Long Ride (Riding with Honor) (5 page)

“I will talk it over with my client and Ms. Atkinson and let you know
,” she said.

“There is just one other thing…” Carmen said
, looking at her hesitantly. “Are you
residing
in Florida now?”

“Actually I am only back down here for a short while… on vacation
,” she replied.

“Oh… I was just wondering if you would be interested in taking on a pro bono
case as a children’s advocate…” Carmen said.

She was a criminal attorney… what did she know about representing children’s best interests?  Additionally, she hopefully wouldn’t be in this state long enough to handle anymore legal cases.  What would make Carmen even ask?

“Well, considering it is unlikely I will be down here that long, I can’t help but I am curious why you would even ask,” she said.

“Look Ms. Waters…” Carmen started.

“Call me Becca,” she interrupted.

“Becca, I am not going to sit here and bullshit you.  The department is aware that you are representing a Charles Reynolds in a potential case against the state and this department.  Your legal team has been all over it and we received your letter
by fax just this morning.  Not many attorneys, especially one such as you, are willing to go head to head with such a large government entity.  I figure if you are willing to do so for a man who is no
longer
a ward of the state, perhaps you would be interested in taking other similar cases…” Carmen said.

“Such as me?”
she asked, already feeling offended and angry.

“You are one of
the
most revered defense attorneys in the country… you can essentially name your price.  You have no need to take on the big dogs… you already have and won a time or two and have nothing to prove, especially free of charge.  That is all I meant,” Carmen explained.

“If you expect me to discuss why I chose to represent Mr. Reynolds or the merits of his case you will be
sorely
disappointed and I must say that to even ask is unethical and smacks of fear,” Becca said angrily.

“
The only thing I
will
tell you is that your department
should
fear this case as it stands to set a precedent whereby former wards of the state can hold the state liable for
all
manner of harm.  This department… this agency… is funded by the citizens of this state, who expect it to be run efficiently and effectively.  Mistakes by your department don’t just cost taxpayers money, it sometimes costs those entrusted to your care their very lives!”  she replied before forcing herself to shut up.

“That…” Carmen said pointing at her
. “That right there is why I would like you to consider taking this advocacy case.  There are so many kids in the system that cases become words on a document rather than a real person, a real child in need of help.  Those kids need a voice and I invite you to consider being that voice.  You would essentially be doing what you are doing for Mr. Reynolds and for Gretchen and Melody’s newest sibling,” Carmen said. “Just with little to no pay.”

Was Carmen trying to soften her up by coming off as needing her help?  DCF had another think coming if they thought she would allow her heart to overrule her head.  Her first responsibility was to her clients…
Chuck and Tommy. 

Taking on new clients would essentially pit her against the department.  If the department did fear facing her in court, then why would Carmen offer her more opportunity… more ammunition… by suggesting she take on other clients… other kids?

“Are you eager to take me on in court, Mrs. James?” she asked. “Is that it?”

“If you are asking if I’m eager for my caseload of kids, my co-worker’s caseload of kids, to finally stand a chance of their wishes being considered or at least heard… then you can bet your sweet ass I do
,” Carmen said with a nod of her head.  “Did it ever occur to you that we often have to follow the law at the expense of our own judgment or morals?”

She could actually feel the
fire and conviction behind Carmen’s words.  This woman would face her in court because she had to… because the law and the state demanded it.  However, that didn’t keep her from hoping that she would lose for the sake of a child.  Carmen was looking for someone willing and able to take on the department and potentially win.  The woman viewed a win by her as a win for a child for whom she or her coworkers represented.

It was underhanded and could possibly cost Carmen her job… and she felt herself smiling at the woman’s audacity.  If the department found out she was consorting with the enemy or at the very least encouraging
Becca to bring about more lawsuits against the department, they would fire her. 

A new respect for Carmen settled in her stomach… if the woman was serious and she didn’t live in New York, she might actually consider it.  Money was no longer an issue as she got commission on all cases handled through her firm.  She could do work that meant something to her and not have to worry about the next big payday case.

“Give me a synopsis of this case.  I’m not agreeing to it mind you, but I will consider it,” she finally replied.

“Two girls over the age of ten were recently removed from their parents care when the parents were charged, convicted and sent to jail on drug charges.  The two stand a good chance of being split up and
placed in separate foster homes,” Carmen said, eyeing her thoughtfully. 

