Free Fall

by Fern Michaels

“Your honor, that’s ridiculous,” Fox said, her bosom rising and falling in indignation. “My clients are respected members of the community. At best the charge is circumstantial. My clients were unlucky in that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s no reason for remand.”

  Jack retaliated. “I don’t care if they are friends of the governor. That’s what you’re going to spew next, right, Lizzie?”

  Lizzie blanched, her eyes narrowing because that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  Judge Easter frowned. “Let’s not make this personal, Mr. Emery. Approach, counselors.”

  Both lawyers walked to the bench. “Convince me you need these women jailed, Mr. Emery. I also want you to think about what you just said. I do not want the governor calling me and telling me how to run my court. Is that clear?”

  It was time to pretend he was a good lawyer. “Your honor, those women are rich. They can flee the country at a moment’s notice. Two of them have their own Gulfstreams. Do you know how much those babies cost? Millions, that’s how much. If you’ve read the charges, your honor, you’ll understand why I have to object. The public is going to view this as the rich get what they want if they can pay for it. Celebrity always wins somehow.”

  Lizzie Fox sniffed. “Your honor, just because a person is rich doesn’t mean they’re going to flee. My clients are law-abiding citizens. These charges are trumped up. This is a grievous miscarriage of justice. It’s a simple case of my clients being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Innocent until proven guilty. My clients all pleaded not guilty. If you set bail or incarcerate them, they are tainted forever. Come on, Jack, loosen up.”

  “Spare me the theatrics, Lizzie,” Judge Easter said. “Jack, she’s right, it’s circumstantial. I did read the charges and find them a bit mind-boggling. How about if I confiscate their passports? Will that make you happy, Miss Fox?”

  “Hold on here, your honor,” Jack said. “That doesn’t make me happy. Remand, your honor, they can afford it.”

  Lizzie Fox ignored Jack’s outburst. “No, but I’ll take it. No bail. They walk out. Bail has a stigma attached to it.”

  “And well it should. Those women broke the law. I’m not happy with them walking around free as the air,” Jack said.

  “Allegedly broke the law, Mr. Emery. First-year law, 101,” the judge said coldly.

  “Remand and electronic bracelets, your honor. Passports mean nothing. I can give you the names of two people who can get you a passport to anywhere in the world for a thousand bucks a pop. Make me happy, too, your honor.”

  “If you can do that, why aren’t those men in jail?” Judge Easter asked.

  “Because no one filed charges against them,” Jack retorted.

  “Step back, counselors.”

  Jack walked back to the prosecution table and sat down. Lizzie Fox also sat down.

  “There will be no bail but the defendants are asked to surrender their passports, at which point electronic ankle bracelets will be issued. I’m also instituting a gag order on everyone involved in this case.”

  Jack stood up and bellowed. “I object, your honor. You’re showing these women gross favoritism.” He whirled around and shouted to the reporters in the back of the courtroom. “Make sure you get that down word for word.”

  Judge Easter banged her gavel. “One more word and I’ll cite you for contempt.”

  “I don’t care, this is not justice.”

  “One thousand dollars!”

  “Why don’t you make that two, your honor?” Jack bellowed.

  “Five thousand! How do you like that, Mr. Emery?”

  “I damn well don’t like it. Lock me up. I’m supposed to be an officer of this court just the way you are, your honor! I demand remand!”

  “Ten thousand!” Judge Easter roared. “And two days in jail! Turn yourself in at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Post your fine when you check in. Cash, Mr. Emery, no check.”

  Jack’s second chair reached for his sleeve. “Give it up already.”

  Jack risked a glance at Liz Fox and was stunned to see that she was stunned. Well, good, he’d played his part to the hilt. He saw a small smile tug at the corner of Myra’s mouth.

  “Next case!”

  “Nice going, Jack,” Spiro Artemos said as he started to pack up his briefcase.

  Jack knew the electronic bracelets would be faulty. He looked over at the women, careful to keep his expression neutral. He was stunned when Myra gave a slight nod of her head. It was all he could do not to laugh. Then he made the mistake of looking at Judge Easter, who winked at him. Fighting the laughter bubbling up in his throat, Jack started to choke. Spiro pounded him on the back.

