“I hear you, Counselor.”
Sabre started to speak, but the judge held up her hand to stop her.
“The minor will remain detained in foster care pending the trial,” the judge ordered. “The social worker will make every effort to get the child to her church for at least one of the services each week if the minor’s attorney agrees that the minor wants to attend. The minor is to have supervised visitation with her parents, and no contact of any kind, at church or otherwise, with Mr. Lester Gibbs. All other orders remain in full force and effect. This hearing is adjourned.” She stood up and left the courtroom.
The father stood up to leave. On his way out the door, he raised both arms in the air and thundered, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Chapter 8
The Fowler Case
Sabre and Bob sat at Pho’s, their favorite lunch hangout. Bob ordered a #124, as he always did.
“I thought JP was going to join us,” Bob said.
“No, he can’t make it,” Sabre said. “How do you like your client on the Fowler case?”
“He’s an extremist, for sure, but I have to give people credit when they believe in something so much that there is no doubt in their mind. Decisions come easy because it’s all black and white. It must be nice. There aren’t many things in life I’m that sure of, and most of those are science-based. But I’ll fight tooth and nail for their constitutional right to believe in whatever they choose, even if it is in direct conflict with my beliefs.”
“I know you will.” She saw the determination in his face. “And I’m ready for the fight.”
“But can you believe all the times we referred to the perps on molest cases as ‘Lester, the molester’? We finally have a molester who is actually named Lester.”
Sabre chuckled.
“Have you met Mary Margaret yet?” Bob asked.
“No, but I’m going to see her this afternoon. I’ll let you know her position on attending church.”
“Thanks.” Bob took a drink of water. “You know Irene and I will be filing a demurrer on this case?”
“Really?”
“You bet. We’re not contesting the facts. The demurrer would basically say, ‘So what?’ Because if they’re married there is no illegal act.”
“That’s true. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, and I wouldn’t expect you to do anything less, but don’t forget now with the new law, we have to have a ‘meet and confer’ before the judge will hear the demurrer.”
“Irene is already working on it.”
“Of course she is.” Sabre smiled.
“What about the Parker case? You’ve been on it a while. Do you think the mother will clean up her act?”
“She will, but it probably won’t last. You need to get her into a drug program right away. I don’t think she’s been using that long this time, so she may be able to get back on track. I don’t know about this ‘new crazy’ she’s going through—she’s pregnant from a ghost. Do you think that’s the drugs talking?”
“No, after my conversation with Ellesse this morning, I think she got duped by some low-life in a bar. She just has such low self-esteem that it’s easier to believe the Jim Jones story. From the way she tells the story, I think she may have even been drugged by him.”
“I wondered about that. I’m going to have JP look into it. Do you mind if he talks to your client? Only on that issue, of course.”
“Sure, that’s fine. Have him call me. I’ll set it up and we’ll go together.”
~~~
Sabre left the restaurant and drove to Polinsky Children’s Center to see Mary Margaret. One of the workers brought her to an interview room. Sabre was surprised when the little girl came into the room. She was less than five feet tall, had sandy blonde hair, a boyishly-straight body, and the soft, angelic face of a child her age. Sabre had expected a more developed teenager, not a twelve-year-old who could easily pass for ten. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach when she thought about what this girl had already endured. She looked at the little girl and wondered if she had even started her menstrual cycle yet. She guessed not.
“Are you Mary Margaret Fowler?” Sabre asked.
Mary Margaret stared at the floor. “Yes,” she said.
“Come sit with me.” Mary Margaret followed Sabre to the sofa, and they sat down. Sabre left a little room between them so Mary Margaret wouldn’t feel like her space was invaded, but not too much, as she wanted to keep their talk intimate. She explained to the little girl about her role as her attorney, and the need for her to be honest about everything so she could help her. She was never certain how much her minor clients understood, but she often reiterated the rules to remind them, especially about the confidentiality. Most of the children she encountered trusted very little adults told them because they had been disappointed so many times. She expected this time it was going to be even harder than usual to gain this solemn little girl’s confidence.
“How’s it going here at Polinsky?”
“It’s not bad. I don’t mind it.”
“Did the social worker talk to you about going to a foster home?”
“Yes, she said I was going tomorrow to live with a nice couple.” She glanced up at Sabre for a second.
“Are you okay with that?” Sabre asked.
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“The Venables are a lovely couple. I think you’ll like them. Mrs. Venable is a really good baker. She makes lots of cookies and brownies and things.” Sabre smiled, but got nothing in return. “Mary Margaret, are you sad?”
Again, without looking up, she said, “I miss my brothers and my friend, Penny.”
“You’ll get to see your brothers soon. Where does Penny live? Is it near you?”
“Only a block away, and she goes to my church.”
“Does she go to your school?”
“My brothers and I are home-schooled. Penny goes to regular school.”
“Who does the teaching?”
“Papa does, but Mama helps.”
“Is Papa your father?”
“Yes, that’s what we call him.”
Sabre hadn’t seen anything in the report about home schooling, but it didn’t surprise her. Seth Fowler, Mary Margaret’s father, seemed to have a pretty strong rein on his family.
