Evidence of Darkness Page 6

  When the same thing happened the next three mornings, she began wondering if something was wrong with her. That weekend, she purchased a pregnancy test to put her mind at ease. She thought, this can’t be happening. No one has that bad of luck! After everything she had done to get her life back on track, a pregnancy would be an extremely unfair twist of fate. She needed to know as soon as possible, so she could terminate the pregnancy.

  When the result of the test was positive, she put all of her emotions aside and immediately began investigating avenues for abortion, more determined than ever not to let the rape ruin her life.

  She found a low-cost clinic in the Indianapolis area and made an appointment for the following Friday after her classes were over. While driving the two hours to the clinic, she struggled to remain mindless about what was about to happen. She continued to tell herself this was the only option if she was to continue college.

  Once she arrived at the clinic, she completed the necessary paperwork, then was examined by one of the nurses. As she waited for a doctor to enter the room and begin the procedure, she suddenly started feeling uneasy, and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her she couldn’t seem to shake off – if she killed this child, she would be a worse mother to her child than her mother had been to her. This act would even be more mortifying than what Bryan had done to her.

  She knew she couldn’t go through with the abortion. She quickly dressed, then bolted out of the examination room and past the receptionist’s desk, not even bothering to check out as she fled the clinic.

  While she drove back to her aunt’s house, she cried as she contemplated what to do next. By the time she arrived home, she knew what she had to do. She would give the child up for adoption to someone who would love it, and provide the kind of childhood she wished she could have had. The nurse at the clinic had estimated her due date to be mid December. With any luck, she could finish her fall semester classes and have the baby during Christmas break.

  She felt in control of her life again. But, she dreaded the thought of telling Wanda about her pregnancy, and worse, the rape.

  Living with her aunt seemed to be working out well. Wanda had not only become a good friend, but the first thing resembling a good mother figure she had ever experienced. Reesa felt safe and content for the first time in years, but she was still very apprehensive about confiding in her about being raped. She felt tainted, imperfect, unlovable. She couldn’t help but wonder if Wanda would even believe her that she’d been raped. What if she didn’t want her living there anymore? Fear consumed her, and she once again wondered if she was doing the right thing.

  It took Reesa three weeks to gain the courage to talk with Wanda. Her clothes were getting tight, and she knew her baby bump would be visible soon.

  One night after they had cleaned up the dinner dishes, Reesa sat down with her in the living room and began the arduous task of explaining to her aunt what had happened, and, that she was pregnant.

  Wanda listened intently with tears in her eyes. When Reesa had finished, she held her tight for what seemed like hours as Reesa sobbed. She had never felt so loved and validated by anyone in her life as she had while engulfed in Wanda’s embrace.

  The next morning, Reesa woke up at 5:30 and got ready for work. When she entered the kitchen to eat breakfast, she was surprised to see Wanda sitting at the kitchen table in the dim morning light, drinking a cup of coffee. She was frowning, and had remnants of tears on her face.

  “Reesa, please, come sit down. Let’s have a chat,” Wanda said softly as she gently patted the table.

  Reesa couldn’t help but wonder, does she want me to leave? Tears formed in her eyes as she sat down opposite her aunt at the tiny kitchen table.

  Wanda leaned in toward Reesa and placed her hand gently on her forearm. “Now, dear, I know you think that giving this child up is the only way, but it’s not. We can make this work.” She took Reesa’s hand and continued. “I’ve been up all night thinking about this. Your Uncle Bob and I tried so hard to have a child. I would have given anything to be a mother, to experience the joy of holding a child in my arms. I had so many miscarriages that I lost count. What I’m trying to say, dear, is that you have been given a rare and precious gift. A gift I would have died for. What if this chance never comes along again? We never know what the future holds. I know in my heart and soul, that we can do this. I’ll help you, Reesa. You and your baby can live here. I’ll can watch the child while you go to your classes. We’ll work it out – we’ll figure this out together. Just think about it. Please? Don’t do anything you may regret later.”