“
The girls were often cared for by an older neighbor man who is single.  The girls want to stay with the neighbor man who is not a licensed foster parent.  Even if he were a licensed foster parent, the likelihood of two young
girls
being placed with a single
male
foster parent is unlikely… regardless of the girls’ wishes and regardless of the fact that if not for this man, their situation would have been even worse than it was,” Carmen finished explaining.

“Is the man
willing
to take the girls?” Becca asked.

“The evening the girls were removed from the parent’s home, he offered to keep them
then.  So yes, I would assume that he is.  The point I am trying to make is there is no sense in asking the man since the chances of them being placed with him are next to nil,” Carmen said with a sigh.  “Essentially these two girls will be split up when they need each other the most and placed God knows where because the neighbor is a single
male
.  If he were a single female or married we would not be having this conversation,” Carmen continued, handing her a manila file folder.

“Now if someone were to step forward and advocate for the wishes of the girls I might be willing to call him and see if he is in fact interested
and capable of caring for them,” Carmen finished.

The story left her little choice on whether or not to take the case.  Of course she would and somehow Carmen had known that.  It felt like some invisible hand was pulling her back and holding her in this state more so than any stalker keeping her
out
of New York. 

What had started out to be a favor for Greg was turning into a potential career, lifestyle and location change.  She actually had as many potential cases down here as she did at home. 
Though the pay was significantly different.

“Make your phone call.  I will draft something up and have it ready by
next Monday.  Let me know should the man decline caring for the girls,” she said with a smile taking the folder from Carmen’s hand.

“I appreciate this and I hope that you get what you are after regarding Mr. Reynolds’ case
… and may I give you some personal advice?” Carmen asked.

“Sure
,” she replied.

“When the department comes up off of the information on Mr. Reynolds, I advise you to pay special attention to his birth and medical records
,” Carmen said with a smirk.

“
Why is that?” she asked.

“Now you know that I cannot tell you that… however, if you miss the information that’s in there I may seriously doubt my judgment in asking you to represent anyone else
,” Carmen said.

“How do you know what’s in Mr. Reynolds’ file?”
Becca asked.

“I’m nothing if not thorough.  When I did a home visit with Mr. McMurray regarding Melody’s case, Chuck Reynolds was there and told me about being a foster
child.  His story piqued my interest enough that I did a little digging on my own time and let’s just say nothing is as it seems with regards to Mr. Reynolds,” Carmen explained.

“I will comb through the records until I find whatever it is you expect me to find and though I appreciate the heads-up, don’t think for a second that I won’t file suit on day
thirty one if I do not have those files,” Becca said, standing and holding her hand out to the woman.

As she exited the office
, the secretary stopped her and told her that a man had just came in asking for her and was waiting for her outside.  As she stepped outside and looked around she did not see Dickie’s car so she pulled out her cell phone and called him. 

“Where are you?” s
he asked when he answered.

“I’m at t
he shop…you ready for me, darlin’?” he asked.

“Oh God...”
she breathed in alarm as she felt the hair on the back of her neck and the tiny ones on her arms stand up.  If Dickie was at the
shop
, then who was it that was out
here
waiting for her?

“You ok there?” h
e asked.

“Someone came into the office and asked for me… I thought it was you…”
she said quietly.

“Do
not
go outside!  Stay in the office near other people and wait for me to come up and get you,” he instructed. 

Too late.

Visions of Becca hurt, bleeding or even dead filled his brain and left him unable to think or focus.  This was the first time in twenty years he was functioning on the training he received rather than experience and instinct. 

Experience had taught him never to let go of a target once you had it in your sight.  His instincts told him that whoever was doing this was merely toying with her.  Eventually playing with her would no longer be enough.

What felt like days later, he pulled up to the office building Becca had gone into earlier.  He did a visual assessment of the area including people near building entrances and did not see the man whose picture had been burned into his head by Greg Sanders. 

Getting out of the car
, he walked inside only to find Becca in the lobby pacing with a worried look on her face.  She always looked so together, in control and in charge that this look of anxiety on her face somehow made her vulnerable. 
She would hate that.

He waited for her to turn and see him before approaching any closer.  When her eyes met his they suddenly swam with tears and
the next moment she was in his arms. 

Her entire body shook from fear or relief
, he wasn’t sure which.  He wanted her in his arms, had for months now, but this was not how he’d imagined finally getting this sweet little thing to let him in. 

“The secretary said the man told her he was my husband and he wanted to know how long the meeting would last
,” she whispered.

“He was just fishing… saying he was related just gave him authenticity and a reason for the questions
,” he said against her hair.