  Jurisprudence, my ass, Jack thought as he struggled through the crowd of people, who all suddenly seemed to want a piece of him. Spiro followed close on his heels.

  “I thought it went well except for the gag order, which is going to drive Lizzie nuts, seeing as how she pleads her case to the public every chance she gets,” Spiro said. “This case is a prosecutor’s dream. Bet you ten bucks the fashionista of jurisprudence is headed for Neiman Marcus to lay in a new supply of courtroom apparel. It wouldn’t hurt you to update your wardrobe, either, Jack,” the second chair sniffed. An edgy note crept into Spiro’s voice. “Did you think she looked a little too smug there at the end? I can shop for you while you cool your heels in jail.”

  “Does it matter?” Jack asked as he tried to figure out how he was going to see Nikki. He wasn’t. It was that simple. He felt lower than a snake’s belly as he forged ahead to the parking lot, reporters and photographers dogging his every step as they shouted questions they knew he wasn’t going to answer. He felt sorry for the Ladies of Pinewood when they had to fight their way through this gauntlet.

  Lizzie Fox had a charming voice that could be melodious if she so chose. Now she was elated as she stared at her clients who were being fitted with monitoring devices on their ankles. “No bail. I didn’t think the judge would go for it. Easter is one judge I hate going before. She’s the only judge I can’t get a handle on. She’s one contrary, cranky curmudgeon. I didn’t think she’d go the monitoring route, however. I like it that she rescinded her order to surrender your passports. Since you can’t leave the farm, I guess she thought the device was sufficient. She filed the order to rescind that particular order immediately. So in Fox v. Emery, we won that one.

  “The order clearly states you can’t go farther than seven miles in any direction. If what you told me is accurate, that should encompass your entire acreage at the farm in Pinewood. We’ll be going back to court in about ten days. I’ll take care of everything. I’ve arranged transportation out to the farm for you. It’s going to be a circus. The media of the world will be camped outside your gates so be prepared. If any of them get adventuresome and go over the gates, call the police immediately.

  “I want you all to go home, clean up, wash the stink of your holding cells off you, have a nice dinner and then go to bed. I’m on top of everything. I don’t want you to worry about anything. Oh, one last thing: do not take any phone calls from the press.”

  “My dear, I don’t know how to thank you for all you’ve done for us,” Myra said.

  “I hope you feel the same way when you get my bill. Good-bye, ladies. I’ll be in touch.”

  The women looked at one another and then around the smelly, dirty room where they were being outfitted with the ankle monitors. Yoko was the last to be fitted.

  A female officer opened the door and said, “Follow me. Stay close and ignore the hordes out there. Your driver has the engine running. The doors will open, hop in and you’re on your way home.”

  And that’s how it worked. The only thing the officer left out was the mention of the parade that would be following the van to Pinewood.

  “This is unbelievable,” Myra said an hour later when the van raced through the gates to Pinewood. “There must be two hundred cars and trucks out there.”

  Once
safe in the kitchen, the door locked, the alarm system on, Myra looked around and said, “It’s so quiet. Even when Charles was in the war room, I knew he was here. He’s always been such a presence and now he’s gone. All of you, stop looking at me like you are. I am not going to fall apart. Now, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to follow Miss Fox’s orders. We’ll all meet down here and prepare dinner. That’s when we’ll turn on the television and not one minute sooner. Scoot!”

  The moment the young women were upstairs and out of eyesight and earshot, Myra looked at Annie and grinned. They gave each other a high-five. “It went just the way Charles said it would.”

  “I was never in jail before. It was such an experience, Myra. The people we met behind bars were so interesting. I do hope they get a sympathetic judge when their cases come up for hearing. And to think I missed out on all your other adventures.”

  “Annie, go get cleaned up. I want to sit here a minute by myself. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, of course not. Charles is fine, Myra. This is no time to be selfish. These little ankle bracelets are certainly different from my regular jewelry,” Annie mused as she headed for the stairs.

