by C L Hart
Time lost all meaning for Lincoln as he sunk himself further into Abby’s case. Nathan was busy in court, so it was up to him to continue searching for anything that may help in her defense. Carla hadn’t been happy about his long hours, though she wanted Abby home as much as he did so she reluctantly saw him off to work every morning, earlier and earlier. He was growing desperate, searching for the missing puzzle piece that might clear Abby, but there was nothing. Nathan couldn’t find out anything on the whereabouts of Dot and that concerned them both. Nothing looked worse for a defendant than when the prosecution brought out a surprise witness.
It was late in the afternoon and Lincoln was sitting, his back against the wall, with several files laid out in front of him. He was exhausted, but he refused to give up. The answers were there, he just hadn’t found them yet.
Struggling to his feet, he grabbed his coffee cup and headed out the door. He needed the break more than he needed the caffeine.
“Hey, Lincoln, coming up for air?” one of the lawyers asked as he entered the lunchroom.
“Hey, Robert.” He nodded as he poured the coffee. There were several people in the room. Most were either lawyers or legal assistants, and they all seemed to be in deep thought as Lincoln wandered over.
“What? Did someone tell a lawyer joke and you’re all trying to understand the punch line?” he asked as he lifted his cup for a sip.
“Close,” Robert said. “It’s the riddle of the day and we’re trying to figure out the answer.”
Lincoln had heard about the daily mind-benders Nathan started years ago. They got people thinking and talking to one another when they normally wouldn’t have known each other’s names. “What’s the riddle?”
“Two women, same mother, same father, same birthday, same age, call each other sister, but they are not twins.”
Lincoln looked around at the circle of Ivy League brainpower and tried not to laugh. “Are you serious?” His smile disappeared when he realized they were. “Come on, guys, look at the obvious. If there are two, why can’t there be three?”
“Three?”
“Triplets, they’re not twins, they’re triplets.”
The room erupted into groans and moans at the simplicity of the solution.
“Good job, Linc.” Robert patted him on the back. “We thought only about the two.”
Lincoln chuckled. “Sometimes its better if you say things out loud because then you can hear the answer— ” Lincoln’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “Holy shit! If there are two — why not three?” he asked in a rush of startling insight.
“Lincoln, are you okay?”
“What if there were three...” Lincoln said as he raced from the room, ignoring those left behind. He burst into his office and his eyes quickly searched for the file. Spotting what he was looking for, he grabbed it and started to leaf through it.
“It’s not here,” he said aloud as he took the file folder to his desk. He cleared off a spot and laid the open folder down. Running his finger over the pages of documents, he felt the rush of adrenaline recharge his batteries. “It’s not here, it’s not here,” he repeated over and over as he looked up from his desk and reached for the phone.
“Lieutenant Banks, please,” he said into the receiver. The wait was long, but finally he heard a familiar voice.
“Banks.”
“Can we talk?” he asked tersely.
“Lincoln? Sure.”
“I need a favor, well two, actually.”
“If I can,” she said without hesitation.
“I need to take a look at Webber’s notes from that night at the motel.”
“From which motel?”
“The Webster Arms.”
The lieutenant didn’t hesitate. “All right. What are we looking for?”
“Something I hope isn’t there.”
“Something that isn’t there?” Banks questioned.
“Yes.”
“Okay, and?”
“I need a search warrant — without Webber and de Barr finding out.”
“You’re not asking for much,” she said sarcastically.
“Lieutenant, we need this...badly.” He didn’t have to tell her how desperate they were, she already knew.
“Okay, consider it done.” She circled something several times in her notes. “I’ll meet you at the motel.”
“Sure, and thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she told him. “What address do you want on the search warrant?”
“The Webster Arms.”
“I know that, but which room do you want the warrant for?”
Lincoln hesitated. “I don’t need it for a room, I need it for the whole motel.”
Chapter 33
Life at the resort was everything Sarah needed to aid in her recovery. Robin, along with the visiting therapist, was there to help with her mental and physical needs, but Robin knew her duties as a nurse were almost over. She reluctantly decided to phone Nathan to discuss the end of her employment. The conversation was short, and to the point. She could tell he was tired and extremely busy, so she didn’t keep him. When their business discussion was over she asked about Abby and the trial. Nathan didn’t respond right away and that told her more than his words did.
“Our turn’s coming,” he said, hoping he sounded more optimistic than he was.
“If there’s anything else I can do, please don’t hesitate to call. I’d like to think I’m more than just the hired help.”
“You are more, much more.”
They talked for a bit longer, until Nathan said he had to go.
Now all she had to do was tell Sarah, and Robin didn’t have to guess where she’d find her. One morning while out for her early stroll, Sarah had discovered a field at the end of the lake. The tall elms and cedar trees towering over the field protected Sarah’s delicate skin from the sun. The harmful rays were something she had to stay away from. Günter had made her a bench so she could sit and enjoy the surroundings in solitude.
Taking the road past the cabins, Robin branched off to a small trail that wove around the edge of the lake.
