Alicia woke up at the morning believing that she would find her husband lying next to her in the bed in their old home at Highland Park. Her children Zach and Grace would be up and about, getting ready to go to their prep schools.
That's what she had been dreaming about only it hadn't seemed like a dream. It had seemed real, the intricate details of the furniture in her bedroom, the sounds of the neighborhood waking up outside her window and the scents of coffee of the lavender sachet hanging in her walk in closet.
But when she opened her eyes and looked around in the darkness, she saw her cramped room in the apartment that she had rented after her husband had gone to prison. She had remained there when he'd been released on appeal, won his appeal and then spent time living there while under house arrest. He had been kicked out when she'd discovered he slept with her close friend Kalinda a couple of years earlier.
She hadn't really known Kalinda at the time but the revelation casually dropped by an investigator on the night of his reelection to the State Attorney's office had ripped their friendship apart anyway. Over time, she had forgiven Kalinda and she had forgiven her husband. In fact, the night he had announced his plans to run for the governor's seat, she had stood beside him, the good wife.
The wiser wife, but still she had supported his candidacy without reservation. Even after all the investigations he had launched against her law firm, she had still decided to support him.
It had hurt Will, the decision she had made but she had thought about all her options and she made the decision she did, not on impulse but to preserve her family.
The phone rang interrupting her thoughts. She glanced at the caller id and saw Will's name on it. Damn, she sat up on her bed in the darkness and called him.
"Hey Alicia…glad I caught you…did I get you up too early?"
The sun had risen enough to send pale streams of light through the curtains. She saw the first splashes of it bounce against a wall.
"No…I'm good…I couldn't sleep much after the news conference."
Silence met her and she knew she said the wrong thing but he must know that whenever her husband stood there with his consultant Eli Gold to update his campaign, she had to be there with him looking like the supportive wife and mother of his two children. At least they'd gotten that part right. Mike Kresteva had issued his own press conference to try to paint her in a negative light even more than he had after that conversation she had with him in the office.
The one where he'd lied in her face and told her she'd simply misunderstood or failed to correctly remember what had happened. That's when she realized what kind of snake he really had proven to be and that's when she had made that decision to support her husband.
Whether Will had a problem with it or not. His tone had appeared conversational with her so far.
"You looked composed up there Alicia."
He couldn't say that she looked good, or that he liked how she looked up there next to her husband.
"I felt composed Will. After all I've done this before."
A pause, then a sigh from him.
"I hope it works out better this time Alicia."
She took a deep breath feeling as she was already treading on dangerous waters with him. But she tried to keep it light.
"So what's this about Will is it work?"
"Yeah…the case that Matan Brody's handling for Cary is on the docket on Monday," he said, "I thought I'd put in some hours today doing some research on it."
"What about Cary? After all he has some background in it."
Will sighed.
"He's second chair…and he was willing to take that spot," Will said, "But we might need your help on some brief writing."
Alicia rolled her eyes. That type of work was best left to junior associates not those past their third year…but she might have some time today before she had to meet with Eli and Peter to discuss an appearance at a charity dinner. She'd gotten sucked into it
"So what's the case about?"
"It's Roxie Cavanaugh, the woman who beat up the guard in lockup while being held at the jail over the weekend after a DUI."
Alicia frowned.
"Wasn't she a paralegal at Stern's firm?"
"She was thinking about being a lawyer," Will said, "But this incident…this battery of an officer case…it could really mess things up for her."
Alicia knew that it would be harder for Roxie to get into a law school and even become a lawyer if she had a criminal record of a violent assault.
"She talk to any legal yet?"
"A PD was at her arraignment," he said, "Donna Seabrook, got her released on bail which someone paid off but she wants a private attorney to fight her case."
Alicia could understand why. Most PDs were so overworked that they pushed even pressured their clients to take plea bargains early on so they could clear their extensive caseloads. But wait a minute, wasn't Donna…
"Kalinda's ex…right?"
Will cleared his throat.
"Yes…her…another example of collateral damage left in her wake."
"Will…that sounds a bit harsh don't you think…?"
"Probably but she breaks hearts…"
Yeah Alicia knew that to be true but she had just started mending her friendship with Kalinda again after the deep freeze, despite how upset she'd been to hear about her one night stand with Peter she had missed her friend.
She sensed that Kalinda felt the same way but it wasn't always easy to read her.
"She didn't break yours did she Will?"
A nervous laugh.
"Of course not…I'm not a woman…"
Alicia didn't think it necessarily mattered. Kalinda seemed to still have a bit of mystery to her when it came to relationships.
"So will you drop on by the office," he asked, "Cary said he'd be there and Kalinda said she'd get the information from Donna but I'm not sure how she'll do that. They didn't part on the best of terms."
Alicia didn't think that mattered much either.
