Rosato And Associates: Accused Part 18

"Very funny." Mary made her way through the trees and over the underbrush. Twigs snapped under her pumps, and the air smelled like Pine-Sol. She could lose her way without graffiti to guide her. "Remember those pictures you used to have in your office, of your whole family covered with cables? The first time I saw them, I thought you worked for Comcast."

"Ha!" Judy plunged ahead, her lemony blonde hair a bright spot among the dense green needles. "The Carriers are trailblazers from way back."

"The DiNunzios are followers from way back."

"Now we're having fun!" Judy called out, from somewhere inside the forest.

"Yay?" Mary called back, trying to sound positive.

"Here we go!" Judy vanished into a sunny clearing, and Mary popped out of the woods behind her, brus.h.i.+ng leaves from her suit.

"Look at me, I'm The Nature Channel."

"You did well." Judy turned toward the house and the aviary, up ahead. "Let's get going. How far do you think we'll make it down this road before they come out?"

"It won't be long." Mary fell into step beside her, glancing behind when she thought she heard something, but there were no bears about.

"Wonder who will meet us and start yelling."

"Patel." Mary kept walking, feeling like a gunslinger heading into town for a lawyer showdown.

"Disagree. I say Gardner." Judy held her head high, and if she was concerned, it didn't show. "Gardner doesn't strike me as the kind of man who hides behind his lawyer."

"Bet me."

"Okay, let's bet your engagement ring. Then you'll have an excuse when you lose it."

"Ouch, that's harsh." Mary looked left and spotted Allegra's beehives in the distance, abandoned. "How sad. She didn't even get to paint them."

"That is sad, "Judy said, her tone softening. "I like her, I do. I think she's sweet."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."

"That's the spirit. Get your hate on, would you?"

"On it. Look." Judy gestured at the house, and Mary's anger flickered when she saw a commotion at the portico. Men were gathering, but it was too far away to make out their faces, but it looked like Gardner and Patel were among them.

"It's the girls vs. the boys. Maybe we both win."

"Gimme the ring anyway. I'll wear it through my nose."

"Remember your last piercing? Enough said." Mary tried to get calm when a gleaming white Escalade approached the house, stopped at the portico, then Gardner and Patel climbed inside the backseat, closing the doors. "Here they come. Ready?"

"If they don't run us over."

"Let's stop and stand our ground." Mary halted and watched the car come, driving faster then she would've liked. Chickens fluttered panicky in the aviary when the big Escalade barreled past. "I'll take the lead."

"Okay, but keep your temper. All we need is to find out where she is. If we get that, mission accomplished." Judy straightened to her full height, almost five ten, which always made Mary feel like she was standing with a sequoia. She braced herself as the Escalade braked ten feet from them, spraying gravel and chalky white dust. The big engine idled, and the driver made a brawny shadow behind the smoked window gla.s.s. The back two doors opened, and John Gardner got out of the closer one, with Patel emerging on the far side.

"h.e.l.lo, John." Mary suppressed her anger and took a few steps in their direction. "Perhaps you didn't get my phone message, but we're looking for Allegra."

"Allegra is not available at this time." Gardner's tone was cold and firm. Patel came up from behind him, saying nothing. "You're trespa.s.sing on this property. I'll ask you to leave immediately."

"John, Allegra has the right to consult with a lawyer under Pennsylvania law. Please tell us where she is, so that she can exercise that right."

"It's none of your business where my daughter is."

"It's exactly my business where your daughter is. Judy and I intend to meet with her, file an objection to treatment with the Court of Common Pleas, and get her out of there."

"Really." John scoffed. "If you don't know where she is, how do you know it's not the best place for her?"

"Because she doesn't need to be in a residential facility." Mary didn't bat an eye. "She's hardly a danger to herself or anyone else."

"How can you be so sure? Do you know my daughter better than I do? She was mentally incompetent when she hired you, and any contract she had with you, whether oral or written, is null and void."

"We'd be here whether we had a contract or not. More importantly, we care about your daughter and we want to help her get what she wants."

"Why don't we test that proposition?" John glowered at Mary, flinty in the waning sunlight. "For your information, payment on the check she wrote for your retainer has already been stopped. I'm taking steps to remove the trustee of her trust, and no other trustee will make any further distributions because of her incompetency. So if you're not getting paid, I a.s.sume this is good-bye."

"You a.s.sume wrong." Mary couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice. "So I guess we pa.s.sed your test. Or maybe flunked it, I don't know which."

"You intend to represent her without being compensated?"

"Yes, absolutely." Mary's mouth went dry, though she meant what she said. "We will prove to the court that inpatient treatment is not the least restrictive environment to treat whatever mental illness Allegra has, if indeed she has any at all, other than disagreeing with her controlling father."

"Leave my property this minute." John raised his voice, and behind him, Patel stirred on the gravel.

