I remembered the panic in Jessie’s voice in the courtroom.
“What should I do?”
“Represent your client by trying to get her case taken care of as quickly as possible so she can disappear from the system.” Maggie motioned toward the files she’d pulled. “Jan Crittenden likes Jessie a lot more than the people I’m representing. If Jessie won’t cave on the age issue, see what Crittenden will give you in superior court and take it to Judge Cannon.”
The thought of taking anything to Judge Cannon made me feel slightly queasy.
Maggie seemed to read my reaction.
“Let Crittenden be the moving party with the judge,” she continued. “If the judge cuts off her head, you can run out of his chambers before he takes a swing at you.”
“It’s not too soon to talk to Crittenden?”
“Do you have a defense to the charges?”
“No, Jessie doesn’t deny breaking into the store and stealing the donuts. She confessed at the scene after the arresting officer read a Miranda warning. Jessie claims the donuts were stale, left on the shelf after the expiration date.”
Maggie grinned. “I don’t think that would be an effective argument in mitigation to trot out in front of Judge Cannon.”
I spoke more softly again. “And she’s guilty of multiple other thefts and breakins, all petty things related to hunger, but still felonies under the law.”
“All the more reason to move fast. Argue first offense, minor damage, no harm to any person. I don’t think the judge will want to throw this girl into the prison system and expose her to real criminals. Find out what Crittenden is willing to do, then tell Jessie. The final decision will be hers.”
I left Maggie and went upstairs to the district attorney’s office. Jan Crittenden was in the reception area talking to a middle-aged male lawyer I didn’t know but who had been in court when I argued the motion to reduce Jessie’s bond.
“Here to see me?” Jan asked when she saw me.
“Yes, but I can come back—”
“No, we’re almost done.” Jan turned to the other lawyer. “I’ll offer your client five years to serve followed by five on probation. You know if he’s convicted he’ll probably get ten to fifteen to serve.”
“It may be harder to get a conviction than you think,” the lawyer answered smoothly. “I would recommend that my client accept two to serve and three on probation.”
“That’s not my call. I’ll have to talk to the DA.”
“If that doesn’t work, put it on the trial calendar.”
The lawyer left. Jan led me to the conference room where we’d talked before.
“That guy makes my skin crawl,” she said when we entered the room.
“Who is he?”
“Nick Walker. The problem is he might be able to get his guy off at trial. We lost to him a couple of weeks ago in a case I thought we would win. He has a way of taking the smallest, most irrelevant piece of evidence and turning it into a mighty oak.” Jan paused. “You won’t tell him I said that, will you?”
“No, I’m here to talk about Jessie Whitewater.”
“Uh-oh. Did she run?”
“Not unless it happened after I left this morning. She was staying with Julie Feldman of our firm until a couple of days ago. Since then, she’s been with Mrs. Fairmont and me.”
“Mrs. Fairmont is a great lady. Who wouldn’t want to live with her in that house?”
“I’ve spent more time with her, but she still hasn’t given me any information proving she’s a minor.”
“Give it more time. Once she trusts you, she’s more likely to open up.”
I took a deep breath. “Would you let her plea as an adult and recommend something favorable to the judge?”
“There’s no rush. Her case is way down the docket.”
“If we didn’t wait, what would you be asking for?”
Jan eyed me like a witness she was about to cross-examine.
“Is there something she’s trying to hide? If there are charges pending against her in another jurisdiction, it would change everything.”
“We all have plenty to hide, but I don’t know of any charges pending in another jurisdiction.”
My answer was technically correct, but skirting so close to falsehood made me very uneasy.
“Then why enter a plea?”
I took a deep breath. “I believe it’s in Jessie’s best interest to get this incident behind her as soon as possible.”
Jan relaxed. “I haven’t been working here very long, but it’s easy to forget that having a criminal charge pending is a huge stress to anyone. This isn’t a serious case, but to assume your client feels the same way is a mistake.”
“Could she enter a first offender petition—”
Jan interrupted me with a shake of her head. “That would require a felony plea. What if the charge was reduced to misdemeanor criminal damage to property? The maximum sentence is twelve months, but since your client doesn’t have a prior conviction, I’m sure the judge would go along with probation, a small fine, and restitution to the owner of the store for the damage to his property. If Whitewater has learned her lesson, I don’t want to make this incident harder on her than it has to be.”
