The Advocate's Ex Parte (The Advocate Series Book 5) (13 page)

“Gilberto has been there. I see him come in after work most days. Juanita came by late one afternoon with some tall woman. She took some things with her when she left.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“No. I haven’t spoken to either of them since they left. But she also came here earlier in the week, one evening, with that same woman.”

“Do you remember what day that was?”

The neighbor woman rubbed her brow. “Tuesday, I think. Yes, it was Tuesday because it was trash pickup day. I was on my way outside to get the trashcan. With Jesse gone I have to do it myself, you see.” She pointed her index finger at JP and shook it. “I miss that young man. I hope he’s getting cookies in his lunch. What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Do you think he’s getting a good lunch?”

“Yes, he’s in a good placement and I’m sure he’s getting plenty of cookies.” He placated her. He didn’t know whether the children were getting cookies or not, but according to Sabre the aunt was taking good care of them. “You say you saw Juanita on Tuesday. About what time?”

“Maybe five or six. It wasn’t quite dark.”

“Tell me what you saw.”

“Juanita was just coming up to the driveway when I saw her. I had just started out my door to get the trash, but I stopped when I saw her.” She pointed toward the driveway, moving her hand toward the house. “She walked right up there to the house and went inside. Gilberto came home right after that. And she must’ve been drunk because she started yelling right away.”

“Did you see or hear anything after that?”

“It was quiet for about fifteen minutes or so and then she got really loud again. Then Gilberto came out carrying his shirt, jumped in his car, and left. She ran out in her underwear, screaming at him as he drove off. Then she went back inside, got dressed, and left, too.”

“Did she get in a car?”

“No, she walked down the street.”

“Did you see when she came up if she was walking or in a car?”

“She walked part way up the walk with that tall woman, but then the woman turned around and walked down the street. I think she drove off.”

“Did you see what kind of car she drove? Or the color, perhaps?”

“No, not really.”

JP thanked her for her time and walked across the street to speak to Patricia and several other neighbors. The stories were all about the same. Everyone loved Gilberto and hated or feared Juanita. Every neighbor had had some incident with her. Most of them were afraid of what she might do. CPS had been called several times. The police had been there on numerous occasions, but this was the first time anyone knew of an arrest. Patricia was the only other neighbor who knew anything about the Tuesday visit and she hadn’t seen Juanita or Gilberto arrive. She only saw them leave.

As JP opened his car door and was about to step out, his phone rang. It was Bob.

Chapter 19

As Sabre showered, she wondered why the water seemed to wash away some of the load she carried from a rough day. The feeling didn’t last long, but it helped for a little while. She made herself a cup of herbal tea and sat on the sofa in her pajamas. No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind and relax, the thoughts just wouldn’t go away. She wondered how Dr. Heller was faring and why she had been attacked. She wondered who killed Judge Mitchell. She thought about her cases: Kordell King and what he had to endure with his step-father; the Martinez children and the fear they dealt with every day; and Emma Tran and how she could have died in the fire if those boys hadn’t saved her. And she thought about how she had dodged a bullet today—literally.

She jumped, almost spilling her tea when the doorbell rang. She set her cup on the end table, stood up, and went to the door. She peeked through the peephole, saw a familiar face, and opened the door.

“Bob called you, didn’t he?” she asked.

“Yep,” JP said. He stood there in the doorway. For a few seconds there was silence. “Can I come in?”

Sabre stepped back, opening the door wide. “Of course. I’m sorry.” Her emotions spread from anger at Bob for squealing on her to pleasure at JP’s concern for her. However, this isn’t the way she wanted his attention. She hated playing the role of victim.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Getting shot at is not all in a day’s work,” JP said.

“I wasn’t shot
at
exactly.”

“And you know that for certain?”

“I just happened to be where someone was shooting. It was a drive-by. The guy shot up the whole neighborhood.”

“That makes me feel better,” JP said sarcastically.

“Would you like some tea?” Sabre asked. “Or something else to drink?” She moved toward the kitchen. JP followed.

