The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The few leaves left on the trees had turned gold, but most of the branches were barren, ready for the first flakes of snow to fall. Even though the sun was out, Raymond could see his breath fog in front of him. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his dark fall jacket as he took in the handful of people on the steps in front of City Hall, the mayor and council members, all staring at him with the expressions he expected. They were unsmiling, pissed, just like his family, forced to be present for this stunt only because Luke and Jack had agreed with Raymond.

It seemed news had traveled, as he took in the mics and camera crews and reporters. The cameras flashed, capturing the missing Raymond O’Connell, who had stirred the rumor mill and had gossips’ tongues wagging to shame the woman who was standing just behind the reporters, accompanied by Brady and both Karen and Suzanne.

Raymond allowed himself only a second to take in the faces watching him. “Good morning,” he said. “I see you all found your way here. Just to clear the air of all the vicious rumors that have run through this town, I am Raymond O’Connell, and, as you can see, I’m very much alive and well. I’d like to say something to the people of Livingston, who’ve tried to hurt my wife and children with unsubstantiated lies. You all know who you are, because you’re the ones who’ve hurt my wife badly at a time when she could have used your support.

“Yes, I said my wife. I’m still married to Iris, even though that’s none of your business. Regardless, it seems this town has convicted her in the court of public opinion, saying she’s guilty of something, and then there are the allegations about my children. Between the DA’s office and all of you, I’ve watched from the sidelines as the family I abandoned eighteen years ago were railroaded. Let me be clear: I was the one who wronged them when I walked away. I’m confused as to how Iris could be accused of my murder when I’m alive and well. Is it really that easy to railroad an innocent person using an unidentified body?” He gestured and let the question hang. He had expected murmurs, but there was nothing.

“If you’re not asking yourselves that very question, you should be, because that could have been you. How could this have happened to my wife? The current DA’s office, under Tibo Lewis, twisted and manipulated evidence, claiming that the body of an unidentified man was mine. This is both alarming and disturbing, as the evidence was cleverly manipulated by the DA and some punk in the sheriff’s office who tried to take my son’s job. They were aware that the body in the woods couldn’t have been mine, considering I had reached out and contacted them. To be clear, because of my lack of trust in this office and their handling of the matter, I also contacted the Feds to ensure that Deputy Lonnie and Tibo Lewis would not bury the details and continue to pursue an innocent woman, my wife, and my children, one of whom is the sheriff, Marcus O’Connell.”

No one said anything, the cameras flashing. He knew everyone was hanging on his every word. Brady was still standing with Iris, too. At least he hadn’t left, even if he still wasn’t talking to him.

“Shame on you, all of you, in Livingston,” Raymond said. “You know who you are, each and every one of you, who called Iris to make threats, to say angry words and spread lies about her. Just this week, someone took money to cater my son Ryan’s wedding, then canceled on the day with no refund. Jolene Harris, you know what you did.”

Marcus’s lips twitched in a smile Raymond knew he was trying damned hard not to show.

“Iris never deserved that,” he continued. “At the same time, an apology seems almost inadequate. Let’s not forget the overreach in having Marcus removed as sheriff. That was merely payback, because he’s the kind of sheriff, unlike most law enforcement officers in this country, who isn’t afraid to take a stand. Marcus openly called out a district judge for his blatant bias, for his racism, and he refused to look the other way. That same Judge Root, in payback, signed a blanket search warrant for Iris’s home, which was carelessly wrecked by several members of the current police force. It may seem coincidental that a sitting judge signed a blanket warrant that no judge with an understanding of civil rights would’ve signed, until you consider that Marcus, in his role as sheriff, was coming after that judge.”

He paused again, hearing murmurs. The mayor’s face was flushed, and for only a moment, he thought he caught a flash of humor in Marcus’s expression again before it was gone.

“So, as you can see, I’m alive. The point of this press conference is to set the record straight. Even though the charges had been dropped against Iris O’Connell, it was going to take my returning from the dead for you all to just stop, already. I need to ask each of you to keep one thing in mind. Ask yourself, if a DA can get a warrant without evidence and probable cause, could this happen to you too? An open warrant in any case is merely a fishing expedition, and that search resulted only in destruction at the hands of cops who had it out for my son. Personal items, memories, and photos were lost, not to mention the sheer invasion of privacy Iris underwent in having her home upended, with many things destroyed. What, exactly, did they uncover when they walked out with some of my belongings? They found a note I left, telling Iris, my wife, not to look for me. What the hell kind of evidence is that? To make it worse, they leaked the personal contents of that note and twisted the facts. That seems to be a pastime of the current DA, and I’m at a loss to understand how Tibo Lewis is still in office, elected, voted for by each of you.” He gestured to the reporters.

“Mr. O’Connell, are you saying evidence was manufactured against your wife? If you left your family eighteen years ago, why did you leave? What happened to make you walk out? Did your wife do something?”

“Mr. O’Connell, what can you tell us about the reasons the DA went after your wife?”

The reporters were shouting over one another, and he wondered how many had actually heard a word he’d said. What spin would they put on this?

“What about the allegations that Sheriff O’Connell hid evidence? Did any of the O’Connells have any involvement in the murder, in the disposal of the body that was found?”

“Look…” He started laughing, taking in the faces of the reporters. They wanted something, and the believability of it was irrelevant—but he wasn’t giving them everything they wanted. “I can tell you my family had no idea where I was. To be clear, this was a witch hunt, pure and simple. Why I left… Are you seriously asking that? You, down in front, young lady, did you seriously imply that my wife must have done something? I ran off, and she was somehow at fault?”

The young reporter’s face flushed.

Raymond shook his head, taking in Iris, who was watching him in a way that he wasn’t sure what to make of. “No, your questions are inappropriate,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that I worked for the CIA for years. I’m ex-agency, and as Tibo Lewis and the federal government are aware, the body in the woods is that of a man who tried to come after my family to get to me. The man won’t show up in any system, as his identity has been deemed a matter of national security. Know only that the deceased tried to get to me with plans to hurt my family.”

“Mr. O’Connell, are you still with the CIA? Which organization tried to come after you?” one of the reporters called out.

He found himself looking over to Marcus, feeling the dangerous line he was walking.

“What about the remains, the body? Who was it?” shouted a different reporter, an older man in the back. “We were told he was a transient, with no ties to the area, but you’re saying he wasn’t.”

“Look, first, you should know, ‘transient man with no ties to the area’ is just a phrase they use to shut down questions when national security is involved. To answer your other question, I’m retired, which is why I’m here now. As far as which organization, I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say, as the danger to my family is still very much an issue. That’s one of the reasons I stayed away.”

He listened to the barrage of questions, knowing what he’d just done, but if someone wanted to get to him or his family, at least he had made them more difficult targets.