“I told him the joke you made. It was funny.”
“And, by the way, I waited for you to call me after our case ended. What happened? You never called, you never wrote,” Dave said with an exaggerated, sad face.
“I was supposed to call you?”
“Yes, remember? I asked you to call me when the case closed.”
“And your phone doesn’t make outgoing calls?”
“I didn’t want to impose myself on you if you weren’t interested, but since you insist, I’ll call you when we’re done with this case.”
Sabre shook her head. “I didn’t insist on anything.” But she had wondered why he hadn’t called the last time. She was seldom attracted to men in suits and really wasn’t interested in having a relationship with another attorney, but she found him quite charming. He was attractive, but not drop-dead gorgeous, and about five-foot-ten. He had dark hair and eyes that twinkled when he smiled, but mostly she was impressed with his intelligence and his incredible wit. “Let’s talk about Foreman. What can I do for you?”
“I was very impressed with the way you handled the last case we were on, so I trust you’ll do the same with this one.”
“This case is very different from that one, but I can assure you I will do what I think is best for the children.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. As you know, my client would like to get her kids back. What is your position on that?”
“I don’t think she’s ready, but I’m sure you’ll see that she gets into the programs she needs.”
“What does she need to do to get ready?” he said in his all-business tone.
“Stop drinking for starters.”
“I’ll get her in a ‘ninety meetings for ninety days’ AA program.”
“She needs to have a stable place to live.”
“She can do that.”
“Parenting classes.”
“Check,” Dave said.
“There are other things that need to be sorted out as well—like who murdered George, and Marcus’ mental and physical health. By the way, is she still objecting to the boys staying with the grandparents?”
“She’s okay for now with a temporary placement, but she wants them back with her.”
“Is she willing to live with them at Grandma’s?”
“No,” he said, almost too quickly.
The bailiff came out of Department Four and called out, “Parties on the Bantam case.”
Sabre picked up her files and stood up. “That’s my case. I have to go.”
“Wait.” Sabre turned back, almost bumping into him as he took to his feet. “Is that your Foreman file?”
She looked at her stack. “Yes, the one on top.”
Dave retrieved a pen from inside his jacket and leaned in toward her. He was so close she could smell him. It was a clean smell with just a hint of woodsy cologne. He wrote his name and a phone number across the top of her folder.
“Just in case you need me…or want me…or whatever,” he said with a sheepish smile.
Sabre took a deep breath and looked at Dave with concern. “Bob did not have an affair with your client.”
“You know that for a fact?”
“I’m certain of it. He’s like a brother to me and the one person I know I can trust, which means your client lied to the police over something pretty serious.” She paused. “Just watch your back.”
Chapter 26
It was mid-morning and Sabre dozed off while sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Marcus’ bed at Children’s Hospital. He’d been asleep when she’d come in, so she was waiting for him to awaken. The nightmares continued to haunt her every night and her lack of sleep was starting to catch up with her.
She woke to the raspy hello coming from Marcus. Sabre smiled. “You sound better today.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt as much to talk, either.”
The redness in Marcus’ eyes was fading rapidly and the marks around his neck weren’t nearly as bold. A tube led from his arm to the bag on the metal stand which held intravenous antibiotics for his aspiration pneumonia.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good, but I sleep a lot.”
“Are you up for a few questions?”
“Yeah.”
“You told me about a really big guy that chased you and your father. Can you tell me what he looked like?” Sabre could see the fear ripple over Marcus’ face and he began to make that circular motion with his thumb and forefinger. She wished she didn’t have to question him, but she knew from what Marcus had said earlier that this guy was bad news. She waited for an answer.
“He was real big.” Marcus squirmed. “My face hit him just below his chest.”
Sabre’s heart sank as she realized he had been close enough to make that observation.
“Do you remember the color of his hair?”
“Brown. Dark brown.”
“What was he wearing?”
“A dark blue suit. Oh, and he had shiny fingernails.”
“Shiny?”
“Yeah, like they were polished, only with no color.”
“Marcus, did you see his car?”
“Yes, it was black.”
“A Mercedes?” Sabre asked.
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Sammy told us. We were trying to figure out if it was the same man he saw. Did you happen to see the license plate?”
“Yeah. Dad taught me to get the license plate number on the marks. He said it would help when we got to Stage Two in our work.” Marcus coughed.
“What was Stage Two?”
“I don’t know exactly. We never got there, but it was a way to get more money from the marks. Dad said once we had pictures, that part would be easy.”
“Did you get the license number?”
“No because he didn’t have one.”
That fit with what Sammy had said about it being a new car with the temporary permit in the window. “Was there a sticker in the back window?”
“Yeah.”
She knew it was a long shot but she asked anyway. “Did you or your father happen to get that number?”
“No, but it said C250 on the back of the car and the frame for the license plate said Mercedes-Benz, Fallbrook, CA.”
“Very observant.”
“My dad taught me a lot of stuff,” he said proudly. Then he added, “Other kids hit the marks, too, but most of them worked for Tuffy. But dad said we didn’t need Tuffy ‘cause we could do this ourselves and why should we share the money with him.”
