THE BLOND-HAIRED MAN ON THE FRONT ROW STOOD AND MOVED toward the aisle in our direction. I heard Jessie make a choking noise, and I shifted my chair. However, the man’s attention was on Mr. Carpenter and Dr. Link. As the three men were leaving the courtroom, Mr. Duffy said, “State v. Wheeler.”
Several more cases were called in rapid succession. Most were defendants entering a plea. During a brief lull, I turned around and saw that Jessie was biting her fingernails while watching the rear door of the courtroom.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Will they be coming back?”
“No.”
“But he didn’t tell the judge he was guilty.”
“It was a motion hearing.”
One of the women sitting next to Jessie entered a guilty plea on a burglary charge and received a five-year sentence. Nothing came out about the woman’s history, but I hoped the seriousness of the sentence wasn’t lost on Jessie.
“State v. Whitewater,” Jan Crittenden announced.
I stood and motioned for Jessie to join me in the open space in front of the judge.
“Your Honor, my client is charged with burglary. Currently, her bond is set at ten thousand dollars. I’ve filed a motion to reduce it.”
Judge Cannon flipped open a folder.
“The State has no position on the motion,” Jan said from her place beside the prosecution table.
“There is a brief attached to the motion outlining the applicable law—,” I began.
“Which I already know,” the judge interrupted. “Ms. Taylor, what facts support reduction of the bond?”
“This is my client’s first offense and involved illegal entry of a convenience store and theft of a bag of donuts. She’s not employed, but—”
“If she’s guilty of the charges, why don’t you proceed to enter a plea? Isn’t it a waste of the Court’s time to rule on your motion?”
“I’ve not discussed that option with Ms. Whitewater. There is a question whether, based on my client’s age, this case should be in superior court or juvenile court.”
“How old is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’ll settle that right now.” The judge leaned forward, his eyes glaring at Jessie. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” she answered in a shaky voice that sounded much younger.
“Very well,” the judge replied, turning toward me. “If your client insists she’s eighteen, I’ll leave her bond at a level appropriate for a felony burglary charge in superior court. Motion denied.”
Jessie and I retreated to our place near the wall.
“Why did you tell him you’re eighteen?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. “He knew you were lying.”
“Because I didn’t know what else to do.”
“That makes no sense to me.”
“Am I going back to the jail?”
“For now. You won’t get out until Sister Dabney posts your bond. After the paperwork is completed, I’ll pick you up at the jail and take you to Mrs. Fairmont’s house.”
“Will I be safe there?”
“Yes.”
Jessie didn’t look convinced.
“Who is the blond-haired man who was with Mr. Carpenter?”
“Are you going to talk to him?”
“No, but I’ll call his lawyer and find out if you don’t tell me.”
“Clay Hackney.”
“Does he know you?”
Jessie nodded. “He’s the reason I ran away.”
“We’ll talk later.”
Jessie grabbed my arm. “Don’t tell anyone about me and Clay. It has to be kept secret like you promised.”
The female guard came closer to us.
“Okay, but I want to know everything later.”
I left Jessie sitting against the wall and returned to Mrs. Fairmont.
“That didn’t go very well, did it?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“If that child is eighteen, I’m forty-eight,” the elderly woman continued. “Why in the world would she lie to Cliff Cannon? It really upset him.”
“Yes.” I nodded, turning sideways to see if Sister Dabney was still in the courtroom. “I need to speak to Sister Dabney.”
I walked back to the row where she was sitting.
“Sorry I couldn’t get the bond lowered,” I said. “Judge Cannon gave Jessie a chance to tell the truth about her age and she lied.”
“I knew there would be risk,” Sister Dabney answered. “I was praying he would lower the amount, but it doesn’t change my plans.”
“Mrs. Fairmont is willing to let Jessie stay with us. She met with her for a few minutes before the hearing.”
“Mrs. Fairmont is a good woman. You can learn a lot from her. Jessie will like her.”
