Redress of Grievances

by Brenda Adcock

  "When you and Jared were intimate, did he ever do anything that you thought was unusual?"

  "You mean did he ever want me to do something kinky?"

  "Kinky probably isn't the correct word. Couples do a lot of different things when they're intimate. Did he ever ask you to do anything, or did you let him do anything that seemed a little out of the ordinary or made you uncomfortable?"

  Sylvia blushed and seemed to be looking for the right words.

  Finally, she answered in a softer voice. "He asked me to get on the floor on my hands and knees a couple of times, so he could enter me from behind."

  "Did he force you to do that, or were you willing?"

  "Jared never forced me to do anything. In fact, I refused the first time he mentioned it."

  "How did he react to your refusal?"

  Sylvia shrugged, "We just did it the regular way. He didn't say much."

  "Was he unhappy?"

  "He might have been disappointed, but he seemed to get over it."

  "Has he ever tried to strangle you while you were making love?"

  "God, no!" Sylvia said. "For the most part, Jared is a very gentle lover."

  "No whips or leather?" Harriett smiled.

  "That's ridiculous!" Sylvia laughed.

  "Has he ever asked you to play out sexual fantasies with him?"

  "Jesus! Why do you need to know things like that?"

  "The prosecution will ask you the same questions if you're called as a witness, Sylvia, in an attempt to portray Jared as sexually perverted. I can't protect you unless I know the extent of your personal relationship with him. Is there anything you'd like to tell me, so I won't be surprised? Have you ever discussed your sexual encounters with Jared with a friend or co-worker?

  "I may have."

  "Did you tell anyone something that would be potentially embarrassing?"

  Once again Sylvia appeared to be searching for a way to express her thoughts.

  "Once I woke up in bed in Jared's apartment and couldn't remember anything that had happened. I didn't even remember how I got there. But I knew we had made love."

  "Where was the last place you remember being?"

  "At a club."

  "Were you drunk?"

  "I don't think so. I had one drink and started a second. I really don't remember anything after that except waking up the next morning."

  "Did Jared get the drinks for you at the club or were they brought by a waiter?"

  "Jared got them at the bar."

  "How long had you been dating?"

  "Maybe a month or a little less."

  "And you hadn't been to bed with him yet?"

  "No. He said I had been intoxicated, and he didn't want to leave me alone like that, so he took me to his place."

  "So you assumed that you consented to sex when you were drunk?"

  "Apparently."

  "How did you feel when you woke up?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Were you hurt?"

  "I had never had sex until then. Maybe it was a good thing I was drunk."

  "Intercourse the first time can be painful."

  "I suppose, but as I said, thankfully I don't remember it."

  "But you were hurt?"

  "Mostly sore. I felt raw, you know."

  "Did you have any bruises on your legs or thighs?"

  "I found one or two on the backs of my thighs but didn't think much of it."

  "I appreciate your candor, Sylvia. I know it's not easy to talk about the intimate parts of your life."

  "I hope it will help."

  Harriett doubted Sylvia Jennings's testimony would be helpful. A moron would be able to twist what she had just told Harriett to create a predilection for rape and violence. If Sylvia's name appeared on the prosecution witness list, Harriett knew she would have to attack the young woman's testimony.

  Chapter Seven

  AS JARED ENTERED the room to meet with Harriett, he was antsy and refused to sit down, preferring to pace about the room, smoking a cigarette.

  "I spoke to Sylvia yesterday, Jared."

  "She's a great girl, isn't she?" Jared smiled.

  "Why did you rape her?"

  Jared stopped his pacing and stared at Harriett. "She tell you that?"

  "Not directly. But from what she said, it seemed apparent that you slipped something into her drink and then later took advantage of her."

  "She didn't fight it. She had too much to drink, and it lowered her inhibitions. That's all that happened."

  "If she was too drunk to remember anything that happened after two drinks, she must have an extremely low alcohol tolerance. What did you put in her drink?"

  Jared smiled slightly. "Some sedative my mother kept around the house. Worked better than I thought it would. I thought it would just relax her, not put her to sleep."

