Read Online Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy - Free Book Online
Authors: Perri O'Shaughnessy
Tags: Fiction
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always said, and the words seemed right. She knew she should shut up but she couldn’t. She said a few more things, then she rested her head back against the dirty vinyl and let herself cry.
6
THE PHONE CALL came after midnight on Tuesday. Nina had been lying between cold sheets, thinking that if she jumped up to get another blanket, her cold feet would freeze solid. The moment she heard the ring, she knew who it would be. She knocked her water glass over when she reached through the dark, shattering it on the floor.
"Ms. Reilly? It’s me, Misty Patterson. Anthony is dead. My husband."
"I’m listening," Nina said. "If interrupt you, stop talking right away."
"First off, I’m in jail. They say I killed him!" This the girl followed with an incoherent curse.
"Stop right there. Have you been booked? What’s the charge?"
"Murder."
"What have they told you about your husband?"
"All I know is they found him in Lake Tahoe. You’re my lawyer. You have to get me out of here right away before I start screaming again, please. Whatever it takes. I have to get out.... "
Nina knew an emergency when she heard one. This girl was having trouble holding it together. She made her voice as level as she could. "Keep your head. You have to tell me what you know about Anthony."
"Get me out of here!"
"I’ll talk to the officer on duty right after we talk, but from what you’ve said nothing can happen until tomorrow. Mrs. Patterson, Misty, listen—"
Sobbing on the other end of the line.
"You’re going to get through this. This may not be as bad as you think."
"I’m dying in here!"
"You’re not a kid," said Nina softly. "And I’m not your mother. They’re only going to give us five minutes. Understand?"
After a long pause, a shaky voice replied, "I understand."
"I’ll be down there in the morning. I’ll call your parents then, if you haven’t had a chance to. Two things. First, think of all the people you know who’ve spent the night in the hoosegow."
"I don’t feel safe in here," she said, in a sullen tone that told Nina she had calmed down.
"I’ll be looking out for you there, I promise. Second, if anyone wants to talk to you or ask any questions, tell them you are exercising your right to remain silent and refer them to me. Say that back to me."
"I’m exercising my right ..."
"To remain silent."
"You are my lawyer and they should talk to you."
"I’m depending on you to do that. Can you do that, Misty?"
"Sure," Misty Patterson said, crying again. "Whatever."
Turning on the bedstand light, Nina sat up on the side of the bed, pulling the covers around her. The icy night air crept into cracks around her body, and she could just hear Bobby’s light snore from the kids’ room.
Picking up the phone again, she located the officer on duty. Misty Patterson had been booked for the unlawful killing of Anthony Patterson. If Nina wanted to appear at the arraignment, she would need to talk to Collier Hallowell, the deputy district attorney who had signed off on the arrest warrant. Misty would have her own cell, because it was a Tuesday night, not too much action. That was all he knew. Nina lay back on the bed, her mind working busily.
She left the shards of glass for morning and finally sank back into her own troubled dream, in which Tom Clarke, looking disappointed, spanked her, then pulled her pants off and screwed her. She woke up feeling angry and cut her foot getting out of bed.
Off Al Tahoe Boulevard in a grove of pines, the county jail took up almost one floor of the low redwood building that also held the Municipal Court of the Lake Tahoe District, County of El Dorado. Nina spotted the crowded ski runs at Heavenly Valley through the trees as she approached. Spring wind whirled eddies between the parked cars. Soft green grass poked up through the last of the snow. Nina wrapped her coat around her and walked from the parking lot past a dry fountain, ringing a bell on the wall. A voice in a metal grate
6
THE PHONE CALL came after midnight on Tuesday. Nina had been lying between cold sheets, thinking that if she jumped up to get another blanket, her cold feet would freeze solid. The moment she heard the ring, she knew who it would be. She knocked her water glass over when she reached through the dark, shattering it on the floor.
"Ms. Reilly? It’s me, Misty Patterson. Anthony is dead. My husband."
"I’m listening," Nina said. "If interrupt you, stop talking right away."
"First off, I’m in jail. They say I killed him!" This the girl followed with an incoherent curse.
"Stop right there. Have you been booked? What’s the charge?"
"Murder."
"What have they told you about your husband?"
"All I know is they found him in Lake Tahoe. You’re my lawyer. You have to get me out of here right away before I start screaming again, please. Whatever it takes. I have to get out.... "
Nina knew an emergency when she heard one. This girl was having trouble holding it together. She made her voice as level as she could. "Keep your head. You have to tell me what you know about Anthony."
"Get me out of here!"
"I’ll talk to the officer on duty right after we talk, but from what you’ve said nothing can happen until tomorrow. Mrs. Patterson, Misty, listen—"
Sobbing on the other end of the line.
"You’re going to get through this. This may not be as bad as you think."
"I’m dying in here!"
"You’re not a kid," said Nina softly. "And I’m not your mother. They’re only going to give us five minutes. Understand?"
After a long pause, a shaky voice replied, "I understand."
"I’ll be down there in the morning. I’ll call your parents then, if you haven’t had a chance to. Two things. First, think of all the people you know who’ve spent the night in the hoosegow."
"I don’t feel safe in here," she said, in a sullen tone that told Nina she had calmed down.
"I’ll be looking out for you there, I promise. Second, if anyone wants to talk to you or ask any questions, tell them you are exercising your right to remain silent and refer them to me. Say that back to me."
"I’m exercising my right ..."
"To remain silent."
"You are my lawyer and they should talk to you."
"I’m depending on you to do that. Can you do that, Misty?"
"Sure," Misty Patterson said, crying again. "Whatever."
Turning on the bedstand light, Nina sat up on the side of the bed, pulling the covers around her. The icy night air crept into cracks around her body, and she could just hear Bobby’s light snore from the kids’ room.
Picking up the phone again, she located the officer on duty. Misty Patterson had been booked for the unlawful killing of Anthony Patterson. If Nina wanted to appear at the arraignment, she would need to talk to Collier Hallowell, the deputy district attorney who had signed off on the arrest warrant. Misty would have her own cell, because it was a Tuesday night, not too much action. That was all he knew. Nina lay back on the bed, her mind working busily.
She left the shards of glass for morning and finally sank back into her own troubled dream, in which Tom Clarke, looking disappointed, spanked her, then pulled her pants off and screwed her. She woke up feeling angry and cut her foot getting out of bed.
Off Al Tahoe Boulevard in a grove of pines, the county jail took up almost one floor of the low redwood building that also held the Municipal Court of the Lake Tahoe District, County of El Dorado. Nina spotted the crowded ski runs at Heavenly Valley through the trees as she approached. Spring wind whirled eddies between the parked cars. Soft green grass poked up through the last of the snow. Nina wrapped her coat around her and walked from the parking lot past a dry fountain, ringing a bell on the wall. A voice in a metal grate
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