Until Love Do Us Part

by Anna Premoli

  “It’s never too late to change a bad habit. Go on, have a taste,” he said, handing her the part of his muffin he hadn’t yet bitten into.

  She rolled her eyes and pushed his arm away. “At this very moment in time the only reason I have indigestion is because of your absurd accusation against my client.”

  Ryan quickly became serious. “She should have been given an exemplary punishment the first time. Now we are in big trouble.”

  “Bullshit. It’s you who has now decided to put her through the wringer. But don’t think that I’m going to rest on my laurels.”

  “I never had any doubt about that,” he said quickly. “Not even for a second. I am a realist, too, you know.”

  Amalia sipped her coffee. “Anyway, it doesn’t make much difference what we think. The law is not a matter of opinion.”

  Ryan finished swallowing after taking a rather large bite. “Don’t tell me you still believe in justice. I thought that after all these years in practice you’d understand how these things work,” he said ironically.

  “Please don’t take me for a fool. Justice has nothing to do with it. It’s all about what you can or can’t prove.”

  He pretended to consider this.

  “True. Under normal circumstances. But unluckily for you, Liz has some really bad business on her rap sheet and the judge hardly had time to countersign it. There’s no way he’ll forget about that. In cases like these they’ll be less likely to stick to the facts and more likely to lend a favorable ear to my hypothesis.”

  Amalia stiffened. Unfortunately there was some truth in what he was saying. “And you want to ruin the life of a young girl just as a matter of principle?” she asked him frostily.

  “People like Liz Stubbs have everything served to them on a silver platter. Everything. Yet she still manages to find a way to ruin her life. I’m not ruining her life, she is. Unfortunately, free will is also evident in cases like these. Some people just shouldn’t be given the chance to decide for themselves.”

  “You come from the wrong side of the tracks to be able to understand the problems that a girl like Liz can have,” she said sadly.

  “And you’re too stuck up to be able to understand my point of view. But that’s normal, it couldn’t be any other way.” He uttered that last sentence with a hint of pain in his voice, pausing for a moment to dwell on it. “You look good without all that makeup you normally put on your face,” he said, sounding surprised.

  Amalia suddenly remembered that in the rush to get to the precinct she had completely forgotten to put any makeup on. She felt naked, completely naked, and now she felt uncomfortable.

  “I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible I must look right now, but it doesn’t matter because I have no particular designs on you.” She said in all seriousness, because despite the embarrassing episode of the evening before, it was clear that it was something that would never be repeated.

  “I prefer you like this,” said Ryan in a low voice.

  She actually managed to laugh. “Sure, of course you do. I can imagine.”

  “What happened to that guy you were with towards the end of law school?” he suddenly asked, changing the subject completely.

  “What guy?” she asked in amazement.

  “You know, that blond guy, the one with loads of money. That asshole…”

  “Who? Joshua?”

  Ryan’s face lit up immediately.

  “That’s him, Joshua! We used to hang out for a while when we left Yale. I was convinced that you would end up marrying him.”

  Amalia was amazed that Ryan was aware of that particular fling.

  “Well, apparently he thought so too…” she admitted. “But he didn’t like it that I had started to practice in a law office. One that was more prestigious than the one where he ended up.”

  “And what the hell did he expect you to do with a law degree and a specialization from Yale?” he asked, sounding almost amused.

  “Oh, I really don’t know. I guess he was hoping that I wanted to be a housewife.”

  “And he dumped you for that?” he asked, still laughing.

  “Yes, for that and because he said I had a temper.”

  “Noooo, come on, you? A temper? How dare he?” he teased.

  Amalia had finished drinking her coffee. “Yeah, well listen who’s talking about having a temper.”

  He raised his hands in surrender. “Absolutely, absolutely. I’m pretty good at scaring people away too,” he admitted.

  “See? It’s a good thing you don’t like me. With our personalities, what chance is there of us ever getting along.”

