Ch.7
It was just as she remembered it. The sounds and smells of the small room brought back memories of her time on death row, and when she was in jail for attempting to kidnap her son.
She laughed as the irony struck her. She wasn't even trying to kidnap him this time, but it didn't matter. No matter how hard she tried to plead her case no one would listen. Not the officer who arrested her, or Sam. Even her own brother thought she was guilty. Not like she couldn't blame them, it wasn't long ago that she was still trying to figure out a way to get both her kids from Ethan and Gwen. She just wished that someone would have done what she suggested, and called her mother, or Fox. They could have told them that it was Pilar who told her to take the clothes to the shelter and then they could have had it corroborated by Fox.
But they didn't. Instead, they took the suitcase into evidence and even though the clothes were to small for little Ethan to wear and the rest were maternity clothes; they decided without a shadow of a doubt that she was guilty. And that the clothes were some type of getaway disguise.
Sighing she turned her head and watched the guards through the door. After her arrest, she was brought into the interrogation room to wait for her lawyer. But since Woody was busy, she had to settle for the public defender. I just hope he is a good one. She thought to herself as her ire rose another notch. Since she had been led to the room with the strict order to sit and not move, she had found herself with nothing to do to keep her busy. Her thoughts weren't helping matters either. She was terrified that because of her past actions now combined with this misunderstanding; the judge would grant Ethan and Gwen full custody, leaving her with supervised visitation and no chance to ever get her kids back.
She looked up as the door opened and quickly stifled a groan. Before her stood a man who she guessed was her lawyer. And although he could have been a crack shot lawyer his appearance said anything but. He looked to be just out of law school, still with that fresh 'I hope to make a difference in this world look'. One that had yet to be hardened by realities of the job, or of the cases lost. In which innocent victims either lost their freedom, or they were made victims again, by the same sytem that was supposed to protect. It wasn't something new, but it was something she had hoped to never experience again. At least this time she could take some comfort in the fact that Rebecca wouldn't have found time to sleep with the judge yet. With a sigh she focused back on the man in front of her. I guess I could have done worse. I could be saddled with a public defender who was beginning to hate his job. At least this one will try his hardest and will put everything into it.
Mustering up a small smile she reached up with both hands, due to the handcuffs, and shook the offered hand. Grimacing a little as the cuffs bit into her skin.
"Guard!" Once the guard appeared the lawyer gestured to his clients cuffs.
After a brief hesitation the guard removed them. With a stern look to Theresa he firmly told her that regardless of who she was and who she was related to, if she made one false move she would be back in the cuffs and thrown into a cell. As the guard backed up he caught the disapproving look the lawyer gave him, thinking to explain his actions he opened his mouth but was swiftly cut off.
"I don't know who you think you are, what it was you thought you were doing, or the motive behind it. But it was uncalled for. I don't know the reasons for your actions nor do I want to know." He paused for effect before getting a steely look in his eyes as he continued. "Mark my words if I see or hear that you have been harassing my client without reason, and not liking her strictly on principle isn't a good reason. I will have your job, your direct supervisors job and your captain's job. And you, including this precinct, will be facing a lawsuit. Do I make myself clear?"
The guard slowly nodded his head. Thoroughly chagrined that his actions could bring shame upon him and the precint. Muttering under his breath about lawyers and people to big for their britches the guard moved to the observation booth just down the hall.
Impressive was the first word that came to Theresa's mind as she watched the exchange between the lawyer and the guard. Maybe he's not so bad after all. He did put the guard in his place. And he truly seems to care for my welfare. The quiet clearing of a throat brought her out of her musings and into the face of the semi- amused lawyer.
"I hope whatever it is that has your attention is something that can be of importance, otherwise I might as well pack it up. Because without any evidence to convince the judge that you are innocent of these charges you will most likely lose any chance of regaining custody of your kids. And given your past history and actions you may be facing jail time."
"You..you don't believe that I am innocent?" Theresa sat there stunned. How was it that she always got the bad end of any deal. Her own lawyer didn't even believe her. Here he was being paid by her tax dollars to defend her, and he couldn't even muster up an ounce of client loyalty.
Hell it didn't matter she told herself sternly. He's my lawyer he needs to believe or at least think there is a chance that I am innocent for me to be able to beat these charges, so he damn well better muster up some type of feeling or thought other then I am guilty.
