Vigilant (2 page)

Ari frowned. “Why would he let him go? Isn’t that kind of his thing? Stopping bad guys?”

“That seems to be his motive but between us, we don’t know what this guy is up to. It’s important for us to cover all angles and get him off the street. Vigilantism is never a good thing. Unfortunately, he’s as much of a suspect as the other men.”

Ari was as pro-police as a person could get, but she didn’t agree about the mystery guy. He seemed to do what the police couldn’t. They had rules and procedures that kept them from catching criminals without wading through a pile of bureaucracy first. Regardless, she kept this opinion to herself. “Well, I didn’t see anything, promise. Once I saw Jace, I hid. I’d worried what would happen if he’d recognized me.”

“Good thinking.” Bryson smiled and flipped the file on the top of his desk shut. “So how have things been for you other than armed robberies and ‘mystery men’?”

“The same. Still living with Oliver and trying to keep the juvies out of trouble. Clearly, our work with Jace Watkins wasn’t much of a success story.” She saw the concern in his eyes and cut him off before he could bring them up. “I’m taking it one day at a time. Or more like one week at a time now, I guess.”

“Good,” he said. He stood up and she did the same, thankful the meeting was over. Ari had no intention of reliving the accident again today, and being with Bryson brought her emotions to the surface.

“It was good to see you,” Ari told him.

“You, too,” he said. “Please let me know if you remember anything, okay?”

“Sure,” Ari said. She left Detective Bryson in his office, hoping she wouldn’t be back at the police station for a long time.

* * *

Ari scrambled up the steep incline of steps to the court house with only minutes to spare. Inside the dated, 1970s style industrial building, she waited in line behind a mother and her three small children, each having to pass through the metal detectors and a search by the security guards before being allowed inside the building.

“Good morning, Carl,” Ari said to the guard, dropping her black leather satchel, keys, and phone onto the conveyer belt. They disappeared behind the curtain and into the x-ray machine.

“Ms. Grant,” he replied and waved the wand over her body. No alarms rang and he allowed her to pass through and gather her things.

“Is she here?” she asked, eyes darting to the courtroom over his shoulder.

He nodded and said, “She just arrived. I saw her Mercedes pull into the parking lot.”

“Thanks.” Ari walked across the crowded waiting area and found a seat near the judge’s chambers. She hoped the wait wouldn’t be long. Judge Hatcher had a notorious reputation for being late, but as Carl had just confirmed, she might be on time that day.

Ari rummaged around in her satchel and pulled out a small stack of paperwork she needed to catch up on. She also took a moment to search the room for Hope’s family. She didn’t see Hope’s father, which wasn’t that surprising, but she thought perhaps her grandmother would make it for the hearing.

Sixteen-year-old Hope had been on Ari’s caseload for over a year. Half feral, she’d spent over nine months at a long-term detention facility for an assault charge. Hope had been out for three months and had been doing well until Ari received a call on Friday night that the girl had been arrested for prostitution.

The idea that Hope sold herself was upsetting, but not a stretch. Almost all the girls on her caseload had prostituted themselves at one time or another. It was a common practice for them. Too common, and this wasn’t the first time Hope had been charged. That had been a while back, and Ari had thought they were past this type of behavior.

Ari opened the file and reviewed the information in preparation for the hearing. It would determine if Hope could return home or if Judge Hatcher would send her to an out-of-home placement—possibly detention.

Twenty minutes later, the bailiff came out of the courtroom and announced Hope’s case. Ari slid her file back into her bag and followed him into the room. She nodded to a different guard before sitting down on the long, narrow bench in front of the judge. Judge Hatcher sat above the room at her podium. She caught Ari’s eye and smiled. The two of them had a history of working together on behalf of Glory’s children. There were days when they each had to be tough and break hearts, but doing so had been a necessary evil. The tiny judge was dark haired and pretty. On first sight, most of the kids thought she’d be easy to manipulate, but they were mistaken.

They had the same misconception about Ari.

