Redress of Grievances

by Brenda Adcock

  "Probably. The car ought to run into the bullet."

  "Lassiter said they took a slug from a telephone pole here at the Kaufmann scene. Where did the vehicle end up?"

  "It hit the median and flipped over a couple of times. Finally came to rest down there in that culvert."

  Harriett raised her body to see the spot Wayne had indicated.

  "I only see one telephone pole between here and there. The rest are aluminum light poles. I wasn't very good in geometry, but from this angle I don't see how a slug could make it into that pole."

  "It might have ricocheted off the pavement and then hit the pole," Nick offered.

  "I bet you believe the magic bullet theory from the Kennedy assassination, too," Wayne chuckled.

  Looking at her investigator, Harriett said, "I'm beginning to think that either this wasn't where Sharon was lying in wait, or that bullet didn't come from any telephone pole. Have you seen it yet?"

  "I saw what they claimed was the slug," Wayne said. "Right caliber, but the ballistics report was iffy about whether or not it came from the Taggart Browning."

  "Was it damaged, like it had struck a pole?" Harriett quizzed.

  "I seen worse. A telephone pole ain't that dense," Wayne shrugged.

  "Why would they show us a bogus bullet?" Nick asked. "That would be stupid."

  "Riley," Harriett answered as she got up and started down the embankment toward her truck.

  "Riley hates Harriett because of what happened in the Wilkes case," Wayne finally answered as he sat up. "Hell, for all I know, he's squirreled evidence away that Lassiter don't even know about yet. Harriett nearly ruined Riley's career back then. She used information from me to get the case thrown out of court. Not long after that Wilkes killed again. She's had a hard time living with that one."

  "The Wilkes case was just one of those things."

  "Yeah, well, the prick got off on an NGRI. That's why she's been hesitant about usin' it for this case."

  "Sometimes it's the right thing."

  "And sometimes it ain't."

  "It's been over eleven years, Wayne. Besides, they couldn't possibly have known Harriett was going to take the Taggart case."

  "Riley might have known soon enough to bury the evidence under a mountain of red tape. Remember, they didn't have to make the disclosure until they knew officially who the defense attorney would be."

  "She got this case from Winston and Dunne, didn't she?"

  "She got it from Dunne. She and Harriett were....close, once upon a time. I've known Harriett a long time, but I wouldn't swear she's gotten over her," Wayne said as he paused on the embankment. "You met the legendary Alexis Dunne yet?"

  "No."

  Slapping Nick on the back, Wayne said, "Well, maybe this will be your lucky week, counselor."

  Harriett was quiet during the drive back to the Hyatt, sitting between Wayne and Nick. Wayne returned to the bar for a nightcap while Harriett and Nick took the elevator to their floor.

  "Wayne cares about you very much, Harriett," Nick said.

  Harriett smiled slightly, "He's been watching out for me since my father died."

  "What time do you have to appear before the judge in the morning?" Nick asked as the elevator door opened and they stepped out.

  "Eleven. He's working us in between a couple of other motions."

  "Do you want to run over your presentation?"

  Looking at her watch, Harriett said, "Yeah. Maybe once."

  IT TOOK HER less than thirty minutes to sum up her arguments for moving the trial to Travis County. She had a collection of newspaper stories, and interviews of the victims' families. As a backup, she had prepared a file on the publicity surrounding the Wilkes case. At the bottom of the Wilkes file were four sheets of paper. She looked at them and frowned.

  "What's that?" Nick asked as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

  "Death threats."

  "What?"

  "Wayne gave them to me earlier today," she said.

  Nick took the papers from her and read over them.

  "Are these legit or something Wayne planted?"

  "They're the real deal. But they're also my trump card. Wayne got them from the newspapers after the re-hash stories about the Wilkes case began appearing."

  "You should have reported these to the police, Harriett."

  "The Dallas Police have better things to worry about than crank calls, Nick."

  "They threaten your life, for Christ's sake."

