The Advocate's Justice Read online

  “Okay.” Morgan sniffled.

  “Who is living there now?”

  “Me, my grandma, my mom, and Conner.”

  “None of the men you talked about are living there?”

  “They stay over, sometimes for two or three days, but they don’t live with us.”

  “Has anyone else lived with you?” The social worker took notes as she talked.

  “Bullet lived there for a long time.”

  “Who’s Bullet?”

  “He was my grandma’s boyfriend, but he went camping and didn’t come back.” The girl paused. “The cops said my brother killed him, but I know he didn’t.”

  “Anyone else ever live there?”

  “My dad when he’s not in prison.”

  “What’s your dad’s name?”

  “Gene Torn.”

  “When did he last live with you?”

  “He left about a week ago. I liked it when he was there because no one dared mess with us. Everyone was afraid of him.”

  “Were you afraid of him?”

  Morgan scrunched up her face and smiled. “No. He wasn’t scary to me. He’s good to me, and he’s always fun.”

  Sabre watched JP’s face as Morgan spoke about his brother. JP’s face was tense, but he gave a slight sigh of relief when Morgan said Gene was good to her.

  “How long did your dad live with you before he went to prison?”

  “He was only there a few weeks this last time. Before that, he was home for about a year. When I was five, we all lived in Texas together for a couple of years.”

  “Morgan, have you ever seen any drugs in your house?”

  “My mom smokes marijuana for medicinal purposes,” the girl said seriously. “I think some of the guys do drugs, but I’m not around them much, so I’m not sure. They all drink a lot, and then my mom and grandma both act pretty crazy.”

  “What do you mean by crazy?”

  “Grandma starts singing, and she can’t sing. It sounds horrible. She always sings “Your Cheating Heart,” and she thinks she sounds good, but it’s just awful.”

  “And your mom?”

  The girl sighed. “She has sex parties.”

  Sabre winced, even though she’d heard worse.

  “Have you seen the sex parties?” Maxine kept her tone neutral.

  “Only once. When they start, we always go to our room.”

  “You said ‘our room.’ Who do you share a room with?”

  “My brother. I used to sleep with my mom, but then she started having men in her bed, so I started sleeping on the sofa. But then one night a guy tried to sleep with me on the sofa. My brother got real mad. Conner took me into his room and gave me his bed, then he slept on the floor.”

  “Does Conner still sleep on the floor?”

  “When my dad came home last time, he got me my own bed, so we each have a bed now. He told me not to sleep in Mom’s room anymore or on the sofa. And he told Conner to make sure of it.”

  Maxine took a deep breath. “Morgan, I need you to tell me about the sex party you saw. How long ago was it?”

  “Maybe a year.”

  “About how many people were there?”

  “Six or eight.” The girl paused for a minute. “I think there was three guys and four girls. My mom was one of them.”

  “Where did the party take place?”

  “It started in the backyard, but then they all came inside. I think it was getting cold. I was watching TV when they came in. They were all naked. My mom yelled at me to go to bed.”

  “Where was your brother?”

  “I don’t know, but he wasn’t home. He came in a little while later. The next day he put a deadbolt lock on my door so I could lock it when he wasn’t there.”

  “Have you seen any other sex parties at your house?” Maxine asked.

  “No, because I always go to my room when guys come over, but I know they have them because I can hear them.”

  The interview continued for another ten minutes, but little else was revealed. Morgan started to fidget, so Maxine stopped the questioning. “I think we’ve had enough for today. You’ve been very brave, Morgan.”

  The girl’s eyes opened wide. “You’re not taking me home, are you?”

  “No,” Maxine said. “We need to do more investigation. In the meantime, you’ll stay here at Polinsky. It’s a very nice place, and you’ll be with kids your age.”

  Morgan looked at Sabre. “Can’t I go home with you? I won’t be any trouble. I’ll fix my bed and I can do the dishes. I can even help you cook.”