“It must be nice being home-schooled. You get a lot more help with your studies.”
“Yeah, but sometimes I’d like to go to school and make new friends, or at least see Penny.”
“It’s nice that you have a friend you can share your secrets with.”
“Yeah, we tell each other everything.”
“Did you tell her that you got married?”
Mary Margaret looked up and directly at Sabre for the first time. “I did,” she said softly.
“Did you want to get married?”
“Papa said I had to.”
“What did your mother say?”
“She said I had to do what Papa said, but to just pretend like the wedding was make-believe and that I was a princess marrying my prince. She said that’s what she did when she married Papa.”
“Is that what you did?”
“No, I didn’t feel like a princess, and Brother Gibbs was no prince. He was more like an old toad.”
Sabre started to smile but caught herself when she saw the serious look on Mary Margaret’s face.
“When did Mr. Gibbs move into your house?”
“He didn’t exactly move in. He stayed there for a few nights after the wedding because I ran away from him. He took me to his house and I left and went home. Papa said I had to go back, but Mama convinced him to let us stay there.”
“Where did Mr. Gibbs sleep?”
“In my room with me.”
“Did he hurt you?” Sabre hated having to ask these questions, but she had to know.
“Not really. I told him not to touch me, but he did anyway. He said it was okay because we were married, but that’
s all he did. I think he was afraid I would scream. The next day CPS came and took me away.”
“Was that the first time he touched you?”
Mary Margaret bit her lip. “I’m not a bad girl.”
“I know that. You are not a bad girl. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Okay, let’s talk about something else. Tell me about your brothers. You have two, right?”
“Yes, they’re pretty cool, for boys.”
“How old are they?”
“They’re ten and eight. They share a room. I wish I had a sister sometimes, but it’s also nice having my own room.”
“Do your brothers bug you sometimes?”
“Sometimes, but they’re fun too. They have a fort in the backyard that Papa built for them. He made me a dollhouse when I was young, but I’ve outgrown it. I like the fort better, but it’s for boys only. My brothers only let me go in it when none of their friends are around.”
“That’s cool.”
There was a moment of silence, then Sabre said, “Your parents were asking about your going to your church. We can arrange for you to go sometimes if you’d like.”
“Do I have to? I don’t want to see him.”
“Who is him?” Sabre assumed she was talking about Gibbs, but she wanted to be sure.
“Brother Gibbs. I don’t want to see him.”
“As long as you are in foster care, you do not have to see Brother Gibbs. We’ll make sure of that. If you don’t have to see him, would you want to go to your church?”
She nodded.
“The judge ordered the social worker to get you to your church at least once a week, but only if you wanted to go. So it’s up to you.”
“Could I go on Wednesdays?”
“Probably, but why did you choose Wednesday and not Sunday?”
“Because that’s more Bible study, and Brother Gibbs won’t be there. And I’d get to see Penny and my brothers.” For the first time, the little girl seemed to brighten up a bit.
“I’ll talk to Mr. and Mrs. Venable to see if they can arrange to get you there on Wednesdays. If not, I think the social worker can work something out.”
Mary Margaret looked up. “Thank you. You’re a nice lady.”
Sabre fought back her tears.
Chapter 9
JP opened the door to Sabre’s office and was greeted by Elaine, the receptionist.
“Good afternoon, Cowboy,” Elaine said.
JP nodded his head in acknowledgment and said, “Good evenin’, ma’am. Is she with anyone?”
“No, go on in.”
JP stood in the open doorway for a few seconds watching Sabre as she worked. She’s so beautiful, he thought.
She looked up from her desk and smiled at him. “I was just thinking about calling you.”
“I must have felt the vibe.”
He approached her, and she stood up and eased herself into his open arms. He kissed her gently, but she stayed for more, holding him tightly.
“Now that’s what I call a welcome,” JP said.
“It’s been a rough day, and you always make it so much better.”
“What happened?”
“I had three cases in court this morning that left a sour taste in my mouth. I have a child whose mother is pregnant and believes she was impregnated by the ghost of Jim Jones, the evangelist; an irate father who yelled at me in court and called me names; and a twelve-year-old child who may be married to her forty-two-year-old molester.”
JP’s face reddened at the last issue. He had a hard time restraining himself when it came to child molesters.
“I know how you hate to work these type of cases, but I need your help.”
“I just think the best way to the heart of a man like that is a knife through the chest.”
“Okay, that might be going a little too far.”
“I know, darlin’.” He smiled at her. “I’ll do whatever you need me to.”
She gave him the petition and the report, along with a brief description of the case. “I need you to talk to anyone at the church who will give you information. See if a wedding actually took place, for starters. Find out if Mary Margaret, that’s the minor, told anyone what was going on.” She hesitated.
“What is it?”
“I need you to talk to Lester Gibbs, the groom, if you will.”
“Really?”
“He’s not a party to this action. At least, not yet. I expect someone will be filing a motion to give him standing, but I don’t think it will fly with Judge Hekman.”
