44 Cranberry Point (3 page)

C
harlotte Jefferson dressed nervously for her court appearance. She’d spent many an afternoon in the Kitsap County Courthouse, proudly watching her only daughter officiate as a family court judge. In Charlotte’s opinion, her daughter was one of the wisest judges in the entire state. She got a thrill just watching Olivia mete out decisions, looking so official in her black robe.

This afternoon, however, Charlotte wouldn’t be in Olivia’s courtroom but in Judge Robson’s. She wouldn’t be alone, either. Together with several of her dearest friends, she’d be facing the consequences of civil disobedience. Still, serving time in the slammer, if it came to that, would be a small price to pay if her actions got the town council to finally bring a health clinic to Cedar Cove.

Laura, Bess and the others, including Ben Rhodes, were scheduled to meet her in the foyer outside Judge Robson’s courtroom at one o’clock.

Charlotte donned her best Sunday dress, complete with the Easter hat she’d purchased back in 1966. It was a broadbrimmed yellow one with a single white plume tucked in the
satin band. If Judge Robson decided to incarcerate her and the others, she intended to walk into that jail cell as finely dressed as she would’ve been for any church service.

Olivia and Jack didn’t seem to think a prison term was likely, but Charlotte had heard rumors about Judge Robson. He was supposed to be much more by-the-book than Olivia, more of a hard-liner, and-again according to rumor-fond of making an example of the occasional miscreant.

The doorbell chimed and Harry, her cat, leapt down from the foot of her bed with an uncharacteristic display of energy and trotted into the living room. Since Olivia and Jack were out of town on their honeymoon, Charlotte wondered who it might be. Embarrassment had prevented her from asking Justine, her granddaughter, to accompany her. Olivia, of course, was well aware of the entire situation, unhappily so. But Charlotte refused to let the rest of her family and friends know, although it was impossible to keep such news completely quiet.

The peephole in the front door answered her question. Ben Rhodes stood on the other side, looking as dapper and debonair as ever. Despite her age, her heart did a tiny flipflop at the sight of him. After all these years as a widow, she’d assumed she was too old and set in her ways to fall in love, but Ben had shown her that even long-held assumptions could be wrong.

“Ben!” She unbolted the four dead bolt locks on her front door. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, although she was more than glad to see him. “We’re supposed to meet at the courthouse, remember?”

“I know, but I thought I’d escort my favorite gal into court. Are you ready?”

Charlotte straightened the skirt of her floral dress, feeling, for just a second, like the heroine in a 1950s musical.
Ben made the whole mess seem like an adventure rather than a scandal-or worse. “How do I look?”

A smile lazily crossed Ben’s full mouth. At times it was difficult to forget that he wasn’t really Cesar Romero, the wonderful Cuban actor. In her opinion, Ben could have been the other man’s double. “You look lovely,” he told her.

But adventure or not, Charlotte couldn’t quite control her nervousness. “Oh, dear…I just don’t know what’s going to happen to us.”

Ben gently patted her hand. “I don’t believe the council wants that kind of negative publicity. I can just imagine what the Seattle newspapers would say about a town punishing a handful of senior citizens because we were demonstrating for health care.”

“Unlawful assembly,” Charlotte muttered under her breath. “I, for one, am willing to serve my time if that’s what it takes to wake this town up.” Just being with Ben strengthened her resolve. He made her feel brave, helped her stand up for her principles and act on the power of her convictions.

“I completely agree with you. However…” He hesitated and then forcefully expelled his breath. “I don’t think we need to worry about serving jail time. We’ll probably just be fined.”

Charlotte just couldn’t be sure. She
was
worried, especially considering Judge Robson’s reputation. Would she be viewed as the ringleader? She felt particularly anxious about her friends, who’d stood loyally by her when she defied Sheriff Davis.

“I’ve hired an attorney,” Ben informed her. Earlier Ben had agreed to represent them in court, but apparently he’d changed his mind.

Charlotte hadn’t wanted to involve lawyers. For one thing, they charged an arm and a leg, and for another, whatever lawyer Ben had chosen was bound to say something
to Olivia when she returned. Charlotte wanted Olivia to know as little as possible, difficult though that would be. She’d hoped to hold down the gossip.

