Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel (27 page)

Amour and Jason sat in the living room of his apartment along with Alex, Jax and Mack contemplating on what to do next. Beatrice Harrington’s arraignment was in a few hours and they’d plan to be there. Amour turned to look at Mack. He was mostly quiet the whole time they were discussing the case. She could tell he was trying hard to get on with his life and be strong, but it was obvious the pain of losing Chandra was still very fresh.

Jason tapped her on the shoulder. “You ready for this babe?”

“I guess so.”

He leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead assuring her that everything would be alright. That certainly was what she was hoping for.

Amour sat next to Jason in the back of the downtown courtroom waiting for the proceedings to start. She didn’t know why, but she was very nervous. Jason linked his fingers with hers making her feel a lot more calm. She didn’t have a clue what she’d do without him and she was damn sure glad she didn’t have to find out. She looked around to see a group of people sitting in her section including Alex, Jax and Mack. The prosecuting attorneys sat at a desk directly in front of them. To the left of her was another set of people that had Caroline Harrington included but her father seemed to have been missing. She wondered why as she stared at Caroline for a moment. She noticed the blank looked on her face as well as how tightly she was clenching the small scarf she was holding in her hand. She guessed anybody would be on edge if their mother was being charged with murder. Amour didn’t feel sorry for Caroline in the least bit. She’d lost her mother; at least Beatrice was still alive. She was sitting there with her high powered attorney probably knowing she was about to get off scot-free. “Bitch…” she mumbled to herself.

Jason turned to her. “What?”

“Nothing…”

By the time she’d focused on the business at hand, the bailiff had told everyone to rise for the judge had who soon after came in to sit at her desk. Everyone listened in as she began to speak.

“With respect to you Mrs. Harrington, the purpose of this proceeding this morning is to advise you of your rights, advise you of the charges against you, and to set conditions for bond, if that is appropriate in your case. This will not be your trial on these charges. You have the right to remain silent which means you don’t have to say anything and anything
you do say can be used against you.
Do you understand these rights Mrs. Harrington?”

“Yes, I suppose so your honor.”

“Mr. Corretti represents you?”

“Yes, your honor.”

“Mrs. Harrington, you are charged with
Section 187 of the California Penal Code which is murder in the first degree and Section 182 of the California Penal Code which is conspiracy to commit murder. Do you understand these charges?”

“No, your honor.”

“How does your client plead counsel?”

“Not guilty by reason of insanity your honor.”

“She’s not crazy!” Caroline stood up and shouted. The courtroom became an ocean of noise and mummers soon after.

The judge hit the desk with her gavel.
“Order in my courtroom!” She sat the gavel down. “Bailiff, please remove her from my courtroom.” When Caroline had been escorted out, the judge’s eyes went back to Beatrice. “Mrs. Harrington, are you truly aware of what’s happening in these proceedings?”

“No!” Beatrice exclaimed. “I can’t take this pressure anymore!”

“I’m assuming that you are standing by this plea counsel?”

Corretti removed his glasses before he spoke. “Yes, your honor.”

One of the prosecuting attorneys, John Norbond, quickly stood. “Your honor, Mrs. Harrington is perfectly sane! The defense is clearly trying to fool the court!”

“That’s for me to determine Mr. Norbond. Now have a seat.”

“Mrs. Harrington, with a plea of not guilty by reason insanity, you will be required to be examined by a psychiatric professional of the prosecutions choice. You will then return to this courtroom in two weeks to determine if you are in fact incompetent to stand trial. The defendant will remain in the custody of Civil Brand Correction Facility.” The judge hit her gavel again. “Court adjourned.” And that was that.

Amour couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Guilty by reason of insanity? She sat in Jason’s truck on the way home in a total state of shock. “Why the hell would they do that?” she asked.

“Pleading guilty by reason of insanity and acting up in court easily opens the door for an insanity
defense
. There’s too much evidence against her to get her off the old fashioned way. If that works, she’ll do her time in a mental ward instead of prison.”

“Do you really think she’s going to get away with that?”

“It’s a strong possibility. Corretti is one of the top defense attorneys in this state. He’s gotten people off on less.”

Amour’s stomach turned for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I hate her!”

He reached over and grabbed her hand. “I know sweetheart. It’s out of our hands at this point. Let’s just hope that the prosecution gets a good doctor to examine her so the judge won’t fall for that crap.”

“You know, it’s bad enough that she’s gotten away with this for twenty-seven years, now that she’s caught she wants to be let off the hook? Maybe her mind
is
fucked up!”

Jason quickly turned in her direction. “Whoa!”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be. You have every right to feel that way.”

“I’m agitated. I need to have an orgasm.”

Jason laughed. “Amour…”

She looked at him. “You think I’m joking?”

“Not anymore. I’ll be sure to take care of that when we get home.”

Making love with Jason calmed her nerves a bit but not fully. Because of that, she decided to let Jason sleep and have some wine to soothe her nerves. After her third glass of White Zinfandel, she sat on Jason’s balcony and looked out into the night sky. Because of the smog in L.A., the stars weren’t as clear as they were in Nebraska but still just as relaxing. Even though it was dark out, the rubies and diamonds on her mother’s bracelet which she’d slipped on once they’d gotten home, sparkled brightly. She sat staring at it wondering where she’d gotten the strength to even put it back on after she’d found out how Carly had possibly received it. The urge to smoke a cigarette lingered through her but she resisted and instead, decided to call her father. She needed to check on him anyway and also to hear his warm fatherly voice that since she could remember, had always given her peace. She picked up her cell and dialed his number. It was very late in Nebraska so she hoped he would be awake.

