Chapter 3, Zoo
When they arrived at the entrance, Cathee paid for her and Christina. She didn’t give Garrett an opportunity to offer. This was feeling like a date, and she wasn’t ready for that kind of a step. He made no comment as he moved up to pay his own fee. He was keeping the promise he had made at the breakfast table.
They wandered through the rainforest exhibit and the zoo in companionable silence, occasionally stopping to read information about the animals to Christina. The trees provided essential shade and kept the temperature at a reasonable level, although the air was getting noticeably hotter as the morning progressed. The humid air was becoming hot, even in the shade.
As they reached the bear exhibit, Christina asked, “Can we sit on these benches? I’m getting tired.”
Cathee admitted, “I’m getting tired, too. A break sounds nice.”
Garrett smiled as they all sat down. “We’re about finished with the zoo. How would you ladies like to join me for lunch?”
Christina couldn’t hide her excitement. “Really? Where are you going to take us?”
His face turned serious. “I thought I’d let you pick. How does that sound?”
“Cool.”
Cathee laughed. “Be careful who you let pick or we’ll be eating Happy Meals.”
“I’m fine with that.” His calm demeanor matched his voice.
Cathee was feeling soothed by his presence, and that surprised her.
Garrett fished the camera out of his pocket. He’d taken several pictures during their walk through the zoo. He stood up to take a picture of Cathee and Christina framed by the trees at the bear exhibit when they were all startled by the ringing of Cathee’s phone.
She pulled it out of her purse and stared at it a moment. It wasn’t a familiar number. Indecision flickered across her face, then she answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hello. Is Cathee Laurenson available?” The voice sounded crisp and assured. Professional. Not a telemarketing call.
“This is she.”
“This is Alec Mills. I’m a prosecuting attorney in New York.”
“Oh?” her voice rose in question.
“I understand you’re acquainted with Katie Anderson, now Katie Murray, and her younger sister, Margaret.”
“Yes. I know them well.” Katie and MarGaretthad attended Young Women in Salina regularly even though they weren’t members. Katie and Serra Lanning had been best friends in high school. That was before Serra had become a model and before Katie had joined the church and married Serra’s ex-boyfriend, Jack. Cathee wondered what connections the attorney might have with them. “Why?”
“I’m prosecuting a murder/rape suspect. MarGarettsaid you used to date him. His name is Juan Ortiz.”
Cathee’s eyes went wide. “Juan Ortiz?” Her voice was a stricken whisper. The blood rushed from her face. She quickly dropped her head between her knees as her fingers went slack, and she dropped the phone. She covered her face with her hands and started to rock back and forth moaning. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t. I just can’t.”
Alarmed, Garrett sat next to her on the bench and put his arm around her. “It’s ok, Cathee. You’re all right. It’ll be ok.”
Her eyes refocused as she looked at Garret. She whispered in horror. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Nothing is ok. Nothing will ever be ok again.” Then she buried her face in his shirt and shook with hysterical sobs.
Garrett stroked her hair and continued his mantra. “It’s ok. Everything will be all right.” He’d been a therapist long enough to know a good cry was healthy. She obviously needed some kind of release, and he wondered what the call had been about. Who is this Juan Ortiz?
Christina was standing next to the bench. She had picked up the phone when Cathee dropped it.
“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again.” Garrett could hear the annoying recital. Whoever had upset Cathee had obviously hung up.
As her sobs subsided, Garrett pulled out a clean handkerchief and helped her wipe up. “Feeling any better?”
Cathee turned horrified eyes on him. She whispered hoarsely, “I...I can’t even think.”
She cleared her throat. She’d never leaned on a man in all these years, but the comfort of his arms was like balm to her soul. She needed to talk to someone. She had no friends. No family. Christina was too young to understand. “I need to call him back. He is a prosecuting attorney in New York. He needs some information from me.” She turned to Christina. “Honey, can you see if you can spot the bears? They are supposed to be sleeping under those trees.” Cathee thought it would be far enough away so she wouldn’t hear her conversation.
