Alex Drakos: His Forbidden Love Read online

  But Priska, certain she knew who he had in mind, interjected. “Which company, sir, if I may ask? Maid for Mom?”

  Alex was surprised that she would know that, especially since he had not verbalized it to anyone. “That’s right,” he said.

  “Negative that, sir. She’ll have to be out.”

  Alex was shocked that his assistant would go there. None of his employees had that kind of relationship with him. That included Priska. “Excuse me?” he asked. “What do you mean she’s out?”

  “The owner, sir, of Maid for Mom, can’t be considered.”

  “Oh, really? You’re running my company now, Miss Rahm?”

  “No, sir. And I apologize, sir. But Maid for Mom cannot get one of our contracts.”

  Alex frowned. He couldn’t believe this woman! “And why the hell not?” he asked her.

  “The owner,” Priska began saying, but then had to look down at her notes to find the name. “Kari Grant,” she continued, and then smiled. “I should have remembered that name.” The men around the table laughed.

  Alex, however, was still too surprised to so much a smile. What would Priska know about it? The idea that Kari would have told her she was no longer in the running for that housekeeping contract would have been so out of character for Kari. But then again, Alex realized, he didn’t exactly know Kari through and through.

  “Miss Grant’s son,” Priska continued, “was arrested last night, or early this morning, I’m not sure which, and the reaction in the community is overwhelmingly unfavorable, sir.”

  Alex was shocked. “Her son was arrested? On what charge?”

  “Charges, sir,” Priska corrected him. “The boy, Jordan Grant, was charged with rape and murder of a very popular young lady, sir.”

  Alex was stupefied. Rape and murder? That boy was Kari’s heart and soul! And while she was rolling in the hay with him, her son was being accused of two heinous crimes? “I’ll get back with you,” Alex said, pressed a button on this desk, and ended the videoconference. The group on the other end were mystified.

  But Alex didn’t give a shit. He pulled out his cellphone quickly, and tried to phone Kari again. But he got no answer. Again. He raked his hand through his hair. He could only imagine the grief she had to be going through.

  And he made a decision.

  He called his pilot. Ordered him to get the plane ready.

  And then he called the lawyers.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The courtroom was packed for a late afternoon. But a murder was media fodder, and headline news in a town like Apple Valley. Joe Shuler, the victim’s father, and his family were there, glowering across the gallery at the Defendant’s side: at Kari’s side. Almost everybody in that courtroom, understandably, Kari thought, were there for Joe. He had lost his daughter. It was a terrible, tragic event. But Kari knew her son wasn’t responsible.

  She sat on the front row just behind the Defendant’s table, waiting for the bail hearing to begin. Sitting beside her, sandwiching her in, were Faye Church and Lucinda Mayes, her friends. But Kari’s leg was shaking, she was rubbing her hands together: anxiety was getting the best of her.

  “What’s taking them so long?” she asked.

  “This is a courtroom, Kari,” Lucinda pointed out. “You know how slow the wheels of justice turn.”

  “But Jordan is a child,” Kari said. “Why won’t they let me see him? He’s a minor!”

  “Look!” Faye said. “Here comes Benny.”

  Faye’s husband, attorney Benny Church, came out of a side door with a briefcase in his hand, and made his way to the Defendant’s table. He sat his briefcase down, and leaned over the bar that separated the well of the courtroom from the gallery, where the audience sat.

  “How is he, Ben?” Kari asked. “Did you see him?”

  “I saw him, yes,” Benny said.

  “How is he?”

  “He’s shaken, but he’s okay. He hasn’t been harmed.”

  “What did he say?” Lucinda asked. “I’ve known Jordan ever since he and Kari came to Apple Valley. There’s no way that child did this crime. What did he tell you?”

  “I didn’t want him telling me anything at this point. Not here. I want him out of here first. But he did tell me, Kari,” he added, looking at Kari, “that he’s worried about you.”

  “Me?” Kari was surprised. “He doesn’t need to be in there worrying about me!”

  Faye and Benny looked at each other. To Kari, she was handling it just fine. To the rest of the world, she was a nervous wreck. Jordan was right to be worried.

