The Advocate's Ex Parte (The Advocate Series Book 5) (23 page)

Sabre walked over and sat down next to Elsa who said, “The social worker says the mom has checked into a residential drug treatment program. They offer all the programs she needs, including anger management and therapy.”

“What about the dad and his drinking problem?” Sabre asked.

“He’s attending AA meetings, but he just started.”

“So, what do you think the social worker will settle for?”

“Well, we have to take jurisdiction.”

“Absolutely, but what about disposition?”

The courtroom door opened and the social worker entered. Just as she approached them, the door opened again and Mike walked in with Richard Wagner, who mumbled something about having other cases to do elsewhere.

The next half hour was spent going back and forth, trying to work out a compromise that would settle the case. Sabre particularly wanted to come to some agreement so the children wouldn’t have to testify. All the attorneys felt the same way, although Wagner acted indifferently to it, as he always did, to bolster his case. No one bought it though, except maybe the social worker who was fairly new to the process.

After a great deal of posturing, with the attorneys convincing their clients that it would be worse if it was left to Judge Hekman, they finally agreed on a settlement. The court would take jurisdiction and place the children with the maternal aunt, Nora. The children were already living there. The parents would be allowed to have supervised visitation. The social worker would have the discretion to lift the supervision upon completion of their programs and recommendations of the therapists. And in the meantime, the visitation would be very liberal at the home of the aunt as long as the parents remained in their programs and tested clean.

When it was all over, JP, Bob, and Sabre walked out of the courthouse together. “Want to go get a drink?” Bob asked.

JP looked at Sabre, then back at Bob. “I’d like to, but I better get home.”

Chapter 38

JP’s frustration at not being able to figure out who had killed Judge Mitchell was rising. He had eliminated every case connected with Sabre except Durham and King. He knew Matt hadn’t done it because he was in custody, but he hadn’t ruled out his buddy, Ralph, yet. The most likely suspect was Isaiah Banks. His unbridled anger at the judge provided the motive and he certainly had the ability to do the job himself or have it done for him. The thing that bothered JP the most was that it could be someone on a case they had missed.
Perhaps the case was inactive right now, which could explain why there hadn’t been any attempts on Sabre’s life. But what happens if she does something they don’t like? And what about the drive-by? Maybe it was meant for her.
How can I protect her?

“Damn it!” JP threw his pen across the desk.

“Anything I can do to help?” Robin asked from across the room.

JP turned around, startled. “No. I’m just a little frustrated.”

Robin walked toward JP. Her bruises were almost gone, the swelling had disappeared, and she looked beautiful. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

At least Robin is safe, JP thought. But that bothered him, too. He had not been able to obtain much information about her husband. Other than a couple of gas purchases, his cards hadn’t been used and only once was he purported to have been seen in Texas. JP hoped he was holed up somewhere, drinking himself into a stupor. It bothered him, though, that he didn’t know where he was for certain.

“It’s just some cases I’m working on. I keep hitting dead ends.”

“I don’t know anything about investigating, but I’m pretty handy on the computer. If you want me to do something, I really would be glad to help.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve done so much for me. Taking me in and all. I want you to know how much I appreciate it.” She hesitated.

“What are you thinking?”

“Maybe it’s time to start living again. I can’t just hide forever.”

JP stood up. “Damn it, Robin. It’s not safe,” he said loudly. “We don’t know where Tyson is.”

“But you said he used his credit card at The Four Corners just the other day.”

“
Someone
used his credit card. We don’t know for certain it was him. Why hasn’t anyone else seen him? It’s a small town and he likes attention. I’ll bet he makes an impression everywhere he goes. Am I right?”

“Yes, but if he’s sulking….”

“Does he sulk?”

She sighed. “No, you’re right. He’s looking for me.” She sat down on the arm of the sofa.

JP stepped toward her, put his arm around her shoulder, and gave her a little squeeze. Her face tightened and her eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you. I’m just concerned and I’m frustrated. I think he’s up to something, and I don’t have the time to go there myself and try to find out what it is.” He looked into her eyes and saw the fear. “We don’t have any reason to believe he’s in San Diego or that he would even come here, but until we know, you just have to stay inside. That’s the best way you can help me.”

She forced a smile. “You’re right. I’m being selfish. You don’t need one more thing to worry about.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “Thanks,” she said and walked back to her bedroom.

JP sat back down at his desk and checked his online calendar. The Tran case was coming up for trial in a few days. Since he had eliminated Kim-Ly Tran as a suspect in the murder of Judge Mitchell, he had neglected giving it any attention. He needed to get more information on Kim-Ly’s background, but he was at a loss as to where to start. He opened the file and re-read the social study ordered by the court and his own reports. This time more carefully than he had previously.

“Why didn’t I see that before?” JP mumbled to himself. He picked up the file and walked out.

***

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.

“Okay, Quang, level with me,” JP said to the teenage hero.

“What are you talking about?”

“About Jade. She’s Kim-Ly’s sister, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do know.” JP looked down at the table where Quang had his computer. The small jade statue of the Asian monk sat next to it. JP picked it up. “You got this from Jade, didn’t you?”

Quang reached for it. “So, what if I did?” JP waited for a moment then handed it back to the young boy.

“Here’s what I think. I did a little research on the history of Viet Nam and this jade statue turns out be one of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, the third emperor of the Tran Dynasty of ancient Viet Nam. Jade is, or at least thinks she is, a descendant of his, hence the ‘princess’ title she likes to use. She looks a lot like Kim-Ly Tran because they’re sisters. Kim-Ly is trying to protect Jade from whatever it is they’re both mixed up in. How am I doing so far?”

