by S. R. Rashad
"Yea, you know that bridge,"..she says... "it's very romantic and old, a lot of history to it; Bridges of Madison County kinda stuff. We took that photo a couple of years ago when I visited her at school, in Madison. We love old bridges...and that is one of the best...wait...did you do your undergrad at Madison?" She asks with curiosity.
Peter has never been there ..."Oh, that's in Madison? Maybe that's not the bridge I'm thinking of. But it is very intense and romantic indeed."
Peter is filled with embarrassment and overwhelming desire. He needs to get away from Colette quickly. He doesn't like feeling exposed and weak. He is feeling a bit transparent.
"Well, I hope I was helpful tonight..." He says nervously as he puts on his jacket and makes for the door.
Colette, still a little taken back and not sure what is happening, or what she did wrong,
stands there a little stunned...responding...
"umm...yea...thanks. But...if you want to grab a drink or something..." She knows how silly she is sounding but when her nerves kick in, this kinda stuff comes out of her mouth all the time.
"I really have to go, but cool photo for sure...so that bridge is definitely in Madison right?" he says, now feeling intensely nervous and awkward.
"Yup, sure is...my sister still runs across it, to this day."
"Oh, cool...oh, she's still at Madison?"
"Yea, she's in Med school now."
"Oh...okay, the world could always use another doctor..." He says while opening the door but still focused on the picture...
"Take care, Peter. Thanks again." Her tactics didn't work. She is thinking she came on too strong. She knows guys don't like that. It makes ‘em nervous, as she tries to explain Peter’s behavior to herself.
It's now Tuesday, just a few days after Colette made a fool of herself. Peter now knows she wants him. But that isn't the real problem. The real problem for her is that she knows Peter doesn't want her. How can she show up for tutoring now. How can she sit across from him, knowing what she knows. Foolish, foolish move, girl. She hates wanting his attention or any man's attention. It makes her crazy. Her emotions are running wild. She walks over to the lab attempting to go for tutoring but decides not to go in. She wants to, but no, she just can't do it.
"Fuck!" She exclaims as she turns and heads to her dorm.
Peter has not been able to concentrate on his studies. He hasn't made much headway on his dissertation since the other night happened. Much of his lab time is also unproductive. His routine is gravely disrupted. He is feeling helpless to the unearthly pull of Her...the girl on the bridge. I'm yours, peter. Take me...take me. I offer myself to you, and only you... His head is loud--filled with the voice of longing and desire---dark, dark desire, of blood, of flushed skin, of flesh as it begins to lose its color, of life turning itself over to him.
Peter wants her. He wants to see the girl on the bridge again and he will.
After the lab sessions are over, Peter is on edge.
He grabs his phone purposefully and dials...
"Hello Colette..." He says as he gives into his maddening desire.
"Peter!" She says, truly surprised and happy.
"So, you still want tutoring, right?"...he wants...
Yes peter. Yes I do. She wants to shout...
"I thought I made you nervous, or something..." She says with renewed confidence.
Peter needs to see that picture again. He needs...
"No, it's just that my feelings get a little crazy when I want something."
This is most certainly his truth. But it's not directed toward her.
"Oh, I understand...I get that way too..." She says with a smile in her voice.
She is feeling desired. This makes her happy. She understands the bookish type can get this way, nervous around women, especially sexy and attractive women but she's glad he is trusting her with his emotions.
Peter tells her if she wants tutoring at her dorm, that would be acceptable.
This is music to her ears. Now, she can be coy and flirty again... "Well, if the lab won't work for us, then I guess we'll have to make due..." She says flirtatiously.
Nothing ever happens for Colette. Peter never shows up. In fact, he doesn't show up for anything anymore. He needs the hunger quelled. Peter is sad. He is elated. He is joy filled. He is disgusted. He thought he could hide from it. He was doing so well. The studies. The lab. The normalcy. But no more. That damn picture. That girl on a bridge. That glorious girl. That glowing girl. That needful being. He didn't expect it would come from a picture. This is a first for him. He has never seen the glow in a picture before. He knows he will not be able to go back to his studies, not now. They will have to wait. He will not be normal. He will need to answer the call. He will need to quench the thirst. He will need to satisfy the hunger. The need must be...it has to be addressed. He is learning. He is learning about himself, his hunger, the nature of it. It is part of him. It is him...He will need to allow himself the freedom to be...to become...no more hiding at the university, no more walking around with his head down. He will use his predator eyes. He will see the world clearly. He will see himself clearly... He decides to hit the road, to find the girl on the bridge, to let himself have her. Peter will embrace the hunger, the madness. He will kill.
Chapter 4
It begins with a visit to Jim’s office
Laura is working her way up the ladder at rocket speed---Partner by thirty-five, check.
Jim Kern, the founding Partner of one of the largest and most respected criminal law practices on the East Coast, admires her straight-shooter, no nonsense attitude and enjoys her fresh approach to law. She reminds him of why he became a lawyer in the first place. He has been waiting to give her a big case and more responsibility. Finally, a prime client has come across his desk and Laura is up to bat.
