The Advocate (The Advocate Series) (6 page)

She hung up the phone and turned to the police report, anxious to see what it said. She read through the report twice, first to see if it contained anything significantly affecting the case, the second time, more slowly, looking for details she might have missed the first time. After the second reading, she called Marla.

“Marla, it’s Sabre, your favorite attorney.”

“True, but that’s not saying a whole lot,” she responded. “Whatcha got?”

“Did you get the report from Atlanta on the Murdock case?”

“It’s somewhere on my desk here, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Anything exciting in it?”

“Well, Peggy does have a drug history. It looks like she’s had a problem for some time. She’s been arrested a couple of times for possession, once for pot and most recently for meth . . . a little over a year ago, about the same time she hooked up with Murdock. Do you happen to know how they met?”

“No, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

“By the way, I have an illegible page – page eight. It looks like it might be Peggy’s family history sheet. Will you look at yours and see if you can read it?”

“Sure. I know it’s here somewhere.” Marla said. “Is there any bad news in there on Murdock?”

“No. He has no convictions, not even a traffic violation. He comes from a well-respected family in the area. The Murdocks own a good portion of the city and have been in local politics for generations. Gaylord Murdock has lived there most of his life. He left twice, once to go to college – to Harvard, no less – but returned right after graduation. It appears he may have left about five or six years ago and returned after about a year. I don’t know for certain exactly when he left the second time.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“No, not yet. I’ll see what I can find, though, and maybe you could do the same. It’s probably nothing, but he’s so squeaky clean in Atlanta, I wonder if his political connections have something to do with it, or if he really is the ‘good guy’ he portrays. I’ve become so skeptical; I don’t believe anything I read anymore and only half of what I see.”

“I know the feeling, but you have good instincts, Sabre. I know you’ll dig until you find what you’re looking for. Just keep me informed if you can.” Sabre could hear Marla shuffling through the papers on her desk. “Oh, here’s the report. Let’s see . . . page eight. No, sorry; I can’t read mine either.”

“By the way, how are Alexis and Jamie doing? Have you seen them recently?”

“Yeah, I went by this morning. They seem okay, but Alexis won’t let Jamie out of her sight. She nearly panics when they’re separated. She can’t focus until she can see he’s okay. I’ve seen siblings attached before, but this goes beyond that. You can see the fear in Alexis’ eyes when she doesn’t have a visual on him.”

“You have to wonder what she’s seen or heard that has made her so ‘parentified.’” Sabre paused. “I think I’ll go by and see her when I leave here. Maybe I’ll take them for a bite to eat. Do you think I can get a car seat at Jordan? I don’t expect I’ll be able to take Alexis without Jamie.”

“That’s a given. I’ll call over there and make sure they have one for you.”

Sabre hung up the phone and read through the police report again. She jotted down a few questions she needed answers to.

Where did Gaylord Murdock go when he left Atlanta?

Does he have a record anywhere else?

How did he meet Peggy Smith?

Why does Alexis seem so protective of Jamie?

How did Peggy get hurt the night of the arrest?

Is she using drugs now while she’s pregnant?

Finally, the ultimate question:
Is it safe to send the children home with Murdock?

She put down her note pad and dialed the Atlanta Police Department, “Detective Carriage, please.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but he’s gone for the day. May I take your name and number and have him return the call tomorrow?” the person at the other end of the line responded in her sweet, southern accent.

Sabre gave the woman the information she requested along with her home and cell phone numbers. “If he calls in, please ask him to contact me. Oh, and please tell him not to worry about waking me up. I don’t sleep much anyway.”

Sabre took out her calendar and gathered together the files she needed for court the next day. As she started to go through the first case, Elaine walked into the office with her purse and jacket in her hand. “I’m calling it a day, Sabre. Jack and David have already gone. As usual, you are the last to leave.”

“Goodnight, Elaine. See you tomorrow.” Sabre heard the back door close and lock as Elaine left for the day. She buried herself back in the case.

She wrote a few notes on a form she’d designed for her hearings. She had a different color for each type of hearing so she could find things at a glance. It became especially helpful in the middle of a hearing. Everyone at court teased Sabre about her anal organizational skills, but whenever someone needed information on a case, they checked with her first.

She clipped the pink form on the right side of the Sanders file, closed it up, and started a separate stack of “ready files.” She picked up the next case; pulled a green form for the disposition hearing and filled in the date, case name, and department number; and proceeded to read through the file to see what she needed to cover in court. She started to write something in the “requests” section of her form when . . . THUD. Something hit the wall. She muffled a scream. She stood and pulled the curtain back a bit. Total blackness. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1, ready to push “Send” if needed. Her heart pounded as she tiptoed to the back door. She lifted one slat in the blind very carefully and peeked out into the parking area. The dim porch light provided little help. Sabre couldn’t see anything and detected no movement. She stood still, watching for a few minutes. She took a deep breath, tried to dismiss it, and went back to her desk to finish preparing her cases for court.

Sabre reached for a pencil, but her trembling hand dropped it. She let it lay there and gathered up her files to leave. She peeked out the window again before she slowly opened the back door and looked around. When she decided everything was okay, Sabre stepped out, locked the back door behind her, and jumped in her car to leave. Once on the road, she began to breathe easier thinking how silly she had acted.

Sabre called Jordan Receiving Home to remind them she was taking Alexis and Jamie on a little excursion. Though her office was located only a few blocks away, by the time she parked and entered the building, the children were ready to go.

“Hi, Alexis, remember me?” she asked the little girl standing there in a pretty yellow dress.

“Yeah, you’re the lawyer and your name is Sabre. Are we really going to McDonald’s?”

“Yes, we are. Do you like McDonald’s?”