“I hope so.”
I paused. I wanted to tell Sister Dabney about Clay Hackney for two reasons: his appearance increased Jessie’s flight risk, and I wanted Sister Dabney’s advice about handling the situation. But Jessie had invoked the attorney-client privilege, and I couldn’t violate her instructions.
“What’s going to happen next?” I asked, hoping Sister Dabney had already received divine insight about what was going on.
“After I go to the jail to post the bond, I have to get the airconditioning in my car fixed.”
I had a sudden urge to give Sister Dabney some money. I opened my purse and gave her all my cash, which amounted to more than three hundred dollars. She took the money and folded it in two.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I hope that will take care of fixing the car.”
“If you heard right, I’m sure it will.”
Sister Dabney left the courtroom. I returned to Mrs. Fairmont. Judge Cannon called a recess and left the bench.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked.
“Yes, this is a sad place. I don’t see how Cliff does this day after day.”
I hadn’t considered that Judge Cannon had feelings and assumed he enjoyed wearing a black robe and barking out orders. When Mrs. Fairmont and I reached the hallway, we ran into Maggie. Julie was with her. I reintroduced Mrs. Fairmont to the two women.
“Sorry I’m late,” Maggie said. “I was interviewing a witness across town. Has the judge already heard the motion?”
“Denied.”
I told them what happened, leaving out the close encounter with Clay Hackney and Jessie’s reaction. Maggie turned to Mrs. Fairmont.
“Tami says you’re considering letting our client stay at your house if she’s able to post bond.”
“That’s right.”
“What if she stayed with Julie instead?” Maggie asked me.
“Julie?” I asked in shock.
“That’s right,” Julie replied. “And don’t look like you’ve seen a ghost. I’m willing to help someone in need for a few weeks. Unlike Mrs. Fairmont, I don’t have any expensive jewelry and antiques in my apartment. The most valuable things I own are a few pairs of Manolo Blahniks. Unless your client is a size seven, my place is as empty of temptation as a jail cell.”
“But Jessie already met Mrs. Fairmont and said she wanted to stay with us.”
“Which may not be the best course,” Maggie said. “Look, I’m worried about all that could go wrong with the client staying with Mrs. Fairmont. We know nothing about Whitewater’s background. It’s simply too great a risk to take.”
Listening to Maggie, I felt a fear I’d suppressed rise up in my heart. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone taking advantage of Mrs. Fairmont—or worse. Except for Sister Dabney’s warning that Jessie would flee unless she stayed with Mrs. Fairmont, I would have agreed with the wisdom of Julie’s offer.
“I think it’s awesome that Julie is willing to do this,” Maggie continued. “As soon as she volunteered, I knew that if we’re going to get this deeply involved with the client’s life, it should stay within the law firm.”
“It is a very generous thing to do,”
I said to Julie. “But if Jessie doesn’t live with us, I’m not sure Sister Dabney is going to post her bond.”
“Is that what she told you?” Maggie asked.
“Not exactly, but she didn’t leave any doubt about what she thought should happen.”
“Which is standard procedure in her world.” Julie sniffed. “What do you think, Mrs. Fairmont? Would you be okay with Jessie living with me instead of staying at your house?”
“I’m willing to help the child,” she replied, “but you are smart young women who know more about the situation and the law than I do.” The elderly woman yawned. “Excuse me, all this excitement is wearing me out.”
Maggie and Julie exchanged a look.
“Maybe we should meet at the jail after I take Mrs. Fairmont home,” I said. “We can sort this out then.”
AFTER DROPPING OFF MRS. FAIRMONT, I WENT TO THE JAIL. Maggie, Julie, and Sister Dabney were standing in a small circle in the large open area immediately beyond the front doors. Seeing them together, I walked rapidly toward them.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“There weren’t any problems with the bond,” Julie answered. “One of the guards is getting Jessie.”