I was speechless.
“Talk it over with her and let me know,” Jan continued. “If she agrees, we can schedule it as soon as you want to.”
“Sounds great. I’m sure she’ll go along with it once I explain it to her. Do you think we should get the judge’s approval in advance?”
“No. It would be better to slip it onto a busy calendar when he’s less inclined to give us a hard time. Sitting in Judge Cannon’s chambers without something else pressuring him to move on is an invitation for him to engage in his favorite pastime of tormenting young lawyers.”
“Okay.”
Jan stood and walked me out of the office.
“It’s neat that you’ve taken a personal interest in your client,” she said. “I never would have guessed Julie Feldman might open her home to someone like Jessie.”
“There’s a lot of good in Julie.”
I told Jan about Julie’s father.
“I hadn’t heard about that. I hope he recovers,” she replied. “If she needs a continuance on something, let me know.”
“Thanks.” I paused. “One more thing. Do you know if there is anything coming up soon in the
State v. Hackney
case?”
“That’s being handled by Brett Duffy. Why?”
“Uh, I was in court when they argued the motion about Mr. Carpenter’s expert testing some tape recordings and wondered if there were any other motions pending.”
“Nothing that I know about. If you want to find out more, call Brett or one of your friends at Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter.”
“Okay, thanks again for the offer on Jessie’s case. I’m sure we’ll be able to work it out.”
I returned to the office elated. Maggie was there, and I excitedly told her about the plea bargain.
“Take it as soon as you can before something happens to mess it up. And don’t get used to someone in the DA’s office wanting to reduce the charges beyond what you ask. Crittenden is being nice to make a good impression on Mrs. Fairmont.”
“I don’t think so. She’s been this way since the first time we talked. At that point, Mrs. Fairmont wasn’t in the picture. I believe God is giving me supernatural favor.”
Maggie shrugged. “If that’s the way God works, pray for my cases. Some of my clients need just as much mercy as your runaway girl.”
I
DROVE HOME WITH A LIGHTNESS IN MY HEART
I
HADN’T FELT
since before Zach and I talked. Sacrificing my own desires and focusing on someone else had yielded rapid benefits I hadn’t expected. I thought helping Jessie would be like digging in rock-hard soil with a dull hoe. So far, it was more like slicing through butter that had been sitting on the kitchen counter for half an hour.
I found Mrs. Fairmont sitting on the veranda with the ceiling fans stirring the air. Jessie was in the garden below playing a vigorous version of the chase, catch, and fetch game I occasionally played with the little dog. I could hear Flip barking from behind a row of large bushes in the corner of the courtyard that was one of his favorite hiding places. Jessie was on her hands and knees crawling in after him.
“Flip feels like he’s at summer camp,” Mrs. Fairmont said when she saw me. “He’ll be so tired tonight that he’ll collapse in bed.”
I sat down and listened to Mrs. Fairmont tell me about the day. As I listened, I realized Flip wasn’t the only one stimulated by Jessie’s presence in the house. Mrs. Fairmont seemed to take as much pleasure in interacting with Jessie as the girl took in playing with Flip.
Jessie, hot and sweaty, bounded up the metal stairs from the courtyard to the veranda. She had a big smile on her face.
“Hey,” I said when she plopped down in a chair. “Keep that smile on your face. I have some good news for you.”
“What is it about?” Jessie asked, then turned to Mrs. Fairmont before I could answer. “I’m thirsty. Can I get you a glass of ice water?”
“Yes, that would be nice. Bring a bowl of water for Flip, too.”
“Good news?” Mrs. Fairmont asked when Jessie went inside.
“About her case.” I paused. “Maybe I should talk to her about it in private.”
“Of course. I’ll step inside. The late-afternoon sun is about to bake the veranda.”
Jessie returned and put a bowl of water on the floor. The little dog began to lap vigorously.
“Why did Mrs. Fairmont go inside?”
“I need to talk to you about your case. Jan Crittenden, the assistant district attorney, has made an amazing plea offer.”
