Love and Injustice

by Mary Crawford

  Toby motions for me to toss him my handcuff keys.

  He gently removes them and Isadora leaps into his arms. The kids literally scramble up my legs like tiny kittens.

  I radio to the team outside and place a child on each hip and turn around and ask Isadora, “Do they have any medicine or anything they’ll need in the next few hours?”

  Isadora grabs a tattered blanket. “Only this.” She holds it up for the kids to see. “See, Bobby, I didn’t forget it.”

  “What about my doll?” the little girl asks.

  “I’m sorry, Hannah. I can’t get your doll back. But maybe we’ll find another one that needs a family.”

  Toby shepherds everyone out the door. “I’m sorry, you said time was an issue. I’m trying to avoid a confrontation if we can.”

  Isadora shudders as she runs toward the door. “Wait, let Officer Erickson go first. Then you, then me,” Toby instructs. He looks to me for confirmation.

  “Mr. Payne is correct. There is a white van that looks like a cable van, but that is ours.”

  “What about car seats for the kids?” she asks as we hustle to the van.

  Toby hops into the van first and puts his hand over Isadora’s head to shelter it as he helps her step into the van. He sits down and holds his hand out to take the smallest child from me. He places the toddler in the seat next to him and buckles him in, carefully tightening the belt.

  I place the older child in the next row back and buckle her in. I notice tears in her eyes. “It’s okay, sweetie. We will get you somewhere safe.”

  “I’m hungry,” she whispers as she sticks her thumb in her mouth.

  “I’m sure we can get you something to eat after we get out of here,” I answer.

  Isadora’s eyes dart around the van. “Will they be okay? They’ve never gone anywhere with only seatbelts.”

  “We weren’t expecting children, but we’ll take care of that as soon as we get you out of immediate danger,” I assured her as a voice comes over the radio advising me there are cars approaching.

  Isadora hears the incoming chatter and her eyes widen. “I feel so dumb. We need to go. My abuela tells me nobody had car seats back in her day. They’ll survive. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “Let’s go,” I instruct the agent driving the car. “Get us to the closest law enforcement agency.”

  The agent quietly leaves the parking lot, driving slowly until we get to the thoroughfare. He speeds up when we join the flow of traffic.

  He changes lanes and Isadora lets out a startled shriek and puts her arm across the toddler.

  “I’m sorry, I’m being stupid,” she mumbles under her breath.

  Toby turns to her with a sober expression. “Don’t worry about it. Your nerves are a little on edge. You’ve been through a lot. What you’re experiencing is pretty normal.”

  “How do you know what’s normal in a situation like this? Have you ever been kidnapped?”

  Toby blushes bright red. “Yeah, I have. I always forget not everybody on the planet knows my story because it often feels like everyone does. Yeah, I was kidnapped when I was twelve years old. I was held for almost five years. So, I know exactly what you’re feeling and what it feels like to have none of the thoughts in your head makes sense. Don’t worry, that feeling gets better as you hang out with normal people in your world and reestablish relationships.”

  “You make it sound so easy. Everyone will know what happened. They’ll think I’m a freak. I didn’t ask for this to happen. I didn’t want to be raped —” Isadora insists, breaking down into tears.

  “We know — so will everyone else who matters,” I assure her. “I have to ask you a few basic questions to figure out where we are in this situation. First, who are the children?”

  “I can only tell you what I was told. Bex Michaels says they’re his.”

  “You know your kidnapper’s name?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise.

  I look back to gauge her reaction. She shrugs as she responds, “I ‘borrowed’ his wallet one time when Bobby had the flu. He allowed me to be loose so I could take Bobby to the toilet. Bex left his wallet in the bathroom after his shower. I thought his name was weird. It sounded like the guy from Poison. My mom likes that band.”

  “I ‘member that. It was gross. My brother puked on me. My dad got mad. I thoughted he was going to hit Bobby. But he hit Izzy instead. He gave her a black eye,” Hannah explains.