  "Pretty convincing argument for moving the trial, don't you think?" Harriett smiled.

  "The sooner the better. You shouldn't be alone."

  "I assume Wayne told you about Wilkes," Harriett said.

  "Just the basics."

  "Then you can understand why people might get worked up over the case and my involvement in it. I have to do a good enough job tomorrow, so I can get out of here."

  "What if the judge won't grant the change?"

  "Then I guess I'll have to hire a bodyguard or start packing a gun."

  For the first time since joining Harriett's legal practice, Nick was nervous despite her calm demeanor. She had lived with an attorney's worst nightmare and was looking at the possibility of repeating it. It was one thing to talk about the lofty ideals of the law and another to live them, jeopardizing your own life in the process.

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Harriett presented her motion for a change of venue forcefully. The arguments against the motion by Sean Lassiter were equally forceful. The fatal blow to the prosecution's arguments was the death threats made against Harriett. Nick escorted her from the courtroom with the judge promising he would make a decision the following day.

  She paused in the corridor outside the courtroom to get a drink from a water fountain while Nick went ahead to the elevators. When she turned, Riley was standing behind her.

  "Cute stunt," he said.

  "If my motion is rejected, I'll expect personal security from the police department for the duration of the trial," Harriett said calmly.

  "This one ain't gettin' away to kill again."

  "That isn't up to either of us. Fortunately, juries make those decisions. So you do your job and I'll do mine."

  She tried to step around him, but Riley blocked her path again.

  "Are you planning to dance this do-se-do all day, Riley? I have to meet with my client."

  "Maybe if you ask me real nice, I'd move."

  "Go to hell," Harriett said as she pushed him away.

  Riley grabbed her arm and stopped her, "Assaulting a police officer, counselor. That's pretty stupid."

  "So is assaulting an officer of the court," Nick said.

  "This isn't any of your business, buddy, so take a hike," Riley growled.

  "If you don't release Ms. Markham immediately...," Nick began.

  "You'll do what? Sue me?" the detective smirked. "I'm all shook up."

  In a move Harriett hadn't anticipated, Nick knocked Riley's hand away from her and stepped between them. Nick was about the same height, but Riley outweighed him by at least fifty pounds. The disadvantage didn't stop Nick from getting nose to nose with the burly detective.

  "If I catch you harassing Ms. Markham again, you'll be more than just shook up. The newspapers recorded the threats against Ms. Markham, and I'm tempted to have your voice analyzed to see if it matches any of those threats. If I find out it does, I'll drag your ass into court and fuck you over so bad, you'll wish you were walking a beat again," Nick said in a low steady voice. "Is my position crystal clear to you, Mr. Riley?"

  The detective tried to stare Nick down, but it didn't work. Riley blinked first, and Nick moved to let him pass before escorting Harriett to the elevator.

  "Thanks," Harriett said as the elevator door closed.

  Nick smiled at her. "Jesus, that ape could have ripped my head off."

  "That was a pretty gutsy move, Nick."

  "Remember to carve that on my tombstone. Here lies Nicholas Lazslo, Gutsy But Stupid
."

  "That wasn't a bad idea about the voice check though."

  "Yeah, except the newspapers didn't record shit. I wonder if there's a bar near here."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  MID-MORNING FRIDAY the judge granted Harriett's motion for a change of venue citing the threats made against her as his primary reason. She arranged to meet with Dr. Richard Talbot at eleven for a preliminary report on Sharon Taggart's mental evaluation.

  "You understand, Ms. Markham, that I would need to spend much more time with Mrs. Taggart to give an in-depth report," Talbot said.

  "Of course, doctor, but right now I need your preliminary findings. I haven't filed a motion to change her plea yet."

  "I wouldn't have any difficulty testifying that Mrs. Taggart absolutely needs psychiatric help. The dissociative disorder is almost certainly there, but it is extremely difficult to say whether she has more than one personality or merely a single disturbed personality."

  "Did you speak to Jan?"

