Free The Advocate (The Advocate Series) by Teresa Burrell

back to get you.”
    She stared at the car as it drove onto the street, with a saxophone sticking out the side. Victor had rolled his window down and played her his last tune. She never saw or heard from him again.
    Ron walked over to her, put his arm around her, gave her a good squeeze, and said, “Hey, Sunshine, you still have me. I won’t ever leave you.” It made her feel better to know she still had her brother. Even though he teased her a lot, he did a lot of really sweet things, too. Whenever she got mad at him, her mom would tell the story about when she came home from the hospital and how Ron would go into the nursery first thing every morning and kiss his baby sister on the cheek. He continued to do that as long as they both lived at home. Even if he had a friend stay the night, he would still go to her, but she didn’t get the kiss; instead, she got a flick on the head.
    “Sobs? You in there?”
    “Sorry, just thinking about someone.”
    “Is it Ron?”
    “It’s always Ron.” She sighed, took a sip of coffee, and forced a smile.
    Bob patted her hand and made a funny face at her. “So, you have the Haley Murdock detention this morning. I hear old Gaylord is doing everything the social worker asks him to do. Tom Gilley said he hasn’t missed a drug test, he’s taking his parenting and anger-management classes, and he got a job as a loan officer. His methamphetamine, gazelle girlfriend may have been lying about him ever hitting her. You can’t blame the guy for being upset with her for using drugs while she was pregnant.”
    “Yeah, he sure is doing everything by the book, and he’s very pleasant. He hasn’t ticked anyone off like our perps usually do, either,” Sabre said.
    “I know this new baby can’t go home with him until paternity is established, but what about Alexis? Do you think she’ll go home at the next hearing?”
    “I don’t know. I have a lot of puzzle pieces that don’t fit together, but if something doesn’t break soon, I won’t have any basis for keeping her out of the home. I’d really like to think he’d protect Alexis, but something in my gut tells me otherwise. By the way, what’s the story with your client, Jamie’s father?”
    “Well, as you know, he’s in an institution in Atlanta. It’s reported he took some bad drugs a few years ago and fried his brain. I spoke to him on the phone, but we couldn’t have a coherent conversation. The guy doesn’t even know his own name. He thinks he’s Mr. Rogers, and he goes around singing, ‘It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.’ The damage he did to himself is permanent, so there’s no chance of him as a placement for Jamie.”
    The waitress came back to the table and took their orders. Sabre liked nearly everything on the menu and ordered depending on her mood, but Bob ordered the same thing every time. The waitress didn’t bother to ask anymore. Sometimes she would say, “The usual?” Most of the time, she just brought his order out when she brought Sabre’s.
    While they ate their breakfast, Bob spoke about Corey’s progress in school and the new kitten they had acquired. They talked about how the stock market had been dropping and gave each other advice on cases. They discussed the strange things happening at Sabre’s office, and they laughed and joked about some of the bizarre things that occur every day at juvenile court.
    “I guess we better get to court if we want a parking spot,” Bob said.
    “Yup, it’s time.” They each paid for their own breakfast as they always did, except on their birthdays; then the other one would pick up the check. They left the restaurant and drove to court in their separate cars.
    Bob and Sabre went to different courtrooms to take care of their respective cases. By eleven o’clock they were called into Department Four for the Murdock detention hearing on the newborn. It didn’t take long. Peggy’s attorney, Russ Jensen, appeared on her behalf. It had been three