CHAPTER 41: ONE LITTLE SLIP

By BARENAKED LADIES

It was a recipe for disaster/ A four course meal of no sirree

It seemed that happily ever after/ Was happy everyone was after me

[Bridge 1]

It was a cup of good intentions/ A tablespoon of one big mess

A dash of overreaction/ I assume you know the rest

[Chorus]

One little slip, One little slip

It was a fusion of confusion/ With a few confounding things

[Verse 2]

I guess I probably took the wrong direction/ Well, I admit I might have missed a sign or two

I ran a light past your affection/ At Humiliation Avenue

[Bridge 2]

Took a right turn at confusion/ A left when I should've gone straight on through

I ran ahead with my assumptions/ We all know what that can do

[Bridge 3]

I get the feeling in this town/ I’ll never live 'til I live down

The one mistake that seems/ To follow me around

But they'll forget about the sky/ When they all realize this guy's

About to try to learn to fly/ Or hit the ground

[Chorus 2]

One little slip, One little slip

It was a humble little stumble/ With a big un-graceful…

One little slip, One little slip

It was a fusion of confusion/ With a few confounding things

ANNETTE:

I’m sitting here trying to figure out just what the deal is with Christopher Hobbs. I know what I told Gal; the confidence I displayed in that Hobbs has nothing more to lose so he’s is willing to sing like the proverbial canary now that he’s going down. And I still feel that way, I do. But there is something about the tilt of his head that makes me question what his true motive was for helping Lindsay and Michael. The one thing I am sure of is that it was because of something more trivial than the money he was offered.

Clearing my throat, I look at him keenly as I sit down. “So... you requested this meeting. You obviously have something more to add.”

“I do, but only for the right deal.”

“Does that mean what you have to tell me will make the case against them both airtight?”

“I don’t know about all of that, but I do know that it might help you further… if you help me.”

“What is it you want?”

A subtle throat-clearing from his left curbs the immediate conversation. “My client is asking for a reduction of the ten-year sentence.”

“Pardon? And you are...?” I narrow my eyes at the iron-haired madam sitting next to him.

“Christina Perrett, personal attorney for the Hobbs family.”

“Forgive my confusion, Ms. Perrett, but I thought the family attorney’s name was Alfred Manse.”

“It was, but… well, let’s just say that Mr. Manse has a conflict of interest concerning the matter of Lindsay Peterson.”

At first, I’m puzzled about the smirk curving her lips. I don’t know this woman, nor do I have a history with her to make it feel as though she’s laughing at me. But then I think about Lindsay, and suddenly the connection hits me. “Not him, too?”

“Ah, I see you have made the connection. So this deal…”

“There won’t be one unless Christopher has something substantial to add to the case.” Turning slightly to regard him, I ask, “So do you?”

“I-I was led to believe that Lindsay was preggers.”

“Pregnant? By whom?”

“Justin.”

“Justin? As in Taylor? You do know he’s gay, right?”

“Yeah, I do but…”

“But what? Come on, man, spit it out!”

“I wanted him, but he betrayed me!”

“What do you mean, he betrayed you? Despite the incident within the equipment room, the two of you were never a couple. You were never going to be a couple. He was already living with Brian Kinney. What would make you think otherwise?”

“Lindsay did. She said that Justin was interested in me. And that if I helped her get him away from Brian, she would make sure that we could be together. At first, it was just supposed to be some scare tactics, but then she involved Brian’s boyfriend.”

“Brian’s boyfriend?”

“The guy who paid me.”

“Do you know his name?”

“At first, I didn’t. In fact, I wasn’t supposed to know his name at all, except that she gave me a check with his name on it. After I learned it, he began to deal with me directly.”

“And his name? I need it for the record,” I look at his attorney, who nods and grabs her pen off the table.

“Michael Charles Novotny. That’s the way it was written on the check.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hobbs. So how did it come about that you ended up sleeping with Lindsay Peterson?”

“I saw Justin outside of school grounds with that Kinney guy. They were kissing, all hot and heavy. I was bothered, just heartbroken and confused. I couldn’t understand why Justin and I… why he would touch me the way he did, if he didn’t feel anything for me. At first, Lindsay just listened. It felt good to talk about it, you know? Then she said to me that she would make me feel better; that she wanted to. She told me that she would do for me what no other girl or Justin could. And she did, but then…”

I feel sick to my stomach but I have to ask, “How old were you at the time?”

“A few weeks shy of turning sixteen. Why?”

“How did you end up in the senior class an entire year early?”

