by Judy Kentrus
What! He’s out of his freaking mind, Jessie silently fumed and cautioned herself not to glower at him. She also wondered why her mother had changed procedure and would deal with the assault charge in the same court session as the other charges.
“Please, be seated.” Margaret made a few notes on the yellow pad in front of her, hoping Jessie wouldn’t hate her when this farce of a trial was over.
“Sergeant Taylor, please take the stand and tell the court how you determined these charges.”
Jessie avoided eye contact with the defendant when she crossed in front of the judge’s bench and sat in the high backed chair on the raised platform. Her heart was racing and she cautioned herself to calm down. Once swearing to, “Tell the truth and nothing but the truth,” she took a couple of deep breaths and tried to relax.
“State your name for the record,” the judge ordered.
“Sergeant Jessica Taylor.
“How long have you been a police officer?”
“Twelve years, eight with the Laurel Heights Police Department and four with the City of New York.”
“Please tell the court what happened.”
Jess focused her attention on the school-room sized clock in the back of the courtroom. “I was on patrol at Jaeger Hollow Road and observed a pair of headlights speeding down Cool Spring Mountain. The two-forty freight train out of Williamsport was heading for the railroad crossing, and the signal lights were flashing. The engineer blasted his whistle, but the defendant ignored the warning and barely made it over the tracks before the train came through. My speedometer hit seventy miles per hour when I pursued him down Laurel Heights Road. He failed to yield to my siren and lights. When he reached Miller’s bend, a few deer darted onto the road and halted his joy ride. The defendant lost control of his vehicle, sending it into the drainage ditch. I arrived on scene and found Mr. Adams slumped over the wheel, slightly dazed, but coherent. The interior smelled like a distillery, and I noticed the bottle of liquor on the passenger seat.”
Jess hesitated, and then stared directly at Lincoln Adams. “The assault occurred while I was assisting the defendant out of the vehicle in an attempt to get him up to the road. My back-up officers arrived and offered assistance. First aid was administered for the abrasion on his head, and he refused additional medical care. Officers Donatiello and Dailey read him his rights and brought him into headquarters. That’s it, Your Honor.”
“Thank you. Ms. Stewart, do you have any questions for Sergeant Taylor?”
“I do, Your Honor,” Melissa slowly rose and smiled. This was going to be a piece of cake. When she got done with the lady cop, the judge would have no recourse but to rule in her client’s favor. The gorgeous pirate would be in her debt for getting him out of the most important charge.
Melissa picked up her Mont Blanc pen. “Sergeant Taylor, my client admits he wanted to test his friend’s new sports car and was going a little fast. He inadvertently forgot his license, an innocent mistake. He suffered a blow to the head when the vehicle went into the ditch. This undoubtedly clouded his memory of the incident that night.” Melissa took a deep calculated breath before turning up the heat. “As for driving under the influence, did you administer a Breathalyzer test?”
He doesn’t remember sharing one of the most spectacular kisses she’d ever had, Jessie silently argued before answering the question. “No, it wasn’t necessary.”
“If you didn’t perform a standard sobriety test, what proof do you have against my client?”
“His shirt smelled like an alcoholic beverage.”
“You detected the odor of alcohol,” Melissa nodded, starting to slowly pace. “Some of the beverage could have gotten on his clothes at the time of the accident.”
“The bottle was sealed.”
“Is it possible he had a small drink earlier, and some of it spilled on his clothes?
“Yes, it’s a possibility,” Jess reluctantly admitted.
Melissa paused and winked at Linc, before going in for the kill. “Sergeant Taylor, I’m confused. How are you so positive that my client was driving under the influence?”
Heat crept up Jessie’s neck and settled on her cheeks. It didn’t take a GPS to tell her the direction this interrogation was heading. This lawyer was a bitch. Jess darted a nervous glance at Lincoln Adams, expecting to see a smirk of triumph. Unless her mind was playing tricks on her, he looked at her with sympathetic understanding.
