vacation time, truth be told.”
They’d reached the road that would lead them to the rink and
Taran drove up the incline that curved around Jordan’s and into the parking lot
of the Framingham Roller Emporium. A minute later, he found an unclaimed
parking spot and put the truck in park.
He kept the engine running and faced Sam. Neon lights from
the well-lit building reflected in his gray eyes. Fascinated, she cocked her
head to the side, enjoying the way he seemed to be listening attentively.
“How does Luke feel about his sisters being in foster care?”
“He’s relieved they are not in his stepmother’s care. He’d
like to visit them more often, but he doesn’t have money to take a bus. He
tried to get a job at the roller rink or at the Natick Mall.”
“I take it the job search didn’t work out?”
“No, sadly, he has sold some of his sketches. Rink and mall
management didn’t care for that and put a stop to it.”
“Do Leah and Faith have a relationship with their father?”
“Not as far as I know. Their foster parents have gone to
court to keep legal guardianship.”
“Luke’s all right with that?”
“Yes, if Faith and Leah are with the Marshalls, he knows
they’re safe from their father and Daria.”
“If Russell’s in prison, he shouldn’t be a problem.”
“He’s obtained a new attorney to handle his appeal. He’s now
claiming he was railroaded into a plea deal by an incompetent defense.”
“Do you know who his new defense attorney is? Overturning a
plea deal is extremely difficult though not impossible.”
“Bernard Harcourt,” Sam answered.
Taran whistled. “Harcourt has a team of lawyers and legal
assistants at his disposal. His reputation for getting the worst offenders off
or overturning verdicts is legendary.”
“Yeah, I know him. Ethan and I’ve had to deal with him a
time or two, fortunately neither of us had any of our cases thrown out or
evidence questioned.”
“What happened with Luke’s stepmother?”
“Soon after Russell went to prison, she filed for divorce
but has since withdrawn and visits him as often as is permitted by law.”
“Is she clean?”
“According to my sources, she went through rehab and her
lawyer sent Brenda Davis notice that Daria Walker is ready to go to court to
get her girls back, as well as retain guardianship of Luke. She has a job as a
nail technician at a beauty salon in Downtown Crossing.”
“Do you know where she’s living?”
“Trendy little place in Beacon Hill.”
“On a nail tech’s salary, I don’t think so. Harcourt’s time
doesn’t come cheap, Sam, nor does an appeal. I’m going to need you to dig
further into her background. How’s she earning enough money to afford two
attorneys?”
“Already started looking into it, there’s something about
Daria that doesn’t add up.”
“Has Russell made attempts to contact his son?” Taran asked.
“Some, yes,” Sam answered. “His new lawyer is apparently
pressuring Luke to visit Russell more often. So far, Luke doesn’t want anything
to do with his father.”
“Harcourt probably wants Russell to look like an upstanding
family man in the eyes of an appellate court,” Taran commented.
“That’s what I think. There’s more.”
“Go on.”
“Luke claims he’ll run away if Daria is able to convince a
judge she’s clean and orders him to reconnect with his stepmother, even if it’s
supervised visitation, which would likely be the first step. That scares me,
Taran. Ethan and I spend our days and many of our nights working to bring
runaways and the missing back to their families. I can’t lose Luke to the
streets, Taran.”
“You won’t lose him, Sam. I’ll be sure of it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, glad she’d turned to Taran.
“Can you tell me anything else I should know? Grades,
interests, any habit that could affect a judge’s decision to remove him from
his current home?” Taran asked.
“Art is his passion, but his
They’d reached the road that would lead them to the rink and
Taran drove up the incline that curved around Jordan’s and into the parking lot
of the Framingham Roller Emporium. A minute later, he found an unclaimed
parking spot and put the truck in park.
He kept the engine running and faced Sam. Neon lights from
the well-lit building reflected in his gray eyes. Fascinated, she cocked her
head to the side, enjoying the way he seemed to be listening attentively.
“How does Luke feel about his sisters being in foster care?”
“He’s relieved they are not in his stepmother’s care. He’d
like to visit them more often, but he doesn’t have money to take a bus. He
tried to get a job at the roller rink or at the Natick Mall.”
“I take it the job search didn’t work out?”
“No, sadly, he has sold some of his sketches. Rink and mall
management didn’t care for that and put a stop to it.”
“Do Leah and Faith have a relationship with their father?”
“Not as far as I know. Their foster parents have gone to
court to keep legal guardianship.”
“Luke’s all right with that?”
“Yes, if Faith and Leah are with the Marshalls, he knows
they’re safe from their father and Daria.”
“If Russell’s in prison, he shouldn’t be a problem.”
“He’s obtained a new attorney to handle his appeal. He’s now
claiming he was railroaded into a plea deal by an incompetent defense.”
“Do you know who his new defense attorney is? Overturning a
plea deal is extremely difficult though not impossible.”
“Bernard Harcourt,” Sam answered.
Taran whistled. “Harcourt has a team of lawyers and legal
assistants at his disposal. His reputation for getting the worst offenders off
or overturning verdicts is legendary.”
“Yeah, I know him. Ethan and I’ve had to deal with him a
time or two, fortunately neither of us had any of our cases thrown out or
evidence questioned.”
“What happened with Luke’s stepmother?”
“Soon after Russell went to prison, she filed for divorce
but has since withdrawn and visits him as often as is permitted by law.”
“Is she clean?”
“According to my sources, she went through rehab and her
lawyer sent Brenda Davis notice that Daria Walker is ready to go to court to
get her girls back, as well as retain guardianship of Luke. She has a job as a
nail technician at a beauty salon in Downtown Crossing.”
“Do you know where she’s living?”
“Trendy little place in Beacon Hill.”
“On a nail tech’s salary, I don’t think so. Harcourt’s time
doesn’t come cheap, Sam, nor does an appeal. I’m going to need you to dig
further into her background. How’s she earning enough money to afford two
attorneys?”
“Already started looking into it, there’s something about
Daria that doesn’t add up.”
“Has Russell made attempts to contact his son?” Taran asked.
“Some, yes,” Sam answered. “His new lawyer is apparently
pressuring Luke to visit Russell more often. So far, Luke doesn’t want anything
to do with his father.”
“Harcourt probably wants Russell to look like an upstanding
family man in the eyes of an appellate court,” Taran commented.
“That’s what I think. There’s more.”
“Go on.”
“Luke claims he’ll run away if Daria is able to convince a
judge she’s clean and orders him to reconnect with his stepmother, even if it’s
supervised visitation, which would likely be the first step. That scares me,
Taran. Ethan and I spend our days and many of our nights working to bring
runaways and the missing back to their families. I can’t lose Luke to the
streets, Taran.”
“You won’t lose him, Sam. I’ll be sure of it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, glad she’d turned to Taran.
“Can you tell me anything else I should know? Grades,
interests, any habit that could affect a judge’s decision to remove him from
his current home?” Taran asked.
“Art is his passion, but his
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