did I ever marry a psychologist?”
“You didn’t. A psychologist married you.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her gently but persistently.
That stopped her questions about things he didn’t want to talk about. And it got his mind off Frank, and the Rock Skipper , and the Gaia Alliance.
Later he asked playfully, “Why did I marry you, anyway?”
“Must have been my bedside manner,” she whispered dreamily. She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.
He looked at the room’s computer display. The green numbers unsympathetically indicated that his plane left in less than twelve hours.
Chapter Six
“...no compromise when it comes to protecting Mother Earth”
The deputy district attorney was a harried looking woman. She met Charlie and Freeman in her cubical-like office. Also present was the public defender, a snide young man who regarded Charlie as if she were something he’d stepped in. Freeman explained to Charlie that a court ruling had determined everyone got a public defender, not just the indigent. If she wanted to pay for a better lawyer, she could, but that would delay the proceedings.
Charlie stuck with the public defender. She wanted this ordeal over.
Freeman then explained to her lawyer that Charlie planned to plea bargain. Charlie’s stomach turned at the phrase. She’d always thought plea-bargaining was something criminals did to get out of the punishment they deserved; she never thought she’d be doing it herself.
At one point, as the DDA and Charlie’s defender conferred, Charlie said, “I feel like I’m being railroaded here.”
The two lawyers looked at her.
“I mean,” she added, “what are my options?”
“You may,” the public defender explained, “plead not-guilty, be held over for trial, which will take about nine months, most likely be found guilty, and probably be sentenced to time in jail.”
“Oh,” Charlie breathed. D oesn’t leave me much choice , she thought ruefully.
Her lawyer and the government prosecutor talked about the deal, the details were established, and Charlie was told to wait to see the judge.
A few hours later, a bailiff escorted Charlie into the courtroom. The judge was a middle-aged woman with fading blonde hair. The public defender stood next to Charlie and the DDA read the charges. Freeman sat in the gallery.
All the while, the judge peered down on Charlie. “Ms. Jones,” she said in a New England nasal tone, “it has been decided not to charge you with a bias crime, because it cannot be determined that you were motivated by bigotry. However, you are charged with unlawful self-defense.”
“He assaulted me,” Charlie explained in vain. “I was protecting myself and my property.”
“It is the job of the police to protect the citizen. We cannot tolerate citizens taking the law into their own hands. You acted unilaterally to punish the alleged perpetrator without due process. This is intolerable in a lawful society.”
“How many police officers are there in Washington?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know,” the judge replied. “What does that matter?”
“Because there aren’t enough to protect everyone,” Charlie answered. “You take away a person’s right to defend themselves and they are automatic victims of anyone willing to break the law. First, you disarmed the law-abiding with gun control laws. And now you’ve made it illegal for them to fight off an assault with their bare hands.”
Charlie remembered the fire in her grandmother’s eyes when she showed Charlie her illicit handgun. She said she didn’t care what any idiotic law stated; she would kill anyone who tried to violate her home. She’d rather spend time in jail alive than be permanently dead.
The judge glared at her and the public defender said, “Ms. Jones has decided to plead guilty in exchange for the government’s recommendation for a fine and a suspended sentence with probation.”
The judge looked at Charlie. She was
“You didn’t. A psychologist married you.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her gently but persistently.
That stopped her questions about things he didn’t want to talk about. And it got his mind off Frank, and the Rock Skipper , and the Gaia Alliance.
Later he asked playfully, “Why did I marry you, anyway?”
“Must have been my bedside manner,” she whispered dreamily. She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.
He looked at the room’s computer display. The green numbers unsympathetically indicated that his plane left in less than twelve hours.
Chapter Six
“...no compromise when it comes to protecting Mother Earth”
The deputy district attorney was a harried looking woman. She met Charlie and Freeman in her cubical-like office. Also present was the public defender, a snide young man who regarded Charlie as if she were something he’d stepped in. Freeman explained to Charlie that a court ruling had determined everyone got a public defender, not just the indigent. If she wanted to pay for a better lawyer, she could, but that would delay the proceedings.
Charlie stuck with the public defender. She wanted this ordeal over.
Freeman then explained to her lawyer that Charlie planned to plea bargain. Charlie’s stomach turned at the phrase. She’d always thought plea-bargaining was something criminals did to get out of the punishment they deserved; she never thought she’d be doing it herself.
At one point, as the DDA and Charlie’s defender conferred, Charlie said, “I feel like I’m being railroaded here.”
The two lawyers looked at her.
“I mean,” she added, “what are my options?”
“You may,” the public defender explained, “plead not-guilty, be held over for trial, which will take about nine months, most likely be found guilty, and probably be sentenced to time in jail.”
“Oh,” Charlie breathed. D oesn’t leave me much choice , she thought ruefully.
Her lawyer and the government prosecutor talked about the deal, the details were established, and Charlie was told to wait to see the judge.
A few hours later, a bailiff escorted Charlie into the courtroom. The judge was a middle-aged woman with fading blonde hair. The public defender stood next to Charlie and the DDA read the charges. Freeman sat in the gallery.
All the while, the judge peered down on Charlie. “Ms. Jones,” she said in a New England nasal tone, “it has been decided not to charge you with a bias crime, because it cannot be determined that you were motivated by bigotry. However, you are charged with unlawful self-defense.”
“He assaulted me,” Charlie explained in vain. “I was protecting myself and my property.”
“It is the job of the police to protect the citizen. We cannot tolerate citizens taking the law into their own hands. You acted unilaterally to punish the alleged perpetrator without due process. This is intolerable in a lawful society.”
“How many police officers are there in Washington?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know,” the judge replied. “What does that matter?”
“Because there aren’t enough to protect everyone,” Charlie answered. “You take away a person’s right to defend themselves and they are automatic victims of anyone willing to break the law. First, you disarmed the law-abiding with gun control laws. And now you’ve made it illegal for them to fight off an assault with their bare hands.”
Charlie remembered the fire in her grandmother’s eyes when she showed Charlie her illicit handgun. She said she didn’t care what any idiotic law stated; she would kill anyone who tried to violate her home. She’d rather spend time in jail alive than be permanently dead.
The judge glared at her and the public defender said, “Ms. Jones has decided to plead guilty in exchange for the government’s recommendation for a fine and a suspended sentence with probation.”
The judge looked at Charlie. She was
Similar Books
