“On a technicality.”
“If you consider innocence a technicality. I came home one day and my family was gone.” His voice cracked. “I never knew what happened to them. The cops decided I was a murderer and that was it. They ignored any other evidence.”
Julia had no answer to that. She tried desperately not to feel all this, but panic was stalking her. “She can’t survive without me.”
“Look, Doc, I’ve been locked up for years. I have a big house on Lake Washington and enough money to hire the best care for her, so let’s not beat around the bush. I need to show the world she’s alive, so I want her. Now.”
She stared at him, actually shocked by that. “If you think I’m going to just hand Alice over to a murderer, you’re crazy.”
“Who the hell is Alice?”
“That’s what we named her. We didn’t know who she was.”
“Well, you know now. She’s my daughter and I’ve come to take her home.”
“You’re kidding, right? For all I know, you were behind the whole thing. You wouldn’t be the first man to sacrifice a child to get rid of a wife.”
She saw a flash of something in his eyes. He closed the small distance between them. “I know who you are, too, Doc. I’m not the only one here with a shady past, am I? Do you really want a public fight?”
“Anywhere,” she said, holding her ground. “You don’t scare me.”
He towered over her, whispered, “Tell Brit I’m on my way.”
“I won’t let you have her.”
His breath was warm and soft against her temple. “We both know you can’t stop me. Washington courts are pro-reunification of the family. See you in court.”
AS SOON AS HE WAS GONE, JULIA SANK ONTO A COLD, HARD CHAIR. HER whole body was trembling. George Azelle was right; the Washington State courts valued reunification of the family over almost everything else.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ellie said.
“Talking won’t help.”
Thinking will.
She took a deep breath. “I need information on his case.”
“He gave me this.” Ellie pushed a stack of papers across the desk.
Julia took the papers and tried to read. Her hands were trembling so badly that the letters shimmied on the white pages.
“Jules—”
“Give me a minute,” Julia said, hearing the desperate edge in her voice. It was taking every scrap of self-control she had to not start screaming or crying, and looking into her sister’s sad eyes or hearing comforting words might push her into despair. “Please.”
She focused on the documents. They represented the bare bones of the procedural history. The original Motion to Dismiss the case, made by Azelle’s attorney at the close of the state’s case in chief; the denial of that motion; the Appellate Court’s reversal and the State Supreme Court’s agreement with the reversal and dismissal. Of all of them, the one that mattered most to Julia was the original certification for determination of probable cause, which outlined the facts of the state’s case.
On April 13, 2002, at approximately 9:30 in the morning, George Azelle placed a call to the King County Police Department to report that his wife, Zoë Azelle, and his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Brittany, were missing and had been missing for more than twenty-four hours. The Seattle Police Department responded immediately, sending officers to the Azelle residence at 16402 Lakeside Drive on Mercer Island. A countywide, then statewide search ensued. Community groups responded to the call and organized extensive search parties and midnight vigils.
Investigations conducted throughout this period revealed that Mrs. Azelle was having an affair at the time of her disappearance and had requested a divorce. Azelle was also engaged in an affair with his personal assistant, Corinn Johns.
Pursuant to their investigation, police learned the following facts:
On or about November 2001, police responded to a domestic disturbance call at the Azelle home. Officers observed bruising on Mrs. Azelle and arrested Mr. Azelle. This complaint was dismissed when Mrs. Azelle refused to testify against her husband.
On the evening of April 11, 2002, neighbor Stanley Seaman reported another disturbance at the Azelle home, although he made no call to police. He stated to his wife that the Azelles were “at it again.” Seaman noted the time o
f the fight as 11:15 P.M.