  Ryan didn’t reply, but remained quiet, staring thoughtfully at her. Amalia began to feel a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny of those eyes, so she decided to get up. “Breakfast is my treat,” she said, stopping him in his tracks with her hand. “That seems more than fair. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to corrupt you. I know that tomorrow morning you’ll go into that courtroom convinced of the nonsense you are going to come out with. I wouldn’t dream of trying to make you change your mind.”

  He smiled resignedly. “Really? So, what is your strategy for tomorrow going to be, then?” he asked curiously.

  Amalia rummaged in her bag to get her wallet, took out a ten and handed it to the waitress who was passing. “It’s obvious. It will be the judge who will make you change your mind,” she said with conviction.

  Ryan stared at her admiringly. “Now that I really want to see…”

  “Watch and learn,” she said, waving goodbye.

  13

  And Amalia’s strategy would undoubtedly have been a winning one had her case not ended up back in the hands of Judge Wyatt, who was even happier than usual that Monday morning. He had, in fact, spent the weekend at a fishing competition and had succeeded in getting third place. He had even been awarded a small cup, which was now on display on the mantelpiece in his apartment. It was positioned so that it could be seen by anyone entering the room – and if anyone didn’t notice it straight away, he would carefully bring that precious object to their attention.

  He had just sat down at his office desk to look through the emails Grace had sent him that morning when he saw the appointments of the day and reacted with irritation.

  “Grace!” he called his secretary, who appeared at the door a few moments later. “Grace, I’m sorry, but here it says that my first appointment at nine is the Stubbs case – Amalia Berger and Assistant D.A. Ryan O’Moore. There must be some mistake, I’m certain that we successfully closed that case a few weeks ago…”

  His secretary didn’t like to be the bringer of bad news so early in the morning. It tended to make the judge irritable for the rest of the day.

  “Err, this is a brand new case, Judge,” she said.

  “What?” he muttered, picking up the first file from the list. He leafed through it quickly and then shouted angrily, “Attempted murder? What, are they crazy?”

  All Grace could do was shrug her shoulders and leave.

  *

  Amalia had awakened at dawn, well before the alarm had gone off at seven, and had dressed and done her makeup with great care. She had put on a lot of makeup, almost as a veiled response to Ryan’s words, and had left her unruly hair loose, opting – unusually, for her – for a dark blue suit with a pencil skirt and a closely fitted jacket. Not her usual style for court, but she felt that on that particular day she was going to need all the help she could get.

  Michelle had warned her the night before that her case would more than likely end up back on Judge Wyatt’s desk, given how little time had elapsed since the previous one and his knowledge of the accused.

  “Good.” for Amalia, that was a big word. But she was ready, even if all she could do was stay calm and let Ryan contradict himself. There was nothing else for it.

  Seeing as she was so early, she decided to say ‘hello’ to Liz and try to calm her down before entering court. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ryan s
taring at her from in the distance, but she decided to keep to herself.

  “This court is in session. All rise,” proclaimed the court official moments later, and everyone stood up.

  Wyatt sat down while putting on his usual glasses. “I wish I could say it is a pleasure to see you all, ladies and gentlemen. But unfortunately it is not,” he began immediately. “What I mean to say is, hadn’t I already made myself clear to all of you? Especially to you, Miss Stubbs? I realize that I have some talent as an entertainer and that young people enjoy watching me in action, but you really would have done far better to stay away from this courtroom,” he scolded.

  Liz’s face turned red and her head fell. The judge opened the case file and sighed in annoyance. “So, we are here to discuss the case of Miss Stubbs, who is currently accused of attempted murder…” he read in a grave voice, staring at Ryan while pronouncing these last few words. “Excuse me, Mr Assistant District Attorney – doesn’t your superior have more interesting cases to assign you than the foolishness of wayward youth? I don’t know, a real murder, maybe? I understand that they do still happen from time to time, from what people tell me.”

  Ryan looked very uncomfortable. “The prosecutor wanted to assign me a case that I was already familiar with…” he explained.

  But that day, Wyatt was impatient.