Too soon she released her death grip and stepped back from him and immediately began straightening her skirt and blouse.  Taking her hand he headed for the information desk and asked for the head of security, after showing
some identification. 

When the man finally appeared
Dickie explained the situation briefly and stated that Detective Sanders would be calling and requesting any video recordings from the timeframe that she was in her meeting.  The man appeared skeptical but he agreed to provide anything that would assist with the investigation. 

After that
Dickie called and left a voice mail message for Greg about the situation.  Then turning to Becca he took her hand again and led her outside, once again assessing the area as he approached the car. 

Leaving her on the sidewalk where he could see her, but yet blocked by the cars parked along the street, he opened the trunk and pulled out a crow bar that he had tied a handheld mirror to the end of.  Angling the mirror he walked around the perimeter of the
vehicle until satisfied that the car had not been tampered with.  Then he put the crow bar back in the trunk. 

He had only been inside the building with Becca for a few minutes but the man scaring her worked fast, so checking the car was necessary.  How had the man tracked her so quickly?

Dickie grasped Becca’s elbow and escorted her to the passenger side and closed the door when she was seated.  Then he got in the driver’s seat.

He felt her wall of silence almost as loudly as heard it.  Her body language said it all… she was
forcing
herself to pull it together.  Why did she not allow anyone to share her burdens? 

He certainly had to unload on occasion… not often but sometimes even he fell apart or lost control.  Usually a long conversation with Edna left him feeling better about the whole situation and more focused. 

Becca was so tightly wrapped up in her own hurt that she was incapable of reaching out for help
or comfort.

Dickie
had dropped Gretchen back off earlier with Gran and then stopped by the shop to check phone messages and bring in the mail and take care of a few other loose ends.  Those things could have waited… he shouldn’t have let Becca out of his sight. 

He had let her agitation with him cloud his judgment.  It was obvious she abhorred the idea of him following her around while she worked
, but it was necessary.  Apparently they hadn’t lost whoever was following them on the highway after all. 

The ride back to his house was the longest one in history.  She was once again firmly locked behind her wall of personal safety and appeared in control.  What would it take for her to trust him enough to let him shoulder some of whatever bullshit was in that pretty little head of hers?

Upon entering the house she immediately headed for his room that she was now using.  He wanted to follow her and demand that she talk to him but at the same time he didn’t want to add to the stress that made her shoulders sag.  After hearing the door to his room close, he went into the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches. 

Eating lunch alone at his kitchen table
, the silence continued.  Normally solitude didn’t bother him but knowing she was here, where he had wanted her since the first time he’d seen her, but yet so far away, was hard to bear. 

While he ate, h
e took a phone call about his neighbors and then decided she’d had enough time to come to terms with the events of the day.  He picked up the plate with her sandwich on it and walked back the hallway.  Knocking softly on the door, he got no response from within.  This was yet another thing they would have to work on, along with not being out of his sight.

Knocking louder he said
, “Becca?  Answer me please.”

Nothing.
  Was she sleeping?  He knew she hadn’t slept well the night before.  He was a light sleeper, hearing anything that went on, and he had heard her restlessness.  Listening at the door he could hear someone breathing just on the other side of it. 

Dickie
went on alert when he realized the heavy breathing seemed to be coming from too high up the doorway.  Becca was shorter than him by more than a foot yet the breathing sounded from around his height.

“I’m coming in there if you don’t answer me
, darlin’, so if you aren’t decent, now would be the time to say something,” he said.

A few seconds later she said
, “I’m fine. I just want to be alone.”

Her voice sounded anxious and was far enough in the room that opening the door wouldn’t hit her
, so taking a step back he kicked the door in with his foot.  A large man stumbled backward and fell on his butt from the impact of the door. 

His eyes scanned the
stranger and noticed a gun lying right next to him that he must have dropped when he fell.  The man made a grab for it and Dickie stomped the crease of the man’s arm to keep him from gaining access to the weapon.

The man cried out loudly and his hand went slack long enough for Dickie to grab the
gun away from him.  Seeing that he now brandished the weapon, the man sat up and scooted back with his hands raised.  Pointing the gun at the man’s knee he pulled the trigger.

The explosion in such a small
, confined space left a ringing in his ears.  The sound was only matched in pitch by Becca’s scream that accompanied the man’s cries of pain.  Dickie made his way to the corner of the bed and sat down on the edge, effectively blocking Becca’s view of the man and ensuring the stranger would have to go through him to get to her. 

How could he have been so
stupid
… after the scare downtown he should have checked the house.  Again, he’d let her being upset keep him from doing his job.

