Before She Dies (Alexandria Novels 3)

She took the paper weight from him. “I saw the article in the paper and know the carnival is in town. Did one of your boys get arrested?”

He curled his empty fingers and lowered them to his side. “I could see where you’d think that. The boys do tend to mix it up from time to time.”

“Drunk in public. Theft. Fighting. Your employees have a talent for getting into trouble. And I have no intention of helping any one of them.”

He arched a brow. “You got some attitude in you, girl.”

“And your point is?”

“Maybe I could bring you down a peg, and let the folks in the back know that you didn’t come from such refined stock. Maybe I should tell them you was born a low-life carnie just like me.”

Threats were par for the course for a defense attorney. Most either rolled off her back or amused her. This one struck at the core.

But she also knew Grady well enough. If she showed weakness or caved in to his demands, he’d own her. She’d buy his silence for a time, but there would be more and more favors. He’d worm into her life like a cancer, and in the end still tell everyone about the past she wanted to forget.

“Go ahead. Tell them. And when you’re finished, get the hell out of my life.”

Gray eyes narrowed and glared as if he were dealing with a disobedient child.

When she’d been a kid, that look had scared her— it still did a little—but she’d gotten much better at bluffing. “Now or never.”

He hesitated. Waited.

She waited, barely blinking.

Finally, he nodded, grinned, and bowed his head slightly. “Now, baby girl, I did not mean for this to turn into a pissing match. I’ve come with hat in hand to see if you can help me. For old times’ sake.”

This victory of wills was small, but a first. Grady never did anything hat in hand. “I won’t help you or any of your carnies get out of jail. I’m done with that life, Grady. There is no going back for me.” Her normally controlled voice had slipped back into an accent she’d worked so hard to destroy.

“I wouldn’t be asking for me or any of those slobs that pretend to work for me.”

She shrugged. “Then why are we having this conversation?”

“I came about Sooner.”

Hearing the name smacked her gut like a one-two punch. She could feel the color drain from her face as she scrambled to remain stoic. The last time Charlotte had seen Sooner, the girl had been eight days old.

Regret and sadness scorched her, and for an instant she couldn’t draw in a breath. She’d thought about that baby often and of the night she’d left her behind. “You didn’t give me a choice, as I remember.”

“It wasn’t hard to get you to leave. You’d been dreaming about leaving for years.”

“Mariah had died. I couldn’t handle staying.”

“You didn’t have the grit to stay.”

“I was sixteen, Grady. Not more than a child myself.”

“Tell that to the baby girl who looks so much like Mariah that it’ll take your breath away.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and for several seconds she could not speak for fear her voice would crack. “You told me you were going to put Sooner up for adoption. You said she’d have a real home.”

He rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “I decided it was best she stay with me.”

“What?” Her head spun. Of all the scenarios she’d imagined over the years, this was not one of them. “You swore on Mariah’s grave you’d give her a real home.”

“I gave her a real home.” He straightened his shoulders. “I did right by the girl.”

“If you kept her, you didn’t do right by her.”

“She turned out all right. She’s smart and quick.”

Bitterness soured her stomach as she imagined that innocent baby growing up in the grit and dirt of the carnival. “Where is she now, Grady?”

“Got herself arrested for shoplifting from a store owner.”

“What kind of store?” Dark, heartbreaking scenarios swirled through her mind.

“Crystals, cards, bracelets. Knickknack shit. She’s always liked that kind of stuff. Makes sense I suppose since she is the new Madame Divine.”

Anger choked her throat. “You put her to work in the tent?”

“She wanted to work.”

“Why isn’t she in school?”

“She got herself a good education. Homeschooled but it’s worked out fine. She’s smart as a whip.”

All the hopes and dreams she’d had for Sooner dried up and blew away like dust. “Not so smart. She’s been arrested.”

“She didn’t do it. She said the shopkeeper made a pass at her, and when she told him to fuck off, he got mad. He called the cops, whining about stolen crystals. He held her until the cops showed.”

To cope with emotions too extreme to name, she focused on the facts. Her mind clicked through the consequences of shoplifting. “What was the item?”

“Some fancy crystal. Expensive from what I hear.”

“Does she have an arrest record?”

Gray eyes thinned. “No. She’s a good kid.”

“Where is she now?”

“In court. Arraigned today. Maybe right now.”

Charlotte stared at him a long moment. Nothing could have dragged her back into Grady’s world. Nothing. Except Sooner.

And he knew that.

“I’ll get my briefcase.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, don’t. In fact, I don’t even want to see you near the courthouse. You don’t mix well with cops, and I don’t need to deal with your temper on top of everything else.”

“I won’t lose my temper.”

That made her smile. “Of course you will. You always do.”

Grady slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “You’ll take care of it then?”

“I will.” She checked her watch. “What’s her full name?”

“Sooner Mariah Tate.”

“Tate.”

“Sure. It’s a good name.”

Facts. Think about the facts. Morning court will be in session for at least another hour. “If I hurry, I might catch her case.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, Grady. Just stay away from me.”

Chapter 4

Tuesday, October 19, 10:15 a.m.

Charlotte reached the courthouse fifteen minutes later. She hustled up the front steps in her heels and dashed up to the line for the metal detectors. Normally, the wait irritated her. Today it made her want to scream. A man in front of her kept setting off the scanner, which required him to return and empty more from his pockets.

When it was Charlotte’s turn to pass, she made it through without a glitch and then quickly grabbed her personal items and briefcase as they passed through the scanner. She dashed up the stairs to the second floor courtroom and quietly slipped inside general court. Taking a seat in the back, she scanned the room. There were at least six girls being arraigned. Three were dressed like hookers, one wore ragged jeans with slumped shoulders, one looked drunk, and the last sat alone and quiet facing the judge. The last girl had long dark hair that brushed the middle of her back. Instantly, Charlotte’s gaze went to the last girl. The hair, the narrow breadth of her shoulders, and the way she tilted her head to the right instantly reminded her of Mariah.

The courtroom melted away for a second and she was transported back to an afternoon when two teenaged sisters sat in the trailer.

“God, Grace, do you have to brush my hair so hard,” Mariah wailed.

“Stop being a baby. You said you wanted tight braids to go with your Indian costume, and that’s what I’m giving you.”

“Not that tight.”

“Stop. I’d kill for your hair.”

“You would not.”

“I would.” The thick mane was so black, blue highlights shimmered in the strands when the light hit just right.

Once they’d dressed, the sisters wer

e going to a Halloween party at the local high school. Mariah was the Indian and Grace was the cowboy. Neither attended regular school, and though it never bothered Mariah, it did bother Grace. Whenever they were in a town, Grace would check to see what functions were being held at the area schools. They gravitated toward the big fall and spring events: football games, plays, homecoming, and prom, knowing blending would be easier. They’d dress, hitch a ride to the school, and for a few hours they’d mingle and pretend that they were regular kids.

“The next case is the Commonwealth versus Sooner Mariah Tate. She’s been charged with credit card theft, petty larceny, and resisting arrest.”