Page 17 of 4th Silence
A large man with a handmade sign lunges off the sidewalk and smacks the patrol car with it. The lights come on, and the siren blips.
I meet Matt’s chagrined glance. “You were saying?”
“Hell no, we won’t go!” Mom yells. Her mob picks up the chant. She leads the pack toward the entrance. The two police officers and the security guards suddenly have more on their hands than they can control.
“Will they really put her in jail?” Meg asks.
For her own safety, I almost hope they do. Iris, the attorney’s receptionist, answers on the second ring. “Charlie Schock,” I tell her. “Put me through to Daniel Messing. Now.”
“Good morning, Ms. Schock. What is this regarding?”
I watch an officer try to take the bullhorn from Mom. She resists. Two of her supporters attempt to help her, and the whole lot tumbles to the sidewalk a few feet from us.
“My mother,” I tell Iris. “She’s about to be arrested.”
6
Meg
* * *
“Really?” I ask, staring at my mother across the table in a small interview room at the jail. Matt says they don’t call them interrogation rooms. It’s apparently not a good look, so they opt for the more politically correct phrasing.
Mom, haughty indignance on full display, lifts her chin. “What was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for justice?”
“Mom! Dad is beside himself. He got halfway here, and we told him to go home. The only reason they even let us see you is because JJ pulled strings. You owe him a thank you for that.”
At this, Mom scowls at me, then shifts her gaze to Charlie, sitting beside me. “He’s a good man. I’m sorry to aggravate him.”
“I feel a but coming,” Charlie says.
Mom nods. “He’s dragged his heels on this.”
Like a rogue wave building in front of me, a massive energy rises as Mom and Charlie glare at each other. The tension is thick enough to lock my shoulders up.
“Mom?” I say. “That’s not fair, and you know it. Keep this up, and we may leave you here.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” Charlie says. “And, oh, by the way, the lawyer I got you is on his way. But you might as well get comfortable in that cell because it’s probably too late to get you an arraignment today. Plan on spending the night.”
That thought literally sickens me. Our mother will be forced to stay with God knows what kind of lowlifes. Then again, she’ll probably befriend a hooker and crackhead.
If Mom is dejected by this information, she doesn’t show it.
In her mind, it’s good for her cause. A way to rile the public over the establishment forcing a retiree to sleep in a cell.
JJ called it. This is a full-blown shit show.
“What have you girls done on the case?”
Her tone is almost accusatory. As if we’ve nothing better to do than champion her cause.
At this, Charlie snorts. “Oh, not much.” She rolls her hand. “Other than getting JJ to agree to a quiet look at the case. We’re reviewing the evidence tonight.”
“Finally,” Mom huffs. “What about DNA testing?”
“Not yet,” I say. “We’ll get there.”
