Redress of Grievances (9 page)

"I
think we've hashed over the Wilkes problem as much as possible eleven years ago
and resolved it. Alex is the only unresolved part of your life left."

"She's
never contacted me in those eleven years."

"You
chose to end it. Perhaps she accepted your decision even if you didn't
fully."

"I
think it's been too damn long, Helen."

"I
think we need to go out for a night of honky-tonkin' and dancin'," Helen
laughed. "We haven't done that in ages."

"If
I take this case, I'll be in Dallas for a few days for the preliminaries,"
Harriett said as she stood.

"Call
me as soon as you get back. I'm getting that itchy foot thing, and you know how
Eric is. Dynamite couldn't blast the man out of the house, bless his
heart."

Harriett
hugged Helen warmly as they reached the front door. "Thank you, Helen. And
give my apologies to Eric."

"Not
a problem. I do some of my best work early in the morning," Helen yawned.

Chapter
Nine

ARRIVING
HOME FOLLOWING her early morning visit with Dr. Mortenson, Harriett dialed the
number for the Omni Hotel and asked to be connected to Alexis Dunne's room. She
was on the verge of hanging up after several rings when Alex picked up the
phone.

"Hello,"
Alex answered, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Alex,
this is Harriett."

"I
was hoping I'd hear from you."

"I'll
speak to Sharon Taggart, but I won't make any promises."

"I
don't expect you to, Harriett. Listen, I was in the shower. Why don't you meet
me at the airport, and I'll fly you to Dallas this morning."

"No.
I have a few things to clear up at my office. Nothing big, but I need to make
sure I don't leave anyone in a lurch. I think I'd rather drive to Dallas
anyway."

"Shall
I make a room reservation for you, or would you rather do that yourself,
too?"

There
was a chill in Alex's voice Harriett hadn't heard before.

"Just
let my office know where you make the reservation. I'll probably be on the road
by noon."

There
was a pause on the line before Alex spoke again, the edge no longer in her
voice. "I'm sorry, Harriett. Would you mind if I rode to Dallas with
you?" she finally asked.

"Well,
I...," Harriett started.

"I
could acquaint you with a little more about the case."

"I
suppose that would be all right," Harriett said hesitantly. "I'll
call you when I'm ready to leave my office."

"I'll
meet you at your office after I check out."

Harriett
dressed in tan jeans and Ropers, pulled on a lightweight sweater, and packed
enough clothes for a couple of days.

Carrying
her suitcase downstairs, she set it down in the front hallway before joining her
niece in the kitchen. Lacey was reading the sports section of the newspaper as
Harriett poured a cup of coffee.

"Anything
about your game in the paper?" she asked.

Turning
the paper toward her aunt, Lacey pointed to an article as she chewed a mouthful
of cereal.

"Better
keep this for your scrapbook," Harriett smiled. "I have to go out of
town for a couple days, Lace."

"A
case?"

"In
Dallas," she nodded as she sipped her coffee. "I might not take it
but promised to speak to the defendant. Will you be okay here alone, or do you
want me to call Grandma?"

"I
think I can handle a little alone time."

"Remember
the house rules, Lacey."

"Can
Devon come over while you're gone?"

"I'm
not real comfortable with that, honey."

"You
can trust me, Aunt Harriett. After all, I am eighteen now. An adult according
to the law."

"I
do trust you. I'm just not as trusting of your boyfriend yet." Harriett
smiled.

As
she looked at her niece, the thought of her growing up so fast saddened her.

"If
you need anything call Nick or Phyllis."

"You're
not
going to ask them to drop by unexpectedly, are you?"

Harriett
laughed. "I've taught you right from wrong already. Now that you are an
adult, at least in the eyes of the law, it's up to you to practice what I've
been preaching all these years."

Lacey
carried her bowl to the sink and rinsed it out, stopping on her way out of the
kitchen to kiss Harriett.

"Have
a good trip, and call so I know you got there in one piece, okay? I love
you."

AS
SOON AS she was in her office, Phyllis came in carrying a mug of coffee and set
it in front of her.

"I'm
going to Dallas for a couple of days, Phyllis. See if there's anything on my
calendar that can't be pushed back until I return."

"A
case?"

"Maybe.
I'm conducting a preliminary interview to decide whether to take it."

"Is
it a big fat hairy one?"

Harriett
smiled at Phyllis. "The fattest and the hairiest."

She
spent the next hour and a half putting the finishing touches on a few briefs
and the motion for a new trial for her homeless client and took them to Phyllis
to be typed.

"Make
sure this motion reaches the Appeals Court by Monday," Harriett instructed
Phyllis.

"This
the train trestle guy?"

"Yeah.
Kinda makes you glad you can afford to pay rent, doesn't it?"

The
front door opened, and Alexis Dunne walked in carrying a small suitcase.

"I'll
be with you in a moment, Alex," Harriett said. "Did Nick call in
before he went to court this morning?" Harriett asked Phyllis.

"Yes.
His case is going to the jury this afternoon. Does he know you'll be out of
town?"

"I
left a note on his desk. What about my appointments?"

"I
rescheduled them for next week. Let me know if I need to push them back
further."

"That
shouldn't be necessary, but I'll call later to let you know where I'm staying."

"She'll
be at the Hyatt," Alex said. Taking a piece of paper from her pocket, she
handed it to Phyllis. "That's the number for the hotel and the suite
number."

