by Alexa Davis
“How?” Jake slid an empty box toward me and I started checking the lunches in front of me, closing them up, and boxing them. I remembered how Andrew had described it to me, and shared the same analogy with Jake and Patty, glad for someone to talk to without feeling like a nuisance.
“Andrew described it for me once. He said it was like going before the Committee because you let a dog die by the side of the road after you saw a car hit it. Now, by itself, that’s despicable. But a witness states that you had to let the dog die, because you were rushing the little boy who was also hit to the hospital. Your actions may not have been perfect, but you acted with the best intention, and not out of negligence.”
“I doubt Tucker has ever left anyone behind, even to save another, though,” Patty chided.
“Maybe not, but I think Kristy would disagree. He helped to sink her chance of inheritance, because he was more concerned with Olivia. The Ethics Committee has to decide if his timing was an attempt to sway the court, or to protect not only Olivia and I, but Kristy as well—from her own attorney’s manipulation.”
“Doesn’t seem too hard to see what he was about,” sniffed Patty, as she hung up her apron on the pantry door.
“Because we know him. Exactly why he needs people in that courtroom.” I hefted the box in my arms. “Where am I taking this?” Jake pointed out the back door.
“The truck’s just outside the gate, girlie.” I carried my one box of lunches out to the truck, and returned in time to see Jake coming through the door with the rest. “You should go rest up, read or have a walk in the garden. You could use a spell of peace,” he suggested as he strode by with three boxes piled in his arms, the top of which was above his white hair. I held the gate for him, and followed his advice. The library seemed like a good place to pass the time, and I headed back there, so I could read and watch for when Olivia was done with her ride. It didn’t hurt that the library overlooked the sweeping front lawn, and the drive. Tucker still hadn’t checked in, and I wanted to know the moment he returned.
I picked out a paperback detective novel from one of the shelves and curled up in a deep-seated chair to read, only looking up when Patty brought me her mouth-watering sweet tea and a sandwich for lunch. The book wasn’t so much holding my attention as it was filling time, as I read and reread pages due to my inability to focus. When I heard a truck coming up the drive, the book fell to the floor and I jumped out of my chair, ready to run out and greet him.
The truck was one I didn’t recognize until it rounded the driveway enough for me to read the “Lancaster Construction Co.” printed down the side. Patty poked her head in just as I leaned over to pick up the book.
“It’s just George and Callie, bringing the baby up for us,” she crooned. “Have you seen her yet?” I pushed the book back into place between its mates and shook my head.
“I didn’t know they were pregnant,” I admitted. “Tucker has mostly been all about me, when we’re together, at least recently.” I was embarrassed to admit that I’d been so focused on myself, but Patty was understanding.
“Oh, no, they adopted the little thing. Her name is Colleen Rebecca. But don’t you worry, it’s that fight or flight thing you’re going through. Now that Tucker has it almost squared away, you can put all that energy back into the things you used to love.” I agreed heartily. There was certainly more fun in holding a precious new baby than in thinking about my old problems, or anticipating possible new ones.
“Well, I am going to go hold a sweet little Lancaster and stop borrowing trouble,” I concluded to myself out loud after Patty had left the room with the same urgency she’d whisked in to. I made it all the way to the door, when I heard the purr of a familiar engine, and immediately picked up my pace.
The George Lancaster family was still unloading baby effects when I ran out the front door and skidded to a stop before I embarrassed Tucker in front of his brother by wrapping myself around him like a child. Tucker was just getting out of his car, and I took a step toward him, just as George’s wife slid a soft, pink bundle into my arms. Dark, feathery hair framed her little round face, and she looked up at me with serious black eyes.
“Oh, will she have brown eyes?” I cooed. She blinked slowly at me then continued to stare at my face.
“Her birth mother is Hispanic, so we think so.” I nuzzled her neck and breathed in the warm, fresh scent of her blanket and the milky scent of newborn. I watched Tucker approach, jealously hoarding the baby, and glaring at him until he laughed aloud.
