Redress of Grievances (13 page)

"Yeah,
Clarissa told me about that. It kinda surprised me. Not like Sharon to lose her
temper that way."

"Do
you know what the argument was about?"

"I
was out of town when it happened, and neither of them would discuss it."

"I
appreciate your help, Mr. Collins."

"Don't
hesitate to call me if there's anything you need from us, Ms. Markham. No
matter how this turns out, I won't turn my back on my daughter."

"If
you can, Sharon would like to see her children. I can arrange for her to see
them away from the jail."

"I'll
take them personally tomorrow. Just let me know where to go.”

"I'll
have someone notify your office as soon as I know."

Chapter
Twelve

"PARKER
IS HERE," Alex said as she stepped into the conference room. "How
about lunch after you complete these interviews?"

"Check
with me later," Harriett said as she looked over the list of questions she
had prepared for Sharon's brother. Looking at Alex, she smiled slightly.
"And Alex, if you could, ask Eleanor to give me about five minutes before
she brings him in."

Collins
was dressed in gray slacks and a navy blazer over a lightweight white mock
turtleneck pullover. Harriett couldn't shake the idea of how much he looked
like a politician. Everything about him seemed rehearsed and preplanned. He
grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to her.

"Alex
told me you've agreed to take Sharon's case, Harriett. I can't tell you how
relieved I am to hear that."

"You're
very close to your sister, aren't you?" Harriett asked.

"Despite
the five years between us, we've always been close. I used to watch her when my
parents went out. It was fun playing games with her. Gave me a chance to act
like a kid again."

"What
kind of person would you say your sister is?"

"She's
very generous. Kind. I don't remember her ever saying anything bad about other
people."

"After
you left home, did you ever hear your parents complain about her
behavior?"

"Well,
you know how parents are, Harriett. And Mother has a tendency to overreact when
things don't go her way. So if she ever complained, I just blew it off as
Mother being Mother again."

"What
about your father? He ever voice any problems with Sharon?"

"Never.
He used to take her places with him and let her get dirty. Probably just to
drive Mother crazy."

"Has
Sharon ever told you about problems with her marriage?"

"Nothing
serious. Mostly the usual things you'd expect to hear. We don't have enough
money. He doesn't do his share of work around the house. Leaves his dirty
clothes on the floor. That kind of thing."

"Ever
hear Frank complain about Sharon?"

For
the first time, Parker Collins seemed uncomfortable.

"He's
tried to bad mouth her once or twice, but I stopped him. Sharon deserves
someone better than Frank, and if it weren't for Kevin and Laurel, I think
she'd split, but Frank's threatened to take the children and disappear if she
ever thought about leaving him."

"Do
you think he'd do it?"

"Yes.
I've offered to move Sharon to Austin to be closer to me several times, but she
always said she'd work it out somehow."

"Did
Frank have a specific complaint?"

"He's
intimated that their sex life hasn't been good enough for him, but I didn't
want to get into that can of worms. I suggested family counseling, but I don't
think they ever went. When I asked him about it later, he said Sharon refused
to go."

"Why
would she refuse to see a counselor?"

"My
sister is an extremely private person. Always has been. As a child, she could
sit for hours in her room thinking. She told me once a few years ago that she
had a special place she liked to go to, and when I asked her where that was she
just pointed at her head and smiled."

"You
mean like a made up place?"

"I
suppose."

"I
meant to ask your mother, but did Sharon ever have any imaginary friends she
played with or talked to when she was little?"

"God,
I hadn't thought about that in years. She did have an imaginary playmate once.
What was her name? Sharon used to pour tea and serve plastic cookies to
her."

"Did
she ever introduce you to her friend?"

"No,
she said her friend was really shy and didn't like strangers," Parker
answered. He closed his eyes and squeezed them tightly. "It was June or Jane,
something like that."

"How
old was she then?"

"Maybe
six or seven."

"Do
you know when the friend stopped being a part of her life?"

"Sorry,
I don't remember that."

Suddenly,
Parker snapped his fingers and said, "Jan! That was her friend's
name."

