~*~ We were from the same hometown and had gone to the same schools, but I did not remember speaking to her until the day my parents drove us to schoo.... Her Aunt Bertha rode along to make sure Ardent’s dormitory room was safe and clean. Bertha worked for my family on Tuesdays, changing the beds, doing the laundry and sprucing up the house to make it livable for another week. When mom heard that Ardent was fearful of riding the bus, she invited them to ride along with us. Ardent was to begin. ‘I’m glad he didn’t come over the night when I was away and told him to check on you.’ The pang of guilt radiated in Clara’s stomach but she tried not to let it show. She looked away. Jez must have caught on though cause she kept trying to get Clara to look in her eyes. But the more Clara tried the harder it became. Finally Jez stood up and forced Clara’s face towards hers. She just shook her head and dropped her hand. ‘Why don’t you just tell me what happened?’ Jez demanded. ‘I already know. “ He is beyond fine.” I tell her. “ I saw him watching you Annie, I think he feels the same way.” she tells me. “ I would love to get him in my office and have my way with him.” I tell her. “ Not if I get him in my office first.” she laughingly tells me. At 8:00 we head into the conference room for our meeting. Richard sits across from me. As I try and listen to my boss I keep looking at Richard and imagining him naked. Wondering what he would be like in bed. He catches me looking at him. The motherfucker didn't even have his badge on him when he made the collar.Based on the file Dillworth had given her, the arraignment must have been a circus. The woman confessed to the judge, who told her to shut up. When he said there was no evidence, she insisted she'd burned the man to death because he'd raped her. She'd been assigned a public defender, even though her financial status would normally have required she hire her own lawyer. That was because she'd said she didn't want an.