The Advocate - 03 - The Advocate's Conviction

by Teresa Burrell

  “Beats me,” Sabre said.

  JP stood up. “I’m going to go check on Mena and her baby.”

  “They’re here?”

  “This was the closest hospital,” JP said.

  “Hey, you may want to call Collicott. She’ll be relieved to know her client is safe.”

  JP sent one nod of the head in Sabre’s direction. “I already did.”

  Bob stayed with Sabre until she was released. They walked over to the bed where Bailey was being guarded by a sheriff. The female police officer who Sabre had encountered earlier at the scene of the accident came in to talk to Bailey.

  Sabre addressed the officer. “She’s represented by counsel, and I’ve advised her to tell you everything you want to know about the events of this evening. Since there is still a warrant for her arrest for the murder of Scott Jamison, she will not be discussing anything else until I’ve had a chance to speak with the DA.”

  “Okay, counselor,” the officer said. “I just need to know about the accident.”

  Bob brought Sabre a chair and set it next to Bailey’s bed. Sabre sat down. “I’ll stay until you’ve finished your questioning.”

  After the officer left, Sabre leaned down and kissed Bailey lightly on the forehead. “They told me you’ll be going to your own room soon. For now you have a guard with you, but after they take you to a room they’ll probably handcuff you to the bed. There’s still a warrant for your arrest and you are considered a flight risk, so that’s the way it has to be.” Sabre put her hand lightly on Bailey’s shoulder. “But don’t worry. It won’t be for long.”

  “I’ll be okay,” Bailey said.

  “I’ll be by to see you in the morning.” Sabre desperately wanted to tell Bailey that her baby might be alive, too, but first she needed to find out for certain. She was dealing with sick, crazy people; one even claimed to be a witch. Who knows what happened to Bailey’s baby or any other babies they encountered. There were likely more.

  53

  It had been two days since the accident and the ringing and most of the pain was gone from Sabre’s ears. She sat in the back of Scary Larry’s courtroom with Roberto Arroyo awaiting Apollo’s and Bailey’s hearing.

  “He’s a good kid, you know.”

  “So is Bailey, in spite of her role models.”

  The judge walked into the courtroom and took the bench. The bailiff brought Apollo in through the back. His parents were brought into the courtroom and seated in the back of the room. The case was called.

  “Roberto Arroyo present with the defendant, Apollo Servantes,” Arroyo said as he stood up.

  Sabre stood up. “Sabre Brown appearing on behalf of Bailey Lecy who’s not present in court, Your Honor. She’s still in the hospital, but expected to be released this afternoon.”

  The assistant district attorney announced himself. “Your Honor, on behalf of the state …”

  “Save it. I’ve read the file,” the judge said. “I just have a couple of questions.” He addressed Apollo’s parents. “Are you willing to take your son home today?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” the father said.

  “And will you see that he gets back in school immediately?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “All right then.” The judge looked at Sabre. “Ms. Brown, you represent Bailey in the dependency system. Is there a plan in place for her to live upon her release, other than with her mother?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. Mr. and Mrs. Venable were her foster parents before she ran away, and they’re happy to have her back.”

  “All right then. My colleague can take care of Bailey next door. Both cases are dismissed without prejudice. Mr. Arroyo, make sure the parents know where to go to pick up their son.” Arroyo nodded.

  Sabre smiled and whispered to Arroyo. “Scary Larry is so weird.”

  Sabre went directly to Department Four for the special she had put on calendar on Bailey’s case. Bob was waiting for her when she arrived.

  “How’s Cole doing?” he asked.

  “He was a pretty sick little boy, between the flu and the pneumonia, but he’s doing much better now. Has his mother been able to visit him?”

  “She’s been at his bedside around the clock. The social worker who replaced Gillian has been great about helping her with transportation. He even got her a meal pass so she can eat in the hospital cafeteria while she’s there. And as soon as they receive the go ahead from the doctor, he’s going to take Hayden and Allie to see him.”

  “That’ll be good for all of them,” Sabre said.

  The clerk called the Lecy case. Sabre had the Pick Up and Detain Order removed and a new detention order put in place for foster care for Bailey.

  Bob announced his presence on behalf of his client, Karen Lecy, who did not appear. “My client may very well be at the hospital visiting her daughter, Your Honor.”

  Sabre rolled her eyes at Bob.

  “She may very well be, Counselor,” the judge responded sarcastically. “Are you keeping the trial date?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Bob said. Bob and Sabre knew the trial was a useless endeavor in light of the new information regarding Karen’s involvement with the Route 66 gang. The case would likely settle before the trial. Bob would attempt to get his client to see the light but he wouldn’t pressure her. It was her choice and she was entitled to go to trial if she so chose.

  “JP, will you please keep track on the white board. My hand hurts and if Bob does it we won’t be able to read it.”

  “My handwriting isn’t that bad,” Bob said.

  “Yes it is,” Sabre and JP responded in unison. They all laughed.

  “Okay, what we’re really trying to do here is figure out what happened to Bailey’s baby,” Sabre said. “Was he sacrificed or was he sold?”

