Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) (23 page)

"All right, Mr. Tagliaferro. Ms Bellamy?"

Kathryn swallowed hard at the dryness in her throat. She stood and faced Phil and Ezzo. "Your Honor, the State has prepared a list of witnesses to testify against Louie Ezzo. I'm ready to proceed. If he, however, would like to change his plea to guilty, I am willing to hear what he has to say."

"Mr. Tagliaferro, does your client wish to plead guilty now?"

Phil turned toward Louie and nodded. “No, he doesn’t want to plead guilty, Your Honor.”

Kathryn dug her fingernails into her palms. He wasn’t pleading guilty?
What kind of trick was he trying to play on her?

With a voice that sounded as if he'd had ten packs of cigarettes before coming to court, Ezzo responded, "
I'd like to plead Nolo contendere."

The judge cleared his throat, and Kathryn placed her hand on her hip. "Nolo? Nolo contendere? No contest?"

Ezzo nodded. "Yes, ma’am."

"You're not pleading innocent, but you're not pleading guilty either?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"Why have you chosen to change your plea, Mr. Ezzo? If you are indeed innocent, a trial may very well prove to be in your best interest."
She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and clenched her teeth. She wanted to prosecute Ezzo, not let him make a plea bargain.

"
Yes, ma’am, I understand that. I've heard my attorney's description of each plea choice, and I've decided that no contest is the best choice."

Kathryn folded her arms across her chest and studied Ezzo. What had convinced him to give up the fight? His wiry black hair and small brown eyes surrounded by dark circles proved he'd fretted over this case more than he'd wanted Phil to know when he'd visited with him Tuesday.

She turned toward the judge. "Your Honor, if Mr. Ezzo wishes to plead no contest, I recommend that we accept his plea and move forward to the sentencing phase."

"All right, Ms. Bellamy."

Kathryn handed Phil a Change of Plea form, and Ezzo signed it. Phil handed it back across the aisle to Kathryn and winked. She forced herself to remain professional and wouldn't allow her feelings to show. She examined the plea form, scratched her signature to it, and sighed.
"Your Honor, at this time, I tender Mr. Ezzo's Nolo contendre plea and his Waiver of Rights form."

"All right. Thank you." The judge looked over his glasses at Ezzo and
further explained his rights to have a trial and the rights he was giving up by pleading no contest.
He waved his hands to emphasize the seriousness of his decision
.

Kathryn peeked at Phil out of the corner of her eye. How could he do this to her? He might as well have jerked the rug right out from under her. He’d robbed her moment to shine. She stole another glance at him, and her fury dissipated a bit. He bobbed in his swivel chair and drummed his fingers on the armrest. A smile spread across his face. She hadn't seen him this relaxed since he'd reeled in the shark on the pier Friday evening a week ago.

Had she really only known him ten days? Why did it seem like they'd known each other their entire lives? Better yet, how had her reservations faded away about Maria's ex, leaving only a desire to be with him every day? The greater question was: how had this man changed her life simply by being himself? Through him, she'd learned to trust God and others. There was no way he’d intended to hurt her by encouraging Ezzo to ask for a plea.

"Ms. Bellamy?"

"Yes, Your Honor, excuse me."

"Is the State in agreement to accept this plea?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"All right.
I've looked over the file here. I'm not going to rehash the details of the case in the interest of time. Let me say this: I'm aware that feelings are very high on both sides in this case. Some of you, perhaps all of you, may not be happy with what I do here. But I want to remind the spectators that whatever I do, I don't want any outbursts. I don't want any expressions—physical or otherwise. And if you're not able to do that, you need to leave the room now. Otherwise, I'm going to expect you to sit there and be quiet."

Judge Peterson waited for a moment then nodded. "All right.
Mr. Ezzo,
I'm going to find that you freely and voluntarily waive your right to a trial by jury. On all four counts of solicitation of murder, you entered a Nolo contendre plea. I'm going to allow you to plead Nolo on the two Perkins County cases and recommend to the Long Island court that they accept your plea on the other two. I'm going to sentence you to twenty years to serve in the penitentiary without the possibility of parole."

