Page 57 of Severed Rivalry
“Please sit. I’m Sherman Nettles, your counsel. This is for you.” He pushes a bottle of water my way as I take the steel chair across from him. It’s cold and bolted to the concrete floor.
He looks at his phone before continuing. “First things first. Your daughter is with Ayla Barone. They had dinner of pizza and cookies with Liam Murphy. She required a photo identification of Liam.”
I exhale, letting that one worry ooze from me. “Thank you.” I crack the water and take a deep swig.
“She’s a smart girl. I don’t have an answer for you on Rosie Ocotea yet. We didn’t have much to go on as your daughter was busy putting Liam through his paces and giving us the information on you.”
I nod. We’ll get there. “I’m Mr. and Mrs. Barone’s attorney. And now yours. I pushed them to get the bail value set. The arresting officer was dragging his feet, but it was done, and bail has been posted. I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you not to leave town, mostly because I don’t like Christian on my bad side.”
“Christian?”
“Ayla’s husband.”
“He… He posted bail for me? Why?”
“He did. He said you’re one of them, and that’s all it took. Now, if you’re willing, I’d like to give you a ride home and schedule a time we can talk tomorrow at my office about your case. Nothing’s going to change overnight and the sooner we get you home, the better you’ll feel.” He leans in, but his voicedoesn’t drop. “Besides, I like to hear details in private. No need to give them any fodder.” He tilts his chin to the glass, before he stands and extends a hand for me to precede him. I grab the water bottle and do just that.
He waits as I gather my coat and Chapstick. I leave the used tissue and the receipts in the bucket.
Sherman Nettles drives a small Cadillac SUV. He asks for my address and programs it in. He extends his phone to me as we leave the parking lot. “Mrs. Barone is programmed in.”
I take the phone, greedily, and dial Ayla.
“Hello?” the voice on the other end is hopeful and tears well in my eyes for the first time tonight.
“Ayla, it’s Sariah.”
“Hey. One sec. Renée?”
There’s a scraping across the mic before my world is set to rights. “Mom?”
“Hey, baby. I’m heading home.”
My daughter falls apart. The sobs are muffled until I hear, “I’ve got your girl. Come on home, Sariah.”
“Thanks, Ayla.” I disconnect.
“Mr. Nettles, I don’t know how to thank you.”
He waves a hand as if it’s no big deal. “Don’t worry about it. Delores is used to it.”
“Delores?”
“My wife. We’ve been together forty-four years. She was fool enough to take a bet on me fresh out of law school. Then again, I was a fool for her the first time I saw her. She knows I have odd hours occasionally.”
“Forty-four years is an accomplishment.”
“Forty-four years is the passing of time. Her not throttling me when I’m an ass is the real accomplishment.”
“My mom had a seizure, or what we think was a seizure. I sped to get home to her and my daughter who panicked witnessing it. I flew through a stop sign. I didn’t care. I left the door open for the officer and invited him in. It was a good-faith gesture.”
“It also gave him the right to enter and arrest you. Withoutthat, he’d have been stuck trying to get a warrant. And no judge would sign off on that during a medical emergency with EMS on the scene.”
“Why does doing the right thing bite good people in the ass?”
“Sariah, you don’t think like a criminal. We can get you off. This was an overstep for sure. It’ll be done within the week.”
“Do I have attorney-client privilege if someone else paid you on my behalf?”
