Lawyer & Liar

by T Wells Brown

  “Throwaways?” I was so furious my ears were ringing.

  “Yes. Now, we have refocused our attentions to vehemently prosecute crimes with real victims, the upstanding, tax paying kind of victims, that I actually work for.”

  “You do realize you are required under the law to treat each citizen equally don’t you?” This man was too much. Did he really think there wouldn’t be any repercussions to this kind of bias?

  “Let me appeal to another side of you. The U.S. Marshals have used Safe Haven for their victims who are in trial at the Federal Court in the county. Since the serial killer hasn’t been caught, and the media is crawling all over the place, they are pulling their program.”

  “I don’t see how that affects me.” Was he serious?

  “Okay, let me put it to you this way, my next few calls will be to Department of Home Land Security and Department of Justice. I think they would be extremely interested in the lack of criminal prosecution from local government in something that is their jurisdiction.”

  “I appreciate your candor. Now, let me be very clear Miss Mathews. IF the DHS or DOJ were to get involved in my territory because of your interference, the blow back on you and all you hold dear, would be exponential.”

  “Are you threatening me Mr. Jones?”

  “Absolutely, Miss Mathews.”

  I hung up the phone and sat in my office chair looking at nothing. I swiveled my chair around and saw the beautiful blue pool just outside my glass door.

  This phone call settled me. It gave me focus and clarity. I knew exactly the kind of man the new Deputy DA was and I knew he had to go. It was more than just making him change back the horrible new perimeters for prosecution he’d imposed. He couldn’t live here at all. He had to go somewhere else and be a terrible person there.

  I called Susan and ran down the discussion I had with our jerky Deputy DA. I also ran down the plan the tribe and I had for the guy. She was thrilled and wanted in on the action. Since we had done this before but were rusty having not run anyone out of town in years, I told her, “Let us figure out what still needs to be done with him after the normal routes have been implemented. The techniques we use haven’t failed us yet. It’s been a while since we’ve had to use them so…” I left her to fill in the rest.

  “Fine.” She replied, unhappy with not being able to contribute to the Deputy DA’s demise.

  “Hey, you’ll get your chance,” I tried to console her but she was still sulky so I moved on. “Don’t say anything but I want to start a charm bracelet with the girls at Safe Haven like the Women of Wine Country charms, what do you think?”

  “I think they would love it, but it would cost too much girl. What are you thinking?”

  “No. No, we would do theirs in a less expensive bead charms and they could collect charms as they reached milestones.” I didn’t care what anyone said; I thought it was a great idea.

  “Oh, okay. I can see that,” She replied slowly.

  “Also, we’re having a going away party/housewarming here at the Manor and I want the girls to come and see what their lives could look like too.”

  “Oh sister that’s a great idea,” Susan breathed.

  “Don’t tell Sophie. I want to surprise her.”

  “I won’t girl.”

  “Is she there? I want to take her to look at the charms so I can get an idea of what the girls would actually wear.” Now that I had the idea in my head I wanted to move on it. Sophie would get an

  almost full charm bracelet since she had met all of the milestones and it would be great for the girls to see.

  “Sophie hasn’t been back around here in a couple of days. I laugh because I wanted her to go on with her life, but the house is different without her here.”

  Shoot, I wonder if she’s been with Terra.

  “Alright, well let me call around and find out where she is. I’m sure she is where ever she told me she was going. The trouble is I can’t remember where that was!” I started to get a funny feeling in my gut. You already know about me and my gut.

  “I’ll talk to ya later and let you know when I find Sophie.”

  “See ya,” and we hung up.

  I dialed Terra, “Hey sis,” she answered.

  “Hey, you move forward on your assignment?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Good.”

  “Total annihilation?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah,” I answered.

  “Might take some time. It’s been a few years since we’ve pulled this off,” Terra said.

  “That’s okay. As long as all he wants to do is get as far away from here as he can, I’ll be happy. This community can’t afford for him to stay here in the position he is in, and certainly can’t afford for him to reach a higher level of authority,” I answered.

  “On it, sis. He is as good as gone.”

  “Good. I was thinking of doing some shopping for the going away and housewarming party. What do you think, wanna go with?” I knew she would want to go. Parties were totally her thing.

  “Oh yes please!” She breathed. “I haven’t been able to throw a good party in so long, and since you brought it up, I’ve had several ideas. Please tell me it can be fancy. With martinis and music! Please don’t tell me it’s going to be a barbecue or something as equally ghastly.” She was so dramatic.

  “You can do martinis and barbecue for all I care,” I replied.

  “No. No. No. we have to do martinis and hors d’oeuvres, and light acoustical music outside, I have it all in my head already,” I knew she would. Terra was all things classy.

  “Okay, I will move the money to our account and you can start shopping.”

