"We should get some more guys," Yelena said. The sound of her voice drew Mayor Sloan back into the room.
"You think? We've got Notch. That crazy son of a bitch hasn't needed any help before."
"Yeah, but we've never asked him to take on a whole group before either," Yelena countered.
Mayor Sloan considered it. Pushed herself up from her chair. Started towards the door.
"Make the call. Let's get this damn thing done."
Chapter Forty
A pleading.
Formal notification to the court system that something had occurred for which a party seeks intervention.
Step One in the legal process.
More style than substance, it is a very straight-forward listing of a party's grievances. One by one they are enumerated, along with a preliminary mention of what is sought in damages.
No actual arguments. No references to legal precedence. Not even a list of people that will serve as witnesses.
For the case of Beth Haggerty versus City and County of Missoula, the first draft took almost two hours to write. The first hour, Drake and Ava both typed furiously. Neither one said much.
The next half hour, Ava sent over what she had and Drake compiled it into an acceptable format.
The final half hour was spent debating the questions staring back at them. Who to name as the defendant and what to pray for in damages.
The kind of questions that should be taken to a mentor. One, for example, like a clinic advisor.
For obvious reasons, that option wasn’t available.
After much debate, they decided to go after the City and County of Missoula. They had no idea what exact persons to name, but knew that the Sheriff, Child Services representative, and an attorney were involved. Maybe a doctor and judge as well.
Seemed as good a solution as any.
The damages took a little bit longer to hash out. Beth had been adamant that she only receive the money promised her.
Drake and Ava both agreed that wouldn't be enough. Not enough to cover the medical expenses she would now be responsible for or the physical and psychological trauma she was being subjected to.
Most important, it wouldn't put a dent in a criminal jury's mind. If they were using this as a stepping stone into federal court, they needed to aim high.
In the end, they decided to go with Beth's original request.
Times a hundred.
The last thing Drake typed into the pleading was the number two million dollars. He didn't even bother to reread it. Just hit save and printed.
Together he and Ava signed at the bottom. Left the law school at twenty before five.
The parking lot was nearly deserted as they emerged into the late day sun and climbed into Drake's truck. The busiest place on campus was now the intramural fields as they drove by, loaded with flag football and ultimate Frisbee players.
Neither one even bothered to look over at them.
Drake angled the truck through town towards the courthouse and parked in the quick-stop parking on the corner. Side by side they descended the short flight of stairs to the Clerk of Court's office.
There they found a short, plump woman in her mid-forties. Her thick hair was dyed a shade too dark and hung in tight curls around her head.
Even at eleven minutes before five, she already had her purse strap over one shoulder and keys in hand.
She frowned as they approached. "May I help you?"
Drake extended the pleading towards her. "We'd like to file this for the first available court date, please."
The woman sighed. Made an exaggerated show of looking at the clock on the wall. "Can it wait?"
"No," Ava said. Not even the slightest pause. No hint of sympathy in her voice.
The woman leveled a hard stare on them and held out her hand for the document.
Drake passed it over. Waited as the woman checked it to make sure everything was in order.
Cringed as her gaze passed over the named defendant. Smirked as it bulged at the sight of the amount prayed for.
After a minute of looking everything over, the woman pulled a heavy stamp out from her desk drawer. Slammed it down on the top of the form.
"Your hearing will be two weeks from today in front of Judge Tanner. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got my kid's soccer game to get to."
She left them standing in the middle of the clerk's office, muttering under her breath as she departed.
"That went well," Ava said.
Drake let the comment pass by and started for the door. "You hear who she assigned us to?"
"You caught that too, huh?"
Drake stepped out into the sun and stretched his hands high over his head. He had no idea where the day had gone, just that he was exhausted and famished.
At the same time, he also felt excited. It was the first time, even after the summer he'd had, that he felt like his being law school was having a positive impact on someone.
It would be a short lived feeling.
Chapter Forty-One
Unlike most people, Dr. Ben Schievers favorite day of the week was Monday.
Such a declaration might come as a shock to many people, but the reasoning was rather simple.
After his affair with Harken, his marriage went from ephemeral to non-existent. The infidelity his wife could overlook. His involvement in the ring she could not.
Hypocritical as it may be, she had no problem taking half the money he made from it to remain silent though.
The two had never wanted children, leaving him with a big empty house to go home to every night. He had no real hobbies to speak of. He didn't care for sports and hadn't turned on the television in months.
Weekends were the worst part of the week for him. He would tend to the yard. Wash his Lexus. Do what little bit of laundry he had.
Basically, just sit and watched the clock until the work week started again.
The odd part of it all was, once the week started he found himself thrust back into a ninety hour load that had him longing for the weekend.
An unending cycle of exhaustion and self-loathing.
At five o'clock the surgery ward receptionist poked in and wished him a good evening. She was cute and perky, the kind of person a younger version of himself would have spent endless hours fantasizing about. Maybe even trying to strike up a conversation with.
