by Debbie Zello
“Yes.”
“I asked you how long?” Max repeated.
“Your honor, I can’t answer that. It’s not a yes or no and Mr. Delmar just said, he only wanted a yes or no,” Briah said.
“Everyone approach the bench,” the judge said loudly. All of the attorneys walked up to talk to the judge. He moved his chair over to the side away from the microphones. After a heated discussion, Blain smiled at Briah as he walked back. “Miss Spencer, you will answer the questions posed to you by the attorneys, to the best of your knowledge. If you can answer with a yes or no, please do so. If it requires a different answer, please provide it in as few words as possible. Do you understand?”
“Yes, your honor. I was filing for approximately ten minutes.”
“You didn’t see the person walk in, did you?”
“No.”
“You became aware of someone in the office when you heard voices speaking?”
“Yes.”
“You turned around and the door was almost closed, yet you didn’t see who had closed it. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“So for all you know, the person that had come into the office closed it. Isn’t that a possibility?”
“No. Mr. Slater was there to kill Dan, not to protect me by closing the door,” Briah spoke as if she was pondering the question. It was magic in the courtroom. Blain was biting his lip as Max was exploding in anger.
“Your honor! I object and ask that the witness testimony be stricken from the record, and the jury instructed to disregard her statement. Once again to instruct this witness to refrain from editorializing.”
“Calm down, Mr. Delmar. Miss Spencer, you have been asked to keep your answers to a bare minimum.”
“I’m so sorry your honor. I apologize to the court, Mr. Delmar and the jury. I’m sorry that my honesty offends. I’m offended by liars and murderers.”
That was it, the judge had to clear the court and adjourn for the day. Blain knew he was going to be reamed out by the judge, and told to control his witness, as if anyone could control her. He knew exactly what she was doing and he loved it. Still he would have to put a stop to it or risk being in contempt of the court. He wrote on his pad “What a woman” and threw it into his briefcase.
Briah waited in the conference room for Blain. She knew she was in trouble, and she would do it again. Some things were worth the punishment and some weren’t. This definitely was.
A few minutes later, Blain walked in. “I don’t know whether to kiss you or spank you. If I were a single man, I might do both,” he said chuckling. “That was some stunt, and I could honestly say, I knew nothing about it, thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome. How much trouble am I in?”
“You’re going to get the contempt of court lecture, first thing in the morning, outside the presence of the jury. Then you’re going to behave for me. As much as I enjoyed that, I don’t want you in trouble. I wish it were taped. It won’t read as well as if they could see your face as you delivered the lines.
“Well, that was some first day. Get out of here and go home. Same time tomorrow, right here. And thank you,” he said walking out. Briah stood there for a few minutes, relishing the tremendous feeling making your point gives you. She had called David a murderer twice in open court and his battery of well-paid attorneys couldn’t stop her.
She walked out of the room. She found a bailiff in the hallway, and asked her if she would escort her to the parking garage. The two women walked down to the elevators and got in. Briah was tired, which was funny to her, because all she had done all day was talk. Mental fatigue was just as exhausting as physical.
Briah saw the car as soon as they stepped off the elevator. “Thank you,” she said to the bailiff as she neared the car. A strange man opened the driver’s door and stepped out. “Who are you?” Briah asked.
“Damian.”
“Where is Cody?” she said becoming nervous. Briah held onto the forearm of the bailiff as she moved her hand to her gun at her side.
“He got called away and I’m taking his place. I’m sorry to scare you, but it was unavoidable. He had a family emergency that he had to tend to. I’ll be driving you home. He’ll be back in the morning, to drive you back here. I can call someone to verify it for you if you want,” he said.
“No, it’s all right. I understand. Things happen,” Briah said feeling better. She turned to the bailiff again and said, “Thank you, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll let Mr. Kurtz know you’re on your way home.”
“I’ll see everyone in the morning,” Briah said brightly as she got into the car. She took her usual spot in the back seat right in the center of the seat. Damian got into the driver’s seat, adjusting the mirror. He turned slightly around to look at Briah.
“You should buckle up, Miss Spencer.”
“I am, thank you.”
“No, I mean with the shoulder harness over there,” he said pointing to the seat by the passenger side door.
“If I sit in the back seat of a car I always sit in the center of the seat. I sat in the back seat when I was a little girl. I couldn’t see over the head-rest, so I got used to sitting in the center of the seat so I could see where we were going,” she explained. She could see he wanted to say more but chose not to.
Aiden arrived at the courthouse a few minutes after Briah had left. He walked down the hall after spotting Blain talking to someone. Aiden got close and then stopped, not wanting to appear that he was listening to their conversation. Blain finished speaking and turned to walk towards Aiden. “Have you seen Briah?”
“Not yet. Where is she?”
“I was told she had left and gone home,” Blain said.
“I missed her then.”
“You missed a lot today,” Blain, said smiling.
“Did I? What happened? How did it go?”
“Like clockwork. It was magnificent. She was magnificent. I’ll let her tell you, but she is one hell of a woman,” he said reverently.
