“How badly is she hurt?” Damn, just on the full moon. I should have acted on my instincts.
“I don’t know much. I’ll call you when I know more.”
After they’d hung up. Lowell picked up the phone and made a call. He got to the office about twenty minutes later.
“Hello, Sarah.”
“You had about a zillion calls.”
“Could you be just a little more precise in the number?”
“Twenty-six.” She handed him a stack of little slips.
Lowell entered his office and shut the door. He looked through the messages, returned the calls he thought necessary and did further work on the charts of the principals in the case.
An hour later the intercom buzzed.
“Melinda is on line one.”
He picked up the phone. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the hospital. Johnny’s going to be okay, they just stabbed her in the shoulder.”
“Still scary, if not as bad as it could’ve been. I’m relieved.”
“They told me you’d arranged bail. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“When we’re done processing her release we’ll come by the office. Johnny wants to thank you personally.”
“That’s not really necessary.”
“We’ll be there later,” said Melinda, firmly.
“You sounded exactly like your mother just now, you know that?”
Melinda was silent.
He sighed. “Let me know when you’re on the way and I’ll be sure to be here.”
“Thank you.”
He went back to work. The judge’s chart was a study in contradictions. Here was a woman with a brilliant and critical mind, capable of catching the details in things while still able to grasp the bigger picture. She had been self-assured and had had a commanding presence. Yet with Mars in Libra in trine to Jupiter her ego wasn’t really strong as much as very present. It was conjunct Mercury so she was able to direct it through her speech and other communications. She could be very persuasive, yet could herself be coerced by people of great power or magnetism if they asserted their egos. With Jupiter, ruler of the law, in the 10th House of vocation in her natal chart, her career in the legal profession held immense promise. That, in trine to the Mars – Mercury conjunct, gave her charisma and a sharp mind. With Uranus in Judge Winston’s 3rd House, her sister would be nervous and a little unusual. Their relationship was erratic and at times possibly explosive. The chart also showed that the judge had great ambition and would have been able to make the big things happen. And her chart looked as though she was just about to. The future had been very promising for Farrah Winston. Mark Milford was right. Whatever she was about to tell him was very important indeed.
***
Melinda entered the office with their client. Johnny’s right arm was in a sling and bandaged across the shoulder.
“I want to thank you for bailing me out,” she said, “I don’t think I would have lasted much longer in there.”
“Sit down over there on the couch and tell me what happened,” said Lowell.
Johnny sat on the couch too fast and accidentally banged her elbow on the arm rest. She grimaced, but didn’t utter a sound.
“There were three of them,” Johnny began, “tough bitches. They might have been a gang, I’m not sure. They’re not allowed to wear colors on Riker’s. Anyway, they cornered me in the corridor and one said, ‘This is for the judge’, and then stuck the knife in me. I kicked one of them and ran with the damn thing still sticking out of my shoulder. I collapsed near my cell and a couple of guards took me to the infirmary. I think they would have just left me, but too many people had seen me lying there. The whole thing felt like a set-up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was sent down that corridor by a guard. It’s usually patrolled on a regular basis and there are at least one or two guards in the area. Today there were none.”
“What happened to the inmates who attacked you?”
“Nothing. Nobody’s willing to say anything. Do you blame them?”
“I’ve filed a request for a formal investigation,” said Melinda. “But so far I’ve been stonewalled.”
“You’re not gonna get anywhere with this,” said Johnny. “Someone paid them to slice me up, and whoever that was has a lot of clout. I think the guards were in on it and they were supposed to kill me.”
Lowell nodded. “I’m afraid you may be right,” he said, “which is why I bailed you out. You won’t be safe until this trial is over.”
“And then what? How long do you think I’ll last in prison if they convict me?”
“Well,” said Lowell, “we’ll just have to make sure they don’t.”
“Johnny,” said Melinda, “would you mind waiting outside for a minute? I need to talk to my father.”
Lowell buzzed Sarah. A moment later she opened the door.
“Yes, boss?”
“Would you please take our client into the conference room and get her some refreshments?”
“Be glad to.” Sarah turned to Johnny. “We weren’t formally introduced. I’m Sarah.”
“Johnny.”
“Well, come on. Would you like some coffee?”
“You got any beer?”
Sarah closed the door behind them, with a quick look of amusement at Lowell.
“What am I going to do with her?” said Melinda.
“Why must you do anything with her?”
“I don’t think this was a gang hit, do you?”
“No.”
“I mean, why would a street gang give a damn one way or another if a judge gets whacked?”
“They wouldn’t,” said Lowell. “They would most likely be glad. Unless they were paid to give a damn.”
“And if she’s right and some guards were in on it, she wouldn’t last a day in prison.”
“Probably not.”
