Chapter 13

Arts and Entertainment

For Tonya, an artist who has a Gift

Gail wasn't surprised when the Assistant District Attorney came into the attorney lounge and did a double take. "Gail Wright," he said, "What are you doing here? It's criminal court, not family court."

She sighed. "I'm well aware it's criminal court, David."

"You have a criminal client on the docket?" he said with consternation.

"No, I'm representing the interests of a client who's the child of a defendant."

"Ah," he said as if a light bulb went off in his head. "That would be Sandra Harper, correct?"

"Bingo."

"She's a piece of work."

"So I've heard. Who's presiding today?"

"Mary Beth Kennedy."

Gail knew Her Honor, Superior Court Justice Mary Beth Kennedy. Rumor had it that the good judge was going to be seeking a divorce, and she'd set her sights on Gail to represent her. But that was just the normal speculation that always seemed to float around among the fraternity and sorority of lawyers. All Gail said was, "Well, she's not one to have much sympathy or patience with the Sandra Harper's of the world. What kind of bail are you arguing for?"

"I'd be happy if it stayed where it's at, but it's not likely she can make any bail over five hundred, so..."

"I hope not. She's apt to get out and go looking for her daughter."

"Where is the daughter? Is she safe?"

"She's safe. She's staying with a friend's family, and the Mama Bear of that family is not someone you want to mess with. Do you know where she is on the docket?"

"Nope, it's as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I can say they generally get the inmates out of the way first."

"The sooner the better. I want to be back in my nice, warm office."

"Shouldn't take too long, Mary Beth likes to keep things moving. When they call her case, just step up to the bar."

There was a general stirring among the attorneys in the small, austere lounge as the hands on the clock moved passed 8:00. "See you out there, David," Gail said.

Gail went to the section reserved for attorneys and took in the dark and forbidding courtroom. The spectator seats were occupied by the day's assorted criminals, most of them cocky young men and their women, women who were little more than chattel to be used and abused at will, women who more or less took pride in their status as ho's for felons. Gail shook her head in puzzlement. There had to be something seriously fucked up in these women to see this as a desirable way to live. Suddenly, she didn't feel quite so ambivalent about being here. It would be a despicable shame to see a girl like Laci trapped in that kind of life.

A side door opened and, led by two burly corrections officers, a row of shackled prisoners in fluorescent orange jail jumpsuits filed in and stood in front of a row of chairs directly across from Gail. There was a lone female prisoner – Laci's infamous mother.

From across the room, she wasn't much to look at: average height, gaunt, almost emaciated, grayish complexion, no teeth. It was almost impossible for Gail to reconcile the hag she saw with the Laci she knew. Sandra was unattractive to the point of repulsiveness. She was clearly a junkie deprived of her normal supply of drugs. Gail saw that Sandra was churlish with the corrections officer freeing her from the line of other prisoners, berating him for one reason or another.

At last, the head bailiff came out and said, "All Rise, this Superior Court is now in session, the Honorable Mary Beth Kennedy presiding."

Judge Mary Beth Kennedy strode in and took her place on the bench.

Gail sat while she patiently waited for the court secretary to call her case. When it was called, Gail stepped down and approached the bar. When she did, Justice Kennedy scowled at her. "Ms. Wright, what is your interest in this case so that you bless us with your presence?"

Gail struggled to suppress a smile. "I'm representing the defendant's daughter's interests, Your Honor."

Before anything else could be said, Sandra's head snapped up at the mention of Laci. Sandra still hadn't learned that the rules in court weren't the same rules as those back in the neighborhood. "My daughter?" she cried out. "Where is that no good, rotten bitch, is she here? It's all her fucking fault!"

Chaos ensued. The gallery, even semi-professional criminals and veteran felons, stirred in amazement. Mary Beth whipped her head around and bellowed, "What did you say? Contempt of court, 30 days! Counselor Ashton, you will control your client, or you'll be looking at a contempt citation yourself. Bailiff! Remove the defendant from this courtroom. She can view the proceedings from the jail's remote video room!"

