Knowing it was going to be a stressful day, Elizabeth popped a Valium upon waking up. The bottle of wine she drank the night before didn’t keep her from tossing and turning. At least her failure to sleep had kept the nightmares at bay. Hearing China’s shoes clunking down the hallway, she focused her eyes on the doorway.
“Good morning sunshine!” China said. She made herself comfortable and flung her oversized bag in the chair next to her as she sat down. “You would not believe the night I had!” She placed her coffee cup on the desk and fumbled around in her purse as she continued, “You have to read these texts. Chester was blowing my phone up yesterday. The man has totally gone postal.”
Elizabeth leaned back in her office chair holding her coffee mug with both hands and waited patiently with heavy eyes as China scrolled through her phone to reveal her latest drama.
“5:02 pm; ‘Hope you had a good day!’ 5:29 pm; ‘Thinking about you, call me.’ 6:13 pm; ‘I hope I didn’t do something wrong.’ 8:00 pm; ‘I really miss talking with you. Please call.’ What the hell?” Her voice begged for help.
Squinting her eyes and taking a deep breath, Elizabeth was unsure on how to respond. Appearing as if she sucked on a lemon, she looked China square in her eyes and said, “Yikes.”
“Yikes? Yikes is all you have for this?” Sighing, China threw her phone in her purse and grabbed her coffee cup from the desk taking a sip. She looked at Elizabeth closely, “Damn, Liz, you look like shit.”
“Why, thank you, China.”
“Oh honey, I’m sorry,” she said realizing her selfishness. “Are you doin’ okay?"
Setting her cup down in front of her, she confessed, “Honestly, I just want this day over with.”
China stared into the bottom of her cup and looked up, rolling her eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bombarded you with my trivial bullshit.”
She shook her head and smiled. “No worries. And it’s not trivial by any means. I’m sorry, I just didn’t get any sleep. I’m thinking about this pretrial, I’m totally considering skipping this whole parole hearing, and Peggy has called a mandatory meeting first thing tomorrow morning!”
Her body became stiff and she perked up abruptly. “Mandatory meeting? What the -”
“Um, yeah. She’s on the warpath. You thought Marilyn was bad? Get ready for Marilyn 2 point O. I seriously don’t have time for this.”
“Okay, first of all, the pretrial? Cakewalk. Who cares about the little girl who married the wrong guy? Lesson learned - or not. Not your problem, Liz. Second of all, the parole hearing? You’re going. No questions asked. Okay? Done deal. Martinez will be there, nothing to worry about. And Peggy? Screw her! Mandatory meeting. Pfft. Whatever,” she said with a wave of the hand.
Wishing she had an ounce of China’s confidence, she starred off into space like a frightened teenager ready to give a public speech in front of her entire graduating class for the first time.
Demanding her attention, China reiterated her position, “Liz, you got this.”
The docket was pretty light on Thursday. It seemed not many people committed crimes midweek. Judge Bennett typically scheduled pretrials on these days, although there were a few stragglers in for their arraignments. As China dealt with an aggressive storeowner looking to hang a thief over ten dollars, Elizabeth sat in the corner of the lobby reading the mental evaluation of Brandon DeFranco. The further she read, the more concerned she became for Pam.
The city prosecutor, Lydia Hamilton, walked through the lobby towards Elizabeth. Her pale skin accentuated her curly, strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. “Good morning, Liz!”
“How are you, Lydia?”
“Ready to get these pretrials over with. I leave for vacation this evening and I still haven’t even packed!”
She stood up to meet her properly. “Going anywhere fun?”
Her eyes brightened at the thought. “Cancun.”
“Nice! I always wanted to go there. Maybe one of these days.”
Lydia grasped her files close to her chest, “This is our second year. It is absolutely fabulous. You really have to go.” Looking over at China who was speaking with a crime victim, she asked, “Old man Kriems is at it again, huh?”
She shook her head empathetically. “That poor man has some kind of theft every week. It must be hard at his age still trying to run a store. Hey, we have a pretrial for the DeFranco’s. I was hoping we could get started as soon as possible because I need to leave by 11:00 am.”
“Of course! Follow me to the judge’s chambers and we’ll get started right now. Is your victim here?”
“I haven’t checked the courtroom yet, but I know she’ll be here. I’ll scope it out and meet you in chambers.”
Standing with an aura of confidence, she looked at her watch and back to Elizabeth, “We’ll get you outta here in time. I’ll see you in there.” She smiled and continued on her path. As soon as Lydia was out of sight, Shawn Johnson came through the metal door connecting the police station to the courthouse. Scurrying over towards her, he reached out and tapped her shoulder. “Hey...”
