A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I really appreciate it. I want to warn you upfront that this storyline could have some triggers because it does deal with a sensitive topic. Remember what work the Miranda Center does before proceeding. Please read the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!
/
Marissa checked the time. "I hate to say it, but I need to leave. Kiss the kids for me?"
Bianca smiled. "You know that I will. Call me when you get there?"
"You know that I will." Marissa replied. "I'll call you after the meeting as well."
The couple walked to the kitchen counter where Bianca handed Marissa two travel mugs filled with coffee. "One for you, and one for Lisa."
"She's going to love you even more than she already does." Marissa leaned in for a lingering kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too. Drive safely."
/
"Morning, Marissa." Lisa said after she stowed her suitcase in the trunk and joined Marissa in the car.
"Good morning, Lisa. This is from Bianca." Marissa smiled as she handed Lisa the travel cup her wife had prepared for the younger woman.
"Oh my god! I love Bianca so much right now. I haven't had any coffee yet." Lisa took an appreciative sip and sighed happily.
Marissa laughed. "That's what I told Bianca. Oh, and this is from me." Marissa handed Lisa a small carryout bag.
Lisa smiled as she pulled out a bagel. "You got my favorite! Thanks! You are by far and away my favorite boss."
"I'm relieved to hear that, and you're welcome. You need to keep that energy up for today." While Lisa fastened her seatbelt, Marissa programmed her GPS and then pulled out. "Are you ready for today?"
"Yes, I am. I want to thank you again for giving me this opportunity, Marissa. It means a lot that you have this much faith in me, and I won't let you down."
"I know you won't. I wouldn't have asked you to work with me on this if I thought otherwise. You earned this, Lisa. Okay, while you eat, we'll go over everything again."
/
Marissa pulled into the parking lot for the Llanview Courthouse and turned off the car after finding a spot. She quickly sent a text to Bianca to let her know they had gotten there before turning the volume down on her cellphone. The last thing she wanted was for it to ring while she talking to the judge. Marissa and Lisa then retrieved their briefcases and headed inside. They found Nora by the metal detectors, right where she said she would meet them when Lisa had texted her as they approached Llanview.
Nora greeted the other two lawyers. "Good morning. You made good time."
"Good morning. We did. Luckily, traffic was light." Marissa said as she placed her purse and briefcase on the belt to be scanned and then walked through the metal detector. This was a procedure she had gotten used to after the incident at the courthouse in Pine Valley.
Once they were through security, Nora led them through the courthouse and to a ladies' room.
"I thought you might want to freshen up."
"You thought right." Lisa said.
After they had freshened up, the three talked about the plan they had put together. Soon, it was time to see the judge.
/
Nora knocked on the door to Judge Sharon Stewart's chambers, and they entered when they heard judge's voice on the other side. Given the nature of their request, Judge Stewart had agreed to meet them in private.
"Ms. Buchanan, it's good to see you again."
"You too, your honor. Judge Stewart, this is Marissa Tasker and Lisa Walsh."
Marissa stepped forward and extended her hand. "Judge Stewart, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for making time to see us."
The judge shook Marissa's hand. "You're welcome, Ms. Tasker."
Lisa shook the judge's hand next. "Good morning, your honor."
"Good morning, Ms. Walsh. Please have a seat." Once the women were settled, Judge Stewart addressed the lawyers. "Let's get down to business. Ms. Tasker, I believe you have something for me."
Marissa nodded and retrieved the paperwork for her requests along with copies of the voicemails Tessa had received. "Your honor, I am requesting a cease and desist order along with a restraining order. These are transcripts of voicemail recordings of calls Vincent Turner, the Athletics Director of Llanview University, made to my client, Tessa Mendes. She is a student at the university as well as a member of the gymnastics team. On the calls, you can hear Mr. Turner threatening her with removal from the team as well as expulsion from the university."
"Why is he doing that?"
"My client, under the guise of a medical treatment, was sexually assaulted by a member of the university's medical staff. She reported it to Mr. Turner and her coach. Mr. Turner is now threatening her."
