John Stone Law

by Dave Derin

  I walked in the direction he’d pointed, and the room opened into a long living room with a wide bay window that faced the front yard of the house. Susanna sat on the edge of a beige microfiber couch and stared straight ahead at a fish tank against the opposite wall.

  “Good evening, Miss Jenkins,” I said, then wiped my sweaty palms on my pants discreetly and took a few steps toward her. “I’m here for our procedural check-in. Just coming to make sure you’ve settled back in alright, and that the ankle monitor is working properly.”

  “Doin’ fine so far, Mr. Stone,” she replied quietly with no inflection to her voice, and kept her eyes locked on the bright pink and blue fish that darted around the live plants in the well-kept, twenty-gallon tank. The bright red mark on her cheek let me know she was not doing fine at all.

  “Great, great,” I drew out the words slowly and nodded, then positioned my body so that I could simultaneously see out of the front window and into the kitchen where Cooper stood with crossed arms and leered at me.

  Hadn’t Susanna said he’d brought friends?

  All of a sudden, Susanna let out a shriek behind me, and I spun around to see that two men had appeared from down the dark hallway. They were both dressed head-to-toe in black and looked like they’d just stepped off an espionage movie set. The taller of the two, a gaunt man with spiked blood red hair, had my terrified client in a chokehold from behind, and she struggled to free herself as she kicked and elbowed at him then released another bloodcurdling scream. The second man, a tubby fellow with buzzed hair and R.o.D. tattooed across the front of his neck, lunged across the room with balled fists and started to swing at me.

  The skin all over my body instantly tingled, and I felt the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand on end. I reacted before my brain had time to process all the visual information. I drew my handgun and pointed it at my attacker’s chest, but felt my hand trembling slightly so I took a slow, deep breath to steady my nerves. The stocky man immediately stopped in his tracks and dropped his fists, then looked over to his boss. Cooper slouched against the living room wall and sniggered at me from his slouched position.

  “What are you really doing here in your expensive fuckin’ suit and tie?” The greaseball uncrossed his arms, then reached beneath his leather vest, pulled out a black revolver, and held it pointed toward the floor by his right side.

  “Like I told you,” I replied and kept my voice steady even though my heart raced so fast I was dizzy. “I was here to do a check-in with my client, and now it looks like I’ve walked in on a situation that requires my intervention.”

  “Woohoo, that’s rich,” the scruffy-faced criminal hooted, then broke out into a crazed laugh and punched a hole in the living room wall with his left fist.

  “This isn’t funny, Cooper,” Susanna screamed, then was muffled by the tall man who placed his long hand over her mouth and continued to restrain her.

  “Who’s laughing, bitch?” The gangly man shouted back at her, then punched the wall again and laughed maniacally.

  “Mr. Sheridan, please listen--” I requested and felt my throat tighten.

  “Oh, ho, so it’s Mr. Sheridan now, is it?” The greasy-haired slacker asked sarcastically, then pointed his gun at Susanna.

  “Don’t,” I yelled and aimed my handgun at him as he slithered toward the wide-eyed redhead. “There’s no reason for anyone to get hurt tonight.”

  “Oh, so that’s why you’re pointing a gun at me? Because you don’t want anyone to get hurt?” Cooper sneered, and I trained my 40 mm on his gut as he approached me, which made him laugh again but he stopped moving closer. I felt lightheaded from the adrenaline that coursed through my body and fought to keep a calm exterior.

  Cooper dropped the gun by his side, then picked up a large, chrome and glass picture frame from the table beside him with his left hand and slung it toward Susanna. Fortunately, he had terrible aim, and it crashed into the wall behind the couch next to her and shattered all over the beige carpet. Susanna screamed again and sunk to the floor in hysterics, but the tall man jerked her violently back to her feet.

  “Okay, okay,” I shouted and slowly holstered my weapon. “Let’s just all take a breather, alright? I’m putting my gun away, and it won’t come back out if yours doesn’t either.”