  Sabre ached for the girl. “Morgan, it’s not about that. Maxine needs to investigate and decide if she should take this to court.”

  Morgan seemed to stop listening and turned to JP, pleading, “What about you, Uncle Johnny? Daddy said you would help me. Please help me. Take me home with you.”

  JP’s anguish was visible. “We’re going to step outside so I can ask the social worker some questions. Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes?”

  Morgan smiled up at him. “Okay, but you need to step up to the plate here, Uncle Johnny.”

  JP gently mussed her hair. “I can see you learned a few things from your father.”

  Once outside the room, Sabre asked JP, “You’re thinking about taking her, aren’t you?”

  “I’m givin’ it some thought.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “You heard her; I have to step up to the plate.” He smiled. “I need to do this.”

  “Then I’ll help you any way I can.”

  “I was counting on that.” JP lowered his head and looked at Sabre sheepishly out of the top of his eyes. He turned to Maxine. “Can you evaluate my home?”

  “First we have to see what all is going on in that home and determine whether to file a petition.”

  “If no dependency case is filed,” Sabre said, “maybe Morgan’s mom will agree to let her stay with JP until Conner’s case is adjudicated.”

  “From what I’ve heard so far, it’s likely a dependency case will be filed.” Maxine nodded. “But I’ll ask her mother to let her stay with her uncle until it’s all sorted out.”

  “And if she doesn’t agree?” JP cut in.

  “We’ll do it anyway, assuming a petition is filed and your home checks out. I’ll assign a social worker to start the investigation on the case immediately.”

  “Can we take Morgan to see her brother this afternoon?” JP asked.

  “There’s no visitation on Saturday,” Sabre said. “I think on Sundays it’s from nine to ten a.m.”

  “Can we take her tomorrow morning?” JP asked Maxine.

  “I don’t see why not,” Maxine said. “I’ll call you in an hour or so, and we can make those arrangements. We can also coordinate a time to evaluate your home, JP. Are your guns all locked up?”

  “Tight as the rusted lug nuts on a ’55 Ford.”

  Chapter 5

  JP and Sabre waited in the interview room at juvenile hall for Conner Torn to be brought in. They used this room for the prisoners to speak to their attorneys. There were three small spaces partitioned with solid walls, each about six by eight feet. The tiny rooms were divided by a four-foot wall, topped with plexiglass that extended to the ceiling.

  The deputy brought Conner in through the back door and handcuffed one of his wrists to the bench. The teenager looked young and innocent as he stared through the thick plexiglass between them. JP felt a pang of guilt and sadness as he remembered Gene as a young boy. Conner looked so much like him.

  “Hello, Conner,” JP said. “I’m JP Torn. Your sister came to me last night and asked for my help.”

  “You’re my Uncle Johnny?” His voice even resembled Gene’s.

  “It appears so. Did your father tell you about me?”

  “He talked about you some, mostly stories about when you were kids. He said you were a pain in the ass, but that you would most likely help if I was ever in trouble. I guess Morgan thought thi
s was considered trouble.”

  “I’d say so.” JP nodded toward Sabre. “This is my friend, Sabre Brown. She’s an attorney, and we both want to help if you’re open to that. I know you don’t know me—”

  “You don’t know me either,” Conner said, interrupting. “How do you know I didn’t kill that guy?”

  “Did you?” JP asked.

  “No.”

  “Do you know who did?”

  “No.” Conner spoke calmly and deliberately, looking JP directly in the eye. “Don’t know that either.”

  “You’re facing some very serious charges, Conner. We’d like to help you,” Sabre offered. “Would you let us do that?”

  “Sure,” Conner said. “Can you get me out of here so I can take care of my sister? She’s not safe in that house.”