I looked at Sister Dabney.
“I was explaining to them about the cord of three strands,” Sister Dabney said. “Unlike a natural rope, it gets stronger, not weaker, with the passage of time. Tests don’t fray it but make it tougher to cut.”
“Isn’t it a beautiful metaphor?” Julie replied. “You should have told us about it when you accepted the job at the firm. It’s even in the part of the Bible I can believe.”
I narrowed my eyes, not sure if Julie was mocking or not.
“And we’ve agreed that it makes sense for Jessie to stay with Julie,” Maggie said. “That’s an example of the three of us working together.”
I turned to Sister Dabney. “But you said she would run away unless Mrs. Fairmont invited her to stay with us.”
“That’s true. Did Mrs. Fairmont invite her or not?”
“She did.”
“This is a step I didn’t see at the time,” Sister Dabney said.
The door to the cell-block area opened and Jessie came out wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt, and sandals.
“We need to get that child some proper clothes,” Sister Dabney said.
“Do you mean dresses?” I couldn’t imagine trying to force the young woman to follow my standards.
“Leave that up to Julie,” Sister Dabney said. “Jessie is under her authority. Something clean would be good for a start.”
“Okay.”
As Jessie approached she edged toward me and away from Sister Dabney.
“I told you I wasn’t going to give you up to the devil,” Sister Dabney said, pointing her finger at the young woman. “I bought you out of this jail and now you belong to the Lord.”
“Oh, that’s just like the scene from Les Miserables between the priest and Jean Valjean,” Julie exclaimed. “You know, in the beginning after he steals the silver—”
Not wanting to give Jessie any ideas, I cut in and introduced her to Maggie and Julie.
“We’ve decided it would be best for you to stay with Julie,” I said. “She has a nice place not far from the river. It’s much prettier than my apartment in Mrs. Fairmont’s basement.”
Jessie eyed Julie more closely.
“You’ll still get a chance to visit Mrs. Fairmont,” I continued. “I’ll bring you over to her house for dinner soon.”
Jessie shrugged. “Okay. Anything is going to be better than the cell block.”
“Great. First, let’s go shopping,” Julie said brightly.
I lagged behind with Sister Dabney as Maggie and Julie escorted Jessie out of the jail.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“As soon as they mentioned it, I had the confirmation of the Spirit. This is a bigger step for the Jewish lawyer than it is for Jessie.”
“What kind of step?”
“Along the same path you’re following.”
BACK AT THE OFFICE, I HAD A VOICE MAIL FROM ZACH TELLING ME he was back in town and wanted to talk to me. I hesitated, not sure what we had to talk about since I hadn’t made up my mind. I listened to the voice mail a second time. Hearing his voice caused my heart to ache. I called him.
“How are you doing?” he asked after a minute of small talk.
Tears suddenly pooled in the corners of my eyes, making me glad he couldn’t see me.
“It’s been a stressful few days.”
Then, to keep from letting him know the primary reason for my anxiety, I launched into a recap of my involvement with Jessie Whitewater, avoiding mention of any privileged information. Talking about Jessie’s case allowed me to regain my composure.
“She’s with Julie now,” I said.
“That’s incredible. My only concern is how Julie will feel if the client runs away and leaves Sister Dabney on the hook for a ten-thousand-dollar bond.”
“Sister Dabney doesn’t seem worried about it. I’m not sure Julie’s thought that far ahead. It was a quick decision.” I paused. “Mr. Carpenter was in criminal court this morning in front of Judge Cannon representing a man named Hackney. Do you know anything about the case?”
“It’s a white-collar crime. I’m not sure about the specific charge. Mr. Carpenter is handling the criminal case because the firm has other business with the client.”
“What kind of business?”
“I’m not sure. He’s a fairly new client. Why?”
“I didn’t expect to see Mr. Carpenter at a criminal court motions calendar.”