The back right corner of the courtroom erupted in wails. The judge looked up from his file and hammered the bench with his gavel. Everyone quieted in an instant. He sank his eyes back down with a shake of his head and flipped through the pages of Ezzo's file. "I'm also going to sentence you to a $20,000 fine plus any surcharges or other fees required, completion of a drug and alcohol evaluation and any treatments required by that, and random drug screening."

"Yes, sir."

"There are a number of things in your file here, Mr. Ezzo. For a man who doesn't live here, you sure have gotten yourself into some trouble in my town. I was looking through your records—well, it doesn't matter right now.
I'm going to extradite you to New York where there are these charges and others against you there. Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

"Will I get credit for the time I've served already?"

"Yes, you'll get credit for fifty-five days. I guess every day counts on a twenty-year sentence."

"Yes, sir." He nodded. "Thank you, Judge."

"All right. Well, good luck to you, Mr. Ezzo, and God bless. We'll take a few minutes for a recess."

The deputies walked to the defendant's table and escorted Ezzo through the door beside the judge's bench.

Phil gathered his things and joined Kathryn at the prosecutor's table. "Congratulations, Counselor."

"For what?"
she whispered with vehemence in her voice even though she tried to contain it.
She organized her papers and returned them to the Ezzo file.

"For winning."

She turned her gaze toward Phil. "I didn't win. He pled guilty—I mean Nolo." She rolled her eyes.

"But you're responsible for putting him away, and you were spared the trial.”

She shrugged.

"Are you upset with me?" He tipped her chin toward him.

Kathryn turned to look at the people in the courtroom, who stared at them. She'd already been on the news with him. It didn't matter if they saw them together now. "No, of course not. It's just that I was ready to examine the witnesses, battle it out, and prove he was involved. He took the easy way out and took the fun out of it for me. I really wanted this. I wanted you to see that I'm a good attorney, that I’m a fighter."

"Kathryn, excuse me for saying this, but your pride is creeping up again. I know you're a good attorney. You have nothing to prove to me."

Kathryn shoved her left hand onto her hip and widened her eyes. "Pride? No, I want justice," she said through gritted teeth.

Phil held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, sorry. Honestly, it seems like your fight would be more with Drew and Barney. Louie didn't do anything personally to you."

"He may have ordered those threats on me."

"He may have, but he's going away for twenty years now at least. Let it go."

She tucked her chin. Was he right? Was her pride getting in the way of her being able to see things clearly? Again. She looked up into those creamy eyes. There was nothing but tenderness in them, and they held no malice. He truly cared for her. "You're right, Phil. I'm sorry. Prosecuting your cousins is more important to me than Louie."

"That's my girl. We'll meet to talk with them after lunch today."

"It'll be my pleasure.
"

Judge Peterson coughed. "Ms. Bellamy, we need to get back to these pleas, or we'll be here all day. I don't think you want that, do you?"

She pulled her gaze away from Phil's and shook her head at the judge. "No, sir. I do not."

Chapter Twenty-five

Kathryn grabbed her phone charger out of the wall, shoved it into her briefcase, and snapped the button to close it. She had everything she needed for the long evening at home of studying the details of Drew and Barney's cases. She clicked the office door shut and checked to make sure it was locked.

When she reached the glass door that led out to the parking lot, late summer's heat hit her square in the face. She climbed into her car, longing for relaxation by the pool at Phil's rental house, the quaint streets of Cedar Key she hadn't had enough opportunity to meander through, the missed chats with the locals. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to get a double—no, triple—scoop of ice cream from the shop on the water. To hang out on the pier and watch the fishermen—Phil—reel in the big catches of the day. To watch the dolphins swim out past the yacht club. Her toes began to curl, and a giggle erupted from her.

If she left now, she could be there before sunset.

#

Kathryn stood on the Cedar Key pier, Sadie by her side. Pelicans and seagulls soared in the late afternoon air, pink clouds scuttled across the sky. A vise gripped her neck and back muscles after the long ride down from her home in Mitchell’s Crossing, but the fluttering in her stomach counteracted the discomfort. She drew in a deep, salty breath and released it. "Hi, stranger."

Phil turned around, his fishing pole crashing on to the pier. "Kathryn!" He ran to her and scooped her up. "What are you doing here?"

She squeezed his neck and melted against him. "It occurred to me after court today that I never got to enjoy my last sunset here in Cedar Key because you rushed me out of here."