Now, he didn't even bother to look at her. Kept his face hidden behind a chart he was reading and waved one finger at her. Offered a perfunctory, "Night."
Dr. Schievers waited until her footfalls disappeared down the hallway and rose from his desk. He shut the door and locked it, then pulled his cell-phone from the desk drawer and hit speed dial number one.
Yelena's thin, nasal tone responded. "What?"
It always surprised Dr. Schievers how heinous Yelena came across on the phone. While no means a jewel in person, she was nowhere near as gruff as her automated persona let on.
Kind of like one of those hacks that will eviscerate someone from the safety of their laptop, then smile to their face.
"I was just calling to let you know, Beth missed her appointment today."
"No shit," Yelena snapped.
Dr. Schievers jaw dropped open. "Did something happen? Is there anything I should be aware of?"
"You know damned well what's happened. That's the reason you're calling."
Dr. Schievers mouth remained open. He stared blankly through his office window into the parking lot. Tried to think of something to say.
Nothing came to him.
"Is there anything else?" Yelena asked.
"I...I had no idea anything was wrong," Dr. Schievers said.
"Don't give me that," Yelena said. "You were here for the meeting yesterday."
Dr. Schievers eyes slid closed.
The meeting. He had assumed when they'd sent Notch to find the girl, he would find the girl. He had also assumed that they would at least keep her alive long enough to deliver the child.
Apparently he was wrong.
"So she's..." he asked.
"Still missing," Yelena said. Extreme annoyance in her voice.
Dr. Schievers eyes popped open. His eyebrows raised. Definitely not the response he was expecting.
"Okay," he mumbled. "Please keep me apprised if anything changes."
The line went dead without a response.
Dr. Schievers pulled the phone back away from his head and stared at it for several long seconds. Remained motionless until the disconnected line began to beep at him.
He turned the phone off and back on, placed another call.
It was answered on the third ring.
"Patricia Harken." Curt. Professional.
"Patty, it's Ben. We need to talk."
Chapter Forty-Two
Ava had Drake drop her off at her apartment.
It had been a long but promising day. She was exhausted, but a touch elated as well. No need to ruin that going back to the law school.
Whatever she had to do would still be there tomorrow.
She could tell by the expression on Drake's face that he felt the same way. They were nowhere near where they wanted to be, but they were pointed in the right direction.
It was the first time since landing in Missoula she'd felt even the slightest inkling of optimism.
She left Drake on the curb with a small wave and went inside. No awkward pep talks, no rah-rah speeches.
Just wasn't her style.
Instead she climbed out and walked straight up the side stairwell to her second floor apartment. Heard Drake drive away behind her, but didn't bother to turn and watch.
She unlocked both the knob and the deadbolt and went inside. Dropped her keys on the counter and took a long pull of water from the bottle she kept on the refrigerator door.
A habit she'd picked up from her mother a long time ago.
With one hand she reached back behind her neck and undid the string of pearls. Slid them from beneath her hair and laid them on the counter. Took another swig of water and headed towards the bedroom.
Already her mind was thinking about a quick run before dinner. Maybe some yoga.
She passed through the living room and into her bedroom. Made it two feet inside the door before something registered in her mind and she retreated three short steps.
Sitting on her couch was a man she had never seen before.
Judging by his weathered outfit and scruff appearance, there was a reason.
Ava felt a film of sweat immediately envelope her. Her breath drew tight in her chest. "Who the hell are you?"
The man said nothing. Continued to stare at her with his hollow gray eyes and vacant smile.
"How did you get in here?" Ava asked. She cast her eyes to her bag in the kitchen and thought of her cell-phone inside it.
The man noticed the glance. Made a soft tutting noise with his tongue. "I wouldn't do that if I were you Miss Zargoza."
Ava stood rooted in place. "How do you know my name? What do you want?"
The man raised his eyebrows as if bored. "Your name is of no matter to me, but I got it off a piece of mail anyway. I find having some personal information makes this whole experience a lot more real for you.
"That makes it a lot more fun for me."
"Makes what a lot more real? What do you want?"
Ava drew in deep breaths. Tried to force her heart rate to slow. To push aside her anxiety and think for a moment.
"So many questions. You'll make a great lawyer someday. Provided of course you survive to see someday."
Ava's heart began to beat even harder. The only person in Missoula she really knew had just driven away. There would be absolutely no reason for him to come back.
As far as she knew, her landlords downstairs didn’t get home until late in the evening. Even if she screamed, the odds of anybody hearing it were remote.
The odds of anybody acting on it, even more so.
"Who are you?"
The man lowered his feet from her coffee table to the floor. "My name, like yours, doesn't matter. But since I do know yours, I'll extend you the same courtesy. You may call me Notch."
Ava tried hard to swallow down the lump in her throat. Fought to keep the fear back far enough so she could think.