He picked up after a few rings. “Hey pumpkin!”

“Hi daddy.
I’m so glad you’re awake.”

Ted said nothing for a short while and then spoke. “Are you angry at me sweetheart?”

She frowned. “No, why would I be?”

She heard him let out a breath. “Oh…ok my love. Why aren’t you in bed? It’s late honey.”

That was weird.
“Daddy, are you okay?”

“Yes pumpkin. Just glad to hear from you that’s all.”

“I’m ready to come home.”

“Oh pumpkin, I’m ready for you to. These two weeks aren’t going by fast enough.”

She took a gulp of her wine. “I think I’m gonna change my ticket to an earlier flight.” She didn’t see why not considering everything she and Jason had done so far was going to be in vain because Beatrice was well on her way to avoiding being punished for what she’d done.

“Good baby!”

She felt herself starting to get buzzed from the wine. “Were you and mom happy?”

“I already told you we were. Why are you asking me that again?”

“I know…I just…forget it.”

“Are you sure
you’re
okay pumpkin?”

“I’m fine, I just need some sleep.”

“Okay baby girl, go to bed now. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

The wine started to hit her more and her words started to slur. “Okay daddy, talk to you later.”

“Alright pumpkin, goodnight.”

Feeling light-headed, she got up and stumbled her way back inside and into the bedroom. This disastrous day just needed to be over with and she was just about drunk enough to fall asleep quickly. And that’s exactly what she did.

* * *

The next morning, the two of them with some hesitation on Amour’s part, collectively decided to pay Angela Marx another visit. Jason felt it was time to confront her about her potential part in all of this. Amour made it clear that she wasn’t sure how she was going to keep her composure in Angela’s presence, but Jason hoped she managed to figure it out on the way there because he knew that as soon as she saw that woman’s face, she was going to be itching to punch her in it.

“Relax honey. It’s going to be okay,” he said to her.

“Yeah I know. I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Jason smiled but kept quiet. “You don’t honestly think she’s gonna admit to what Rachel Monroe said do you?”

“Of course not. Why would she? I’ll just have to make her.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I have my ways.”

She shot him an angry look. “You’re not going to fuck her are you?”

Jason looked back at her in total surprise. “What?”

“I know how you men are!”

“Okay first of all, Angela’s too old for me, well not really, but she’s not even my type at all and where the hell did get all of that from anyway?”

“Mack flirted with the receptionist in Downey to get information and I saw how you were all goo
goo eyed over Cassidy that day!”

“Who?”

“You know who!
That slutty hostess at the Eleganti Lounge.”

Jason laughed, which seemed to piss her off even more. “Okay, Mack flirts with anything with a vagina and what the hell would make you think that I wanted
her
?

“Why not?
She sure wanted
you
and you certainly did your share of flirting back!”

Was she jealous? How adorable. “I don’t want Cassidy Amour. There’s no need for you to be the least bit intimidated by her.”

“I’m not!”

Clearly she was.
“Alright.”

After about ten minutes she spoke again.
“Really?”

He knew that she was still thinking about the Cassidy incident. He reached over and rubbed her thigh.
“Really.” When she smiled, he sensed that she had gotten over whatever jealousy she was feeling. He was glad of that but at the same time it turned him on and made him want her even more. Being jealous of another woman mean in some way that she didn’t want him to be with anyone else. No one had ever expressed those particular feelings for him before and he had to admit, he was very flattered.

When they approached the hostess’s podium at the lounge, Cassidy was there again with the same seductive smile and libidinous attitude she’d had the first time they’d gone there. This time, Amour decided to plant a huge kiss on Jason’s lips right in front of her which didn’t seem to fit well with Cassidy because she frowned and her attitude quickly went from chipper to bitchy. All Jason could do was chuckle at Amour’s boldness when marking her “territory” and thank Cassidy for not giving them a hard time because of it. When they got inside of the lounge, Angela had instructed them to take the elevator to the fifth floor and go to her office to meet. When they reached it, the door was open so the two of them walked right in.

Angela remained seated at her desk. “Hello again! Please, have a seat.”

“We’d rather not.” Amour said with an exasperated tone.

Angela looked puzzled. “Is there a problem Miss Graciette?”

Amour frowned. “How did you know my name? I never told you that.”

Angela smirked. “I know all about you, sweetie. I did when I met you.”

Jason lightly touched Amour on the arm signaling for her to let him handle it.
“How exactly?”

“Oh come on, the two of you come in here looking for information about Carly. Clearly she’s her daughter because she looks just like her. I didn’t get where I am in life by being stupid you know.”

“Why didn’t you say anything then?”

“Because I didn’t want any part of a murder investigation.”

“We didn’t tell you about that.”

“You didn’t have to. It was obvious by all the questions you were asking. Once I saw that Beatrice had been arrested on the news, I knew my suspicions were correct.”

“Is that right?” Angela nodded. “You know, I’m starting to believe my suspicions about you are correct as well.”

Angela’s eyes widened and she stood, walked around to the front of her desk and leaned on the edge of it. “Now what suspicions could you
possibly
have about me?”