The Bailiff was on Sandra seconds before Mary Beth ordered him into action. He was an older man with a droopy moustache, but he was built like a stump, and he moved fast. He had Sandra's hands cuffed behind her, the back of her head in a vise-like grip before Mary Beth said, " ... video room!"

"Ow!" Sandra cried out. "You're hurting me!" A big, burly female corrections officer bustled over, and within 30 seconds, Sandra was hustled out by the two court officers, Denise Ashton in tow, her face flaming red and scowling.

Gail drank it all in. The ADA David muttered, "This is gonna be too easy if that woman doesn't get a frigging clue."

"I hope so, David, I hope so."

Mary Beth rapped her gavel. "Order, please. For those of you in the gallery who aren't aware of the facts of life, a certain level of decorum is required in this or any other court. Any outburst of any sort will be met with summary contempt citations. Do I make myself clear? OK counselors, let's move on until Little Miss Sunshine has calmed down and is ready for the video feed." She nodded slightly to the court secretary, who pulled the next file off the stack and gave it to Mary Beth.

It took a few minutes for the Tech Gurus to get the closed circuit video system up and running, but finally the process resumed.

Both sides waived a formal reading of the charges, so Mary Beth slipped on a pair of reading glasses and scanned the Grand Jury Indictments. She read off the tally of charges as if she was listing the starting line-up for a baseball game. "Well now, Ms. Harper, this is quite a laundry list of charges. You are potentially facing life in prison. Do you understand that? After today's outburst, I don't think you do, whether willfully or from genuine ignorance I do not know. What I do know is you'd better get a clue and start cooperating. Do I make myself clear?"

Sandra scowled into the monitor. "Yeah, I understand." There was a pause, then she added, "Your Honor."

"I see that bail is currently at twenty-five thousand dollars," Mary Beth continued. She looked over her glasses at the ADA. "What bail are the people seeking?"

David, the ADA, said, "Your Honor, the people are seeking a bail increase to fifty thousand dollars. The defendant has no strong familial bonds in the area, and in fact her nearest family is in Massachusetts. She has no significant employment history. While she has no prior felonies charges, she has had several misdemeanors, with two instances of failure to appear, and failure to pay fines. She is an actively using addict and thus far has refused offers to enter treatment programs. As Your Honor witnessed, the defendant has poor impulse control, and the people feel there is ample evidence she is at a high risk for reoffending, fleeing, and threatening the victim's well-being."

Mary Beth looked at Gail. "Ms. Wright, what is your take? What is the custody status of her minor child..." she paused to scan the file. "Laci, Laci Harper?"

"Your Honor," Gail spoke up. "Laci Harper is in the temporary custody in a foster home, and as of yesterday probate granted the adult foster caregiver emergency custody for 90 days. I intend to file for termination of parental rights at the earliest opportunity. Your Honor witnessed the defendant's animosity toward her daughter. It's clear that releasing her would place my client at significant risk. I'm seeking a minimum of no contact by any means, but I have to wonder whether such a condition would have any more value than the paper it's printed on with this defendant. I support the District Attorney's wish for as high a bail as possible."

Mary Beth turned her attention to the camera. "Counselor Ashton, what is the defense requesting for bail?"

"Your Honor, as a practical matter, there is essentially no chance my client can raise bail that's over a thousand dollars. I am asking for bail of ten thousand dollars, with the agreement with no-contact stipulations. There is little or no precedent for raising bail on an essentially indigent defendant in a non-capital case, absent extremely aggravating circumstances. I'd argue that level of egregiousness has not been met here."

"Point well taken counselor. OK, I think, taking everything into consideration, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, that maintaining bail at twenty-five thousand dollars is a reasonable middle ground. So, twenty-five thousand cash bail, no contact with the victim."

Sandra returned to the jail area of the county building just as lunch was being served. She was allowed to take her place in the serving line and then eat in the dining area rather than be returned to her cell. Thanks to the severity of her charges, and her generally uncooperative disposition, she was allowed out of her cell only for meals and one hour a day for hygiene and recreation.