  “Any idea where their mother is?” I ask.

  “Mommy’s in jail. She stoll’ed some money. I wish she didn’t. She’s nicer than my daddy.”

  “Your daddy can’t be mean to you now,” Isadora says as she leans forward and strokes Hannah’s hair.

  When we pull up to the station, and Hannah sees the squad cars, she starts to cry. “Am I gonna have to go to jail like my mom?”

  “No, honey. We did nothing wrong. These are the good guys. They are here to help us. Remember when we prayed every night for someone to come rescue us? That’s why we’re here,” Isadora assures the kids.

  “Does that mean my daddy is going to jail?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I answer. “It’s still too early to tell. We have to do an investigation and figure out what happened.”

  “He’s a bad man, but he’s still my dad. I don’t want my brother and me to be left all alone.”

  I unbuckle Hannah and hitch her up on my hip. “I understand you’re scared. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you and your brother are safe.”

  “Izzy too?” she asks as she sticks her thumb in her mouth and lays her head on my chest.

  “We’ll take care of Isadora too, I promise.”

  But even as Toby helps the young woman out of the car and carries the toddler in his arms, I wonder to myself how difficult it will be to keep my simple promise.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  TORI

  “BONNI JEANNE! GUESS WHAT?” I greet as I come through my front door and dump my workout gear in front of the coat closet.

  She rushes around the corner and stops to examine my somewhat puffy cheekbone. “Oh good Lord, did you tick off another trainer?”

  I reach up to touch my sore cheek. “Oh, this? No, I just zigged when I should’ve zagged. I actually had a fabulous workout. My new trainer was teaching me some self-defense moves. He said I have solid skills. David wants me to help him teach the class next term.”

  “Hmm, Okay … if you say so. Your face looks like you were on the losing side of things.”

  “I swear, I wasn’t. But, that wasn’t even the best thing that happened today —”

  “I should hope not,” Bonni Jeanne teases.

  “Before I went to work out, I stopped by the rehab center and had lunch with my mom. Her hip is doing much better and they have her up and walking with a walker. Her new medicine is making a world of difference. She and I had a conversation, and it was almost like old times. She remembered me and my job and was even talking about what life was like with Dad before he passed away. Not only that, she knew about what was going on in the world. I mean, I know things aren’t perfect, but it was the most normal I’ve seen her in years. I didn’t want to leave.”

  “I don’t blame you. If I were you, I would’ve wanted to stay. It must’ve been like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from.”

  “Exactly! I was afraid to blink. I was sure I simply imagined it all. The nurse told me she’s had more days like that, but she also cautioned me against tiring my mom out. So reluctantly I left. Who knows which version of my mom I’ll encounter the next time I go see her — but it was beautiful to have the mom I remember back even just for a few minutes.”

  Bonni Jeanne hugs me tightly around the neck. “I’m so happy for you. I hope this change is a sign of things to come. Maybe they finally made a breakthrough in her medication.” Bonni Jeanne pulls away and wipes away her tears.

  I walk to the refrigerator and grab a sports drink. When I walk into the dining area, I notice Bonn
i Jeanne standing there with a pensive expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “I hate to do this to you because you’ve had such a great day.”

  “Do what?”

  She hands me a letter. “It looks awfully official. I had to sign for it earlier today. I don’t know about you, but when I get mail like that, it’s never good news.”

  I examine the letter closely. It’s from the Bar Association. “That’s weird. I’m sure I paid my dues on time.”

  “Like I said, nothing good comes from mail you have to sign for. I’ll let you have some privacy.”

  Bonni Jeanne turns to leave. I grab her shoulder. “Please don’t leave me alone to cope with this. I have a hunch you’re right. I don’t want to face this alone.”

  With shaking hands I open the letter. Silently, I read it. My knees buckle as my mind processes the words in the formal document.

