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“Ani, sweetheart, we’ll get you out of this, I swear,” Lars somewhat whispers from behind me. I attempt to give them all a smile of hope, but I fail, tears falling down my face.
I return my attention to Penn. “You didn’t call my sister, did you?” I ask, hopeful he hasn’t, not until we know more.
“No, I haven’t. But Luc called your parents. They’re on their way. I can imagine Bristol is booking a return trip to Chicago.” He pauses. “This should be easy. I’m asking for bail to be set at fifty thousand.”
It’s a fair amount, and I won’t have any issues coming up with the money. “Okay, fifty thousand won’t be a problem.”
Penn juts his head toward Luca. “He’ll take care of it, you know that, right, Ani?”
I can’t reply when the judge enters the court and we all stand. Charges are called out, and the judge seems to want to get this over with as quickly as possible.
“Darren Keil for the District Attorney. We ask for bail to be denied.”
I’m about to object when I remember I’m the defendant and not the defense attorney. “On what grounds?” Penn stands, asking the question.
“Yeah, Mr. Keil, on what grounds?” the judge asks, not amused by the DA’s theatrics by the scowl covering her face.
“It’s been disclosed to us just now that Ms. Atkins is involved with Luciano De Santos. He has the means and ability to help her skip out on these charges.”
Skip out on these charges? What educated lawyer phrases it like this?
“The mere suggestion is ridiculous, Your Honor. Ms. Atkins is a respected member of this community and the Illinois Bar Association. She is a successful lawyer, and this is one huge misunderstanding.”
The lawyer from the DA’s office pushes to his feet again. “We have proof; the recordings that were turned over to us this morning.”
The judge rolls her eyes. “This isn’t the arraignment but the bond hearing, so let’s leave it that way, why don’t we?”
Proof?I have proof.I recorded them, and they’re in my office.
“Penn?” I ask.
“We’ll deal with that later, Ani, let’s just get you out of here.”
“Okay,” the judge starts, with the same scowl on her face from before. “I’ve heard enough. No reason to beat a dead horse. I’m setting bail at two hundred thousand dollars. Ms. Atkins will surrender her passport and wear an ankle monitor. She’ll not step foot outside the city limits of Chicago.”
I’ve gone from being a respected lawyer to wearing an ankle monitor?
“Your Honor, is this all necessary? Ms. Atkins is…”
“Yes, Counselor, a respected member of the Illinois Bar Association as you’ve mentioned, but I don’t speak to hear my own voice. If I said it, and I know I just did, it’s necessary. Court dismissed.”
I turn my head slightly, watching Luca as he speaks to Shaelyn. She leaves, and he pushes to his feet, coming my way. “I’ll have your bail paid in ten minutes, and we’ll be home in two hours.”
This is when I’m grateful for his take-charge ways. And true to his word, we step foot into his high-rise condo one hundred and twenty minutes later and I want nothing more than to forget this whole day. But I know it’ll be impossible. The charges aren’t going anywhere.
Penn is in Luca’s apartment with Caroline and Shaelyn when we return. Luca’s coffee table is covered with my case. A tape recorder sits with all the files, and all three are typing away on their laptops.
“I didn’t think you’d want to wait.” The timbre of Luca’s delicate tone is the solace that gives me the nerve to keep one foot in front of the other, stepping into the living room.
“Where are we at with the recording, Penn?” I ask like I’m the lead on this case, and not him.
In his stiff posture, he turns away from me and rubs the back of his neck; there’s an uncertainty in his body language. As lawyers, we’re all taught to pick up on body language, and Penn’s is screaming at me from across the room.
My head begins to spin considering Penn may doubt my innocence. “You know I didn’t do this, Penn, right?” I drop to my knees in front of the coffee table, reaching for the tape recorder.
“Do I think you bribed those witnesses? Of course not, but this isn’t good.” He points to the recorder in front of us.
My finger touches the play button, and the voice is mine, but the words aren’t, at least not in order.