Elizabeth jumped and shrieked like a child afraid of the monster in the closet. Grabbing her chest and breathing a sigh of relief she giggled, “Shit! Sorry, I’m a little jumpy today.”
“My fault. I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you have a sec? Martinez said I might be able to find you here.”
Looking at her phone she paused, “I guess so. But I need to get to a pretrial soon.”
“DeFranco, right?”
She nodded and looked around the courthouse suspiciously. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Detective Shawn Johnson. I know we don’t really know each other.”
Rubbing her forehead, she was a bit embarrassed. “Ugh. Of course. I’m so sorry. What can I do for you, Detective?”
He moved closer to her and spoke quietly. “Brandon DeFranco has been a thorn in this department’s side for as long as he has been writing for the Tribune. These charges need to stick.”
“I’m not sure what it is I can do about that. Maybe you should be talking to Lydia?”
“You’re the one Lydia will listen to.”
“Well, if my victim still wants to follow through, that is who Lydia technically listens to.”
“So, get your victim to listen to you.” He grinned devilishly and winked before going back over to the police station.
Elizabeth shook the confusion from her face and walked through the large wooden doors on the opposite side of the hall, her eyes circled the courtroom until she saw Pam sitting with Brandon. Awe shit, she said to herself. She called out Pam’s name and upon recognition and waved her hand motioning her to follow. Pam quietly spoke a few words to her husband before getting up from her seat and following Elizabeth into the hallway. The look on her face was pure shame.
Taking a deep breath as they sat on a bench just outside the courtroom, Elizabeth attempted to assess the situation. “Pam, how are you doing?”
Apprehensive, she tried to explain, “Well, as you can see, we’re trying to work things out.”
“I see that. But how are you?”
“I’m tired and I just want things to go back to normal.”
“You know, I read through the evaluation you gave me. Things do not seem too normal.”
Crossing her arms defensively she asked, “What do we need to do to make all this go away?”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. “This isn’t just going to go away. Right now all I can do is tell the prosecutor where you stand. Brandon’s attorney will take care of the rest. The prosecutor could give him a plea deal.”
“A plea deal?”
“Yes. That means he could be offered a lesser offense to plead guilty to.”
Sighing, she placed her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands.
Touching her forearm, Elizabeth tried to console her. “Look, this is typically what happens. At least he wouldn’t have a domestic violence conviction on his record.” She could tell her efforts were for naught. “Let me talk to the prosecutor and see what is going on, okay? Sit tight.”
Making her way through the clerk’s office, Elizabeth opened the door to the judge’s chambers and took a seat in front of the desk across from Lydia who was thumbing through DeFranco’s small file. She grabbed the police report, scanning it. “What do you have for me? Did you talk to your victim?”
“They’re working it out, of course.”
Lydia looked up at Elizabeth and smiled, “Of course. You know he doesn’t have an attorney?”
“Really?” Remembering what Shawn asked of her, she decided to try and take one for the team. Setting the evaluation on the desk in front of Lydia, she said, “I think Pamela DeFranco gave me this for a reason.”
Picking up the document, she reviewed the highlights. “Nice. But you know we can’t use this?”
“What do you mean? His wife gave it to me. Obviously, she’s concerned.”
“It’s confidential. His wife shouldn’t even have it. Come on, Liz, you should know that. Give it back to her. You can’t keep that in your file.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “So what should I tell her?”
“I’m offering to drop the disruption of public service if he pleads to the misdemeanor domestic violence. At least if he’s charged again with a DV it will be a felony but, I’m guessing this was a one-time-thing. He can go through anger management classes and be put on probation for the next six months. I’ll meet with him while you talk to her and see how he wants to proceed.”
“I doubt it was a one-time-thing, but I’ll let Pam know. Thanks Lydia.”
Elizabeth returned to the lobby and took a deep breath before sitting down next to Pam. She looked as tired as Elizabeth felt and it wasn’t even time for lunch. “I just talked with Lydia, the prosecutor, and she’s going to offer Brandon a plea deal. If he pleads guilty to the domestic violence charge, she will drop the other charges. Of course, this means he will need to complete anger management classes and be on probation for the next six months as well.”
The expression on her face was a mixture of disbelief, anger, and confusion. “But – I’m not pursuing anything. I’m here in support of him. Didn’t you tell her that?”
“Of course I did. I told her the two of you are working things out. She’s well aware you are not interested in pursuing anything.”
“Then why do they have it out for him so bad? You know, his articles about the police department and the entire system in this town in general are important. His work is important.”