“Laura, can you come to my office?”
“Yes, Jim.”
The first big case is always the hardest, the make or break case. I am my father’s daughter. I’m tough, determined, tenacious. There is no way I won’t give my all to this firm. My father’s words are, “People deserve your best.” I have grown to be in full agreement with most the advice he has given me over the years. And I have to believe I'm all the more better for it.
Jim has grown to be a surrogate father to me since my father’s passing a few years back and I am still in a child like awe of him and what he has built here and the fact that he continues to trust me with some of the more pertinent cases, makes me want to continue to fight to prove him right. To say I respect the man would be an understatement.
“Not a bad view, Jim, a person can get used to this,” I say, as I stare out his huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson and most of lower Manhattan, from his ‘glass cathedral to law’ as he likes to call his office, the largest office, at 66 Hudson pl., housed in the 48th floor of the Kern, Davis and Kern law offices.
“Yes, Laura, it is a fine office, indeed. And I’m certain you will have an office just like it soon enough. At the rate you’re going, maybe you’ll have this office inside of the next few years.”
“Now, come on, just stop, Jim. What are you trying to sell me on. Cause I know it ain’t your corner office. Even though I like the view, I know I’m a long way from here.”
“Well, Laura to be honest, we just got a big case handed to us.” Okay, Jim. Now, we’re talking. I know it has to be something great. Laura looks to him as he covers up a note on the desk and Then he continues, “Well, you and Bill are my two aces. I need one of you to take it. I can go either way, but to be quite frank, I need you to take it. It would look good if a woman takes this one. Again more frankness, the client is the notorious woman slayer Dr. Peter VonNetzer. His sister contacted us and they want our firm to represent him. And well, this is a high profile case with a lot of media coverage and if we have a female lead…well…it may sway public opinion or a mixed jury, if we get that far, our way. So what do you say?”
�
�Well first, you know I have been wanting to prove myself. Even though you say you know I’m a talented lawyer, cases like these give me the chance to show you and the entire firm that I am dedicated to this firm and the law. That being said, I am apprehensive about this one, Jim. Serial killer cases are very seldom won.”
“I know this, Laura. But most of those cases are tried through the Justice Department with air tight evidence presented by the exceptional footwork of the girls and guys of the FBI. This guy was caught locally and though I respect the fine police work of the local boys, they almost always jump the gun. I smell holes in this case, and in my more than 40 years practicing law, I’m seldom wrong about this kind of stuff. So, in short, Laura, this one may be winnable. And I want your face representing that win.”
“Okay Jim, you know I’m a team player. So, yes, let’s win this one.”
“Now, that’s the Laura I was looking for.”
“Anything and everything in my power will be at your disposal, Laura.”
“I need the files, all the files, everything you have, Jim.”
“Can do, but that’ll take a minute or two. There is a wealth of info that we are still gathering, but you’ll have that as soon as I have it. In the meantime, Lets say you go and chat with the doctor. Get his statement. Let's see what he has to say.”
“Okay…So he’s at Rikers?”
“Yes.”
“There are a couple briefs and reports I have to finish tonight, so first thing in the morning.”
“Good, Laura. That’ll be fine. Remember my door is open and call with all your concerns.”
“Will do, Jim. Will do.”
This could be my biggest case to date, but only if I win. Then, I’ll be the lawyer who got the serial killer off. Now, most will think this reprehensible, but all those super rich people, who do very very bad things, will know we are the ‘go to firm,’ for those times they get caught in a nasty, possibly illegal indiscretion. Again, this is only if I win. If I lose, then it’s all Hindenburg, baby. And, yours truly, goes down in flames. So, losing is not an option, not an option at all. I’ve gotten far, farther than I would have imagined, but when your father is the head coach for both a winning football team and a winning basketball team. There is an innate drive in you to win. So, that is what I do. I win.
It was either me or Bill he says, to hell with that guy, what a joke, classic womanizing, female bashing, non-team player if you asked me. What showboater! There is no way Bill is gonna outshine me…that prick. I’ll get as much of my work done as I can, then off to Rikers to interview that maniac. I mean client, ha. Be nice, Laura.
In the middle of the night, the powers that be, decide to move Dr.VonNetzer to a super-max monster of a prison deep in the Catskills. This happens without a trial, without a hearing, and without going through the normal channels or protocol. But this happen before he had a legal team. And now, he has one formidable team. This is what the powers that be will come to find.
I get up early, have a protein shake and go for a quick run. Running along the westside highway, at 5 in the morning, is invigorating to say the least, and depending on the time of year, I almost always end the run by sitting along the Hudson, enjoying a perfect sunrise, Paradise in the small moments. Ok, Starbucks is open, now more Paradise. I’ll grab a quick latte. Then back home, a quick shower, change, call one of the firms cars, then off to Rikers.
As the company car pulls up, I think how I love being chauffeured around, one of the great perks of the firm. I just sit back and put the driving in someone else’s capable hands. It amazes me that no matter the traffic, the cars always seem to arrive on time, lovely.