  “And since the defendants have all lawyered-up we’re going to have to figure it out ourselves,” JP said. “According to my sources, none of the suspects are talking except for the old lady.”

  “Barry Betts’ mother?”

  “Yeah, she’s singing like a bird, but unfortunately she’s way out of tune.”

  “What’s she saying?” Sabre asked.

  “She’s really into the satanic rituals and has been having them in her home since Barry was a child, which could explain why his father was awarded custody of him in their divorce. She truly believes that she is connected to Satan through the large oak tree in her yard and that she can make things happen, but she doesn’t seem to know about the babies.”

  “Maybe she’s just not telling,” Sabre said.

  “No, she’s spilling her guts about everything that ever happened in her life. And apparently there’s not much corn in her silo. She’s way out there. She carries a photo of the tree with her everywhere she goes. She says it’s a picture of her ‘mother.’ Her first words in the morning are to the tree. No matter what the weather is like she would kneel in front of it and pray to the mighty oak. She called it her ‘hour of worship with my mother.’ Since she hasn’t been able to get around as well the last while she would have to pray from her window when no one was there to take her to her tree. She really believes in the power of the oak. I think if they were sacrificing babies she would know about it … probably even be a part of it if she thought the tree needed it to flourish.”

  “You gotta love the old coot,” Bob said.

  Sabre cuffed Bob lightly on the shoulder. “Try to stay on track. You can admire the crazy lady later.”

  Bob smiled. “Okay, let’s assume they weren’t killing any of them but instead selling them all on the black market. We know Barry has been dealing with these strange rituals since he was a kid.”

  “So for some reason he figured it would make a good cover,” Sabre chimed in. “And he had access to everything he needed and probably used real believers like his mother when he needed to.”

  “So, it’s all about the money?” JP asked.

  “It usually is,” Bob said.

  “Rob pr
etty much confirmed that Scott was blackmailing them about the Route 66 incident, and he said ‘they all had their part,’” Sabre said.

  Bob added, “So, Rob was the muscle. Ric delivered the babies. Barry was the brains. And Gillian found the babies for them.”

  “She probably created the ritual cases to draw attention away from what they were really doing. She’d plant evidence, or just twist things to make them look like abuse cases,” Sabre said.

  “Like on the Johnson case with the chicken feet and goat blood. And the picture of the unicorn,” Bob said. “That’s why she’s on so many of the cases.”

  “She tried her best to not file on Bailey. She had been going into that home for nearly a year and had plenty of reasons to file, but she kept it out of the system. It was only because Bailey missed so much school that Gillian was forced to file. With the new law now that makes it a misdemeanor for the parents who don’t make their kids go to school, she couldn’t sweep it under the rug any longer,” Sabre said.

  “So if they check Gillian’s caseload to see what she didn’t file on they’d probably find more victims,” Bob said.

  “There’s one other thing that Rob said when I suggested Gillian was involved. He said, ‘There’s better positioned people than her.’”

  JP spoke. “It sounds like there’s someone else involved that we don’t know about. And how do babies disappear without people noticing?”

  “I know,” Sabre said. “They do it so it all looks legal. So it doesn’t draw attention to them. They have a social worker that brings them the mothers. And in doing so, she looks like she’s not filing because she’s trying to keep families together. Then they have a doctor who performs the deliveries. He makes the paperwork say whatever he needs to. And then there’s the attorney who specializes in adoptions who finalizes the package. They all look like they’re providing a service for humanity. As Rob said, ‘They all do their part.’ So who else do they need to help them? A banker for the money maybe?”

  “Maybe he was talking about Betts. He’s an attorney, in his mind that could be a better position than the social worker,” Bob said.

  “He probably did count him, but he said ‘people’ in better positions. So even if he counted Betts, there’s still someone else,” Sabre said.

  JP made a timeline on the board and they filled it in with everything they knew. Bob’s phone rang and he stood up. “Excuse me.” Bob answered his cell. When he hung up he said, “You can add another fact to the board. Karen Lecy was just arrested for numerous counts of PC 273a.”

  “Child endangerment,” Sabre said. “Well she should be.”

  “They got her on both Bailey and her grandchild,” Bob added.

  “Good. It makes me feel better but I don’t think it helps our puzzle. It does, however, take care of your trial set. It’ll be moot if she’s in jail.”

  The three of them went back and forth for several more hours challenging each other’s brains, but failed to come up with who might be the one who was “positioned best.”

  54

  “Hello, Cole,” Sabre said when she walked into his hospital room. “You’re looking better today.”

  “I am better.”

  “Where’s your mom?”

  “She went to the cafeteria. She’ll be back.”

  “Good. Do you feel like answering a few questions?”

  He nodded.

  “I need to know what happened when you left the foster home. Could you tell me about that?”

  “When I woke up that morning no one was up yet and I wanted to see my mom and my brothers and sisters, so I snuck out. I was going to go to my brother Hayden’s house ‘cuz I knew he lived close, but I couldn’t find it.”

  “So, what did you do?”

  “I was walking through the park and that’s when I saw my dad. Well, he saw me and he called my name. I was going to run but then he said, ‘Cole, it’s your dad.’ It didn’t look too much like him but it was his voice, so I looked closer. He took me home to the bridge and I stayed there with him.”