Linc felt like a first-class bastard, having to put Jessica Taylor through this mockery of an interrogation. He preferred his lawyer not use this tactic, but sensed Melissa had a few feline issues because he called off their affair. Shortly after he made the mistake of getting involved with the lawyer, he’d sensed the traits of a female shark.
“Sergeant Taylor, the court is waiting,” the Judge prompted, sharing her daughter’s humiliation.
“I tasted it,” Jessie muttered.
“Excuse me. I didn’t quite hear what you said,” Melissa stated, biting back a grin. “Could you repeat your answer?”
“I tasted it,” Jessie spat, losing control.
“Tasted it!” Melissa repeated, wide-eyed. “That meant your mouth would have had to come in contact with my client’s mouth. Care to explain?” she invited with a Cheshire cat grin.
Jessie threaded her fingers together and pressed white knuckled hands into her lap. “The vehicle was on a slope. When I helped your client out of the car, the footing was unstable. He lost his balance and grabbed the first thing he could to prevent himself from falling. He latched onto me. We landed flat out on the ground with him on top.” Jessie hesitated, and stared murderously at Lincoln Adams. “Then, he kissed me.”
“Oh, he kissed you,” Melissa nodded, loving the direction of her interrogation. “Are you sure you didn’t initiate the seduction? My client is a very handsome man.”
“No, goddamn it! He assaulted me!” Jessie felt sick and had never been more embarrassed, especially in front of her fellow police officers, her superiors, and half the damn town!
“That’s your word against his,” Melissa quickly stated, and took a stance directly in front of Jessie. “Is it your habit to spend time alone with the prisoners, especially when the security cameras that monitor the cell block are malfunctioning?”
Jess gritted her teeth and drew on every bit of the dwindling patience in her body. “I brought the prisoner his dinner last evening, and he asked me to stay for a few minutes and talk.”
“Since you already knew the camera was faulty, were you hoping for a repeat of the other night? We have no proof you didn’t initiate the kiss.”
“He was on top of me! He initiated the assault!”
The spectators started to chatter among themselves, but immediately stopped at the determined pounding of the judge’s gavel. Margaret was furious and wished she could halt the indignity being thrust upon her daughter. “Silence, I’ll have order in my court! Counselor, you may continue.”
“Were there any witnesses to this supposed assault?”
“Officers Donatiello and Dailey were on scene. They are right over there.” Jessie indicated the patrolmen sitting at the table for the prosecution.
This debacle had gotten totally out of hand. Margaret decided to take over. “Counselor, I will conduct the interview.” They went to rise, but she told them to stay seated. “Officers, according to the sergeant’s report, you were requested as backup. Tell me what you observed when you arrived.”
“Your Honor,” Emilio Donatiello, began. “The defendant had Sergeant Taylor pinned to the ground with his body. They were kissing.”
“Was she returning his embrace?”
“She had her hands on his shoulders and was trying to shove him away.” Bill replied.
Margaret was silently relieved by his response. “So, you didn’t see who initiated the alleged assault?”
“No, Judge,” the officers answered at the same time.
“Your Honor,” Melissa spoke up, “this
doesn’t prove that Mr. Adams initiated the so-called kiss. It’s your officer’s word against my client’s.”
Dead silence filled the court chamber.
Alexis Long was furious with Lincoln for letting the bitch lawyer humiliate the female police officer. She turned around and glowered at Russell, then Scott. They, too, were ill-at-ease. There had to be a way to stop this fiasco. Alex tapped Julie’s shoe to get her attention.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Julie shifted in her seat, keeping her voice just above a whisper. “I’m so angry. I want Scott to fire that bitch!”
“That’s all well and good, but we have to put an end to this sideshow now. I can’t believe Lincoln has let it go this far!”
“I know how to draw his attention.” The girl’s letter was still on the table. Julie casually moved her hand to the get-out-of-jail-free cards. She prominently fanned them to draw Linc’s attention, and deliberately passed one to Alexis.
The slight movement lured Lincoln’s eye toward his character witnesses. Trouble and Double Trouble would not approve of these game tactics.