  “Did you talk to the prosecutor, hon?” Faye asked her husband. “Did you talk to Marsha?”

  “I did, yes.”

  “What did she say?” Kari asked him.

  Benny exhaled. “They said no dice. No bail. She’s going to oppose bail.”

  Kari was devastated. “But why?”

  “The crime. Too horrible. So horrible that she’s going to ask the judge to deny bail of any kind.”

  “But Jordan didn’t do it!” Kari pleaded. “You know him, Benny. You know my child is not capable of harming anyone!”

  “I told them. But they don’t wanna hear that. This is a hot case. The media, the whole town, even, is riveted on this case. Look at this courtroom. We’re usually surprised when there’s anybody in here beyond the family members of the alleged perps. But it’s packed this afternoon. Marsha is going to play to the peanut gallery. They want blood. She’s going to try to give it to them.”

  Kari was dejected. It could take forever to try a case. She’d heard of cases dragging on for years before a verdict was reached. Jordan couldn’t be confined for all that time. She couldn’t allow it. But now they had to fight just to get him freed on bail. Something she thought was going to be automatic.

  And suddenly she could hardly breathe. She jumped up, and hurried outside.

  Faye moved to go after her, but Benny pulled her back. “Give her some space,” he said. “She’ll be okay.”

  Outside, Kari leaned against the rail that led to the wheelchair ramp, and rubbed her forehead. She was beside herself with grief. What was she going to do? Jordan couldn’t spend all that time in jail just waiting to find out if he even stood a chance at freedom! He wasn’t built for that. Thanks to her shortsighted ass, she thought, he wasn’t built for that!

  She felt so inadequate. So dumb. So poor! How was she going to fight a system so entrenched in Apple Valley, and against a powerful man like Joe Shuler? And Jordan. Although he was a great kid, he was just another minority kid to the people around town. They could try him as an adult and lock him away for life. And all he had going for him was her? What in heaven’s name was she going to do?

  She wanted to pray, and she tried to pray, but she couldn’t seem to get past the same phrase. “Lord, help him,” she kept saying. “Lord, help him.” Over and over she said it. “Help him, Lord!”

  And then, suddenly, she thought about Alex. She wondered why she hadn’t thought about him before. He was the only man of means she knew. He was the only man who had some pull in this world. But would he help Jordan? Or would he hang up in her face?

  Besides, he was a big shot northerner trying to bring a casino to their nice little town. These hick judges around here weren’t going to take kindly to his interference. But who else could she call? She asked the Lord to help her child. Alex was the only person who came to mind. What else was she supposed to do?

  She pulled out her cellphone.

  But just as she did, Faye Church came running outside. “They’re about to bring him in, Kare,” she said excitedly. “His bail hearing is about to get underway! Come on!”

  Kari didn’t hesitate. She ran back inside with Faye. She would have to call Alex afterwards, and deal with his response then. He could show concern, and try to help, or he could be angry, and rebuke her for bothering him. But right now, she had to be there for Jordan. Right now, she had to let him know she was going to do everything she h
umanly could do to get him out of this mess!

  When Faye and Kari returned to the courtroom, Jordan was already being led in from the prisoner’s holding room. Kari was devastated when she saw her baby walk in the courtroom in shackles around his waist, and hands, and even his legs! She stumbled back and into Faye, who held her up, when she saw that horrific scene. Ever since he was old enough to understand things, she taught him to never ever put his life in the hands of some judge. To never ever be another black man incarcerated. To never ever be a statistic.

  But there he was: her beautiful black child in chains. A black man in chains. A statistic!

  She smiled and fought back tears as she waved at him, and made her way to her seat. Jordan nodded at her, and tried to smile, too, but she could see the terror in his dejected eyes. He wasn’t built for jails and courtrooms and judges. That was why Vito wanted to kick his ass. He didn’t have that hard edge Vito and Kari had. There was no street in Jordan. Kari made certain of that. But now, because of the circumstances Jordan found himself in, he needed to be hard, and he needed to be street. The very qualities she made sure he would lack, he needed desperately now.