  “Great! I’ll get Sophie to help me,” She was super excited, so it hurt a little to burst her bubble.

  “I want it to be a surprise for Sophie. She thinks it’s just a housewarming party. The other girls from Safe Haven will be invited too, so make sure you have things that will make them feel comfortable.”

  “Oh Yes! A surprise!” Terra was going to go way over board with this. I could hear the cha-ching from the dollars being spent and we hadn’t even hung up yet.

  “Before you run off to spend my money, is Sophie with you?”

  “Nope, haven’t seen her in a couple of days. See ya sis!” And she was off. My gut was really going in over drive now. How can Sophie not be anywhere and no one notice for a couple of days? I was trying to think when the last time I’d seen her and figure out who else she might be with.

  Maybe she was at Bellini Estate with Isabella. I dialed the estate and learned that Isabella was baking and Sophie was not with her. I didn’t want to get panicked, but my gut was screaming at me. I sent a text to Cabe and Roman.

  I had so much on my mind I wasn’t paying attention to the beeping that was coming from somewhere in the house.

  Nor did I see the shadows pass over my glass doors at the back of my office.

  I picked up my phone while waiting for one of the guys to text me back. I was distracted with the app I used for the local jeweler we ordered our custom charms from. I wanted to get Sophie set up with her own charm and also wanted to get started on the less expensive bead charm for the girls at Safe Haven. I just loved the idea that they could be awarded a charm for each milestone they made. As I looked at the charms in the app, I was getting more and more excited for the new bracelet idea when all hell broke loose.

  And I mean ALL HELL!

  Chapter 24

  Sophie

  I t sounded like explosions going off inside my office. The front French doors exploded and at the same time the rear glass doors leading to the pool exploded the glass from both ends flying into my large room. My office door was kicked in and suddenly the room was filled with black masked armed gun men speaking loudly in what I assumed was Russian and shouting at me. I sat at my desk in shock, not really processing that I had guns pointed at my head, face and body. All I could think was how much work it was going to be to replace the g
lass doors and how they were original to the house and would never be the same again.

  It was starting to piss me off and I was screaming mad by the time I shot up from my chair to my feet and yelled “You Fu…” that was all I got out because I don’t remember anything after, until I woke up on a concrete floor in what appeared to be a dirty old warehouse of some sort.

  Oh, Lord Almighty! Where was I?

  My head was pounding and hurt so badly I thought I was going to be sick. Slowly, I tried to open my eyes but it just made my head pound harder. I decided to lay still and let my senses take over until I could get my head under control.

  I could smell dirt and dust, and a weird sickly sweet, musky scent that was strong and overwhelming. I had no idea what it was making that smell but I knew it was bad.

  Oh Lord, Almighty! I just didn’t know how bad it was.

  Before I could separate the smells from each other and decide which smell was more offensive than the others, I heard soft whimpering. It sounded like a puppy crying after it had cried its energy out. Like, all it had left was an exhausted continuous whimpering.

  I rolled over to my left side, still keeping my eyes closed and felt myself to see if I was injured anywhere else besides my head. The pounding was now centrally located and I could tell it was coming from the back of my head where someone must have struck me hard. With enough force to knock me out and keep me out. I was sore and stiff, which led me to believe I’d been out for a while and laying on the cold concrete floor.

  Cracking my eyes open, I could make out the dirty floor I was laying on. The dust in the air I could see from the diffused light, coming from somewhere above where I was laying and trash and debris scattered across the floor.

  I rolled to my right side, my stomach dropped, there were a pair of large male boots standing just past my chest, pointing at me. Suddenly I was in excruciating pain again because the boots that had been facing me were now delivering blows to my midsection.

  The boot wearer kicked me several times, and was shouting in a loud angry voice in a language I didn’t understand, but sounded like it could be Russian. Although it didn’t sound exactly like what I’d been hearing recently from the Russians I’d been encountering lately.

  I curled up and away from the brutal assault as best I could. I could feel some pain in one of my ribs and knew without any question at least one had been cracked. I was afraid to look up at my assailant because he might decide my face would be a good target to take a shot at too. Taking a powerful kick to my face with those boots would crush my fascial bones and I wanted to avoid that if at all possible. I felt a tear running down the side of my cheek and drop over my nose to the concrete floor. I wept as silently as I could and stayed as still as possible, curled up in a tight little ball.

  The whimpering became louder and it was all I had in me not to look up for the puppy this despicable man must be abusing. I wasn’t entirely sure why I’d been taken or was being abused but I knew I was in a precarious position and needed to listen to my gut, the same gut I’d been ignoring, and not make any sudden movements.

  “You think you can send the Bratva for us bitch?” This I understood perfectly. It was spoken in a heavily accented English but I was able to understand him just fine. I thought it was much nicer when I couldn’t understand him.

