PURGATORY - PART TWO

PURGATORY - PART TWO

PREVIOUSLY

“ADA Delgado?” said Blair, affecting a clipped British accent and a nasal voice. “You might be interested to know that Todd Manning is back in Llanview.” She hung up the phone abruptly and looked up toward the second floor of the penthouse with an evil grin. “Well, Todd, we’ll see if true love conquers all, won’t we?”

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The hearing was already well under way as Todd Manning slipped quietly into a back seat of the courtroom. He had been right: with his haircut, baseball cap and aviator sunglasses, no one had recognized him-not even a pair of his former employees who had been lounging around the courthouse waiting for a story to break. Glancing around the room, he breathed a sigh of relief as he noted the place was mostly empty. As he focused his attention on the front of the courtroom, his heart began to beat a little faster when Téa stood up to address the judge. Her hair was shorter than he remembered it, but she still looked stunning in her pale yellow dress and matching coat.

The court proceeding was a sentencing hearing for a young Hispanic man convicted of grand theft auto. Although he appeared defiant, Todd recognized all too well the barely concealed fear behind his words as he asked the judge to grant him a chance to turn his life around. Looking terrified and intimidated as they spoke through an interpreter, each of his parents took a turn begging for their son to be spared a prison term. The judge seemed affected by their heart-felt pleas as he asked Téa for her input.

“Don’t fall for it, Your Honor!” said Téa vehemently, and Todd was shocked by the venom he heard in her voice. “Punks like Ricky Sanchez will never change, no matter what they say. His crimes will grow more vicious, and more people will be hurt. Make him take responsibility for his actions before it is too late. Send him to prison where he can learn his lesson and innocent people can be safe from his attacks on their property.” The judge’s eyes became hard. He called for the defendant to stand, and before he had time to take a breath, Ricky Sanchez was sentenced to five years in Statesville prison. As the judge made his way from the courtroom, Ricky embraced his sobbing parents, reaching up to wipe away a tear of his own before the policeman put the manacles on his wrists and led him away. Téa busied herself with some paperwork as the scene was playing out, but Todd saw that she was watching the grieving family from the corner of her eye. Her shoulders slumped slightly as the unfortunate boy glanced back at his parents with frightened eyes as he was shoved through the door.

Todd’s head was spinning as Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez made their way from the courtroom. This wasn’t the Téa he thought he knew. Maybe Blair was right. Delgado definitely seemed vindictive and hard now. Before, she had always tried to help young people from the Angel Square community who found themselves in trouble. Todd hunched over in his seat and put his head down as he wondered if his lies had made Téa the untrusting and unyielding woman he saw now. “Another crime to add to my list,” he thought. He watched her in silence as she packed up her briefcase, arguing with himself over whether to approach her or not. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and opened his mouth to call out to her.

“Good job, Counselor!” said a hearty voice from behind him. Todd quickly sat down and pulled the brim of his baseball cap low on his brow. Téa turned around, focusing all her attention on the newcomer and not even noticing the black-clad man sitting in the back row of the courtroom.

“John!” she said brightly as Todd bristled. “I didn’t know you were watching.”

“I caught the last part of your argument. Congratulations. Another young punk who will be learning to make license plates instead of stealing cars for the next 5 years.” Todd raised his head slightly so he could assess Detective John Sykes and his obvious lust for Téa. His eyes narrowed in hatred as the tall man leered at the ADA with his protruding, clear eyes. “Let me take you to lunch to celebrate your victory.”

Téa bit her lower lip. “Thanks for thinking of me, John,” she said politely, “but I’m afraid I have an important project this afternoon, and I want to get started right away.” Todd noticed a hesitation in her voice and wondered if he was imagining the hint of distaste he thought he heard.

“Can I be of any help?” asked Sykes in his silky smooth voice and Todd felt his jaw clench.

Téa laughed nervously. “Not yet. I may need some help later, but I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, this is just something I have to do on my own.”

Sykes reached up to caress her face. “How about dinner tonight?” he asked. Téa gently pulled away from him and retrieved her briefcase.

“Well, maybe….I’ll call you,” she said. As they made to head down the aisle, Todd quickly got to his feet and slipped out of the courtroom before he was noticed. He watched them from an alcove in the hallway as they exited, putting his head down and pretending to drink from a public water fountain as they passed within a few feet of him. He stared at their backs as they chatted amiably. Suddenly, Téa stopped cold and turned around with a wide-eyed gaze. The hallway behind her was empty.

“Téa? What’s the matter?” prompted Sykes.

“I….I don’t know. I just had the funniest feeling…”

“Don’t worry. There’s no one there,” assured the detective.

Téa turned around and continued on the route to her office. “Maybe…maybe not,” she muttered to herself.

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The spoon clanked hollowly against the coffee mug as Téa stirred creamer into yet another refill. “Is there anything else I can get you, Miss?” asked the young waitress. “We close in 15 minutes. It’s almost five o’clock.”

“Uh…no,” stammered Téa, wondering what the girl must think of a woman who sat in a window booth for four hours straight and ordered nothing but coffee. “Thanks.” She had chosen this small diner on purpose because the service entrance to Blair’s apartment building was in full view across the street. The café catered mostly to workers in the adjoining office building and didn’t stay open at night. “Well, what now?” thought Téa, wondering if she should have asked for John’s help after all. Detective work was definitely his forte, not hers. She had been sure that Todd would eventually come to see Starr if he was in Llanview, and following her instincts, she had staked out the back entrance to the building. After an hour and several false alarms, she had used her cell phone to call Viki and Sam, pumping them for any information they might have on Todd’s whereabouts. But both of them seemed to be in the dark, and neither one indicated that Todd might possibly be in Llanview. As the afternoon wore on, and there was no sign of him, Téa began to wonder if the anonymous phone call she had received the night before had been nothing but a hoax. Noticing that all the chairs in the diner were now on top of the tables and that a young man was methodically mopping the floor, Téa stood up reluctantly and threw a couple of dollars on the table. Feeling defeated, she stepped out on to the sidewalk and started slowly walking to the parking garage where she had left her car. Glancing up, she spotted a figure coming around the corner on the opposite side of the street and she quickly ducked into a dry cleaner and watched him through the grimy window.

The man was dressed all in black and wore a baseball cap and aviator sunglasses. His hair was short and he was clean-shaven, but looking at the deliberate way he walked down the street, there was no doubt in Téa’s mind that she was looking at Todd. He glanced warily around, obviously making sure he wasn’t followed or observed. Téa smiled slowly from her hiding place. Her heart was beating faster and her breath was catching a bit in her throat, but she didn’t dare admit to herself that she was actually glad to see the man who had broken her heart five months before. Todd stopped in the doorway to the building and took one more look around. For a moment, Téa felt as though he was looking right at her. When he disappeared from view, she stood for a moment trembling as she looked at the empty doorway. “Well, Todd,” she thought as she pulled the cell phone from her purse. “It’s pay back time. You’ve managed to dupe me and everyone else around you, but this time you’re going to pay the price for your deception.” She opened the cell phone and dialed in the number for the Llanview PD.

TO BE CONTINUED