Count This Cowboy In (29 page)

The meeting the next day with the prosecutor was very informative.  They learned that she
'd hired and fired three attorneys because they all were suggesting she go for a plea deal, but she refused.  She said she didn't want to spend a big chunk of her life in prison.

The judge had now frozen her assets, so she was no longer able to hire a high
-priced attorney.  She'd been assigned one, who also suggested they had a lot of evidence against her and she should seriously consider any plea agreement they offered.

She said the only way she would agree to anything was if it was no more than five years in prison, even though her attorneys had all said she was looking at anywhere from eight years to life in prison.  They all had said their guess was much closer to the life because there was just too much evidence against her.  She was adamant, though; five years was the most she would agree to under any circumstances.

Ms. Andrews said, "I don't know how you feel about it, but five years in prison is not very long."

Sam quickly said,
"No, it's not.  She killed my father."

Trevor tried to calm her. 
"Honey, we talked about this.  Ms. Andrews can't prove that."

"
But the jury would believe it if they heard all the evidence.  I know they would," Sam insisted.

Trevor looked to Ms. Andrews for help.  She offered,
"I'm torn here.  I tend to agree that they would, as well, Sam, but the way the law reads we would have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.  If you read that definition, jurors could easily believe it probably caused his death, but not feel they could send someone to prison for life on just a probably.  And I have to admit they would be right."

"
So what do you think you could get convictions on and how much time would she get for it?"

"
Well, I think we could get her for taking her sister's medicine, which is a controlled substance and for giving it to your father.  I also think we can prove she bribed Matt Kline and together they misled your father.  I think the judge would also feel she was responsible for his death and even if she wasn't found guilty of that, he would take that into consideration when sentencing her on these convictions I do feel we'd get and he would probably give her more than the minimum sentence on each charge because of it.  I think that would probably mean a sentence of around 12 to 15 years, give or take."

Trevor asked,
"So are you saying we should go to trial?"

Ms. Andrews said,
"Well, there's more to consider here than that and I think you and Sam should consider this carefully."

Sam looked confused. 
"What's that?"

"
According to our laws, if she confesses, pleads guilty, the remainder of the money from the sale of the ranch and her condo would go to you towards restitution."

Trevor asked,
"And if she doesn't plead guilty?"

"
Then we'll have to have a trial, but her being found guilty will only be step one.  Sam, you would also have to file a civil suit against her, proving to a jury that she stole the inheritance you should have received.  Assuming the jury agrees with you, then you would get her assets that have been frozen.  As busy as the courts are right now that could take up to five years, because you can't file the civil suit until the criminal suit is over and you have the guilty verdicts.  If something goes wrong in the criminal suit you could have problems recovering what should be yours."

Sam said,
"She already took what was important to me.  The money doesn't mean as much.  I want to see her pay."

Ms. Andrews sympathized with Sam. 
"I understand, Sam.  I can tell how much your father meant to you." 

Trevor watched as Sam got a blank look on her face momentarily before nodding in agreement.  That momentary blank look worried him.

They talked a bit more and Ms. Andrews excused herself to take a phone call.  When she came back she said the judge in June's case asked if they could meet with him and Ms. Andrews the next morning.  He'd like to meet Sam and talk with her a bit while she was still in town.  Trevor quickly agreed, thinking he'd like to meet the judge, as well.  They all agreed to do some thinking and meet the next morning in Ms. Andrews' office and go to the courthouse together.

Trevor did a lot of thinking, but mostly about Sam.  Her confession earlier about the niggling bit of doubt in her mind worried him.  He fell asleep thinking about the vulnerable little lady sleeping in the adjoining room.

The next morning when they met with the judge Trevor had come up with an idea.  Whether it was feasible or not he didn't know, but he wanted to at least bring it up to the judge and Ms. Andrews.

When they walked into the judge
's chambers the next morning a man who looked too young to be a judge stood and held his hand out to Sam and Trevor.  "I'm Judge Nelson," he said, shaking hands with both of them.  "Ms. Simmerly, I'm so sorry about what has apparently happened to your father.  I had the pleasure of meeting your father one time, but I have had several occasions to hear about his generosity.  He was a wonderful man that's been missed by a lot of people."

"
Thank you," Sam said sincerely, her eyes welling up.  "Please call me Sam." 

Trevor hugged her shoulders and nodded his thanks to the judge. 
"And I'm Trevor."

Judge Nelson nodded at both of them.  He turned to Sam and said,
"Sam, I understand you'd like to see your stepmother spend time in prison and I agree.  Where do we stand on that, Ms. Andrews?"

"
Well, my understanding is she will not plead to anything that involves more than five years in prison."

The judge asked,
"So she's willing to go to trial?"

Ms. Andrews said,
"She appears to be.  Her attorney, Mr. Johnson, says he's told her the odds are against her and if she's found guilty she'll be spending much more time than five years in prison, but she insists she will not plead if there's more than five years involved."

Judge Nelson shook his head. 
"That seems too light.  Sam or Trevor, any thoughts?"

Trevor spoke up. 
"I had a thought.  I'm not sure what anyone, including Sam, thinks, but let me throw it out there for your consideration."

