Jailbird

by Heather Huffman

  “What are you doing?” Charlie asked groggily. “It’s cold.”

  I made a wild waving gesture that was meant to silence him. Instead it got him off the bed and hanging out the window with me. The unhappy look on his face told me he recognized Rachel’s voice.

  “My sources say he recently married a young woman who looks Native American. They say she appeared out of nowhere and no one knows anything about her. Now he’s defending a woman whose cell mate was a young woman of Native American descent and I find you here at his house. There are a lot of coincidences there, Conrad.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that his bride is my cousin?”

  “Is she?”

  “I’m not saying.”

  “Why don’t you cooperate with me?” her exasperation was evident.

  “Because I don’t like reporters.”

  “That’s not fair,” Rachel pouted.

  “You’re not that cute,” Conrad retorted. I suppressed a giggle. “You chase after the story… what about the lives you affect? You do know it’s people who make up your stories, right?”

  “Really? They must have left that out of journalism school.”

  “Don’t you need to get back to Louisiana for the trial tomorrow?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s back to work for me tomorrow. Try not to miss me too much.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Tell Charlie I’d like to speak with him. Can you do that much for me at least?”

  “Good night, Rachel.”

  “Good night, Conrad,” the tone of her voice said “go to hell” more than anything. I found myself very curious about this spitfire reporter who easily stood up to my brother. I mentioned that fact as soon as Charlie and I pulled our heads back in the window and closed it.

  “Oh, she’s cute. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Conrad had a thing for her,” Charlie was quick to inform me. I wasn’t sure I liked his description of her and the expression on my face told him as much. Even in the moonlight, he recognized it for what it was. “She’s cute, but you’re cuter.”

  “Nice recovery, dear.”

  “Don’t be that way… come here,” he wrapped his arms around me and peppered my face with kisses.

  “Get off me, you goofball… my gumbo’s getting cold.”

  “You’re eating without me?”

  “You looked like you needed sleep. Come on. There might be a bite or two left… you’re in for a treat. Conrad’s a good cook.”

  “Did I marry the wrong sibling?”

  “You must need more sleep.”

  He gave me a bemused smile and went to find Cara. I wondered how long she’d be this good natured about giving up so much of her Daddy. She’d had his undivided attention her whole life, now he was pulled in a thousand different directions. I also wondered how she’d do if I had to disappear suddenly. I’d never forgive myself if something bad happened because of my presence in their lives.

  I’d started my second bowl of gumbo by the time Charlie sat down with his first. I’d been on autopilot for a lot of years—reacting on instinct instead of planning ahead. Now my brain finally felt like it was firing on all pistons again and I had an idea.

  “Give me your work keys and your computer login before you leave in the morning,” I announced out of the blue.

  Charlie answered with a quizzical look.

  “I do have a college education. I can catch you up on some basic office work while you’re gone.”

  “But I’ve never really even shown you around the office.”

  “I can figure it out, babe. I promise not to file any motions or rearrange your files in reverse alpha order while you’re gone. Seriously, I can go in while Cara’s in school. Gabrielle can go with me. And then you have someone to call if you need anything during the week.”

  “It might help… if you’re sure you don’t mind,” he thought about it.

  “I’d be happy to do something besides sit around here and wait. Will you be home at all this week?”

  “Probably Wednesday night.”

  “I’ll miss you,” my heart clenched at the thought of not seeing him for the next two days. I didn’t even want to consider if we were separated for any real length of time.

  “You two are making me ill,” Conrad groaned. “I don’t think I can take much more of the love-fest.”

  “Oh… speaking of love-fest… what do you think of Rachel Cooper?” I grinned wickedly. Conrad wadded up a napkin and threw it at my head.

  Having already eaten hot dogs for dinner, the girls didn’t join us until dessert. When they did, they were happy to jump right into the playful banter. Between the joking, the smell of fresh brownies, and the puppy that kept tripping over his own feet, it was hard to remember there were dark clouds threatening our happy little world.

  Chapter Sixteen

  With Charlie gone and so much hanging on the events of the week, I was happy to have a project to keep my mind busy. Gabrielle was a big help, taking it upon herself to clean the office while I attacked the mountain of papers that needed to be filed. The first few callers were surprised to hear my voice. After that, I got the impression that people were calling just to confirm for themselves that the rumor was true. Either that, or Charlie had what was surely a record number of people suddenly interested in estate planning.

  Either way, other than a brief sandwich break, we worked right up until time to pick Cara up from school. The two girls seemed to have taken right to the idea of having a sister. Other than a break to eat dinner, they spent the rest of the evening with their heads bent in conversation. That left me largely to my own devices. I tended the horses then spent some time putting together travel gear for Gabrielle and me.

  No matter how busy I stayed, that didn’t make bedtime any easier. It was amazing how quickly I’d become not only accustomed to, but dependent on, Charlie’s presence to feel at ease. I hugged his pillow close and closed my eyes, allowing his scent to lull me to sleep.