“Don’t I know it,” Aiden cogitated. Blain’s attention was redirected elsewhere and Aiden walked away. He got to his car, deciding to drive to her house. Maybe he would take her to dinner if she wasn’t too tired. He’d see when he got there. They could order in if she was tired.
Briah was looking out the window watching the scenery pass by. They were early, as her antics had cleared the court. So they were slightly ahead of the usual afternoon rush-hour traffic. It was a lazy, warm afternoon. It wasn’t raining yet, but the sky was gloomy with the threatening grey color it takes on just before it rains.
Briah watched the pedestrians walking quickly, as though they were trying to get where they were going before getting wet. She looked down at the seat next to her, thankful there was an umbrella there. Her crepe suit wouldn’t be stained with raindrops.
Damian shifted in his seat, causing Briah to look up. He held a gun in his hand and it was pointing at her. Before even taking a breath, she grabbed for the gun. Being restricted by the seatbelt made her strain to reach it.
She got a hold of his fingers, trying to redirect the barrel sideways. Ducking her head, at the last possible second the gun went off, shattering the rear window behind her. The second shot was immediate, and demolished the rear window next to her.
Still struggling with his grip on the weapon, she pointed it to the ceiling as it went off again. The last thing she saw was his face, as he grabbed her with the other hand, to free her grip on the gun.
Aiden got to her apartment and knocked on the door. There wasn’t any answer, so he sat on the step, figuring he must have beaten her home. He called her cell but it went to voice mail. “Hey, beautiful. I’m here at your place waiting for you. I thought we might get something to eat. I ran into Blain at the courthouse. He said you had a lot to tell me. I can’t wait. Talk soon.”
He wasn’t really worried, because he knew she would have shut it off for court, and probably hadn’t remembered to turn
ed it back on yet. He sat there playing FreeCell on his phone. Fifteen minutes later, when she still hadn’t arrived he called her again. When she didn’t pick up again, he stood and went back down the stairs to his car.
Placing a call to dispatch he asked, “Anything going on?”
“There is a drive by shooting downtown resulting in an accident with injuries. A robbery at a convenience store, and a domestic. Pretty light for a Monday,” she said.
“Okay, thanks. You’re sure there is nothing related to the courthouse?”
“You looking for trouble?”
“No, my girlfriend is late getting home and isn’t answering her phone,” he explained.
“She’s crazy. If you were waiting for me, I’d be there!” she said laughing.
“Thanks, Jill. I’ll tell her you said that. If you hear anything call, okay?”
“You got it, cutie.”
Chapter Twelve
Blain had gone back to his office with his team, still gloating over how well the first day had gone. He was just about to poke his head into the Chief States Attorney’s office, to give him a report, when his phone went off. “Hello,” he said, then listened. “Yes, this is Blain Kurtz. Who is this?” he answered, listening for the response. “That’s not possible, she was escorted home…Oh my God! Is she alive...Where...I’ll be there as soon as I can get there,” he said hanging up and running down the hall.
Aiden got in his car, and began to drive back to the courthouse, avoiding the area of the drive by. He didn’t want to be caught up in that traffic. He thought perhaps that was what happened to Briah. She was stuck in the aftermath of someone’s mess. But why wasn’t she answering her phone? By now, she would have checked it, he thought, worry niggling at his brain.
Briah arrived by ambulance at the hospital, unconscious. After her initial evaluation was completed, she was in a private room in the emergency area. She was guarded both inside the room and outside. There were also officers at every entrance of the hospital. They were in virtual lock-down.
Briah’s fingers on her left hand were badly burned from holding the barrel of the gun as it was repeatedly fired. She had numerous deep cuts and abrasions from the glass inside the car, some requiring stitches. Her worst injuries were the gigantic hematoma surrounding her abdomen, from the seatbelt, that might be indicative of internal injuries, and the whiplash and possible brain injury caused from slamming into the parked cars. A CAT-scan would determine if any of those maladies were present. Hers would be done shortly.
The Federal agents assigned to the tangential case of money laundering, etc., had arrived at the hospital before Blain. They were with Briah when she came out of her cataleptic state. She began moaning, as she stirred in the bed. Brice Coughlin, the lead agent, wanted badly to hold her hand, as a comfort to her, but after considering what had happened to her, he felt it might frighten her. He and the other men just stood there, helpless. “Miss Spencer, can you hear me?” he asked.
She continued her head movements and moaning.
“Miss Spencer, my name is Brice Coughlin. I’m one of the agents assigned to this case. We’ve never met, but I know Blain Kurtz and Aiden Baldwin.”
“Aiden. Where is Aiden?” she said groggy. She began to open her eyes slowly as if the sun was in them. She brought her right hand up to shield them. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You’re in the emergency room. You were brought here by ambulance from the accident. Do you remember what happened?”
“Yes, he tried to kill me. I snatched the gun and he shot it. A few times, I think. The windows broke. Then I don’t know what happened,” she said grimacing in pain.
“Call the nurse and get her something for pain,” he said to one of the other men in the room. “Who was it that shot at you?”
“Cody. No wait…he wasn’t Cody. He said Cody was called away. His name was Damian, I think. That’s right…Damian,” she said holding her head. She was becoming more alert as the minutes passed. Brice made a mental note of how small she looked in the bed. How fragile she looked.