  Reesa sensed her desperation and sincerity, but knew she couldn’t do it. “But, this child wasn’t conceived in love. It’s the result of a violent act. I’ll look at this child and think of him – of that awful night. I hate him, Aunt Wanda! How can I possibly raise his child?”

  Tears were streaming down Wanda’s face as she pleaded, “I know, dear, but it’s just an innocent baby. It’s your child too, Reesa! All I’m asking is that you think about it. You don’t have to decide anything right now. I just think in time, you’ll grow to love this child that’s growing inside of you.”

  Reesa looked at the clock. “I need to get to work or I’ll be late.” She was growing angry and suddenly felt an overwhelming need to escape. As she drove to work, she tried to shake off Wanda’s words.

  Over the next few months, Wanda continued to persuade her to keep the baby. Reesa wouldn’t even consider the idea. Having a child would only hinder her attempt to be successful, to be someone, to be independent. She couldn’t wait for the whole ordeal to be over.

  Wanda finally resigned herself to Reesa’s decision to give the child up for adoption and never mentioned it again. She stood by her side, supporting her throughout the entire pregnancy.

  Jade was born on December 15, 1999, two days after Reesa’s last final for the fall semester. When the doctor placed Jade in her arms, she looked at the innocent baby gazing up at her and immediately fell in love. She knew at that moment, she could never give her up.

  She looked at Wanda with distress in her eyes and begged, “Does your offer still stand? I mean, can I keep her, Aunt Wanda?”

  Less than four years later, Wanda and three-year-old Jade attended her graduation when she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business with high honors. It was one of the happiest days of Reesa’s life.

  4

  CHRISTMAS COURT

  “Tis the season!” Reesa said sarcastically at 4 a.m. as she groped in the darkness for her cell phone ringing from the nightstand beside her bed.

  She hated the weeks prior to Christmas. On top of her regular caseload, she could always anticipate an occasional early morning call from a client who partook in too many spirits at a Christmas party and ended up in jail. She had a reputation amongst her colleagues at the firm, as well as other law firms in the area, for successfully mitigating unscrupulous legal mishaps – usually with minimal consequences. Over the past few years, she had been jokingly accused by several of her coworkers of harboring delicate information on a few of the judges.

  Reesa preferred to believe it was more of an acute understanding of the nefarious behavior of men after they had consumed too much liquor, paired with the extreme efforts they would expend in trying to keep their sins concealed.

  Reesa met with her contrite client early that morning in lockup, then proceeded to the criminal courthouse for his 8 a.m. arraignment hearing. She was relieved when she saw Judge Morrison sitting on the bench. He tipped his reading glasses to the end of his nose and peered out over the top to watch as she and her client took their seats in the crowded courtroom. She gave him a quick smile and shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘here I am again.’

  After a rather quick hearing, she walked out of the courthouse with her grateful client and they went their separate ways. She had gotten half way down the steps when she saw Mike sprinting up towards her.

 
She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him approaching. “Good morning, Mike. It’s nice to see you bright and early.”

  “Hi, Reesa,” he replied, out of breath. “Did I just see you coming out of the courthouse with Steve Conrad? Since when are you collaborating with him on a criminal case?” Steve was an attorney Mike had turned to occasionally for his legal expertise on a few of his more complex divorce cases.

  She looked straight ahead and continued walking down the steps to the Centre Street sidewalk, then turned toward the civil courthouse for her next case. “I’m not,” she said, now wishing he hadn’t seen her.

  Mike was struggling to keep up with her. “But, I just saw you – ”

  “You didn’t see anything, Mike,” she interrupted, quickening her stride.

  He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, I get it. I see what’s going on here.”

  “No, you don’t. You have no idea what’s going on and it’s none of your business.”

  “Ah, let me guess…was it DUI? Possession? Assault?”

