Tides of Truth [03] Greater Love (29 page)

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.”

A
FTER DROPPING OFF
M
RS.
F
AIRMONT,
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.”

B
ACK AT THE OFFICE,
I
HAD A VOICE MAIL FROM
Z
ACH 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.

J
ULIE AND
J
ESSIE SURVIVED THE FIRST TWO DAYS TOGETHER WITH
out 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 either Julie or Maggie.

“Sure. Do you want me to pick her up?”

“Yeah.”

I
STOPPED BY
J
ULIE’S APARTMENT AT
6:
00 P.M.
J
ESSIE, 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.

“You know how to act around dogs,” I said.

“Yeah. I like dogs, cats, fish, birds, any kind of animal. Can I hold him?”

I hesitated, then put him in her arms. Flip wriggled violently, and Jessie put him on the floor. He stood at her feet and barked furiously.

“Did he try to bite you?” Mrs. Fairmont asked anxiously as she slowly walked into the room.

“No.”

“He’s a good dog. He’s just trying to protect me.”

“If I get to come over a few times, we’ll get to be friends,” Jessie replied.

Mrs. Fairmont extended her hand to Jessie, who awkwardly shook it.

“Welcome to my home,” the elderly lady said as if greeting a foreign dignitary. “Tami, why don’t you show her around the house? I’m in the kitchen fixing the vegetables.”

“You are?”

“Yes, I’ve not completely forgotten how to entertain guests.”

I took Jessie through parlors and other rooms on the main floor. I decided not to show her Mrs. Fairmont’s bedroom. Instead, I led her downstairs to my apartment. She went to the patio doors that opened onto the courtyard.

“Can I go out there?” she asked.

“Sure.”

I watched as she wandered about the garden. I’d grown used to it, but it had to be a place of wondrous beauty to Jessie. Mrs. Fairmont called my name from the top of the stairs.

“Where’s Jessie?” she asked when I joined her in the hallway.

“Exploring the courtyard.”

“Julie Feldman is on the phone.”

I went into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

“I’m on my way to Atlanta,” Julie said. “My father had a very high fever this afternoon and his internist admitted him to the hospital for some tests.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure, but from the sound of my mother’s voice I knew I had to go home immediately. Can Jessie spend the night with you and Mrs. Fairmont? I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave her at my place alone. I hope to be back tomorrow.”

“Just a minute.”

I covered the receiver with my hand and quickly told Mrs. Fairmont what had happened.

“Of course she can stay. I already made up my mind about that.”

“We’ll keep her here,” I said to Julie. “Let me know as soon as you can about your father’s condition.”

“Okay.” Julie was silent for a second. “Please pray for him,” she added, her voice slightly cracking.

“I will.”

I hung up the phone. Jessie joined us in the kitchen. Her eyes grew big when I told her about Julie’s father.

“She really loves her father,” Jessie said. “She told me a bunch of stuff about him.”

“After supper we’ll go back to her place and pick up what you need to spend the night here,” I said.

“Okay.” Jessie nodded quickly.

We ate a quiet supper. Jessie watched Mrs. Fairmont and copied the way she held her eating utensils. The girl also slipped a piece of meat to Flip when she didn’t think anyone was looking.

After supper the three of us went into the den. Jessie immediately went to the bookcases and selected a book about the animals of South America. The three of us read until Mrs. Fairmont grew sleepy and got up from her chair.

“I’m going upstairs,” she said, yawning.

I checked my watch. “We’ll go to Julie’s apartment.”

During the short drive, Jessie spoke. “I like Mrs. Fairmont. Is she always so nice and polite?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “Even when she’s confused, she’s not mean or rude. Would you rather stay with her than at Julie’s apartment?”

“I’d like having someone around all the time. It gets lonely when Julie’s at work. And she doesn’t have a dog.”

We arrived at Julie’s apartment.