Harriett
wrote the name down.

"I
understand Sharon helped you with your campaign," she said.

"I
couldn't have won without her. She's brilliant at analyzing various voter
groups. In fact, she insisted I learn Spanish. At least enough to get me by
with Hispanic voters in my senatorial district."

"Was
it effective?"

"Very.
I think if Sharon had the nerve to leave Dallas, she could make a fortune
working in a wider campaign arena."

"Maybe
she will if you move on to seek higher offices."

"That's
not in the cards right now. There's still a lot to do in Texas."

"Alex
tells me you and Paige are getting married next winter."

"Yeah,
I guess I've delayed marriage as long as I can. She's a great girl. I think
Alex is worried about the difference in our ages, but I hope I can convince her
not to worry."

"Do
you think there's any possibility that someone might be trying to ruin your
political career by framing your sister, Parker?"

"Anything's
possible, but none of my opponents have been vindictive enough to do something
like this. In fact, one of them tried to hire Sharon to work for his
campaign."

"Okay.
Well, I know where to find you if I think of anything else. The only other
thing I should mention is that I'm going to need a retainer before I can proceed
any further."

"I
understand. How much will you need up front? I'm prepared to write you a check
right now."

"I'll
need ten thousand to start. I'll be retaining an investigator to check out some
things for me, and he'll need some money to cover his expenses."

Parker
pulled a checkbook from his blazer pocket and began writing out a check.

"Not
that it matters, but how much do you think this whole thing will run?"

"I
don't think a low end estimate of fifty thousand is out of line, but a lot will
depend on what we dig up and what defense we decide to use."

"Are
you considering an insanity plea?"

"I'm
not considering anything right now, but that's one possibility. It has a number
of problems, though."

"Like
what?" he asked, glancing up from his checkbook.

"Well,
for one thing, juries don't like it and don't believe it most of the time. They
usually think it's an act to avoid going to jail. Secondly, the burden of proof
would fall on us. I'd have to prove Sharon's insane, and the burden goes beyond
the reasonableness standard. In Texas, if she knows the difference between
right and wrong, she wouldn't be considered legally insane even if she were
mentally disturbed. And lastly, if she were proved insane, she could spend the
remainder of her life in a mental institution, which wouldn't be much of a step
up from life in prison."

"Do
you think you can avoid the death penalty?"

"I
doubt we'll be facing that. I think murder second degree will be the eventual charge,
and it doesn't carry the death penalty. Of course, we can remain hopeful that
she'll be acquitted. But right now, quite honestly, that seems to be an
extremely remote possibility."

"I
wish I knew what happened. What could possibly have driven her to do what she
did?"

"We
might never know that."

He
tore the check out of the checkbook and handed it to her. "Let me know
when you need more," he said as he stood and placed the checkbook back
into his jacket pocket. He shook Harriett's hand and turned to leave the room.
"Should I send Paige in?"

"Please,"
Harriett smiled, flipping to a clean page in her pad. "It should only take
a few minutes."

She
was refilling her coffee cup when Paige Dunne tapped on the conference room
door and peeked inside.

"Would
you like a cup of coffee before we get started, Paige?" Harriett smiled.

"No,
thank you," Paige chuckled. "I think I've about reached my quota for
the month while I was waiting for Parker."

"He
seems quite concerned about his sister's well-being. Are they very close?"

"Extremely,"
Paige said, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Does
that create problems between the two of you?"

"No.
I've always gotten along with Sharon and wish I were half as smart as she is.
She never forgets anything and can remember the smallest details. During
Parker's campaign, she remembered a letter that had arrived at campaign
headquarters from some woman who was concerned about some land she owned. It
seemed that the taxes had doubled in a year's time, and she didn't understand
why. She actually made Parker visit the woman to explain the tax proposals he
was going to submit for legislation when he was elected."

"Did
you ever notice whether or not Sharon had a temper or acted unaccountably
different for any reason?"

"I
know she has a temper and the election was a close one. Everyone was pretty
tense for a while afterward."