Chapter 11
She looked up as Penland appeared at her door with an arm-load of files.
“Are you ready to go over the battered-woman-syndrome case precedents?”
“All of those?” she asked in dismay. “We’ll be here all night.”
“I’ve skimmed through most of them. It won’t be as bad as you think.” After depositing them on her desk and pulling up a chair, he said, “After we finish, I’ll buy you dinner.”
“After we finish, I’m going to change clothes, drive across town to meet a friend, run five or six miles, pick up dinner on the way home, eat while I catch up on the news, then collapse into bed.”
Penland shook his head in amusement. “Ever hear the old saying, ‘all work and no play’?”
“Sure,” she answered with a shrug. “And just for the record, I’ve been called much worse things than ‘dull’.”
***McCoy nearly collided with
Penland as he came around the corner near
“Hey, Jack. How did court go today?”
“Fine,” McCoy answered curtly. “Have you seen Abbie? A message just came in for her.”
“She left about twenty minutes ago. She said she was going to go running.”
“Great. She never takes her pager when she runs.” He sighed in frustration. “Judge Yee’s clerk called. The defendant in a case she had scheduled agreed to take a plea today, and the defense isn’t ready on another case that was going to take the slot. She wants to know if the two of you can be prepared to begin the Grayson trial by next Wednesday. Jury selection would start on Monday.”
Penland shook his head. “I don’t know. We finished going over some case precedents this evening, but we have quite a few witnesses to prepare, yet. Abbie is the one who could tell you if we can be ready by then.”
“The clerk said she needs an answer tonight.” He checked his watch. “I still have depositions to review for court tomorrow, or I’d take the message to her.”
“I was about to leave, and I’d be glad to deliver it,” Penland offered, “but I don’t have any idea where Abbie was going to meet her friend.”
McCoy brightened. “I think I can tell you where to find them.”
***As Morgan and Carmichael rounded the corner at the far end of the park, an approaching figure immediately caught their attention. When the person continued to walk straight toward them, they both slowed their pace and watched him cautiously.
“It’s Todd,”
Coming to an abrupt stop, Morgan placed her hands on her hips. “What the heck is he doing here, Abbie? This place is supposed to be private. Why did you tell him where he could find you?”
“Oh, calm down,”
When Penland joined them, he nodded to Morgan. “You must be Calea. Abbie’s told me about you. I’m Todd Penland, the A.D.A. assisting her on the Grayson case.”
Eyeing him coolly Morgan said, “I’ve heard something about you as well.”
Penland looked them up and down, then smiled appreciatively. “You two look great out there. All that hard work really shows.”
“Why are you here, Todd?”
“A message came in for you and Jack told me I could catch up with you here. Judge Yee’s clerk needs to know tonight if we can be prepared for the Grayson trial by next Wednesday, with jury selection beginning on Monday.”
“That’s not a problem for us, either.”
“Okay. You can call her back and tell her it’s a go for both the prosecution and defense,” Carmichael informed Penland.
“I’ll do that,” he assured them. Surveying their surroundings, he added, “This is a great place to run. How did you find it?”
Morgan leaned a shoulder against Carmichael’s and began nudging her back toward their paths. “Just one of those things,” she answered. “Nice to meet you. Say, ‘Good-bye, Abbie.’”
Carmichael giggled and waved at Penland. “See you in the morning.”
“Have fun,” he called as the two took off again. He followed them with his eyes a minute more before retracing his steps to the exit.
***“Voir dire starts at 9:30 Monday morning,” Carmichael said into the phone. “Judge Yee’s clerk was relieved that we took the spot.”
“I’m glad it came available,” Morgan acknowledged. “A female judge is what we wanted. Now if I can just find a way to keep all those pesky men off the jury, it will be smooth sailing.”
“Don’t count your chickens,” Carmichael advised.
“I’m not worried,” Morgan responded confidently. “Oh, before I forget, I’ll be about thirty minutes late for our run this evening. A client is stopping by to pick up a contract after she gets off from work.”
“No problem. I have plenty to keep me busy here.”
“Jack wouldn’t happen to be back from court, would he?”
“Not yet,” Carmichael answered. “They started an hour late this morning, so I don't expect him back for another forty-five minutes or so. Why?”
“It’s nothing important. I’ll call him later.” There was a brief pause after which Morgan said, “Melissa says I have a client waiting, so I’d better go. Thanks for letting me know about jury selection.”
“You’re welcome. See you later.”
***“McCoy,” he answered.
“Jack, it’s Calea.”
He leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Calea, who? I must know at least a dozen women with the same name.”
“Very funny,” Morgan commented. “Tell me one other.”
