Not Dead Yet (9 page)

Having a reputation as a tough broad to uphold, Lu couldn’t exactly act all maternal.  Theia nodded at her, eyes sad and tired.

“I did have a horrible nightmare,” Theia admitted.  “I’m afraid that if I get involved in this case, I would start having them every night again, and I just couldn’t take it.  Oh, and then there’s the very real possibility that if I tried to play hero I could wake up dead. So yeah, I’m stressed - in fact, I went to see a shrink.”

“You what?” Lu asked.  She looked up at the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” Theia asked.

“Looking for flying pigs.”

“Smart ass.  I don’t need to go to a shrink.  There is nothing wrong with me.  I just wanted confirmation that I’m not messed up from my past, so everyone will get off my back,” Theia muttered.

Lu shook her head at Theia, smiling.  “Let me know how that works for you.”

“I’m fine,” Theia said evenly.  “I’m just fine.  You know, maybe if everyone worried more about Rose and less about me, someone would find her before it’s too late.”

“I can’t imagine what her life is like,” Lu said softly.  “Can you imagine what it is like to be her?  To have no hope that things will get better?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Oh, stupid question, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“You know, I haven’t lived it like you and Rose, but I had a case a few years ago in which the mother was violent,” Lu said, somber.  “She had three kids, ages twelve, ten, and four.  She knocked them around, but we could never get enough evidence to get them away from her.  The kids were terrified to testify.  They were just trying to survive until they were old enough to run away and live on their own on the street.”

Theia looked at Lu cautiously.  “So what happened?”

“We brought petitions for child orders of protection, but, just like Rose, they clammed up when it was time to tell the judge what had happened,” Lu continued.  “They wouldn’t even confide in their appointed guardian.  I didn’t know what I could do to help and I tried telling myself I couldn’t fix everyone’s problems, but still ... I knew those kids were suffering.”

“Go on.”

“One day, while the older two were at school, the mother took a baseball bat to the four year old.  Even remembering it now makes me physically ill.”

“Oh my God,” Theia whispered.

“I’ll never forget that little guy’s face and his smile,” Lu said, visibly struggling for control.  “I can’t let that happen again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t compartmentalize things and say it’s someone else’s job.  Some things are so bad that you just have to step in and find a way to help,” Lu responded.

“But we aren’t cops, Lu!  What are we supposed to do?”

“The four year-old ended up dead.  I have regretted ever since that I did not find a way to help him,” Lu answered.  “I turned away and sent him home with that monster. We have to help Rose, Theia.  She can’t help herself any more than that little kid could.”

“But I’m terrified.”

“Not one tenth as terrified as Rose must be,” Lu said.  “Remember when Foster came after you and tried to kill you?  Don’t you wish someone had helped you?”

“You should have gone to law school,” Theia grimaced. “You’re an pro at persuasion.  But Rose isn’t even your client.  Why her?”

“I don’t want you to have the guilt over Rose that I carry for that child.  Besides, she’s your client, and if you hadn’t helped me when that bitch went after my job, my career would have been over,” Lu explained.  “You helped me, now I want to help you and your client.”

Theia smiled at the memory.  “It was fun bringing her down,” Theia admitted.  “What a sick person, sabotaging your case to make you look bad so she could try to take your job.”

“Thanks to you, her plan failed and the child was brought back to safety just in time.  And my ass was saved, too.”

“They should have done much more than simply fire her,” Theia said.

“Agreed,” Lu said.  “I found out who my true friends were then.  So that’s why I want to try to help Rose, because of loyalty to you and my guilty conscience over that poor little guy with the monster mama.  What do you say, are we going to do this thing?”

Theia took a deep breath.  “I can’t do this. I don’t have the necessary skills.”

“You stayed alive while married to your schizophrenic ex-husband,” Lu argued. “That’s impressive.”

“I was lucky,” Theia answered dismissively.

“No, if you were lucky, you never would have met him.”

“So, what are you suggesting, that we find Donald?  And what if we do find him and Rose?  Are we supposed to ask him to pretty please let Rose get some medical attention?  I’m sure he would say, ‘Oh, sure, go right ahead.  Here, let me hold the door open for you.’”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Lu said.

“He’ll never give her up without a fight,” Theia urged, “and we’d be the ones starting it.  We’re talking assault and battery, perhaps worse.”

“But it would be self-defense,” Lu squirmed, uneasy.

“Not if we hunt him down and cause the confrontation!” Theia insisted.

“Look, I’m not a criminal lawyer, but then neither are you.  Doesn’t self-defense include defense of others as well?” Lu asked.

“I don’t know.  I do family law.  Do you realize what we are talking about doing, Lu?”

“We have to help her, Theia.  You know it as well as I do.  The police aren’t going to do enough.  If they do find her, it’ll be too late.  We’re her only chance.” 

They both sat there for a moment, dazed by the headiness of what they’d been discussing.

“What if it’s already too late?” Theia asked.

“There’s only one way to find out.  Besides, dead or alive, Rose deserves better than he is doing to her right now,” Lu urged.

“I can’t argue with that,” Theia conceded. “How are we going to find him, since you changed your phone number?  I know he told us the quarry, but the police are checking that out.  We both know he won’t be there anyway.  I hope he didn’t booby-trap it.  I’d feel responsible if the police got injured.”

“I’m sure they’re taking precautions,” Lu assured her.  “And by the way, the office manager said they can’t reassign my number without sending out a service technician to physically change the wires at some damn relay box.  They said it usually takes at least a couple weeks.  There’s government efficiency for you.”

Theia and Lu looked at each other, in excited disbelief.

“I need to breathe,” Theia said, closing her eyes and slowly inhaling and exhaling.

“You’re not going to meditate here in the courtroom, are you?”  Lu scoffed at anything that was new age.