The judge said,
"I'll listen to any ideas anyone has.  Go ahead."

Trevor started in,
"Well, if we were to agree to the five years ––"

Sam broke in,
"Trevor, that's not enough time."

"
Hear me out, Sam, before you object.  If we agreed to the five years, could it actually be longer, but all would be suspended except for five years?  That way she would only serve the five years, but would then be on probation for a period of time.  My understanding is that people often have trouble following all the rules of probation and end up back in prison.  Am I right about that?"

Judge Nelson smiled a bit as he said,
"You are right there, Trevor.  Go on."

"
Well, if she gets out of prison and has no money and no condo, she's going to have to find a job; right?"

Again Judge Nelson smiled as he said,
"Yes, she will be working.  I usually make that a condition of probation.  Even if it's a minimum wage job or flipping hamburgers somewhere, they have to find a job and work.  We have employers who will hire probationers if they can't find anything else.  They're not good paying jobs and they're certainly not glamorous, but they are jobs.  I give them time to find something on their own, but if they can't, they take one of these."

Trevor looked at Sam and said,
"Sam, that may not be in prison, but she would be paying for what she'd done."

Sam reluctantly agreed,
"Yes, I guess it would be."

Trevor said,
"And I imagine she would be ordered to pay restitution?"

Judge Nelson nodded. 
"Absolutely.  Even if she has a low paying job she still has to pay a small bit every month.  I do that because it's a monthly reminder to them and if they're not making much money to live on but they're still required to pay a portion of it to the victim each month it really gets the point across." 

Picking up on Trevor
's train of thought, he looked at Sam.  "So again, Sam, she will be paying every month when she's eating a can of soup and has to write out a check to you."

Sam was following what they were saying and nodded. 
"She'd hate that, especially writing the check out to me.  She hated me, for some reason."

Judge Nelson said,
"Only because you had what she wanted; your dad's love and the security his money offered."

Sam said,
"I guess."

Trevor asked,
"So, if she has to work, quite possibly in a low paying job that she's not happy with and she has to pay Sam back each month, will there be other rules for her probation?"

Ms. Andrews offered,
"Oh, yes.  She'll have to go see her probation officer regularly and will be subject to random drug tests.  There will be a list of rules she'll have to abide by."

"
So if she doesn't follow the rules, what happens?"  Trevor was pretty sure he knew, but he wanted Sam to hear.

Judge Nelson offered,
"Then I send her back to prison."

Trevor suggested,
"With no plea bargaining this time; right?  You say she goes back and she goes back?"

"
Absolutely."

Trevor looked between the judge and Ms. Andrews as he asked,
"So what would you say the chances are of her following all the rules and not being sent back to prison?"

Ms. Andrews said,
"The stats show it's about 50/50."

Judge Nelson thought a bit before saying,
"I think it would be more likely in her case that she be sent back at least once."

Trevor smiled and said,
"That was my thought, too.  She wants to be in control.  She wants to tell you and Ms. Andrews what she will and will not accept.  I question someone like that being able to listen to rules and regulations that are given to them."

Judge Nelson agreed. 
"That's the type of person that generally struggles with probation.  You're absolutely right, Trevor.  I can easily see her going back to prison at least once."

All three of them turned to look at Sam, who said,
"That's something to consider, isn't it?"

The judge offered,
"When people are sent back it's a very depressing thing for them because they know what they're going back to."

Trevor watched Sam
's reaction and was still a bit concerned. "I have one major concern in this whole thing, Judge," he said.

"
What's that?"

"
I'm concerned about Sam.  She knows all the evidence Ms. Andrews has against June, but as long as she's still insisting she's innocent, Sam's having trouble getting rid of a last little bit of doubt that keeps hanging on.  If Ms. Andrews offers her a plea and she takes it, will she have to admit what happened?  She can't plead no contest or something like that, can she?"

Judge Nelson thought for several moments before saying,
"She'll have to plead guilty.  I won't accept a no contest plea on a major charge like this.  You're giving me an idea here, though, Trevor.  I'm still having trouble letting her plead when she'll only get five years.  Sam, you're the one that's been harmed here and if there's something else I can stick in there that would help you, I will be happy to.  What I'm thinking is we offer her the five years she wants, but in exchange for that she has to state in open court what she did."

Ms. Andrews asked,
"A full confession of sorts?"

"
Exactly.  Sam, would that give you the closure you need, do you think?"

Sam smiled as she said,
"I think that would really be helpful.  I'm not sure I'd actually want to hear what she did to my dad, but I think it would put that last remaining doubt to rest."

"
And that would be very helpful," Trevor added, looking at the judge.  He nodded slightly, which told Trevor he understood the importance of his words.

They talked a bit more, making sure everyone was in agreement and that the prosecutor understood the deal she was to offer.  Trevor and Sam left, after being assured they
'd be kept up to date on the case.

They returned to The Circle N the next day and tried to get things back to normal, but Trevor could tell Sam was anxious.  He vowed to keep a close watch on her.  When she had something on her mind she became preoccupied and that's when she could be dangerous.  Her safety was the last thing on her mind then.

Two days later he came in for lunch to find her staring at the computer. 
"What's up, Honey?"