  "I spoke to Sharon when she claimed to be Jan."

  "But you didn't believe her?"

  "The change was so slight it was hard to tell. I finally had to hypnotize her."

  "Did that reveal anything?"

  "The theory is that early childhood trauma, such as sexual abuse, can develop into the creation of an alter personality. The child uses this personality to escape whatever pain he or she is encountering, essentially suppressing the memory of it quite effectively."

  "Was Sharon sexually abused as a child?"

  "I have no doubt whatsoever that Sharon was an abused child, but even under hypnosis, she was reluctant to talk about it. That leads me to believe that she was very young when it occurred. I did get her to recount an early memory of holding a man's penis in her hand, and she was quite specific about that."

  "Did she say it was her father who abused her?"

  "No, she didn't. It might not have been. It could have been someone close to her family and not a family member."

  "Well, where do we go from here, doctor?"

  "I'll see her again in the morning."

  "If she says anything my investigator can track down and verify, let me know."

  "I trust you're going to have her examined by someone other than me."

  "Yes. I have two other experts lined up, but not until she's transferred to Austin the first of next week."

  "I won't allow any videotaping of my meetings with her, but if you'd like to observe our session in the morning, I won't object to that."

  After Talbot left her room, she and Nick spread out the information they had about dissociative disorder on the bed. Sitting on the bed, they began looking through the paperwork again.

  "When are you going to make the NGRI?"

  "As soon as they move Sharon to Austin. Might as well make Lassiter do the running back and forth between Austin and Dallas. Make a list, Nick."

  "Of what?"

  "First, the points I'll need to drag out of the witnesses. I have to have at least one, and hopefully more, psychiatrists say she has a mental defect. I already know the prosecution's expert will say she doesn't, so I need some guidelines about what to ask. Second, I need a list of cases that are even remotely similar to this one."

  "Guess I get that part," Nick said as he wrote on a pad.

  Before Harriett could continue, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

  "Must be Wayne," Harriett said. "Come in!"

  The door opened, and Alexis stepped into the room. When Harriett saw her, she looked surprised.

  "I hope I'm not interrupting a strategy session," Alex said, glancing at Nick.

  "No," Harriett said as she stood up. "We were just sketching out a few preliminaries."

  "I heard you got the change of venue. Congratulations."

  "Thank you."

  Alex smiled at Nick and walked toward him.

  "I don't believe we've met," she said. "Alexis Dunne."

  Nick got up to accept the hand Alex extended toward him. "Nick Lazslo." Nick understood immediately why Harriett had been attracted to the woman.

  "I'm sorry," Harriett said. "Nick is my law partner and will be helping me on the Taggart case."

  "I'm sure she'll need all the help she can get," Alex said. She turned to Harriett. "Are you still considering a change in her plea?"

  "Yes. She agreed to be evaluated by independent experts. One of them saw her today."

  Glancing back at Nick, Alex said, "Could I speak to you for a moment....alone?"

  "Um, listen, Harriett, I can look over some of this in my room, and we can discuss it on the way back to Austin tomorrow," Nick said as he picked up his coat.

  "Thanks, Nick. I'm sorry about this," she said, following him to the door.

  "Not a problem."

  Harriett closed the door and walked back toward Alex.

  "What can I do for you, Alex?"

  "I thought I might take you to lunch if you haven't already eaten."

  When she glanced at the clock next to the bed it was already after one.

  "That sounds harmless enough," Harriett smiled.

  AFTER LUNCH AT the Carriage House, a dimly lit restaurant where patrons paid for the privacy the lack of wattage offered, Alex drove Harriett to the condominium she purchased after the separation from her partner. It was comfortably and simply furnished, yet formal enough to make a visitor aware of dirt on their shoes. Slipping her shoes off, Harriett smiled contentedly as her feet sank into the luxurious carpeting.

  "It's lovely, Alex. And somehow it seems to suit you better than your old house."

  "I really don't spend that much time here, but I can give you the two dollar tour."