Sabre cringed at the thought of the things Foreman had taught his son. “Who’s Tuffy?”
“I never met him. Nobody knew who he was. He did everything ‘anomonusly.’”
Sabre didn’t correct his pronunciation. She knew what he meant. “Is there anything else you can tell me about the man in the Mercedes?”
“I think he’s an Alabamacan.” Marcus coughed. “He got real mad when I asked him if he was one.”
“What’s an Alabamacan?”
“They talk funny, like my friend Jermaine. He talks funny, too. When the other kids teased him, Jermaine would say he talks like that because he’s from Alabama and they couldn’t do it because they’re not Alabamacans.”
“Jermaine sounds like a very smart and brave young man.” Sabre hesitated before she asked the question that burned on her tongue. “Marcus, did the big man hurt you?”
Lowering his eyes toward the floor, he said, “Not that time.”
“Had you seen him before?”
“Just once, a week or so before. I tried to get away but I couldn’t. He was too strong.” The tears welled up in his eyes.
Sabre swallowed. “What did he do to you?”
“Awful stuff.” Marcus coughed. “I don’t want to talk about it.” All of a sudden he was coughing more and struggling to get his breath. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“It’s okay, Marcus.” Sabre pushed the button on his bed to call the nurse.
She took his hand in hers. “Try to calm down. Someone will be in shortly to help you.”
She had no sooner spoken the words when a nurse came in the room. Sabre stepped out and let her treat him. When the nurse came out of Marcus’ room, Sabre said, “I’m afraid I upset him. Is he okay?”
“It wasn’t your fault. This happens a lot. It’s the pneumonia and the infection is pretty bad. I’m afraid he’s not out of the woods yet.”
When Sabre returned to the hospital room, Marcus was lying quietly. He had stopped coughing, but he looked drained. The color had faded from his face and he seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open.
Sabre stood by his bedside and leaned over. “I’m going to go now, but I’ll be back in a day or so. Thanks for your help today. I know it’s difficult.”
Marcus reached up with his hand and touched her lightly on the arm. “Can you let my mom come see me? Please, please.”
“She hasn’t been here?” Sabre was sorry she showed such surprise when she saw the look of disappointment on his face.
“I haven’t seen her. Just my grandparents have been here.”
Sabre didn’t know why Dana hadn’t been to see her son and she didn’t want Marcus to think his mother didn’t care about him. “She stayed with you around the clock when you were first brought in. I’m sure she wants to be here.” Marcus’ face didn’t show any relief so Sabre continued. “You know, your mother loves you very much. She’s trying very hard to get you back with her. She has a lot of programs to attend every day and she doesn’t have a car so it’s difficult for her to get places. I’ll see if the social worker can help her come here.”
As soon as Sabre left the hospital she called Marla Miller, the social worker on the Foreman case.
“How’s my favorite attorney?” Marla asked, as she always did when Sabre or Bob called.
“I’ve been better. I’m at the hospital with Marcus. He says his mother hasn’t been to see him since he regained consciousness. Does she need bus tokens or someone to supervise or something?” Sabre spoke, as she walked to her car.
“I gave her extra bus tokens and I told her the hospital staff was supervision enough. She doesn’t need to have anyone else with her in his hospital room. Dana told me she had been going. Are you sure she hasn’t been there?”
“I know she was there on Wednesday night when Marcus was admitted and on Thursday because I saw her, but I haven’t seen her since and I’ve been here several times. Marcus says he hasn’t seen her and I spoke briefly with the day nurse and I inquired at the desk. No one has seen her.”
“That’s crazy. Why wouldn’t she go visit him? By the way, how is Marcus today?”
“He was talking a little better, but he was coughing pretty hard. The pneumonia is still a risk and he’s very lonesome for his mom.”
“I’ll follow up with Dana and get back to you.” Before Sabre could respond, Marla added, “Did you hear they set Foreman’s funeral for Saturday morning at ten o’clock?”
“No, I hadn’t heard. Thanks. Do you think Marcus will be released from the hospital by then?”
“I don’t know, but he told me he didn’t want to go to the funeral.”
“Really?” Sabre said. “The last time we talked about it he sounded as if he wanted to go. Come to think of it, he asked if he was going, not if he could go.”
“I just worry that he’ll regret it later if he doesn’t go.”
“Me, too, but we have a few days yet. He may change his mind and if he does, we’ll do our best to get him there. If he doesn’t want to go, maybe being in the hospital will be a good excuse for him. Then he won’t have to feel guilty about not going.”
Sabre had reached her car just as she hung up her phone. She took the Foreman case file out of her trunk, saw Dave Carr’s phone number, and dialed it.
“Well, hello, Ms. Brown,” Dave Carr said in a pleasing voice. “I hoped you would call but I didn’t expect to hear from you quite so soon. Does this mean you couldn’t resist my charm?”
“This isn’t a social call,” Sabre said dryly, caught off guard that he answered his phone. She expected his secretary at his office. When she heard street traffic, she realized he had given her his cell number. Of course he did.
“What a shame,” he chided. “So, counselor, what ‘unsocial’ thing can I do for you?”