Jessie listened without interrupting me while I outlined the deal and all its advantages.
“Everything can be wrapped up within a week or so,” I said. “Then you’ll be assigned a probation officer.”
“How much will I have to pay?”
“A broken window can’t cost that much. The amount of the fine is up to the judge. The maximum under the statute is one thousand dollars, but that’s rarely given. Usually, it’s a lot less.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“You won’t pay it all at once, and you can start making payments after you get a job. The probation officer will work with you on a schedule to take care of the fine and restitution. I’ll talk with Maggie Smith at my office and get the name of a good probation officer who can be assigned to your case. Ms. Crittenden is really making this easy on you.”
Jessie looked down and rubbed her hands together.
“What about staying here or with Julie? Julie is nice, but I know she doesn’t want me to live with her very long. But here with Mrs. Fairmont is different.” Jessie motioned with her hands to encompass the house and began speaking more rapidly. “I can take better care of her than you because I’m here all day. If she falls down or faints or something bad happens, I can call 911. I met Gracie today, and she thinks it’s a good idea for me to stay here. I helped her clean the high windows in the blue parlor. Gracie doesn’t like to get on a ladder, but I’m not afraid of heights.”
“All that can be discussed. But first, let’s take care of your case.”
Jessie hesitated. “What happens if I don’t agree to do what the district attorney told you?”
My mouth dropped open. “That wouldn’t make any sense.”
“Tell me what will happen if I don’t agree,” Jessie persisted.
“Uh, nothing for a while. Your case isn’t scheduled to come up for trial anytime soon. But why not take care of it so you don’t have it hanging over you? And with this deal you won’t have a felony conviction that will ruin your future. That’s huge.”
“What if the police find out about the other places I broke into and the stuff I stole? Could I be charged with that and go back to jail?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Would that mean more of the felony convictions you’re so worried about?”
“Maybe.”
Jessie shrugged. “Not having a criminal record doesn’t matter if I’m sleeping in a vacant lot. You’re like all the other people who pretended they wanted to help me. They did it for a while until they got tired of all the other problems I have. You just want to get me out of your hair.”
I took a deep breath to avoid getting angry. “Let’s talk about the only problem that exists right now, the charge of breaking into Bacon’s Bargains. If Mrs. Fairmont agrees to let you stay here for a few more weeks, would you accept the plea offer to take care of that case? The rest of it we’d have to face if it comes up.”
Jessie thought for a moment. “I’m willing to pay for the broken window. But I don’t like the idea of a fine. And who would take me to see the probation officer?”
“You could ride the bus or perhaps Sister Dabney could take you.”
“A thousand dollars is a lot of money.”
“It probably won’t be—” I stopped. “Okay, the big question is where you’re going to live, isn’t it? I’ll talk to Mrs. Fairmont and see what she thinks about you staying here. Then you can decide.”
“I want to be there when you talk to her. It’s my life.”
“No!” I said so forcibly that it made Jessie’s eyes open wide in surprise. “Mrs. Fairmont has to make her decision without being manipulated by you.”
“When are you going to talk to her?”
“After supper. You can go for a walk or a bike ride.”
W
E HAD A TENSE MEAL.
J
ESSIE DIDN’T OPEN HER MOUTH EXCEPT
to grunt. When she went to the kitchen for a few seconds, Mrs.
Fairmont gave me a questioning look.
“What’s wrong? I thought you had good news.”
“I do, but Jessie doesn’t see it that way yet. We’ll talk later after she’s out of the house for a while.”
When Jessie returned from the kitchen, Mrs. Fairmont started asking her questions about her time with Gracie. The tension began to leave the room. Jessie even smiled when telling how nervous Gracie got when Jessie insisted on standing on top of the short ladder without anything to steady her.
“The next time she comes we’re going to wash the outside windows,” Jessie said. “She said you had a really tall ladder in the garage.”
“It’s tall enough,” Mrs. Fairmont answered. “But I’m not sure I want you washing the windows on the second story. There’s a man I hire to do that once a year.”
“Don’t hire him and pay me half what he charges you.”
Mrs. Fairmont glanced at me and I shook my head slightly.