“And if the hit was ordered from the outside,” said Melinda, “that means she can’t go back to her place or she could be in danger.”
“I suppose.”
“Exactly. So you see my point.”
“Uh, what point is that?”
“That Johnny has to stay at your townhouse until the trial is over.”
“Oh, no.”
“But daddy…”
“Daddy?”
“But let me explain. If someone is out to get her she can’t go home and…”
“No.”
“But…”
“No.”
“You’re such a jerk sometimes.”
“I know. But it’s still no.”
Chapter Eleven
“Would you like some more lemonade?” asked Julia.
“No, thank you, but it’s really very good. Not too sweet.”
“I make it myself,” said the housekeeper, unable to keep the pride from her voice. “I don’t like the package stuff.”
“Me, either,” said Johnny.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
She went back into the house, leaving Johnny lying on one of the lounge chairs in the backyard. It was unseasonably warm for November, and she grabbed for what little sun she could find. Lowell had bailed her out only the day before, but already her jail pallor had improved. Her shoulder was still bandaged, but she didn’t need the sling. It lay on the ground next to her, along with her shirt. Her white bra was in stark contrast to the orange-and-green tattoo of a lion across her chest. She unhooked her top to take advantage of the warmth of the last of the autumn sun’s rays reflecting off a distant high-rise.
She was half napping when the door from the house opened with a squeak.
Johnny wo
ke to see both Lowells staring at her. “Hey, how are you guys?”
“Would you please put some clothes on,” said the astrologer.
“Huh?” She looked down. “Oh, yeah, I forgot. Hey, don’t let it bother you. I don’t mind.”
“Well, I do,” he said.
“Yeah, okay. Don’t have a fit. But they’re nice, huh?” She cupped her breasts in her hands and presented them to David like a plate of ripe fruit. The lion tattoo covered her entire chest, with the right nipple as the nose of the beast and an orange mane streaking around the bosom.
“Yes, they’re very nice. Now put something on.”
Melinda watched this exchange with great amusement. She wasn’t sure, but she thought her father was blushing.
Johnny put her top back on and gingerly pulled her shirt around her shoulders.
“That better?”
“Thank you,” said Lowell. He came and sat at the backyard table. “Have you ever had your astrology chart done?”
“No. What’s it like?”
“So you don’t know anything about your chart?”
“Just that I’m Aquarius, right?”
“And nobody ever told you anything else, like where your moon is, or your rising sign?”
She shook her head. “I had my aura read once by some woman came into the bar.”
“You see how powerful the ascendant is,” said Lowell, turning to Melinda. “The rising sign represents the physical body and the projection of the self-image. She has a Leo rising sign and unconsciously has herself tattooed with a rather prominent image of a lion.”
“I’ve always been drawn to lions. When I was a kid I used to wear my hair long and comb it up like a mane.”
“Wonderful, just a marvelous example. I must remember to put this in my next lecture.”
He went on, “Tell me again exactly what these women said when they attacked you.”
“I told you yesterday.”
Lowell didn’t like Johnny. He found her rude, obnoxious, and inappropriately aggressive. And he certainly wasn’t happy that she was staying at his house. But he loved his daughter, so he bit his lip.
“Well, tell me again.”
“The big one said: ‘This is for the judge.’ Then she stuck the blade into my shoulder. I think she was aiming for my heart, but I turned away just in time.”
“Is that all she said?”
“Well, when I got away and was running down the corridor I heard one of them say: ‘He ain’t gonna like that she ain’t dead.’”
“Who ain’t gonna like it?” asked Melinda.
“That is the sixty-four dollar question,” said Lowell.
“What does that mean?” asked Johnny.
“It means that if we can find out who put a contract out on you we may be able to find out who killed Judge Winston.”
“Christ, you really think there’s a real contract on me?”
“Well, there may have been one in prison,” said Lowell. “If it is extended to the outside we had better all watch our step. Johnny, you are not to go out alone under any circumstances. If you need something there will always be someone who will accompany you.”
Johnny looked very nervous. “Well, what can I do? I mean, what the fuck is gonna happen to me?”
“You should be all right here,” said Melinda.
Johnny looked around, unconvinced.
Lowell took out his cell phone and hit a few buttons.
“Roland,” said the policeman.
“It’s David Lowell.”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“There was an event on Riker’s yesterday.”
“Yes, I’m familiar with it. Believe it or not we get phone calls, too.”
“Well, I’ve bailed Johnny Colbert out and she’s staying at my place.”
The lieutenant must have smiled for the first time that day at the thought of that bad-tempered woman upsetting what he suspected was Lowell’s delicate sense of equilibrium.
“How wonderful for you.”
“Yes, I’m sure you think so. Anyway, people tried to kill her, and her defense would be rather moot if they succeeded.”