Quang just stood there with his mouth agape, holding the statue.

JP continued. “You knew what was going on at Kim-Ly’s because you were spending time with Jade. You like her, don’t you?”

Quang looked at JP with an inquisitive expression. “She’s nice enough.”

“I think she gave you this statue. And now that she’s gone you always keep it close to you.”

“That’s ridiculous. It belongs to my mother. She gave it to me.”

“Should I ask her about it?”

“No,” he said too quickly.

“Where is Jade?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been talking to her, maybe even seeing her since that Vietnamese guy took her away.”

“No,” Quang protested. Then he lowered his head and murmured, “No, I haven’t seen her.”

“Is she in trouble?” JP asked.

“I think so.”

“Tell me what you do know. Maybe I can help her.”

“I don’t know that much.”

“Have you had contact with her since she left?”

“No. I have a phone number, but she asked me not to call. It’s not actually her number. It’s a phone the girls all share so their boss can reach them if he needs to. She said she would call me if she could.”

“She said her
boss
?”

“Yes, that’s what she calls him. They’re supposed to call him ‘Uncle Dave,’ but she says she only does that to his face.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Not for sure.” Quang reached in his pocket and took out a piece of wrinkled, folded paper. It looked like it had been there for some time. He handed it to JP. “This is where she lived before she came to stay with her sister.”

So they are sisters, just as JP had suspected. “Do you know how old Jade and Kim-Ly are?”

“Jade is only thirteen. I’m not exactly sure about Kim-Ly, but I don’t think she’s quite eighteen yet.”

“One more thing,” JP said, “do you have a photo of Jade?”

Quang hesitated, and glanced down at his cell phone next to the computer.

“You took pictures of her, didn’t you?”

Quang nodded. He pulled up his photos on his cell phone while JP watched. There were at least twenty of them showing Jade in various candid poses. He started to flip through them.

“Text me the best two. Make sure I have a close-up,” JP said. “And Quang, I need Jade’s phone number.”

Quang shook his head from side to side. “No, I can’t. I won’t give you that.” After a moment he added, “I promised Jade. She could get in a lot of trouble if someone called her.”

JP didn’t push him as it seemed futile. He gave the boy his card and waited for the photos to download before he left. “Call me when you feel like talking,” he said as he walked out the door.

Chapter 39

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 address JP had received from Quang took him to a large, vacant house in Linda Vista. Quang had said it was Jade’s last address, indicating that she moved a lot, but JP was still disappointed. He started knocking on neighboring doors but with little success.

An Asian woman came to the door of the adjacent house on the right.

“Hello, I’m JP Torn. I’m a private investigator and we’re looking for a missing girl.” He didn’t know if telling her who he was would help or hurt. This was almost the truth and he hoped to appeal to her sensitive side. Most people seemed willing to help when a child was in danger. Besides, he couldn’t come up with anything better. Selling something wasn’t going to cut it. He needed to be able to ask the right questions.

“No,” she said and started to shut the door.

“Excuse me,” JP said quickly.

“No, no English,” she said and closed it.

JP tried the house next to it with a similar experience. The third house brought him face to face with a couple of teenage girls, both of Asian descent. One had long, dark hair. The other was about five inches shorter than the first. He gave them the same opening as he did the others and added, “We need your help.”

“Who is it?” the shorter girl asked.

Finally, someone with whom he could communicate. Someone who spoke English. He surmised their English was probably better than his. “Her name is Jade Tran. She’s about your age. She lived in that house two doors down.” He pointed to his left. “Did you know her?”

“We didn’t know any of them by name, but there were a bunch of young girls living there for a while.”

JP took out his phone and showed them her photo.

“Yes, she lived there,” the taller girl said. “But they called her Bich.” When the shorter girl gave her friend a peculiar look, the taller one shrugged and said, “When I walk home, I go by that house. I talked to a couple of them one day.”

“When was that?” JP asked.

“A couple of months ago. Maybe three or four. They’ve been gone for a while.”

The short girl chimed in, “There were a lot of them, about seven or eight, and I don’t think any of them went to school. They mostly went out at night and I never saw anyone outside until late afternoon. I think they slept all day.”

“Did you ever see any adults? Their parents, maybe?”

The two girls looked at each other. The shorter girl shook her head. “I never saw any parents, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.”

The other girl said, “The only adult I saw was a man in an expensive car. I saw him there several times in the evening when I was on my way home.”

“Do you know what kind of car it was?”

“No, but it was black and big. That’s all I know.”

“What did the man look like?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know. He was Asian, not tall, but not real short, either. He had dark hair and was kind of….” She held her hands out to each side about two-and-a-half feet apart.

“Stocky?” JP asked.

“Yes. He was wide, but not fat or anything. More buff.”

“The time you said you talked to Jade, or Bich, what did you talk about?”

“She was carrying some groceries and her bag broke just as I was passing. I stopped and helped her pick them up. She thanked me several times. I asked her if she lived there and she said she did. One of the other girls yelled from the door, ‘Bich, Bich, come inside.’ I asked her if that was her name and she said yes, but she yelled something back to the girls in another language. I think it was Vietnamese because it sounded like when my parents talk to each other and they don’t want us to understand them. I don’t know what she said, but she sounded upset.”

“So, your parents speak the language but you don’t?” JP asked.

“I was born here and I never learned Vietnamese. I understand a few words but my parents mostly speak English around us kids.”

“How long did Bich live there?”

“Maybe three weeks,” the shorter girl said. “It wasn’t very long. After they left, there were a lot of people coming and going from there.”