Lost and Found (30 page)

“Can I ask you what happened the day your sister died? Do you think you could tell me how come you were outside alone with her?”

His reddened eyes filled with such pain, for a moment, she wanted to take back the question.

“It was my fault.”

“What was your fault?”

“That Lily ran out onto the road. I turned my back, and she was running. I couldn’t catch her. I just turned for a second. I was mad because I wanted to play with my Gameboy. I didn’t want to watch Lily.”

“How long were you outside watching your sister?”

“We just went out. She ran outside after she climbed down from the table. Dad told me to watch her till they came out, Sam and Marcie were there. We just ate.”

“Oh, I see. What happened next?”

“I couldn’t catch her. She never takes off like that. I yelled at her, and Dad ran past me to get her, but it was too late. That car came so fast, it hit her, and she fell so hard.”

Ryley cried covering his face with his hands. What a horrible thing to witness. She leaned forward and rubbed his arm. “Did your Mom and Dad blame you or tell you it was your fault?”

He couldn’t speak he was sobbing so hard.

“Do you think they blamed you?”

Ryley used his sleeve to wipe his tears, his nose. “Dad talked to me about it, and Dad cried. He felt so bad. He told me it wasn’t my fault that it was his job. He should have been with Lily, and none of us knew she’d take off that far up to the road. She’s never done that before.”

Joan Cooper got up and opened her little bar fridge behind the desk and pulled out a can of soda. She cracked it open and divided it in two glasses. She was glad now she’d sent her clerk out to buy soda before Ryley came. She handed him one of the glasses. “I hope you like root beer.”

He took the glass and shrugged. But as he sipped, they chatted about his Gameboy—and his favorite games. They talked for over an hour. He finally relaxed and told her about moving to town with his mom and those days after Lily. How his mom looked right through him. His mom and dad fought a lot until his dad brought his mom home.

“Did you ever see your mom take medicine?”

Ryley was slumped in the large wing chair. “She had bottles of pills the doctor gave her, but she doesn’t take them anymore.”

The judge stretched out long bare fingers and examined them. “How is at home now with your mom?”

Ryley shrugged. “It’s better, I love being back home. She still cries sometimes. But she sees me now, and I know she loves me. Dad’s always there. He won’t let me do anything alone. He takes me out with him on the ATV, in his shop, and even to the site to work sometimes. He taught me to cook, and he listens to me. I love my Mom and Dad. Please don’t take me away.”

Dressed once again in what Richard called “their court costumes”—dark suits, ties, and Maggie with heels, long skirt and makeup—and perched at the defense table with Harper. Sam and Diane sat in the gallery, the first row right behind Maggie and Richard. The court clerk announced Judge Cooper. She strode in, the long black robe fluttering behind her, and took her seat. She appeared distracted, maybe even a little tired and didn’t glance at either side.

Maggie held her breath in the silent courtroom as the judge scribbled down some notes, her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Then she cleared her voice.

“At times like this, I’m going to make someone really happy or very sad. But make no mistake, my job here is to ensure the safety and protection of young Ryley McCafferty. Has Children’s Services proven to me that Richard and Maggie McCafferty are endangering the welfare of their child? Well, they have some compelling statements, which I believe from my chat with young Master McCafferty, happened at a horrific time for the entire family.” She removed her glasses, and this time focused her entire attention on Richard and Maggie.

Maggie reached for Richard’s hand and leaned into him.

“To lose a child, a severely disabled child, the way you did, I can only imagine must have been pure hell, and as parents, would test your faith along with your ability to cope. I tried to imagine what I would do if it was my child. But I couldn’t. What I did hear, is a family who has struggled over insurmountable odds to pull their family back together. At some point, Mrs. McCafferty, you were taking prescription medication that did make you forgetful and left you detached from reality. Whether a doctor prescribes medication or not, it’s up to a parent or individual to assume responsibility. I understand you’re no longer taking these pills, and you and your husband recognized a problem, took action and are now making positive steps to rebuild your family. So no, I’ll not grant the order requested by the Children’s Services, but what I am going to do is order periodic blood and urine screening for Maggie McCafferty to ensure she remains drug free. Also, I’m appointing Jessica Shupe a court appointed guardian. Jessica will, for the next month, monitor the situation at home with Ryley to ensure your family continues to make positive changes. A report will be filed with me at the end of that time.”