"Please tell us where she is, and we'll be happy to leave." Mary gestured at Patel. "Ask Neil. He'll tell you that it won't look good in court that you stonewalled us on basic information like this. On the contrary, it helps to prove our point."

"So you're refusing to leave my property when requested to do so?" John folded his arms in his pressed oxford s.h.i.+rt. "That's trespa.s.sing, plain and simple, Counselor."

"Please." Mary made a last-ditch effort to reason with him. "We're on the opposite sides of the fence, but the least you can do is play fair. If you think you're right, fight us, but don't hide the ball. Tell us where you sent your daughter."

"I don't need to do that, and I'm about to have you escorted off my property. If you resist, you'll be arrested." John tilted his chin upward, and as if on cue, the sounds of police sirens blared on the street beyond the trees. "We at The Gardner Group find the occasional intruder or disgruntled employee on the grounds, and the West Whiteland Towns.h.i.+p police are kind enough to come by, to prevent trouble."

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Mary shot back, angry, mostly at herself. She'd have to step up her game if she wanted to go toe-to-toe with John Gardner. He played hardball, and she'd been underestimating him at every turn, to her disadvantage, and worse, to Allegra's. The police siren screamed as it came closer, the cruiser probably pulling in front of the gate.

Judy touched her arm. "Mary, let's go back to the car. We're wasting our time and we'll see them in court."

"No, I'm not finished," Mary said, through gritted teeth. Tears that she couldn't explain came to her eyes. "John, what are you thinking? You're ruining your daughter's life, don't you see that?"

"How dare you!" John's eyes flared in anger, and Patel took a protective step closer to him.

"Mare, we should go." Judy squeezed Mary's arm, but she pulled it away and stepped closer to John, barely in control.

"You're making her crazy, John!" Mary shouted, though a black police cruiser with gold stripes was already driving down the gravel road toward them, its siren drowning out her words. "Taking her from her home, from the things she loves, like those bees! Why, for asking questions? For caring about her sister? A good father would be proud of her!"

"I am a good father! I love my daughter!" John shouted back, heedless of Patel at his side.

"You treat her like property, she said it herself!" Mary felt Judy's hand on her arm, but ignored it. "You put her away to shut her up!"

"I put her away to save her life!" John yelled, his face flus.h.i.+ng and every vein in his neck bulging. "She tried to kill herself, did she tell you that? No, of course not! That's why she came home! That's why she left school!"

"What?" Mary said, stunned. She thought she heard him wrong, the siren was so loud.

"Allegra tried to kill herself, a month ago, and I don't want her to try it again!" John seemed suddenly to falter, stepping backwards, and Patel tugged him away by the elbow.

"Mare, please, let's go." Judy pulled a stricken Mary away as the cruiser stopped and cut its sirens, plunging them all into merciful silence. Two officers in black uniforms sprung from the front seat, a skinny one and the heavyset driver, who waved at John in an official way.

"Mr. Gardner, Mr. Patel, we'll take it from here!"

"Thanks, Will!" Patel called back, hustling John back to the Escalade. "Escort them off the property, if you would. We won't press charges, this time."

"Will do, Mr. Patel. We'll be in afterwards to take a statement. Ladies, come with us, please." The heavyset officer gestured, John and Patel disappeared inside the white Escalade, and a shaken Mary and Judy found themselves hustled into the backseat of a squad car, where they were driven out through the gate, and after producing ID and given a stern lecture, were returned to their car, where they finally spoke to each other.

"My G.o.d, she tried to commit suicide?" Mary turned to Judy, sickened and confused.

"It's awful, but look what I found." Judy's lips parted in surprise, and she held out a crumpled piece of sc.r.a.p paper about the size of a business card. "This was on my seat, just now. Somebody must've put it in the car while we were gone."

Mary looked down in astonishment. On the paper was scribbled in crude handwriting.

Allegra at Churchill Inst.i.tute, Sinking Spring Judy sighed sadly. "I know what you're thinking, but do me a favor. Drive up the road and park. We need to talk."

Chapter Twenty-two.

Mary leaned against the BMW, folding her arms across her chest. They'd driven deeper into the countryside and parked along a quiet road. Rows of low, leafy green crops blanketed the surrounding fields, and the humidity had increased, bringing up the oddly chemical odor of fertilizer. The sun burned low, dipping behind the mounded treeline and streaking the sky a hazy orange, like the top of an overcooked lasagna.

"You want to go to the Churchill Inst.i.tute, correct?" Judy asked, but didn't wait for an answer, gesturing as she paced at the side of the road, in professor mode. "I don't know if I want to do that, not yet. First, it's so late, almost six o'clock."

"Sinking Spring is only an hour away," Mary said, though in truth, she felt confused after what happened and was grateful for the chance to talk with Judy. "We can be there after dinner."

"How do you know that?"

