Leapholes (2006) (30 page)

She would have no way home.

Ryan was getting worried. To be sure, it felt plenty good to be back. He wanted to tell his mother to stop worrying, that he was safe. He wanted to hug his sister Ainsley and tackle his dog Sam. He was glad to be away from that double-crossing Jarvis. But the loss of Hezekiah was beginning to feel like a death in his family, and his new concerns about Kaylee weren't making it any easier to cope.

Ryan glanced under the table, then did a double take. He noticed Hezekiah's jar. The last time Ryan had laid eyes on it, the jar had been filled with leapholes. Now, it was completely empty.

Something very strange was going on here.

Suddenly, there was a curious vibration beneath his feet. It was almost unnoticeable. It reminded Ryan of being in that sod house in southern Illinois, the way the ground seemed to shake right before the posse arrived. Ryan put his ear to the floor and listened. Maybe he was crazy, but he was almost certain that he detected the faint clatter of horse hooves.

Soon, it was no longer just a vibration in the floor. He could hear the sound of a galloping horse on the roof, in the walls, all around him. The noise grew louder until he could have sworn that a thoroughbred was racing through the room.

Then he heard the unmistakable neigh of a horse and a man crying Whooooaaaaa!

A rush of wind whipped through the library, followed by a bright blast of light. Ryan dove beneath the table just in time to avoid being trampled by a speeding thoroughbred.

"I said Whoooooaciar shouted Hezekiah. The excited horse stopped short. Another two feet and it would have slammed into the wall.

"Hezekiah!" Ryan shouted.

"In the flesh," he said as he turned his horse to face Ryan. Only then did Ryan notice that Kaylee was hanging off the other side of the horse.

She righted herself and said, "Where the heck did you learn to ride, Hezekiah? Next time I take the reins."

Ryan was so happy he was about to burst. "How did you two get here?" he said, his voice racing.

"Kaylee came back for me," said Hezekiah.

"So, you didn't get thrown off course when the rest of us broke away?" said Ryan.

"No way," said Kaylee. "There was no malfunction. You guys broke away only because Jarvis let go."

"He let go?" said Ryan.

"Yes," said Hezekiah. "It took us a while to see his true colors. But Jarvis was apparently planning all along to leave you and me trapped in the nineteenth century."

"I know. He told me everything after you rode off on horseback toward the posse. He was angry at you for not picking him as your replacement, and he was jealous of me for getting selected. He sold you out to Old Man Barrow."

"Well, Old Man Barrow sure didn't get his money's worth. The posse never caught me."

"How is that possible?" said Ryan.

Hezekiah gave his thoroughbred an affectionate pat on the neck. "You're looking at the great, great, great, great, greatgrandfather of aTriple-Crown-winning racehorse by the name of Seattle Slew. There was absolutely no way those other horses in the posse were going to catch this stallion."

"That's awesome," said Ryan. Then his excitement turned to concern. "But, what will happen to Jarvis now? I had to leave him in the nineteenth century."

"You made the right choice," said Hezekiah. "That's where Jarvis belongs: Where the brood follows the dam."

"So, that's where Legal Evil lives?" said Ryan. "In the nineteenth century?"

"Yes, but don't be misled, Ryan. It's not the only place it lives. Where the brood follows the dam is where Legal Evil is most obvious. The fact is, it lives in every city, in every country, in every century. Sometimes it's just not so easy to see it."

Ryan considered those words for a moment. Suddenly, it was as if the proverbial lightbulb had blinked on over his head. If it lived in every city, in every country, in every century, and if it wasn't always easy to see, maybe he'd actually seen Legal Evil before. Maybe he just hadn't recognized it.

Maybe his father was innocent.

Hezekiah climbed down from his horse. "Ryan, you have shown great courage over the past few days. Over and over again, you have proven yourself worthy of distinction, honor, and respect. It's time now for your reward."

"My reward?"

He stepped closer, placed his hands on Ryan's shoulders, and looked him squarely in the eye. "Congratulations. You are ready to become a Legal Eagle."

Ryan didn't know what to say. "Thank you," were the only words he could muster.

Kaylee smiled and said, "Congratulations, Ryan. You'll love the swearing-in ceremony. It's the most amazing party you've ever seen."

"Can I get my leaphole first?"

"What?" said Hezekiah.

"My leaphole. Kaylee said you get a leaphole and a return leaphole when you become a Legal Eagle. I'd like to get mine before the swearing-in ceremony, if I can."

"What's the rush?" said Hezekiah.

"There's something very important I need to check out."

"I'm sure there is," Hezekiah said proudly. "What would you like to do first? Go back to Philadelphia in 1776 and witness the signing of the Declaration of Independence? Or perhaps you'd like to see Clarence Darrow do battle with William Jennings Bryan in the Scopes monkey trial."

Ryan shook his head. As interesting as it would be to meet the greatest lawyers of all time, he didn't want to go back that far. Not nearly. He had already resolved to use his first leaphole to travel back just a matter of months.

"I want to go back to the case of State versus Coolidge," said Ryan. "I want to know if my father is really innocent."

Chapter
36

Ryan shot like a comet through his first leaphole. The distance was short, so the trip was a mere blink of an eye. One moment, Ryan was standing in Hezekiah's office, his leaphole in hand. A split second later, he was crouched behind a bushy potted plant, hidden from view in the corner of a strange room. A woman wearing a gray business suit was seated behind an antique mahogany desk. Her law school diploma hung on the wall beside her. In the chairs facing the lawyer's desk sat a man and a woman. Ryan recognized them both immediately. The man was his father. The woman was his mother. They both looked distraught.

The lawyer said, "As I've told you from the beginning, the value of this emerald makes this a very serious crime. We're talking grand larceny, a first-degree felony."

