Hostile Witness

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

Linda Rayburn shivered, but it had nothing to do with the air-conditioning in the waiting area at Sybil Brand, it had to do with her imagination. She hadn't seen past the steel door that separated the waiting area from the prison but Linda knew what was there and it made her sick. For three days Hannah got up when she was told, went to bed when she was told, ate when and what she was told. She wore that ugly jumpsuit and slept under a coarse blanket. The real world wasn't just far away, it was forbidden.

Linda was imagining herself behind that door when it suddenly opened. She stood up, hands together, sweat beading on her upper lip. What would she say to Hannah? How would they get through the next moments? But the woman who came out wasn't young and beautiful. Her hair was chopped off at the ears, her face pock marked, and her skin leathery. She looked at Linda with flat eyes, unimpressed by the tall lady with the fancy clothes. Linda looked away. She could have been that woman if she hadn't been smart enough, talented enough, and tenacious enough to change everything.

Shaking her head, Linda walked toward the back of the room, then turned on her heel and retraced her steps. The window in the center of the steel door was laced with chicken wire. She paced off the waiting room, empty except for the long row of molded plastic yellow chairs bolted to the floor around the perimeter of the room.

Just when Linda thought she couldn't take another minute, the door opened again and there stood Hannah dressed in the clothes she'd worn when she was arrested. Linda mewled, making a sound that translated into anxiety, relief, and apology.

"Mom?" Hannah's arms pumped. Linda didn't move. Scared now, Hannah's arms went faster. She pleaded, "Mom?"

Hesitantly, Linda stepped forward then rushed across the room, gathering the girl into her arms, nearly crushing her. She held Hannah back, pushed at her hair, and touched her cheek. Then Linda pulled her close again.

Hannah held on tight, her arms wrapped around her mother. Linda felt the patting and counted to twenty. Then it started again, and again Hannah counted to twenty. Linda clung to her daughter and buried her face in the wild frizz of Hannah's hair.

"Oh, baby. You did so good. So good. " Linda whispered her assurances over and over again, but when she looked again she saw the door. It opened two ways. It let women in and it let women out. Quickly Linda Rayburn turned her daughter away from it and headed to the exit. "We're out of here, and we're not coming back."

"Promise?" Hannah asked as they walked free, out into the bright sunlight.

Linda didn't answer. It was hard to talk when she heard the quiver in her daughter's voice, and felt Hannah's hands holding tight to her clothes like she used to when she was small.

Promise?

How could she? No matter how much she wanted to, Linda Rayburn couldn't do that. Not with what she knew.

***

"That was Alex Schaeffer."

Ian Frank hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Kip Rayburn kept looking out the floor to ceiling windows of Ian's office. To the casual viewer he might look pensive. Truth of the matter was he felt sick. He was afraid to hear what Alex Schaeffer wanted. He hated the fact that some kid was the Governor's mouthpiece and another kid, his stepdaughter, might stand between him and an appointment. The last thing he wanted Ian Frank to see was his fear. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned around.

"What? I'm sorry, Ian. What did you say?"

Ian almost smiled. After all these years Kip was still inept at playing his hand. Not that it mattered. Kip had his uses. If the truth be told, Ian almost preferred the son to the father. The son was less complicated, more malleable, smart without being too smart, and Kip was just desirous enough of success to know he would never get it on his own.