  "Did you think Sylvia wouldn't get in bed with you without assistance?"

  "We'd been going out a month. She told me she was a virgin, and the idea of having sex scared her. I helped her relax."

  "And you enjoyed this one-sided sex?"

  Jared pulled out a chair and straddled it. He blew smoke rings into the air and looked at her. She had seen the look in his eyes before, and there was something unnerving about it.

  "Not being a man, Harriett, you wouldn't understand what it's like when you pop a cherry for the first time. Syl never felt a thing. Slept like a baby all night long, and every time I got hard, all I had to do was roll over and take her. She never really got wet, but with the help of a little lube, I got her five or six times real good before she woke up."

  It took every ounce of energy Harriett could muster to not show her disgust and revulsion at what Wilkes had described, making a mental note to find out if any of the dead girls had also been virgins.

  "I know what you're thinking, Harriett," Jared said, filling his lungs with smoke and exhaling it through his nose. "But remember that Sylvia is still alive. Even if you think I raped her, I didn't kill her, and we're still fucking like rabbits in heat when we're together. I didn't want to hurt her then and I never have."

  "If this comes out at the trial, it will hurt your case, Jared. Have you drugged other women?"

  "No. Not before and not since."

  "You and Sylvia ever do anything sexually that might be construed as unusual?"

  "I don't think so. At least I don't consider them unusual."

  "No domination, S&M, or playing out sexual fantasies?"

  Jared smiled at Harriett. "No, but those sound like interesting ideas. You think those things are unusual? I mean, I'm sure you're sexually active, counselor. You do those things with your lover?"

  "I haven't felt a need to make sex any more interesting than it already is," Harriett said matter-of-factly. "Anything else you think I should know?"

  "I think you're an extremely attractive woman, but I guess that's not what you had in mind. Maybe when this is all over, and I walk out of here, we can get together for a drink."

  "I don't socialize with my clients. Bad business and it's not likely I'd take a drink from you anyway knowing what I know."

  Jared threw his head back and laughed loudly.

  WHEN HARRIETT RETURNED to her office at the end of the day, she was surprised to find Wayne Graham sitting behind her desk with his feet propped up. As she walked through the door, he looked at his watch.

  "I didn't think you big time attorneys worked long hours like this," Wayne smiled. "Where the hell you been, girl? I been waiting over an hour."

  Harriett kicked off her shoes and fell onto the couch in her office.

  "I've been to see my client, and now I need a bath. Jesus, what a pervert!" Harriett said looking at Wayne. "Why are you here?"

  "Thought you'd be glad to see my handsome face."

  Harriett liked Wayne Graham enormously and smiled at him. She noticed that his thick slate gray hair was beginning to show silver streaks along his temples.

  "There's no one I'd rather see at t
he end of a long day than you," she said.

  "Except maybe Alexis Dunne."

  Harriett ignored his remark, knowing he didn't approve of her relationship with Alex and got up from the couch to pour a cup of coffee.

  "That why you're here, Wayne, to give me another morality lecture?"

  "Nope, and that ain't any of my business. But I think I'm fixin' to save you a long nasty trial. My bill's the same anyhow."

  "What are you talking about?" she asked as she sipped her coffee.

  "I think they're gonna have to cut your boy Wilkes loose. Have you checked out the warrant they used to toss his crib?"

  "I saw it. So what?"

  "Did you notice the probable cause section?"

  "You mean the informant who said he saw Wilkes?"

  "Yeah," Wayne said, taking his feet off the desk and sitting up. "You're gonna be able to tear this guy up quicker'n soggy Shredded fuckin' Wheat."

  "The police claim he's a reliable informant they've used before."

  "Come on, Harriett! I was a cop, remember? Whadda ya think they're gonna say to get a judge to sign a warrant? Well, your Honor, we got this totally unreliable schmuck who says he might have seen whatever."

  "So you're saying the police lied to the judge to get the warrant."