She cracked the gavel and then slipped out of the courtroom. The butterflies that butted the walls of Maggie’s stomach settled into lead when she realized what happened.

Harper stood and leaned around Richard. “Not what I expected, but this is doable.”

“Are you kidding me? They’re treating my wife like a drug addict. Blood and urine tests for prescription medication? And a guardian, what the hell is that about? Is someone going to be in my house, putting us under a microscope to scrutinize every detail of our life?” Richard made no attempt to keep his voice down.

“Just be grateful they didn’t remove him. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, judges are unpredictable, they’re influenced. From what I’ve heard so far, I’ve got a pretty strong suspicion some pressure came down on the judge. She’s smart she played it safe for both sides. And Jessica Shupe, I know her; she has integrity. Comes from money, power, but make no mistake if she see’s something she doesn’t like she’ll report it. For the next month, you guys really need to pull it together. She’ll pick up on a show, so keep it real. And with the stress of the trial coming up, you guys need to find a way let go of the worry and anxiety, so Ryley and the guardian don’t pick it up. You’re going to be facing one of the greatest challenges of your life.”

Sam acted as the gatekeeper in his dark pants and leather jacket, scrutinizing the court clerk, the staff of DSHS and the sheriff who sat off to the side monitoring the activity inside the courtroom. He directed Harper, Maggie, Richard, and Diane out of the courtroom.

On the courthouse steps, Harper motioned them together. “I’ll call Miss Shupe when I get back to the office. I suspect she’ll want to come out right away. Go home and talk to Ryley. And Maggie this may sound harsh, but let go of the personal hurt. Get the emotion out of the drug testing. Just think of it like visiting an unwelcome relative. This will be done soon. Don’t fight it. It may not be fair, but we need to work with what we’ve got. We’ll show them you’re clean and demand an apology in the end. Sam, can you and Diane follow me back to my office? We need to focus on a game plan for Richard’s trial. The DA sent over all their evidence, and I need you and Diane to start taking apart their evidence.”

“Shouldn’t I be there too?” Richard stuck his hands in his dress pants’ pockets. Maggie knew this was difficult for him to allow others to have control over his problems.

“Your time will come soon enough, Richard. But first I need to get Sam and Diane to go through the evidence. We’ll meet up with you either later today or tomorrow. In the meantime you need to be home with your wife and Ryley. Also don’t forget the monitoring station, needs to be advised where you’re going and when. We only alerted them to court this morning, not my office. The last thing we need is for you to end up sitting in an eight by ten cell for the entire trial.”

“Harper’s right, Richard. Go home with Maggie. Tell Marcie, I’ll be by later this afternoon to pick her up.” Sam shoved on his dark glasses. Marcie had stayed at Richard and Maggie’s with Kyla and Ryley.

The walk to Richard’s truck gave Maggie a quiet moment to digest the outcome of the morning hearing. Did she deserve to be tarnished this harshly? She couldn’t help but feel like a failure to her child—an outcast. If it hadn’t been for Richard, she’d still be downing those pills morning and night. How many other women out there survived year after year on pills for depression and stress, to aid them in coping with harsh realities of this world? And none of them had Children’s Services trying to take their kids away.

Maggie couldn’t shake the feeling this felt like some personal payback from Sandra and Dan—but that was crazy. Wasn’t it? When she looked over at Richard as they drove in silence, she wondered if he too wondered the same thing.