Sandra was fuming inside and, though she wouldn't admit it, she was afraid. Of course, none of it was her fault. It was that goddamned judge, so frigging touchy. She needed to chill out. Even more at fault was her no good cunt of a daughter, Laci. The little twat had them all wrapped around her finger with her fucking lies, all she had to do was twitch her ass and everyone bent over to cater to her.

I'll get that no good, rotten bitch, just you wait and see, she's fucking with the wrong bitch. I shoulda got an abortion soon's [I] knew I was pregnant, or killed her when she was a fucking baby and everybody'd say it was Crib Death. An' she fucked up my works so I can't have no more kids, so I'm always broke, oh yeah, she's fucked with me one time too many.

Laci struggled mightily not to seem like a small-town hick on her first trip to the city, but the sheer newness of it, the unprecedented size of everything, overwhelmed her. She sat as close to Karen as she could in the back seat of the taxi. She tried to make sense of the cityscape whizzing passed the windows, but it was dizzying. Karen seemed amused at Laci's near-awe. She gave Laci's thigh a squeeze and a pat.

The hotel itself looked like something out of an old movie. An awning ran from the main doors to the curb, and when the cab pulled to a stop, a guy in a long coat and a cap stepped up and opened the door for them. Laci slid out while Karen slipped the driver a twenty, and the girl stood there not knowing exactly what to do.

Directly in front of Laci was the tallest building she had ever seen – taller than anything she had ever seen. She was unable to keep from letting her gaze travel up the side of the skyscraper, her head going back until she was looking straight up. It made her dizzy, and her tummy swirled at the thought of being at the top and looking down. She stared until she sensed Karen standing next to her.

"It's tall, isn't it?" Karen said.

"Taller than ... anything. How tall is it?"

"Sixty stories, sixty floors."

Laci brought her gaze back to sea level. She felt smaller than ever. The entrance to the hotel was guarded by two enormous golden lions on either side of the carpeted walkway. Their bags were being tended to by a guy with a baggage caddy, and for a moment, it felt like she and Karen were royalty. It was enough to make her head feel swimmy. She looked back at the hotel, and noticed it too shot up toward the sky.

Karen slipped her arm around Laci's shoulders. "Impressive, huh?" she said with a smile.

Laci nodded gravely. "I thought stuff like this was only on TV or the movies."

She looked up at Karen, who, eyes twinkling, smiled at her. "There's more."

The doorman opened the doors for them, and Laci's breath caught. It was almost beyond her ability to imagine. An enormous crystal chandelier, hundreds of lights twinkling, hung over the main lobby. The walls were adorned with artwork which would surely make Mr. Belden gasp in amazement. There were high vaulted columned archways and ceilings everywhere, all before reaching the actual main lobby.

Laci, eyes wide as silver dollars, moved her head back and forth, up and down. She held on to Karen's arm, lest she linger to stare in awe at some of the treasures she saw.

As they entered the main lobby, it was like stepping into an alternate universe. Elaborate promenades, stretched in both directions, each under it's [its] own sets of crystal chandeliers. Gilded, elaborately carved antique furniture was scattered neatly about. The whole thing made her think of European palaces from centuries gone by.

Laci was hardly aware of the awe on her face, or the fact that they'd stopped walking so Karen could let her drink it all in. "What do you think, Kitten?" Karen said with the same soft smile of pleasure.

"Karen!" Laci said in a whisper. "It's – it's unbelievable! I didn't ever think places like this were real, I always thought they were only in Cinderella fairy tale books and stuff. No one in the old neighborhood would get this, they'd never believe such things were real."

"This is how the other half lives, baby girl, we're only here for a short visit. Come, let's go check in."

A very pretty young oriental woman looked up at them from behind the veined marble counter top and smiled brightly. "Good evening, Ma'am. May I help you?"

Karen released Laci's arm and swung her bag up on the counter. "Yes, my daughter and I have reservations. The name is Nelson, Karen Nelson."

Laci's eyebrows rose. Did Karen say, "My daughter and I"? A warm glow trickled over Laci. Karen had indeed said that, and Laci smiled.