“Mr Kern left a package for you Ms Danger.” Says Gary, my driver of today, handing me a beautifully wrapped box from Coach which happens to be my go to shop for belts, shoes and other lovely accessories.
“Thanks, Gary.”
A package? What’s this? Nice, Jim! A lady does like her gifts.
Laura opens the box to find a gorgeous red snakeskin briefcase with her initials embossed in gold leaf and a thank you note from Jim with a box of chocolates from her new favorite chocolatier, the one with the cool French name which she can never pronounce correctly.
Jim enjoys giving Laura things. His feelings for her are confusing. He sees her as the daughter he never had, but on occasion, he feels something else. Laura is sometimes confused by him too, but she likes gifts a lot and she respects and admires Jim deeply. Jim gave her a shot when most wouldn’t and she has never forgotten his willingness to take a chance on her, a debt she feels she can never truly repay.
In the note, Jim recounts the first trial she was lead on. The trial where he took a chance on a nervous, unseasoned 25 yr old, just out of law school. It was the U.S. vs Tyler Sporting Goods. The Government initially believed it to be an open and shut case, but through what could only be described as luck, and damn fine lawyering, she had the government offering her and her client an unheard of deal which included no jail time and minor financial restitutions. In a case, where her clients were facing multiple felony indictments and massive monetary pay outs. This is the case where Jim knew he had hired a star, ‘a wunderkind’ he called her, a fighter, a legal wiz and a superb litigator. The funny thing is, every time Jim reminds her of this trial, it always makes her cry. She didn’t really believe in herself at this point, but she trusted Jim’s belief in her and that is what fueled her. It nurtured her and gave her strength when not much else could.
Thanks, Jim. Thanks a lot. Now, you better be right about this case, a fucking serial killer, what the hell, Laura.
“I’m here to see my client.”
“Yes, counselor. Can you fill this out?”
The front desk hands her the standard ‘attorney-visitor’ forms and tells her to have a seat. An hour passes before Laura sees anyone. Then an officer approaches...
“Hello, attorney Danger, your client has been relocated.”
“What does that mean ‘relocated’, officer?”
“He’s not here, counselor.”
“Not where?”
“Let me get you my boss, attorney…”
I’m too upset for the pleasantries. I interrupt him. “Let's just get him, please!”
Nearly 20mins go by, and she is still waiting. Laura is not liking this. She’s not liking this at all. Where the hell is her client or someone in charge. In all the years she has been practicing law, never has a client not been where he is supposed to be. She remembers one time she showed up and a client wasn't who he was supposed to be. She’s still not sure what happened there. And there has been countless clients, who after drunken escapades woke up in prison, all claiming they weren’t supposed to be there, but they were where they were supposed to be, whether they could remember or not. And at least they were there. But, this is a first. A client is simply not here. Something is up. Laura is about done waiting. Her anger and frustration is growing exponentially. At the moment she was about to lose it completely, the captain of the guards shows up.
“I’m sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to be sure of the transfer first.”
“And, captain?”
“Dr.VonNetzer was moved very late last night.”
“I keep hearing he was moved, but how and why? On whose authority? Was it the bureau of prisons? The Department of Justice? Who?”
“If you can wait here, I'll get that info for you.”
“It seems waiting is all I've been doing since I got here.”
“Sorry, again. I'll be back shortly.”
The captain returns quickly with the transfer papers.
“You see, all the signatures are in order.”
“What the hell is this!” Laura shouts as she looks through the papers.
“I’m sorry ma’am, what?”
“Look at this!” As she turns the pages angrily, “Judge Thomas okayed this, why?”
Laura continues to be baffled as she reads through the transfer papers, looking for the reason
for this kind of transfer.
“Oh, I see. The DA told the judge how he thought it would be wise to move my client cause he may pose a threat to the general population and oh, look at this, to himself. So he recommends immediate relocation to the new super-max facility.”
“That's correct, counselor. That's what happened. The Marshals moved him late last night.”
“I see, captain. But this whole deal doesn’t strike you as odd? Maybe even a little fishy?”
“Well, ma’am. It’s not my job to counsel DA’s and Judges. They bring the criminals here, or they take them somewhere else, not my prerogative. If the paperwork says hold them here, I hold them here. If it says ship them some place else, I ship them some place else.”
“Well captain, fortunately, it’s my job to make sure the law is upheld and that proper protocol is followed and that holds true for everybody, DA’s and Judges a like.”
“I see, counselor… Well, he's not here.”
“Ok, thanks for the help, captain.”
Jim! What the hell are you getting me into. This has all the earmarks of corruption or I don’t know what…Something is fishy here for sure. To hell if this is gonna be an easy case, shit! Judges and DA’s, these guys always have their own agenda. I’m starting to wonder if the doc’s gonna get a fair trial at all. I gotta talk to Jim.
Laura exits the prison in a huff, heading over to the car visibly upset, yelling and swearing obscenities. Gary opens the car door for her. And he's concerned about her seemingly heated state.