“You are an intruder in my home.  If you move again I
will
kill you,” he said insistently. “Why are you in my house uninvited?”

The man could barely keep from
moaning long enough to answer but eventually choked out, “He paid me to give her a message.”

“Who?” Dickie asked
, nudging the man’s injured leg with his foot.

The man cried out again and gasped for air as he fought the pain. 
Dickie stood up and the stranger cringed. 

“Start talking buddy.  I’m going to call 9
-1-1 and let them know I’ve shot an intruder.  They will then ask me if you are dead or alive… the answer I give them depends on you, my friend.  Now who?” Dickie said calmly.

“I don’t know his name but he came in the bar and gave me fifty bucks to break in and wait for her to return!”
the man cried.

“What was the message?”
Dickie asked.

“Changing locations doesn’t change the past
,” the man said, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the image of Dickie standing over him with the gun.

“That was the message?  Anything else?”
he asked.

The man shook his head no and
Dickie made his way to the phone while trying to avoid having to look at Becca.  He noticed she’d been tied to the headboard with a length of standard rope and had been gagged by a pillowcase at one point which had been pulled down to allow her to respond moments ago. 

She was fully dressed and did not appear to be hurt… just frightened. 

He called 9-1-1 and explained about having shot an intruder in the leg.  After hanging up he headed over to Becca.  As he approached she shrank back from him and her reaction stung like a slap to the face. 

Whatever progress he’d made with her was probably
gone now… how could she trust him if he couldn’t keep her safe?

“Darlin
,’ I’m just going to untie you,” he said, reaching down slowly and untying the rudimentary knot.

She quickly removed the gag and then scrambled off the bed and went to the far corner of the room, as far from the man as possible.  Did she not realize that she was at least safe
now
?  The man was injured and sorely lacking in fighting skills. 

In light of earlier events h
e had messed up in not checking the house when they returned.  He was beginning to doubt his own ability to keep her safe, anything having to do with her was a distraction.  It was also time for him to start carrying a weapon again rather than relying on hand to hand to take care of problems. 

“I’m going to take her out to the other room.  If you so much as change positions, it will be the very last thing you do
,” he said to the man and then slowly approached where Becca stood looking between him and the man.

He held his hand out to her
. “Please, Becca, I need you to come with me,” he said.

After nearly a full minute she finally slipped her small hand in his.  He closed his fingers protectively around her smaller ones and pulled her to him, tucking her head and face into his chest and turning her so that he was again between her and the
stranger. 

Slowly he guided her past where the man sat half upright looking pretty weak.  He led her into the living room and she sat on the couch.  Grabbing his leather jacket off the back of the recliner
, he draped it around her, walked over and unlocked the front door and turned to head back down the hall.

“Don’t leave me
, Dickie,” she said quietly. “Please…”

Though he should go and try to pry more information out of the man who lay bleeding in his bedroom, her quiet plea rooted him in place.  Giving up the internal fight on whether his heart or his mind would win he walked over to her slowly and sat next to her. 

Unbidden she leaned against him.  Finally…
something
… a small sign that she was willing to share
some
of her burdens.

When the police arrived he invited them in without getting up from where Becca sat with her face pressed against his chest.  Nothing would pry him away from her now that she had finally given him some sign that she trusted him. 

He answered the officer’s questions and she did as well without ever releasing the grip she had on his shirt or lifting her head.

The man was taken to the hospital where he would be treated and then later charged.  When
the police finally left, he received a phone call from Edna on his cell phone. 

After telling
Edna what had happened she said, “Well, I am planning a dinner here tomorrow night.  Hopefully she’ll be up to joining us by then.”

When
he hung up the phone Becca moved away from him finally and, getting up, went into the bathroom.  He walked into the bedroom and cleaned up the remnants of the sandwich and leaned the busted door against the far bedroom wall. 

Then after hearing water running in the tub and figuring a hot bath was just what she needed, he
went out to the garage.  Finding his carpet knife and some plastic gloves, he headed back into the bedroom and cut out the portion of the carpet stained with the man’s blood. 

He rolled the soiled carpet up
, tied it off and placed it inside another trash bag.  Then he brought in some scrap carpet to fit into the spot and glued it down.  The carpet needed replaced anyways and since he would soon be remodeling the spare room he’d just splurge.

A knock at the front door had him back on full alert
in an instant.  Walking into the living room he peered out the window to find Carla Johnson on his front step with what looked like a covered dish in her hands.  Opening the door, she smiled at him and raised the dish signifying it was for him as he moved back to let her enter.