“Stop this right now!” Julie angrily spat in a hushed whisper
Linc gave a quick nod and put his hand to his mouth. When he began to cough, Julie patted him on the back.
“Mr. Adams, are you all right?” Judge Taylor breathed a sigh of relief at the timely interruption.
“Could we have a small recess?” Linc asked, still clearing his throat.
Melissa didn’t appreciate the adjournment because it would mess up her momentum. She had this case in the bag.
“Granted, we will have a fifteen minute recess. Mr. Adams, you are still remanded into the custody of your lawyer.” Margaret banged her gavel and got up from her high-back padded chair and looked directly at her daughter. “Sergeant Taylor, I need to see you in my chambers, immediately.”
Jessie knew what was coming. “Keep my seat warm,” she ordered, tight lipped.
A small lounge down the hall held a well worn brown-leather couch. Someone had put a ceramic vase of dried flowers on the table in front of a single window. Russell was the last one to enter and closed the door. “What the hell is going on in that courtroom!” he demanded. “It’s a damned circus.”
Scott opened his mouth to voice his displeasure, but Julie spoke up first. He looked at Russell and shrugged his shoulders. No one got in the way of his wife when she had something to say.
“And the star of the show is that poor police officer!” Julie turned fiercely on Melissa. “That’s how you get your jollies, degrading public servants who put their lives on the line every day? Embarrassing her in front of her peers and the citizens of this community she is sworn to protect?” Julie wasn’t finished and shifted her displeasure onto Linc. “I’m so disappointed in you! How could you permit this to happen?”
Linc didn’t need to be reminded of Jessie’s humiliation. “I had no idea this was the route Melissa was going to take. I casually mentioned the kiss in the form of a joke when I recapped what happened.”
“A joke!” Alexis lectured. “You call kissing a woman a joke?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Linc’s voice dripped with frustration. “I kissed her in the spur of the moment, like I had no control of the situation.”
“We all know about innocent jests, but this isn’t a love story with a happy ending. This has got to stop!” Alex demanded.
“Now, wait just a damn minute!” Melissa jammed her hands on her curvy hips, confronting her boss’s wives. “I don’t appreciate the way you are criticizing my interrogation. I’m the lawyer.”
“No, you’re the bitch!” Alexis stated with firm conviction in her voice.
Linc turned to his best friends, expecting them to corral their wives, but merriment danced in their eyes. “Aren’t you two going to do something?”
“You mean take our lives in our hands and attempt to diffuse a real life episode of Irascible Housewives?” Scott held out his palms in defense. “You’re on your own.”
“You wanted them here,” Russell added, and took a step back.
Linc gave his two friends a murderous stare and stepped into the fray. “Ladies, please. There were enough insults in the courtroom. I would never have agreed to this line of questioning.” Linc made a decision. “I’m going back and, as they say, face the music.”
“What about me?” Melissa demanded, wide-eyed. “I came to this hick town to save your ass!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t read through that farce of an interrogation? Get Linc off, and he’ll be grateful and want to start up our relationship again. I’m not that desperate. I no longer need legal representation. You’re fired!”
“That’s the smartest decision you’ve made all day,” Scott said. “We’ll return to court, minus Melissa,” he added with a pointed stare. “We’ll discuss your continued employment with Long and Barrows when we get back to the office.”
She sneered at Julie and Alexis, then her employers. “Don’t bother! You two are so pussy-whipped. I quit,” she stated, and stormed out of the room.
“Good riddance!” Julie slipped her arms about her husband’s waist, and looked at Linc. “I’m not really disappointed in you. This whole situation is so out of character. You’re the good guy. When this is over, I hope you’ll tell us exactly what is going on.”
“Deal,” he smiled, relieved he was no longer on the outs with Julie. “I grew up in Laurel Heights, and I owe someone a payback favor from a lifetime ago.” He turned to Scott and Russell. “Remember me telling you about my high school buddy, Treig? The cop I humiliated is his sister.”