  The next two days were much the same, with the addition of some time spent doing Internet research from Charlie’s computer at work. It had been a long time since I’d used the computer with any regularity, but I muddled my way through with Gabrielle’s help and found what I needed.

  In fact, I was so busy with preparations that I was still scurrying to put the finishing touches on dinner when Charlie pulled into the drive. Just as he’d predicted, the case had wrapped up that afternoon. Now we would wait.

  None of that mattered when I heard the crunch of gravel under his wheels, though. I dropped the towel in my hand and darted out the door to greet him. Cara was right on my heels and Gabrielle lagged behind.

  I flew into his arms, burying my face in his neck as he swung me around. He set me down and kissed me thoroughly before scooping Cara into his arms for her twirling hug. When he set her down, she got a big kiss on the top of her head. Gabrielle watched the scene with a bit of trepidation.

  “Want a turn?” he opened his arms and smiled at Gabrielle.

  “No thanks,” she shook her head, her expression clearly saying she thought he was nuts.

  “Let me know if you change your mind,” he gave her a half-hug and a wink.

  “Sure….”

  “How did it go?” I wrapped my arm around his waist as Cara grabbed his hand. Neither of us wanted to let him go.

  “Well, I think. I’ll be glad to get the verdict, though. I guess I’ll hang out there tomorrow and Friday so I’m nearby if they call us back… wow, it smells good in here.”

  “Thanks. Maybe they’ll come back tomorrow so you can come home to stay for a while. Lord knows you’ll have more wills than you can write if you don’t.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  “Probably not… so, do you know what Mary plans to do if she’s acquitted?”

  “Her family has been there all week. I think they’re hoping to whisk her back to the bayou the second they c
an.”

  “Does she ever wonder why you appeared out of nowhere to save her?”

  “She knows Conrad and I are trying to clear your name… she just doesn’t realize why.”

  I tried to recall all of the details about the turn of events that landed Mary in prison, wondering what her case had to do with clearing my name. She’d been convicted of felony theft—supposedly she’d made off with some guy’s fortune. I wanted to push the subject, but the girls were vying for Charlie’s attention and it wasn’t a conversation they needed to hear anyway. It wasn’t until a few hours later that Charlie and I lay tangled up in our sheets, finishing the earlier conversation.

  “I think Mary fell in love with the wrong guy. His family paid to have her removed from the picture—and in a way that didn’t scream Chappaquiddick,” Charlie absentmindedly stroked my still-flat stomach.

  “So, did the public defender intentionally throw the case?”

  “I think so…Neena, her lawyer was Martin Ross.”

  “My attorney,” realization settled over me. “I remember that. I guess I just never thought it mattered.”

  “The guy is a public defender. Representing both of you isn’t exactly a smoking gun. But then take into account that both of you were poor women who happened to be inconveniencing some very powerful families, and now we have another similarity. When I consider the fact that he’s usually a fairly decent lawyer but lost two cases a first-year could have won, then I think I want to take a swing at the guy.”

  “Wow. You sound almost angry,” I teased nervously.

  “I’m beyond angry,” his voice trembled as he ran his fingers through his hair. “If I found out he did this to you for money, I can’t promise I’ll behave rationally.”

  “Hey, don’t do that,” I caught his chin and forced him to look me in the eye. “These people stole my humanity—don’t hand them yours, too.”

  “I don’t plan on it,” he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And I would like to help you reclaim yours.”

  “So what else? What’s next?”

  “Well, I am hoping that Mary’s acquittal on the basis of improper representation will open up some of Marty’s other files. I’ve asked a friend of mine to take a look at Todd Winslow’s past. If you weren’t his first victim, it would help our case.”

  “Don’t say that,” I winced.

  “I didn’t say I was hoping for it, just stating a fact,” he reminded me gently. “Anyway, I have a few directions I want to head once I can give your case my full attention. First, I have to deal with Julie.”

  I resisted the urge to hiss. Instead, I chose to do something more productive. “What can I do to help?”

  “Do you have any dirt on her?” Charlie half-laughed. “I seriously doubt she’s quite the saint she’s portraying herself to be.”

  “It shouldn’t matter. She walked out on the two of you. Period. Her rights should have ended there.”

  “But she says she did it to make a better life for herself and Cara because I refused to make more money.”

  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” I snorted. “I don’t like that woman.”

  “I know. Me either,” Charlie traced my lips with his finger. “But I have to thank her for giving me Cara.”

  “The stork brought Cara,” I informed him solemnly. “I refuse to believe Julie ever held your heart.”

  “I was a really young and stupid kid,” he leaned closer, causing my breath to catch. “The best thing she ever did for me was to leave. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here with you now. And being here with you now is the reason God gave me breath.”

  It was a while before we got back around to conversation after that. It was way past my bedtime when we finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning, Charlie fed the girls breakfast while I went through my morning ritual on the bathroom floor. The bouts of sickness came and went. First thing in the morning was the one time I could pretty much bank on being ill. The rest was a coin toss.