“No, I mean is his name really Lester?”
“I’m afraid so.” Sabre smiled. “Mary Margaret has a friend named Penny that she says she confided in, but I’ll talk to her. I think it would be easier on the little girl if a woman talked to her.”
“I’ll get started. Anything else?”
“Yeah.” She handed JP the petition and report on the Lynch case. “Please find out anything you can about Todd Lynch. He’s a very angry man, and before I let his boys go home with him, I need to make sure they’ll be safe.”
“How angry?”
“Angry enough to call me and everyone else names.”
“Did he threaten you?” JP asked fervently.
“Not really. He was just letting off a little steam. Nothing to worry about. The bailiffs were watching out for me.”
JP shook his head. Sabre wished she hadn’t said anything. JP was generally very calm and laidback, but when he was riled, he didn’t hold back.
“See what you can find out about him, talk to friends and neighbors, co-workers, whoever you can. By the way, he lives in L.A. Actually, it’s Pasadena, so it’s going to be a bit of a drive. Dig deep. Oh, and while you’re there, make sure you see the grandmother. Todd would like the boys placed with her, so we need to check out her and the house.”
Sabre handed him another file. “This is the ‘ghost father’ case. You’ll probably have to hit a few bars. See if you can find ‘Jim Jones.’ I’m guessing this woman isn’t his first or his last.”
“That case ought to be a lot more fun than the other two. Which do you want first?”
“Lynch was set for trial today, so we have a little time on that one. Although his attorney will be filing a motion soon to change venue, so it might be best if we were armed for that.” Sabre thought for a second. “Fowler, the child bride case, needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. The Parker case, with the elusive Jim Jones, is not that urgent. He really isn’t even a party to this case yet. Once that baby is born, it would be good to know who the father is, but until then there’s not a lot we can do. On the other hand, if there is some crazy guy going around luring women into bed and maybe drugging them, we need to get on that too.”
“Okay, I got it. You need them all yesterday. I’ll move faster than a sailor on a four-hour pass.”
JP kissed her and left.
Chapter 10
The Fowler Case
JP sat at his computer with Louie, his beagle pup, at his feet. He had already set up files for each case with the pertinent information and started to run his own criminal checks. He had previously obtained a lot of the information from the Department of Social Services, but sometimes he found things they didn’t. Often, he ran checks on players DSS had not and gained invaluable insight on the case.
It was too late to drive to Pasadena to investigate Lynch and too early to hit the bars looking for Jim Jones. Besides, he needed to get more information from Ellesse Parker on Jones before his search would be fruitful. He called his friend Bob, Ellesse’s attorney, and asked if he could talk to her about Jim Jones.
“I’ll see what I can set up and get back to you,” Bob said, and hung up.
JP decided to start with the Fowler case. He wanted to talk to forty-two-year-old Lester Gibbs before he had a chance to lawyer up. His stomach churned when he saw where Lester worked—a group home for troubled teenage gir
ls.
JP got directions from his cell phone for Merlot Group Home, which appeared to be named after the street it was on rather than the wine. He pushed Lester out of his mind for a bit and thought about Sabre as he drove. He was glad to be working some new cases with her again because it gave them more time together. Lately, she had been too busy to even have dinner together. That wasn’t fair, he thought. He had been just as busy, even out of town for a while, on other cases. He had gotten pretty involved in a high-profile murder case for Attorney Jerry Leahy and had to cancel a weekend in San Francisco he and Sabre had planned. That was the beginning of the lull. When he finished that, Sabre took on a long trial that kept her busy every night. These new cases Sabre had recently started didn’t look like they were going to give her much time either, but at least they were working them together.
JP was startled out of his daydream by his ringing phone.
“We can meet with Ellesse tonight, if that works for you,” Bob said.
“Sure, what time?”
“Pick me up at my house around 7:30. That’ll give me time to eat. She’s staying with some friends in El Cajon, so it’s not far from here.”
JP checked the clock on his dashboard. He had plenty of time. He drove on, still thinking about spending time with Sabre. He didn’t think she was interested in anyone else, but he didn’t want to get complacent about their relationship either. He often got bored very early in relationships, but that wasn’t happening with Sabre. He was crazy about her and wanted her to know it. He decided to come up with something to make up for canceling their weekend getaway.
JP turned onto Merlot Street. It was a residential neighborhood just like most group homes were in. The neighbors often fought to keep these homes out because they felt like they lowered property values and increased the crime rate. That was probably true of some of them, especially if they housed hardcore delinquents. But JP’s experience was that it was more about management and resources. Many of these group homes were private businesses, and even though they received funding from the state, they didn’t always spend the money wisely. When profit was the bottom line, they often scrimped on resources. Others were well managed and provided great service. He had never had a client here before, so he was unfamiliar with this home. He was already not impressed with their hiring an employee like Lester Gibbs. JP hadn’t met him yet, but he had formed an opinion about him based on his so-called marriage to a twelve-year-old. JP cringed, took a deep breath, and exited his car.
The Advocate's Illusion Page 4