The Advocate's Justice

by Teresa Burrell

  JP bit his lip. He hated to see his brother make a promise. Morgan had already had too many broken.

  Gene hugged his daughter and she held on tight. “You be good now, little one,” he said as he let go, his eyes wet.

  “You be good too Daddy, so you can come home to us.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and tears streamed down her little face.

  The bailiff nodded at JP. “If you’ll take Morgan out, Sabre has Conner in an interview room, and I’ll escort Gene to see him.”

  Gene forced a smile as Morgan left. And although the girl was crying, she didn’t cling to him or fight to hold on. She left with poise and what appeared to be confidence. JP wondered if it was a front, or if she was just used to him leaving.

  “You’re a brave girl,” JP said to Morgan, once they were outside.

  “He’ll be back. My dad always comes back.”

  ~~~

  Sabre sat in the interview room, with Conner on one side of the plexiglass and her on the other. This visit would not be as comfortable as the last. But when Gene walked in, Conner appeared pleased to see him.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “Hi, son.”

  Conner’s mood suddenly changed. His chin dropped to his chest, and he seemed unable to meet Gene’s eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I know you never wanted to see me behind bars.”

  “Look at me, son.” Conner lifted his head, and Gene continued. “It’s not your fault that you’re here. It’s more mine than yours. And don’t worry, you won’t be here for long. Your grandma will come around, and Sabre will take care of the rest.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Trust me, it’s all going to work out. I promise.”

  Sabre wondered how many times Conner had heard Gene utter those words, and how many times his father had failed. She’d seen it repeatedly with parents who couldn’t stop using drugs or stay out of jail, constantly letting down their children. Although Gene appeared sincere, most of the others had meant it too. They just couldn’t follow through. Sabre didn’t expect anything different from Gene, but Conner did.

  “I trust you, Dad.”

  “Thanks. I also promise this will be my last time in prison. Next time I come home, it’ll be for good.”

  Gene changed the subject, and the rest of their conversation consisted of Conner explaining what it was like inside and the plans he had for when he got out. Sabre stood back and let them visit. They only had about twenty minutes before the bailiff came to get Conner.

  “Son, you stay out of trouble now,” Gene said, as they both stood. “It won’t be long before you are out of here, and I want you to keep your grades up.”

  “I will, Dad.”

  “I know you’ll be there for Morgan, but it won’t be as hard now with your Uncle Johnny around. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

  “I know.”

  “And one other thing. When you get out, you’ll probably live with Johnny. You do what he tells you, just as if it was me telling you. He ain’t had any experience being a parent, but he’s pretty sharp. He’ll learn quick.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t get into any more trouble. I never want to come back to this place.”

  The bailiff took Conner back to the Hall, and Georgianne met Gene at the door and took him into custody.

  Chapter 64

  JP started to think that Gene hadn’t taken care of getting Muriel into court. Several days had passed and, so far, there was nothing new from the DA’s office. He knew they were investigating, but Sabre hadn’t received any reports.

  JP drove to Muriel’s house. Roxy answered the door, with mussed hair and wearing a nightshirt. She looked hung-over or strung out. JP glanced at the time on his phone: 12:37 p.m.

  “Is your mother here?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know where she is?”

  “No.” She made no move to let him in.

  “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “A few days ago. Before Gene went back to prison.”

  “We need to find her so we can get Conner out of custody. Do you have any idea where she might’ve gone?”

  “I don’t know. She took her suitcase. For all I know, she might’ve gone home.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “England. She’s always talking ‘bout it, and she was pretty upset ‘bout the whole Conner thing. Mom felt bad that he was locked up for what she done, but she thought she would die in prison and the most he’d get was seven years or so.”

  “Have you heard from her since she left?” JP detested standing in the doorway with this wreck of a woman, but he needed information.

  “No. I told the cops that too. They’ve been here looking for her a few times. I hate having those cops hang around.” Roxy scowled. “Mom ruins everything, even when she’s not here.”

  “Yeah, it makes it tough to have your parties, right?” JP suspected she didn’t notice the sarcasm.

  “For sure. It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong or illegal, but no one wants to be here when cops are hanging around.”

  “I’m sure they’re about as welcome as a porcupine at a nudist colony.”

  Roxy grimaced, then gave JP a blank look.

  “Never mind,” JP said. He asked a few more questions about Muriel’s relatives and friends, both in England and locally, but Roxy had little information to provide. He finally gave up and left.

  Before he drove away, he called Ron. “I want you to go by Soper’s house and see if Muriel’s car shows up. Don’t stay. I don’t want him spotting you. Just try different times of the day. Drive by every couple of hours. Can you do that?”

  “Sure, I’ll get right on it. But I’m glad you don’t want me to stay there.” Ron chuckled a little. “I’m still healing from the last beating.”

  JP’s next call was to Sabre, and he told her what he was doing.

  “Do you think it’s safe for Ron?”