  By the time I was well enough to talk, he was on his way back to Louisiana and I needed to get Cara to school. Gabrielle and I spent Thursday morning much the same as the three before it. Only now, we’d made enough progress that we were able to head home after lunch.

  As always, before venturing outside we wrapped our faces in scarves and jammed knit caps on our heads. If there was a reporter lurking around town, I didn’t want them catching a snapshot of me. The winter wear was hot and itchy, but we endured it—even as we exercised the horses in our own field.

  As a Coushatta, Gabrielle knew her way around horses; I didn’t need to tell her what to do. Cara’s little pony was a breeze compared to the animals she was used to working with on the Coushatta Ranch. I enjoyed my time with Gabrielle; she was so much like Conrad.

  Maybe it was masochistic of me, but there were times I tried to see some of Todd in her. As hard as I looked, it just wasn’t there. Maybe the stork brought me Gabrielle after all. As I succumbed to her charm, it became easier and easier to forget what was fair to Conrad.

  The afternoon flew by. Gabrielle offered to groom the horses and put them back in their stalls while I went to get Cara. I was on my way out the door to pick her up when the phone rang.

  “We won,” Charlie’s smile shone through the phone. “She gets to go home, Neena. We won.”

  I know I thanked him, I smiled with him, I cried, but I still couldn’t fully process the fact that after all of that time Mary O’Donnell would just walk out of that place—free to live her life again.

  I wondered what kind of life she’d find waiting for her. Would she still sleep lightly as I did? How long would it take her to stop tensing up for a fight whenever another person got within a ten-foot radius? Would she have nightmares, too?

  These were the thoughts that filled my mind as I waited on a bench for Cara to emerge from the school. I was so preoccupied I nearly missed the glint of sunlight off of glass coming from the trees across the street. I cocked my head to study the tree in question. The bell rang and students began pouring out of the building.

  “Neena!” Cara waved excitedly at me. A light flashed just as she reached me. I smiled at her as I grabbed her hand and started back towards the house at a near-trot.

  “Hey baby… good to see you. How was your day?”

  “Why are we walking so fast?”

  “I’ll explain later,” I glanced over my shoulder. I didn’t see anyone following us, but that didn’t mean we were alone. Someone had taken our picture. Someone knew Cara was Charlie’s daughter. Suddenly I was very glad for the itchy scarf.

  I startled every time the sun glinted off a car bumper. Poor Cara was completely bewildered by the time I crashed through our front door. Charlie came home to a quiet house with every shade pulled tight. The girls had given up on talking to me; I was driving them crazy with my pacing and peeking out the windows. They’d long since retreated to Cara’s room with Beau.

  If Charlie was surprised to hear that we’d had a reporter tailing us, he did a good job of hiding it. Not that we’d had much time to talk. He gave each of us a quick kiss, inhaled his dinner, and went straight to his study to work on a response to Julie’s petition.

  I couldn’t blame him. I understood his urgency. Still, that didn’t make our bed any less lonely when I fell asleep with only his pillow for company yet again.

  Even with Charlie back, Gabrielle and I stuck to our new routine and went to his office after dropping Cara off the next morning. He was distracted, but happy to see us. His nose was buried so deeply in case law that he didn’t seem concerned with any of the progress we’d made around the place in his absence, so I took up my newly assumed spot at the front desk and continued with my own research. Gabrielle sat curled up in the big bay window at the front of the office, working on the math assignment I’d given her in attempt to keep her from falling behind at school.

  “Wow… she’s pretty.”

  I looked up at Gabrielle’s obser
vation and my heart skipped a beat. “Gabrielle, grab your things and come with me.”

  “What?” confusion etched her brow.

  “Now,” I hissed, my heart now pounding double-time to make up the beat it’d skipped previously.

  “What’s going on, Mom?”

  “Charlie… I think your fan club is here to see you… Gabrielle and I will be hiding out back until she’s gone.”

  “What?” he poked his head out of his office just as we rushed by. He sighed when he saw her. “That woman never gives up.”

  “I thought that might be her…she looked out of place in Hampton. Just get rid of her and let us know when we can come back in.”

  “Sure,” he scowled, not at all happy with the distraction. A few months ago, it would never have occurred to me that my affable Charlie would even look crossly at another human being. Now I almost felt sorry for the persistent reporter. He looked ready to bite her head off.

  We startled a cat routing through his trash when Gabrielle and I slipped into the alleyway behind Charlie’s office. I wished for something to do so we didn’t look so out of place, but there really wasn’t anything once I’d replaced the lid on the trash can. We sighed at each other and leaned against the door.

  We earned a few odd looks from other shop owners and employees as they came and went from their own back doors, and I could just imagine the gossip I would garner for this stunt, but I considered it a win that Elena didn’t see me and no reporter-boogey-men appeared out of thin air to snap my photo. It didn’t occur to me to move away from the door until Charlie tried to open it, though.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, rushing past him to reenter the building once he’d given us the all-clear.

  “You’d better let me pick Cara up today,” he informed me once we were alone in his office. “She thinks she caught a glimpse of you and is just dying to meet you now.”