Chapter Eleven
It didn’t take long. Within a week, Brandon was arrested, charged, and transported to Maine. Trey sat in the courtroom as an observer, noted that the defendant had the wit to hire a local attorney, and had dressed in a suit that made him look like Mr. Clean-Cut and Successful.
The defense claimed the entire matter was a misunderstanding, a simple tiff between two people who had, mutually, ended a relationship.
The prosecution came out strongly in opposition. As Trey expected—as they took trespass seriously in Maine—the judge didn’t buy the misunderstanding.
Trey watched, with quiet satisfaction, as Brandon shifted, even squirmed some, during the legal back-and-forth. Then found himself amused every time Brandon scribbled something on a legal pad, pushed it at his lawyer.
Scared, aren’t you? Trey thought. And still think you know better than your own lawyer.
The judge granted bail, and granted the defendant permission to return to Boston until trial. But that was all the slack he ruled.
“This is ridiculous!”
At Brandon’s outburst, Trey settled back with a very satisfied smile. He’d expected no less.
He watched Brandon turn to argue with his lawyer, and thought: Fear, more fear. He caught waves of it now.
“I’m not going to jail. Do you get that? That lying bitch attacked me!”
“Mr. Wise, you need to stay calm.”
Trey saw the judge, who’d overheard the outburst as he had, raise his eyebrows. “Mr. Wise, calling the complainant names, particularly in my courtroom, won’t help your defense. Counselor, please control your client.”
“Your Honor, you have to understand! She’s trying to ruin me! She’s out for revenge because I broke our engagement. She won’t let it go!”
“And yet you’re the one arrested for criminal trespass in her home in a state other than the one in which you reside.”
The prosecuting attorney got that dig in, and made Trey’s smile widen.
“That’s bullshit. I went to see her as a favor. I just wanted to— I only tried to—”
The judge slapped his gavel. “I will not have that language in my court. Counselor, if you can’t control your client, I will hold him in contempt, and I will rethink granting bail.”
The judge waited a moment while the defense attorney whispered in Brandon’s ear. Then he brought down his gavel again.
“This hearing is adjourned.”
Satisfying, Trey thought as he watched them lead Brandon out. Even more than a solid punch to the face.
Since Trey had faced off against the prosecutor in the past, he rose and hailed him.
“Got a minute, Derrick?”
“Got a few of them. Let’s walk. I know you’ve got an interest in this one.”
“I do. He’s going to want to deal.”
“Oh yeah.” They moved into the hallway, stopped. “Scared of going to jail, and his counsel would have warned him, if found guilty, he could serve up to a year. He’ll want a deal.”
“And?”
“A thousand-dollar fine, a year’s probation. I won’t start there, but I’ll go there. If he contacts or attempts to contact the complainant again, he’ll do time for it. That’ll be clear, too.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Maybe you can let me know when it’s set?”
“I can do that. Question? Is he as big an asshole as he seems?”
“Bigger. Thanks, Derrick.”
“Sure. Grab a beer sometime?”
“Yeah, on me.”
Satisfied the case was in good hands, Trey drove back to Poole’s Bay.
When he walked in, Sadie, his father’s admin, raised her head from her work. “So?”
“He didn’t endear himself to the judge. He made bail, trial set for September.”
“He best stay away from here if he knows what’s good for him.”
“He’s too scared of jail not to. People like that?
They think they can do anything, have anything, riding on good looks and surface charm.
When they find out different, it’s someone else’s fault.
But when they find out there are consequences, real ones?
They roll into a ball and whimper. He’s whimpering now.
“Is my dad busy?”
“He’s between clients. Ace is in with him.”
“Perfect. I’m going to have a word.”
When he went in, he found his father and grandfather in the clients’ chairs, drinking coffee.
Ace shoved up his glasses. “Don’t tell your grandmother I’m drinking coffee in the middle of the day.”
“Lips, sealed.”
Trey walked over, sat on the edge of his father’s desk. “Motion to dismiss denied, bail set at five thousand. Trial date set for September. The judge didn’t take kindly to him calling Sonya a bitch in his court.”
Deuce scratched the side of his neck as Ace muttered under his breath. “Jury trial?”
“Requested, yeah. The possibility of actually going to jail has him scared shitless.”
“Good. Pushing in that house.” Ace all but snarled it. “Trying to strong-arm a woman that way.”
“Derrick Morley’s prosecuting. Lowell Chase for the defense.”
“Lowell’s not bad,” Deuce considered. “Morley’s better.”
“Yeah, and Morley agrees with my take. He’ll ask for a deal to avoid jail.”