Christina nodded, her eyes full of tears. She’d never seen her mother behave like this.
Cathee continued, “I need you to look at the bears for a few minutes. I’ll come and get you when I’m done with my phone call, ok?”
“Okay.” Christina’s voice sounded small and scared. Cathee stood up to hug her tightly, then let her go.
She reached her hand out, and Christina gave her the phone. “This shouldn’t take long. I’m sorry, Honey.”
“It’s ok, Momma. I want to see the bears.” As she turned toward the bear habitat, Cathee could see the tear tracks on her daughter’s face. She bit her trembling bottom lip while she dialed the last number received.
Alec picked it up on the first ring. “Is this Cathee?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I’m sorry I upset you.”
“I know you didn’t mean to. I just...don’t like to think about Juan.”
“I understand.” He paused a moment, as if giving her time to get composed. “I usually don’t work on Saturdays, but this case came up this week. I was talking to a...friend who knows Margaret, and it took me a couple of days to find your phone number. I thought it was important to follow up as quickly as possible.” He paused again, letting the information sink in, before he continued, “Is there anything in your relationship that would impact the case I’m prosecuting?”
Cathee could hardly get the word out. It came out in a hoarse whisper. “Yes.”
“I know this is hard for you, but was there any time in your relationship where Juan could have been considered to be abusive?”
Again, Cathee could hardly get the word out. “Yes.” The memories were too vivid. Too real. She was shaking, and Garrett put his arm protectively around her shoulders. Something big was happening. He didn’t know the details, but he could see the impact the conversation was having on her. He knew she needed quiet support.
Alec cleared his throat, almost as uncomfortable with the interview as she was. “Would you be willing to testify to that in court?”
Cathee went white, the blood dropping to her feet. If Garrett’s arms hadn’t been there for support, she would have dropped to the pavement. He guided her gently back to the bench and helped her sit down. “Would I have to go to New York?”
“Yes. You would need to testify in person. The state will pay your travel expenses and a small amount for your time in court. Hopefully, we will only need your testimony one trial day. Would you be able to take time off for court?”
“I...I’m pretty sure I can.” She wasn’t sure what the policy at the DCAA was on such matters, but she was fairly certain she could work something out with her supervisor. She shuddered. She hadn’t ever wanted to see Juan again. This time, she’d be facing him in court – as an accuser. Could she do it?
Alec sounded uncomfortable with his next question. “MarGarettsaid there might have been a child. Were the rumors correct?”
Garrett could feel Cathee shaking. Another hoarse whisper. “Yes. He’s the father of my daughter.”
“Did you keep your daughter?”
“Yes. She’s with me now.”
“Have you had a paternity test done?”
“No.”
“Was the relationship that created your daughter consensual?”
Cathee dropped her head between her knees and breathed deeply, then sat up and answered. “No. It was not.”
“I’m sorry. Given the nature of the crimes that were committed, I need to know this information. Would you mind going to the Mercy Medical Clinic in Wichita to have a paternity test run on your daughter?”
“Does it hurt?”
“No. The new tests don’t even take blood. They just do a swipe of saliva inside the mouth. They need a swipe from your daughter and one from you.”
“When do you want the tests done?”
“The sooner, the better. We’d like this case to go to court quickly.”
“I’m in Topeka until Thursday. I can have the test done in Wichita on Friday.”
“That will be fine. I also need you to talk to an officer to give a statement. Could you contact your local police when you get back to Wichita?”
“I can do that.”
“Let the officer know it’s regarding a New York case. The number is 10-1469281.”
“Just a minute. Let me grab a pen.” Cathee opened her purse and scrambled through the contents to find a pen. She pulled out one of the Mapquest pages she’d printed for the trip. It was a good thing she worked with numbers. It made it easier for her to remember. “Case number 10-1469281?” She scribbled the numbers on the back of the page as she spoke.