As she sat there and watched him watch her, with his eyebrow raised as if to say what do you think. She felt all her fustration, and anger at this situation and previous ones boil over and she blew.
"Don't you dare sit there and look at me with your smug face." She hissed vehemently, slamming her newly released hands down onto the table.
"You have no idea what I have been through. I just got my own place, was starting to make something of myself again. And then out of the blue as I am doing a favor for my mother; I get pulled over. And if that wasn't enough, I then get arrested. And what are the charges, you ask. Kidnapping. Kidnapping. Let me tell you, even though it pains me to see my son and daughter being raised by that heartless bitch Gwen and her mother, I stopped trying to kidnap him and his sister a long time ago. Matter of fact I stopped trying any hair-brained scheme that I thought would get them back to me faster. Instead I have spent every moment trying to do better. For them and for me. I wanted to do everything the right way. Wait for the hearing and see how that went. But as you can see things just don't seem to be going my way.
Yea I know my past isn't pretty and I have done some outrageous things. Hell we all have. But let me tell you this. If, and that is a damn big if. If I was to kidnap my son; I wouldn't have just stopped there. I would have taken both of my kids and would have gotten as far away as this hellish town as I possibly could. I wouldn't have picked one over the other. They, not him or her, they are my world. So me taking Ethan and not his sister is a load of bull. And anyone with half a brain who knows me, and let me tell you the numbers are dwindling, would know that.
So you can sit there with your smug face, and your indifference and judge me like the rest of this town does. But if you don't put everything you have into doing this job when it's my tax dollars going into your paycheck, you will regret it. Are we clear?"
The red haze that had settled over her cleared once she heared the clapping, whipping her head around she saw the one person she prayed for, but didn't think she would see. Fox.
"Fox?"
"The one and only." he joked. "So what trouble did you get yourself into this time, Resa?"
"Oh Fox." Forgetting the warning the guard bestowed upon her before leaving, she jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. One of the few people who knew her through and through. Suddenly it was all to much and she broke down crying. Sobbing her heart out into her friends arms.
Fox helpless to do anything, rubbed her back in soothing circles while she let it all out. When she calmed down to just the occasional sniffle, he manuvered them into a chair. With a glance to the lawyer, he gestured for him to cotinue.
"As I was about to say Miss Lopez- Fitzgerald, it's not enough for me to believe you or even believe in you. It's up to me to make other people believe you. This is quite a predicament you have yourself in. It's rather unfortunate that this happened when the custody hearing was so close that they have now pushed it up. For whatever reason I do not know.
Looking at the police report I can't say one way or another on if you were trying to kidnap your son or not." Seeing her about to interupt he held up his hand and prayed she would hear him out. He knew little about her, other then what he read in the papers. And impulsive was not the word to describe her. Saying she that was impulsive is like saying a cheetah is just a little bit fast.
"And while it's not a bad thing, it's not a good thing. Any decent lawyer worth his pay will make it appear as if that is what you had in mind. You just said that if you were going to kidnap your son you would take your daughter as well. And that won't work in your favor. One could make the assumption that you were planning to do just that, but after you and your son got settled first. And that would be a reasonable assumption. It would be a lot harder for you to escape and hide with two kids rather than one.
After your brother called Mr. Crane and explained what was happening, Mr. Crane called me. Contrary to your belief I am not a public defender; I 'm on the Crane payroll as their lawyer. I do not waste my time taking on cases that I feel are impossible to win. While your's will be difficult it won't be hard to poke holes in the prosecutions theroy whatever it may be. We have both your mothers' statement that she was the one who told you to take the clothes to the shelter, and Fox as a witness who heard this request. We also talked to the lady in charge of the shelter, and confirmed that she did indeed called your mother and asked for the clothes to be brought in. Now with that known here is what is unknown that may cause us problems.
We don't know who it was that called the police and tipped them off to seeing you drive to the outskirts of town. Otherwise I would have them on the stand testifying to what it was that they saw. We could try to pull the call from the call center but that will take time and a warrant, neither of which we have. I also need to know why you had your son. By all reports he should have been at school. And a call to the school informed me that he was excused from being there by Ethan. As to how you got him..."
