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Maureen and Frank made sounds of disgust which they silenced the moment Leo lifted his hand without taking his eyes off Cody.
“Of course,” Leo said, dipping his head. “My apologies.”
The door opened again, and an older man with a long, gray beard and thick glasses entered the conference room. He settled himself at the end of the table and opened a folder before looking around at them all.
“I am Judge Rupert Wichita. This is the Lassiter Sewage Spill mediation, yes?”
“No, your honor,” Leo replied, finally taking his seat. “It’s the Wolek versus Cody Bower and Critter Catchers, LLC wrongful death civil rights suit.”
Judge Wichita’s expression brightened. “The case with the diary about monsters?”
“It’s not a diary.” Demmy sat back in his chair and crossed his arms after receiving a quick, stern look from Dieter.
The judge closed the file folder he had opened and searched through the short stack of them he’d brought in. He chose one and smiled as he looked at the Woleks’s side of the table.
“Let’s see, Mr. West is on the claimant side,” he looked from Dieter to Cody to Demmy, where his gaze remained fixed and his smile broadened. “You. You must be Demetrius Singleton.”
Demmy cleared his throat and sat forward to look down the table. “I am, Your Honor.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The judge leaned in over the file, lowered his voice just a touch, and said, “You’ve been through a lot.” He looked at Cody and nodded once. “Both of you have.”
“Your Honor…” Leo began, starting to rise from his chair. But Judge Wichita waved him back into his seat without looking away from Cody.
“Do you understand the charges that have been brought against you?” the judge asked.
“I do, Your Honor,” Cody said. His stomach felt like it had been knotted up tight and stuffed down deep inside him. He worried he might actually vomit across the table, and he didn’t know where to direct his aim: Leo West or one of the fucking Woleks.
“Now, I know what you gentlemen have gone through.” The judge flicked his eyes down to Cody’s forearm, the place he’d been bitten. Though the sleeve of his dress shirt covered the sport, Cody instinctively put his hand over it. “But I also know the Woleks have suffered a great loss.”
“They have, Your Honor,” Leo West said, putting on his best distressed expression and placing his hand over his heart.
“A loss that occurred one, possibly two days prior to the attack on my client’s husband,” Dieter countered.
“Attack?” Frank Wolek snapped. His big hands were clenched, the sides pressing against the tabletop so hard the skin had whitened. Cody wondered if he might break through the thick wooden surface. “He’s the one who attacked my brother. He bashed in his head with a rock.”
“Because he was trying to bite my husband,” Cody said with a snarl.
“Order!” The judge said, his voice loud and authoritative.
Everyone quieted down, though Frank fixed Cody with a hard look, and Cody glared right back.
“Now,” the judge said. “I understand emotions are high around this case, and each party feels they are in the right. I must admit, this case is one of the most unusual I’ve sat on. As you both waived the option for a jury decision, I want to assure both sides I have thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence presented. I would also like to say, as a resident of Parson’s Hollow for nearly a decade, I am familiar with this town and its residents. I attend social events. My children have attended Parson’s Hollow schools. My family and I eat at Margie’s Diner like the rest of the town.”
Maureen huffed in disgust at the mention of Margie’s and looked away. Cody clasped his hands tight, trying to defuse the energy out of the urge to reach across the table and smack the woman. An assault charge would not help their situation in the least. And he’d most likely be assigned to work with Frank Wolek emptying city trash cans and cleaning out sewer gratings.
The judge was still speaking, having ignored Maureen’s reaction.
“I was here that night of the full moon a few years ago, and I witnessed the bravery of the men and women of our sheriff’s department as well as the residents of this town. I heard from more than one eyewitness of acts of courage from the Critter Catchers team themselves, including their personal sacrifices and dedication to saving as many lives as possible.”
A small, bright spot of hope sizzled to life inside Cody’s chest. His fingers slightly relaxed their hold on each other, and he found he could breathe a bit more easily. Maybe this would all work out in their favor. Wouldn’t that make for a nice change?
“And while that event is not the focus of this suit, it does show a trend in how the owners of Critter Catchers treat and interact with the residents of this town, as well as any threats against them.”
Judge Wichita paused and clasped his own hands together, looking from Cody and Demmy to the Woleks. For their part, the Woleks all looked worried, their lips pressed tight and their eyes fixed on the judge. Cody experienced a surge of righteous glee at seeing them squirm; it served them right. And he felt more than a little hopeful about their situation now, but he was afraid to trust it. He’d been hopeful before about more than one of their unusual cases, and shit had a way of sliding sideways when they least expected it.
“This civil suit was brought by the claimant once the prosecutor decided not to pursue a criminal case against Mr. Bower.”
Cody’s stomach immediately tightened. Was this where it all turned against them? Did he really want to hear the final ruling? He wished for the ability to stop time, to keep the judge from giving them his ruling for a little longer, just until he felt truly ready to hear it. Like maybe when he was in his nineties.
