Shielded In The Shadows

So raising a baby on her own, a family on her own, wouldn’t be what she’d once hoped for, but life was what you made it and she could make it great.

Stuffing the rest of her dinner in the bag she’d pulled it from, she started her Lexus and left the parking lot. She’d had enough beach time. She had to go get

her some body time.

Halfway home, her mind busy planning to change into something a bit sexier and less professional, she had a call from Sara. Suzie Heber was at the Stand, in a group session. She said she’d only talk to Emma if Emma came to the Stand while she was there.

Changing course immediately, she thought about Jayden sitting at home, expecting her to arrive soon. Thought about calling him. About hearing his voice. Wanting to see him. Maybe agreeing to stop by when she was through.

And waited until she pulled into the Stand to text him instead.

As a prosecutor who worked with the Stand’s victims, and a member of the High Risk team, Emma had a pass to the private parking lot behind the Stand, as well as a key card that allowed her admittance to the grounds. She met Sara at the counselor’s office. Suzie wasn’t there yet. An evening volunteer counselor was in with the group and she’d bring Suzie to them when group was done, which should be within minutes.

“I didn’t expect her to see me,” she told Sara, a married mother of two. While Sara was three years older than Emma, Emma still felt...less than...as she sat there. Like Emma had accomplished so much less in life than she had. The other woman had it all: a full-time career and a home with two kids. The husband was a bonus.

But the kids... She looked at the pictures on Sara’s desk. They were adorable. Heart-stopping cute. Happy.

She definitely had to call the clinic.

“She didn’t seem to mind speaking with you at all,” Sara was saying, focused on work. As Emma should be. “My bit of concern came from the fact that it was tonight or not at all.”

“As though she’s not coming back,” Emma reiterated from their earlier phone call. “You think that’s because she’s really okay? Or because she’s in denial?”

“I think it’s because she’s scared.” The woman’s blue eyes showed concern. As slender as Sara was, as feminine-looking with dark blond shoulder-length wavy hair and sensible clothes, she was also as strong as they came.

And as calming, somehow. Sitting on one end of the couch in Sara’s office, leaving the other end for Suzie, Emma faced the counselor in her usual chair across from her.

“Her ex-husband’s getting to her again.”

“That’s my assessment. And we’re up against a bit of a wall here since she cooperated last time and lost.”

Her fault. She knew what they were up against. She’d blown Suzie’s trust. Not that Sara blamed her—as she’d made clear multiple times over the years.

“But she agreed to speak with me.”

Sara nodded. “I was encouraged by that, as well.”

“You have any pointers for me?” Emma was a prosecutor, not a counselor. Building back lost trust...she wasn’t sure how to do it—and in only one meeting, with no preparation time.

“Just be yourself,” Sara told her. “You’ve got this just by being who you are. Truth and honesty, in action as well as word, are your strongest tools—”

A knock on the door interrupted them, followed by the door opening and a woman unfamiliar to Emma peeking her head in just enough to announce Suzie and usher her inside. She came in, limping in her black boot, and shut the door behind her.

Auburn-haired, with a model-like frame, Suzie’s shoulders were hunched, her face makeup-less as she took a seat on the vacant end of the couch. She’d been dressed as drably, with her hair pulled into a ponytail and no makeup every other time Emma had seen her. She’d gained a little weight, but not enough.

None of that shocked Emma. What got her was that when she opened her mouth to speak to Suzie, she choked up.

She was a professional. Not once, in all her years of lawyering, or even studying to be a lawyer, in all the heinous photos and videos she’d had to study, all the details she’d had to relive, had she ever shown undue emotion in front of a witness, victim or defendant. Her ability to compartmentalize was one of the talents that made her so good at what she did.

“I’m sorry,” she said, apologizing for her shocking emotionalism. “I’m so, so sorry, Suzie. I let you down and now...”

The other woman glanced over, her head still slightly lowered. “I don’t blame you, Ms. Martin. You tried your best. I knew he’d win, but it just felt so good, having someone on my side, I wanted to let you try...”

She’d known he’d win? That was the first Emma had ever heard that. And a horrifying thought occurred to her. Was it possible Suzie had known Emma wouldn’t win because she hadn’t told Emma the truth?

Emma had never even considered that possibility. Not after seeing the doctor reports, the police reports and listening to Suzie’s own testimony.

“My ex-husband is a powerful man,” Suzie continued softly. “Not like powerful because of being rich, and being able to buy off whatever you need, but powerful in a much worse way. He believes he’s right and you can’t convince him otherwise. But he’s not all bad. He really loves people and wants to do things right, too. He apologizes for his mistakes and...”