  “What? What does it say?”

  “How can I be investigated for something that didn’t happen?” I ask. “Can they really take my law license for something I didn’t do?”

  “Oh, Tori, I’m so sorry. Isn’t there something you can do?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve never been through anything like this before.”

  “Well, I guess it’s time for you to put your sharp legal mind to work and figure out how to save your job.”

  “Wow! You sound like Cody. If he were here, that’s exactly what he would tell me to do.”

  “He did tell me to take good care of you. Consider yourself cared for.”

  I try to project confidence in my linen suit as the receptionist escorts me back to Mark Littleson’s well-appointed office. It’s surprising how quickly I got used to not being in professional mode. His office feels foreign even though I used to spend hours every day in places like this.

  When Mark sees me, the tall Native American attorney grins and stands up to shake my hand. Even though his striking good looks and size should be intimidating, he is open and friendly. “Tori! It’s great to see you. Cody mentioned you might be around. I am so glad you guys are dating now. Shelby thought you guys would make a great couple.”

  “She did?” I stammer.

  “My wife likes to play armchair matchmaker,” Mark explains. “I’m thrilled to see Cody happy for a change. He hasn’t stopped talking about you. He’s worse than my teenage daughter,” he jokes with a wide grin.

  “I can’t believe Cody even said anything. Aside from that one time at the Aidan O’Brien concert, I’ve barely met any of his friends.”

  “Maybe not formally, but you’ve known a lot of us a long time.”

  “I guess so. I hope Cody was right. He told me his friends would be willing to help me if I was strong enough to ask.”

  “He was right. That’s the way we do things around here.”

  “So, here I am asking. Asking for what I’m not sure. Advice? Maybe… Help? … Maybe… But you might not be able to. It may put you in ethical hot water.”

  “Don’t worry about that. It is up to me to figure out my ethical boundaries. Just tell me what you need.”

  “Before I explain, I need to know how much you know about my current situation —”

  “Only what I hear in the news … and Cody’s general instructions for us to completely ignore what we hear.”

  “I agree with my boyfriend, you should ignore practically all of what you hear because the news reports are horribly incomplete. They have to be because they don’t really know what happened. They try to guess based on what’s happened in other high-profile cases, but they weren’t there, so they don’t really know.”

  “All the better to smear your reputation, right?”

  “I guess — but I don’t see the point.”

  “Eventually, this’ll all blow over. We went through some messy stuff with Shelby when some jerk went after Savannah.”

  I hand the letter over to Mark. “That’s why I’m here. It doesn’t look like it’ll blow over anytime soon. Now, it’s more than just gossip. It’s affecting my livelihood. This is serious.”

  Mark takes a few moments to read the letter from the Bar Association. He lets out a low whistle between his teeth. “First of all, let me say I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this. I’ve known you long enough to know you did nothing unethical. I don’t care what the tape purports to show — it’s bogus.”

  “I know that and you know that — but will the investigators for the Bar Association know? What am I going to do? I can’t afford to hire a huge legal team to fight this!”

  “I say don’t fight it. If you didn’t do anything wrong, their investigation won’t find any evidence against you. I don’t represent clients in these kinds of situations and I don’t want to do you a disservice — but I will help you find someone who can represent you.”

  I frown at Mark. “Didn’t you hear me? I’ve got no money to fight this. I haven’t been working. I’ve been taking care of my mom and she has huge medical bills.”

  “Don’t worry about that part. We’ll figure it out later. I think this will be the break you need.”

  “I don't know. I hinted to my boss that I had already had a forensic evaluation done on the tape and that it showed it had been spliced. The weird thing is he didn’t even seem surprised. He just said he had political pressure to get me out of my job.”

  “Derek Zane was always prettier than he was smart. I can’t believe he admitted that to you. Did he happen to mention who he was receiving political pressure from?”