Following the tall timbers, she let her fingers play through waist high grass. She had to admit as a city girl that she was going to find it hard to leave all this. The trail rose up and she came over the crest of a small hill that opened to a shaded field of rich green grass.
Sarah looked up from her book when Robin broke from the trees. The nurse lifted a hand to wave. “Hi.”
Sarah’s face brightened with her arrival. “Hi, yourself.”
“I think you’ve found paradise, Sarah.” Robin looked around the shaded clearing and the view of the lake beyond.
“It would be,” Sarah commented as she too turned her attention to the view, “if Abby were here to share it with me.”
Robin saw the smile grow on her face. It would never be what it once was, but the lopsided grin she previously had was now becoming her own.
“So, what brings you all the way out here?” Sarah asked, pulling Robin’s mind from her thoughts.
“You.” She stopped when she realized she had no idea how to say this. “The offer, or rather the opportunity Nathan gave me was something out of a dream — come to help this wonderful woman overcome a horrible incident in her life. Live in this beautiful mansion that overlooks the ocean, and then come here to this lovely place. All that and pay off my student loans, too. But it hasn’t been like work to me, Sarah. It’s been an experience I could never replace. I’ve come to look at you all as friends, and that’s something I don’t take lightly.”
“Robin?” Sarah knew what was coming, but she didn’t want to hear it.
“Sarah, you don’t need me anymore,” Robin reached for her hand, “but there are a lot of people in the ICU that do.”
“You’re leaving?”
The young nurse nodded. “I’d love to stay. I mean, who wouldn’t, but the fact is that I became a nurse to help people.”
“And y
ou are, you’re helping me,” Sarah tried.
“No, Sarah, you’re helping you. My job here is done.”
Sarah looked down at her hands. She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew Robin was right.
♥
The trial was over for the day, and the courtroom was empty except for Nathan who was sitting alone at the defendant’s table. The seclusion was what Nathan needed as he pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was only when he was alone that Nathan could admit to himself that the trial was not going well. The evidence the prosecution had was overwhelming, and the more he listened to himself try to sell their theory to the jury, the more he realized how pathetic it sounded. It would have been a hard sell even with Hyme’s testimony, but without him and his expertise, the whole defense was crumbling.
Nathan knew they were in trouble by the churning of his stomach and the ache in his heart. Dropping his head into his hands, he was lost in thought and never heard the door to the courtroom open. He was haunted by a recurrent thought. Why didn’t I do something sooner?
“Nathan,” Cheryl said softly with concern for her boss.
Startled by her presence and embarrassed at being caught off guard, he responded quickly. “Yes, Cheryl?”
“We need to talk.” She sat down across from him, studying his tired face, and offered a small smile to the man she admired and adored.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve worked for you for a long time, almost my entire professional career. I’ve never seen you get so lost in a case that you can’t see the answers in front of you.”
“Cheryl,” he said, his tone cautionary.
“I’m sorry, Nathan, but someone has to say something here. You have me as second chair for a reason and that isn’t to sit here and say nothing. You’re too close to this. It’s too personal and you’re not thinking clearly.”
His body language changed, as did the color in his face. “I’m thinking just fine, thank you, and if you’re not careful—”
“What, Nathan, are you going to fire me? Then fine, so be it, but I’m not going to sit here and be silent. You know me better than that. Nathan, if this was any other client, you would’ve been pushing for a plea bargain...and I think you’d better do that now.”
“Cheryl, I can’t.”
“Nathan, you have to. We needed Hyme and his testimony to make this theory of ours work, but we don’t have Hyme, God rest his soul. And now we’re left standing here looking like amateurs, so desperate that we’re trying to prove a man murdered himself.”
“We’re sticking to the game plan.”
“Then we’re going down with a sinking ship and you know it.”
“We’ve poked a few holes in their theory; we just have to keep at it.” Nathan tried to argue, but he wasn’t convincing even himself. “We need only one...and I think jurors three and seven are starting to see things differently.”
Cheryl looked at him and then set her jaw. “Different enough to save your niece’s life?”
He looked at her, but he couldn’t hold the stare.
“Are you willing to risk it, Nathan? Talk to her. Abby’s smart enough to realize what’s happening. Why don’t you see what de Barr has to offer?”
“Because Abby is the client, Cheryl, and if she says no plea, then we have to abide by that.”
“She may be the client, but you’re the lawyer. Convince her. Because I’m afraid at this point that if you don’t, we will be watching her last breath through a pane of glass.”
He sat silent for a moment and Cheryl watched him struggle with what she had said. She knew it was the truth. And so did he. Nathan rose to his feet and walked up to stand in front of Porter’s bench.
“You know they offered me a judicial position years back,” he ran his hand over the dark polished mahogany, “but I turned it down.”
Cheryl watched him with concern. “I know that.”
“Do you know why I turned it down?”
“No.”
“Because I didn’t want to stop being a lawyer. I love this.” He gestured around the courtroom. “I love the intellectual challenge. I couldn’t give that up.” He wandered over to the witness box and stood for a moment before he walked around it and took a seat in the chair. “But do you know why I retired?”