  “What nonsense. You make sure you tell the prosecutor that I don’t think much of playing political games before the elections. You’re not going to turn my courtroom into some kind of example for posterity. Is that clear?” he asked menacingly.

  “Perfectly,” said Ryan seriously.

  “And now we come to you, Ms Berger…” Amalia jumped up. “Nice suit,” he said patronizingly, studying her from head to foot. “Listen, attending court isn’t like going to a fashion show.”

  Amalia flushed and tried to explain herself. “Your Honor, it was the first thing that came to hand.”

  Wyatt pretended not to hear her, and shifted his gaze to Ryan. “Well, now that I come to think of it maybe it wasn’t actually such a stupid idea. I mean, I might be too old for some tricks to have any effect on me, but perhaps there’s still a chance of them working their magic on young Mr O’Moore here. Or am I wrong?”

  Ryan cleared his throat nervously.

  “Yes, I’d say that Ms Berger got that right. I take that back, please continue with your tactics. By the way, did you enjoy yourselves on Saturday?” he asked both of them.

  Both Ryan and Amalia blushed without a murmur.

  “I see that you did,” said Wyatt with satisfaction. “Don’t despair. You still have many long and happy hours left to spend together. And now, back to us and the issue of bail…”

  “Well, Your Honor,” said Amalia, “we did put in a request for an immediate release. The charges brought against my client are simply absurd. Liz Stubbs did not try to kill anyone, and the prosecutor cannot prove any of the things he is claiming.”

  “That remains to be seen,” interjected Ryan, who also rose to his feet. “Your Honor, Miss Stubbs, who was sentenced by this court a month ago, is here with us today charged with attempted murder.”

  Wyatt leaned back in his chair.

  “Very clever, O’’Moore. Really smart to remind the court of the previous case. In your place I would have done exactly the same.”

  “But that is the problem,” said Amalia loudly. “The two cases are in no way connected. They should be treated as two completely separate incidents.”

  “Maybe in a perfect world, Ms Berger. But allow me to remind you that we are on planet Earth,” said the judge. “Well, we can at least try to keep the two cases separate, although I cannot guarantee that we will actually succeed.”

  “Your Honor, we cannot detain an eighteen year old girl simply because she gave a dose of cocaine intended for her own personal use to another person – especially when we don’t even know if he actually took it,” insisted Amalia.

  Ryan glared at her. “I think we can exclude the idea that he threw it down the toilet, given that a few hours later he almost died from an overdose…”

  Amalia tried to stay calm. “Unlike the assistant D.A., I tend not to rule out anything and do not rely on accusations based on hastily made assumptions. Who’s to say that it was the dose my client gave Mr Delaney which caused the problem?” she asked innocently.

  The judge looked at Ryan again, who was now fuming like a witches cauldron.

  “Don’t be ridiculous…”

  “We will discuss issues of intentionality or otherwise at a later date. At this precise moment we are dealing with the question of Ms Stubbs’s custody,” Judge Wyatt reminded them both. “What do you propose, Mr O’ Moore?” he asked.

  It was exactly what Ryan had been waiting for.

  “That Ms Stubbs be kept in custody until the trial.”

  Amalia rolled her eyes. “Why don’t we put a chain around her neck while we’re at it?” she muttered sarcastically.

  “Now, now – don’t be so easily upset, Ms Berger.” the judge warned her. “What are you requesting?”

  “Immediate release. There is no danger of my client attempting to escape. She comes from a well-known, wealthy New York family.”

  “… They’re certainly wealthy,” repeated Ryan, sarcastically.

  “Okay, okay,” said Wyatt, trying to keep them quiet. He ruminated for a moment as he pondered upon what to do and then he leant forward.

  “The court has decided on probation for Miss Stubbs, and bail is set at two hundred thousand US dollars.”

  “Your Honor!” cried Ryan immediately. “For the Stubbs family, two hundred thousand dollars is peanuts! It’s unheard of.”

