Page 28 of Her Cadillac Cowboy
CHAPTER NINE
“I’ll handle this, Carol.” Sara put her stack of folders down on the corner of Carol’s desk and extended her hand toward the deputy. “I’m Sara Carson. How can I help you, Officer...?”
“Deputy Phillips, ma’am. I’m ordered by the Juvenile Court of Corpus Cristi County in the State of Texas to serve you with this subpoena.” He placed an envelope in her outstretched hand. “You have a nice day now, miss.”
If she’d been outside, she could have caught flies. She stared at the envelope that shook in her fingers. How could something so innocent as a clean white envelope appear so sinister?
A hand reached out and took the envelope. Gene. Thank heavens. He’d help sort this out.
She felt him grasp her elbow and guide her toward her office. She even heard him speak to Carol, although Sara couldn’t have repeated his words to save her soul.
Somehow, she sat at her desk, and Gene shoved a glass into her trembling hand.
“Drink,” he ordered.
She sipped. The whiskey burned. She sipped again.
Gene seated himself opposite her, tapping the desk with the envelope in his hand. “Sara, a subpoena often isn’t as terrible a thing as many people believe it to be. As legal counsel for Carson’s, I’d like to open this and advise you on how to proceed.”
The whiskey had done its job. Warmth spread through her, along with relief that someone would share this one burden with her. “Please. I’d appreciate your advice.”
Gene opened the envelope and extracted some official-looking papers. As he read, a frown deepened over his calm features. “This subpoena orders you to appear in the Juvenile Court next Tuesday as a witness at a hearing concerning the matter of The State of Texas versus William Arthur Talmidge, IV. Do you know someone by that name?”
Sara pulled at her ear. “I don’t know anyone named Talmidge.” The only person she’d met with a name close to William was that awful street kid from last night. It couldn’t be the same person. The courts didn’t work that fast. She pressed her lips together and sat forward, her hands gripped atop the desk.
“So, you do know this Talmidge person?”
“Maybe.”
Gene’s frown twisted impatiently.
“I’ve been so preoccupied, today, with Dad and other things, that I haven’t had a chance to tell you about the run-in I had with our vandals last night.”
“What?” Gene came out of his chair.
“Don’t get in a lather, Gene. I’m all right.”
He sat down but said firmly, “You’d better explain, young lady. Carl would have my hide and everyone else’s if we allowed anything to happen to you while you’re filling in here.”
She refused to give in to the humiliation of being addressed like a child. Neither would she give in to the hurt that Gene regarded her management of Carson’s as temporary. She had to focus on the issue at hand, the vandalism. “It was all very minor, really.” She proceeded to tell him about the events of the previous evening. Since Josh McKinley’s arrogance was irrelevant, Sara omitted any mention of the events after the police left.
“I’ll look into the matter and find out for certain if this William Arthur Talmidge is the kid you encountered last night. If that’s all this is, you may be able to give a deposition here in the office and avoid going to court at all.”
Sara sat back and put her hands in her lap. “Do you think so?”
“I can’t make any guarantees, but the court is usually reasonable about such things when a person’s livelihood is involved, as yours is. Of course, I don’t know how this subpoena got issued so quickly. It might simply be that Talmidge is a minor and the judge wants to move such cases along, but it could be something else. We’ll have to wait and see what I find out.”
“Please act quickly. I have a feeling that McKinley is behind this. My call to the police upset him. He seemed to think that the boy deserved a chance to work off the damages rather than face the justice system.”
Gene rose and strode toward the door. “I’m sorry you had to deal with McKinley, Sara. I’ll get back to you on this subpoena thing tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Gene.”
“You’re welcome, Sara.”
He shut the door behind him.
Sara pressed her palms to her eyes.