“So what do you want me to do about it? Maybe she pissed someone off at Riker’s with that smart mouth of hers.”
“Maybe, but I can’t babysit her all day long or I’ll never get my work done.”
“The police department isn’t on your personal payroll and we’re not obligated to protect anyone once they are out of the system.”
“They did such a fine job of protecting her when she was in it, didn’t they?”
The lieutenant sighed. “Well, you do have a point there. What do you want?”
“Just some extra drive-bys and a word to the cops in my neighborhood would be nice.”
“Anything else, your highness?”
“That should be sufficient. I’ll have Andy stay at the house whenever possible during the day, and he’s licensed to carry a gun.”
“Just make sure that’s all he does with it. All right, I’ll have a car stationed on your block periodically, but don’t take advantage of the situation.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
Lowell looked at Melinda, and then Johnny. “Please, no more trouble today.”
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Lowell was in the office when Sarah buzzed.
“Melinda on line one.”
He picked up the phone. “How are things?”
“Not so good. Somebody wants this thing to go away, and quickly.”
“You mean besides me?”
“You’ve been a gem, really. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’re doing for Johnny. But they’re putting our case on fast track.”
“Well, that doesn’t give us much time. What time can you be at the townhouse? I’d like to compare notes.”
“I’m stuck at the courthouse until about six. This case has been taking up a lot of my time and I’ve got to catch up on my other clients. But I’ll be home by seven.”
“I’ll send Andy to get you then.”
The rest of Lowell’s day was spent on chart analysis and dead-end pursuits. Everything was pointing to their client. There were very few leads.
Sarah came in to say she was going for the day. It was almost six. Lowell preferred to remain in the office for the duration of a case so he could stay on top of things and not get distracted. But Johnny was at the townhouse, and he felt he should get back before too long, even with Andy around and a cop car on the street.
Lowell took a cab uptown. As the cab drove down his street, he didn’t see the cop car Roland had promised, nor did he see one at the other end of the street. He was disappointed but not surprised. The city was hurting financially and crime was up. Resources were stretched thin.
When he opened the front door, Julia was standing there, a frantic look on her face.
“Oh, Mr. Lowell, I’m so glad you are here. The woman sneaks out as soon as Mr. Andy leaves to pick up Melinda and I’m in the kitchen. I tried to keep an eye on her, but she asked me to get her some of my homemade lemonade. When I got up to get it, she must have left.”
“How long ago?”
“Twenty minutes, no more. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t blame yourself. There was nothing you could do.”
Lowell called Melinda. She was in the limo and arrived fifteen minutes later.
“Look,” she said, “there’s no reason to worry. Maybe she just went for a walk.”
“I told her not to leave the house under any circumstances. Doesn’t she understand that her life is in danger?”
“I don’t know. I can’t understand it.”
Lowell didn’t wa
nt to bring up his million-dollar bail at the moment.
Melinda shook her head. “How did she get out without setting off the alarm?”
“Remember you can open and close the door from the inside and slip out without triggering it if you do so quickly.”
They were just about to call Lieutenant Roland when the phone rang. Lowell snatched it up.
“Hello… yes… well where are you…uh huh, we’ll discuss that later. They did what… Okay, stay right where you are. No wait, go somewhere public… No, not a bar…Starbucks is fine. We’ll pick you up there. Don’t leave!”
He put the phone down and turned to an anxious Melinda and Julia.
“She went to her place to pick up some things. When she got there someone had trashed the place. That’s all I know. We’ll get the rest of the story from her.”
***
Andy drove them downtown to East Eighth Street, where they found Johnny in the coffee store perched at a corner table trying to look inconspicuous, a beat-up green suitcase on the floor beside her. Melinda went to get her.
Johnny got into the limo and Lowell could see that her hands were shaking. “Do you have anything to drink?” she asked.
“What would you like? Coke, water?”
“Bourbon.”
Lowell nodded and opened a small cabinet from which he removed a liter of Old Grand Dad and a tumbler. He poured two inches into it and handed it to Johnny, who proceeded to down it in one shot. She held out her hand and was rewarded with another double. This time she sipped it.
“Why did you leave?” asked Lowell.
“I had to get out. I was going crazy there. Suffocating. I just thought I could go to my place, get a few things and be back before anyone missed me. I got to my apartment and the door was open. The place had been trashed. I mean they ripped every fucking thing to shreds. My mattress, my chairs. The assholes. What did I do to deserve this?” She took another sip of the amber liquid. “I ran in and grabbed a few things and stuffed them in this suitcase. Then I was about to leave when I heard the front door of the building open and two men started running up the staircase. One saw me and said, ‘There she is.’ So I ran down the back stairs and hid in an alley. They passed about a foot from me. If they had turned around I think I’d be dead.”
Murder in the 11th House Page 7