“Richard, this can’t be a coincidence. If Mrs. Johnson dated Dan and is still friends with Sandra and is related to Fred White and then add to that Fred White’s daughter calling me a junkie and you a thief, there is just too much here to be a coincidence.”

Richard glanced at her from behind dark shades. She couldn’t see his eyes, but from the look on his face, she could tell he too had his suspicions.

“That’s one angle Sam’s investigating. One, what Fred White is really up to, and two, this Mrs. Johnson, if she’s still friends with Sandra and carries a torch for Dan, she’s most likely neck deep in whatever shenanigans they’ve still got going on.”

“Richard,
DSHS
knows Sandra’s a dealer, and they know about her illegal activity. For God’s sake, a kid died on her watch. She had bags of marijuana in her house, dumped around these disabled kids. Yet they give her a contract. What the hell is Children’s Services doing?” She swallowed the bile that rose just thinking of how the special needs kids’ rights were violated.

“Maggie, you and I both know DSHS is not about protecting the rights of the special needs. It’s so deeply entrenched with predators who know how to work the system and are in it for money. They know exactly the right words to say to parents, politicians, everyone. We knew with Lily, long before Sandra came on the scene. Anyone affiliated with the government was corrupt and not in the game for the true purpose of helping our kids. The government throws out money to their friends, and no one ever knows what really goes on behind the scenes. Because people out there just don’t give a shit…” He paused as he gripped the wheel so hard she
wondered if it would bend in two. “I know there are some in the system who do truly care. But you know what? They know what’s going on. They know about these pedophiles, predators, abusers of the system, and they won’t say anything to rock the boat. Sam already spoke with someone with
DSHS
, and they told him quote,
‘
We know there is something illegal going on, but we don’t want to know.’
Nice huh?”

“So what now?” Richard turned off the truck, the screen door burst open, and Daisy bounded the stairs with Ryley tagging along. Marcie carried Kyla on her hip, her long hair fluttering in the breeze as she stood on the porch waiting.

Richard slid his arm over the back of the seat and faced Maggie. “We need to destroy the case the DA has against me and find out who really killed Dan. My equity has dried up, and I can’t sell the remaining houses, and the big bad wolf—the bank—is knocking on the door. We’ve a lot to do… I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time we start fighting back.” Richard leaned over and kissed Maggie before sliding out of the truck and catching Ryley as he flew into his arms.

The powerful bond between father and son was a beautiful thing to watch. She climbed out and walked around truck, placed her hand on the hood, and paused. Marcie kept her distance, standing so proud and silent. The way she watched Maggie, for the first time, she saw the hurt erected like a wall between them. And it was entirely her doing. Maggie shivered. Her head was clearer, and she could remember all the hateful words she spewed at Marcie.
“You don’t deserve a child! It’s your fault Lily’s dead. You brought this trouble into our life with your selfish lust for Dan. Wanting some predator we all saw was worthless and screwed everybody. Damn you to hell!”
She’d said it the day they’d buried Lily.

That emptiness in her stomach changed from a burning lump to a tight knot. Would Marcie ever forgive her?

“What do you make of that judge’s decision?” Sam asked as he and Diane joined Harper in his large, richly furnished office. High valued oil paintings adorned the walls, and a palatial well organized desk with rich black leather chairs
took up a large portion of the room.

Harper loosened his blood red tie before heaving himself into his executive black leather chair. He let out a heavy sigh and swiveled his chair to face the floor to ceiling plate glass window overlooking the ocean.

Sam was intrigued with Harper, a hard man to read. When he was with the DEA he hated Harper, a shrewd lawyer with the ability to get any scumbag off who could pay his fee.

Wasn’t it funny?
he thought.
When the tables are turned, and you are the one on the wrong side of the law,
you
need this exceptional man’s help.
Maybe that’s why Sam was seeing a side of this man he didn’t know existed. A brilliant flawed man who did his job well, and maybe, after all, he did have a conscience. Maybe when this was all over, he’d sit Harper down and find out why he defended and helped guilty sons of bitches get off.