Page 43 of Ashes of Us
“Have you heard back from the police department about the dash cameras?” Maverick asked as they walked out together.
Watson had woken up from his nap and whined to go out, so Danica had taken it as a sign the meeting was over and collected her things while Maverick got Watson into his vest and hooked the leash to it, explaining that if he didn't want to spend the rest of the afternoon talking to people Watson wanted to make friends with or being dragged behind him while he chased down whatever scent he caught, he needed to think he was working, so he usually put him in his vest whenever they were out in the community.
“No.” Danica shook her head, opening the door at the bottom of the stairs and holding it for him and Watson. “But I haven't reached out to ask yet either. David did ask the judge for a forensic examination of his phone, though and was given permission to do it.”
“Yeah, he told me.” Maverick frowned briefly as he prepped a doggy bag in his hand and walked toward a nearby green space.
“Hopefully, they'll be able to recover his conversation with his mother.
I'm still trying to find out if Lucy was seeing someone around the time she would have gotten pregnant, but so far it seems like she was too wrapped up in Jasper to date other people.
That doesn't mean she didn't have a random one-night stand, but unless she confesses to that, it's unlikely I'll be able to track them down five months later.”
They said their goodbyes as Watson did his business, and Danica walked back to her car, checking the messages on her phone.
She just unlocked the door and opened it when her phone rang, and she pulled it out of its spot in her bra.
Glancing at the caller ID, she let out a short, disbelieving laugh when she saw it was the Boston Police Department and answered.
“Danica Preston speaking.”
“Mrs. Preston, this is Sergeant Galvan. How are you?” The Sergeant's deep voice with its noticeable Boston accent came over the line, and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face.
“I'm doing well, Sergeant. How are you? Were your ears burning or something? Maverick was just asking me if I heard from you.” She responded as she climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door.
“I'm good.” He chuckled. “And not burning per se, but I did just come from a meeting about your husband.” He went on to explain he heard from the hospital that Jasper had been taken off life support, so he was calling to let her know the charges against the other driver had been upgraded from negligent operation of a motor vehicle and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, to motor vehicle homicide and explained the next steps, including that she could sue the driver of the other vehicle for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and, because the driver was caught texting and driving at least twice before, punitive damages.
“The other driver will have to attend an arraignment and the pre-trial hearings, but I'm already hearing they will try for a plea deal, and because he's only nineteen, there's a good chance the judge will lean toward it.”
“What does that mean?” Danica furrowed her brow as she started the car, tucking the phone back into her bra with the microphone pointed up and drove back toward her house, trying to follow what the detective was telling her.
She wasn't sure how she felt about suing the kid, especially since she fully intended to sue Amy and Lucy, and she was pretty sure they would sue him, Lucy for losing her baby and Amy for killing her son. “Can Jasper's parents sue?”
“Motor vehicle homicide only carries a max two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, a five thousand dollar fine and a 15-year license revocation.” The detective explained.
“I think they'll plea it down to community service and a five or ten-year licence revocation. The two previous tickets show he had a habit of texting and driving, but other than that, he's a good kid from a low-income family who is working and going to college to make something of himself.” He paused, and Danica could hear the creak of a chair in the background. ”Only the executor or administrator of the estate can file a wrongful death suit on behalf of the spouse, children and sometimes, depending on the situation, for the parents, but usually parents can only sue if the victim died without a spouse or children.”
“Right.” Danica let out a relieved sigh. It looked like Amy was shit out of luck because there was no way in hell Danica was going to sue on her behalf. “And I'm guessing my husband's passenger can sue.”
“Yes. She was in the vehicle and lost a child as a result of the accident, she can sue him for her injuries and emotional distress, but since the fetus wasn't viable, and by that I mean it wouldn't have survived outside of the womb, she cannot sue for wrongful death. He will not be charged with motor vehicle homicide in the case of the fetus.”
Danica felt a wave of relief that almost left her weak when the Sergeant finished speaking.
While she logically understood Lucy was entitled to compensation for the collision and the injuries and emotional distress it caused, she didn't want her to gain anything from losing the fetus she claimed was Jasper's and she didn't care if people thought she was cruel or mean for her feelings on it, because as far as she was concerned, Lucy didn't deserve to profit from any of this.
While the kid was at fault and she did want to see him learn from his poor judgment, she wasn't going to add to whatever the courts decided was appropriate.
She could hear Jasper's voice in her head telling her it wasn't worth the hassle to get a check for the couple of hundred dollars they'd get a month from the kid in damages, and she knew he wouldn't want to be the reason the kid's future went up in smoke and told the detective that.
“The prosecutor will be in touch to get a victim impact statement, and you can include your recommendations for his punishment in that.
Luckily, he did have liability insurance, and the courts will provide him with legal aid, so this shouldn't financially destroy him, even if you were to sue.” The detective's voice was gentle, and Danica got the impression that he was surprised but pleased that she wasn't vindictive toward him. ”He was absolutely devastated when we informed him that your husband died because of the accident.
I'm sure he'll never touch a phone again while driving. Hell, I would be shocked if he ever gets behind the wheel of a car again... but that's not your problem.” He cleared his throat. ”We also got the footage from the dash cams. It's corrupted, and because it faced the front, we couldn't see what went down between your husband and Ms. Gamache, but the pieces of audio we managed to salvage are interesting. Can you come by the station on Sudbury Street right now?”
Danica's heart began to race, and she immediately changed direction. “I'm on my way.”
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Twenty minutes later, Danica was being led through the police station to Sergeant Galvan's office by a young, bubbly blonde officer who was excitedly telling Danica about her recent engagement after Danica commented on her ring.
“And I know I shouldn't wear it to work, but I just can't bring myself to take it off,” she gushed as she came to a stop and opened the door to a large room with six desks and a bunch of detectives wandering about.
“Anyway, Sergeant Galvin's office is right there.” She pointed to a glass door to the left of the one she just opened, through which she could see the man in question standing up and beckoning her in.
“Thank you.” Danica gave her a brief but warm smile.
“Good luck with the wedding planning.” The officer beamed and said, “Thank you,” and Danica watched her walk away, feeling a strange bittersweetness about her excitement.
She didn't have time to unpack that, though, before the Sergeant opened his office door, and her focus was back on why she was there.
“Mrs. Preston, come in and take a seat.” He gestured to a very uncomfortable-looking chair in front of his desk. “Can I get you anything? We have bad coffee that I can't guarantee is fresh, water and a vending machine of Coke products to choose from.”
“Water would be great, thank you.” Danica's nerves about what she was about to hear were making her mouth feel like it was full of cotton balls.
She sat down and looked around the small office, taking in the almost obsessive-compulsive neatness of the room, noting that even the pens in the cup were all the same type and were arranged by colour.
Glancing quickly at the door, and unable to help herself, she reached out and quickly moved one of the red pens over with the black ones to see how long it would take for him to notice and fix it.
He walked in a few minutes later and set the bottle of water in front of her.
She opened it and watched as he sat down, frowned, then reached out and moved the red pen back with the others, glancing at her suspiciously as Danica did her best to appear innocent and like she didn't notice what he'd done by taking a long drink of water.
“Thank you, I really needed that.”