“I love their French fries. Can we get a kid’s meal? Jamie likes to go there, too. He can have my toy if he wants.” She turned to Jamie, “Come on, Jamie. Let’s go.”

“Okay, Alexis, we’re ready. You bring Jamie and I’ll get the car seat for him.” Sabre saw Alexis gently take the hand of her little “brother.” Sabre buckled Jamie in the back seat and Alexis watched as if to make sure it was done correctly. She sat down in the front seat, listening and responding whenever Jamie spoke.

“I’ll show you where my office is,” Sabre said. “We drive past it on the way.” They drove three blocks, made a right turn, and half way up the block Sabre said, “There it is, on your right, the one with the bright lights in the front.”

“You have a pretty office,” Alexis said.

“Thank you.”

They continued their conversation at McDonald’s, Sabre being careful not to interrogate her. “Tell me about school in Atlanta. What did you like best about it?”

“My friend, Mattie,” Alexis said. “She’s my best friend in the whole world. We played with our Barbie dolls. She has more than I do, and she has lots of doll clothes, too. But mostly, we played school and I was the teacher. We didn’t play with the other kids because they would tease Mattie and call her names because she couldn’t hear and she talked kinda funny. I wonder who she plays with now. I sure miss her.” Alexis always spoke fast, like she needed to make sure she could get it all in.

“Maybe you could write her a letter. Do you know her address?”

“Yeah, I’ll write her a letter. She’d like that.”

Sabre picked up her briefcase and took some paper, an envelope, and a stamp and handed them to Alexis. “Here’s everything you need.” Sabre pointed to the upper left corner and said, “You put your name here above mine and Mattie will know who the letter came from. If she writes you back, I’ll bring the letter to you. Here’s where Mattie’s name and address go.” Sabre wrote Mattie’s first name on the envelope for her so she would know where to write it. “What’s her last name?”

“Sturkey,” Alexis said with a smile. “It’s turkey with an ‘S’ in front. It’s a funny name, but she can’t help it. The other kids would gobble around her. She couldn’t hear them, but she could see and she knew they were making fun of her. When I grow up, I want to take care of kids who can’t hear, like Mattie. Maybe I can teach them things. I can sign, you know. Mattie taught me.” Alexis spelled out her name in sign language. “A-l-e-x-i-s. That’s my name. I can say other things too, like ‘Good morning,’ ‘I love you,’ and lots of other stuff. Mattie taught me something new every day.”

“How long have you known Mattie?”

“Since we came back to Atlanta from . . .” Alexis caught herself and didn’t finish her sentence. “She was in my class. I was new and she was real nice to me. We sat next to each other.”

“It sounds like Mattie is a great friend. No wonder you miss her.”

“Yeah, I miss her so much. She shared my bed, you know . . .” Alexis stopped talking for a second, looking at Sabre with her eyes wide open like she surprised herself. She picked up where she left off. “. . . whenever she would stay the night. She would stay sometimes. We’d have slumber parties, just the two of us.”

“Did you ever stay at her house?”

“Nope. She only stayed at mine. Father doesn’t like me to stay overnight anywhere. He doesn’t like me staying at Jordan. He says I should be going home soon. Will I?” Her voice held little emotion.

“I’m not certain yet. We’ll go back to court in a few days, and the judge will decide whether you can go home or if you need to stay out a little longer.”

“But I’ll go home sometime?” Alexis’ expression did not change.

“Do you want to go back home to your father?”

“Sure. Who wouldn’t want to go home to their father?” Obviously a canned response.

On the ride back to Jordan Receiving Home, Alexis chattered about things she had seen or heard while in the Home. She talked about new kids who had come in and others who had been there awhile. She seemed to know just about everything going on there.

By the time they arrived Jamie had fallen asleep, so Sabre took him out of the car seat and carried him in. She handed Jamie to one of the workers and turned to Alexis. “You have your paper and envelope to write to Mattie. If you can have the letter done, I’ll swing by here tomorrow, pick it up, and get it in the mail for you. It should arrive in a couple of days. I’m sure she’ll enjoy hearing from you.”

“I’ll have it ready. She’ll like getting a letter.” Sabre detected sadness in her voice.

“Good night, Alexis. I enjoyed our time together.”

Alexis took a step toward Sabre, and with her arms stretched out, reached up to hug her. Sabre reciprocated and Alexis held on for a couple seconds, then let go, said, “Bye,” and ran back to her room with a staff member.

“She must like you a lot,” said the attendant.

“Why’s that?”

“Because, as long as she’s been here, she has not allowed one staff member to hug her. She’s a very lonely little girl.”

7

After court the next day, Sabre stopped by Jordan Receiving Home to pick up Alexis’ letter to mail to Mattie. The two of them sat for awhile in the visiting room with Alexis chattering away and Sabre listening. Alexis appeared to be comfortable at Jordan now, and she knew every staff member and every nook and cranny in the building. In the midst of her chatter, Alexis turned to Sabre and said, “I’ve been thinking. You know that confidential stuff you told me about. Is that really true? If I tell you something, you can’t tell anyone?”

“That’s absolutely right. You have my word. Why? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Alexis looked down at her feet and twisted her body back and forth. She remained silent for a few seconds and then said, “Nope. Just wondering.”

“Well, if at any time you want to tell me a secret, you can be sure I’ll keep it. I need to go now, but I’ll see you soon. You have my card. If you want to talk, just give me a call. I wrote my cell phone on the back, so you can reach me any time.” Alexis gave Sabre a quick hug, handed her the letter to mail to Mattie, and walked off, chattering to the attendant.

Sabre stopped at the post office and mailed Alexis’ letter on her way back to her office. Elaine greeted her when she walked in. “Here’s your mail and your phone messages. Detective Carriage just called a few minutes ago. I told him you’d be in shortly. Carla must be taking extra meds; I haven’t heard from her yet today.”