"I grew up in Pennsylvania, even if I've never been beyond 45th Street."

"Have you heard of the Churchill Inst.i.tute?"

"No, but I a.s.sume it's a private psychiatric hospital, but you could look that up with your trusty iPhone."

"What if they don't have visiting hours that late?"

"That's also knowable, but I bet they do. This isn't a normal visit, anyway. They'd let her see her attorneys in an emergency. Didn't you say she has that as one of her rights?"

"Only if the Patient's Bill of Rights applies to her, and if the Churchill Inst.i.tute allows it, I a.s.sume." Judy shook her head, pacing. "That's what I mean. We have to get our act together, and after what John told us about Allegra's attempting suicide, I'm not so sure we're in the right anymore. Hear me out."

"Okay." Mary had known Judy long enough to expect her to react this way and she couldn't say that Judy was wrong.

"Before, we probably had a winning argument on whether Allegra should be in an inpatient facility. Now it's clear that we need more facts before we make that argument, much less win it."

Mary counted herself lucky in having a best friend like Judy, who didn't say I-told-you-so when she could have.

"If Allegra attempted suicide a month ago, she clearly qualifies as being a danger to herself, even under the adult standard for involuntary commitment." Judy frowned, her head down as she paced. The short strands of hair at her crown blew in the soft breeze, waving like a pale yellow fan. "I don't want to risk that girl's life by removing her from residential care that she might need, and I know you don't, either. The suicide attempt changes everything."

Mary didn't know if she could agree, but her feelings were mixed. "I understand why you say that, and we do need to know more. But part of me still wonders why, if she attempted suicide a month ago, he's committing her now. It's because of us, not the attempt."

"I'm not saying her hiring us wasn't the precipitating factor." Judy stopped pacing and turned to Mary, pursing her lips. "I think it could've been, but the Gardners view this differently than we do, obviously because of her suicide attempt. They see her going to a lawyer as an escalation of her obsession and they worry that if it keeps increasing, she might try to commit suicide again. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Mary answered.

"I worry about that, too. Do you?"

"Yes, I do." Mary exhaled, gathering her thoughts. "But we have an obligation to her, as her lawyers. You're not suggesting we drop the case, are you?"

"Not sure yet. Maybe."

"Uh-oh." Mary hated disagreeing with Judy, because Judy had such good judgment, and they agreed on everything except wardrobe. "There's no way in the world I want to drop her, and I don't think we could even do that, ethically."

"Why not?" Judy put her hands on her hips, c.o.c.king her head. "If she's so depressed or mentally ill that she's incompetent to hire counsel, that releases any ethical obligation we have to continue. To me, it also releases any moral obligation, because continuing to represent her only harms her further, rather than helping her."

"We don't know that yet."

"True, we don't. But it's certainly possible." Judy's blue eyes flashed with concern. "Also, I know it's not about the money, but if we're not getting paid at all, is this really the case you want to take on, right after you make partner? Think about how Bennie would feel about it. We're looking at a long, complicated legal process, which isn't even in our practice field, for free. How will you sell it to her? Do you want to?"

"I do," Mary answered with certainty. "Bennie might throw a fit, but I'm ent.i.tled to have a pa.s.sion project. She has plenty. And in my opinion, part of being a partner is making that a.s.sessment yourself."

"Okay." Judy's expression softened. "You might be right about that. It is your choice, but here's what you have to ask yourself-what's going on with you and this case?"

Mary's mouth went dry, knowing that Judy was cutting close to the bone.

"Mare, I've never, in all the time I've known you, seen you lose your temper like you did back there. Mind you, you always get emotionally involved with cases, you get emotionally involved with everything." Judy threw up her hands, with a crooked smile. "That's one of the things I love about you. But this time, something is going on I don't understand. You want to talk about it?"

"Honestly, I just feel for that kid. I feel for her relations.h.i.+p to her sister, too. Maybe it has to do with Angie, or Mike, maybe it doesn't." Mary wiped her brow, which was slightly sweaty. "I'm not sure exactly what it's about yet, but I don't think it's the worst thing in the world to identify with the client, especially when no one else around her seems to, in her own family."

Judy fell silent a minute. "So what do you want to do?"

"You know what I want to do. I want to go over to the Churchill Inst.i.tute tonight and see if we can meet with Allegra, no matter how late it is. It doesn't mean were rus.h.i.+ng into court, but I want her to know that we care about her and we're here for her." Mary felt her words resonate in her chest. "I want to look at her and hear her talk, and know she's okay."

"You don't see this as riding to the rescue? Because Allegra may not need rescuing. In fact, it might be that she's exactly where she needs to be right now."

"I agree, but doesn't this note make a difference to you?" Mary waved the little piece of sc.r.a.p paper like a flag. "Somebody wants us to help Allegra, don't you think?"

"I know, that's weird." Judy nodded. "Do you have any idea who put it in the car?"