  “What makes you think you can just come in here and boss me around?” the tattooed man growled and stared menacingly at me.

  “I’m not telling you what to do,” I raised my hands innocently and felt my heart pound in my head. “I’m just telling you what I’m doing.”

  “Fine,” Cooper rolled his eyes and set his gun on the table next to the couch, then flopped down on the couch and crossed his arms over his skinny chest. I felt my anxiety lessen slightly now that the gun wasn’t in his hand, but I still knew this man was dangerous.

  “Listen, man,” I said as if I was telling him a secret. “In my professional opinion, you and your friends are pretty fucked right now legally, and I’d like to offer you some pro-bono advice.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Cooper scowled at me. “We’re getting out of here, and Susanna’s coming with us.” Susanna let out a whimper from the corner of the room where the spiky-haired enforcer held her captive.

  “Well, just hear me out,” I began and sat down on the opposite side of the couch. “If you were to run now, you’d only have more charges added to the list, which means more prison time or even the death penalty considering some charges you’re facing.”

  “So what?” the greasy-haired man replied. “I’ll be long gone before those dumbass pigs even get here.”

  “That may be true,” I nodded while I improvised, and my pulse beat faster and faster because I knew all he had to do was reach over to the side table and grab that gun, and it could be all over. “However, I know an incredible attorney who would represent you in the Central US Air bombing case, and we’re working on getting all of the charges dismissed.”

  “Wait, what?” Cooper shifted on the couch to face me and for the first time his eyes weren’t narrowed with hate.

  “Yes,” I said confidently even though drops of nervous sweat dripped down my back. “We have strong physical evidence that you and Susanna were not involved with the incidents. Once we have Susanna’s preliminary hearing next month, I hope to have all charges dismissed, so your attorney would only need to file a motion for dismissal, and you’d be in the clear.”

  “Uh, Coop,” the taller cronie interrupted our pro-bono legal advice session.

  “What?” Cooper shouted at the tall man, and we both looked over to see that he stared out of the front bay window with big eyes.

  “Get on the ground, now,” an authoritative male voice shouted loudly from the kitchen.

  Before I knew what had happened, the room was swarmed with police officers in full gear with their weapons drawn as they shouted commands at the three intruders. I released a sigh of relief as I stood up and scanned the room for my client’s red mane.

  “John, where are you?” I heard a familiar voice yell over the crowd.

  “Over here, Tony,” I shouted, and craned my neck to see where he was over the heads of the ten or twelve other uniformed officers.

  “Jesus Christ, man,” the tall olive-skinned officer exclaimed. “What the hell is going on in here?”

  “It’s a long story,” I replied with a sigh, and looked over to see Cooper and his two cronies being handcuffed and escorted out of the front door toward the myriad of flashing blue and red lights at the street.

  “Alright, well get ready to tell that long story to Officer Jeffers over there,” Tony stated and pointed to the blonde police officer that was talking to Susanna across the room. “He’s going to need your statement after he’s done with her.”

  “Thanks again, man,” I said as I shook Tony’s hand. “I mean it. You may have saved my ass tonight.”

  “Don’t sweat it, John,” my uniformed friend replied with a smile. “Just remember t
his moment when I call on you to represent me one of these days.”

  We shared a laugh, then shook hands one more time before Tony joined his fellow officers on the front lawn. I looked over at Susanna, who was still being questioned by Jeffers. She wore a pale blue hoodie over tiny white lounge shorts and hugged her arms around herself as she trembled. Her porcelain face was flushed a deep crimson and streaked with tears. She wiped her shaky fingers across her face, and then pushed her golden red curls behind her shoulders.

  I crossed the room to join the two. “Anything I can assist you with, Officer Jeffers?” I asked the uniformed officer with short, blonde hair.

  “Actually, we’re just about ready to wrap up here, I think,” the young officer replied and looked at Susanna. She nodded at him, then sat down on the couch, hugged her knees to her chest, and lowered her head against them.