“Grandma is going to make you give her up,” he reminded me.
“She’s out riding with Olivia, so I have a minute to enjoy this,” I retorted. “You look good, Tuck. Everything went well?” I wasn’t sure what to say, or not to, but I couldn’t wait until we had the chance to be alone to find out if I could release the breath I’d been holding.
“I have the best employer on the planet, so yes. Things are good,” he told me, smiling. He leaned down to kiss his niece and inhaled deeply, making me smile, too. “But,” he added, “the day after tomorrow is go time for you—nine o’clock sharp—so it’s stressful, too. The Committee has already taken depositions and we will hear them tomorrow afternoon.” I exhaled sharply.
“Wow. That went from hurry-up-and-wait, to race-to-the-finish-line, really fast.” He nodded and stroked the baby’s cheek.
“They’re so soft. I’m glad my brothers are having babies.” My stomach filled with butterflies and I went very still as he looked into my eyes. “You’re blushing.”
“Well, I’ve had some time to consider all the things we haven’t had the energy to discuss, and that happens to be a fairly important one,” I blurted. “I mean, pretend it’s next Saturday, and everything went well, and Olivia has her inheritance, or not, it really doesn’t matter anymore,” I paused to breathe and he chuckled.
“I’m listening.” I glanced around and saw little Colleen’s parents watching patiently from the veranda, waiting on us.
“Well, would you want to have a little Lancaster, all your own?” His eyes gleamed possessively as he looked down into mine, then softened as he gazed at his niece instead.
“If the right woman married me, I would expect to at least try,” he drawled. “I mean, with a lot of practice….” I made a rude sound and spun on one heel, turning my back on him.
“Men.” I cursed when I reached Callie at the top of the stairs. “One-track minds, no matter how the situation around them.” George hid his laugh behind a cough, and hung back with his brother while I followed his wife inside. It didn’t matter if he teased. I had seen his face when he looked at Colleen, as protective and fierce as he’d looked when he was holding Olivia. My heart swelled and ached with desire for him, but I knew it was out of my hands until I proved that I was as loyal to him as he was to me. Now I knew how I could show him how much he meant to me.
Hesitantly, I gave tiny Colleen back to her mother, and excused myself from the growing party, as Kristy and Patty joined us, trailing Jake, who had finished his deliveries. Tucker looked at me questioningly, but I kissed his cheek and told him I just needed a few minutes. It wasn’t a lie, either. It didn’t take long to make some necessary calls. It was time to show Tucker, and the Committee about to judge his character and decide his future, what he meant to our community and the people he served.
Cynthia was first on my list, and when I told her how I wanted to show support for Tucker by having people he had helped show up to the hearing, she informed me that the entire local firm was already going to be there. She told me she’d look into his case log and see if any clients wanted to help, and we scheduled to suggest a meeting time of thirty minutes before.
I then called Paul, who agreed to head to the courthouse as soon as the last morning student was picked up, and he patched me through to Mrs. Dunham, who, after I calmed her down explaining my absence was related to Jameson’s continued stalking, happily offered to join us. I suspected it was for the rich gossip she’d pic
k up, but let her know how deeply we appreciated her being there. Shaunte promised to send Dale, since she’d have the kids. She then gently reminded me that even though I was trying to leave her out of it, Kristy needed to be there, too. I secretly agreed, but only she could make that decision. I worried that she was still fragile and needed to be careful with her health.
When I rejoined the family on the giant back terrace, the crowd had grown, as men came in from the fields to finally meet the baby on her first outing. Tucker sat in the middle, his niece in his arms, playing keep away from Danny, before finally giving her up to the soon-to-be dad and joining me on the fringe of the group.
“It sure feels like everything is going to be okay, today,” he said softly, pulling me into his arms. I relaxed against his hard chest and breathed deeply.
“You’re right, it really does.” After so long trying to avoid the courtroom, and keeping my head down, I wished it was already the next day, the next week. I was chomping at the bit to start my new life, slate blank, with a good man in my sights.