“No thanks.”

Sabre turned back, almost bumping into JP. His hand went up automatically and caught her before she crashed into him. He stood there for a second with his hand just below her shoulder. A second passed when their eyes caught. Then Sabre stepped away, walked around JP, and sat down on one end of the sofa. “Have a seat,” she said, gesturing with her hand to a spot near her. JP sat down, leaving about a foot between them. “Tell me what you found out today on the Martinez case.”

“I found out that everyone loves Gilberto and hates or fears Juanita, which is no surprise. I also discovered that Juanita went back to her house on Tuesday evening in violation of the restraining order. According to the neighbor, she was intoxicated. Gilberto came home shortly thereafter. There was a loud scene when he came in, followed by a half hour of quiet. Gilberto came out carrying his shirt and drove away with Juanita yelling obscenities at him while he was leaving. She left shortly thereafter.”

“So, the same night that Scary Larry was killed Juanita stopped to see her husband, probably had a conjugal visit, and then left drunk and angry,” Sabre said. “Did anyone see how she left?” Sabre picked up her teacup from the end table and wrapped her hands around it.

“A tall woman had dropped her off before Gilberto arrived home and then she left, I think. The neighbor was unclear about that. She saw that woman walk part way up the walkway with Juanita, but then the woman turned around and left. The neighbor saw a car leaving, but she didn’t actually see Juanita get in or out of the car. And she couldn’t tell me anything about the car, not even the color.”

“Would she have had time to go kill the judge?”

“Possibly. I told Bob what I knew about his client and asked him to see if she had an alibi. If she does, it’s in her best interest to tell us. If not, then I’ll investigate further to see if I can find out where she was.”

Sabre took a sip of her tea.

JP started to reach out and touch Sabre, but then pulled his hand back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. Really.”

“I don’t like your going in those neighborhoods and getting shot at.”

Sabre started to protest again. “Those bullets weren’t meant for me. It was….”

“Just a random drive-by,” he finished her sentence. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“It could’ve happened in any neighborhood. Children are being shot in schools, and there are innocent victims in malls and on street corners. It’s not safe anywhere, and I have to see the children if I’m going to represent them. I have to see their living environments. And I’m not going to stop doing my job because of some crazy, random drive-by shooting.”

JP stood up. “You’re about as stubborn as a mule halfway home from plowin’ all day.”

Sabre smiled. “You’re a bit of a mule yourself, you know.” She set her teacup down and stood up. “You do need to check out Isaiah Banks, the stepfather on the King case. I think he’s a pretty bad actor.”

“I’ll do that tomorrow, along with Tran.”

“Speaking of Tran. I saw Emma today. She’s a beautiful little girl. The foster mother swears that Kim-Ly, the mother, is not as old as she claims to be. She thinks she’s no more than sixteen. Maybe you can see what you can find out because if she’s a minor herself, it’ll change how we proceed.”

“I will. By the way, did you get a chance to see Durham?” JP asked.

“No, I planned to go today but I ran out of time. I’ll go see him tomorrow morning.”

“But you don’t have a car. Do you want a ride?”

“I have my bike and it’s only a few miles to the Hall.”

JP walked to the door. “Well, be careful.”

Sabre touched him briefly on his arm as he opened the door. He stepped out. “Lock your door,” he said.

She heard him walk away, but not until after the dead bolt was secured.

Chapter 20

“I made you grits with your eggs,” Robin said to JP. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

JP looked at her sternly with an edge in his voice. “Where did you get the grits?”

Robin scrunched her face and bowed her head slightly, like a child caught in the act. “I walked to the market yesterday. It was only a couple of blocks and it was such a beautiful day.”

“You can’t do that,” JP said a little louder than he intended. He reached across the table and touched her hand. His voice softened. “Robin, please don’t go out until we know for sure it’s safe. I can’t be here every minute to watch you. I really need you to be careful.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” She looked at him with her big doe-like eyes. “Your eggs are getting cold.”

JP took a bite of his grits. “It tastes like home.”