Growing impatient, Elizabeth took a breath and tucked her hair behind her right ear in an attempt to calm her nerves. I think it’s time for a happy pill. This one is wearing off. “Pam, no one has it out for your husband, but he certainly hasn’t made any friends here. You have to remember, just because you changed your mind since your original call to the police, they still have a job to do. Every case is reviewed the same. Not every case has the same outcome. You are free to change your mind, but when it comes down to it, you mess with the bull, you get the horns. It’s that simple.”
A tear streamed down her cheek out of frustration as she bit the side of her lip to hold back her anger. Grabbing her purse beside her, she gracefully stood up. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but this is nothing but pure backlash for the important work my husband does. When all this began, you told me you would be here until I no longer wanted you to be.”
Seriously lady? “And I stand by that,” she said in an attempt not to show her own frustrations.
“Good. Because I no longer want you to be.” With that she stormed off into the courtroom to be with her husband.
She stretched out her neck before paying Lydia a visit to fill her in. “It’s all yours, Lydia. My work is done here,” she said as she fanned her hands in the air. Lydia thanked her for her time and looked at her with sympathy. “Hey, Liz, good luck today. We’re all thinking about you.”
With a half grin, she nodded her head and walked into the clerk’s office just outside the judge’s chambers. Feeling a little embarrassed yet again she thought, Does everyone know about this? Taking another deep breath, she attempted to concentrate on herself for a moment rather than a victim in distress. She needed a drink of water and a pill. The lobby seemed quiet enough, but her heels made an unwelcome echo on the marble floors. Reaching in her bag, she pulled out the prescription bottle. Looking at it curiously, she wondered when she could just toss them in the trash.
Popping a Valium in her mouth, she washed it down with ice-cold water from the fountain and pulled her phone from the front pocket of her bag. She already had a text from Martinez, ‘In the parking lot on the side, meet me out here when you’re done.’ She smiled and headed out to meet him.
As the handicap accessible door swung open upon her pressing the button, she saw Martinez standing next to his black Impala. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and dark jeans, the sun gleaming off of his badge, which was attached to his belt. He was a sight for tired, sore eyes. But it was surly a rough week for him as well. The little patch of hair under his bottom lip was blending with the remainder of his unshaven face and his grown out, military haircut. He smiled as she walked out the door and at that moment, it was all she could see. When she reached him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and greeted her, “Hola, bella.”
Looking up at him she responded with a greeting of her own. “Hola, guapo.”
His brown eyes shimmered with excitement. “Nice! Learning a little Spanish, are we?” She rolled her eyes flirtatiously. His expression became sober. “Are you ready for this?”
Pulling away from his embrace, she made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle and opened the door. “I am not ready for this. What I’m ready for is a warm bath and a nice glass of Chardonnay.” Though she was happy to see him, the reason for their meeting kicked her back to reality.
Realizing how stupid his question sounded after the fact, he quietly retreated to his position in the driver’s seat and started the engine. Elizabeth barely spoke during the entire trip to Mansfield and Martinez refused to force conversation. She stared out the window the entire time watching the curves of the white lines on the road sweetly embrace the rolling plains.
As they entered the Mansfield city limits, her heart began to race. It had only been an hour, but she felt as if the Valium she gulped down at the courthouse was wearing off, again. After a few more turns in the road, the prison was in view. Martinez took his eyes off the road for a moment and glanced at her. The tension grew the closer the vehicle came to the entrance. He reached over and grabbed her sweaty palm as a reassurance. She squeezed his hand, her eyes fixated on the barbed wire fence surrounding the compound while she practiced her breathing techniques.
Martinez flipped the turn signal and began to turn the vehicle onto the prison property. Elizabeth looked at the back of her eyelids and slowly took a deep breath, clinching his hand for dear life. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Pulling the vehicle off to the side, he placed it in park and turned to her. Peering into her eyes with the strength she was lacking, he promised, “I told you, I’m not leaving your side. He can’t hurt you anymore, Liz.”
With another deep breath she nodded her head, “Okay, let’s do it.”
Placing the car into drive, he continued on to the guard shack near the entrance where he was to meet Investigator McMurphy. He pulled up next to the window with his identification ready to give the gray haired guard. “How’s it going?”
The man’s eyes looked up over his wire-framed glasses while his hunting magazine rested on his belly and he replied in a gruff voice, “’Nother day ‘nother dollar.” He placed the magazine on his small desk, took a glance at Martinez’s ID, and searched for his list of visitors.
“We’re meeting Investigator McMurphy. Detective Angel Martinez and Elizabeth Strong.”
Searching the list through his bifocals, the man shook his head back and forth. “Sorry, Detective, I don’t have either of you.”
“I’m afraid you may be mistaken. Could you have another look?”