She was a little irritated that he turned her words around, but at the same time impressed that he could, and she would ordinarily find it funny, but she was too concerned for Marcus right now to appreciate the humor. “Do you know why your client hasn’t visited her son in the hospital since last Thursday?”
“No, but I’ll check with her to see what’s going on.”
“Thanks,” Sabre said, her voice softer. “Marcus really needs to see his mother. We don’t need a repeat of the act that landed him in the hospital.”
“You’re right. I’ll talk to her. And thanks for not objecting to my request for a continuance yesterday.”
“I understand you need to get familiar with the case. Besides, my clients are in the best placement for them right now and maybe some of this will sort itself out with a little time.”
“Maybe we should meet for coffee and discuss the case,” Dave said.
“You’re relentless.”
“I’m intoxicated by your beauty. And I’ve been waiting—what’s it been, six months or more—for you to call. Now that you’ve called, I don’t want to miss my chance.”
“I’m sure. Besides, if I remember correctly, you were in a relationship when we met.”
“No. My relationship had just ended. You wanted to give me ‘healing’ time. For the record, I’m completely healed.”
Sabre smiled and then wondered if it showed in her voice. “I’ll see you in court,” she said.
Chapter 27
“Thanks for coming by,” Sabre said from behind her desk, as JP walked into her office.
He peered around the room. “Does it creep you out that there was a dead body in here not long ago?”
“A little, especially when I first come in. I feel a little apprehensive, like I don’t know what I might find in here. But once I’m here I settle in and it doesn’t bother me anymore, and each day gets a little easier. I think it would be a whole lot worse if I had witnessed the murder, or if there was a pool of blood left behind.” Sabre looked at the spot where the token of her brother sat for so long. “And I miss seeing the hourglass every day.”
JP took a seat across the desk from Sabre. “I’m sorry about your hourglass. I know how important it was to you.”
“Of all the things they had to take, it had to be something of Ron’s. I have so few things of his left after the fire.” Though she knew the answer, she asked anyway, “I take it the police haven’t found it.”
“No. And they’re convinced it was the murder weapon so even if they do find it, it’ll stay in the evidence lock-up until this murder is solved.”
“I’m sure it has been destroyed or dumped by now, anyway.”
“You said you had some info on the black Mercedes?” JP asked.
“Yes, and before I forget, Marcus said the big guy had a funny accent. He compared it to his friend from Alabama, but it could be from some other southern state.” Sabre relayed the story about Jermaine. “About the car, Marcus said there was a frame with no license plate that read, ‘Mercedes-Benz, Fallbrook, CA.’ Could you check that out? How many people have bought a new black C250 Mercedes in a small town like that in the last month? There can’t be that many.”
“The trick will be getting the info without a warrant.”
“Please see what you can do, because if we can find him I think your buddies at the police department will be happy to go after him. He’s out there trolling for kids and from what Marcus says he’s doing more than talking to them.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“He said the man ‘hurt’ him. That he tried to get away but he couldn’t. He didn’t elabora
te, but the pain on his face said it all.”
“Wait until I get my hands on that son of a….”
“Don’t go getting yourself in trouble. The problem is Marcus doesn’t want me to say anything, and I can’t violate his confidence. Nor can you.”
“So we just let him go?” JP’s face turned red and he flung his arm in the air.
“No. What we need to do is find the guy, watch him, and get something else on him that we can hand over to the police.”
JP stood up. “Oh, I’ll find him alright, and I’ll get something on him.”
“In the meantime, I’ll keep working with Marcus. He isn’t stable enough to deal with much right now, but I think he’s beginning to trust me more and more. And keep in mind, this might be the guy who killed Foreman.”
“One way or the other I’ll see that he pays for what he did to Marcus.”
Sabre arose from her chair and walked around next to JP. She put her hand on his. “Are you alright? I don’t want to have to worry about your going all ‘cowboy’ on me.”
“Don’t fret. I’m on the right horse and I ain’t sittin’ backwards.”
“See, that’s what I mean.” Her eyes pleaded with him.
He squeezed her hand. “Hey, kid. I’m not going to do anything stupid.” He looked Sabre in the eye and one side of his mouth rose, forming a tiny smirk. His Texas accent rose to the occasion. “But we both know that man’s going to hell. I’m just gonna pave the road for him.”
“Oh, and while you’re at it, see what you can find out about someone who’s known in the streets as Tuffy.”
“Tuffy? What a lame name. It doesn’t even sound tough.”
“That’s what I thought. It sounds like something you’d name a little kitten.”
“Got anything else on him?” JP asked.
“Just that he’s either running a sex-trafficking ring with homeless kids, or at the very least using them in a scam like Foreman did with Marcus.”
“If that’s the case, maybe Tuffy didn’t like Foreman working on his own and taught him a lesson.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
Following a little research on the car dealers in Fallbrook, JP still had plenty of time to make the hour drive. He pulled off I-15 and wound his way through the small mountain road to the town. He passed several ranches, four nurseries that had plants ranging from huge palm trees to small succulents, and a sign of a giant triple ice cream cone on his way into town. He liked this area and often thought it might be a place he could call home someday. The town felt secluded from the rest of the world and had a “country” feel to it.
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