Vanishing Acts

Chapter 19

Back from the Dead

During the ride to school on Monday, Hamilton mentioned that Judge Young had scheduled a hearing on his pretrial motions in the Shelby case for the next afternoon at three p.m. Madison was certain that she could solve the case if she was in the courtroom before the hearing ended. Soccer practice was over by four thirty. If she didn’t shower and she sprinted to the courthouse, Madison thought she could make it.

Jake asked if he could go along after Madison told him her plan. The chance to solve a real murder case was too good to pass up.

Jake and Madison were out of breath when they skidded to a stop in front of the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.

“So, what’s this hearing about?” Jake asked as they took the courthouse elevator to the fifth floor.

“You know that a person accused of committing a crime has a right to have a lawyer defend them.”

“Sure.”

“One way my dad makes certain that his client is getting a fair trial is by challenging evidence that the prosecutor wants to present to the jury if he thinks that the police got the evidence in a way that is forbidden by law or he believes that the rules of evidence forbid the DA from introducing the evidence. He can object to the evidence during the trial, but defense lawyers can also ask a judge to decide what evidence can be introduced before the trial starts. This saves time during the trial and avoids the risk that the jury will hear or see something they shouldn’t. My dad filed a motion in Mark Shelby’s case to keep out some of the evidence the DA wants to show the jury.”

Madison was interested in the legal motion Hamilton had filed, but she had a more important reason for being in court. As soon as she and Jake walked into the courtroom, Madison gave a silent fist pump. The woman she’d seen at the bail hearing and in the photo on the Shelbys’ mantel was sitting in the last bench near the window.

Madison led Jake to seats on the other side of the courtroom from the mystery woman. Judge Young looked as mean as ever and appeared to be giving Hamilton a hard time. This was a good thing, because it meant her father would be concentrating on the judge and not looking around the courtroom.

Madison was certain that the mystery woman would lead her to Mrs. Shelby. When it looked like the hearing was winding down, Madison signaled to Jake and they slipped out of court.

The one part of her plan that Madison had not figured out was how she and Jake were going to follow the woman after she left the courthouse. If she walked it would be easy, but what if she had a car? Madison had money for a taxi, but taxis didn’t cruise around the streets of Portland like they did in some big cities. Some parked at the big hotels near the courthouse, but Madison knew she would lose sight of her quarry in the time it would take to get to a taxi.

Fortunately, the mystery woman did not head for a parking garage. Instead she walked up Southwest Salmon Street. Portland has one of the best mass transit systems in the U.S., and Madison guessed that the mystery woman was headed for the trolley stop at Tenth Avenue. As she walked across town, the woman kept her eyes down and did not look around. She seemed preoccupied by deep thoughts, and Madison prayed that they would keep her from figuring out that she and Jake were tailing her.

Jake and Madison waited for the trolley on the end of the platform farthest from their quarry. When one of the blue cars stopped in front of them, they got on at the other end from where the woman entered.

The trolley rode into the Pearl District, a collection of highrise condos, upscale restaurants, and fancy boutiques. Madison spotted the mystery woman getting out, and she poked Jake. The two sleuths followed at a safe distance. Madison was prepared to duck into a doorway or pretend to look in a shop window the way she’d seen spies and private eyes do on TV, but it was never necessary.

The woman suddenly turned into the courtyard of a brand-new high rise and punched in an entry code. Madison raced forward just as the door opened. She hoped that the woman would not recognize her and Jake from court, and she got lucky.

“Thanks,” Madison said as she and Jake walked in behind the woman, who just nodded. Madison peeked at her face. She looked worried. Madison decided that they were as good as invisible because the woman was completely focused on whatever was bothering her.

When the elevator stopped, Madison and Jake followed the woman down the hall and stopped at a door as soon as she stopped at another. The woman took a key out of her pocket, but the door opened before she could use it.

“What happened?” Madison heard a familiar voice ask. Madison felt a surge of adrenaline and relief rush through her body. “That’s Mrs. Shelby,” she whispered to Jake. She was alive!

They ran down the hall while the apartment door was still open. Madison skidded to a stop just as the mystery woman was about to go inside.

“Mrs. Shelby, remember me? Madison Kincaid, from your second-grade class at Lewis and Clark?”

Mrs. Shelby was dressed in sweat pants and a Portland Trailblazers T-shirt. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She looked thinner than Madison remembered, and she seemed confused.

“You followed me up here,” the mystery woman accused the two sleuths.

“Actually, we followed you from the courthouse. It was the only way I could think of to find Mrs. Shelby.”

“Why did you want to find me, Madison?” Mrs. Shelby asked.

“My dad is Hamilton Kincaid, Mr. Shelby’s lawyer.”

Mrs. Shelby looked frightened, and the two women glanced at each other.

“You’re not going to tell Mark where I am, are you?” Mrs. Shelby asked. Madison could hear the fear in her voice.

“I have to tell my dad,” Madison said honestly. “Mr. Shelby is accused of killing you, but you’re not dead. Once the DA finds out you’re alive, he’ll dismiss the murder charge against your husband.”

“She’s right,” the other woman said. “This has gone on long enough, Ruth. Now that these two know you’re alive, it doesn’t make any sense to go on punishing Mark.”

Mrs. Shelby folded her arms across her chest. Anger had replaced fear.

“We still don’t know who you are,” Jake told the mystery woman.

“I’m Sarah Tucker, Ruth’s sister, and this is my condo.”

“How did you know I was here?” Ruth Shelby asked Madison. She sounded suspicious and was glaring at her sister.

“Oh, Mrs. Tucker didn’t tell anyone your secret. I deduced that you weren’t dead from the evidence.”

The two women listened carefully while Madison explained how she had solved the mystery of Mrs. Shelby’s disappearance. When Madison finished, Ruth Shelby shook her head.

“You’ve grown up to become quite the detective, young lady,” she said. “I remember you being rather inquisitive when you were in my class.”

“There’s one mystery I still haven’t solved,” Madison said. “Will you tell me why you haven’t cleared your husband’s name?”