  As they walked toward the courthouse, Mike was trying to figure out why she was in the criminal courthouse early that morning with Steve. He derived from the way she was acting that she had represented him, and he was dying to know why. “Come on, Reesa, let me have it.”

  “My lips are sealed. Just forget about it. Please?” she begged.

  Mike chuckled. “Well, it certainly wasn’t soliciting a prostitute. He’s married!”

  Reesa continued walking down the sidewalk looking straight ahead, appearing to ignore his comment when he abruptly stepped in front of her causing her to stop.

  “Oh, my God, it was, wasn’t it? You have got to be kidding me! What’d he get? Three months and a fine? Oh wait, my esteemed colleague Reesa Collins defended him.” He put his index finger to his chin and thought for a moment, then continued. “Um, let me see…he got one month and a small fine.”

  Unable to mask her expression, she replied, “You are very annoying sometimes. Do you know that? Besides, who do you think I am anyway? He got thirty days adjudicated probation. End of story.” She stepped around him and started walking down the sidewalk again.

  Mike look mystified as he followed her. “How in God’s name did you do pull that one off?”

  She continued strutting down the sidewalk and answered nonchalantly, “Judge Morrison was presiding. I’ve done this long enough to know he doesn’t have anything against consensual sex. I think he may have had a few indiscretions of his own, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

  “You never cease to amaze me,” he said, shaking his head.

  “You had better not breathe a word of this to anyone. It’s not my business, and it’s certainly not yours,” she said sternly, picking up her pace as he struggled once again to keep up with her.

  “My lips are sealed. I just would have never pegged you to be one to represent these types of clients. You seem to handle more women’s advocacy cases than anything else. This seems the total opposite of what I would have expected from you.”

  Reesa finally stopped and looked at him. It had been a long morning and she was becoming anxious about her next case. She resented feeling as if she needed to defend herself for representing unsavory men. Raising her voice, she replied. “You know, Mike, men are generally idiots. They just can’t seem to control themselves when they’ve had too much liquor and females are present. I charge my top hourly fee and make a killing handling these types of cases. In other words, the stupider men are, the richer I get. And let me tell you something, stupid is a real hot commodity this time of year! Ho, ho, ho! There, are you happy?”

  Mike knew by the tone of her voice that he had struck a nerve. They walked a short distance in silence, then he asked cautiously, “So, am I allowed to ask why you’re heading to civil court next?”

  Reesa was still irritated with him and continued walking down the sidewalk. “You can ask anything you want, Mike. I just don’t have to answer you.”

  “Okay, then. I hope it goes well – whatever it is.” They walked into the lobby of the courthouse together. “I guess I’ll see you at the office later?” he asked, cheerfully.

  “Sure. See you later,” she replied, curtly.

  Mike headed in one direction, and Reesa headed in another. She entered the courtroom and immediately sat down beside her client. She was still a little uptight from her discussion with Mike and concluded she had probably been a little too brash with him. He was a good man, and she hoped he didn’t take her harsh comments personally. But, she would have to worry about mending that fence later. Right now, she needed to focus on the case at hand.

  It was the fourth day of testimony in a wrongful death trial for her client, Melissa Renfrow, whose husband and young son had been killed in an automobile accident involving a negligent driver for a nationally known freight company. The case could potentially result in a seven-figure compensatory and punitive damage award. She’d been working her ass off for almost a year on the case, and it needed to go well. Today, she would finally be able to cross-examine some of the expert witnesses testifying on behalf of the defense. She was anxiously awaiting her turn to sink her teeth into them.

  After conversing with Melissa briefly, she tried to compose herself, and began reviewing her notes from the prior day for the tenth time. A few minutes later, the judge entered the room and the proceedings began.

  After a short recess at 10:30 a.m., the trial reconvened and Reesa was finally able to begin cross-examining the opposition’s witnesses. As she walked toward the witness stand, she glanced up and saw Mike sitting in the courtroom. He smiled and winked at her. She tried to ignore him and turned to face the witness stand to begin the cross-examination.

