Hostile Witness

by Rebecca Forster

  Exhausted, relieved, Josie stood up. She walked back to her chair and picked up her briefcase. She had to pass Kip Rayburn as she left. She stopped beside him. They would need him.

  “It’s for the best, Mr. Rayburn. I promise you. No one will think differently.”

  “We all have to do what we think is right,” he said quietly, his back to her. Josie started to leave but he called to her, walked toward her, and spoke to her. “Just so we’re clear. I don’t like the way you’re playing with our lives. My father is dead, and I think Hannah had something to do with it. I don’t know what it was, I don’t know how she did it, I don’t know if she actually lit the match, but I’m telling you she’s trouble. So, go ahead and prepare your case. I’ll pay your fee. I’ll sit in that courtroom and support my wife, but don’t you expect me to root for you after what you did to my family tonight. Do you understand?”

  “Sure,” Josie muttered, knowing she didn’t understand anything about this family – especially where Hannah fit in.

  12

  Josie breathed deep, filling lungs that seemed to have had all the air sucked out of them. This was not the triumph of architectural living space she originally thought. It was an exquisite tomb, and the time spent in it made her feel intellectually brittle and emotionally dry. Hannah, Kip and Linda, all with their own issues, their own guilt, their own needs, were now going to be locked together through the eternity of this trial because Josie had forced the issue.

  The things Josie had known when she arrived - the trial schedule, the essence of her strategy – now seemed less the beginning of a stunningly constructed defense and more a desperate attempt to dazzle a jury that would have the same concerns that Kip had. Worst of all, she hated Kip for making this so damned personal. Josie didn’t know if she fought hard because she believed in Hannah, because she wanted to prove that she could win, or because Kip Rayburn’s reticence seemed inhuman even under the circumstances.

  Still, it bothered Josie that she hadn’t acknowledged the fundamental problem. In this family the accused and the victim’s survivor were linked together by the tenuous thread of Linda. One of them would lose – or perhaps all of them – and still Josie would be standing. She could retreat to her office at Baxter & Associates when this was all over. She had an escape route. She wasn’t in danger of losing a husband, or a daughter. That realization put Linda in a whole new light. She deserved a heck of a lot of respect for what she’d done tonight.

  Josie walked back over the flesh colored tiles, past the horridly graphic statue and thought of Hannah, a girl who had no say in her future. Hannah was Fritz Rayburn’s charity case; not even a blip on the radar for Kip. Maybe that was what bothered Josie the most. They spoke of Hannah as if she was a leaking faucet that annoyed everyone, but not enough to fix it once and for all.

  Josie pushed open the huge copper door and walked back out to the real world.

  The stars were brilliant. A near full moon made the white sand sparkle, and spilled a shimmering path of light right down the center of the ocean. Josie lifted her face as a surprisingly cool breeze sifted through her hair. The night was pungent with sea smells, but still she was ill at ease. Something was forgotten. It wasn’t until Josie saw Hannah sitting behind the wheel of her Jeep that Josie remembered what it was. She should have said goodbye to her client.

  “Hey,” Hannah called as Josie ambled toward the Jeep. The floodlights made the black finish look like onyx and Hannah like a vision.

  “I thought you were going to leave without saying anything to me.” Hannah’s lashes covered her eyes in a long, languid motion. Her head swirled and when she looked at Josie again her expression was almost vacant.

  “I was,” Josie admitted. Whoever said the truth never hurt anyone was wrong. It hurt Josie. She wasn’t sure what it did to Hannah. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have forgotten. I was just thrown off base a little by our meeting.”

  “Still trying to figure out what happened?”

  “I guess so,” Josie admitted. She put her hand on Hannah’s shoulder and gave her a gentle shove. “Move over.”

  Hannah crawled over the gearshift into the passenger seat. Her right hand touched the door handle as she settled herself in the new place. Josie waited, forcing herself not to count along. When Hannah was done, she said:

  “Kip’s jealous, that’s what it is. He’s supposed to be getting all the attention and everything, but I’m getting it. Plus, he doesn’t like things to be complicated. I’m the complication. The trial is a complication and now you are, too.”