Phyllis
smiled as she took the paper from Alex.

"Well,
I guess that's everything," Harriett said. "I told Lacey to call you
or Nick if she needs anything."

"Have
a safe trip," Phyllis said.

As
Harriett climbed into the cab of her truck, she wasn't particularly looking
forward to spending three or four hours in the truck with Alex. It wasn't that
she hadn't thought about her former lover over the years. She simply wasn't
sure what they would have to talk about.

HARRIETT
ACCELERATED ONTO Interstate 35 North and felt the truck shift smoothly into a higher
gear. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, she slid a CD into the truck
stereo system. As she watched the traffic around her, she adjusted the volume
control. Instrumental jazz flowed through the rear speakers, and she settled
down in her captain's seat. The sun was shining brightly, and she pulled a pair
of sunglasses from a case on her visor even though the tinting on the truck
windows filtered out most of the road glare. The weather was warm for
mid-February, and the air coming through the vents kept the truck cab
comfortable. Between Austin and Georgetown, traffic was heavy, punctuated by
frequent stops and starts. Alex had been silent since they left Austin, and
Harriett could barely see her out of the corner of her eye. When Alex finally
spoke, the sound of her voice surprised her.

"I
see you still enjoy jazz," Alex said.

"I
have some other CDs if you want to change it," Harriett said, knowing that
Alex had never been particularly fond of jazz.

"This
is fine," Alex said, looking out the side window.

"Want
to tell me more about the case? We have a long way to go."

"I
lied to you at dinner, Harriett," Alex admitted. "Sharon Taggart's
case is similar to the Wilkes case in a number of ways. Except that Jared
Wilkes was a psychopath, and that's not the case with Sharon."

"How
did they catch her?"

"A
passerby claims to have seen her and remembered a partial plate number of a car
at the scene of the last shooting. It took the police a while, but they
narrowed down the description of the car and got lucky."

"But
she denies being the shooter."

"Absolutely.
But there's no doubt she had the weapon in her possession, and her fingerprints
were the only ones on it. Sharon was an accomplished marksman in college. I
believe she was on the rifle and pistol team there."

"I'm
not clear on how she shot them. Did she just walk up to them?" Harriett
asked.

"She
didn't actually shoot anyone. She shot at them, but according to the medical
examiner, no one was ever hit. All the victims died as a result of injuries
after she fired. All of the shootings occurred on busy freeways, and the police
believe she shot at the vehicles."

"So
the victims killed themselves by their reaction to their vehicles being shot
at."

"Yes,"
Alex said. "There had been a number of incidents over the last couple of
years in which motorists reported they had been shot at. Of all those
incidents, four died. A couple of others were seriously injured but recovered.
In fact, some of the charges against Sharon are actually attempted
murder."

"An
interesting twist. Drivers killed by their own panic."

"But
since the shooter's actions were the proximate cause of the deaths, whoever was
responsible can still face a murder charge."

"Second
degree at best. She may have planned to fire at the vehicles and not planned
for anyone to be killed as a result," Harriett hypothesized. "It
shouldn't result in the death penalty. Has the family considered a psychiatric
evaluation?"

Alex
smiled slightly. "I'm surprised you would even mention that, considering
Wilkes."

"Even
a first year attorney would have to request an examination. Is Sharon Taggart
intelligent enough to fool a shrink?"

"She's
extremely bright."

"What
about her family? How supportive are they?"

"Very.
But I can tell you up front that you probably aren't going to care for Frank
Taggart, the husband."

"Why?"

"He's
kind of a smart-ass. Parker can't stand him, and I'm sure Sharon's parents only
tolerate him because he's married to their daughter."

"What
does he do for a living?"

"He's
a mechanic for one of the Dallas car dealerships."

Harriett
looked at Alex and grinned. "Bet that went over well with the country club
crowd."

"I
thought Sharon's mother, Clarissa, was going to have a stroke," Alex
laughed. "No one's ever figured out why Sharon married him. Probably to
get away from Clarissa, but you didn't hear that from me. It isn't fair for me
to give you my opinions of these people, Harriett. My judgments shouldn't cloud
your feelings about them."

"I've
always found your impressions about people to be pretty accurate, Alex. But
I'll keep an open mind when I speak to the family. Not to change the subject,
but how are you planning to get your plane back to Dallas?"

"Paige
said she would fly it up later today. She got her pilot's license a couple of
years ago."

"She's
a very attractive young woman, by the way. She looks like you."

"She
reminds me of you sometimes. Pig-headed, straight ahead, no holds barred."

"Is
that a compliment or a complaint?"

"The
former. She studied advertising in college, you know."

"Really?"

"She's
wildly talented, and I tried to convince her to go to New York. We have a few
clients who could have helped her get a job with an agency there, but she decided
on a different route."

"When
she met Senator Collins?"

"She
designed campaign materials as a proposal while she was an intern with Stern
and Craft. He fell in love with the material she developed, and then he fell in
love with her. At least that's what he says happened."

"You
don't believe him?"

"I
don't know," Alex said, leaning her head against the back of the seat.
"I've never tried to influence Paige in any way about whom she saw or what
she did, but I think she's too young for Parker. He's twelve years older than
she."

"You're
twelve years older than I, Alex, and you didn't think I was too young,"
Harriett said looking at Alex.

"You
were already established in your career, Harriett. Paige isn't as mature as you
were."

Harriett
didn't respond, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.