For the first year, Ari faked it. Pretending to be tough as nails, but swallowing back the fear and sadness that consumed her daily. Over time, though, she’d realized that the best way to reach them was by providing consistency and a firm approach. They had to know she was there for them—no matter what—but that she would also lock them up in an instant.

Ari wasn’t tiny by any means, but slim and tall. Her short, black, cropped hair, streaked with red made her appear less girly, and she wore her makeup heavy on her eyes, but light everywhere else. Scattered over her body were a dozen tattoos.

The minutes ticked by while the judge spoke quietly with the lawyers, and they all waited for Hope to exit the back hallway and enter the courtroom. The door near the front of the room opened and a corrections officer brought Hope in. Dressed in standard blue coveralls and generic tennis shoes, she shuffled over to the seat behind the defendant’s desk. She looked exhausted and her normally well-kept hair was a tangle of knots at the back of her head.

Ari offered Hope a wary grin but was met with a heavy eye roll and a snarl. Ari stared back, refusing to feel guilty about the girl’s choices. Hope’s reaction wasn’t exactly shocking. Ari cared for her, as much as she could allow herself, but the lifestyle Hope led tipped the scales out of her favor. Not just illegal, prostitution was risky—often deadly. As her probation officer, Ari’s job was to make sure Hope stayed on track and she worked diligently to help her stay in school, get a job, and stay off the streets. Ari couldn’t do that if she was in jail.

With a bang of her gavel, Judge Hatcher announced to the court the start of the hearing, reading Hope’s full name aloud and reciting the numbers of her case. Ari waited in the galley, behind her client. It was now in the hands of the judge to determine Hope’s fate.

* * *

Ari’s job in court, as she informed each of the children when they came on her caseload, was to tell the truth. What she revealed to the judge was really up to them. In this situation, Ari had no choice but to explain to Judge Hatcher that Hope had been in violation of her probation for the last six weeks. She’d missed appointments, broken curfew, and failed to take more than one drug test. Her grandmother called Ari repeatedly expressing concern about Hope staying out all night. The last time they’d spoken, Ari had threatened to put her back on the electronic monitoring bracelet if she didn’t cooperate. Obviously, the threat didn’t work since she disappeared for two weeks before being picked up by police.

As Ari read the handwritten list of violations in her folder to the Judge, she expected Hope to get angry and argue with her—perhaps make a scene. But that was not her reaction at all. Instead she broke down into silent tears and refused to meet Ari’s eye. Atypical for sure. Something was off. The tears were strange, but Hope only made matters worse when she refused to answer Judge Hatcher’s questions.

“I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me, Hope,” Judge Hatcher remarked. Hope kept her steely gaze forward, eventually being led from the courtroom for disrespectful conduct.

“Thanks,” Ari said to the guard. She and Hope walked through the heavy steel door to the holding area behind the courtroom.

His huge set of keys jangled against his leg and he said, “I’ll be outside the door. Knock when you’re ready.”

The minute the door shut, Ari turned a sharp eye on her client. Hope had her arms crossed and her chin stuck out in defiance. They stared at one another until Ari finally said, “What was that all about?”

“What was what all about?” the girl shot back.

“You wouldn’t even talk to Judge Hatcher.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

The look she had on her face was hard as stone. Despite this, Ari wanted more details. “Like she said, we can’t help you unless you tell us the truth.”

“I told you what happened.”

When Hope had been picked up, she’d told detectives and then Ari an elaborate story of being kidnapped off the streets and forced into prostitution. “So you don’t show up for work, you skipped GED class, and you bailed on your aftercare program because you were being held against your will?” Ari asked.

“That’s right.”

“The police picked you up in a cut-out dress and plastic high heels. That sounds a little too familiar.” Ari couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice. The job, the classes, the days out of program set them back on all of their goals. Not only that, Hope turned seventeen soon. One more arrest and she was going to jail, not juvie. “You can’t keep playing these games. Since you didn’t defend yourself, Judge Hatcher had no choice but to believe the police.”

“She wasn’t going to believe me anyway. Just like you don’t,” the girl said. Hope and Ari stared at one another until Hope admitted, “I couldn’t leave, Ms. Grant. They locked us in the house. They only let us out to work.”