  “What about your mom? She doesn’t think you’re a complication, does she?”

  Hannah whispered. “My mom loves me. Nobody can say different.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply that.” Josie put her head back on the seat and looked up at the sky. Hannah’s defensiveness was familiar. Josie had been that way about her own mother at Hannah’s age. The difference was that Josie wasn’t sure if her mother actually did love her.

  “She wants to make sure we stay safe,” Hannah went on as if she hadn’t heard Josie. “She’d do anything to make sure we stay safe. I know she thinks it would be better for both of us if you could just get the District Attorney to send me to a hospital. Kip just thinks it would be easier.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s fucked and so do you,” Hannah laughed. It was the first time Josie had heard her do that. It was a beautiful sound and gone too quickly.

  “How do you know that’s what I think?” Josie laughed, too. It felt good on a night like this when everything else looked so dark and desperate.

  “The master control on the intercom is in the kitchen. I heard you fight for me. I didn’t hear all of it. I thought mom was coming. She thinks I don’t know about the hospital thing.”

  Josie sat up, retrieved her baseball hat and took her keys out of the console. “So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, is there something you want to tell me?”

  “Yeah, I came out here to check on your car twelve times. Then I sat in it and waited for you,” Hannah said.

  “And….” Josie prodded, not quite getting the point, anxious to be home.

  “Twelve times. Not twenty. Shit, twelve times!” Hannah threw up her hands. She shook her head, angry and frustrated. Her burned hand hit the console hard, keeping double time with her words. “Shit, shit, shit! I thought you’d get it. That’s a good thing.”

  Josie laughed again in spite of herself. She stopped Hannah. Held her hand before the girl reached twenty hits.

  “A breakthrough,” Josie said softly.

  “It’s not funny,” Hannah jerked away.

  “I’m not laughing at you. I’m proud of you. Twelve is better than twenty and two would be better than twelve. Hey, simple arithmetic,” Josie assured her.

  “Do you think I could do that?” Hannah stared straight ahead, rigid next to Josie, waiting for her to predict failure.

  “Sure, why not?” Josie put her key in the ignition. She turned her head and looked at Hannah. “We’ve got a couple of weeks before things get going, Hannah. If you could get to two that would be good. If you didn’t count at all that would be great.”

  “Maybe. I won’t promise.”

  Sadly Hannah’s expression was blank again, the laughter gone. Josie would have given anything to know what was behind that beautiful mask. Some lies, some information withheld, but the bottom line was real; Hannah wanted to be defended and that’s all Josie had to know.

  “No problem. I know there aren’t any promises, so don’t worry.” They sat in silence. The night was so big Josie felt as if it could sallow up their problems. Hannah had a different thought altogether.

  “I’m not an idiot, you know.”

  “I never said you were,” Josie sighed. Children were hard to deal with; children who were on the verge of adulthood must be the hardest of all. Maybe she’d been too difficult for Emily, and that was a sad thought.

  “I just want
you to know that I’m afraid. I would be a real idiot if I weren’t. I can’t show it, but for me to know I’m afraid is good. That’s a big step.”

  “Then I’m glad because you should be afraid,” Josie said quietly.

  “Are you?” Hannah asked.

  “Afraid?” Josie kept her eyes on the stars. It wasn’t a hard question; it was just hard to answer out loud.

  “Yeah,” Josie whispered. “I am, but probably not for the reasons you think. You’re so young. You have such a long life ahead. There’s always a chance I won’t win.”

  “And then there’s the thing you told me about that other person you defended, the person who shouldn’t have gotten off.”

  “Sure. There’s that. It’s history,” Josie said quietly. She wouldn’t burden Hannah with the story of the crime; she wouldn’t scare her with the story of Rudy Klein’s desire to avenge that loss.

  “Good. You have to think about me as someone who deserves to win, Josie. Someone who is totally, totally innocent. I want you to think about me that way, okay?”

  With that, Hannah climbed out of the car. She didn’t get far before she turned and came back. She touched the Jeep and left again.