  It was a grueling, forty-five minute testimony and she was relieved when the judge finally called a break for lunch. She returned to the plaintiff’s table and began putting her files into her brief case.

  Mike walked up beside her. He looked at his watch then whispered in her ear. “I suspect you probably didn’t eat breakfast this morning, so how about getting a sandwich at the deli on the corner?”

  She smiled and continued collecting her files. “Maybe. But first you need to tell me what you’re doing hanging around my courtroom.”

  “Ah, it’s not really your courtroom. It’s actually a public edifice owned by the commonwealth of New York County. But, I’ll answer your question anyway, because that’s what I do. The ill-prepared, incompetent counsel for the defendant motioned for a continuance. I had some spare time and couldn’t resist seeing the notorious Reesa Collins in action. Besides, I don’t like to eat alone. Oh, did I mention I’m buying?”

  Reesa smiled. “Okay, just a quick sandwich. I want to get back in time to ask Melissa a few questions.”

  “You’ve got it!”

  The weather had turned bad, and the wind and snow was blowing in every direction. They walked briskly to the deli without saying a word.

  Once they were standing in line to order, Mike smiled at her. “My, my, my Miss Collins, you are definitely riveting to watch in court. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a plaintiff’s attorney maintain control of an expert witness’s testimony with such diplomacy. He was clearly attempting to run you over. I could certainly tell he’s done this a number of times.”

  Reesa turned to him and grinned. “Thanks, Mike. I was going to ask you how you thought it went. I’ve seen Mr. Gaston in action before, so I was well prepared. I still felt I might have been a little aggressive with him. I just didn’t want to appear too offensive. How do you think the jury may have perceived my line of questioning? I didn’t want them to think I was overly rude or antagonistic toward him.”

  “You were fine, really. I think you definitely won over the jury. On the other hand, I don’t think Mr. Gaston even knew what hit him. It was a superb cross-examination. I even made a few notes for future reference. I really don’t know very many attorneys who would have been prepared for that much of an onslaught of pretentiou
sness.”

  “Thanks. I’m just extremely glad that part is over. Are you planning to stick around for part two?”

  “I really wish I could, but unfortunately, I’ll be stuck at the office the rest of the afternoon.”

  Once they sat down at a small corner table and started to eat, Reesa changed the subject.

  “I’m glad we had the chance to chat. I needed the opportunity to apologize for my, um, rather contemptuous comments earlier this morning. I hope you didn’t take offense to anything I said.”

  Mike shook his head. “Nope, none taken. You’re fine.”

  “Good. I’m glad.”

  They ate for a few minutes in silence, then Mike looked up at her and smiled. “You’ve been tied up in court all week so I haven’t had the chance to ask you about Jade’s birthday. How did it go? Did she like the gifts I picked out?”

  Reesa’s face lit up. “She absolutely adores the kitten! He was definitely a hit. It was just what she needed. Without a doubt, she liked him better than the diamond and sapphire necklace and earrings. Next year, I think I’ll skip the jewelry.”

  “I’m so glad she liked him. You know, I was going to take him if you didn’t want to give it to her.”

  “Aw, really? I’m so sorry. Do they have any left?”

  Mike started laughing. “I’m just kidding. I really enjoyed the cats we’ve had over the years, but I simply don’t have time to care for one.”

  “Well, it was the perfect gift. Thanks again for doing that for me.”

  “So, what did she decide to name him? Mike? Mikey?”

  Reesa giggled. “No, I did make the suggestion, but she decided to name him Willow. Evidently, it’s the name of a cat in a book she’s been reading.”

  Mike made a pouty face. “My heart is broken.”

  “I think you’ll get over it.”

  After lunch, Mike walked her back to the courthouse. Once inside, Reesa thanked him for lunch. He was about to head back out of the building, then turned back toward her. “Hey, Reesa, are you planning on going to the firm’s Christmas party tomorrow night?”