Taming the Beast

“Yeah, they’re bringin’ him up soon.”

“Okay, no problem, Joey,” I told him, even though I knew that between these two guys the only payment I could expect to receive would be another phone call. I dumped my coffee cup, grabbed my briefcase, and left the broom closet with Joey in tow. I waded through the sea of people in the hallway to the Clerk’s office, to let them know I had a case, and lawyer-for-the-day would have to start after lunch. Then I stopped at Records to pick up Matt Davis’s file, knowing before I opened it that he would never be arrested for “a couple” unpaid parking tickets.

As I walked back down the hallway, I noticed that the usual suspects had arrived for the days’ entertainment. In some towns, the gathering place for gossip was the coffee shop, or church, but in my town it was the courthouse. People that didn’t have much to do would come to the courthouse every day and watch from the gallery, as various citizens were paraded out for public discipline. And the gossips loved it. You’d think we were back in the days of the Salem Witch Hunt, with the glee some people showed about having something to tell their friends later.

Even so, the amount of people seemed larger than normal, and I wondered why. I hadn’t heard of any special case being tried that day. I followed the crowd into the packed courtroom, with the intention of reading the file while I waited for the case to be called, when the Clerk said “Commonwealth vs. Matthew Davis”. I saw that Matt was already waiting at the defense table. He looked around as the Judge said, “Do you have representation Mr. Davis?”

“Yes, your Honor,” I said, as I pushed through the swinging half-door that separated the gallery from the rest of the courtroom, and the low hum of the chatter in the gallery ramped up a bit. I stepped up next to Matt, gave him a reassuring pat on the arm and said, “I apologize, your Honor. I just received my client’s file.”

“Attorney Brennan, you’re back so soon,” said the Judge with an amused expression, and people chuckled from behind me in the gallery. I swear some people thought this place was their very own live version of Judge Judy.

“It’s always a pleasure, your Honor,” I said with a smile, as I thought that at least in this corner of my world I knew what to expect.

“Have you met the new Assistant District attorney?” the Judge asked. Surprised, I looked over at the prosecution table, and my eyes collided with a very familiar pair of blue ones.

“No, your Honor, we haven’t met,” I said after an uncomfortable silence.

“Rose Brennan, meet Jeremy Abbott.”

Chapter 5

The courtroom was absolutely silent, while inside my head a war was raging. Holy fucking shit, I thought as I stared at Jeremy, whose last name was apparently Abbott. My mind screamed the obvious—he was the new Assistant District attorney and I had slept with him last night. The silence was tinted with anticipation, and from that I realized that most of the people in the gallery already knew about this dramatic turn of events. And now I knew why more people were here today than usual. This was some juicy gossip.

My mind processed the fact that Jeremy seemed completely different in a suit and tie, at the same time that my body betrayed me by reacting to how amazing he looked. My eyes locked with his, and the heavy beat of my heart was in my throat. Suddenly, he became someone to Take Seriously, instead of a guy I’d met in a bar.

“Welcome, counselor,” I said, as I finally managed to get a grip and pull my eyes from his. I looked down at the table, and waited for him to say some platitude so we could move on from this terribly awkward moment.

Instead, Jeremy stayed silent. I stared at the table as the seconds ticked by, and I wondered what the hell he was doing. The scene he made by not speaking, was worse than if he had yelled at me. I glanced up at the Judge as my face started to flush with embarrassment. The Judge was looking at Jeremy with a curious expression, and I started to sweat in unfortunate places.

Finally, Jeremy said, “It’s very nice to see you this morning, Rose.” I looked over at him, astonished that he would talk to me in such a familiar way and imply that we had seen each other before. I watched as his eyes slid quickly down my body, and I inhaled sharply as I turned away. He may as well have touched me with the way my body reacted.

“Let’s get underway,” said the Judge, and I tried to act composed while my heart raced. The courtroom was still hushed as the clerk began to read out the charges.

“The defendant Matthew Davis is charged with having 374 unpaid parking tickets, a 2nd degree misdemeanor.” The quiet ended as people began to talk at once, including me as I looked at Matt and said, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“I didn’t know it was that many, Rose! I thought it was just like a hundred or so…” He trailed off as I looked at him incredulously. He flushed, but the volume of chatter from the gallery behind us didn’t lessen.

“Order in the court!” said the court officer sternly, and people immediately stopped their excited yammering.

“Your Honor,” I said, as Matt started to poke me in the ribs with his thumb, “I haven’t had a chance to speak to my client, or review the charges. May we have a 15-minute recess?” I finished on a rush because Matt wouldn’t stop poking me.

“What!” I said to him in a loud whisper, as I grabbed his thumb and twisted it to stop the infernal poking. This began a tug of war between us as I refused to let go of his thumb.

“I want to plead guilty, Rose,” he said loudly, as he tried to jerk his thumb out of my grasp.

“Why?” I asked, exasperated, as I finally let go and placed my hand over my poor rib cage.

“Because I did the wrong thing and I owe the money,” he said in a lower voice. I looked at him and realized why he and Joey Miller were friends. They were both sweet and a little naïve, without a malicious bone in their bodies.

“Are you sure, Matt?” I said.

“Yeah, Rose. I’ve gotta do the right thing. I never thought I’d get arrested,” he said, while he looked down at the table in front of us. It was obvious that he was embarrassed by the whole situation.

“I’m sorry, your Honor, but we don’t need a recess after all. My client is ready to plead,” I said, without looking at Jeremy.

“Okay, then. How does your client plead, counselor?” said the Judge.

“I’m guilty, Judge,” said Matt, and the gossips in the gallery started to chatter again.