Back in Atlanta, Barbara asked Kent to go into her house with her while she gathered all the papers the bank might require. He went back to work while she went to the bank.
At her branch, each loan officer was already helping another customer, so she waited on an uncomfortable couch and fidgeted until one of the loan officers came out.
The woman who would decide Emily’s fate had a beehive hairdo and unfriendly eyes, though she offered a business smile. “Were you next?”
“Yes.” Barbara sprang to her feet, dropping the papers that were on her lap. Feeling like an idiot, she stooped down and scooped them up — the appraisal for her house, the financial statements, her tax returns. She stacked the pages haphazardly, followed the woman back in, and took one of the chairs facing the desk. She noticed a newspaper sitting on the credenza. Had Emily been mentioned in the paper? She hadn’t taken the time to look yet.
There was no way the local reporters would keep an item like that off the front page — if it wasn’t there today, it would be tomorrow.
She drew in a deep breath. “Uh . . . I was thinking about maybe getting a line of credit on the equity in my house. The appraisal is fairly recent. I just bought the house a few months ago.”
Ms. Green took the appraisal, scanned it. “And how much do you owe on the house?”
“I have the mortgage papers right here.” Barbara slid them across the desk. “I sold my house in Missouri, so I was able to put two hundred thousand dollars down when I bought this house.”
“Okay. The market probably hasn’t changed much. The appraisal is still good, and you’re not getting all of the equity out.”
“Oh, good.” Barbara tried to steady her breath.
The woman pulled out a loan application. “What do you need the money for?”
She hesitated too long, trying to arrange her words. To bond my daughter out of jail wouldn’t cut it. “I need to pay off some debts.”
“How much do you want?”
“Just sixty thousand. That’s . . . enough for now.” That would pay for the bond and cover the retainer for the attorney . . . if Emily wasn’t indicted. If she was, Barbara would need a lot more.
The woman went through the other papers she’d brought, asking her a few more questions. Then she walked her through an application for a home equity credit line.
“I’ll just run this by the mortgage division, but I should be able to give you an answer this afternoon.”
Barbara tried not to look too anxious. “Okay. The sooner the better. I . . . have some bills due right now, and . . . it would be good if I could pay them off. When would I be able to get a check?”
“If we approve it this afternoon, you could get the money before we close today.”
“Oh, good. Great. That’ll help a lot.”
She waited as Ms. Green went to make copies of all her papers. As she waited, she sat stiffly in the chair, her eyes closed.
God, if they don’t approve it today, they’ll see the paper and hear the gossip. They won’t approve it tomorrow. Please . . . I need your help. Don’t make Emily stay in jail.
Ms. Green came back and handed Barbara the papers. “I’ll call you this afternoon,” she said. Barbara shook her hand, hoping the woman didn’t notice that her palms were sweating. Then she stepped out into the warm air.
She went back to Kent’s and waited, phone in hand. The banker didn’t call until 4:30. She’d been approved for the loan, and the papers were ready to sign. She raced back to the bank and tried not to look frantic as she signed the papers. Then she went to the teller’s window and asked for a money order for fifty thousand dollars out of her credit line.
She hoped the bondsman would accept that. She knew from her last experience with a bondsman that they rarely took checks.
She headed back to Birmingham, praying that they’d let her bond Emily out even though it was after business hours. She got a bondsman on the phone, and after giving Barbara the third degree about Emily and her charges, he agreed to meet her at the jail. It would cost more because Emily was leaving the state, he told her, but he would take a personal check for the difference to bond her out.
Barbara felt numb as she found the jail and went in, talked with the bondsman in the stairwell, and arranged the deal as if it were somehow under the table. But that was how it was done. The money was collateral to assure that Emily would show up in court, and the bondsman charged a pretty penny for it.
When the deal was done, he directed her to the dirty waiting room at the jail. After he went over the terms of the agreement with Emily, she would be released, he said. As Barbara waited, her mind raced with thoughts about their next move. At least Emily wouldn’t have to spend another night in jail, and they would be safe at Kent’s house.
Emily discarded her jail clothes and dressed in the clothes she’d been arrested and transported in, but she couldn’t get her left shoe on. She held the shoe in her hand as she met with the bondsman.
When her paperwork was processed and she was free to go, Emily limped through the door into the waiting area. Her mother rose to her feet, and Emily studied her face, trying to anticipate her mood. Whatever she’d had to do to raise fifty thousand dollars had probably dredged up dark memories. But instead of hurling accusations, her mom came to her with arms outstretched and hugged her fiercely. As she clung to Emily, stroking her hair, she whispered, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Emily blinked back tears. “I thought I would have to stay here when I heard the amount.”
“I got the money,” her mom said. “We’re going to clear your name, and everything will be all right. What happened to your foot?”
“Did somebody hurt you?”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “I got crossways with a crazy woman who thought I’d strangled her mother.”
“Emily! She hit you?”
“No, she just pushed me. My ankle twisted on the stairs.” She limped to the car, anxious to get far away from the jail.
Barbara unlocked the car on the passenger side, and Emily got in. “Let me see.”
Emily pulled her foot up. It was swollen like a football, and had bruised purple.
“That’s wrong,” Barbara blurted. “They should protect the inmates.”
“She’s in lockdown now. Let’s just get out of here.”
Her mother was speechless as they pulled out of the parking lot. Emily hoped she never had to see this place again.