Karen pulled out her gold American Express card and set it down, while the clerk tapped her computer screen. "Yes, Ma'am, here we are. Oh, I see you're a Copley House Gold guest. Would you prefer to be escorted to the Gold Club reception area to check in?"

"No thanks, that's fine," Karen said. "We can take care of the check-in now, then we can go straight to our suite."

"Yes, Ma'am. I see you have a reservation for a Copley House Gold Suite. Let me get your concierge. She'll escort you to your suite, arrange dinner reservations if you'd like, show you the amenities, and help get you settled." The clerk took Karen's card, swiped it, and gave it back. She handed her two room key cards.

Just then, an extremely attractive young woman in a blue skirt, matching blue blazer, and a ruffed ivory blouse, looking more than a little like Gail, came up to them. The desk clerk handed her a piece of paper. "This is Ms. Karen Nelson and her daughter..."

"Laci," Karen said.

The concierge offered her hand. "Good evening, Ma'am. My name is Shelly, and I'll be your personal concierge. And Laci." She offered her hand to Laci, who took it as she stood there feeling small and intimidated. The evening was overflowing with amazing revelations of an alternate, alien world.

Things seemed to happen quickly, almost automatically. Laci noticed how Shelly moved with a well practiced grace. The concierge asked them if this was their first stay, and Karen told her it was. Shelly took the time to point out some of the decorative treasures they passed, the antique Grecian urns, Louis XIV antique settees and tables, the high vaulted ceilings and archways. She pointed out the way to places, and it was all a blur to Laci.

Shelly inserted a card into a slot at an elevator labeled "Restricted to Gold Club Members," explaining how they need only slide their room cards into the slot to gain access to the private elevator. Once inside, the lady perkily asked, "Where are you folks from?"

"Two states north," Karen said. "The Great White North Hinterlands," she added with a wry smile. "My daughter, my foster daughter here, is looking just a bit overwhelmed by all this. Sensory overload in someone whose previous idea of genteel culture was Abercrombie's at the mall."

It suddenly dawned on Laci that Karen was talking about her. She blinked rapidly, shook her head as if to clear it, and she blushed. She looked at Karen, mildly bewildered.

"She's a little naïve yet," Karen said, giving Laci's nose a quick brush of her finger.

"Naïve can be fixed," the concierge said, "But beautiful just is, and you're a very beautiful young lady."

Laci blushed, unsure of what to think or say. She sensed the woman wouldn't normally talk to guests this way, but something about she and Karen put the woman at an unusual ease. "Thank you," she murmured. "So are you."

The elevator glided to a halt and the doors slid open on the 18^th floor onto a carpeted hallway foyer. There were just two doors, one on the left, one on the right, and it appeared two corridors wrapped around to a mirror-image rear side.

"This is the eighteenth floor," Shelly said. "There are only four suites per floor from the fifteenth floor up. Yours is this one, eighteen-B." She slipped the card in its slot, and with a smile and flourish, she opened the door.

Laci closely followed Karen into their suite, peeking from behind her to see what amazing things might be awaiting them. The first room was like a big living room in an elegant apartment, with a plush sofa and easy chairs. There was even a dining room table and chairs, and an enormous 60-inch flat screen HDTV mounted on the wall over a real fireplace.

Shelly led them through the bedroom into an enormous marble bathroom, with a huge, elaborate walk-in shower – Probably twice as big the jail cell that bitch is in right now, Laci thought with a mean satisfaction -- and a big marble bathtub. Shelly explained to Karen how the fixtures worked, while Laci simply looked around in amazement.

Back in the bedroom, Laci noticed the king-sized bed was bigger than the one at home. There were antique looking bureaus, a walk-in closet, and a floor to ceiling window looking out over Boston Harbor. This must be how Kings and Queens and Princes and Princesses live. Oh my god, what if I break something! The very thought of damaging such expensive things made her tummy squirm unpleasantly.

At last, the tour was wrapped up. Before leaving, Shelly asked if she could arrange reservations for a late dinner.

Karen looked at her watch. It was seven thirty. "That might be a good idea, it's still fairly early. What are the chances they'll have a table downstairs at Cassin's?"