  Myra leaned back and closed her eyes. They snapped open a nanosecond later when she heard a voice that thrilled her to her very being.

  “Mom, I am so proud of you. Lizzie and Aunt Nellie really kicked some ass in that courtroom. It all went off just the way Charles said it would. You did it, Mom. The press is going wild.”

  “Darling girl, how nice of you to appear right now. I’m a little worried. I know it worked just the way Charles said it would. I understand this house was searched. They didn’t find the war room or we would have heard about it. Charles…What would I do without him?”

  “Mom, Charles is fine. He’s feeling just the way you are. He misses you, too. I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. The next few days are going to be very trying so be prepared. I’ll be here, Mom. You need to get some rest now. I’ll check in with you later. Right this moment, Nikki needs me.”

  “Go to her, Barbara. Console her. She needs a friend right now.”

  “See you later, Mom.”

  “I’m going to count on it, darling girl.”

  Energized and happy, Myra made her way to the second floor where she shed what she referred to as her smelly jail clothes and showered. Life was going to go on, one way or the other.

  Day four of captivity found the Ladies of Pinewood perplexed, awed and excited when they read the news online and watched the twenty-four-hour news programs.

  “Did you read the Post this morning?” Alexis asked. When the others nodded, Alexis burst out laughing. “That cartoon of us wearing bustiers, spike heels, with guns blazing, made me laugh my head off. And that one headline that said,

  ‘AT LAST, SOMEONE IS TAKING CHARGE!’

  I loved it. The New York Times said we were household names. They did a poll of some kind and every single woman they polled said they knew who we were.”

  “I counted over a hundred Web sites that feature us where people are voting. Meaning they approve of us or disapprove. Approval is in the high 90s,” Isabelle said.

  “The best is the article in the Post about the White House. To discuss the National Security Advisor, I’m sure. I’m just as sure that our names came up a time or two,” Nikki said.

  Annie beamed as she poured coffee for everyone. “Did any of you see the article in the Los Angeles Times that said various women’s groups in the LA area started a defense fund for us? At the same time, there was no news on our…our visit to Mr. Lyons’s house. Why do you suppose they’re downplaying all that?”

  “Because if they broadcast what we did, it gives us credibility. We broke up a slave and porno ring, something the authorities haven’t been able to do. Every mother in America would be thanking us if they knew,” Myra said. “What’s even more strange is the Post hasn’t mentioned their two missing star reporters the past few days. I do hope Charles is following the news.”

  “Count on it,” Nikki said.

  Murphy and Grady both reared up suddenly, extraprotective since their return from the kennel where they had been boarded during the trip to California. Neither dog liked the throngs of people outside the gates.

  “Mail’s here,” Yoko said, going to the door. “The mailman is blowing the horn. I think he wants to come through the gates or he wants us to go out there. Maybe he has packages.”

  “I’ll go,” Kathryn said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Myra said.

  Five minutes later the women stood around the mail truck, stunned at what they were seeing. “Twenty-four sacks of mail, ma’am,” the driver said to Myra. “I’ve got a dolly and I’ll truck it in for you. This is all the truck could hold. There’s twice this much back at the post office. I’ll bring it out tomorrow.”

  When all twenty-four sacks were brought in they covered the kitchen floor. The driver tipped his cap to Myra and said, “Just leave the sacks by the gates and I’ll pick them up tomorrow. Happy reading, ladies. By the way, my wife is on your side. I am, too.”

  “Thank you, Malcolm. Your endorsement means a lot to us,” Myra said.

  Kathryn, with Isabelle’s help, emptied all twenty-four sacks. All they could do was gawk as the others picked up letters at random. “They’re from all over the world,” Alexis said, awe ringing in her voice.

  “I’m going to make more coffee,” Annie said. “And I’m going to lace it with…with whatever I can find. Does that sound like a plan, girls?”

  The others ignored the question as they ripped at the envelopes.