  The judge looked a little bored. “Get a grip on yourself, Assistant District Attorney. Go to the gym, go for a run, find yourself a girlfriend… I can’t help noticing that you seem a little tense lately. Not to mention that I seem to be seeing too much of you,” he thundered.

  Amalia turned in Ryan’s direction to give him a small smile of victory.

  “The hearing is fixed for exactly two weeks from now. Until then, as I said, probation on bail. And if you, Miss Stubbs, could kindly not kill anyone before that date, you will have my sincerest gratitude. I can’t bear the thought of having to see these two more than I already have to.”

  Liz mumbled something and sat motionless in her chair. Amalia put her arm around her shoulders. “See? We won’t give up. Come on, come on – let’s go and sign for your release.”

  When they stood up, Ryan was nowhere to be seen.

  *

  That evening, Amalia and Kayla met for their usual hour of yoga, which they had been doing for years at a midtown gym. Amalia arrived ten minutes late, red-faced because she had been in such a hurry and immediately took her place on the mat next to her friend, who was, as usual, tactfully positioned in the back row.

  “Busy day?” Kayla asked, immediately noting her friend’s shortness of breath and tired face.

  “You have absolutely no idea…”

  “By the way, where were you yesterday morning at ten o’clock? I tried your intercom because I thought we could go out for brunch, but no one was home. Did you sleep somewhere else?” she asked hopefully.

  Amalia sighed at the idea.

  “I was at the police station. From five in the morning. Trying to get Liz Stubbs off the hook. What kind of reporter are you if you don’t even hear about the big stories?”

  “Oh shoot, yes, I did hear!” exclaimed the other girl, slapping her forehead. “They mentioned it to me.”

  “My dear girl, your memory is beginning to falter. If I were in your place I’d be worried…” Amalia teased.

  “Yes, well, what can you do. I met a very interesting guy on Saturday night, and so my head is in the clouds. It’ll be all your fault, however, if it doesn’t work out,” Kayla warned, trying to be simultaneously serious and humorous.

  Amalia completely ignored the glares that the yoga instructor was giving her
and sat in the position shown. “What the hell has that got to do with me?” she asked in amazement.

  Kayla performed the same position, but with more grace. “It’s simple: you didn’t come out with me on Saturday evening so I ended up getting picked up by this guy. If it doesn’t work out and he turns out to be the usual loser, it’s all your fault.”

  “I hate to have to tell you this, but your arguments don’t stand a chance.” Then she raised her right leg as high as she could and instantly began to feel her calf muscle straining. “God – I’m a wreck and I am only thirty-three years old…”

  Kayla seemed to have no problem in lifting her leg. “But didn’t you study dance when you were younger?”

  “Only for one year and I was hopeless. Then they sent me riding. Only to find out that I was allergic to horses,” complained Amalia, rubbing her calf.

  “And then they have the audacity to say that money solves all problems. Anyway, back to us – where the hell were you on Saturday night? I thought that old men had to be in bed before a certain time…”

  Amalia laughed. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you…”

  “Try me. I’m famous for being able to handle five ridiculous stories on a Monday and today I’m only up to number four.”

  Meanwhile the instructor had changed position and they followed suit.

  “After the party at the old people’s centre, Ryan practically forced me to have a pizza with him,” she confessed. And in fact, she still hadn’t really had time to digest the evening’s events herself. Liz’s arrest, Sunday spent at the police station and then the hearing for the release on bail a few hours earlier had overshadowed all her personal troubles. She didn’t know whether or not she considered it lucky to not have had time to go over the events of Saturday night.

  Kayla immediately sat up. “You mean Mister Nice – the gentleman who never smiles and who even his friends call ‘Ice Man’ – took you out to dinner?” she asked, looking extremely surprised.

  “Contain your excitement, my girl. We only had a pizza – and he ordered one with onions, peppers and pepperoni.” A loud laugh filled the room, making all twenty women present turn to look in her direction. Kayla didn’t appear intimidated by their scowling and continued to laugh for a while. Amalia had always envied her ability not to be intimidated by circumstances or the people around her.