The Advocate (The Advocate Series) (14 page)

“Just a sip,” he said.

The water felt good in her arid mouth. She swirled it around. Licking her dry lips she said, “Why am I here?”

“You had an accident. You fell and hit your head, but you’re going to be okay.”

Sabre tried to remember what had happened, but her head hurt. She could only remember Alexis had been with her. “Alexis?” She was afraid to hear the answer.

“I don’t know who Alexis is, but no one else was hurt, just you. To be sure, I’ll have someone check on her for you. You’ll be able to have visitors in a little while, but for now, you need to rest. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.”

The sedative Sabre took made her sleep for most of the morning. As soon as she woke up, she called Marla to check on Alexis. Just as Sabre hung up, they delivered lunch to her room.

“Just set it right there, thank you,” she said.

Sabre sat up and pulled her tray towards her, although she didn’t feel very hungry. She worried about getting her work done, and her head pounded.

Bob walked in and saw Sabre sitting up in her bed, with her untouched chicken breast, green beans, and orange Jell-O in front of her. “Hey Sobs. Boy, some people will just do anything for a little attention.”

Her face lit up. “Hi.”

Bob stepped up to her bed. “How you feeling?”

“Well, if you could just lift the eighteen-wheeler off my head, I think I’d be okay.”

“You’re in a hospital. Maybe you could have it surgically removed.”

Sabre chuckled. “Did you just come from juvey?”

“Yes, I covered your cases. I stopped by your office early this morning and picked up your files. As usual, your notes were great. So, I only had to continue a few cases.”

“What would I do without you?”

“Just completely fall apart, I imagine,” Bob responded. “By the way, I settled the Stevens case.”

“What do you mean, you settled? I thought I had it all worked out. What happened?”

“Donna, the ‘I’m-an-idiot-minor’s counsel,’ happened. She wasn’t sure she wanted the baby placed with the mother.”

“For gosh sakes, the grandmother moved in with her. There’s no way she would let any harm come to her grandbaby.”

“Yeah, well, Donna nearly had the social worker convinced. She almost went sideways on us until County Counsel put some pressure on her. Anyway, it’s done now.”

“How did the rest of the cases go?”

“I did everything except Jackson, Billings, and Murdock. They all had to be continued. I wrote the hearing dates on your forms in your files. I hope I didn’t mess up your calendar too much.”

“It’ll be fine. Whatever dates they are, I’ll be there,” she said. “Do you have a trial this afternoon?”

“No, why?”

“I have the Curry trial. I just need you to get another date. My client is whacko. You’ll love her. She’s the one I told you about who calls at two or three in the morning and screams and cusses on the voice mail expecting someone to pick up the phone. It’s nice when she’s in custody, because I don’t get those phone calls.”

“No worries. I already had the pleasure. I met with her this morning in the interview room. She yelled at me, and when I didn’t get riled, it made her angrier. Mike offered to take her out of there, but I didn’t care. After trying to calm her and put her at ease, to absolutely no avail, I just told her what I needed to tell her and left. When we did the hearing, she started yelling at Judge Cheney because she wanted her kids out of foster care and back with her and her crack-dealing boyfriend. The judge couldn’t get her to stop yelling and cussing, so she sent her back to lock-up.”

“So, you did the case this morning?”

“Yup, we just got a new trial date, and it made Mike happy because he could put her on the early bus back to County Jail.”

“Thanks, Bob. You’re an angel.”

“No problem. I enjoyed dealing with Madam Curry. It spiced up my morning.”

“Do you remember what the date is for Murdock?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. It’s set over to next Monday. Gilley wanted an earlier date, but then his calendar conflicted with the court, so you got a week.”

“Good, I need the extra time.”

“How is Alexis? Have you heard?”

“I spoke with Marla this morning. She said the incident shook Alexis up pretty good, but she’s okay. She received such a good reception back at Jordan for being brave and helping me, she didn’t get much flack for running away. She’s meeting with the psychologist today to help deal with it all. I’m more concerned about why she ran away in the first place. Alexis told me last night she didn’t want to go home, but she wouldn’t say why and she didn’t want her father to know.”

“You’d think she’d be anxious to go home. Do you suppose it’s because she doesn’t want to leave Jamie behind?”

“That’s part of it, I’m sure. But I don’t think she knew Jamie wouldn’t be going home with her, at least not until after she said she didn’t want to go home. I guess it’s possible someone else told her, or she just assumed it. No, I think it’s more than that.”

“I don’t know. Murdock sure appears to be a decent guy. If he is in fact snowing everyone, he definitely plays the game well. Most of those derelicts can’t keep up the front this long. They usually crack within the first few weeks if they’re faking. He’s either really good at it, or he’s genuine.”

“I agree. He’s quite the southern gentleman. Maybe he’s for real.”

“By the way, have you heard any more from Atlanta?”

“No, but I’m going to try to reach the maternal grandmother again. I haven’t heard from Detective Carriage in a while, so I think I’ll call him this afternoon.”

“So what happened last night? I heard something about a bat. Was it a bat or a bird?”

“It was definitely a bat. Someone knocked on the door. Before I could even look out the peephole, they stuck it through the mail slot. The dang thing came right at me, and it scared the dickens out of me. I screamed and tried to get away from it, but it just kept coming at me and then it got caught in my blouse and I couldn’t get it out. I somehow knocked the lamp off Elaine’s desk and got my foot tangled in the cord. I must’ve hit my head on the desk when I fell. I don’t remember anything more until I woke up this morning. I thought I had died. Everything looked foggy and I thought I saw Ron standing by me, but as it turned out, it was just the infamous Dr. Steele.”