“That’s it. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Is there anything else I should know?”
“This is...very difficult for me. I’ll try to remember everything, but I’ve spent the last six years trying forget.”
“I understand.” He paused again, cleared his throat, and continued, “There’s a victim’s compensation fund in New York. I think I can get some funds sent to pay for some therapy, if you feel you need it.”
“Thanks. I’ll consider it.”
“No problem. Please let me know when you go in for the paternity tests. I want the results as soon as possible.”
“I’ll let you know when I go in.”
As she hung up the phone, the fact that Garrett was slowly rubbing her back in long soothing strokes sunk in. She was sure his presence had made the difference. She didn’t think she would have been able to talk to the attorney without him there.
She threw her arms around his neck and started to sob again. “Oh, Garrett. This is so hard.”
His voice was low and soothing. “You’re a strong woman. I know you can do this. You’ll be ok.”
Somehow, as his voice sunk into her consciousness, she knew he was right. She would survive this. Things would be ok. As she started to re-focus and calm herself, fresh tears burst out. The realization that she was probably the cause of some other woman’s death gripped her. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”
Confused by this fresh grief, Garrett finally interjected, “What’s your fault? I don’t understand.”
She managed to choke out through sobs. “Juan...killed someone. A...woman. If I would have gone...to the authorities...” Fresh sobs wracked her body, and she finished with a weak whisper, “she wouldn’t be dead.”
From the little snippets of conversation he’d heard, Garrett knew Juan Ortiz was Christina’s father. He knew Cathee didn’t want to think about him, and he knew Juan was a killer. Judging from her meltdown, he guessed that he was seeing a traumatized rape victim. He’d seen Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before, but he’d only addressed it in the safe confines of an office.
This was his first experience in watching a meltdown in an unsecure environment. His arms wound around Cathee as her body shook, and he continued his gentle soothing. “It’s ok, Cathee. It’ll be all right. Everything will work out.”
He knew discussing how she wasn’t responsible for the death of another human wouldn’t help at the moment. She needed to calm herself. She needed to be able to think rationally, and she needed some time to think things through. Nothing he could say would fix the pain she was feeling at that moment. She needed to work through it herself. All he could do was help her calm herself so she could think again.
Several minutes later, she was calm enough to reach for the handkerchief he’d been holding. She wiped her eyes and smiled tremulously. “I’m quite a mess, aren’t I?”
He smiled gently. “You look beautiful to me.”
A flash of something – fear, maybe – hit Cathee’s eyes and then disappeared. “I’m not very hungry right now.” She stood up shakily and glanced at the clock on her cell phone. “It’s almost one. Let’s get Christina. She’d probably like something to eat.”
As she turned to look for her daughter, she was horrified to see Christina curled into a fetal position, crying quietly. She rushed over to her side. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t...like to see you...cry.” Christina whispered through her sobs.
Cathee picked up Christina and stroked her hair. She repeated the same words Garrett had been saying. “It’s ok, Honey. Everything will be ok. Mommy was just feeling sad for a minute, but everything will be fine.”
Christina nodded her head, then buried her face into Cathee’s neck. “It’s ok, Sweetie. Everything is fine.” Christina nodded again, and Cathee could feel her calming down. “Do you want something to eat?”
Christina shook her head. Cathee knew she needed to model good behavior, so she turned to Garrett. “Let’s go somewhere with some comfort food. It would do all of us some good to eat something.”
“I know a good restaurant. It’s on the other side of town.”
Cathee stared at him a moment. “I trust you.” Fresh tears started to swim in her eyes, but this time it was with gratitude. She hadn’t trusted a male with her safety in almost six years. She was feeling the sun’s rays behind the cloud, and they were warm. “I’m sure you’ll pick something right for us.”
Garrett’s eyes were suspiciously wet as he put his arm around Cathee and led her back to her car.