Chapter 5

Audrey Spencer groaned when she parked in front of the Ventura home and saw Stone Hudson confronting Detective Barry Michaels on the front porch. She’d never had a case against Hudson but knew plenty of attorneys who had, and seeing him filled her with trepidation.

She also couldn’t say his presence was a surprise, since Hudson and Chad Ventura had been good friends.

It was uncommon for Hudson to have any conversation with opposing counsel without yelling, a calculated tactic. While Audrey didn’t mind confrontation, she preferred for there to be a purpose behind it, not just a ruse to wear down the other side.

As she got out of her car, she noticed people on the sidewalk recording the arguing men. She didn’t recognize them, though several looked like they were reporters. The others appeared to be bystanders who were recording on their phones.

The closest to her, a tall man in business casual, presented like an actual journalist, but Audrey suspected he fancied himself an influencer. Something about the guy just made her think that. Perhaps it was his greedy smile as he turned the handheld camera around so he was in the shot, affecting a somber expression as he talked into a connected microphone. His avarice still showed.

She didn’t have time to listen to the guy because it was obvious from Hudson’s face he was in the middle of a lengthy diatribe. Not that he was actually angry.

Judging from Detective Michaels’s expression, he wasn’t far from blowing his lid.

I have to take control, Audrey thought, striding forward with her back straight, claiming every inch of her diminutive height because both men towered over her.

The last thing she wanted was for Michaels to get caught on camera saying something unfortunate. The guy was a decent detective but wasn’t the best at interacting with others. If pushed into a corner, he’d say what he thought without regard to how it sounded. Something Hudson was no doubt hoping for by goading him.

Hudson stepped to the side, probably so the cameras had a full view of Michaels.

Overall, Audrey liked Michaels. The bigger issue was Mary Ramirez, who was difficult to interact with on her good days. Those didn’t come along often. Audrey wasn’t looking forward to seeing her again so soon.

Audrey had just gotten off a call with Gregory Pope, and he’d informed her she was officially running this case, so like it or not, she was working with Ramirez and Michaels again. Pope had made it clear she was to keep him informed about every major step. Which meant she had to dig in now as opposed to waiting for the culmination of the investigation.

Perhaps I should cut to the chase and ask if I can be involved from the outset. That would save me so many headaches.

She normally wouldn’t have done that, but with Pope breathing down her neck, expecting updates, she had to stay up to speed.

“Mr. Hudson.” Audrey strode forward, offering her hand. “Pope told me to expect you.”

“Yeah, and Pope also promised you’d wait to perform the search until I could be here! They were supposed to call before they came over. Pope’s a man of his word, and I find it hard to believe he dropped the ball.” He looked through the door to where Detective Ramirez waited with her arms folded, a sneer on her lips. “Law enforcement messed up again. Why am I not surprised? Especially when Detective Ramirez is on hand.”

Audrey stifled a frustrated sigh. She’d expected every sentence from the man to be laced with hostility, but this was absurd. Pope had promised no such thing.

Hudson had created enough smoke and mirrors around himself that she couldn’t help but wonder if he sometimes believed his own deceptions. He thought he had the inside line at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, but nothing could’ve been further from the truth. If the reports about Hudson were accurate—and Audrey had every reason to believe they were—the staff had long ago devised a way of handling the man.

Paralegals in the DA’s office had learned that if they put up a tiny fight and then agreed with some of his smaller requests, they could manage him easier. He always needed to feel he won something, even if it was tiny. She’d heard that from several people, but Audrey doubted it worked like they intended. She was convinced it had the opposite effect, feeding his ego and making him more entrenched. Over the years, he’d come to expect he could steamroll others to get whatever he wanted.

On the plus side, it would be an interesting challenge to go up against Hudson, assuming Mellicent Ventura was charged for her husband’s murder, something Audrey thought likely. She was trying to remain open to other possibilities but found it difficult after their earlier interactions.

Mellicent’s callous disregard for her daughter as she processed her father’s death was especially chilling.

“I’m sure the district attorney didn’t promise anything of the sort,” Audrey said quietly, conscious of the recording phones, but also knowing she needed to address this. He’d become entrenched if she let him go on too long.

She’d also heard that after Hudson was called out, if done with precision, he backed off and moved to the next phase of his strategy.

There was always another phase. She’d have to work with him without letting him get to her. In his mind, he probably thought he was being a zealous representative for his clients, but what he was really doing was frustrating everybody around him. After cutting through the nonsense, he wasn’t more gifted than any other attorney and was probably even a little worse.

“Or should we get him on the phone?” she asked.

“I could’ve sworn he promised—” Hudson shook his head and changed gears because he had no place to go, just as Audrey intended. He could bluff the cops all he wanted, but Audrey knew Pope well enough to know he’d never do what Hudson was suggesting.