“I skipped a grade.”

“When and how?” I ask, because I know as well as I’m sitting here that Christopher Marc Hobbs is no damn genius!

He sighs. “My father arranged it. I don’t know all of the story; just that Dr. Perkins owed him a rather large favor. If it helps any though, my father always had this irrational fear that if I didn’t graduate high school and college early, then either get into the pros or take my place within Hobbs Construction as his heir, that he was going to die before I did. I don’t know where it came from, but it was always talked about as if he was sick or something.”

I nod, knowing that I have to look into that matter at a later time. “So you and Lindsay had sex. What happened next?”

“She said she was already pregnant with Justin’s baby. I told her that I would help her, thinking it would endear me to him. So I needed the money Brian’s boyfriend was willing to pay me to separate Kinney and Taylor.”

“Let me get this straight… Beyond the scare tactics, you were told that she was carrying Justin Taylor’s child?”

“Yeah. She had a sonogram picture and everything.”

“You have any proof of that?”

“I have it right here,” Christina tells me.

As I look through the packet of paperwork she hands me, I am astounded by the emails between Lindsay and Christopher Hobbs. Then there is the sonogram picture… “You’ve been duped.”

“How are you so sure?” the attorney asks me.

“Because if Lindsay was truly pregnant, or even had lost the baby, based on this date, she would have been hospitalized. According to this, she would have been six months pregnant. More accurately, she would have been a week shy of entering her third trimester. So what made you decide to bash Justin Taylor?”

“I couldn’t stand seeing him with Kinney. Nothing I was doing to get him away from the fucker was working! But more importantly, I couldn’t stand the fact that he was living it up with Kinney, while Lindsay was pregnant. He was ignoring his responsibilities, while she had nothing and no one. Or so I thought.”

“Okay. So here’s the deal: In exchange for your testimony to the Statutory Rape charge about to be levied against Lindsay Peterson, I’m willing to reduce your sentence by a year and a half. In exchange for your testimony in regards to the money Michael Novotny paid you- which by the way, really belonged to Justin- I’ll reduce it by another year and a half. Basically for giving testimony to put these two criminals away, you will serve seven years flat and without parole afterwards.”

“But that’s not reducing any of the other charges against my client?” Christina asks.

“No. The Vandalism, Criminal Mischief, and Criminal Intent charges will stand, as well as being an accessory to embezzlement.”

“But I didn’t know where the money was coming from!” Hobbs protests.

“That’s not the point! But seriously, you really thought a guy, who runs around in comic book tees and ratty jeans, actually had the kind of money he spent? Come on now, Hobbs. You’re from the Country Club set, where appearances are everything. Or were you really the dumb jock they called you behind your back? I wouldn’t like to believe so,” I say, playing up to his narcissistic tendencies.

“I’m not dumb!”

“I know that. After all, I wouldn’t be here letting you advocate for yourself, if I thought you really were. No, you were just jealous, and easily led around by your cock. It’s the same way many successful, highly-intelligent men are. My advice is to accept this deal, because it’s the best one you’re going to get.”

“Will the other charges run concurrent?” Christina asks.

“I’ll see what I can do about that, but again, you would need to do something for me.”

“What?” Chris asks me.

“A signed and notarized affidavit, giving me information on all you know about the deal between your father, Craig Taylor, and Russo.”

“Russo? What’s he got to do with anything?” Christina gasps, but I look over at Christopher and wink.

“You weren’t the only one in this equation, with a mile-wide jealous streak. But you also weren’t the one with any power. Understand this, Chris, and let this be a life lesson for when you get out. The best offense is to have a good defense; but you should also know your enemy, and in your case, it includes your co-conspirators. Judge Russo, your father, and Craig Taylor chose to fuck with a man who wields a helluva lot more power than they think, or even he, himself, knows he has at the moment. And his name is Brian Kinney.”

GALVESTON:

My fucking head HURTS! Dealing with this man-child is an exercise in patience that even Gandhi would have foregone. Hell, he could even make Martin Luther King, Junior rethink his stance on nonviolence! How this man continues to maintain he is right in breaking the law to the extent he has, and then attempting to put the blame solely on Lindsay Peterson… God, it's just baffling! And moreso, he’s still trying to make it seem as if he didn’t have enough sense to write the checks out HIMSELF!

It just shows his over-inflated sense of entitlement is something that was most likely cultivated from the womb.

“Look, Mr. Novotny, I’m going to tell you now that those excuses won't fly. We just heard Chris Hobbs’ version of events…”

“You’re listening to a known liar over me? Your client?!”