“No,” said Theia defensively, then smiled.  She opened her eyes.  “I can’t believe we’re going to do this.  Are you really sure you want to do this?  This could be dangerous.  I’d never forgive myself if something bad happened to you.”

Lu lightly punched Theia’s shoulder.  “When are you going to let people help you?”

“After I trust again.”

“Girl, to get through this alive, we are going to have to trust each other completely,” Lu warned.

“Good luck with that – it’s not that easy for me.  I really don’t know if I can ever completely trust again.”

“I know,” Lu acknowledged.  “Maybe this is what you need.”

“What, now you’re a shrink?” Theia asked. 

The judge called another case.

“That’s my case,” Theia said.  “Let’s get together after work to plan.  Meet at Hacienda?”

“Sure.  Seven o’clock.”

CHAPTER SIX

“I’m here for the Respondent, Your Honor,” Theia announced as she stood in front of the judge.  Theia turned around and gestured for her client to stand beside her. On her other side was her client’s husband.  The couple didn’t have a full set of teeth between them, but Theia was pretty sure they washed their clothes after every ten or twelve wearings.

Judge Quinones looked over her reading glasses at the three people standing in front of her.  Elegant and well-groomed, the judge seemed impervious to the rubbish that often appeared in her courtroom.

“Sir, this says you have requested an order from this court to protect you from your wife.  Is that correct?” Judge Quinones asked. 

“Yep,” the man replied.

“I’m having difficulty reading your handwriting in the petition, sir.  Could you please tell me what happened that caused you to seek an order of protection from this court?”

“Sure,” he began, “she got in my face and was cussing, saying she was gonna make me pay.”

“Pay for what, sir?” 

“She caught me with someone,” he looked down at his feet.

“You was with my sister, you cheating piece of shit,” Theia’s client accused.  “I should kick both y’all’s asses.”

“Ma’am, you will have your turn,” Judge Quinones admonished.  “Sir, did she hit you?”

“No more than usual.”

“What do you mean, no more than usual?”

“You know, we smack on each other some.  We don’t mean nothing by it.  But she didn’t leave a mark or nothing.”

“Was there anything else?” Judge Quinones asked.  “Anything that put you in fear of immediate physical harm other than her getting in your face, cursing and telling you she would make you pay?”

“Well, no.  Ain’t that enough?”

“Sir, considering how many times the two of you have filed for orders of protection against each other, I’d expect you to know the answer to that question.  Ma’am,” Judge Quinones turned to Theia’s client.  “I see that you have also filed for an order of protection.  What is the nature of your petition?”

“Huh?” the woman asked.

“Why did you file for an order of protection?”

“He filed one against me.”

“Did he hit you?”

“No.”

“Did he do anything to you that put you in fear of harm?” Judge Quinones patiently asked her.

“Not really.  I mean, he yelled and cursed some, but that ain’t nothing new.  But if he gets an order of protection why don’t I get one?”

“I haven’t yet heard anything that would justify granting him an order of protection,” Judge Quinones responded “or you.”

“Well, I didn’t do nothing that no one else wouldn‘t do if they had caught their man with their sister.  I mean, what kind of person fools around with their wife’s sister?”

“You might wish to pursue a divorce rather than an order of protection,” the judge suggested.

“Well, hell! I don’t want to divorce him.  I just wanna kick his ass.”

“Judge, we move for a dismissal of his petition,” Theia offered.  “He hasn’t proven a case that would justify an order of protection.”

“Neither has your client,” Judge Quinones pointed out.

Theia didn’t respond, as the judge was correct.  But then, Theia hadn’t filed her client’s request for an order of protection.  Her client had done so on her own, before hiring Theia.

“You see, folks, here’s the problem,” said the judge.  “I wasn’t there when the two of you had your altercation.  If there were evidence of physical abuse, that would be easy – I would grant the order.  If you were making outrageous accusations against each other that weren’t believable, that would also be easy – I’d deny the order. The problem is that about eighty percent of cases fall somewhere in the middle.  Clearly, the two of you have trouble getting along, as you’ve been here many times.  And I’m supposed to somehow divine whether one or both of you are in danger.”

“Then why don’t you just decide who you believe?” the man asked.

“Some violent people are really good liars,” the judge said.  “And some innocent people look guilty just because they’re extremely nervous.”

“So does that mean you’re gonna give me my order of protection?” Theia’s client asked.  “Just to be on the safe side?”

“It’s not that simple.  If I grant an undeserved order of protection, an innocent person might be kept from ever having a military or law enforcement career.  If I don’t grant an order of protection when one is needed, a person can die.  Of course, even when I grant an order of protection, sometimes people still die.  An order of protection is just a piece of paper – it doesn’t stop bullets.  Since you two have already had seven orders of protection against each other, why don’t you tell me what the real problem is here?”

Both parties looked down and fidgeted.

“Sir, are you in fear that she’ll hurt you?” the judge asked.

“No, not really.”

“Ma’am, are you in fear that he’ll hurt you?” “Naw, I was just mad, that’s all.”

The judge scrawled something in the file, then handed papers to them.  Theia scanned down the front of the first sheet.  Both orders of protection denied.

“I want you two to find a peaceful way to work out your differences, and not use this court as your personal referee.  If you can’t find a way to get along, maybe you should go your separate ways,” the judge said, with very little enthusiasm. “I give this lecture about a hundred times a month, perhaps more.  And the same people keep coming back to grace my courtroom.  Since you have been here so many times, I’m ordering both of you to attend high conflict counseling.  I’m also noting your file that I have put you on warning.  If you show up here again, I’ll consider sanctions against the party who’s at fault.  Those sanctions could include jail time and/or a fine.  You’re costing the taxpayers money.  Learn how to get along or stay away from each other.  Next case.”