33. Tucker
Before I knew it, I was waiting for my turn to speak to the Committee. The corridor was packed with people as I paced outside the courtroom under the amused eye of the bailiff posted at the door. I passed her again and she chuckled and held up a hand for me to stop.
“Lancaster, I don’t know why you’re fretting so much,” the sheriff’s officer chided me. “How many times have we been in court together? And never have I seen you so close to wearing a hole in the floor.” I glanced down and laughed.
“Well, today is tied to a case that’s being decided tomorrow. I just don’t want things to go sour for her, because of me.” I glanced at my watch. “And, I still have ten minutes to wait before I go in.” I sighed, tempted to call Libby just to hear her voice. She didn’t care what happened tomorrow. I knew I shouldn’t either. But what kind of provider could I be, if I couldn’t even get her and Olivia what was theirs by law to begin with? I glanced at my watch again, and Officer Stout snorted.
“Go get a soda down the hall,” she suggested. “By the time you get the machine to work and get back, it will be your turn. Now, get. You’re giving me a migraine.” I ducked my head and got out of her sight, even though I knew she wasn’t nearly as pissed as she pretended to be. She was a great officer, and I knew that she’d still be out in the field if she hadn’t been hurt in the line of duty. If getting out of her way helped her feel less frustrated about door-duty, I was all for it.
The machine was as tetchy as she’d predicted, and as I walked up with a can of Dr. Pepper in hand, she smirked at me and opened the door, its slow, wide swing almost menacing. I handed her the soda and continued past her, and as I entered the room, my jaw hit the floor.
Every row behind the barrier was filled with people I knew. Snell and Wilmer partners and associates sat shoulder to shoulder with the folks from Cripke, Cripke, and Stokes, including my former secretary and Cynthia, sitting next to one another. Libby smiled tearfully at me from the front row, holding hands with Kristy and her teacher-friend, Paul, from the preschool. Even her gaudily dressed boss sat behind her, placing her hand on Libby’s shoulder as I drifted past, trying to get my bearings. Officer Stout set the Dr. Pepper down on the table in front of my chair and sat down to one side, and the courtroom bailiff held the barrier gate open for me.
I spread my hands in front of me to the five-member panel in confusion and a greeting. The chairperson nodded in reply and I turned around and considered the courtroom from the vantage of the front.
“There are a lot of people who seem to care about what we think of you, Mr. Lancaster,” the chairwoman intoned drily as I slowly turned back to face her.
“Yes, ma’am,” I managed to reply. She indicated for me to take my seat, and I did, grateful Officer Stout had opened the soda so I didn’t have to make any extra noise with such a large audience.
The charge I had made was read, and I answered to it in the affirmative. I did believe that Carl Jameson had acted unethically towards his own client, placing her, Kristy Peele, in such a dangerous state of mind that she had harmed herself. I heard sniffling behind me, and resisted the urge to look back at her to see if she was okay. Libby had to take care of her, now.
The chairwoman then read Jameson’s response, which denied a conscious effort to undermine her, and used Andrew’s well-known divorce and treatment of Libby as evidence that she had been emotionally compromised before she became his client, due to Andrew’s paranoid behavior and deteriorating health. I scoffed and shook my head, but bit my tongue until she was finished.
“Did he really use our case against him in his own defense?” I heard Libby whisper, close to the back of my head. I nodded slowly, and heard her growl softly behind me. “Somebody needs to run that boy over with a truck.” She hissed, and I covered my surprised smile with my hand.
The chairwoman then asked if I had a rebuttal to his defense, or any other evidence to add. I spread my notes in front of me and picked through all the cases I’d found with suspicious activity, such as witnesses recanting suddenly, charges being dropped before the case was decided—and then I had an epiphany: Libby was right. I had just heard him worm his way around pushing a young woman to suicide. There was nothing more I could do to right the wrong, except protect her.