“I didn’t rush you out of here.” Phil crinkled his brow and placed her safely back onto the pier.

Kathryn let her hands slip to his forearms, the strong forearms of a protector. "Mm-hmm. Sure you didn’t. Anyway, I decided to throw my things in the car, grab Sadie, and head on down here. You have no idea how fast I had to drive to get here before sunset."

"So you came solely for the sunset?"

"Well, in all honesty, I love the dolphins too." She squeezed his forearms.

"And?"

"The ice cream is wonderful here. Although I’ve yet to finish one.”

"And?"

"And—" Her eyes watered from the intensity of being near him.

Phil leaned down and captured her lips with his. When he withdrew, a tear slid from his right eye.

Kathryn rubbed her lips together, savoring his kiss, and wiped his tear away with her thumb.

"What does this mean?" Phil squeezed her waist.

Sadie pawed at Phil's leg, while Kathryn chose her words carefully. She had to find the balance between letting him know she wanted to explore their relationship potential—while not sending the wrong message about her return to Cedar Key—and protecting herself from disappointment if he only wanted to be friends. But his kiss had not insinuated friendship, so maybe she was safe to let him know what lingered in her heart. "It means that I'd like to spend more time with you."

"You're not just here to get away from the courtroom, to run away from your career decisions?"

"Absolutely not. I believe I've made my decision. I took—well, I decided—" she laughed.

"What?" He cocked his head.

"I took a leave of absence so I could make my decision. I talked to Cora at the Southern Hope ranch on the way here to find out if I could come stay there for a week or so. You remember I told you about her. She’s the one whose husband was the drug dealer."

“Yes, I remember.”

“But I wanted to stay the week here first.”

He released her and placed his hands over his heart. "You actually want to spend your time here in Cedar Key?"

She nodded and touched his hands. "I want to spend my time with you, Phil. Well, not
staying
with you obviously. You know what I mean."

He laughed. "I know what you mean, sweet Kathryn. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm glad you came tonight."

She crinkled her nose. "Why?"

"Because my bags are packed, and I was headed to Georgia to spend time with you."

"No way!"

"Yep. The thought of not seeing you after seeing you every day for a week here and then again in Perkins County at court was more than this guy could take." Phil knelt and reached into his tackle box. He pulled out a small clay pot wrapped in cling wrap and handed it to Kathryn while he stood.

She took it from him and crinkled her nose. “What’s this?”

“Something I picked up for you on my way back into town. I was going to bring it to you when I came for my visit.”

Kathryn cocked her head. “What’s it for? What does it represent?”

“It’s a clay pot to represent 2 Corinthians 4:7 in the Bible where it talks about jars of clay.”

Kathryn shook her head. “I don’t know that verse. I don’t really know very many verses yet.”

“That’s okay. You’ll learn them. Basically, we’re God’s treasure. He’s crafted us and molded us, just like a potter makes a bowl or pot. God puts his power in us so that we’ll be able to share with others about him, about Jesus. We are his vessel to be used for his works. I wanted you to know that and to always remember that.”

“Wow. Thank you.” What more could Kathryn say? She’d never been given a gift like this before.

“It’s also a representation of just how fragile we are. We have to stay in God’s strength or we can easily break. Any strength we have comes from him.”

“I can attest to that after this whole experience.”

Phil cupped her hand that held the pot. “I planted inside of this pot a mustard seed, which is one of the smallest seeds—if not the smallest—because the Bible says that all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. I felt like this would be a good representation of what you’ve been through and of where you’re going.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “And you were keeping this in your tackle box?” She laughed a tearful laugh.

“I put the dirt in it when I was outside gathering all my fishing gear and stuck it in there.”

"I don’t know how to thank you. This means so much to me.”

“You mean so much to me, Kathryn.”

She smiled and stroked his cheek. “So where do we go from here?"

"We go get an ice cream and then some dinner—not seafood—and we sit on the dock and talk about something other than my uncle and cousins."

"Ice cream and then dinner?”

“Yes, because the ice cream shop closes at eight. Remember?”

“Oh yeah. I like that idea." Kathryn giggled into her hand.

"I like having you here with me, Kathryn Bellamy."

The End