Audrey was glad to have gotten the inside scoop on Hudson because he deflated like a balloon.

“Never mind about that,” Hudson said, shaking his head while scowling. “What’s done is done. The important thing is I just heard them talking about drugs. No way that’s on your search warrant. I’ll get them excluded so fast.” He had a triumphant expression Audrey found nauseating.

“Based on what little I know,” Hudson continued, “there’s no reason to suspect drugs might be involved in Chad’s death.”

That’s only because you aren’t aware of Mellicent’s behavior at the bowling alley, Audrey thought.

Ramirez stepped outside. “The drugs are in plain view.” Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Audrey, but then she focused on Hudson. “We found them in a laundry room cupboard. We are looking for a pistol and a knife, something that could’ve been hidden in there, so we’re well within our rights to open the door.”

“Plain view in a cupboard?” Hudson growled. “Right. I don’t know how you expect me to believe that, and I don’t think the judge will buy it either—”

Audrey cleared her throat and kept her tone neutral. The way Hudson and Ramirez regarded each other made her wary. “Out of an abundance of caution, let’s get a new search warrant that includes the drugs, shall we?” She hoped they hadn’t already been bagged, which had the potential to make it much harder. “That’ll make everybody happy. Best to eliminate the uncertainty. Thank you, Mr. Hudson, for calling this potential issue to our attention.” Hudson opened his mouth, furious at her implication that he’d helped cure a problem with the investigation, but Audrey kept going. “I’m sure there are multiple explanations for the drugs—”

“Drugs? What drugs?” A voice came from behind that made Audrey cringe. “There aren’t any drugs!”

Mellicent Ventura.

Her car was parked behind Audrey’s. The quiet Rivian had allowed her to park unnoticed.

Bree wasn’t with her.

Hopefully, that’s not a bad sign, Audrey thought. She’d made a call to her friend Dustin Layton over at DCFS, but hadn’t yet heard back.

“What’s going on?” Mellicent looked at Hudson. “You told me to expect they’d search my home, but I never expected this. It’s a fiasco! How can they do this on the same day my husband died?”

Her voice increased in volume, and even though she hadn’t looked at the cameras, there was no doubt Mellicent was playing to them.

What are the chances I’m going to see that on the news tonight? Audrey thought, peeking into the home and wondering about Mellicent’s word choice. Fiasco? Where’s she getting that? A fiasco would be if we were dumping her property on the front lawn. Or found something embarrassing and was displaying it for the press.

“Before we go further,” Audrey said, avoiding glancing at the cameras. “Let’s go inside and—”

“We can have the discussion right here.” A wide grin split Hudson’s face. “Detective Michaels insisted we move outside, all but forcing me out under the threat of arrest. There’s no reason to hide what’s happening. Everybody needs to know about the travesty of this investigation. My client’s husband’s body is still warm, and she’s in mourning, yet here you are tearing apart her house!”

That could also make it to the news, she thought. This guy speaks in sound bites.

“I was about to say let’s examine where these drugs were found. Perhaps, if your client is interested in defending her statement, she—”

“Hang on,” Hudson said. “That was not a statement—”

“It was an excited utterance, Mr. Hudson. We all heard it, and it’s admissible.” Audrey lowered her voice to avoid being recorded. “Better hope she wasn’t lying, because she’s going to have a major credibility problem if we can prove they’re hers. The best thing you can do now is let her explain what we found.”

Hudson’s face drained of color as he glanced back at the cameras, perhaps thinking it might no longer be in his best interest to have everything recorded. He motioned for them to enter the house.

Audrey assumed he wouldn’t let Mellicent explain, but when Ramirez went upstairs, Mellicent followed, stomping in a petulant display. Her faux anger didn’t fool anyone. Hudson went up with a resigned expression.

For all his bluster, he was dropping the ball. Audrey would’ve instructed Mellicent to leave and say nothing more. He should’ve ignored Audrey’s taunt that he do otherwise because Mellicent hadn’t said anything all that damaging.

Mellicent was allowed to enter once they were outside the laundry room. A red-haired crime scene technician, who Audrey didn’t know, pointed to the open cupboard where the drugs were located.

“That’s where you found them?” Mellicent’s eyes narrowed. “I haven’t opened that cupboard in months. The maid does our laundry. Maybe they belong to her. They might be Chad’s, but I doubt it. He was never addicted to drugs. Alcohol was his thing. Maybe I don’t know him as well as I thought.”

Hudson grimaced and put a hand on her arm, which she shook off without appearing to realize what she was doing. She was making things more difficult for him, since he no doubt planned to blame Chad for the drugs.

“I’m starting to feel like you guys are setting me up!” Mellicent said.

“That’s enough!” Hudson stepped forward, putting his hand back on her arm and giving her a stern look. “I’d like a moment alone with Mrs. Ventura.”