  “You think you dirty little female can take us on!” he shouted at me again and delivered another blow to my curled body.

  “Get up bitch.” This came from another area in the warehouse. I felt a pair of hands in my hair and knew they would rip my hair out trying to make me stand, so I scrambled as best I could with my sore ribs, pounding head, and the hands that were tugging at my hair, I was able to make it to my knees with my hands gripping my hair that was being ripped from my scalp.

  “Look at what we do. Look at what you tried to stop but can’t. Now, not only will we take our pleasures on whoever - whenever we want we are also taking out the Pakhan and this will allow us the playground you stupid Americans don’t even know you have.”

  I tried to climb to my feet but the hands in my hair kept me on my knees. And turned me to see where the man was standing who was speaking to me. What I saw next made my blood boil and my heart beat pick up, but my mind slowed down. Slowed way down.

  Tied to a pole in the middle of the room was a tiny dark skinned girl who looked as if she had been ravished by wild animals. She was swollen and bloody everywhere . Blood was running down her thighs, both eyes were swollen shut, her nose looked as if it had been hit several times and she had duct tape over her mouth. Tape that moved in and out with her efforts to breathe. She was a child! A tiny child that stood against the pole they’d tied her to naked, with sores and cuts all over her body! I knew from the autopsies of the couple of Triple D’s victims this was them; they were delivering the same abuse to this poor child. These were the devils who committed these horrific acts of violence. They had to be.

  She was crying in a tired defeated manner. I could tell they had been working on her for a while, and knew without a shadow of a doubt these were the monsters who were terrorizing and murdering the girls. And this one wasn’t going to make it either unless I could figure out how to get the two of us out of there.

  The one who had been kicking me was hanging onto my hair, and keeping me on my knees and controlling my movements and direction. The one who was speaking to me knelt down and put his face so close to mine he was all I could see. He sneered at me and said, “For a pathetic little bitch you have caused many problems. For this you shall watch suffering of others before you suffer too.” He leaned so close I could feel his breath on my face as he went on, “Their suffering is your fault, you filthy whore.”

  I decided saying nothing was going to be the smartest way to go. At least he would have to rile himself up. It was very clear to me they wanted me upset and distressed. The last thing these foul men would get from me was anything they wanted.

  “Oh you care not for the tiny child. Maybe you care more for the big child?”

  Big child? My skin crawled. I knew before I heard, and then saw, them pulling her into the room by her now shorn hair, who they had.

  My poor sweet girl who had already suffered enough heartbreak in her short years than most had in their entire lives, was dragged in by her short hair and thrown on the hard cold ground in front of me.

  “Sophie!” She wasn’t moving. She was naked, had clearly been beaten and tortured. She had the same cuts and sores on her body the poor tiny child had that was tied to the pole. I knew what they were. They were cigarette burns and knife cuts. Just like all of the other victims. Only thing was, these two were still alive. At least I hoped Sophie was still alive. She wasn’t moving or making any sounds.

  The pig of a man who had been doing all of the talking laughed and kicked Sophie’s prone body. I broke out in a sweat, Sophie didn’t so much as flinch with the assault.

  “Please, I’ll do whatever you want,” I said, trying to get the attention onto me and away from Sophie.

  The pig kicked her again and I cried out. Sophie wasn’t moving and I couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not.

  “You’ll do whatever I want anyway. What do I want? I want you to suffer, you little bitch. You’ve cause me more trouble than you’re worth,” he spit in my face. The man holding my hair made sure I couldn’t turn away from him, as he laughed and spit again. I felt this one hit my cheek.

  Oh, Lord Almighty! Sophie had finally gotten a home of her own and now, because of her love for me, she was suffering again.

  This was such bullshit. I knew it was hopeless, Roman had no idea where I was and if I was even gone. He hadn’t been returning my calls or texts until much later after I’d sent them. Cabe was occupied with Isabella and Lucas and Marcus were at Safe Haven making sure the girls there were safe.

  So I did the only thing I could do.

  I laughed.

  Hard.

  I laughed so hard my sore ribs ached, and then whe
n I felt the pain…

  I laughed harder.

  Chapter 25

  Mobilize the Troops

  T he Scot sat with his feet propped up on a desk in the monitoring room at the SDI compound. He was stuck watching the vast array of monitors for the SDI clients who needed round the clock surveillance. This was the worst part of the job. Laird, aka The Scot, lived for the action and even though he agreed to this job, he really wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to stick around. He was meant to save lives, catch bad guys, and make the world a better place. His skills were being wasted in this expensive wine region. Laird stretched his arms above his head and let out a big yawn and dropped his boots to the floor. He pushed himself to stand and turned to refill his empty coffee cup when he noticed two large vehicles turn off their head lights as they rolled down the long drive towards one of the houses SDI was monitoring. Finally. Something to get excited about.