“Sharon Castor said she’d meet us at the courthouse.”

“Not Sharon Castor,” Charlotte cried. The attorney was frequently in Olivia’s courtroom. In fact, Sharon had recently represented Rosemary Cox in her divorce case. Charlotte had been present when her daughter had handed down one of her most controversial joint-custody decisions-a decision that, Charlotte believed, had led to the couple’s reconciliation.

“Oh, dear,” she said and sighed. “We might as well go.” She went into the bedroom for her overnight case, which contained her medications and night cream, and reached for her jacket. Just in case…The day was cool, and from everything she’d read, jail cells were notoriously drafty. She glanced around her bedroom one last time. Once she’d received her sentence, if the worst happened, she’d contact Justine and ask her to take care of Harry.

“Charlotte,” Ben said, shaking his head as she entered the living room. “You aren’t going to need a suitcase.”

“Don’t be so sure,” she countered grimly. “Suppose Judge Robson decides to make an example of me. I want to be ready.” She’d long been a believer in preparing for the worst-and hoping for the best.

Ben tried to argue with her, but she refused to change her mind. In the end, he placed her suitcase in the trunk of his car.

When they arrived at the courthouse, Helen, Laura and Bess were already gathered in the foyer outside Judge Robson’s courtroom. The three women rushed frantically to Charlotte’s side.

“I’m telling you right now, no one’s going to do a body search on me and live to tell about it,” Bess declared. She raised her hands in the familiar karate posture. Their entire
Senior Center had taken self-defense lessons a few years back and Bess had faithfully attended every class.

“Have you been watching those
Karate Kid
videos again?” Charlotte muttered.

Bess glared at her. “I’m not joking, Charlotte.”

“Do you think the judge will let us bring our knitting needles into jail?” Laura asked. “If you want the truth, I have several Christmas projects I’d like to start and frankly I could make good use of the downtime.”

Just as Charlotte began to reply, Sharon Castor strolled up to Ben. “This is everyone?” she asked.

Ben nodded.

“Ben’s hired us legal representation,” Charlotte whispered to her friends. “He seems to think all the judge will do is fine us.”

“That’s all?” Laura sounded disappointed. “I was looking forward to prison.”

In contrast, Bess folded her hands together and raised her eyes toward heaven. “God bless Ben.”

Charlotte had to admit she was grateful not to have this entire matter fall upon her shoulders. She was the one who’d led her friends into trouble, and she felt responsible for whatever befell them as a result.

“We’re up next,” Sharon Castor announced. “Let’s go into the courtroom together.”

Charlotte adjusted her hat. Ben took her hand and the small party walked into the courtroom. Sharon was in the lead, with Bess, Helen and Laura marching right behind her, and Charlotte and Ben bringing up the rear.

To Charlotte’s astonishment, the courtroom was packed-standing room only. The first people to catch her attention were Bob and Peggy Beldon from the Thyme and Tide bed-and-breakfast.

“We’re with you, Charlotte,” Peggy called out.

Justine and her husband, Seth, were there, too. Seth held on to Leif, who was almost two years old. The toddler squirmed in his father’s arms, but stilled when he saw Charlotte. Justine waved, and Charlotte’s eyes blurred with tears, which she furiously blinked back. It seemed half the town had shown up to offer them support.

Enjoying their celebrity status, Bess and Helen waved as if they were prom queens walking in a Fourth of July parade.

“Did you know about this?” Charlotte asked, glancing up at Ben who stood a full head taller than her five foot three.

“Not at all,” he confessed, looking around. “Even Troy Davis is here.”

The sheriff who’d arrested them had turned up in court to support their efforts now. Charlotte had always been fond of Troy and was willing to forgive his error in judgment. Then again, the dear boy had no choice but to arrest them when they’d declined to break up their demonstration and disperse. He’d sworn to uphold the law, whether he agreed with it or not. His presence this afternoon made his personal feelings very clear.

“Roy and Corrie McAfee are here, too,” Ben whispered.

The McAfees were recent additions to the Cedar Cove community. Roy was a former Seattle police detective who’d retired in Cedar Cove and opened his own agency as a private investigator.