  “He’ll just drive by occasionally. He’s far more aware now.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Sabre said. “I spoke to Larry Villareal, the investigator for the DDA.”

  “I know who Villareal is,” JP said.

  “That’s right. Anyway, they’ve been trying to find Muriel, but I think just for more questioning. They’ve also been looking for Bullet’s cell, but they haven’t found it.”

  “I wonder how much manpower they put on finding the phone.”

  “I don’t know, but we’re running out of time.” Sabre paused. “Remember the Copley case, where they used dogs to find that grave?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I did some research and found a local K-9 trainer here in San Diego. They’re a private company that trains dogs for the police, but they also have dogs for hire. If I set it up, would you be willing to go with the handler to search?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. Are you available this afternoon, about one-thirty?”

  “You already set it up, didn’t you?”

  “Tentatively. I wanted to make sure you weren’t busy.”

  “That’ll work.”

  “We need Muriel’s scent and Bullet’s too, if you can get them. The K-9 service said we could use dirty clothing or personal effects that are used daily. But they said the best thing would be shoes that had been worn a lot. They don’t get washed, so the scent is usually strong. I called Roxy, and she said you could pick them up.”

  JP drove back to the house. Roxy looked even worse than when he’d been there an hour ago. But this time Roxy invited him inside.

  “Conner’s attorney said you needed Mom’s shoes.”

  “That’s right.”

  She led him to Muriel’s bedroom. “Help yourself.”

  “Does everything in this closet belong to your mother?”

  “What’s not hers is Bullet’s.”

  The tidy walk-in was three-quarters full with woman’s clothing. The rest of the stuff appeared to be Bullet’s. JP obtained an old pai
r of Muriel’s walking shoes and placed them in a bag he’d brought with him. Then he bagged a pair of men’s boots, careful not to touch them either—trying to keep his own scent off. He had never worked with canines, but he figured the less the dog had to discern the better.

  When they left the bedroom, Roxy turned toward the back door. JP saw himself out. He suspected Roxy was joining whoever was in the backyard playing loud music. He shook his head. She sure didn’t wait long for Gene to be out of the picture before she started her parties again.

  Chapter 65

  As per Sabre’s instructions, JP met the dog handler, Chuck Booker, at the training facility. JP rode with Chuck and his dog, Whiskey, to the area where Muriel claimed she tossed the phone. They drove to the crime scene first, then started back toward San Diego. JP instructed Chuck to stop at the first speed limit-sign, which ended up being 1.3 miles from where Bullet was killed.

  JP had no idea what kind of a throwing arm Muriel had, but if she got any distance at all, the phone would be down lower in the canyon. She could have thrown it straight out, or to either side, and there were lots of shrubs and trees to maneuver through. Suddenly, it looked like a vast area to cover, but at least it hadn’t rained since she made the toss.

  “What do you think?” JP asked Chuck.

  “It’s hard to say. We could get lucky, or it could take a while. The problem is that the phone was probably airborne until it hit the ground or stuck in some foliage. So there’s no scent to follow until we get closer to it. Do you know if the woman is left or right handed?”

  JP thought about when he had seen Muriel. He hadn’t witnessed her write anything, but the first time he met her, she nervously twisted a loose thread on her blouse with her right hand. “Right, I think, but I’m not sure.”

  “Okay, then unless she was aiming for something specific, there’s a greater chance it went north. I’ll direct Whiskey to the north first, then we’ll work our way south. Where are the shoes?”

  JP handed him the bags. Chuck put on latex gloves, removed the shoes, and sat them down for Whiskey to smell. Whiskey went back and forth between the two pair until Chuck gave him a command to start searching.

  Down the hill they all went. Whiskey sniffed at things as they searched, but gave no response indicating he had found the scent. About thirty yards out, Chuck turned the dog west; they walked about twenty yards, then headed south. They kept going for another sixty yards, covering the area that would’ve likely been in Muriel’s throwing range. Still nothing. They walked east for another twenty yards, then turned back and covered another section. No luck.

  “We’re starting to run out of ground, unless this woman had an arm like Rosie Black,” Chuck said.

  “Who’s Rosie Black?”

  “She was the pitcher on the Queen and her Court, four women who competed against pros. She threw so fast that most professional players couldn’t hit the ball. Johnny Carson clocked her on his show at over a hundred miles per hour. I saw her play once. My mother took me when I was ten. I was in Little League and had complained because they were talking about letting girls play. I think my mom wanted me to see that women could excel at sports, just like men.”

  “Did you learn the lesson?”

  “I sure did.”

  They traipsed through the brush and started back up the canyon on the south side. “It’s getting dark,” Chuck said. “I think we need to call it for the day, unless you want to continue with flashlights. Whiskey is okay, but we won’t be able to see very well.”

  “Whatever you think.” JP didn’t want to give up yet, but they could come back the next day if they had to. Chuck and Whiskey were available.

  As they started back, Chuck asked, “Are you certain this is the right spot?”

  “I think so. Muriel said she stopped about a mile or two from the crime scene, right in front of a speed-limit sign. I didn’t see another sign for several miles down the road.”