  “Did you ever go out?”

  “I went out a couple of times to find food. Mama T always gave me the best food but I went to the store a couple of times and stole some things.” He looked down. “I’m sorry,” he added and then continued. “I went to see Hayden at school one day, but then a teacher came and I had to run. I wanted to go back home but then I started getting sick.”

  “Is that why you stayed under the bridge?”

  “At first I stayed to help my dad. He really needed me. But then I got sick, and I really wanted my mom.”

  Sabre pictured that poor little boy stuck inside a shopping cart in a pile of rubbish, sick, afraid, and missing his mother and she felt her eyes get misty.

  Cole’s mother walked into the room. “Hello, Leanne,” Sabre said. “Could I talk with you a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  Sabre directed her out of the room and Leanne led her down the hall to a waiting room. “Have you spoken with the doctor today?”

  “Yes, he was in early this morning. He said Cole has really improved the last twenty-four hours.”

  “That’s good. Did he tell you how much longer Cole will have to stay here?”

  “He doesn’t know yet but it’ll be a few more days for sure, maybe longer.”

  “And the social worker, have you spoken to him?”

  “Yes. He’s been very good to us. He arranged for Hayden to visit tomorrow, and Allie the next day. I think one at a time is best. And he lifted the supervision requirement.”

  “Leanne, the social worker recommended a 360. It’s a voluntary agreement, of sorts. Your attorney can explain the particulars to you. The social worker will see that your aid is reinstated and your heat is turned back on, and then the children will be returned to you.”

  “All of them?” A pained look appeared on her face, like she wanted to smile but feared it wasn’t warranted.

  “All of them.”

  Leanne burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. She jumped up and hugged Sabre. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. Those kids need you. You’re a good mother and with a little guidance you can do this. Once Cole is well and you are settled in, you can look for work again. Maybe DSS can even get you some kind of training.”

  “Can I tell Cole?”

  “Just tell him we’re all working on a plan to get your family back together, but the main thing for him is to get well. You don’t want to say too much, but he does need to have hope. And this is all contingent on the court’s approval. But as long as you do what you’re asked to do, the judge will approve it.”

  They walked back to Cole’s room. Leanne couldn’t stop smiling.

  “There’s one other thing. Cole’s father was arrested for child endangerment.”

  Leanne shook her head. “Maybe it’ll sober him up.”

  Sabre waited outside Department One for her trial to begin or to settle. Bob walked up to join her. “Hi, Sobs. My trial was just continued. What’s happening on yours?”

  “It looks like it may settle. I hope it does. Judge Shirkoff is grumpier than usual today.”

  Bob sat down on the bench next to Sabre and leaned back against the wall. “That guy needs to get laid. Maybe you could do that for us … you know, for the greater good.”

  “Eww …”

  “For a million dollars?”

  “No.”

  “Two million?”

  “Not for any amount.”

  “Ten million?” Bob kept at it.

  “Stop. You’re creeping me out.”

  “Usually with a judge, one side or the other likes him. But with Judge Jerk-off nobody does.”

  “Because he’s so abrasive and he doesn’t know the law. He’s always making the wrong calls,” Sabre said. “And it wouldn’t kill him to laugh or even smile once in a while.”

  “I saw him laugh once.”

  “When? Did you record it?
”

  “A week or so ago. I went into his courtroom and he was talking to Gillian. They were both laughing.”

  Sabre looked at Bob and wrinkled her brow. “She was in his department a lot. Every time she came to court it seemed like I’d see her in there.” Sabre’s eyes opened wide.

  “Yeah, I saw her in there a lot, too.” Bob smirked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “Oh, my God! That’s why he called us into his chambers. He was fishing. Trying to see what we knew.”

  “He’s certainly positioned well. That’s all the Route 66 gang would need. The adoptions would go off without a hitch.”

  “Should I sneak into his chambers and see if I can find some evidence?”

  “No, don’t be crazy,” Sabre said.

  “Our hunches won’t be enough. We need to find some connection between the judge and one of the other suspects.”

  “Are we just seeing what we want to see because we can’t stand the guy?” Sabre said.

  “Maybe, but there’s some reason why he had that bizarre conversation with us that day. And Gillian was in his department an awful lot. It won’t hurt to check it out.”

  “I’ll get JP right on it.”

  55

  The next day JP walked into Sabre’s office. “I’ve got it,” he said. He walked around behind Sabre and tossed a small packet of papers onto her desk. “After we knew who we were searching for, it was so simple. Look at this.”

  Sabre thumbed through it. Her smile grew with each page. “Yes!” She jumped up and hugged JP. “I love you, cowboy! You’re the best!” She looked at the papers again.

  “Who’da thought?” JP said.

  “Things aren’t always what they seem, are they?”

  “No, ma’am. You can put your boots in the oven, but that don’t make ‘em biscuits.”

  Sabre picked up her phone and dialed. “I’m calling Bob. He’s going to love this.” When he answered, Sabre said, “We found the goods on Judge Shirkoff. You’ll never guess who his mother is. Old Lady Betts!”