“It’s a good thing he isn’t here or you would be sporting a fat lip to go along with the bump on your head,” Alexis said.
Linc raised a brow at Scott. “Who the hell reported the car stolen?”
“George had just stepped outside for his break and saw my car leave the executive parking area. He knew I wasn’t driving, because I’d just left in my truck with Russell. It was an honest mistake. Look at it this way. He’s one of your security people who is right on top of things.”
“You won’t be happy when you see your Stingray. Hopefully, it’s drivable.” He looked at his friends and considered himself a very lucky man. “Let’s get this over with.”
Jessie sat at the table in the courtroom. Her head was pounding from the reprimand her mother had issued for Jess’s unprofessional behavior.
“What did your mother want?” Bill Dailey asked.
“To ream me a new one.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong!” the patrolman charged.
“We know that, but this entire situation is completely, pardon my language, fucked up.”
When the Adams’ entourage re-entered the courtroom, Jess questioned the absence of the lawyer. He sat at the table, alone. The women joined the two gentlemen in the first row of spectator benches. To her dismay, none of the busybodies had left. If anything, it appeared more people had shown up. It was standing room only.
Five minutes later, Margaret Taylor entered, and court resumed. “Are you feeling all right, Mr. Adams?”
“I’m much better, Your Honor. I’ve dismissed legal counsel.”
Margaret silently cheered the dissolution of the female barracuda and raised the bar of respect she had for Lincoln Adams. “If that’s what you prefer. Is there anything you would like to say on your own behalf before I render a decision?”
He turned an eye on Jessie, feeling her disdain from the other side of the room. “No, Your Honor.”
“Very well. I don’t appreciate you demeaning the integrity of the officers that serve our community. You will be required to pay double the appropriate motor vehicle fines. Since a Breathalyzer test was not administered, there is no actual proof that you were driving under the influence. As for the felony, I believe you did assault Sergeant Taylor. You have ten minutes to say goodbye to your friends. I’ll pronounce your sentence in the privacy of my chambers.” Margare
t pounded her gavel. “Court dismissed.”
Dailey and Donatiello appeared shell-shocked and stared at their sergeant in confusion. “What was that all about?” Bill asked.
“I don’t have the slightest idea,” Jessie replied, just as perplexed. She’d confront her mother in the privacy of their home this evening. “Thanks for coming in. Get some sleep.” The nosy busybodies were circling, eager to feed their hunger for gossip. “When you leave, your answer to any questions will be ‘no comment.’”
Jess purposely avoided all eye contact with the defendant and barely managed to escape through the door that led to a private stairway, off-limits to the general public.
Lincoln wanted to go after Jessie Taylor and apologize, but she avoided him like the plague. He couldn’t blame her.
“What just happened?” Scott asked.
Russell put a hand on his friend’s arm. “Are you under house arrest or something?”
“I don’t have a clue. As soon as I meet with the judge, I will call or send an email.”
He kissed Julie on the cheek and then Alexis. “Thank you for being here for me. You may be the wives of these rabble-rousers, but you’re my personal guardian angels. Please tell the girls their cards worked and kept me out of jail.”
When Linc turned away from his friends, his heart ached when he noticed the tears in Julie and Alexis’ eyes.
Shit!
Chapter 4
Linc approached the door with gold lettering that read Judge Margaret Taylor, Esq. and knocked softly. He took a deep breath upon hearing “come in” and turned the solid brass knob.
Margaret Taylor commanded an antique mahogany desk, framed by a tall arched window. Her black robe had covered a smart, two-piece suit, the color of dark red geraniums. The single-buttoned jacket showed off a double strand of thick gold chains. Margaret’s hair had always been a silvery white and worn in a loose knot in the back of her neck. Ruler straight bangs fanned her arched black eyebrows and hazel eyes. The last time he stood in this office, Norman Taylor, Margaret’s late-husband, had occupied the chair. The kind-hearted woman and her husband had taken pity on a troubled, bitter teenager. They’d convinced him to finish high school and given him a place to live.