhand, even dismissive, as though she was wondering why he had bothered to ask.
It’s important that you feel good. The grand jury indicted Gregg Aldrich.
"They did! She felt a shot of adrenaline. Even though she had been sure it would happen, Emily also knew that the case was largely based on circumstantial evidence and would certainly not be a slam dunk at trial.
It’s been driving me crazy to see that creep plastered all over the gossip columns, running around with the flavor of the month when you know he left his wife bleeding to death. Natalie Raines was such a great actress. God, when she walked onstage, it was magic."
Don’t let Aldrich’s social life drive you crazy,
Wesley said mildly. Just put him away for good. It’s your case.
It was what she had been hoping to hear. Even so, it took a long moment to sink in. This was the kind of trial a prosecutor like Ted Wesley reserved for himself. It was sure to stay in the headlines, and Ted Wesley loved headlines.
He smiled at her astonishment. Emily, strictly and totally between us, I’m getting feelers about a high-level job that’s coming up in the fall with the new administration. I’d be interested, and Nan would love to live in Washington. As you know, she was raised there. I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of a trial if that situation does work out. So Aldrich is yours.
Aldrich is mine. Aldrich is mine. It was the gut-level-satisfying case that she’d been waiting for before she was derailed two years ago. Back in her office, Emily debated calling her father, then vetoed that idea. He’d only caution her not to work too hard. And that’s exactly what her brother, Jack, a computer designer who worked in Silicon Valley, would say, she thought, and anyhow, Jack’s probably on his way to work. It’s only eight thirty in California.
Mark, Mark, I know you’d be so proud of me . . .
She closed her eyes for a moment, a tidal wave of pure longing washing through her, then shook her head and reached for the Lopez file. Once again, she read every line of it. Both of them twenty-four years old; two kids; separated; he went back pleading for a reunion; she stormed out of the apartment, then tried to pass him on the worn marble staircase of the old apartment building. He claimed she fell. The babysitter who had followed them from the apartment swore that he’d pushed her. But her view was obstructed, Emily thought, as she studied the pictures of the stairway.
The phone rang. It was Joe Lyons, the public defender assigned to Lopez. Emily, I want to come over and talk about the Lopez case. Your office has it all wrong. He didn’t push her. She tripped. This was an accident.
Well, not according to the babysitter,
Emily replied. But let’s talk. Three o’clock would be good.
As she hung up, Emily looked at the file picture of the weeping defendant at his arraignment. An unwelcome feeling of uncertainty nagged at her. She admitted to herself that she had doubts about this one. Maybe his wife really did fall. Maybe it was an accident.
I used to be so tough, she sighed.
I’m beginning to think that maybe I should have been a defense attorney.
4
Earlier that morning, through the tilted slats of the old-fashioned blinds in the kitchen of his house, Zachary Lanning had watched Emily having her quick breakfast in her kitchen. The microphone he had managed to secretly install in the cabinet over the refrigerator when her contractor left the door unlocked had picked up her random comments to her puppy, who sat on her lap while she was eating.
It’s as though she was talking to me, Zach thought happily, as he stacked boxes in the warehouse where he worked on Route 46. It was only a twenty-minute drive from the rented house where he had been living under a new identity since he fled from Iowa. His hours were eight thirty to five thirty, a shift that was perfect for his needs. He could watch Emily early in the morning, then go to work. When she came home in the evening, as she prepared dinner, he could visit with her again. Sometimes she had company, and that would make him angry. She belonged to him.
He was sure of one thing: There was no special man in her life. He knew she was a widow. If they happened to see each other outside, she was pleasant but distant. He had told her he was very handy if ever she needed any quick repairs, but he had been able to tell right away that she would never call him. Like all the others during his whole life, she just dismissed him with a glance. She simply didn’t understand that he was watching her, protecting her. She simply didn’t understand that they were meant to be together.
But that would change.
With his slight build, average height, thinning, sandy hair and small brown eyes, in his late-forties, Zach was the kind of nondescript person whom most people would never remember having met.
Certainly most people would never imagine that he was the target of a nationwide manhunt after coldly murdering his wife, her children, and her mother a year and a half ago in Iowa.
5
Gregg, I’ve said it before and I’ll be saying it again over the next six months because you’ll need to hear it. Attorney Richard Moore did not look at the client sitting next to him as his driver slowly managed to work the car through the throng of media that was still shouting questions and aiming cameras at them in the Bergen County Courthouse parking lot.
This case hangs on the testimony of a liar who’s a career criminal, Moore continued.
It’s pathetic." It was the day after the grand jury had handed up the indictment. The prosecutor’s office had notified Moore and it had been agreed that Aldrich would surrender this morning.
They had just left the courtroom of Judge Calvin Stevens, who had arraigned Gregg on the murder indictment and had set bail at one million dollars which had been immediately posted.
Then why did the grand jury vote an indictment?
Gregg Aldrich asked, his voice a monotone.
There’s a saying among lawyers. The prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich if he’s so inclined. It’s very easy to get an indictment, especially in a high-profile case. All the indictment means is that there’s enough evidence to allow the prosecutor to go forward. The press has kept this case front and center. Natalie was a star and any mention of her sells papers. Now this longtime crook Jimmy Easton, caught red-handed in a burglary, claims you paid him to kill his wife. Once there is a trial and you’re acquitted, the public will lose interest in it quickly.
Just the way they lost interest in O.J. after he was acquitted of his wife’s murder?
Aldrich asked, a note of derision in his voice. Richard, you know and I know that even if a jury finds me not guilty—and you’re a lot more optimistic than I am about that outcome—this case will never be over unless and until the guy who killed Natalie knocks on the prosecutor’s door and spills his guts. In the meantime, I’m out on bail and I have surrendered my passport, which means I can’t leave the country, which is terrific for someone in my business. Of course, that is to say nothing of the fact that I have a fourteen-year-old daughter whose father is going to be front and center in newspapers, on television, and online for the indefinite future.
Richard Moore let further reassurances die on his lips. Gregg Aldrich, a very intelligent realist, was not the kind of client to accept them. On one hand, Moore knew the state’s case had serious problems and depended on a witness he knew he could skewer during cross-examination. On the other hand, Aldrich was right that having been formally accused of the murder of his estranged wife, no matter what the verdict, in some people’s minds he would never be free of the suspicion that he was a killer. But, Moore thought wryly, I’d much rather have him dealing with that situation than sitting in prison for life after a conviction.
And was he the killer? There was something that Gregg Aldrich was not telling him. Moore was sure of it. He didn’t expect anything resembling a confession from Aldrich, but with the indictment only a day old, he was already beginning to wonder if whatever information Aldrich was withholding would come back to haunt him at the trial.
Moore glanced out the window. It was a miserable March day, totally in keeping with the mood inside the car. Ben Smith, the private investigator and sometime chauffeur, who had worked for him for twenty-five years, was at the wheel. From the slight tilt of his head, Moore knew that Ben was catching every word of what he and Aldrich were saying. Ben’s keen hearing was a plus in his line of work, and Moore often used him as a sounding board after his conversations with clients in the car.
Forty minutes of silence followed. Then they were stopping in front of the Park Avenue apartment building in Manhattan where Gregg Aldrich lived. This is it, at least for the present,
Aldrich said as he opened the car door. "Richard, it was good of you to pick me up and