“Of course, since he’s willing to give us the truth that you pretend doesn't exist.”

“Well? What did he have to say?”

“That’s privileged information for the moment. Right now, I need to know if you’re going to accept the deal the D.A. offered.”

“What deal?”

Oh my GOD! I’m really ready to kill him! I take a deep breath, chanting to myself how bad I would look in prison orange or that horrible green which reminds me of week old turnips. Although if it means I get out of dealing with this imbecile, the option to don them is looking mighty appealing. I take a deep breath, trying to cleanse myself of all homicidal thoughts, before addressing him again.

“Mr. Novotny, I’ve just spent the last half an hour explaining all of the details of the offer to you. All it requires is a simple yes or no answer, at this point.”

“Well it should be simple for you then, since I am your INNOCENT client,” he sneers.

“Although you are my client, we both know that you are hardly innocent, now don’t we?” I sigh, realizing that I’m still going to be stuck with this asshole for a while longer than I’d hoped. My curse is to be eternally optimistic, despite my profession. “Mr. Novotny, I’m going to be completely honest with you. No matter how you try to spin your motives, they still reek of maliciousness and jealousy. With Hobbs’ testimony, and your decision to NOT accept the plea deal, you are going to go to trial. That said, it’s not a matter of if you are going to jail… you ARE. There is no way around it, since your list of charges is almost as long as your arm. It’s now become a matter of how much time you will get.

"Now, as I’ve already explained to you, the D.A. is willing to allow you to plead out, and possibly reduce all of the charges that you were arrested for, except the embezzlement charge. The new charges are not going to be part of the deal as it was presented before all of the new evidence was logged into the system. In fact, they are still going through all of it, as we speak.”

“Wait! You keep talking about new charges. Why?”

“Justin Taylor gave your mother her home back,” I say, and experience great glee at the sudden whiteness of his pallor. It’s going to make me want to run naked in the rain to deliver this next blow to his confidence that he’s going to walk away from this, without punishment. “Also, they got a warrant with the full support of Justin Taylor, to search and seize any and all contents within the storage unit at Everston’s Storage Facility, obtained under false pretenses in his name.”

“No! No fucking way!” he screeches.

The room door opens immediately, and the guard comes in. I raise my hand to stay his approach, but silently implore him with my eyes not to leave. Novotny is still mumbling under his breath, as the realization that all of his carefully laid plans are continuing to crash down around his arrogant little head. I am barely able to suppress the laughter threatening to burst forth. He deserves every bit of bad karma coming for him right now!

“So with that information, along with the reality of Chris Hobbs testimony, do you still want to be stubborn and not take what the District Attorney’s Office is offering?”

His sorrowful expression quickly turns into a mutinous one, and sadly I find that it’s true. No one, not even the eternally optimistic Galveston Edwards, can actually fix stupid! His next words confirm it. “No, I will not accept it! It would be the height of stupidity to plead guilty when I’m not.”

“Interesting choice of words, Novotny, since you are most assuredly the personification of the height of stupidity!” I yell.

“I’m not even sure of all you just said, but I think you called me stupid.”

“For once in your life, you are right! But out of a morbid, and clearly sadistic curiosity on my part, why do you continue to maintain that you are innocent of any wrongdoing? I mean, they just opened a storage unit that was obtained in Justin’s name under the care of you and Lindsay Peterson. We both know that Justin wouldn’t have ever done something like that for you… or anything else for that matter. And so does everyone else. So why not just save yourself the embarrassment?”

He looks at me with that sickening puppy dog look of his, and suddenly his motives for continuing this bullshit are all too clear. “This is about seeing him, isn’t it? When are you going to get it through that cement surrounding your brain that he doesn’t care what your reasoning is for anything you have done?!”

“He promised to always take care of me,” he insists. “And whether Brian wants to or not, my mother will make sure that he keeps his promises to me. She always has before; it won’t be any different this time just because of the blond boy ass Brian insists on fucking. She’ll make sure I FINALLY get my turn!”

The confidence and delusion with which he just said that sends shivers down my spine, along with the knowledge that I may have to break a bit of the law myself in order to see justice truly be served on Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor’s behalf. But how to do that without risking my own career is the question…

CARL:

Mel and I are shown into the interrogation room, where Lindsay is screeching at her lawyer. I find myself wondering what she promised him, in order to pay him. It’s not exactly like she’s rolling in dough at the moment, or that she ever will be again. She stops mid-tantrum, when she notices our arrival in the presence of the District Attorney.