The judge raised an eyebrow and began to read the paperwork Marissa provided. After a few minutes, Judge Stewart put the papers down and looked at Marissa. "Am I safe to assume that your case is tied to Ms. Buchanan's?"
"You are."
"Let me see what you have, Ms. Buchanan."
Nora handed over her request for a search warrant of Landry's property, his office, and all electronic devices.
Judge Stewart shook her head when she finished reading. "This is disturbing, and if true, it's beyond the pale." She retrieved her pen and signed the orders Marissa had prepared and then the search warrant Nora requested. "Do you need someone to serve these orders for you, Ms. Tasker?"
Marissa smiled as she gathered the papers back. "No, I don't. I plan on delivering them myself. I owe it to my client."
The judge could tell that Marissa was more than up to the task ahead. "You remind me of myself several years ago."
"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you, your honor."
"Here is your search warrant, Ms. Buchanan. I take it you that you will be delivering it to Chief Buchanan."
"You would be correct, and thank you, your honor."
"Good luck to all of you."
/
Once they were outside Judge Stewart's chambers, Nora turned to the other two lawyers. "I have to get to the police station. Bo is waiting for this warrant. Are you two good?"
Marissa nodded. "Yes, we are. Lisa and I need to get to the university. Good luck. We'll see you later."
"Good luck to you as well. I look forward to hearing how everything went."
/
Marissa and Lisa entered Vincent Turner's office and walked to his secretary's desk to let her know they were there.
"Good morning. I'm Marissa Tasker, and this is Lisa Walsh. We have an appointment with A.D. Turner."
The other woman smiled. "Good morning. I'm Mr. Turner's secretary, Karen Stidham. Just let me take a look." She tapped a few keys on her keyboard. "Ah yes, I see that Mr. Kellerman made the appointment. Will he be late?"
Marissa shook her head. She knew that she and Lisa were a few minutes early. "No, Seth won't be joining us this morning. He had a last minute meeting pop up that he had to attend. Ms. Walsh and I will be handling this meeting without him."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Mr. Turner will be here shortly. Could I get either of you something to drink while you wait?"
"No, thank you. That won't be necessary."
"Very well. If you will please have a seat."
Marissa and Lisa each took a seat and waited in silence. Lisa felt her cellphone buzz and pulled it from her jacket pocket. The text was from Ellie who was confirming their hotel reservations for that evening. Lisa quickly responded, and while she was doing that, Vincent Turner arrived.
"Good morning, Karen. Do I have any messages?"
"Good morning, Mr. Turner. There are no messages yet."
"Are you sure there are no messages from Tessa Mendes? I thought for sure I would have heard from her by now."
"I'm positive."
At the mention of Tessa's name, Marissa nudged Lisa and silently instructed Lisa to start recording. Lisa nodded and did as asked.
"Hmmm. That's interesting. I was positive Tessa would have folded, I mean responded by now. I guess she's not as smart as Pritchard and I thought. Oh well, it looks like we have to do this the hard way. It's her funeral."
Both lawyers caught the slip. Marissa maintained her poker face while Lisa kept her reaction to a minimum.
Ms. Stidham cleared her throat, not entirely comfortable with the conversation. "Your first appointment is here."
Turner glanced over his shoulder and saw the two women waiting for him. "I happen to know for a fact that neither of you are Seth Kellerman. You're much too beautiful to be him."
Marissa internally rolled her eyes at the comment. She supposed it might have been considered charming had he not been eyeing both she and Lisa like pieces of meat. Tired of him already and not willing to put up with anything from him, Marissa decided to stop him in his tracks. "Seth couldn't make it. I'm Marissa Tasker, and this is my associate Lisa Walsh."
"What can I do for you two lovely ladies?"
Before Marissa could answer, Ms. Stidham interrupted. She had answered a call while her boss was attempting to be charming. "Excuse me, Mr. Turner. That was Justin with the campus police. He said that the Llanview police just checked in with them to let them know they were on campus to make an arrest."
"An arrest? Did they tell them who?"