  "I did a little diggin', and their so-called informant is a dumb-ass named Raymond Carter. I busted good old Ray-Ray half a dozen times myself. He's a double duty junkie. Shoot up both arms at the same time if he could figure out how to do it. Anyhow, Ray-Ray claimed he saw Wilkes kill that last girl, what's her name, and the detectives, who were incidentally getting their chops busted to solve the murders, took Ray-Ray's word and got the warrant."

  "Go on," she said cautiously.

  "What if it was a bogus warrant?"

  "But he knew where the rape and murder took place and a couple of other things that weren't released to the press."

  Wayne looked up at her and smiled slightly.

  "Well, he mighta had a little help rememberin' those things. Sort of a Henry Lee Lucas thing."

  "How would he even know Jared Wilkes's name?"

  "A buddy told me they were already zeroin' in on Wilkes but didn't have anything concrete. They needed the search and kept their fingers crossed."

  "This is all supposition, Wayne. I can't go into the judge and claim police misconduct with this."

  "How about if you can prove that Ray-Ray couldn't have been anywhere near the park where the girl was found? Think that'd do it?"

  "Possibly."

  Wayne reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, extending it toward Harriett. She unfolded the paper and read over it.

  "He was in jail?"

  "Yep, arrested by one Officer Hugh Albertson, and please notice the time," Wayne grinned.

  "This is before dark. When was he released from jail?"

  "Bounced out on bond the next day. But he spent the night of the crime out of circulation. But, I suppose he could have used ESP or something."

  "Does Raymond Carter even know he's listed as an informant on this warrant?"

  "I haven't had a chance to track him down, but I doubt it. Ray-Ray used to be a snitch for one of the detectives who's workin' the cases, though. I think they took a shot in the dark on this one and got lucky when they found a couple of things belongin' to the dead girls at Wilkes's apartment."

  "Or maybe they planted the things they found."

  "I don't think I'd take it that far, kiddo. I think your guy's guilty as hell, but this was a hot case, and I'm sure the cops involved were frustrated and desperate to resort to this. I guess this is what the public calls one of those 'annoyin' legal technicalities.'"

  "Maybe you shouldn't have given it to me if you think he's guilty."

  "You pay me to help you get scumbags out of jail. He mighta got off anyway," Wayne shrugged as he reached for his coffee.

  "The evidence isn't very convincing, no matter how repulsive Wilkes himself is. He admits he slept with the girls. I found out yesterday that with at least one woman he used a tranquilizer to get her in bed. If he pulled the same thing with the teeny-boppers, he might have left them unconscious, and they were found by a second assailant. There's probably enough reasonable doubt to carry the case. You think the DA knew about the informant?"

  "If you was a cop, would you tell the DA what you did?"

  "I need to talk to Todd Connor about this. Thanks, Wayne."

  "No prob. Easiest money I've picked up on a case for you. Better than followin' some guy around to see who he's bangin' while his wife's away," he said as he pulled himself up from the chair and strolled toward her office door.

  The following morning, Harriett took the information Wayne had uncovered to Todd Connor's office. Connor was a good prosecutor, and although he was upset by what Harriett showed him, he accompanied her as she presented a motion to suppress evidence found at Jared Wilkes's apartment. The following day Wilkes was released, and all charges against him were dropped. The detectives involved in obtaining the fraudulent warrant were suspended from duty without pay pending a hearing, and Internal Affairs launched an investigation.

  NEARLY A MONTH later, Harriett had fallen back into the mundane activities of her law practice and was enjoying a leisurely lunch with Alex at a restaurant near the Winston and Dunne offices. They had finished eating and were chatting over a cup of coffee when they heard raised voices near the restaurant entrance. Harriett looked up to see Detective James Riley coming toward her. His face was red with rage, and there was a folder clamped tightly in his hand. A few feet behind him Detective Harold Wolf hurried to catch up to Riley. The manager of the restaurant was looking toward their table, holding a telephone receiver to his ear.

  Riley stopped abruptly in front of Harriett and glared at her.

  "Can we help you?" Alex asked coolly.

  Riley opened the folder in his hand and tossed a picture on the table.