  An hour later, Myra called a halt to the letter reading. She looked around at the sisters and said, “People want to hire us! For high dollars. I had one that said money was no object and we could name our price.”

  “Here’s an official-looking one from Interpol saying they’d like to interview us to exchange ideas. Exchange ideas!” Nikki said, rolling her eyes.

  “I read one from the German government that said they would give us carte blanche if we walk away free. They said they would pay us in U.S. dollars,” Yoko said.

  “Coffee’s gone,” Annie said as she tipped a bottle of bourbon over the women’s cups.

  “Who are you kidding, Annie? The coffee ran out two cups ago. We’re snookered, in case you haven’t noticed,” Isabelle said, holding out her cup for a refill. Annie poured lavishly.

  “What are we going to do with all these letters? We can’t answer them, that’s for sure. Some of the letters have money in them,” Nikki said.

  “What time is it?” Myra asked.

  “It’s ten minutes past one and, yes, we missed dinner hours ago. Who cares?” Alexis singsonged.

  “Whose turn is it to check the computer in the war room?” Kathryn asked.

  “I think it is my turn. I will do it now,” Yoko said.

  The others sprawled on the floor, their legs at awkward angles. “I hate this ankle bracelet,” Myra said.

  The others agreed as they talked about what was going to happen to them in the coming days.

  They heard Yoko before they saw her. “Here, I printed it out. Yes, yes, I locked up everything. What does it say? I do not know how to decode it. Nikki, what does it say?”

  Nikki ran her fingers over the words, wishing she hadn’t consumed so much bourbon. She labored over the coded e-mail. When she thought she had it right, she read it aloud. It said:

  ‘3 A.M. Wheels up at 5:05.’

  Do you want me to read it again?”

  “No, dear, once was enough,” Myra said happily. “Stick your legs out, girls, and let me take off your ankle bracelets. Nellie showed me how to do this. We spent one whole afternoon practicing until I got it right. No one is going to know we’re not wearing these horrid things. Go to the barn and bring in seven of the barn cats. Yoko, put out enough food and water to hold all of them until Nellie can get here to take them back to the barn. The food is
under the sink. Annie, fix five or six litter boxes. The litter is in the pantry. Go, girls, go, but be quiet.”

  Tears rolled down Yoko’s cheeks as she started to fill bowls full of cat food. Myra watched her and wanted to cry right along with her. “Call him, Yoko. You have to give Harry the opportunity to say yes or no. Go back to the war room to make the call but make it to Jack, who will then call Harry. Harry’s phone might be tapped. We can’t be too careful at this stage. Go, dear, I’ll finish this up.”

  By the time Myra finished filling the cat bowls, the others were back with the cats. Myra carefully fit an ankle bracelet onto each cat’s neck and then set the cat down on the floor. She smiled from ear to ear. That’s going to drive the people who are monitoring us crazy. Cats are all over the place.”

  Annie looked around, an expectant look on her face. “Should we pack? No one said anything about luggage.”

  “Your purse and your toothbrush, Annie. That’s it. Our funds were transferred months ago. Get your things, girls. It’s time to leave. Kathryn, go around and turn out all the lights. Thank God there’s no moonlight tonight. We go out the laundry room door. We have a long hike ahead of us so make sure you’re wearing hiking boots.” The sisters looked down at their feet. Sneakers. They would have to do.

  “Then let’s go,” Myra said. “Charles is waiting for us.”

  “Just like that! You’re walking away from the house you lived in all your life and it doesn’t bother you?” Nikki asked.

  “I can’t let it bother me, dear. Charles told me not to look back. I don’t want you to look back, either.”

  “Wait! Wait! I have to get something.” The others waited as Nikki sprinted up the stairs to return with Willie, Barbara’s teddy bear. She stuck it inside her wind breaker. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

  The women left Pinewood like silent ghosts, the two dogs on leashes beside them. They all knew how to obey orders; no one looked back. They made their way across the fields to the old Barrington Farm that was now Judge Easter’s new home, where they would find a Chevy Suburban. Kathryn would drive them to the airport.