Irresistible Force (A K-9 Rescue Novel)(43)

She opened the envelope, unfolded the sheets, and read a few lines. It  was a copy of a complaint and the summons. It stated that she was listed  as the defendant in a civil suit. She was being sued for false  accusations and for defamation of character.

Of course she was. That was all there was left to happen in her life.  The only amazing thing was how quickly Eric, or Halifax Bank, had filed a  petition with the court. There must be a VIP lane in court for bankers  like Mr. Cadwallader Jones.

She flipped through the rest of the paperwork without any real  curiosity, yet mild surprise bubbled through her when at the bottom of  the final page she saw the plaintiff's name. Jaylynn Marjorie Turner.  Who was that?

She went to her desk and opened her computer and typed in the name.

Shay sat down with a thump as the images appeared. Images of Jaylynn  Turner turned out to be plentiful. And in every one the face of the  woman who had brought Bogart in to be put down was staring back at her.

Stunned, Shay switched to reading articles.

Jaylynn Turner was a TV personality in Charlotte. She had plenty of  other titles. Miss North Carolina Petite, Junior Miss Charlotte, winner  in the North Carolina Perfect Pageant, and runner-up of Miss North  Carolina.                       
       
           



       

None of those titles were as impressive as the fact that Shay recognized  her as the woman who had brought Bogart in to be destroyed.

She skimmed a few more articles, including the most recent one, less  than a week old, where Ms. Turner claimed to have been a victim of a  cruel hoax by parties yet to be determined.

Shay glanced over at the summons in disbelief.

"But that's crazy!" She had done nothing, didn't know the woman from  Adam, except for the fact that she walked in on a day when Shay had been  volunteering at the local animal shelter.

Shay read through that last article again, looking for clues to the hoax  Jaylynn claimed had been played on her. There were none. In fact, there  was a very noticeable absence of details. Leading a cohost at a  competing network to comment in print, "Let's hope this isn't one of  those attention-grabbing stunts. We are, after all, in the midst of  November sweeps."

"I can't believe this," Shay murmured. How had Jaylynn found her? She  wasn't easy to find. Even James said- Of course! James had filed a  report. That report would be public record, and that's how Jaylynn knew  how to find her.

Shay searched the Web for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police blotter. It  took her nearly five minutes to read through all the public records of  crimes in the Charlotte newspapers for the past two weeks. There was  nothing about Bogart, or his return, or actions filed against Jaylynn  Turner.

Shay sat back and hugged her arms to her body. Maybe this was a mistake. It would all just go away.

The bump of relief lasted no longer than it took her gaze to settle on  the summons again. She was being sued. That was very real.

"That's crazy." Shay said the words aloud to make them real.

What made Jaylynn think she could accuse her of anything? Being a  finger-pointer was the very last thing she needed in her life these  days. Not after her accusations against Eric. No way would she agree to  be a witness in another case. In fact, no one in Charlotte knew who she  was.

Except James.

Something cold and heavy and ugly sank down through her.

James had told her he'd had her investigated for details he needed to  complete the police report on Bogart's return. Why hadn't he warned her  about Jaylynn's intentions? Or, was he using her information to get back  at his ex?

Other dark thoughts swarmed through her head like a colony of bats  leaving their cave. For several dark minutes she let that sense of  betrayal and anguish snatch her up and carry her along in a flurry of  self-pity and desolation. The dark flight was familiar.

But at the end of that very long, scary flight, Shay wasn't decimated. She wasn't soul-scorched. She was angry.

Maybe James didn't know about the civil suit. No, of course he knew.  This didn't just materialize overnight. He must have known what Jaylynn  Turner was up to before he left Charlotte. It was in all the news  accounts she just read online. Why hadn't he warned her?

Shay grabbed her phone and dialed James. This time he answered. She didn't give him time to say hello.

"You lowdown, lying rat bastard!"

"You got the summons." He didn't even sound surprised by her anger. "I'm  sorry. I wanted to call sooner-" His voice sounded muffled. "Hold on."

Shay closed her eyes, her heart beating as quickly as if she'd run a  mile. She'd trusted him with so much-no, everything. How could he do  this?

"Okay. This is better." His voice sounded normal, happy even. "I was in  the kennel putting Bogart up. We just finished a night course. You'll be  really happy to hear that he took first place overall."

"Don't! Just don't!" She didn't want to hear happy news. She was too  furious for any kind of happy to leak through. "You lied to me! You said  you'd take care of things. You did that, didn't you? Only you took care  of them in a way that's going to humiliate me and drag my life out  before every news agency in the state."

"I got a summons today, too."

There was a beat while she took a breath. "What?"

"I'm named as a coconspirator or something, for collusion with you to extort- Hell, I didn't finish reading the thing."

Shay swallowed. That took a bite out of her anger. "Did you know about this before today?"

His turn to pause. "I thought Jaylynn was bluffing about the claim she'd  been defamed. At the time I hadn't even filed my report. Once I did, I  thought it would all go away."

"Well, it didn't." Shay was pacing, needing the activity to work off the  extra energy. "I've been on the Internet. I know who she is now. Why  didn't you warn me that she's a celebrity? In court it will be my word  against that of a TV personality. It doesn't take a lot of imagination  to see how the testimony of a ‘nobody' is going to stack up against the  words of ‘Charlotte's Sweetheart.' Oh my God, and once they find out  about my past-"                       
       
           



       

"They won't. Shay, listen to me. This is my mess. I'll figure out how to  clean it up. I'm going to fight her. I already told her that."

Shay took a breath in surprise. "You've already talked to her?"

"It's not like that, Shay."

Shay shook her head though he couldn't see her. "You can't help me. You've no idea what you've done!"

Her head was pounding with thoughts moving too fast to put into words.

The suit would make all the papers. With a prominent person like Jaylynn  Turner involved, it would be front-page news. Everyone in the state  would know about it. About her. About her past. And then Eric would pile  it on. Perfect excuse. He'd love this shit. Oh dear Lord! He'd make his  claims about her public, too. Once more she'd be painted as a crazy,  vindictive bitch. She would never escape.

"Shay?"

The sound of her name coming from so far away badly startled her. And  then she realized she hadn't disconnected. James was still on the line.  She lifted the phone to her ear.

"Leave me alone, James. You should have just left me alone."

"Not a chance." He took a breath. "You're angry. You've got every right.  I messed up. But we can fix this. Not now. Not over the phone. I can't  get away until tomorrow. But I'll be there, Shay, by two P.M. I'll come  straight to you and we'll figure this out. We're in this together and  we're worth fighting for."

He's using his calm, authoritative police officer's voice, Shay thought  absently. She must sound genuinely shaken. Like the mother at the  accident scene. He was good at handling crises. That was his job.

She had been in one emotional traffic wreck after another during the two  short weeks since they'd met. She didn't doubt he would try to help  her. He might even succeed. But she didn't need a trained professional  to clean up behind her. She wanted to be his friend and lover. Not some  lost cause he'd taken on out of pity.

"Don't come here, James. Just leave me alone."

She did hang up this time.

When would she learn? She could never rely on anyone but herself.

She turned off her phone as it began to ring again and stuffed it in the  sofa cushions. This time she did feel as if her heart were shriveling  up and dying. James wanted to help but she knew better than he did what  was about to happen.

She had wanted to be someone different. Her job at Logital Solutions and  her friends were less than eighteen months old. She'd wanted to be  normal. Just that. And she had almost succeeded.

Shay drew in a shuddery breath. She had been determined not to make any  more mistakes, to build her life into something worthwhile. But what was  the point when it all was about to explode in lurid headlines she  wouldn't be able to live down this time?