“Look, Detective, I’m sorry. I-do-not-have-you.”
Elizabeth and Martinez looked at each other with mutual shock. “Let’s just go back,” Elizabeth pleaded. “This is not a good sign.”
Martinez turned back to the guard who was eagerly waiting to get back to his daily reading material. “Hey, I know you’re just doing your job but this is extremely important. Investigator McMurphy is expecting us. Could you give him a ring and we can straighten this all out? Please?”
The guard looked at him again from beneath his glasses and pursed his lips. Without responding verbally, he picked up the phone, hit a number, and had a short conversation. “Go on through. Investigator McMurphy will meet you at the entrance to your left.”
“Thank you! Have a wonderful day, Sir.” He patted Elizabeth on the leg and found a parking spot past the guard shack. They exited the vehicle and walked towards McMurphy who was waiting for them at the door.
Martinez put out his right hand and gave a firm handshake as he spoke. “Investigator McMurphy, good to see you again. This is Elizabeth Strong.”
Elizabeth reached out to shake his hand as well. “Investigator, nice to meet you. Thank you for setting this up with Detective Martinez, I do appreciate it.”
“Detective, Miss Strong. I apologize but I’m confused as to why you’re both here?”
Martinez looked perturbed. “Where is the confusion? I set this up with you weeks ago and sent in my confirmation Monday just as you asked.”
Remaining calm, Investigator McMurphy said, “I never received that confirmation, Detective. Actually, I got word they were moving the hearing and I sent you an email with the new date and time. I assumed, since I still heard nothing, that Miss Strong here had changed her mind.”
Elizabeth felt a small sense of relief while Martinez became agitated. He grabbed his chin and paced towards the car, then turned back around to McMurphy. “So you never received my confirmation?”
McMurphy shook his head, “Negative.”
“I didn’t receive your email, Investigator.”
“I can only assume the email went through with no issue. I did not receive a Mailer-Daemon informing me otherwise.”
He grew more agitated, his dark brown eyes turning a deep yellow gold. “So when was the hearing pushed back to?”
“I’m afraid the hearing was held yesterday afternoon, Detective. I’m very sorry. I wish there was more I could do.”
Martinez bowed his chest and crossed his arms, cupping his unshaven face with his right hand. He took a deep breath before speaking. “I apologize for all the confusion, Investigator. I do appreciate you coming out here to let us know personally. We won’t take up any more of your time.”
After exchanging their goodbyes, Elizabeth and Martinez settled into the front seat of the Impala. “Damn it!” he yelled as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel, making Elizabeth jump. Her eyes scanned the perimeter; the steel doors, the guard shacks, the armed towers and the high fences with barbed wire. The pill she had taken earlier was definitely beginning to wear off.
“Can we please just get the hell out of here?”
He wiped the stress from his face with his hands and turned to her. “I’m so sorry, Liz. I messed up.”
“This wasn’t your fault. Why would you say something like that?”
“Actually, it is my fault. I depended on someone else to do my shit, to have my back.” He started the engine to the car and put it in gear. “That’ll be the last time.”
During the trip back to Silverton, Martinez explained how he asked Johnson to handle the request for him and had no idea what happened. He was furious that he hadn’t taken care of it himself or made the effort to try and confirm that the request had been sent and received. So much so, the entire hour long drive, he did nothing but continue to apologize. Finally pulling into the parking lot at the courthouse, Martinez parked next to Elizabeth’s worn Beamer.
With both hands still on the steering wheel, he looked out the windshield in disgust. “I’m such an idiot.” He looked over at her; she was gazing at him empathetically. “I’m sorry, Liz. Really, I am.”
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she shook her head. “Will you please stop saying that?” She took his hand from the wheel and held onto it. “Look, whatever happened, it happened. There’s nothing we can do about it now and frankly, if you couldn’t tell, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about going in the first place.”
“Yeah, well, Johnson has some explaining to do.”
“Maybe he got busy and it slipped his mind. Maybe the Chief snagged him up right after you that day and sent him off on some other wild detective outing. I’m sure there’s an explanation. Either way, it’s done. I’m sure we’ll know the results of the hearing soon enough. At least we got out of the office for the afternoon, right?” She smiled.
He squeezed her hand and smiled back, shaking his head. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“I’m amazingly exhausted. I gotta get back to the office and then I’m going home and have plans with a nice hot bath, some music, and some wine.”
“Hmm, sounds like you might need some assistance,” he said flexing his eyebrows flirtatiously.
“I think I got it covered. But it is tempting.” It is so tempting!
Somewhat discouraged from being shot down, he understood. “Can I call you later?”
She leaned in closer to him for a kiss goodbye, “Of course.”