Grace Sherman stepped up to Charlotte and gave her a hug. “Olivia asked me to stop by this afternoon,” Grace said close to Charlotte’s ear. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I invited a few library patrons to give you their support.”

Charlotte squeezed Grace’s hand. Grace and Olivia had been best friends nearly their entire lives. How like Olivia to ask Grace to fill in for her this afternoon, since she
couldn’t be in court herself. For a very good reason, mind you, one Charlotte fully approved of. Olivia and Jack were in Hawaii on their honeymoon.

The door at the back of the courtroom opened and in walked Maryellen Sherman, who found a seat next to her mother. Jon Bowman was with her, Katie balanced on his hip. Charlotte had taken a liking to the photographer and was pleased to hear those two would soon be married. High time, in her opinion, not that anyone had asked.

“The court will come to order,” the bailiff announced. “Judge Robson presiding.”

The judge emerged from his chambers and took his seat at the front of the courtroom.

Despite Ben’s reassurances, Charlotte’s pulse fluctuated wildly before taking up a steady beat again. This might not be pretty. Until she was asked to stand with her friends while the charges were being read, Charlotte didn’t realize how frightened she was. Between Bess practicing her karate moves and Laura looking forward to knitting in jail, Charlotte wasn’t sure what to expect.

Sharon Castor handled the situation in a most professional manner, Charlotte thought, her estimation of the attorney rising considerably.

“Your Honor,” she said, moving halfway to the bench. “Look at this group of law-breakers and tell me what you see.”

“Ms. Castor,” Judge Robson said. He continued to scan the charges. “Unlawful assembly, refusing to disband-”

“Yes, Your Honor, but my clients were making a statement-a statement they felt could only be made in this manner. They feel Cedar Cove needs a health clinic and I, for one, agree with them.”

“Then they should have approached the council.”

“Which I did, Your Honor.” Charlotte spoke before she
could stop herself. “I beg your pardon, Judge Robson,” she said, feeling she couldn’t let her nerve fail her now. “Both Mr. Rhodes and I attended several council meetings, but to no avail. Mayor Benson said there are no funds to establish a health clinic, but-”

“This isn’t the time to discuss the merits of a medical clinic in Cedar Cove.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Charlotte murmured, properly chastised. Ben gave her an encouraging smile.

The prosecutor in the case seemed disinclined to send them to jail, Charlotte noted gratefully. He made a few comments and sat back down. Sharon Castor was on her feet again.

“You can save your breath, Ms. Castor. I’ve made my decision.”

The attorney slowly sat down.

“It appears to me that the five of you were trying to make public your case for a health clinic.”

Charlotte nodded and noticed the others did, too.

“Your plan has apparently worked. Half the town is here to support you. If anyone from council is in attendance, I sincerely hope they are taking detailed notes. I don’t see that anything useful will be served by fining five senior citizens who were on a mission to make Cedar Cove a better place. If I could have your word of honor that you will not assemble again without the necessary permit, then I’d be willing to dismiss all charges.”

Charlotte and the others were quick to comply.

As soon as the charges were dismissed, the courtroom erupted into applause. As they walked out, Charlotte and her friends were given a heroes’ reception. They were free, one and all.

Before they left the courthouse, Charlotte and Ben personally thanked Sharon and every person who’d come to
their support. She was astonished their case had generated so much interest in the community. All this time Charlotte hadn’t spoken about her court date because she didn’t want to bother her family or friends with her problems. It was a strong affirmation of the community’s affection and respect that so many people were there today.

Ben drove her back to the house. “I had no idea all those people knew about this,” she told him as he held the car door for her.

“I didn’t, either,” Ben said.

“I suspect it was Grace who rallied everyone on our behalf.”

“The next time I’m in the library, I’m going to thank her all over again.”

“I will, too.” Charlotte had every intention of letting Olivia know what a wonderful job Grace had done.

“You are much loved in this community, Charlotte Jefferson,” Ben said as they mounted her front-porch steps. He carried her small suitcase, which he’d remembered to remove from the trunk.

“I am honored so many of my friends took time out of their busy days and came to court,” she murmured, still a little overwhelmed.