  “Goodnight, Hannah,” Josie called and started the car.

  Once again Hannah ran back toward the Jeep but this time she went to the driver’s side. One of Josie’s hands was on the gearshift; the other was on the steering wheel. Hannah stood so close Josie couldn’t have left without backing over her. Fast as lightening Hannah touched Josie twice, near caresses given with such gentleness, such hope, such raw need and intimacy they unnerved Josie.

  “Two times,” Hannah whispered and then she was gone.

  Kip Rayburn pulled the little chain on the desk lamp and opened the drawer to his right. Inside was his Los Angeles BAR address book. He took it out and turned the pages, found the number he wanted, and dialed.

  He crossed his legs and waited. The phone was answered on the second ring and Kip asked to speak to Rudy Klein. Kip’s hand was clammy. His heart beat just a little faster. The things he had done tonight: challenging people, becoming angry, thinking ahead, taking his shot - were so out of character. It felt good; it was frightening. He could still hang up, but then Rudy said hello.

  “Yes. Mr. Klein. This is Kip Rayburn.”

  Rudy Klein didn’t seem surprised to hear from him but then that was the sign of a good lawyer. Nothing should surprise a good lawyer - or a good criminal for that matter. Minimal pleasantries were exchanged before Rudy asked what he could do for Kip.

  “I received a call from your office some days ago, Mr. Klein,” Kip said. “I understand you would like to interview me.”

  “I’m hoping you’ll cooperate. I know it will be difficult given your relationship with Ms. Sheraton. I promise to do everything I can to get information I need from other sources, but . . .

  “That’s fine, Mr. Klein. You don’t have to worry. You’ll have no problem with me. I’ll cooperate in any interview and will answer a subpoena if necessary,” Kip interrupted. To his credit, Rudy asked no questions. He thanked Kip.

  The two men hung up. Kip Rayburn kept his hand on the receiver, thinking he might actually pick it up again and tell Klein that it had all been a mistake. There really wasn’t any need to testify. Not yet. Maybe he should have waited to see how things went before putting himself out there. Then he thought again. Ian Frank had been right. Preemptive strikes were weapons of the powerful. Only fools waited until they were on the spot and Kip had been a fool for years, waiting until things with his father got out of hand before trying to put a stop to them. No, he’d done the right thing. Expedite. Expedite.

  “Kip? Are you coming to bed?”

  Startled, Kip took his hand off the phone. Linda stood in the doorway – tall and gorgeous - looking at him curiously. She was different since Hannah had been arrested; they were different together, too, and not in a bad way. Kip took a deep breath. He would have to tell her. He would have to tell her soon what he was doing.

  “Don’t you want to come to bed?” She asked and those long fingers of hers trailed across the deep neckline of her negligee.

  Yes. He’d have to tell her sooner - or later.

  “Was that business, daddy?”

  “Yeah, sport, that was business.” Rudy Klein scooped up his son and threw him over his shoulder. Mikey giggled, the way five-year-old boys will, as Rudy twirled him around once for good measure. “Yeah, that was business, and now I’m going to give you the business.”

  Mikey laughed louder as Rudy carted him down the hall like a sack of potatoes. He sang a song about the wheels on a bus and bounced on his dad’s shoulder. Rudy breathed in the scent of his boy as they went. Soap and powder, the smell of a child’s soft skin that would disappear in the next few years; there was nothing like it. Rudy never wanted to forget any of it. The same way he wouldn’t forget the sound of Mikey’s laughter, the feel of those chubby hands against his back, the voice that was as clear as an angel’s, the all too precious moments of childhood that Rudy was allowed to share as his little boy was shuttled between mother and father.

  “Here we go!” Rudy whipped him off his shoulder and cradled his back so that Mikey became an upside-down airplane. In a second he landed smack dab in the middle of the little bed. Rudy always kept it made up with fresh sheets in case Pam let him have more than his court ordered visitation.

  “Do it again!” Mikey cried, holding out his arms, his little body wiggling with anticipation.