  Kari sat down in her seat, and Lucinda grabbed her hand. Faye, when she sat back down, sandwiching Kari in again, grabbed her other hand. They could tell Kari was in a state. And she was. She was fighting back tears with all she had. She was only fifteen when she had Jordan, a stupid kid having a kid who didn’t know shit about shit. But she knew this much for sure: she failed her child. On every front, and in every way, she failed Jordan miserably!

  Jordan sat beside Benny Church, his attorney, and Benny rubbed his back, asking him if he was okay. The prosecution table had three chairs, and all three were filled. Only Benny was on Jordan’s side. It already looked like an unfair fight to Kari.

  “All rise!” the bailiff said loudly, and Kari and the entire courtroom stood on their feet. “Court is now in session. The honorable Judge Herbie Reese presiding.” When the judge was behind the bench, and seated, everyone else took their seats. And the bond hearing began.

  The prosecution, a woman named Marsha Cranston, stood first. “The People,” she said, referring to the state of Florida, “are opposed to granting bail of any amount to this defendant, sir.”

  “Reasons?” the judge asked.

  “The nature of the crime, sir, was beyond heinous. Miss Marvena Shuler, our unfortunate victim, was violently raped, stabbed nearly forty times, and left for dead at Balton Beach.”

  Joe Shuler sobbed out loud. Kari was heartbroken and shocked when she heard those details, too. Poor Marvena! Stabbed forty times? Violently raped? Left at a beach like trash? And they thought Jordan did all of that? She could hardly believe her ears.

  “The person who committed these crimes,” Marsha continued, “is not fit to walk the face of this earth. We believe that person is in this courtroom right now, Jordan Grant, and we believe he is too great a threat to society to be allowed even the most highly monitored bail, sir.”

  She sat down. It wasn’t lost on Kari that the judge asked for reasons, yet Marsha Cranston only gave one.

  Then it was Benny’s turn. Kari stared at the judge as Benny rose from his seat and spoke up for Jordan. Benny was an impressive man in his own right. Smart. Kind. Impactful. But he was no Johnnie Cochran. “Jordan Grant is a model citizen, sir,” he said. “An A student. A hardworking young man who bags groceries at Ralph’s.”

  “Not anymore!” a male voice could be heard yelling out in the gallery. Some people even snickered when he yelled out. While the judge gaveled for order, Kari looked to see who had said such a thing. When she realized it was Ralph himself, a man whose grocery store was across the street from her office, and was somebody she always viewed as a friend, she was floored. He was giving up on Jordan already? Even before the trial? Jordan didn’t stand a chance!

  Benny, however, pretended the outburst never happened, and continued to plead his case. “He’s an A student,” Benny said.

  “You said that already,” the judge replied.

  Benny cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. But the point I’m making is that Jordan Grant is a model citizen, sir.”

  “You said that already, too,” the judge declared.

  Kari looked at Benny. There had to be more in his arsenal than this, or Jordan was doomed!

  There was, to her relief. “In additional to his unvarnished, unquestionable personal character,” Benny continued, “Jordan Grant has lived in Apple Valley since he was eight years old. He and his mother are well established in this community. The idea that he would be a flight risk is not even a consideration, Judge. That’s why the prosecution didn’t even bring it up. He’s never been arrested. He’s never been in any trouble of any kind at school. He is going to plead innocent to each and every charge. We, the Defense, sir, ask that you grant Jordan bail, and that you grant it in an amount not to exceed ten-thousand dollars. Our preference, sir, is that he be released into the custody of his mother, Karena Grant. But we will respect whatever amount the Court imposes. Thank you, Judge.”

  Benny sat down. Judge Reese leaned forward. “The crime was horrific,” he said. “There is no doubt about that. And whoever did this crime is a sicko person who should fry for what he did to that poor child. I, therefore, am inclined to support the prosecution’s argument in this matter.”

  Kari’s heart dropped.

  “The nature of the crime alone is enough to convince me that we can’t take a chance on bail.”