That’s what Libby meant when she wanted to move forward. Not hiding from the truth like I had so long, out of loyalty to my firm, or attacking Carl, even though he was a bully. I’d told the truth. I wasn’t going to become as obsessed with him as he was with Libby or Kristy or whoever he’d set his sights on now.
“Madam Chair, Committee members, I believe I gave you my best and truest understanding of the situation that put Kristy Peele in the hospital after watching her decline in court for weeks. I am not here to provide unqualified testimony or judgement. Whatever the Committee decides, I will abide by, unless at some later date, I am presented with evidence so damning and irrefutable that I cannot stay silent.” I glanced back at Kristy and she half-smiled at me through her tears.
“Mr. Lancaster, is that all?”
“No. I want to apologize for my part in Mrs. Peele’s hardship. I came into court to defend my client at all costs. I don’t believe that was in the best interest of my client. What she wanted was simply what she was owed under the law, not for herself, but for her child. I let my hatred of a man I see as a bully and a manipulator cloud my judgment. I should have let the widow and my client decide the matter through moderation, and done everything in my power to convince the opposing council of the wisdom of doing so.”
I sat in my wooden chair with a heavy thump that echoed the hollow feeling I had in my stomach. It wasn’t until I was sitting there, in front of people I had wanted to admire and respect me, that I admitted the truth. Carl wasn’t the only one responsible for Kristy hurting herself. She was lost, scared, alone and grieving. I had assumed she was like her mother-in-law and her attorney, when I should’ve seen more of Libby in her.
The three men and two women at the front of the room whispered among themselves, manicured hands over their microphones so we couldn’t hear what they were saying. Libby sighed, and I slid my chair back against the barricade and turned sideways to hold her hand. I was shocked when Kristy took it first.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she held my hand. “You did the best you could. You and Libby made me care about Olivia, and that made me brave.” She let go and Libby got to touch me briefly, before the Chairwoman tapped the gavel to call order. A low hum rumbled through the courtroom as people whispered to their neighbors, and she used the gavel again, banging it harder to restore silence in the courtroom.
“Mr. Lancaster, I, and the Committee applaud your willingness to take blame for your part in the weakening of the system you swore to uphold, but we cannot fault you for your actions, certainly not on a criminal level. We do understand that your court case hinged on the result of this complaint. On that matter, after consideri
ng the events leading up to the contestation of the will of Andrew Peele we refer to the general decline in health and mental aptitude of a patient with a cancerous brain lesion, and forfeit his last will and testament in favor of a lawful division of assets among the surviving family members.”
The room buzzed again almost as though the attorneys from both sides were wagering on the decision as she spoke. She glared, her eyes roaming the room until everyone was quiet again, and I held up my hand.
“Not wishing to postpone the decision, but both the plaintiff and the defendant in the case are present,” I announced. The Committee allowed the women to join me at the table, and the chairwoman continued.
“As the deceased made erratic changes to his will at a time when his own council has admitted his mentally capacity was diminished, we are declaring the decision of Judge Gaines, who has permitted us to read it now.” She cleared her throat and asked for Libby and Kristy to stand. “To Mrs. Libby Peele, and daughter Olivia. The divorced wife of the deceased is awarded forty percent of all Mr. Peele’s assets, not including the house, which she rescinded any right to in her divorce. This will be used for the care and upbringing of Olivia Peele until she is eighteen years of age, when she will be eligible to withdraw from her trust. Said trust will be created in her name for a total of ten percent of her father’s assets.”
Libby grasped Kristy’s hand and they clung to each other. They were a united front set against a backdrop of the opposing sides that had brought them together. I barely heard the chairwoman speaking, and tuned back in when Kristy gasped, just to hear her read that the girl would receive forty percent of all assets, and the house she and her husband had lived in until his passing. To his mother, they gave a ten percent cut, on a stipend, to assist her. That gave Libby and Olivia over six hundred thousand dollars to help them make a new life for themselves, and Kristy would end up with more, if she sold the house.