  “Nope, it’s too late. Time for big boys to be asleep. Mom is coming early in the morning to get you.”

  “How early?” Mikey asked as Rudy tucked the sheets tight and turned out the bedside light.

  “Too, early,” Rudy said lightly, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.

  He could put criminals behind bars, he could fight the bad guys on every front, but he couldn’t convince the judge who handled his divorce that picking a kid up at five in the morning wasn’t good for anyone.

  “Daddy, I could stay here ‘till you got back from business,” Mikey said seriously, willing to forgo the pleasure of putting on his little back pack at five in the morning so mommy could drive him to day care and she could get to her job on time.

  “Sorry, sport” Rudy said and ran his hand through Mikey’s dark curls, “but mom says she can’t stand having you gone one more minute. Not one more.”

  “Can you stand me gone one minute?” The little boy asked.

  Rudy touched his son’s face. He smiled and kissed Mikey’s cheek.

  “No, sport, I can’t stand it when you’re gone any minutes,” Rudy said truthfully. “And that’s a good thing. That means that no matter what happens, there are always two people in this whole wide world who want you.”

  Mikey smiled and turned on his side, settling himself into his little nest, one last thought on his mind.

  “I bet some kids don’t even have one person who loves them so much,” he said with satisfaction.

  “I bet you’re right, sport,” Rudy whispered back.

  Standing up, Rudy looked at his boy, still feeling guilty that he didn’t have the perfect family. Then he thought of Hannah Sheraton and realized Mikey didn’t have it so bad after all. At least he didn’t have anyone who was willing to throw him away – or some prosecutor determined to put him away.

  Hannah sat on a stool in her room.

  It was a very low, very small red lacquer stool. Her knees were drawn up and she leaned over far enough to rest her chest on them. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her face was turned toward the glass door that opened her room to the beach. Hannah could see out; anyone could see in. But there was no one to see. Kip owned the beach, and the house, now that Fritz was dead.

  At her feet was a small black porcelain dish, a delicate silver fish painted in the center. She could see each scale shimmering on its perfect little body. A razor blade lay across the fish’s belly. No one could figure out how she m
anaged to cut herself. The cook watched the knives. Kip used an electric razor. Linda rationed disposables so Hannah could shave her legs thinking she couldn’t do anything obscene with them. Clever Hannah saved one now and again. She broke open the plastic casing, took the tiny blade and hid it in a pouch in the back of her closet. Hannah still had two blades left in her pouch. The third was on the dish with the fish.

  Curled on her stool, Hannah stared at that blade for the longest time. Where, she wondered, did the light come from that caused it to glint in the darkened room? How big was the machine that beveled the edges of that tiny piece of metal? Who invented cutting blades a million, zillion years ago? Hannah wondered if that person had a name, or if they were just like her – just someone.

  Time came and went and finally Hannah picked it up. The blade was so small Hannah took some pride in being able to cut just deep enough, just far enough, to draw just enough blood with such a tiny instrument.

  She looked over her shoulder on the off chance that her mother might see what was happening and stop her. When the door of her room didn’t open Hannah made a parallel cut alongside a long-healed scar. The second cut was short. The third was a series of three cuts all in a line. SOS. Dot. Dash. Dot. Hannah looked at her handiwork, pale in the limited light. There wasn’t much blood. She hadn’t gone deep. Tomorrow she would go deeper.

  Unwinding herself, Hannah stood up and opened the glass door. Leaving her shoes behind, she crossed the patio. The sand was cold; the air was warm. There was a breeze that tousled her hair. Hannah bent down and dug a hole. She worked relentlessly as the dry sand fell in on itself again and again. When it was deep enough, Hannah buried her blade so no child who might stumble upon this private beach would be hurt. Hannah would never want a child to be hurt. Never.

  When Hannah was done she prowled the perimeter of the house, holding her cut arm up to the ocean air. The salt stung and the wounds tingled but nothing could really hurt Hannah. Not much, anyway. Not often, anyhow. There had been a time not too long ago, when she was hurt so bad she thought she would die. But that time was almost forgotten. When the trial was done she’d forget it altogether.