"Pretty much guaranteed."

"How about for eight-thirtyish then, so we'll have some time to unpack when the bags get here."

"Give me just a minute," Shelly said, whipping out her cell phone. She punched a number and listened. "Hi Eric, Shell. Would you have a table for two, eight-thirtyish? Yes ... Awesome ... Nelson, Karen Nelson ... Thanks hon, bye." She smiled at Karen. "That easy, all set."

"What's the dress code?" Karen asked.

"Business casual is fine, just as you are," she said. She gave Karen a business card. "If there's anything else you need from seven in the morning to eleven at night, just pick up the phone and call that number, and either I or one of my colleagues will be delighted to take care of whatever you want."

Alone at last, Karen sighed with a sort of relief. "Some people might like to be fussed over, have someone to wipe the snot from their nose, but not me," she declared.

Laci broke out in giggles at Karen's choice of images, the simple little joke easing the girl's nervousness. "So, it was a waste of time for me to stuff extra hankies in my pocket then?" she said impishly, secretly surprised with her own joke.

"Funny Ha Ha," Karen teased, trying and failing to hide her broad smile. "So funny I forgot to laugh. Let's look around and see how the other half lives."

"Karen, this is awesome, I never knew such things even existed!" Laci bubbled.

Karen turned to face Laci, and she draped her arms over the girl's shoulders. "Someday, I'm going to take you on a mid-winter cruise, where you'll get service like this every day for a week, plus it's warm and there are lots of beautiful women in bikinis to ogle, not a one of whom even comes close to you in the beautiful or sexy department."

Laci giggled with delight. "Karen, stop it."

"You love it, don't deny it, I can read you like a book," Karen teased. She dipped her head and stole a firm kiss from Laci. "Let's go to the bathroom," Karen said suddenly. "If I'm not mistaken, there's something there I know you've never seen before."

"Like what?"

"Come on, you'll see."

Totally intrigued, Laci dutifully followed Karen into the ornate bathroom, unable to imagine what Karen might be talking about. Karen stood over the commode, looking down at it. "Aha!" she cried triumphantly. "Just as I thought. A bidet!"

"A what?" Laci said, scrunching her face. "What in the world is a bee-day?"

"A bidet. They're very common in Europe, the last word in feminine hygiene after piddling or going poopoo. Look." Karen picked up what looked like a remote control, punched a few buttons, and to Laci's amazement, a stream of water shot up from the toilet. "This is what the rich and famous of Europe use instead of toilet paper. A proper lady aims the stream of water at her works after piddling, pushes a button, and voila! A stream of warm water cleans her unmentionable parts. There's another one to clean her bum after doing number two. See?"

"No way," Laci cried with delighted amazement. "Is that for real? Is that really what that's for?"

"Absolutely. Watch." Without batting an eyelash, Karen dropped her slacks, sat on the commode, tinkled into the toilet, and then pushed a button. She jumped a little. "Yikes! Even ready for it, it catches you by surprise. Oooo la la, a girl could get used to this."

Laci laughed long and hard. She never ceased to be amazed at Karen's utter lack of modesty about such things, and now here she was, showing Laci how to use a bee day. Karen took a towel hanging from a ring on the long vanity in front of her, and said, "Then you use this to pat yourself dry. Fresh as a daisy!"

Laci was still laughing when there was a loud knock at the entryway door. "Good thing I freshened up," Karen said. "We have guests."

Karen, slacks pulled up, strode out, pausing long enough to take a $5 bill from her wallet, and opened the front door. "Bags, ma'am," said a young man in a guy's version of Shelly's blue uniform.

"Thank you," Karen said.

"Do you want me to bring your bag in for you?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Karen said. "Just put it inside the door, and we'll take it from there." She pressed the $5 bill into his hand, he thanked her, and they were alone again.

Karen pulled their single large, wheeled suitcase into the bedroom, and hefted it up onto the bed. "OK, Kitten. Let's get unpacked, then we can go eat."