  "Thought you might want to see the result of your exceptional legal work, counselor" he spat at Harriett.

  She turned her eyes toward the picture, afraid to look at it, and closed them immediately.

  Riley leaned down closer to her, resting a hand on the table next to her.

  "Meet number five, Ashley Lawrence, age seventeen, football sweetheart. Thanks to you she won't make it to eighteen," he breathed heavily in her ear.

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Alex demanded as she stood to face the detective.

  "Come on, Jimmy," Wolf said, grabbing Riley by the arm. "This ain't gonna help, man."

  Riley jerked his arm away from Wolf and straightened up, turning his head toward Alexis.

  "They caught Jared Wilkes again last night. Unfortunately, they didn't get there in time to save Ashley Lawrence's life," the detective said. Leaning back down next to Harriett again, he lowered his voice, "He was still fuckin' her dead body when they grabbed him. They had to pull him off. But he still managed to come all over her."

  Harriett couldn't look at Riley. She felt sick, but there was no place for her to go. Other customers were staring at her table, and she had to take a deep breath to clear her head. Two uniformed officers arrived at the table to escort Riley outside. As they turned to leave, Alex said, "You forgot your picture."

  "She can keep it for her memory book," Riley snapped.

  "Do you want to press charges, ma'am?" one of the officers asked.

  Numbly, Harriett shook her head. Her hands were shaking, and suddenly her lungs couldn't take in enough air. Alex touched her arm, making her flinch. When she could finally force herself to look at Alex there were tears in her eyes.

  "I have to get out of here," she managed to say.

  "I'll take you home," Alex said softly.

  Alex called the office from Harriett's apartment and spoke to Doug Winston, explaining what had happened. Alex helped Harriett undress and poured her a glass of straight bourbon. When she awoke, it was after dark, and she was curled up in Alex's
arms.

  "I'm sorry, Harriett. There was no way anyone could have known...," Alex began.

  "Where's Lacey?"

  "Eleanor picked her up after school. She'll bring her home in a little while."

  "I need a few days off," Harriett said flatly. "Will you have Eleanor cancel my appointments for the rest of the week?"

  "Of course. Do you want me to drive you up to the cabin?"

  "No. Lacey has school. I just need some time alone."

  "I don't think you should be alone, Harriett. Not yet."

  "Don't worry. I'll be at the office in a few days."

  FOUR DAYS LATER, Harriett entered the offices of Winston and Dunne, pausing for a moment before pushing the door open. No one spoke to her as she proceeded toward her office.

  "Schedule a meeting with Doug and Alex for me as soon as possible, please," she said as she passed Eleanor's desk. Eleanor nodded and picked up her telephone as Harriett closed the door to her office.

  In less than an hour, she was seated in Doug Winston's office facing the two senior partners.

  "I've decided to tender my resignation from Winston and Dunne," she said.

  Doug Winston rose from his seat and moved to where Harriett was sitting.

  "I know what a disturbing business the Wilkes case has been for you, Harriett, but you can't let it ruin your life. You'd be throwing away everything you've worked for."

  "I have to do this, Doug," she said firmly.

  "What are you planning to do?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

  "I'm thinking about moving and setting up my own practice. The Wilkes case will always be in my mind, but I'll be able to get over it faster if I'm not in Dallas."

  "We should have never suggested the case to you," Doug said.

  "It's not your fault," Harriett said with what passed for a smile. "No one forced me to take the case. It was my decision alone. Every attorney knows this can happen. They just pray it never does. "

  "I think you're making a hasty decision under duress," Alex said tightly. When Harriett looked at her, there was sadness in Alex's eyes. She loved Alexis Dunne, and she loved her job, but she knew she would have to give them both up to make peace with herself and start over.

  "No, Alex," Harriett said softly. "I accept that my actions resulted in the death of Ashley Lawrence. I don't like it, but I'll learn to live with it. What I can't live with is the backlash against me and possibly against this firm. I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if there will be some type of retaliation, or if someone at Lacey's school will say something to her about the case or me. I can't place her in that situation."