  I shake my head. “He’s dumb, but not quite that dumb. I have a few guesses though. I still have a few connections at my old office. Apparently my new replacement is awfully cozy with Councilman Warren. He meets with her in her office several times a week.”

  “How often did you meet with council members when you worked there?”

  “Next to never. The only time I ever saw them was at awkward fundraising events and at mandatory trainings for the county.”

  “Aside from the videotape, did you guys talk about anything else?”

  “No not really. I just wanted to know why in the heck he fired me after I’d scored two major case victories for the District Attorney’s Office. It’s not like I was an embarrassment to the office or anything. I had done pretty well. I didn’t hog all the credit like he usually does. I thank my whole team — including him. So, I was pretty shocked when he came and told me he was firing me. I knew I had done absolutely nothing wrong.”

  I point to the letter Mark is still holding in his hands. “I guess my innocence doesn’t really matter now because the bar is going to investigate me as if I’m a criminal. Do you know I was scared to take notes into an open note exam during law school because I was afraid it was somehow cheating even when I was given permission to do so? That’s the kind of person I am. I'd never do anything to jeopardize a case!” I practically yell into Mark’s face.

  “Tori, I know this about you. As soon as the investigators talk to you and get your side of the story and look at that ridiculous videotape, they’ll know it too.”

  I take a few breaths and try to compose myself. I know Mark is not the enemy. Everyone I know who knows Mark Littleson knows he is a calm and reasonable person. Savannah, who has every reason on the planet to hate all men, thinks he is one of the finest people on the whole planet. I need to reel myself in and calm down. If I talk this way to anyone from the State Bar Association, I’m toast.

  “Part of the reason I’m so upset is because someone I trusted to have my back in court was the one who turned me in. Isn’t that the craziest thing ever? Like I’m not dealing with enough crap in my life right now!”

  “I know it’s frustrating. But here’s the thing… An investigation by the Bar Association is a good thing. They have to appoint people who don’t know you or any of the other witnesses in the case. It’s somebody impartial. So, when they do an investigation and clear your name, you’ll be able to go back to work without a stain on your reputation.”
>
  I flop back against the luxurious leather chair. “I know you’re right. You’re totally right. But it still makes me so mad. This should’ve never happened. Why wasn’t my boss on my side if he values what I do?”

  “Because he’s a self-absorbed prick?”

  I let out a surprised burst of laughter. “Oh right! I forgot you know my boss.”

  “I do. I had that opinion before you ever walked through my office door. Now, you’ve just cemented it.”

  “Still, I wish I had more solid evidence that I’m innocent. I didn’t even know the building maintenance person had a camera. Heck, I don’t even know their name. I wasn’t even paying close enough attention to know whether it was a man or a woman. It could’ve been either. I know the person had a uniform on and a baseball cap. There was some sort of name tag sewn onto the uniform, but I didn’t take the time to read it because I was focused on the witness. His demeanor was so disconcerting, he had all of my attention. He was a nervous wreck, and I was afraid he would have a heart attack right in front of me. I literally was thinking to myself I wonder if I remember enough CPR to help him until the ambulance arrives if something happens.”

  “Under those circumstances I can understand why you wouldn’t notice the maintenance person.”

  “So, I don’t see how there’s any hope I could come up with any evidence because I don’t know who took the video.”

  “This sounds like a job for Isaac or Tristan and Identity Bank. They are better at getting this sort of thing than I am. A good lawyer could probably get a court order for something like that from the news media but it could take a while. Tristan tends to be able to sweet-talk his way through dilemmas like that.”

  “He is amazing. I’ve worked with him on a few cases but right now he’s helping Cody out. They’re looking for some missing teenagers. I hate to distract him from that. It’s a much more urgent situation than what I’ve got going on.”

  “Identity Bank is huge. Isaac and Tristan are not the only people who work there. If they can’t help you themselves, they’ve got other people who could get you what you need. Let me place a few calls for you, okay?”