The first thing Laci took from the bag was the Teddy bear, Bearyanne. She smiled at it, fluffed it's stuffing, and put it between their two sets of pillows. "There, all fluffed and ready to stand guard," Laci said with a perky smile. She silently said a small prayer of thanks to a god unknown that Karen seemed to understand how much the bear meant to her. Karen didn't even hint that loving a stuffed bear might be childish.

It took them twenty minutes to get everything unpacked, hung up, and stowed away in dresser drawers. Laci asked Karen what she should leave out to wear tomorrow. "Oh, I don't know, how about your boots, jeans, and a sweater top, that should be comfortable enough. No need to be dressy."

Laci, as neat and precise as ever, carefully draped her folded jeans over the back of the chair that sat at the room's desk, and laid a pink sweater, and clean bra over that atop the jeans. Everything else was either hung up in the walk-in closet, or stored in the dresser, which, she realized, might actually be a real antique. Laci suddenly imagined herself putting a scratch in the wood, and Karen having to not only explain it to the owner of the hotel, but also pay for it. Stop being so lame, she chided herself.

"There," Karen said, putting her hands on her hips and looking around. "I don't know about you, but I'm famished. I'm ready to go get something to eat."

"Me too," Laci said, trying to push aside her anxieties. "All I had was some nasty school lunch food and that soft pretzel on the train ride."

"Alright then, let's go strap on a feedbag."

When dinner was over, they exited the dining room, and Karen said, "Let's go for a walk. I want to look around. Maybe we'll run into Elvis."

Laci snickered. She never knew what to expect from Karen. Her dry sense of humor was a thing to marvel over.

They made there way arm-in-arm to the lobby. Laci took in the artwork -- not really caring that they were mostly reproductions -- the shimmering chandeliers, the elaborately woven carpets, the antique furniture, and the people from the upper echelons of society lounging around talking on cell phones and generally conducting business of one sort or another.

Karen looked at her, smiling, and said, "So, what do you think? Pretty interesting, huh?"

"It's amazing, Karen. I mean, who woulda thought I'd ever be in a place like this, in the middle of all kinds of rich people. I feel like I don't belong here, having people do stuff for me, and everything."

"You know something, honey? Not a one of these people is any better than you. They may be richer, more spoiled, and they might have been around a little longer than you, but they're not better than you. Don't forget that, honey."

"That's kinda hard to believe."

"No it isn't hard to believe. They have money, and that's it. If you ask me, that's a pretty piss poor reason to be all full of yourself. Take the money away, and what's left? Not much. Without the money, all that's left is the arrogance. Thing is, whether they'll admit it or not, they know they're nothing without their money. They don't save lives, paint works of art, build better mousetraps, nothing except make money so they can look down on people with less money."

Laci wanted to believe Karen, but it was hard to lose the feeling that she was being watched and scrutinized, just like back home when she walked into a higher end department store alone; unseen but there, waiting for her to screw up so they could pounce and drag her off. Surely it was obvious she was not of this world, and needed to be watched lest she steal or break something.

They'd reached the main lobby, bathed in the bright but diffuse glow of the chandeliers. Karen guided Laci to one of half a dozen antique Victorian loveseats arrayed loosely in a kind of common sitting area. There were important looking people sitting in antique chairs, some chatting, some on cell phones, some tapping away at tablet computers, still others reading newspapers or books. Laci noticed off to their left the double door entrance to what a carved wooden sign announced was the Olde Towne Tavern and Grill.

"Is that another restaurant?" Laci asked.

"Well, it's a bar that serves overpriced food. Speaking of food, what did you think of dinner?"

"Oh Karen! I can not believe you actually got octopus, that was so gross! Ewww, I mean they had their legs and sucker things and everything."

"Hey Sunshine, don't knock it til you've tried it. Be glad I didn't get the escargot, which is a big, fat snail."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass on the snails and the octopus."

"You seemed to like the clam chowder well enough."

"Yeah, that was pretty good. It helped that the clams were chopped up small. And that lobster macaroni and cheese was like, wow! I never woulda thought of making macaroni and cheese with lobster in it."