  “How about we step into the other room?” I suggested and pointed my head in the direction of the kitchen.

  “Sure, Mr. Stone,” he replied with a quick nod, then followed me into the pastel yellow wallpapered kitchen.

  I leaned against the laminate cream-colored countertop while Officer Jeffers flipped through his notepad.

  “Alright, sir,” he began after he cleared his throat. “Will you tell me your account of this evening’s events?”

  “Yes, I received an urgent text message from Susanna at a little after five this afternoon,” I said matter-of-factly. “She told me that Cooper was here with friends, and that they had a gun. So, I called Tony directly and asked if he could alert a squad car to get over here.”

  “Mmhmm,” the officer nodded as he scribbled down a few notes.

  “When I got here, I saw a man who I believed to be Cooper Sheridan through the front window throwing things around. I heard some glass shatter, heard Susanna scream, and then I saw him physically assault her. He hit her, and she fell to the floor. That’s when I intervened, I couldn’t stand around and let that happen. I went in and tried to calm the situation down, but you can see how well that went.”

  “I’ve seen worse,” Jeffers replied while he wrote down my side of the story in his small black flipbook. “No one was seriously injured. Well, that poor woman has a few cuts and bruises that we documented for court, but at least no one was killed, and I think you’re the man to thank for that. In my line of work that’s a pretty good night.”

  “Well, I don’t know about all that. I’m just glad she’s alright,” I responded, then glanced over into the den and saw that she hadn’t moved an inch.

  “Alright, well, is there anything else you’d like to add?” Jeffers asked after he looked up from his notepad.

  “Actually, yes, there is. One of the other guys, the tall, green-haired one, also physically assaulted and restrained Susanna,” I said angrily. “If there’s anything I can do to help the maximum penalty stick to these pricks, just let me know. I’ll come testify against them.”

  “Thank you, I’ll put that in my notes,” Jeffers responded with a nod. “Anything else you’d like to include in your statement?”

  “Not that I can think of right now, but I am concerned for the safety of my client,” I stated and crossed my arms across my broad chest with balled fists. “I’m sure Cooper has ways to communicate with his cronies on the outside. Would it be possible to station an officer in front of her house, just for a few days, until this situation calms down?”

  “I can’t make any promises,” the police officer replied. “But I’ll see what we can do. I think we’re all good here, but just give me a call if you think of any other important details.”

  “I appreciate that very much, and I’ll definitely let you know if I recall anything else relevant to the case,” I said with a tight smile, then shook his hand and strode back to the living room.

  Susanna had bundled herself in a burgundy chenille blanket and sat curled up in the fetal position on the couch. She’d turned to face the wall, and stared vacantly at the blank, antique white space. A small tear trickled down the cheek that faced me, so I walked over and sat down in front of her on the couch.

  “It’s all over now,” I comforted her, then looked out of the bay window to see that all of the emergency vehicles were gone. “The police have all left, and Cooper and those other two are going to be in jail for quite some time.”

  She nodded silently, then wiped her tears away with the corner of her burgundy blanket. She’d pulled her long, red curls over one shoulder, and twisted one strand absent mindedly as she stared blankly through me.

  “He’ll be back,” she whispered in a quivering voice. “Or he’ll send someone else.”

  “I already spoke with Officer Jeffers about them stationing an officer outside of your house for exactly that reason,” I replied and leaned back against the soft cream couch cushion, then looked over at my client’s wide emerald green eyes and full lips that trembled ever so slightly.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I pulled it out and saw that it was my police officer buddy Tony.

  “Hey Tony,” I answered and kept my eyes locked on Susanna’s tragically beautiful face. “What’s going on?”

  “Hey, so I talked with Jeffers, and we’re going to have a security officer watch over Miss Jenkins’ house,” he answered with his deep, booming voice.

  “That’s so good to hear,” I replied and released a sigh of relief.

  “I’m going to take the first shift tonight,” Tony explained. “So, I’ll be back there in about ten minutes if you want to hang around until I get there.”