  “I’ll try to get you out, but it’s not likely the judge will order your release,” Sabre said. “Morgan is safe for now. She stayed with me last night, and Child Protective Services is involved. She’ll be at Polinsky Receiving Home for the next few days.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “We’ll bring her here tomorrow during visiting hours. She really wants to see you too, but there’s a lot going on right now.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like where she’s going to live. Like getting you the best defense.”

  “Can she stay with you?”

  “I’m not related and I’m gone all day. It just won’t work.”

  Conner’s eyes pleaded with JP. “You’re her uncle. She can stay with you then.”

  “We’re working on that,” JP said. “But for now, let’s concentrate on you. You can’t do much for her in here, so let’s see what we can do to get you out.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why don’t we start by you telling us what you do know. When was the last time you saw Bullet?” JP was eager to investigate.

  “He was at the house.” Conner looked down at the floor, then back up. “He and Grandma had a terrible fight. He punched her in the face. It knocked her back, and she hit her head against a cabinet and fell to the floor.”

  “You were in the room?”

  “I heard the racket in the kitchen and ran in there. But when I tried to help Grandma, Bullet reached for me, and Grandma told me to run.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yes, because I saw Morgan standing in the doorway, and I was afraid she’d get hurt. So I grabbed her up and went to my room. I locked the door behind us.”

  “Did he come after you?”

  “He started to, but I told him I would tell my dad.”

  “Was your dad there?”

  “No.” The boy hesitated. “He left a couple of days before, but he told Bullet if he ever laid a hand on me or Morgan, he’d kill him.”

  “Did you believe your dad when he said that?” JP asked.

  “Maybe. He would’ve worked him over pretty good, I know that. But Bullet must’ve believed him because he stopped. He was really afraid of my dad.”

  “What happened next?”

  “A little while later, I heard the front door slam and Bullet’s motorcycle drive away. We went to the kitchen, and Grandma was washing blood off her face in the kitchen sink. She was bruised, her eye was turning black, and she had a cut on her cheek.”

  “Did she go to the doctor?” Sabre asked.

  The boy frowned. “She never went when he beat her up.”

  “What did you do then?” JP asked.

  “I begged Grandma to call the police, but she wouldn’t. She told me Bullet had gone camping.” Conner shifted in his seat.

  “Did you ever see him again after that?”

  “No. He never came back.”

  “Who else was at the house that day?”

  “A couple of Bullet’s friends, Derek, my mom, and—” The boy paused. “Just my mom.”

  “Conner, are you sure no one else was there?”

  He shook his head. “No one else.”

  “Who’s Derek?” JP asked.

  “A friend of my dad’s.”

  “When did your dad come back after that?”

  “He didn’t.” Conner shrugged. “He went back to prison.”

  “Before Bullet disappeared?”

  Conner caught JP’s eye and held his gaze, reminding him even more of Gene. “Yes,” the boy said, “a couple of days before.”

  “Do you think Morgan may know something that’ll help?”

  “No,” Conner said quickly. “She doesn’t need to be involved.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  He shook his head. “So, what happens now?”

  Sabre handled the question. “We’ll go into court on Monday and enter a plea of not guilty. Then we’ll set another hearing to give us time to do some investigating.” Sabre’s information about the case was limited, but she had researched what she could. “According to the police, the gun was found in your closet with your fingerprints on it. At least one person heard you threaten to kill Bullet, and you can’t account for your whereabouts at the time of death. We’ll be talking to you about each of these things as we move forward, and JP will investigate. Depending on what we find, we’ll likely have a trial. In the meantime, don’t talk to anyone about this. If someone questions you, tell them to call me.”

  Conner nodded, but didn’t comment.

  “Are you doing okay in the Hall?” Sabre asked.