  "Do you still cook?" Harriett asked as they left the kitchen.

  "I've collected quite a few new recipes since the last time I cooked for you."

  "I still don't cook much."

  "Is that how you've managed to stay so slim? By not eating?" Alex smiled.

  "It isn't intentional because, God knows, I love food, but it seems silly to get carried away cooking for just Lacey and myself."

  Harriett smiled inside as she looked at Alex. Around clients, Alex always seemed to have a smile on her face and exuded charm. But in private, her smiles were less frequent and her more serious nature had often turned into a deep passion when they were together.

  Harriett walked to a set of French doors that opened out onto a small covered deck. The Dallas skyline covered the horizon.

  "Nice view," she said.

  "You should see it at night," Alex said walking up behind her. "It's beautiful then."

  "Do you ever wonder what people are doing in those buildings late at night when the lights are on?"

  "Probably staring out at us, wondering what we're doing."

  Harriett laughed. "Now there's a scary thought. Like watching someone with binoculars and finding them looking back at you."

  "You haven't changed at all, Harriett."

  "Everyone changes," she said softly. "Everything changes."

  "Not everything. You're still beautiful," Alex said, sliding her hands down Harriett's arms.

  "Did you bring me here to seduce me, Alex?" Harriett asked as she continued gazing at the skyline, feeling her skin react to Alex's light touch.

  "Is that what you think?"

  She turned toward Alex. Looking at her still took her breath away. "Maybe."

  Alex kissed her forehead. "You said you weren't ready to rush into anything."

  "I'm not."

  "You can't know how much I've hated not being with you," Alex said. Leaning closer she kissed Harriett softly. "How much I've hated not being able to touch you."

  Moments later they were slowly undressing one another, leaving a trail of clothing into the bedroom as they renewed a relationship placed on hold for too many years. There was something familiar about their physical intimacy that was unhurried and prolonged, each taking the time to appreciate the other's body. It was well after dark when Al
ex drove Harriett back to the Hyatt.

  As she got off the elevator on her floor, she saw Wayne leaning against the wall outside her room.

  "Is something wrong, Wayne?" she asked as she unlocked her door.

  "Yeah," Wayne answered. "We got a problem."

  "Well, come on in and tell me about it."

  Harriett tossed her purse on the bed and slipped her shoes off.

  "So what's this big problem?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.

  "The problem is that you're lettin' yourself get tangled up with Alex Dunne again."

  "What?"

  "I said..."

  "I heard what you said, Wayne," Harriett frowned. "And I resent the hell out of what you're insinuating. I'm not some kid who needs to be watched."

  "Come on, Harriett. Remember who you're talkin' to. I've been down this road before. She talked you into her bed today, didn't she?"

  "You're not being paid to pry into my private life, which, I might add, is none of your damned business," Harriett snapped.

  "I don't give a shit if you like it or not. I ain't got a family of my own, so I adopted you and Lacey. I won't stand around and watch while you throw everything away tryin' to recapture something it's taken you years to get over." Wayne stepped closer to Harriett. "You can't let what you're feelin' between your legs do your thinkin' for you, honey."

  "Go to hell, Wayne. Just do what you're being paid to do," Harriett said as she stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  BY NINE THE next morning, Harriett and Nick sat behind a two-way mirror and watched as Dr. Talbot placed Sharon Taggart under hypnosis for the second time.

  "You know anything she reveals under hypnosis won't be admissible," Nick whispered.

  "You don't have to whisper, Nick. She can't hear us. I need any lead we can get about her abuse as a child."

  "If it points to her family you'll be biting the hand that feeds you."

  "I know."

  On the other side of the mirror, Sharon slipped into a deep sleep, her eyes closed as her head lolled slightly to one side.

  "Can you hear me, Sharon?" Talbot asked gently.

  "Yes," Sharon answered, barely audible.

  "I'm going to count backwards from ten. I want you to go back five years in time as the numbers decrease. Do you understand?"