Wings of Deception (11 page)

He was
still
not in the best of moods when he arrived
back
at
the
office
the next morning
.
His scowl
caused
Tina
to hurry
with a fresh pot of coffee she knew he would be calling for
. When she delivered it, h
is
grin
was
sheepish
for
he knew she was trying to avoid his bad
temper
.
Without saying a
word
she
returned to her work
leaving him
to get into better spirits. It was less than an hour later he called her.

“
Tina
! That woman
….
what’s her name from yesterday
….
get her on the phone and kindly ask if she is in a working
frame of mind
today. I
would like to
meet with her
.
Preferably before noon, as I just got word that Judge Langley intends on hearing the case before the end of the day, so looks like I will have to spend the afternoon at the courthouse. And Tina, let me know as soon as you get something. It’s an hour’s drive there give or take.
”

His sarcasm was not lost on the receptionist and
she dialed the number to the clinic.

“Yes, this is Jacks
’
office with the
ACAA;
we are still trying to contact Miss Magill regarding a
child
that is now a
n
ACAA case. Yes, I can wait. Thank you.”

She shuffled some papers around and straightened her desk while waiting. When a voice on the other end said, “Hello, this is
Honey
Magill, how may I help you?”

“Miss Magill, this is Jacks’
assistant
,
Tina
,
at the ACAA in Jackson.
I called you yesterday, concerning the Bowler child
? Well,
h
e
w
ants to know
if you have some time today
when
he can
meet with you
, the earlier the better
.
”

Honey
was
hoping
this meant no hard feelings and
said politely, “I am
free
if he can come a
round
eleven
.”

She waited while the receptionist was obviously repeating her words to someone.

“That will be fine Miss Magill, he will see you then.”

Honey
went through the morning anxious for the meeting
, hoping to shed some light on what was going on
.
Dwight
called to let her know it would be the end of
her session
before the judge could hear the Bowler case.
She planned
to be at court in case she could be of help. Meanwhile
,
she was
still
anxious to hear what th
e
ACAA man
had to say
.

At
eleven
Honey
had cleared her office of
the
last patient and
sent Betty
off
to
an early
lunch
.

It was close
r
to
eleven
thirty when the knock
finally
came
and Honey was just about to give up and go for lunch
.

By the time she called
out, “Come in,” the door was already open and she had a tall, rather lanky man standing in front of her desk.

“
So y
ou
are
the
Magill
...lady
?
” It was not exactly what he had in mind to call her but
she rather
caught him off guard being just the opposite of what he pictured her to be.
Regaining his composure he continued.
“
I am
J
acks, from the ACAA.”

She stood
and they shook hands
and she exuded her best professional manner
. “I am Honey Magill.” She
suggested,
“
Won’t
you come in
here where we will be more comfortable,
Mr
.
Jacks?”
She
started
for
the room where she
normally
saw patients.

“
N
o Mr.
,
just Jacks
.” He
said flatly as he
followed her to her
comfort
zone where she sat and faced the sofa he p
ositioned
himself on.

“I am sorry, Jacks is not your last name?”

“No
,
it is my only name.
But I am not here to discuss my name,
I am here
about
a little girl we picked up yesterday evening and placed in protective custody.
Carol
Bowler
.
The reason we were trying
to contact you yesterday was because
I would like you to go over to the hospital and see her with me. It seems that she is very fragile mentally and I need someone
in
your
field of
expertise
with me when I question her.
”

“
I see
.
I will be happy to help anyway I can…Jacks…
”
It was
an unusual name
.
“
B
ut you have to
understand
that I personally know this girl and her parents.
”

“
You know these people?
”

“
I do
.
As a matter of fact t
hey are very good friends of mine.
These are some good people we are talking about.
May I ask you what is going on that the ACAA has gotten involved?
Whatever
could have happened for
you
to bring charges against the
m
?”

Th
is was unexpected.
Jacks sat back against the soft cushions of the sofa. It was very comfortable and he caught himself wondering if one could take a good nap on it
. G
iving the woman
in front of
him a more detailed look
,
he
reluctantly
admir
ed
the wispy curls and the
fine features of her face
...
yes,
a far cry from
what
he expected.
Damn…..

Honey
was well aware of his scrutiny but remained poised.

“Are you going to answer me?
T
ell me what charges exactly are being brought against the Bowlers
. They
are crazy with worry about
their daughter
. You are aware that Carol is
not well
?”

“I have that bit of information
and that is why she is being held at the hospital here in town so she can be carefully monitored.
”

His eyes narrowed and his face
flushed in response
to
the prudent look she was giving him.
He blocked his mind of the fact that he found this woman to be extremely attractive with a
Gone
With The
Wind
sort of voice. Concentrating on the business at hand he continued with
a
intensity that took Honey by surprise.

“Let’s
get some
thing
s
straight here
shall we? I would hate for you to think
that the
ACAA
would not have the best interest of that child in mind.
We are all about protecting young children who cannot protect themselves.
The reason I am here
,
Miss
Magill is
because the child is in potential danger and we want very much to protect her.”

Honey
believed he was sincere but oh so wrong. She said hesitantly,
“I am happy to hear that Mr
.
Jacks...”

“
J
ust Jacks
, it is not a hard
name
to remember
!”

She wondered at his
insistence
but
his name
was not the important issue,
Carol
was, so she obliged him.

“
Okay
, Jacks. So we both have the best interest of the child at heart. You still have
not
explained to me what the parents have done that threatens
her.
”

Jacks rubbed his face and stood.
For some reason he needed to
move
.
Maybe it was leftover feelings from the night before but there was something pulling at him and he was
not feeling
quite
himself. Maybe he was coming down with something. There was always junk going round at the offices. Whatever it was, it was making him feel odd. He shook it off and sat back down.

“They are exploiting their child by taking her
a
round to people
,
claiming to be sent by Jesus. You know th
e
Jesus
who
is supposed to save the world,
don’t you Miss Magill
?
He is supposedly telling her things to say
but the
parents are most likely putting these things in
her
head and expecting monetary gain from the scam.
T
he kid has a brain tumor so she tells th
e
victims
a fabricated
story;
one that will make
people
feel sorry for
her
because of the illness
and
they
offer money
. It’s a
scam
, simply
to get money by using a sick child
and
that
is called abuse.
”
He was using his courtroom drama effect and it worked.

Honey
fell more than leaned back into her cushions. She
thought
,
Dear Lord
, this
is
why the Bowler’s were arrested
?
They think
Carol
’s ability to know things out of the ordinary is
all a farce!
Aloud
she interrupted him
, “You think they are scamming people for money?
Nothing could be further from the truth!
”

“We have evidence that they received money after one of the
ir
visits to a rather well off couple. There
were
witness
es
to this and that
,
my dear Miss Magill
,
is exploitation by any
one’s
standards. Th
is
little girl
is being abused and
it’s
shame
ful
that
parents
would
do this to
their
child
.
Now do you think you can
be objective enough to accompany
me
to see her
,
so
that
I
can
ask her some important questions before the judge hears the case
?”

He
got back up and this time
Honey
rose too. She was sure there was an explanation for what
someone
may have observed as the Bowlers accepting money in exchange for a revelation from Carol.
She was shaking her head from
hearing
the unexpected
claim
.