  “So far. I keep to myself and don’t talk much to anyone. I try to stay out of the way as much as I can.”

  ~~~

  After Conner left, JP turned to Sabre. “There’s little doubt that he’s Gene’s son. He looks like him. Same eyes, same mouth. Conner is lankier, but his hair is the same color and wavy like Gene’s. He looks enough like my brother that I could’ve picked him out of a crowd.”

  “Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Sabre asked.

  “Partly, but he’s hiding something.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “He even has the same tell that Gene had as a kid. He just hasn’t mastered it. Gene was very good at it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Whenever we’d get caught doing something wrong, I always had a hard time lying about it. Not Gene. He would look at Dad, or whoever it was, straight in the eye and lie like crazy. Gene always said people were more apt to believe you if you looked at them. He tried to teach me how to do it, but I couldn’t. I expect he’s done the same with Conner.”

  “It’s true. Most people have a hard time looking at you when they lie. So, how did you deal with it?”

  “I just told the truth.”

  Chapter 6

  Morgan fidgeted in her chair. Her face was solemn as she, JP, and Sabre waited for Conner to come into the room.

  “This place is kind of ugly,” Morgan said, looking around the stark room. It was starting to get noisy from the visitors waiting to see their loved ones.

  “It’s not the cheeriest place on earth,” Sabre said. “Are you afraid?”

  “I’m okay, but there are a lot of sad-looking people here.”

  Within five minutes, a guard brought Conner into the room. When Morgan saw him, her face lit up. Her eyes widened and she gave him a big smile. Then tears started to roll down her cheeks.

  “Don’t cry, Morgie,” Conner said. “It’s all gonna be okay.” His face tightened as he held back tears.

  “I just want you to come home.”

  “Me too,” Conner said. He cleared his throat. “But for now, you need to be brave. Is Unc…uh…Johnny taking care of you?” He glanced at JP and back at Morgan.

  “You can call me Uncle Johnny if you want to, or JP if you prefer. Whatever works for you.”

  Conner nodded.

  “Yes,” Morgan said. “They’re both taking care of me, but I’m staying at Polinsky for now.”

  “What is Polinsky?” Conner asked.

  “It’s a facility where children can stay when it’s not safe at home,”
Sabre said. “At least until the Department of Social Services can find a home for them or send them back to their own home.

  “She can’t go home without me there,” Conner snapped. “It’s not safe for her.”

  “I get that,” Sabre said. “We’re doing everything we can.”

  “Uncle Johnny will let me stay with him if the social worker says it’s okay.”

  Conner turned toward JP and looked at him like a concerned parent. “You better keep her safe,” he said.

  “I will.” JP nodded.

  “Have you seen Mom?” Conner asked Morgan.

  “No. She’s probably still sleeping or partying. She’ll notice I’m gone pretty soon.”

  “Lori Leon, a social worker, went there yesterday and spoke with your mom,” Sabre said. “Your mom knows where you both are now. I’m sure she’ll be in contact soon.”

  Morgan shrugged. “Yeah, the weekend is almost over.”

  “I’ll keep you posted as much as I can on what’s going on outside,” Sabre added.

  “Morgie, what’s it like at Polinsky?”

  Sabre was impressed with Conner’s change of subject and his overall maturity. She hoped it wouldn’t work against him in his defense. The court would have to determine whether Conner would be tried as a juvenile or an adult. Maturity and sophistication were always factors in that decision.

  Morgan glanced around the room. “Polinsky is a whole lot better than here,” she said, making a face.

  “It’s not so bad. The food’s okay, and I’m not going to be here that long. Don’t you worry.”

  “But they said you killed Bullet. I know you didn’t do it. I want to tell them that, but nobody has asked me.”

  Conner raised his voice. “I know what they’re saying, Morgie. You need to stay out of it. They don’t want to hear from a little kid who thinks her brother is innocent. Do you hear what I’m saying? Dad wouldn’t want you getting involved either.”

  “I understand.”

  They chatted for a little longer with Morgan asking questions about juvenile hall—if they had internet or television, or if they went outside at all. Everyone laughed when she asked if they had a swimming pool.

  “It’s not exactly a country club, Morgie.”