"She'll get the information we need," she said, "but we need more on this guard. Did you call the lockup?"
"They haven't given out any information on his history," Will said, "Said it's all confidential."
Alicia knew that's what the jail would say but it was still early enough in the case to get enough information to figure out how to launch the first offence.
Because as the saying went, the best defense was the perfect offense.
Diane got the phone call from Will that the defensive team was working on strategy for the Cavanaugh case. She'd heard bits and pieces about it from him but she'd agreed to bill it as one of the pro bonos. She didn't believe that Roxie had assaulted the guard in the jail unless there'd been a reason. She knew from experience how tough the guards were over female inmates and how often they tried to work an angle through their jobs either with drugs or sex with inmates.
Diane knew she'd start busting balls if there were any such abuses here. She knew that Roxie had been represented at the initial hearing to release her with bail. She would get a briefing from Will and Cary after the meeting and then make a decision on how to involve herself then. As for now, she had to go run some errands.
Kurt McVeigh had invited her to visit him in his cabin in Montana of all places and she had been thinking about it. She harbored strong almost animalistic feelings for him but they just were in two different places most of the time. But she did miss him still.
Her phone rung and she picked it up.
"Kalinda, what's going on?"
"Not much…how about you?"
Diane's mind worked because she knew with Kalinda it had always been about wanting something preferably for nothing or as little as she could get away with giving.
"You are heading to meet with the others?"
"Yeah…after I pick up the refreshments…"
"They foisted that on you this time?"
She heard an edge in Kalinda's voice.
"I volunteered to pick up some sandwiches from a deli does that surprise you?"
Yeah it did actually, Diane thought but her better judgment left her not saying it.
"No…not at all…I hope this meeting goes well. I understand Donna Seabrook handled the case initially."
Kalinda didn't pause at all.
"Yes she did…very well. Got her out on bail and as I understand it was posted."
"By who…?"
"I can't say…I don't know. I haven't checked with the bondsman."
"Kalinda…you shouldn't have to check."
Kalinda sighed, obviously wanting the phone call to end.
"Anything else you want to ask me before I head on down there?"
Diane didn't know where to start but she sighed instead.
"No…just that I think Donna must have recommended the firm to Roxie…which was very nice of her."
Kalinda didn't respond to that just clicked off the phone and continued on with whatever she must be doing. Diane thought her to be complicated but not as mysterious as people thought. When Cary had returned to the fold of the firm after his stint working the other side, she had expected some friction, between him and Will and him and Kalinda but everyone seemed to be working well together.
Though she wondered how long the détente would last until the first conflict erupted. No, she'd better enjoy the peace while it lasted because that probably wouldn't be much longer.
Kalinda picked up the sandwiches and headed back to her car looking around her carefully as she always did when out and about. She had a vigilant nature to her that not many understood or even tried to get which was fine with her. She didn't need that in her life people who took the time to figure her out just so they could say it. Like they had unraveled some deep dark mystery where there was none. She was just private in her life and kept it that way.
Better to let people believe that she used people only to get what she needed or wanted. Life was much less complicated that way.
Her phone rang.
"Hey Kalinda…"
Donna of course….she knew she would hear from her about the case.
"Yes I'm here," she said, "I'm on my way to meet with the legal team to discuss strategy in Roxie's case."
"Good…I'm glad she's in good hands," Donna said, "I'd handle it myself but I'm overwhelmed with cases and I've got six months of trials lined up already."
"Got it…Will's put Cary as second chair and Alicia's going to do the briefs."
"I thought she'd be busy on her husband's governor campaign now that he's got competition."
"Apparently not…she just didn't want to do the heavy lifting," Kalinda said, "Will's lead counsel and Cary's got that time in his cubicle as an ASA."
Donna chuckled.
"I didn't think he'd give that up," she said, "He seemed much happier there for a while."
For a while, Kalinda thought until he'd tarnished his performance and got demoted.
"He's back in his office and busy… and he'll do well on Roxie's defense."
Donna sighed.
"And what about you…are you going to help," she said, "Roxie needs your investigative skills and your willingness to…"
"To do what Donna…stretches the boundaries? Yes, I am working on it and I'll do what I have to do on the investigative side like I always do."
Donna paused.
"Yes…you were always better at your work than with relationships."
Kalinda bit her tongue wondering if their breakup would always be a sore spot with Donna. She just needed to get over it already and move on.
"I am choosing to focus on my work."
"I'll bet…you blur the lines between the two so much to get information…it made it much harder to relate to you."
Kalinda rolled her eyes not really wanting to hear about all this because it served no purpose. Their time together had simply run its course. They both were blameless for that yet Donna wanted to paint her as the villain.
But she had to get going, she had a meeting to catch and they had to figure out a plan to help Roxie. Not that it was much of a mystery of what had happened in that jail.
Because she knew Roxie.