"It was Ethan." She said in a hoarse whisper.
"I'm sorry? I'm not sure I follow what you are saying."
"It was Ethan. He..um he stopped by with little Ethan. He didn't say why he was bringing him. I didn't even know that they would be there. Ethan knew that I was moving today and wouldn't be able to see him. That was why we had planned for me to have him a little later then usual tomorrow.
I didn't answer the door, Fox did. Maybe he could tell you something." She turned to Fox, pleading with her eyes for him to say something that may help her.
It was then that she saw it. To those who never took the time to know Fox, they couldn't tell when he was lying to when he was telling the truth. They automatically thought that whenever he opened his mouth, whatever he was going to say would be a lie, and therefore could be discounted. But Theresa knew better, she could tell better then anyone when he was telling the truth or hiding something. And she didn't even have to be loking at him to know. It was intuition, or maybe she just knew him better then either of them realized. Whatever the case, if she hadn't had been looking at him, with desperation showing in her eyes, she wouldn't have caught the faint tick in his jaw line. And knowing what she knew she seized upon it.
"You know something. You know why Ethan brought little Ethan to me today. Don't you Fox?" It was half a question, half a statement, for she knew what he was going to say before he said it.
"Yea I do." Fox resigned himself to letting his brothers confidence go. It wasn't that he cared about betraying his brother. He had no loyalty familial or otherwise towards his brother. He knew that what he would say would hurt his best friend without a shadow of a doubt.
"Ethan brought him to you because he didn't think he would be safe staying in the mansion." At Theresa's look of outrage he silently debated with himself on how much he should tell her. Deciding to go full throttle he got ready for the outburst on hand, and hoped to whatever higher power there was that she could contain her outburst.
"Uh... I.. Theresa I don't know how to say this, but something happened between Rebecca and little Ethan. I'm not sure of all the details because Ethan was trying not to let little E overhear. But the gist of it was that Rebecca told him to do something that contradicted what Ethan told him to do. Little E decided that he was going to follow Ethan's orders rather then Rebecca's. And when he wouldn't comply with her.. she.. ah.. well she tried to force him.
Um.. Little Ethan had a bit of an accident and broke a few things, dishes, glasses, a chair I think. And well Rebecca, we all know how she isn't overly motherly. She went overboard, and in front of witnesses. She... uh... shetriedtohitlittleEthan." He finished in a rush.
The silence that he was met with after he finished his brief tale was deafening. Until Theresa whispered the one word he feared.
"What?!"
Gaining all his courage he tried again and this time succeeded in telling her what he was in such a rush to get out. "She tried to hit little Ethan. She was yelling that he was his mother's child always ruining things. I believe she even called him a bastard. And in front of Julian, Gwen, Ethan and Phyllis she tried to hit him."
He watched as all the color drained from her face and he plowed on knowing she had to hear all of it. "Afterward Ethan tried talking to Julian about getting little Ethan out of the house permanently, but Gwen overheard... and well she kind of went ballistic. Basically telling him that it was over her dead body that little Ethan would go back with you. After that Ethan decided it was best to bring him to you. He told me about it when he showed up. I wasn't going to keep it from you. I wanted him to tell you himself... That's why I was kind of hanging around. By the time you came back in and didn't say anything about it I figured that he hadn't told you, and I was going to wait until the little man was gone and sit down and let you know."
"Resa, I never thought that something like this would happen. I was just trying to protect you." Fox took that minute to look at her, truly look at her.
And he was scared. Not for himself because he kept the facts from her, but for herself and what she would do when she saw Rebecca or Gwen. He wasn't sure that Ethan would escape her wrath.
Slowly and deadly she looked at the lawyer, who blanched at the fire and hate gleaming in her eyes. "Find a way to get my son and daughter away from them or else when I see them you won't have to worry about fighting kidnapping charges. You will be giving the judge my insanity plea for ripping that bitch, who dared try and lay her hands on my son, apart. And that scheming tart she calls a daughter will suffer just as much. No one calls my son a bastard, and no one had better lay a hand on him. Ever. Again."
For once the lawyer was at a loss for words, and merely nodded his head. For he had no doubt in his mind that the young lady in front of him meant every single word she uttered.