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, maybe I do know only one. How did you come by such an unusual name anyway?”
“I was named for my grandmothers, Catherine and Amelia. My mother came up with a combination of the two.”
“Well, she did a good job,” he noted. “Are you calling to chew me out for sending Todd Penland to your secret rendezvous? Abbie said you were kind of p.o.’d last night when he showed up.”
“I wasn’t too thrilled to see him and I probably should chew you out, but things worked out well with the trial date, so I guess you’re off the hook. I’m calling because I have a favor to ask.”
“You want me to tell you what your opposition is up to?”
“I’m not at all concerned about that,” she assured him. “My request is of a more personal nature. Drew Compton and his wife, Grace, are coming from Chicago for a visit at the end of next week. The Fairchilds have six tickets to a Broadway play, so we’re all going to the show and then to dinner afterwards. Peter and Leslie have been trying to fix me up with one of their friends, and if I don’t find someone to go with on my own, they’re going to invite him. Would you be interested in going with me?”
A surprised smile lit up his face. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“No! I mean… Yes, I’m asking you out, but it wouldn’t be a date,” she answered, clearly flustered. “I’m just asking for you to help me out of a bind, as a friend.”
“Oh. You don’t want me to be your date. You only want to use me to save you from an uncomfortable situation,” he reasoned, trying to sound hurt.
“I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. To be honest, I would be perfectly content to go by myself, but my so-called ‘friends’ seem to think I need to pair off with someone. The Fairchilds both assure me this other guy is really great, but I’d rather go with someone I know than with someone I’ve never met. You know I don’t like surprises.”
“So the only reason you’re asking me is because I’m predictable and familiar, like an old pair of shoes,” he said, sounding even more wounded.
“I didn’t say that,” Morgan argued. “It’s just that, as far as I’m concerned, jumping off of a building would be preferable to going on a blind date.”
He coughed out a breath. “I don’t know how much more of this my self-esteem can take. Now I’ve gone from being someone you can count on to help you out, to being only one step up from a fate worse than death!”
“That isn’t what I meant!” Morgan exclaimed. “I was only trying…”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, during which time McCoy bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He was about to confess that he was teasing when she said, “I don’t think this is going very well. I’m only getting myself in deeper. Maybe I should hang up and try again.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but before he had the chance, he was confronted by the abrupt sound of a dial tone.
As he replaced the receiver of his phone, he gave way to a fit of laughter. The phone had been out of his hand for less than a minute when it rang again. He let it ring three times while he regained his composure, then answered in his sternest executive assistant district attorney’s voice, “McCoy.”
“Jack, this is Calea Morgan. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” he answered briskly. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve been invited by some friends to a Broadway play and dinner a week from this Saturday. Would you care to accompany me?”
He sighed thoughtfully and noisily rifled through some papers. “I’ll have to check my calendar. Can I get back to you?”
“Jack! Now what was wrong that time?” Morgan asked in exasperation.
He could no longer contain his laughter. “Not a thing. And I would be delighted to join you.”
“Finally! I was beginning to think the blind date might not be so bad after all. I doubt that he would’ve given me the third degree for inviting him to a free show and dinner.”
“I’m sorry,” McCoy said, still chuckling. “I thought I’d make you squirm a little. My day has been so dull, I needed some amusement.”
“Well, you know me. I’m always good for a laugh or two,” Morgan said brightly. “How’s the trial coming along?”
“Fine. It would be better if I had Abbie’s help, but thanks to you, I don’t.”
“You’re welcome,” Morgan retorted. “But you have to take some of the credit yourself. If you hadn’t been so adamant about my client’s prosecution, Abbie wouldn’t be tied up with her trial.”
McCoy started to admit that the prosecution hadn’t been his idea, but decided against it. Adam Schiff’s voice rang clearly in his head: Always present a united front. “It’s probably good that a woman is handling it anyway.”
“Things worked out well. I’m glad we got such a quick trial date. My client needs to be reunited with her children as soon as possible.”
“You have to win an acquittal first. And I should warn you, Abbie’s tough. I’ve seen her in action; I’d put her up against any defense attorney in town.”
“That’s quite a compliment,” Morgan noted. “I’ll be sure to tell her you said that. Speaking of Abbie, I’m supposed to meet her shortly, so I’d better get moving. Thanks for agreeing to go with me. I’ll let you know the details as soon as I find out.”
“I’m sure we’ll be bumping into each other once your trial starts next week. Maybe we can get together for lunch.”
“I’d like that,” Morgan agreed. “Have a good evening, Jack.”
“You too. And thanks for the invitation, such that it was.” He added sincerely, “I really am looking forward to it.”