Chapter 12: The Hearing

The afternoon heat was again above one hundred degrees as Ted and Debbie arrived at the courthouse. Going directly to the judge's chambers they were met by the judge himself.

"I've let my secretary off for a while to keep this meeting confidential."

The judge pointed at two chairs in front of his desk and said, "Please come in and sit down, both of you."

The judge sat down behind his massive oak desk and clasping his hands together and smiled that smile that brought chills to Debbie. She openly shook as she held Ted's hand.

"Well my two young friends, I've come to a final decision on the matter of your drug possession."

Debbie spoke up, "I never did drugs, never."

"Hush while I am speaking," the judge sternly said. "I have decided not to send you to prison but instead put you on parole with a fine."

"Parole for what," asked Debbie, "and a fine?"

"Yes a fine. You will be on parole status for one year. You are not to leave this county without the courts permission at any time. Any violation of parole will mean instant prison time."

Debbie dropped her head and tried to absorb the impact of the sentence.

"Also you will pay a fine of $10,000.00 to the court, payable within thirty days or it will be a violation of your parole."

Ted and Debbie both froze when the amount of the fine was mentioned.

Ted stood up and said, "Your honor, we can't pay such a fine, I've just started in my job and we haven't any savings. The bail money was only borrowed for a short while, I can't spend it on a fine."

Judge Mauser's gaze never left Debbie as he quietly said, "Well that means a prison sentence for you my dear, unless..."

"Unless what?", cried Debbie.

Leaning forward the judge reached over and took Debbie's hand. "I might be able to provide you with a means of paying off the fine with some employment during the next month provided you would be interested."

Debbie quickly said, "What kind of work, yes I would work to pay it off."

The judge stood up and looked at both of them, "In fact I could put you both to work and make it easier to pay off. The work is at night and weekends. Wouldn't affect your job Ted and Debbie I know is available at any time. You see I am part owner in a shall we say a roadhouse, outside of town. Business is so good I need more help. I need a helper for my bartender and a good cocktail waitress, you two will fit the bill."

Handing Ted a card he said, "Be at this address tonight at seven sharp if you want the jobs. Ask for Jim, the pay is excellent. We'll be there for sure," said Ted as they walked out of the judge's office.

Driving home Debbie had a strange feeling that not all was right with the judges offer. "Ted," she said softly, "why would he go out of his way to help after all he has done?"

"I really don't know honey," replied Ted, "but we have no choice."

The words "no choice" caused Debbie to start to shiver again. She remembered the last time she had heard them spoken.