“Who did this then? Who are you talking about?”

Hope said nothing.

Ari decided to give it another try. “Okay, well where is this house?”

“I don’t know. We only came and went after dark. We all slept in the same room.”

“Who is ‘we’?”

“There were other girls there. I didn’t know them.”

“And they were kidnapped, too?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Some seemed to know the men, but maybe they had just been there longer.”

“The arresting officer said you were alone on the street. Why didn’t you run away then?”

Another look of defiance crossed her face and Hope didn’t reply. Ari threw her hands in the air. “I can’t help you if you hold stuff back.”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

Hope blinked a couple of times and turned to face the wall, blocking Ari out.

Ari sighed and sat on the bench that lined the wall. “Hope, you have a history of working the streets and this isn’t the first time you’ve gone missing for more than a couple of days.”

“I’ve been better, though! No tardies or absences!” Rare tears filled Hope’s eyes.

“Not recently, but your file is full of violations. Judge Hatcher may not let you come home this time. She thinks you’ll go back on the street.” Ari shook her head. “I hate to say it, but I agree. You need some time in here to think things over and figure out what you want to do with yourself.”

“I’m not lying!” Hope said.

Ari stood and picked up her bag. “I want to believe you, but you’ve lied to me before.”

Hope went over to the door and kicked it several times, the loud noise bouncing off the metal. “Take me out of here,” she yelled, furious that Ari didn’t believe her. The guard opened the door and grabbed Hope by the arm. She turned to Ari and said, “You just wait, Ms. Grant. They’ll find me in here and you’ll know the truth. This jail can’t stop them.”

The officer led her out of the room and shut the door behind them. Hope continued yelling as they walked away, her voice echoing against the walls. Ari, sat back on the bench and rested her face in her hands, feeling like a complete failure.

* * *

Self-defeat only lasted for a moment.

A knock on the outer metal door brought Ari out of her funk. She composed herself before the door opened, smoothing her hair and taking a deep breath. It was one thing around there to be a caring advocate, but another entirely to be seen as weak. Someone in these kids’ lives had to be strong and usually, that role ended up on Ari’s twenty-six-year-old shoulders.

Nick Sanders opened the door and gave Ari a grin. “You finished in here? Judge Hatcher requested you in her chambers. I just had an appointment with her and I offered to find you.”

“I’m finished.” She picked up her bag and walked toward the out-of-place attorney. Most people who came in and out of Juvenile Court had a tired, rough look about them. Not Nick. He had that all-American glow. Dark blond hair, bright blue eyes and perfectly perfect teeth. He was the knight in shining armor around there. “Any idea what this is about?”

“Not a clue,” he said. Nick worked as a public defender for the kids charged and up for trial. They had worked together on several cases over the last couple of months and had gone out once or twice with people from their combined offices. She liked having a friendly face at court buffering the angry parents and upset children.

“I hope it’s not about Hope’s case. I don’t even know what’s going on with her.”

“What happened?” he asked.“She told me some tale about being kidnapped and forced into prostitution. But when it was time, she wouldn’t get on the stand. Judge Hatcher had no choice but to send her back downstairs since she wouldn’t even defend herself.”

Nick placed his arm around her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You can only do so much. Hope has to take some responsibility.”

“I know that. Honestly, I think she’s lying and trying to make me feel guilty for not supporting her more. Somehow it’s working.”

They stopped outside the brown wooden door with the gold plate across the front that said, “Judge Hatcher.”

“You and I both know that more lies come through this place than truth. Half the time they can’t even help but make something up. It’s habit. All you did was follow procedure. You placed a warrant on her when she failed to go to school and work. Because of that, she was arrested. You’re here to advocate for her but it’s her job to speak up. It’s a hard lesson for these kids to learn.”

Nick offered Ari another smile and that time, she returned it. “You’re right. I’m just letting it get to me today.”

“It’s not a bad thing that you care for your clients, Ari,” he said. “But it’s the hard reality that they can’t always return the emotion. They’re kids. Damaged ones.”