“That must have been eerie. He was on duty when you came in last night. I’m not sure he ever went home. He was very helpful this morning. He even spoke with me personally when I called to check on you.”

“He’s been very kind, but it sure is uncomfortable being around him. I don’t want to say anything to him because he’s been so nice. He came back in this morning to check on me and said I could go home tomorrow. I tried to convince him to release me today, but he wouldn’t. He wanted to keep an eye on me another day just to be safe.”

“Well, I’m sure he won’t keep you here any longer than he has to. They need the beds.” Bob paused for a moment. “Do you have any idea who did the bat thing?”

“Not a clue.”

“Got any jealous wives looking for you?”

“My life should be so exciting.” Sabre chuckled. “It was obviously intentional, though. What I’m not sure of is whether someone played some kind of sick prank or if it was malicious, and if they intended it for me or someone else in the office.”

“Well, we do make our share of enemies in this business, but it could be a random act of idiocy. Have you spoken to the police?”

“Yes, a detective came by this morning and took my statement.”

“Did you tell him about the other strange things you’ve been experiencing at the office? It’s just too coincidental, so many things happening at your office and only when you’re there alone. It seems someone is, at the very least, trying to scare you – probably some sick client, or a parent of a child you represented that you ticked off somewhere along the line.”

“Yes, I told him. He encouraged me to stay away from my office at night, especially if I’m alone.”

“That’s good advice. I don’t want you there anymore, either.”

“But it’s going to be so hard to get everything done. Everyone else always leaves so early.”

“The guy upstairs – Casey, what’s his name – works later than most. You could check with him and leave when he does. I’m sure he’d be glad to keep an eye on you.”

“Yeah, he’ll think I’m coming on to him. He’s been trying to convince me to go out with him for a year.”

“So take advantage of it. He’ll be wetting all over himself just to be your hero. The rest of the time you can take the work home and do it. Or, if he’s not there and you really need to be at the office, I’ll go hang out with you. Just promise me you won’t be there alone.”

“Yeah.”

“Promise me.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

Bob shook his head from side to side. “That’s not good enough. Will you do as I ask? Not be at the office alone?”

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m not going to get indebted to Casey. I’ll make sure Jack’s around when I’m there. It’s all a little too weird.”

“So, what else did the doctor say this morning?”

“He said his time would’ve been split between Carla’s facility and the hospital, but now he’s spending more time here because of Carla.”

“I mean about you, goofball. What did he say about your condition?”

“He said I have a concussion, but I don’t appear to have anything permanent except maybe a small scar here where I got the stitches,” Sabre said, pointing to the bandage on the side of her forehead.

“Well, I better get going and let you rest.”

“Okay, and thanks again for covering my cases,” Sabre paused, “and for hanging out all night in the waiting room. Marla told me.”

“Where else would I be when my ‘little snookums’ is lying in a hospital bed?” He reached over and kissed her on the forehead. “Get some rest.”

“You, too.”

After Bob left, Sabre called her office and gave Elaine a short list of people she could tell about her hospital stay if they happened to call. Among those was Joe Carriage.

“By the way,” Elaine said, “Ruby Sterling called this morning.”

“She did? What did she say? Did she say when to call back?”

“Whoa, she just called a few minutes ago. You can probably reach her right now.” Elaine gave Ruby’s number to Sabre before reading her phone messages to her. Sabre wrote down the phone number of two other clients who had to be called right away.

“The rest can wait until tomorrow when I’m back in the office,” Sabre said, as if there was no question of her release or her ability to start right back to work. She finished with Elaine and then dialed the number for Ruby Sterling, hopeful she would gain some insight into the Murdock case.

The phone rang five times. Sabre, about to hang up, heard “Hello.”

“Good afternoon. This is Attorney Sabre Brown from California returning your call. Are you Ruby Sterling?”

“Yes, I am,” Ruby said sharply.

“Mrs. Sterling, I represent your granddaughter, Alexis Murdock. How are you today?”

“Alexis is just a child. Why would she possibly need an attorney?”

“She’s not in any trouble. We’re just trying to keep her safe, and I could sure use your help with that.”

“Has something happened to her? Is she hurt?”

“No, she’s fine,” Sabre explained. “I need to know some things about Alexis and her father, Gaylord Murdock.” No response. “When did you last see Alexis?”

“About five years ago.”

“And Mr. Murdock?”

“The same.”

“What can you tell me about Gaylord?”

“Nothing.”

The pain pill Sabre had taken earlier had worn off, making Mrs. Sterling’s abrupt demeanor difficult to deal with. Sabre’s head pounded and her mind wasn’t clear or sharp. She wished she had waited until she had returned to the office to make this call.

“How well do you know Mr. Murdock or his family?” Sabre tried again.

“Not well.”

“Mrs. Sterling, I’m sure you want your granddaughter to be safe. If so, I really need your help.”

Ruby’s voice softened a little. “I’d like to help, but I can’t. I’d better go now.”

“Wait.” Sabre raised her voice, trying to keep her on the line. “What about your daughter, Elizabeth? Maybe you can fill in some blanks there.”

“Sorry. I can’t help you. Goodbye.” She hung up the phone.

Sabre, frustrated at herself for not handling the situation with more finesse, had reached another dead end. Her head ached, but reluctant to take more drugs, she tried to sleep.

She had been sleeping about ten minutes when the phone rang. She answered it and heard the southern accent she had become so comfortable with. “Sabre, Joe Carriage here. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

“What happened to you? I’m sorry, ma’am. That was rude of me. Sometimes my job gets ahead of my manners. You don’t have to answer the question.”

She responded by saying, “Sabre.”