Zach was silent for a moment. I shifted nervously in my chair, hoping Zach wasn’t going to connect my interest in Hackney with my representation of Jessie.
“You know, I care about you,” he said.
“Yes,” I answered quickly, then couldn’t find the next word I wanted to say. “Uh, thanks for calling.”
We ended the call. I looked up at the ceiling in an unspoken plea for help.
JULIE AND JESSIE SURVIVED THE FIRST TWO DAYS TOGETHER WITHout serious problems. Late in the afternoon of the third day, Julie stopped into my office, walked over to my desk, and lowered her head so her hair was close to my face.
“Do you think I’m getting any gray hairs?” she asked.
“I don’t see any,” I said, looking from side to side.
Julie raised her head. “I mean, being responsible for a teenager, however old Jessie turns out to be, is enough to cause a few hairs to give up on pigment and go gray. It’s no wonder my mother started going downhill around my thirteenth birthday.”
“That had to be rough on her.”
“Don’t be so quick to agree.”
“Has anything out of line happened with Jessie?”
“Just the pressure of worrying about her. She’s not a bad kid, which makes it worse to consider how bad her life’s been. Did you know she’s a book freak?”
“She mentioned reading books.”
“It’s crazy. I had to throw out some stuff I didn’t want her to read—”
“Good,” I interrupted.
“Don’t go there,” Julie shot back. “And took some of the books I had from college days out of boxes and put them on the shelves. When I left this morning, she was reading The Iliad. Can you believe that?”
“It will give you something to talk about over dinner.”
“That’s why I came by. I’ve got a date tonight and wondered if you’d take her to Mrs. Fairmont’s house for the evening. I’d rather Jessie not be alone at my apartment.”
“Are you worried she might get into trouble?”
“No, she’s scared at night, always wanting to make sure the doors and windows are locked, stuff like that. She hasn’t told me why and I haven’t asked. I think it will be better if she’s around people. I won’t be out too late.”
I’d not mentioned the incident with Clay Hackney in the courtroom to e
ither Julie or Maggie.
“Sure. Do you want me to pick her up?”
“Yeah.”
I STOPPED BY JULIE’S APARTMENT AT 6:00 P.M. JESSIE, WEARING A new pair of jeans, a cute shirt, and sneakers, ran down the steps. If I didn’t know better, I would have pegged her as a high school junior who was assigned The Iliad by an overzealous English teacher.
“Is this your car?” she asked when she got in.
“No, it belongs to Mrs. Fairmont. She doesn’t drive anymore and lets me use it.”
“It’s nice,” Jessie said, touching the tan leather seats. “But it’s an old person’s car.”
“Do you know how to drive?”
“Yes, but I don’t have a license.”
After several blocks we turned onto a cobblestone street. Jessie looked out the window at the historic houses.
“Is Mrs. Fairmont rich?” she asked.
“Probably.”
“How much money does she have?”
“I’ve never asked, but her home is filled with lovely things. You’ll need to be careful not to break anything.”
“What’s for supper?”
“The lady who cleans for Mrs. Fairmont put a small roast in the oven before she left. I’ll cook some vegetables. Maybe you can help me put together a salad.”
“Okay.”
We parked in front of the single-car garage. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Jessie’s reaction to the outside of the house.
“This is it?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Jessie said a curse word.
“None of that,” I said sharply.
“Julie doesn’t care.”
“You’re not with Julie. There are better ways to express yourself.”
“I can clean up my mouth if I want to.”
“Good.” I unlocked the door. “Remember, Mrs. Fairmont has a dog, a Chihuahua named Flip. He barks at strangers and might nip at your hand or foot until he gets used to you.”
As I opened the door Flip came careening around the corner, his feet slipping on the hardwood floor. I quickly scooped him up and greeted him.
“This is Jessie,” I said, holding him at her eye level.
She held out the back of her hand. Flip growled and sniffed it.
Tides of Truth [03] Greater Love Page 23