"We know that," said Dr. Sharon Coolidge. "But where's the proof?"

"I just met with the prosecutor this morning. He laid out the evidence for me. The case against you is very strong, I'm afraid."

"That's not possible," said Mr. Coolidge. "They must be making things up."

"They have videotape," the lawyer said gravely. "When Dr. Coolidge was on the beach saving that little girl, the excitement apparently drew a crowd."

"Yes," said Ryan's mother. "Lots of people gathered round."

"One of them had a video camera," said the lawyer. "Some tourists were celebrating their son's birthday at the beach. When they saw all the commotion, they turned their camera toward the emergency."

"I don't understand," said Dr. Coolidge. "The only thing that could be on that tape is me saving that little girl. That's hardly a crime."

The lawyer sighed and said, "Let's watch the tape, shall we? Then we can talk." She rose and walked toward a television set in the corner. She inserted the tape into the player. The screen turned bright blue, then snow followed. She pushed another button, and the image came into focus.

Ryan watched the screen. For a moment, he was reliving that day. The child was choking and turning blue. The lifeguard was trying desperately but unsuccessfully to dislodge the emerald in her throat. Ryan's mother stepped forward and took the child in her arms. On her third attempt, the stone shot from the child's mouth and landed in the sand. The child was revived, and the crowd cheered with delight.

The videotape kept running.

"Watch carefully now," said the lawyer.

The crowd scattered as a team of paramedics rushed in. The little girl's mother and grandmother were half-crying and half-celebrating, not sure whether the ordeal was over yet. Dr. Coolidge was doing her best to assist the paramedics. She offered medical suggestions and gave them details about the child's status. Amidst all the chaos and confusion, Ryan's mother stooped down, raked her hand through the sand and found the big precious stone. Quickly--it happened in just
a f
ew quick frames of videotape--she tucked the green stone into the side pocket of the camera bag. The bag belonged to Ryan's father. She had been carrying it with her all day, taking photographs.

The lawyer stopped the videotape.

"Oh my gosh," said Ryan's mother.

Ryan's father looked at her. "Honey, you didn't tell me that you put it in the bag."

Dr. Coolidge buried her face in her hands.

The lawyer said, "Now you see the problem. This is why you've been charged, Sharon."

Sharon? thought Ryan. That was his mother's name. She was the one they had charged?

Dr. Coolidge caught her breath. "I swear, I had no recollection of putting that stone in the bag until you showed me this videotape. I was just acting on impulse. I saw it on the ground, and instinctively I picked it up and put it away for safekeeping. But honest, I forgot. Everything was so crazy then. I was worried about saving the girl's life. I just had no recollection of ever touching the stone."

"That's the problem," said the lawyer. "If you had returned the stone a day or even a week later, no one would have made a stink about it. But that grandmother called you several times and asked if you had the stone. Each time, you said you didn't."

"I didn't think I did. I had no memory of picking up that stone. I'm a doctor. There was a medical emergency, and I was in my emergency mind-set. You focus on the patient, not on all the other distractions that are going on around you."

The lawyer said, "Unfortunately, the prosecutor isn't convinced that it was an honest mistake. He says you stole it."

"But I didn't steal anything. All I did was save that girl."

"In his opinion, that's how you rationalized keeping the stone. His argument is that your mind worked this way: T save
d t
hat girl, I deserve a reward. I'll keep the emerald, and no one will ever know who took it.'"

Ryan was unaware, but his mouth was hanging open in shock. His mother had indeed been the one accused of stealing. Not his father.

Dr. Coolidge rose from her chair and started to pace. "We simply have to go to trial. We'll show the jury that I'm innocent."

The lawyer shook her head. "I don't recommend it. If you're convicted by a jury, that could mean serious prison time."

"Prison?" she said, her voice cracking. "This is unbelievable."

Mr. Coolidge asked, "What do you recommend, then?"

"The prosecutor is offering a plea bargain," said the lawyer. "If Sharon admits to the crime, he'll reduce the charges to petty larceny. That's a misdemeanor. He's agreed to recommend no jail time."

"But I'm completely innocent," said Dr. Coolidge.

The lawyer said, "You may be innocent, but the videotape shows you stuffing the stone into your bag. And then each time the rightful owner called to retrieve it, you denied that you had it. I may be able to get you off, but I'm not guaranteeing anything."

Ryan's mother was on the verge of tears. It was painful to watch her in this state, but Ryan was unable to tear his eyes away. He wished that his mother had never fired Hezekiah and hired this new lawyer. Hezekiah would have convinced the jury that she was innocent. As he watched the new attorney more closely, however, he realized the true nature of the problem. This attorney wasn't evil or incompetent.

She simply didn't believe in her own client's innocence.

Dr. Coolidge said, "Are you sure that if I take the plea bargain, this will all be over? No jail time. That's it?"

"Well, there is one other condition to the offer," said the lawyer. "This ties in with the prosecutor's theory that you tried to keep the emerald as a fee for your emergency service. You can no longer practice medicine in this state. You must agree to forfeit your license."

Her eyes widened with panic. "But I've worked all my life to be a doctor."

"It beats going to jail," said the lawyer. "I'll give you a minute to talk it over with your husband, but you really don't have a choice. Either plead guilty now and take probation, or go to trial and take a serious risk of lengthy jail time. The fact that you're innocent isn't going to change that. I'm sorry. I wish I had better news."

The lawyer left the room, and Ryan's parents immediately embraced. Dr. Coolidge's voice shook as she looked at her husband and said, "I can't lose my medical license. I can't stop being a doctor. I didn't do anything wrong."

They held each other tight, sitting in silence, just the two of them in the room--with Ryan watching through his leaphole.

She sniffled and said, "You believe me, don't you? I didn't do anything wrong."