“A little time in would teach him a lesson,” Ace said, “but dealing means Sonya doesn’t have to go through a trial. We’ll bank on getting arrested, facing all this taught him that lesson, and he leaves that girl alone.”
“After watching him today? I’m confident of that.
If he was scared enough to run out of the manor, he’s still running scared.
The fact is, she won’t be worth it to him after this.
He’ll twist it around in his mind, but pushing at her won’t be worth the consequences now that he’s had a taste of them. ”
“I’m going to agree. I’ve seen his type. Cowards under it.”
As Trey nodded at his father, Ace spoke up.
“That girl’s a jewel. And you ought to put one on her finger, boy.”
“Ace.”
Ace just sighed, turned to his son. “I don’t know where this boy gets his snail speed from. It sure isn’t from me.”
When it rang, Trey pulled his phone out. “This sure as hell isn’t snail speed. It’s Derrick Morley. Yeah, Derrick, got news for me?”
He listened, nodded, said, “Uh-huh. Yeah, agree, quicker than I expected. I appreciate it. Let me know when you have time for that beer. Yeah. Bye.”
He pocketed the phone. “The full fine of two thousand, eighteen months’ probation. Mandatory anger management. Defense grabbed at the first offer.”
“That’s a good outcome,” Deuce decided. “Done and over. Sonya can put it all away.”
“She has, but this will help keep it there. I’m going to my office, give her a call, and let her know.”
“Buy that girl a ring!” Ace called out as Trey left.
Trey just shook his head and kept going.
In her office, after speaking with Trey, Sonya just laid her head on the desk.
Clover tried Ariana Grande’s “Breathin.”
“I am, yeah, I am. And yeah, this has all taken too much energy, but now it’s relief. It’s like opening a vent so all that pressure’s gone.”
Sitting up again, she texted her mother, and since Cleo had gone off to paint at the cove, added her.
It’s done. He took a deal, pleaded guilty. 2K fine and eighteen months’ probation, add mandatory anger management. If he contacts me again, probation’s broken, and he goes to jail. We can all relax. Love you both.
Winter answered in seconds.
Not only good news, just wonderful news. You stood up to a bully—more times than once—and the bully paid. I’m proud of you. And love you both bunches.
Relax, hell, Cleo texted on the heels of Winter’s, celebrate! He got less than he deserved, but it’ll do. Now, in our world, he will cease to exist. Love you both back.
“Okay, let’s put that all away now, and get back to work.”
She worked another two hours, and toward the end heard the bounce of the ball.
When it stopped, so did she.
She went down, found Yoda in the kitchen enjoying a beef stick. The cat sat on a stool, washing herself. Which meant she’d likely had a treat, too.
And on the island, Sonya found a treat for herself.
Jack had obviously made use of the art kit she’d bought for him.
He’d painted the three dogs, sitting together in the backyard: Jones, with his eye patch and muscled little body; Mookie, floppy ears, goofy grin; Yoda, big eyes shining.
And the cat, sitting in front of her subjects like a queen.
He had the lush flow of hydrangeas to the right, and the lush green mystery of the woods behind.
“This is wonderful. And it’s really good work, too. You got their proportions, and that’s not easy. Most of all, it’s just sweet.”
She did what her parents had done with her childhood art. She put it on the fridge.
“This right here, things like this are a reminder why figuring out how to take Dobbs down and out is so important.”
They’d done it with Brandon Wise, she reminded herself, and they’d damn well do it with Hester Dobbs.
When she opened the back door, both cat and dog decided to join her. With them, she toured the gardens. Then she went to the shed, got a basket, clippers.
Why have a garden, she thought, if you couldn’t take some of it indoors? She took time to select what she thought would make a pretty arrangement for the table in the kitchen, and with one of Anna’s vases in mind for it.
When she wandered around the side of the house, she nearly cheered.
“Look at this! We’ve got our first tomatoes. The little ones.” She started to pluck them off, stopped.
“No, Cleo planted them. She should have the honor of picking the first ones. All three of them.”
Happy and relaxed, she circled the house toward the sea.
And when she caught sight of a whale sounding, far, far out, deemed it a perfect day.
She imagined Cleo was sailing back by now, or had docked and was on her way home. She expected Trey might be finishing up work for the day, and Owen as well.
She knew Cleo planned a simple summer dinner, and that suited her just fine.
And considering all, she thought as she walked, it was time for a weekend barbecue, with the Doyles. Maybe her mother could drive up for the weekend and make it perfect.
Easy, family-style. Burgers and dogs, corn on the cob.
Thinking of it, she walked toward the seawall. The cat leaped up on it, gazed out as Sonya did.