After a moment or two of silence Robin said, “I talked to my cousin, Sandy, last night. They’ve been watching Ty’s house and his work. He’s been gone since Thursday. He left his house in the morning. Sandy’s brother-in-law works at Wedgewood where Ty works. He’s been keeping tabs on Ty, and he said Ty didn’t show up on Thursday morning and he hasn’t been there since.”

“What kind of company is Wedgewood?”

“It’s Ty’s father’s business. He’s a big developer, owns half the town and a good part of the county. Ty has worked there since he returned from college. He expects to take it over some day, although I don’t really think he wants to. He wants the power it wields, but other than that he couldn’t care less about it.”

“Maybe he’s just on a hunting trip or something.”

“Maybe,” Robin said. But JP knew she didn’t really think so, nor did he.

***

The Tran Case

Child: Emma, age 18 mos. (F)

Parents: Father—unknown, Mother—Kim-Ly Tran

Issues: Neglect

Facts: Mother left eighteen-month-old girl in locked room and went to work. Apartment complex caught on fire.

The neighborhood where Kim-Ly Tran had lived with her daughter looked worse than normal since the fire. A good part of the small apartment complex was burned down and remained uninhabited. The apartment building adjacent to Kim-Ly’s appeared to be undamaged except for the tapestry of black soot marks on the outside wall.

JP knocked on the door of the apartment that appeared to face Kim-Ly’s window. A teenager of Asian descent, who looked to be about fourteen years of age, answered the door. JP introduced himself.

“I’m Quang Pham,” the boy said, as he politely extended his hand to shake.

JP was impressed. Most of the teenagers he came into contact with, especially through Sabre’s cases, were not so schooled in their manners.

“Nice to meet you. Do you mind answering a few questions?”

Quang moved his head toward the dining room table. It held several books, some papers, and a laptop computer and a small jade statue of what appeared to be an Asian monk. “I was just working on a project for my Advanced Physics class, and I really need to get it done.”

“I’m sure you’re very busy, but this will only take a minute. I work for the attorney who represents Emma Tran.”

“Emma is just a baby. Why would she need an attorney?”

“You know about the fire, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s our job to make sure Emma is safe and nothing like that ever happens again.” Quang nodded but didn’t speak. JP looked at the table where Quang’s school project awaited him. The window above the table gave the young student a perfect view of Kim-Ly’s apartment. “Were you here the day of the fire?”

“Yes.”

“What were you doing when the fire started?”

“I was here studying with my friend.”

“Was anyone else here?”

“No. My mother was working. She came home just after….” Quang stopped.

“Just after you and your friend saved Emma?” JP asked. He remembered two young men had rescued Emma from the burning building, but their names weren’t listed in the reports. Either the social worker didn’t know who they were or they were intentionally kept confidential.

Quang’s lack of response answered JP’s question.

“I’m not sure why you don’t want anyone to know about the rescue, but you two boys are heroes. You saved that little girl’s life.”

“My mom was upset. She was afraid we’d get in trouble for breaking into the apartment. And when people started calling us heroes, my mom said, ‘A hero who boasts about it is soon just a braggart.’ She said it was saving the child that was important, not getting recognition for doing it.”

“Your mother sounds very wise.”

“She’s a very private person. She didn’t want news reporters hanging around here.”

JP walked over and looked out the window into Kim-Ly’s apartment. “So, tell me what happened the day of the fire.”

“My friend, Kevin, and I were working on a report for our American Government class when we smelled smoke. At first we didn’t think too much of it, but it kept getting stronger. We looked out the window and saw where the smoke was coming from. We ran outside and then I saw the flames. That’s when we, uh, went inside and got Emma.”

“How did you get in?”

“Through the front door.”

“And her mother wasn’t home?”

“No. I saw her leave for work earlier.”

“And she left her front door unlocked and her child without anyone watching her?”

Quang popped his knuckles in what appeared to be a nervous gesture. “Not exactly.”

JP asked, “What do you mean?”