What little bit of stuff she'd shipped up was still in boxes. The only things in the apartment were the sparse furnishings that came with the place.
Nothing that constituted a weapon.
Behind her was the bedroom. She could duck inside and slam the door, try to buy herself a few minutes. Maybe even enough time to make it to the window.
"Notch?" she asked. "Like in a headboard?"
The same vacant smile returned to the man's face. "You should be so lucky."
He didn't elaborate. He didn't have to.
This was a man that was used to killing. So much so that he'd even nicknamed himself after his craft.
There was little doubt he had no qualms about adding her to the tally.
"Why are you here? How did you get in?"
The man made a face. Lowered his gaze at her as if the question was foolish. "You think the Sheriff was the only one watching you guys this morning?"
Ava did her best to keep her face level. He was right. They'd been so caught up in watching for the Sheriff, they'd overlooked anybody that might be tailing them.
She inched her way back into the room. "How did you get in here?"
The man drew his feet up under him, pushed himself to a standing position. "Still with the questions. If I were you I'd be much more concerned with where I'm taking you than how long it took me to pick your lock."
Ava stopped moving backwards for a moment. Let the weight of his words sink in to her.
Took a deep breath.
In one movement she wheeled around and slammed the door shut behind her. Sprinted across the hardwood floor for the window.
She could hear his heavy footsteps coming. Literally feel the ground shake as he smashed through the door.
As fast as she could she unlatched the window and pulled upward on the wooden frame.
A recent coat of paint locked it in place.
Unable to think of anything else, she threw her head back and screamed as two fat teardrops rolled down her cheeks. In vain, she continued to press upward on the window sill.
The scream lasted less than a second before a heavy hand grabbed her by the nape of the neck and drove her head into the window frame.
Her vision, her entire world, went straight to black on contact.
Chapter Forty-Three
Drake was sitting on the couch when the call came in.
To his right was Suzy Q, her paws flat on his thigh, her chin between them. To his left were the remains of some chicken stir-fry he'd had for dinner.
The correlation there was unmistakable.
In the middle of the living room was Ajax, bouncing around as he acted out his newest creation for Drake to see. Some kind of first person warrior game for the Nintendo Wii.
As best Drake could tell, the player was the last remaining warrior in a medieval time faced with a zombie apocalypse. The idea was to fight his way from village to village and rally any remaining survivors using only basic weaponry and lead them to safety.
Talk about cramming as many clichés into one video game as possible.
To be fair, Ajax had taken the rather cheesy concept and made it quite entertaining. Ideas, after all, weren't his responsibility. Just the execution.
As the saying goes, that's why he made the big bucks.
Really, really big bucks.
It was fortunate Drake's phone was on vibrate. The volume on the game was so loud there's no way he would have heard it.
Instead he felt it pulsating beneath Q's chin, pulled it out and checked the caller ID. "Ajax, can you pause a second buddy?"
Ajax did as he was asked, turned and waited in the middle of the room. Stood panting from the exertion of the game.
"Hello?" Drake as
ked.
"Any word from the rez?" Rink asked.
"Kade called a little bit ago. They're at his grandmother's right now."
"Is it safe?"
"Fort Knox," Drake deadpanned. And he meant it. The Flathead Reservation was one of the most self-contained places he'd ever seen in his life.
They might not entirely accept the Keuhl family, but they damned sure didn't trust outsiders.
"Good," Rink said. "So listen, Ella is awake."
"She's awake? Is she okay? Do I need to call Sage?"
"No, no, she's fine," Rink said. "But we're both hungry, could use some fresh air."
The statement surprised Drake for a moment. He just as fast pulled back and realized it shouldn't.
They weren't prisoners. It was a more than reasonable request. "You guys going out to dinner? Do you need money?"
"No. We need to stretch our legs, not do something stupid that might get us seen. You mind if we come over? Maybe order in some Chinese?"
In the background, Drake could here Ella groan and mutter something intelligible.
"I mean some sandwiches," Rink added.
"Sounds like you two are getting along well."
"Just peachy. See now why I want to come by?"
Drake chuckled. "You know where we are. I'll have food waiting for you."
"Any chance you'll have that partner of yours there too?"
"Sorry man, not tonight," Drake said, smiling and shaking his head.
Both parties signed off as Drake rose and went into the kitchen. He called and ordered some subs for Rink and Ella, an order of wings for Ajax.
Some garlic bread for him and Q to share.
The food arrived at the same time as Rink and Ella. Despite their walking up to the front walk together, Ring pretended not to see the delivery man and let Drake handle all necessary transactions.
Once inside, conversation was at a minimum while the food was devoured. Ajax switched the game over for Hawaii Five-O and everyone watched as Steve McGarrett delivered canned lines in between shots of the gorgeous Oahu scenery.
Ajax waited until the episode was over to switch back to his game. He restarted in two player mode and gave a quick demo to Rink.
The Zoo Crew (Zoo Crew series Book 1) Page 14
