Careful What You Wish (The Wishing Tree Series Book 7) by Ashley Farley

Author:Ashley Farley [Farley, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leisure Time Books
Published: 2022-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Mary spends a lonely night in a holding cell. The police won’t tell her anything more about the charges or allow her the one allotted phone call. The orange jumpsuit they make her wear irritates her skin, and she’s terrified to touch anything in the cell. The pillow is flat as a pancake and stains from bodily fluids of previous occupants cover the mattress. Mary sits on the cold concrete floor with her knees tucked under her chin. She refuses to cry. She didn’t steal anything from anyone, and innocent people don’t go to prison.

To avoid thinking about her predicament, she ponders her discussion with Jodi about friendship. More than anything, she wants to be Jodi’s friend. What must Jodi think of Mary now, being hauled off by the police like a common criminal? What happens if Daisy apologizes to Jodi, and Jodi returns to her old life? Mary will be all alone again. And the emptiness will gnaw away at her insides, creating a deeper and darker void.

Should she go on a blind date with Jodi’s brother-in-law? It’s been so long, she wouldn’t know how to act. Mary has thought little about falling in love again. She’s happy on her own. Or is she? Is there a special someone out there somewhere searching for her? Mary thinks about Daisy’s active social life. The world is passing Mary by. And it’s her own fault. She’s been hiding out in her house, moving through the motions of life without really living.

Curled in a ball on the hard floor, Mary dozes off and on throughout the endless night. A female guard wakes her with a bowl of watery oatmeal around seven. “May I make my phone call now?” Mary asks in a meek voice.

“Sorry. Chief says you have to wait.”

“Wait for what?”

The guard hunches a beefy shoulder. “No clue. You’ll have to ask him.”

At nine o’clock, a different female guard comes for her. “Your attorney is here for you. He’ll be taking you to your meeting with the magistrate.”

The guard handcuffs Mary and walks her through a series of hallways to the reception area where Phil Steele is waiting, looking sharp in a slim-fitting navy suit, crisp white shirt, and a blue-and-red-striped tie. While Mary hardly knows him, she’s enormously relieved to see him.

“Thank you so much for coming,” she says.

“I wish I could’ve gotten here sooner.” Phil looks over at the guard. “Are the cuffs really necessary?”

“Yes, sir. I’m just following protocol. I’ll be escorting you to the courthouse.”

On the way across the street, Phil explains, “Judge Chambers is a friend of mine. He’s hopping mad about being dragged down to the courthouse on a Saturday morning. But he’s in no position to argue. The police had no business arresting you on a Friday afternoon.”

“Then why did they?” Mary asks.

“I have a hunch. But we’ll talk more about that after the arraignment. This shouldn’t take long. The judge has a tee time at ten.” They reach the courthouse, and Phil holds the door open for her.

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