  “We’ll walk up the south side and cover the area at the top that we missed by heading north. It seems too close to the road, but maybe she can’t throw very well.”

  They worked their way back, still within a good mile of where Bullet had been shot. This time they walked due west, then north, then east toward the highway, covering a quarter of a mile—with no luck.

  “You want to keep going?” Chuck asked.

  “We still have a little daylight,” JP said. “I say we go until we run out.”

  “Same direction or do you want to go further south?”

  “Let’s keep working our way toward the crime scene.”

  They did another quarter-mile section and started the last leg up the incline. They were nearly to the top when Whiskey started digging at the ground, covering a three or four foot area. The dog stopped and sat down, looking up at his handler.

  JP and Chuck quickly approached where Whiskey sat at the bottom of a tree, but they didn’t see a cell phone. Dusk was making it difficult, so JP took out his flashlight to search with. He plowed through sticks and pine needles, trying to uncover the hidden cell phone. Whiskey sat still.

  “It has to be here,” Chuck said, helping JP look.

  They continued to rummage through the area, but they kept getting further and further away from Whiskey. Still nothing.

  They went back and Chuck walked the dog away, then gave him a command. Whiskey returned to the same spot and sat down under the tree. JP shined the light upward, and there it was, lodged on a branch.

  “She didn’t throw this from that speed-limit sign,” JP said.

  “Nope. Even Rosie Black couldn’t have thrown it this far.”

  “Why would Muriel lie about that?”

  Chapter 66

  JP and Sabre pulled into the parking lot at her office, and a moment later Derek drove up and parked his truck. He wasn’t alone.

  “Look at that,” JP said. “Derek found Muriel.”

  “I guess your brother kept his word on that one.”

  “Well, slap my head and call me silly. Gene came through, just when I least expected it.”

  Sabre and JP walked toward the truck. Muriel stepped out, looking visibly shaken. “Hello, Sabre.”

  Sabre greeted her, then said, “Come into the office.”

  JP approached the driver’s side of the truck. “Are you coming in, Derek?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll wait out here. Just see that she doesn’t slip away.”

  “Are you worried about that?”

  “I’m not taking any chances.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll bring her back to you myself.”

  Muriel followed as Sabre and JP entered the office. Sabre took a seat behind her desk, and JP pulled a chair out for Muriel directly across from Sabre. He stood about six feet back, guarding the door.

  “I’ve made a mess of everything,” Muriel said. “I shouldn’t have left.”

  “You’re here now.” Sabre’s tone was soothing.

  JP felt less patient. “Where’ve you been?”

  “I was at a friend’s house.”

  “Have you spoken to the investigator?” Sabre asked.

  “Not since that day with you. I understand they want to talk to me. Roxy told me several cops and investigators have been by the house.”

  “They’ve been checking out your story,” JP said. “Why did you come back?”

  “Derek found me and was very persuasive.”

  Neither JP nor Sabre asked how he had persuaded her. Sabre didn’t want to know and was sure JP felt the same. Although, she assumed it hadn’t been physical, because Muriel had no visible signs of injuries.

  “I had to help Conner,” Muriel sank into her chair as if she were trying to hide. “I thought he’d be out by now, and they’d just be looking to arrest me. But I guess it doesn’t work that way.”

  “I’m not certain,” Sabre said, “but I think they see you as his accomplice.”

  “But he didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s what we’ll have to
prove in court. Are you willing to testify?”

  “Yes.”

  “What will you do now?” Sabre asked.

  “I’m going home. I already called the investigator, and he told me to come into the office tomorrow at nine-fifteen.”

  JP and Sabre exchanged glances. Muriel stood to leave.

  “Please, don’t hide out again. Conner needs you to testify.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” JP said. He took her by the arm and escorted her to Derek’s truck.

  When he returned, Sabre asked, “Do you find it curious that Villareal just told her to come into the office tomorrow?”

  “Yup. I don’t think they’re going to arrest her, or he wouldn’t have trusted her to show up.”

  “Maybe he was afraid she’d spook and run away again,” Sabre suggested. “So they plan to pick her up at her house tonight.”

  “I don’t think that’s likely. The investigator would’ve wanted her to come in right now—while she was willing—or he would’ve gone out to meet her. There’s something else going on.”

  “Like they don’t believe her story at all?” Sabre asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “But they have the phone now with her fingerprints.”

  “Unless they didn’t get any prints. We don’t know what they found.”

  “That wouldn’t be good. We need both the phone and her testimony to convince the judge that Conner is innocent. I don’t think one without the other will be enough.” Sabre picked up her cell.

  “Who are you calling?” JP asked.

  “DDA Benson. She needs to share the discovery she gained from the phone.” The call went to voicemail, and Sabre left a message, asking for a callback. “It’s late,” she said to JP. “I expect she won’t get back to me until tomorrow. Do you think Villareal will tell you anything?”

  “Not without Benson’s approval.”

  Chapter 67

  Sabre had finished her calendar at juvenile court and was back in her office working when her cell rang. She checked the screen and saw it was Marge Benson. A heavy feeling landed in her stomach when Marge told her the news. Sabre hung up and called JP. “I just spoke with Benson. Muriel’s fingerprints are not on the phone.”