"No, they didn't. Justin did say that the chief of police was here along with the district attorney."
Turner turned to Marissa. "I'm sorry, but I need to look into this. We'll need to push our appointment."
"Actually, that won't be necessary. The purpose for our visit was to hand deliver something to you. First, however, I should formally introduce myself."
"You're not Marissa Tasker?"
"Oh, no. That is my name, but there is more. I'm an attorney from Pine Valley. Actually, I am a partner at the law firm of Thompson, Stevens, Montgomery, Cortlandt and Tasker. I represent Tessa Mendes."
Lisa handed her boss the orders that had been signed that morning.
Marissa handed the documents to Turner, and as she explained what she was giving him, she smiled brightly, thoroughly enjoying seeing the color drain from the man's face as realization dawned on him. "This is a cease and desist order, and this is a restraining order. Judging by your expression, you know the reason for them."
Stunned silence quickly turned to fury. "Karen, called security. I want them off my campus." Turner then turned to Lisa, and he went to grab her cellphone when he realized she had been recording the entire time. "And you, give me that damn phone!"
Marissa stepped in front of Lisa, effectively blocking Turner. "Lay one finger on her, and I'll have you charged with assault so fast that it will make your head spin." The tone in her voice left no doubt to anyone that she was telling the truth. "The police are already on campus after all. I think you're in enough trouble though. Do you really want to add to it?"
Turner stepped back, but he was seething and was really starting to not think straight. "Get out of my office, you bitch, before I throw you out. I'm going to crush your client. She's taking on the wrong person. I will use every resource at my disposal to expose her. You have no idea who you're messing with."
Marissa simply smiled. She had gotten under the man's skin and was going to use it to her advantage to expose him. There was something else she knew as well. Turner was the type of man who wasn't used to women standing up to him, and that was something he better get used to. "Lay one finger on me, and I'll have you arrested. Go near my client, and see what happens. Contrary to what you seem to think, I know exactly who I'm dealing with. It's you who doesn't know who you're dealing with, and what I'm capable of and the resources at my disposal. You made a fatal flaw, several of them actually. The biggest the one you made though was underestimating my client. You thought you could threaten her, intimidate her into keeping her mouth shut. You thought she would fold. Tessa doesn't fold, and I sure as hell don't. If what Landy did to her didn't crush her, there is no chance that you will." Marissa addressed the secretary. "There's no need to call security, Ms. Stidham. We're leaving. There is somewhere else we need to be. Some advice, Mr. Turner. Get a lawyer. You're going to need one. Oh, make sure you check The Banner's website in a little while. I think there is something you're going to want to see. Lisa, after you."
Lisa bit back a smile as she led the way out of the office. Once they were by the elevator, she turned to Marissa. "Where to now, boss?"
"Landry's office. I want you to record Bo taking him away in handcuffs. I promised Tessa that we would try and get that for her."
"That will be my pleasure to record."
/
The duo from Pine Valley arrived outside the building Landry's office was in just in time to see Bo leading the doctor outside. With his hands in cuffs behind his back, Bo escorted the disgraced doctor to a police cruiser and helped him inside. While Lisa recorded the arrest, something else caught Marissa's attention. She saw Nora talking with a younger woman and both looked her way. The two made their way over to where Marissa was standing.
"Marissa, I have someone that would like to talk with you."
The redhead nodded and looked at the younger woman. She had a good idea what the younger woman wanted to talk about. "Hello, I'm Marissa Tasker. How can I help you?"
It was obvious that the younger woman was nervous, but she cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders and back. "Hi, Ms. Tasker. I'm Stacey Banks, and I'm a member of the gymnastics team. Dr. Landry treated me for an injury. Judging by his arrest, it would appear that I'm not the only one who received that treatment."
/
A/N: I'm heading out of town for vacation tomorrow, so I wanted to get this out to all of you before I leave. As with previous vacations, I'm not sure how much writing I'll do while I'm gone, so there might not be an update next week. See you soon, and to those in the States, Happy Fourth of July!