  The doors to the courtroom opened, causing everybody, including Kari and even the judge, to look back. A man walked in, an older white man, with a briefcase in his hand. As soon as he began making his way to the front of the courtroom, the judge began smiling. “Well, well, Mr. Aaronson,” the judge said. “Of what do the Court owe this honor?” he asked.

  “I have been retained by the Defense, sir,” Aaronson said.

  Kari looked at Benny. Benny looked at Kari. This was news to both of them!

  “I was retained to assist the able defense attorney, sir,” Aaronson added.

  The judge chuckled. “You assisting? I’ll believe it when the cows come home. Just tell the truth: you’re taking over.”

  Aaronson smiled, but didn’t go there. “May I enter the well, sir?” he asked.

  “You may,” said the judge, and Aaronson made his way to the Defendant’s table.

  Kari looked at Faye. “Who is he?” she asked, as Aaronson introduced himself to Benny.

  “Toker Aaronson. One of the finest defense attorney’s in the country,” Faye responded. “His home base is out of Miami. Some people compare him to F. Lee Bailey in his heyday. Mark Geragos today. Lawyers like that.”

  “But who hired him?” Kari asked. “I didn’t hire him.”

  Lucinda leaned over to Kari. “You didn’t hire him? Well who on earth did?”

  Kari had an inkling who, but it was too amazing for her to even consider. How would Alex even know about Jordan’s arrest? How would he have gotten a lawyer of this esteem to Apple Valley this quickly?

  But those questions flew out the window when he worked his magic on the judge with one simple plea. “If you grant bail for this young man, Your Honor,” Aaronson said, “I will personally assure you that he will show up for every court appearance, and will show up on time. We understand that this was an awful crime. There is no denying that this was just an unbearable affront to all who holds life dear. But we will vigorously defend this young man’s innocence. We will vigorously show that there is no way he committed this crime. We ask for bail, sir, to be able to properly prepare our case and give this young man the justice he, and all defendants deserve. We ask that you grant him two-hundred-thousand dollars bail.”

  Kari, Faye, and Lucinda all stretched their eyes at the same time. Two-hundred-thousand dollars? Why would he come up with an outrageous sum like that? All three of them together couldn’t come up with two-hundred-thousand dollars. This wasn’t Miami. This was little Apple
Valley. Their cost of living was not on that scale!

  But, to Benny’s surprise, Marsha Cranston stood up, and didn’t object. “The People would have no objection to that figure, Judge,” she said.

  Just because there was a star in the courtroom, she suddenly had no problem with bail. It astounded Kari. But in a good way! And just like that, a judge who was just about to issue no bond, issued one for two-hundred-thousand dollars. Court was adjourned.

  Kari wanted to ask Aaronson who had hired him, but he and Benny were ushered off with Jordan. Jordan looked back at his mother as he was led away. He knew there was no way she was going to be able to come up with that kind of dough. But she smiled, and nodded her head, as if she had it in the bag. She was going to hock her house and her business, if she had to, to get him out of there!

  But it wasn’t necessary. The bail was already paid by the time Kari, Faye, and Lucinda made it to the waiting area. Aaronson and Benny were still off somewhere with Jordan, getting him processed out, and Kari had to sign the paperwork.

  “Okay, ma’am,” the court clerk said after she finished, “if you and your party will wait out back, your son will be out momentarily.”

  “That’s it?” Kari asked. “That’s all I have to do?”

  “That’s it.”

  “But I don’t understand. Who put up the bail money?”

  “When it is a third party, we are not at liberty to say, ma’am,” the clerk said.

  Lucinda and Faye looked at each other. “Our circle is large,” Lucinda said, “but the pockets aren’t that deep. Who did this?”

  Kari already had a great suspicion, and her suspicion was confirmed within ten minutes of going outside. A limousine drove up at the curb, and the backdoor was opening before it came to a complete stop. When Alex Drakos stepped out, buttoning his expensive suit, Kari felt a sense of relief she could hardly describe. Faye and Lucinda were floored. What was he doing here? And why, they wondered, did he look so devastated?

  Alex hurried to Kari. As he suspected, this ordeal was taking its toll. Her eyes hid nothing from him. “Is he okay?” he asked her.