  “I really appreciate it, man,” I thanked him and relaxed my tight back muscles ever so slightly as I allowed my body to sink into the couch. “I’ll stay here until you get back. Thanks again, Tony.”

  “No prob, man,” Tony responded. “All part of the job. See you in a few minutes.”

  “Sounds great,” I replied and hung up the phone.

  “So, they’re sending someone?” Susanna stared at me with scared, round eyes that peeked over the cocoon of her soft burgundy blanket.

  “Yes, they are,” I nodded and turned to face her. “My friend Tony will be here in less than ten minutes, so I’m just going to hang out with you until he gets back.

  “Okay,” the ivory-skinned woman whispered and hid the red injury on her face behind the blanket.

  “Here, let me see that,” I said gently, then sat down next to her on the couch and inspected the bruised mark. She had a large red stripe that went from her temple to her chin, and a blue bruise had already begun to form under her swollen eye. “I’m going to get you some ice.”

  I walked into the kitchen, opened a few drawers until I found a soft hand towel, then put a few pieces of ice in it and brought it back to her. A tear trickled down her face as I softly brushed her red curls behind her ear to better see the injury, gently held the cool towel to her face, and then gave her a light kiss on her forehead. “I’m so sorry he did this to you, Susanna.”

  She held the towel to her face, then collapsed into a puddle of sobs as I held her in my arms and rocked her gently for a few minutes. After she’d gotten it all out, she looked up at me, wiped her face with her blanket, and croaked, “Well, I feel better now. How about we watch some TV and just relax?”

  “Sounds great,” I chuckled at her abrupt mood swing, then picked up the remote and turned on the TV. I made sure to turn it to HGTV immediately so that Susanna didn’t catch a glimpse of anything stressful on the news, like her own ongoing case or Cooper’s recent arrest, since I was certain his new charges would hit the media airwaves soon enough. A tropical destination home-buying show appeared on her fifty-four inch flat-screen TV, and I settled back into the couch. I glanced over at Susanna, who had turned toward the TV, but still sat huddled under the chenille blanket with her knees tucked up against her chest. We sat in silence and mindlessly watched the real estate show before a loud knock at the front door made us both jump.

  “It’s just me, Tony,” a familiar bass voice announc
ed from the other side of the door before I could ask.

  “Coming,” I shouted, then stood up from the couch, strode to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt, and let Tony in. His broad shoulders, thick biceps, and years of experience as a police officer should be more than sufficient to defend Susanna against any more of Cooper’s little lackeys.

  “Everything okay over here?” Tony asked and looked around the room, then let his gaze fall on Susanna’s frail frame.

  “So far, so good. It’s been quiet since you guys left,” I told him, then moved to stand closer to Susanna. “You gonna be alright if I head out now? Tony will be right outside if you need anything.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the burly officer responded, then pulled out a card and set it on the side table next to the couch. “This is my cell number. If you hear anything strange, or get a weird phone call, or are uncomfortable in any way, just give me a call or shoot me a text, alright?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Susanna nodded while she stared at the ground. “But thank you, it makes me feel better knowing you’re out there, just in case.”

  “Hey,” I said, then knelt down in front of Susanna and placed both hands on top of hers. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to head home now, but you have my number also if you need to talk about anything. I’ll see you at our meeting on Monday, alright?”

  “Alright,” the attractive redhead mimicked back to me, then closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “See you Monday.”

  I gave her hands a quick pat, then stood and followed Tony out of the front door. The deadbolt clicked behind us as we made our way to Maple Street. We reached Tony’s police car, and he turned to look back at Susanna’s house.

  “I’m praying for a quiet evening,” Tony uttered as he opened his driver’s side door. “But I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

  “Thanks, man,” I said, and shook his large hand one more time. “I really appreciate everything.”

  “What are friends for?” Tony said with a gap-toothed smile, then slid into his patrol car and closed the door.