“So you went with him without checking anything?”
“Yeah, stupid right? I got in the car with Cody this morning, without checking too,” she said mentally castigating herself for her stupidity. She was dealing with a mob-connected murderer. How could she be so stupid?
“Yes, but that was before he knew what you know. Now you have to adopt the theory that everyone is out to get you.”
“That sounds a lot like paranoia.”
“When someone is actually out to kill you, paranoia is just a good way of thinking,” Brice quoted a saying he had heard. He kept to himself that Cody was found dead in the trunk of the car she was riding in. He felt her knowing would just add to her discomfort. Sometimes the less said, the better.
“I already testified. What could killing me accomplish?”
“Your cross wasn’t finished and you may be needed for rebuttal at the end of the direct. Even during the eventual appeal, you might be needed. That is not as likely but still a possibility. Then there is just plain old revenge. You helped to put him away and he wants to return the favor by putting you away permanently.”
“Okay, so what do I do now?”
“We have you disappear. We keep you under watch 24-7 until the trial is over. Then you go into witness protection. You are given a new life in a new place. We manufacture everything for you, from a new birth certificate, to a new job. No one knows you, and you can’t be found because you don’t exist.”
“What about my job here? My life? My boyfriend?”
“If you stay here, it will just be a matter of time before he gets you. He’ll wait until you think it’s safe to come out of the hole you’re hiding in. You’ll go back to your life, and one day when you don’t see him coming…he’ll off you.”
“I can’t leave. I love Aiden and I won’t leave without him.”
“If you were married, he could go with you. It’s very expensive to manufacture an entire life for someone. The taxpayers don’t mind doing it for you, but I can’t ask them to pay for a boyfriend that might not go anywhere beyond boyfriend. What if you two get to where you’re going and break up? Do you see the dilemma I’m in?” he asked.
“Thanks for the offer. I’ll take my chances and stay right here. For the first time in a very long time, I have everything I want. I’m happy in my job, and I have a man I love with me. Why would I leave that?” she said focusing her eyes on him to make her point clear.
“How ‘bout to stay alive? We can’t protect you for the rest of your life. It doesn’t work that way, Briah. We would be pulled off the case soon after the verdict is rendered. Aiden can’t protect you every minute of every day. He has to work, shower, and sleep. This guy killed a man for sleeping with his wife. Do you actually think he’ll even swallow hard over killing you?”
She sat up in the bed, even though her head was swimming. She summoned all of her strength and said, “I’m not going. I love him and I’m staying right here! Do you feel me?” Brice nodded and left the room. There might be more than one way to skin this woman. On to plan B.
Blain and Aiden flew into the parking lot of the hospital at almost the exact same time. Aiden through open his door and was out of the car in one swift motion. He began screaming, “What the fuck happened, Blain? What the fuck went wrong?”
“I don’t know yet, Aiden. I haven’t spoken to anyone yet. You know as much as I do. I thought we had everything sewn up. I was wrong, I’m sorry,” he said sadly. The two men continued to run into the hospital as they spoke, showing their respective credentials as they passed the officers guarding the entrance.
“Don’t apologize to me, do it to her. That is, if she still speaks to you after this stunt.”
“I know I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. This was a royal screw up.”
They got to the emergency area and saw Brice and a few other men standing outside a room. Aiden walked to them and said, “Where is she
?”
“They just took her for the CT scan. They said it would be an hour or so before she returns,” Brice informed him. “Can we talk somewhere?”
“Yeah, good, I have several questions for you,” Aiden said, following Brice into an empty room. Blain walked with them and the three men sat down in the visitor’s chairs. “What happened?”
“When she left for the day she had a bailiff escort her to the car just as she was supposed to do. The bailiff said there was a different guy there and Briah even questioned him. She accepted his answer, that the first guy was called away. We found him dead in the trunk after the accident.
“They drove off. Five minutes later the car plowed into a line of parked cars on the side of the road. Witnesses reported three shots just prior to the collision. One shattered the back windshield, one the side window and one went into the roof.”
“I don’t know how she managed to fend him off. His name is Damian Mitchell and he is a known hired assassin for the mob. He’s messed up pretty badly. When they got her out of the car, she was holding the barrel of the gun so tightly in her hand that they had to pry her fingers from it.”
“You don’t know her very well. None of this surprises me at all,” Aiden said.
“Me neither,” Blain agreed.
“I haven’t told her about the dead marshal. I figured she had enough with her injuries.”
“Where is this Damian guy?” Aiden asked.
“Somewhere in here under guard, shackled hands and feet, to a bed. He’s not going anywhere. I haven’t spoken to him yet.”
“I’d like a few minutes with him,” Aiden said.
“Me too,” Blain agreed.
“Not happening gentlemen. I need him and don’t want any problems with procedure. He won’t get away, that I will promise,” he said seriously. He turned toward Blain and said, “Would you excuse us please, Blain? I need to speak to Aiden alone.”
“Sure. I’ll wait in Briah’s room for her to come back,” Blain said, standing. He walked out the door, closing it behind him. Aiden turned from the door to face Brice again.
