Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

Melanie arrived as I was finishing my coffee. We said goodbye to Anna, and then Melanie tried to convince me to take something before we left the house. I refused to take one of the pain pills that the doctor prescribed because I would have slept most of the way to the city if I did, but I agreed to take some Tylenol. It didn’t do much, but it made Melanie feel better. The trip to the city was quiet, mostly because I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I was worried about the hearing and had no idea how Melanie would react if things didn’t go our way. She seemed to be rather cathartic about the whole thing—perhaps the stress had finally broken her spirit—or maybe she had found some glimmer of hope to cling to. I hated that I couldn’t fix the problem for her. I also didn’t know how I would react when I saw Jackson again—especially if his friend was there as well. I hoped I could maintain my composure, for the sake of Melanie and her case.

“Mom got held up in traffic.” Melanie looked at her phone once we arrived at the courthouse. “We must have missed it…”

“Our driver knows which routes to take to avoid the worst of it,” I explained. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

Melanie didn’t think it was a good idea for me to meet Charley before the trial, and I agreed with that—it was why we didn’t ride together, to begin with. I went into the courthouse and sat down while she waited on them. Addison showed up a few minutes later and didn’t have any good news. The video of Melanie slapping Jackson had been admitted into evidence, but she wasn’t going to get to see it until the hearing. Melanie returned right before the hearing was supposed to start and sat down next to me while she waited for the judge to call her name. I looked around the courthouse, but I didn’t see any sign of Jackson—or his friend.

“Do you see that woman over there?” Melanie pointed out a thin woman with short cropped hair on the opposite side of the courtroom.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“That’s Jackson’s mother…” Melanie narrowed her eyes. “She’s behind all of this.”

“She looks worried for some reason.” I tilted my head to the side. “She keeps looking around the courtroom and checking her watch. Surely Jackson isn’t going to miss this hearing after everything he’s done to get you inside a courtroom.”

“Who knows.” Melanie winked at me.

“What?” I blinked in confusion. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Melanie didn’t answer. Her case was announced, and she walked to the front of the courtroom with Addison. Jackson’s attorney walked over to his mother, they had an exchange that looked rather heated, and then the attorney sat down at the plaintiff’s table. Something was definitely going on. Melanie looked confident—and she had a smile on her face. She whispered something to Addison, and my old friend’s reaction suggested that whatever Melanie said was rather surprising. The judge read through the paperwork, raised his head to look around the courtroom—then his eyes focused on the empty chair where Jackson was supposed to be.

“Mr. Farmington, where is the plaintiff?” The judge narrowed his eyes.

“Your Honor…” Jackson’s attorney, who had been identified as Mr. Farmington, stood up and adjusted his tie. “We would like to request a continuance.”

“This is an emergency hearing. You don’t get a continuance.” The judge looked quite annoyed by his request. “Your client asked for this—where is he?”

“Your Honor.” Addison stood up with a smile on her face. “I’ve just been informed that the plaintiff was arrested yesterday for possession of narcotics—he’s currently in jail.”

The courtroom erupted in chatter immediately. Jackson’s mother stood up; her face went pale, and then she made a dash for the door—obviously she had no idea that her son had been arrested. The judge used his gavel to call for order and took a few seconds to consider what he had heard before he decided to cancel the emergency hearing. He said the matter would just have to be decided at trial, and he was quick to let Jackson’s attorney know that drug charges would weigh heavily on his decision. Jackson’s attorney didn’t even shake Addison’s hand before he left the courtroom. He looked like a dog that had just been kicked—if he had a tail, it would have been firmly between his legs.

“What the hell happened?” I winced as I limped up to the front of the courtroom.

“Jackson’s in jail.” Melanie’s lips twisted into a coy smile, and she shrugged.

“How?!” I shook my head in disbelief.

“He contacted me yesterday after you finally took your medication—he asked me to meet him…” Melanie looked down, but her smile didn’t fade.

“You—you met with that bastard!?” I felt my blood boiling. “Alone!?”

“No, I wasn’t alone.” She shook her head back and forth. “You made sure of that—you had someone following me.”

“Yeah, I told Leo that I wanted him to look after you personally—but—I’m confused. What happened?” I couldn’t quite understand what Melanie was trying to tell me.

“I went to Jackson’s hotel room, just like he asked, but I asked Leo to call the cops before I went inside.” She looked over at Addison. “You might not want to listen to this part…”

“I’m your attorney.” Addison shrugged. “Whatever you say in front of me is protected—even if you tell me that you killed the bastard.”

“Nah, I didn’t kill him.” Melanie shook her head back and forth. “I thought about it…”

“Okay, what happened when you went inside his hotel room.” I reached out and took Melanie’s hand—gently—but I was feeling the concern turn into anger. “That was extremely dangerous!”

“I was never in any danger. Leo made sure of that.” She leaned forward so that nobody else in the courtroom could hear what she was saying. “Jackson opened the door, and by the time the cops got there, he didn’t have a bottle for all of the pills they found…”

“What if he had freaked out?” I shook my head back and forth. “What if Duke was there with him—and he had a knife?”

“Leo would have stopped him. He was outside the door the whole time…” She tilted her head to the side. “This is why I didn’t tell you before I went to his hotel room. I knew you would flip out.”