Again she shook her head.
“Because over the years, I came to hate this. I started to hate that same legal system I once so loved. With its backlogged, back door bureaucracy, and its imperfect interpretations of the law, it’s no longer the law of the People. Madam Justice no longer wears a blindfold. She sees the color of your skin and the size of your bank account.”
“Though I applaud you, that’s not always true, Nathan,” Cheryl said.
“Isn’t it?” He stood up and stepped down from the witness chair. “Nowadays, with the way the media is, the public gets overexposed to crime and violence that they see in the news, and everywhere else. You’re guilty before a trial starts, and then they expect you to prove you’re innocent. Do you know how hard it is to change someone’s mind once it has been made up — especially if the defendant is a minority or poor? That’s not justice.”
“But, Nathan,” Cheryl interrupted, with a soft voice, “Abby is neither a minority nor is she poor.”
“I know that, Cheryl, but the media and the public have already decided she’s guilty.” He sat back down at the table and stared at the floor.
“What if she takes a Serrano/Alford plea?” she suggested. “Pleads guilty without admitting she did it?”
“Yes. It may save her life.” She watched him toy with the idea, turning it over in his mind.
He rose to his feet and started to pace in front of the bench. After several rounds of back and forth, Nathan stopped and put his hands on either side of Judge Porter’s nameplate and hung his head. “I’ve never given up on a case,” he said, more to himself than to his associate.
“You’re not giving up, Nathan; you’re doing the best thing for your client,” she assured him.
Nathan spun around. “She isn’t just my client; she’s my niece! And I don’t see how her spending the rest of her life in a federal prison is the best thing for her.”
“Because it’s better than the alternative,” Cheryl stated flatly. “Convince her to plead out. You can do it. You can save her life.”
“There’s always the appeal process, and we can try a different defense.”
“Do you want to take that chance? Change horses halfway through the race? The second we do that, we’re admitting the horse we’re on is a loser.”
Nathan looked up at the flag at the back of the courtroom and thought about the freedom it represented — freedom Abby would lose if he convinced her to plead guilty. But Cheryl was right. It was better than the alternative.
There was nothing more for him to say. The stillness in the dim courtroom played with his mind as he felt the dejection heavy in his heart. The risk to Abby’s life was growing with every day that jury got to hear more of the damning evidence.
Suddenly, the solid back doors of the courtroom flew open, startling Nathan and Cheryl. Lincoln marched his way silently toward them, stopping just shy of the wooden gate. He glared at his boss. “You son of a bitch,” he growled. “You knew! You both fucking knew and you didn’t tell me!”
The tension in the courtroom was palpable as the three stood listening to the echo of Lincoln’s accusation.
“Lincoln?” Nathan questioned warily as Lincoln stood glaring at him.
“Goddamn it, Nathan, the two of you said nothing!” Lincoln was livid as he flung open the gate separating them. “Why? You son of— When were you going to say something? Or were you both praying no one would ever find out?” He was gripping several papers tightly in his hand and he slammed them to the table.
Cheryl looked nervously between the two men, confused and unsure of what to do but Nathan made the decision for her. “Cheryl, I think maybe you should leave us.”
<
br /> “Nathan?” she queried.
“I’ll be fine,” Nathan assured her. Cheryl quickly collected her things and left them alone.
The two men eyed each other as silence settled over the courtroom. “What is that?” Nathan finally asked, motioning toward the collection of papers on the desk.
“The truth of what the two of you have been hiding,” Lincoln snarled uncharacteristically.
Nathan walked over to the table. He spread out the papers, glancing over all of them once. “Where did you get these?”
“The Webster Arms Motel,” Lincoln answered bitterly.
“Where?”
“The Webster Arms. We didn’t look hard enough. Billy had a third room in the motel.”
“A third room?”
“Your stupid office riddle got me thinking. If Billy had two rooms at the motel, why couldn’t he have three? And then it hit me, Sarah couldn’t speak because of that dieffenbachia shit, so where was the plant? It wasn’t on any of the evidence lists — none of his tools were. He had to have another place because he had to work out his plan somewhere, someplace he could keep his things. I got a search warrant with the help of Lieutenant Banks, and we started looking. That whole backside of the motel had been closed off for years, so it gave him the perfect place to hide. Banks is there still collecting evidence, but I grabbed this.”
“Mary is collecting the evidence?”
“Don’t worry, Nathan, she didn’t see this,” Lincoln pushed at the sheets of paper and they fanned out across the table. A single sheet caught Nathan’s attention and he reached for it.
“Oh, my God,” Nathan said in a tired voice as he slowly dropped into a chair.
Peering at the paper, Lincoln saw what he was holding. “That’s your signature, isn’t it?” Lincoln accused, but the lawyer stayed silent. “Not only were you there, Nathan, but it was your money that paid for it!” He slammed his hand down hard onto the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it didn’t seem to be important at the time.”
Lincoln rolled his eyes and laughed humorlessly. “How could it not have been important? If de Barr had gotten his hands on this—”