“Oh HELL NO! James, you have to request another D.A.! Annette Peters has it in for me!”

“Oh please, you aren’t that important, Lindsay. In all honesty, you never were.”

“Oh no? Then why are you and Bill now divorced?” she smirks, and I never before realized just how truly ugly Lindsay could be. It’s not about her looks, but the malice that is always just below the surface. If anyone ever bothers to look closely, they would see it as plainly as we are all seeing it right now.

Annette laughs. “I should actually thank you for screwing him, Lindsay. Because your morals are that of an alley cat, Bill is happily engaged to Claire Kinney-Townsend, while I myself have found a fulfilling relationship as well. It had been becoming obvious for a while, before you were able to sink your hooks into my ex-husband, that he was destined to be the love of my youth, but not my mature years. So please, don’t delude yourself that you actually had the power to break up our marriage, or any other, except maybe your own. It will help you face your current realities a lot sooner.”

“So what’s the deal?” Lindsay’s attorney asks.

“There isn’t going to be one, James,” Annette answers calmly, as she takes her seat. Mel and I follow her lead and claim two other chairs, on the same side of the table.

“That response makes me think my client is telling the truth about your prejudice against her,” he sneers. “I wonder what the review board will have to say about that.”

She laughs. “Considering your own conflict of interest, you’re really not in a position to throw darts, James. Last I heard, we as attorneys were not supposed to accept sexual favors in exchange for representation. So do us all a favor and take your supposed moral character and shove them up your…”

“Annette!” Mel calls out, quickly. As for me, I’m hard-pressed not to laugh. I would have told the hypocrite the same exact thing.

“Melanie, Carl, what are you doing here?” Lindsay rolls her eyes at Annette, before addressing us.

“We’ll get to the reason for their presence in a moment,” Annette answers. “In the meantime, I should let you know that your storage lockers at Everston Moving and Storage have been cleared out.”

“WHAT?!” Lindsay screams. “You had no right…”

“We had every right, since we had the express permission of the owners of said units. But just to reassure you, and keep your screeching to a minimum, I will inform you and your attorney that we also had a search warrant. We wanted to make sure that there would be no way to ask for suppression of the evidence we’ve collected.”

“Mel, how could you?!”

“Very easily, I assure you, Lindsay. It wasn’t a hard choice to make, which brings me to the question I need to ask you.”

“I don’t have anything left to say to you.” Lindsay’s lip curls in Melanie’s direction.

“That’s fine. But perhaps your attorney can answer for you, since I’m pretty sure this concerns him too.” She turns to Mr. Wallace. “Are you aware of what this transfer of ownership means? Although it was done on Lindsay’s behalf, it was Michael Novotny who paid for whatever it is.”

Taking the paper, perusing it slowly, James says, “You say that as if you are looking for confirmation, Ms. Marcus. You must have a theory...”

“I do, but I would hate to make an undue accusation, especially since the other party named on that slip is my client’s father.” I can see when Lindsay realizes that Melanie and I know exactly what that slip insinuates.

“Lindsay?” Mr. Wallace looks at her questioningly.

“I… I…” she stammers.

“You really should have been completely forthcoming with your attorney, Lindsay. There’s an old adage that still rings true. You really shouldn’t lie to your doctor or your lawyer….”

“I DID NOT LIE!” Lindsay protests.

“But you and the whole truth have never been intimately acquainted either, Lindz. I can attest to that. But that’s neither here nor there, and is a conversation that will never happen. So that said, Mr. Wallace, have you put together the scenario yet?”

He huffs, handing back the transfer slip. “I don’t have time for rhymes and riddles. If you have something to say, just say it please so we can move forward with this meeting.”

“Fine. I never did like the game of cat-and-mouse much.” Mel produces two sheafs of paper from her briefcase. “Annette, here is your copy, and as a professional courtesy, I have also made a copy for the defense. Please note that I am not being unbiased in doing this. If it were solely up to me, Lindsay would rot in prison just for continuing to take up valuable oxygen from the rest of the human race. I'm not bitter; just disappointed that she's still able to spread her verbal venom to the unsuspecting. However, I am providing this information to prove a point about the trustworthiness of your client, Mr. Wallace.

"The transfer of ownership is in direct correlation to the packet I just handed you. There are several live action movies… or should we call them pornos; for that is what they truly are, right Lindsay? Anyway, within the packet are the names of ALL of Lindsay’s conquests, and what she had on them to make them do her bidding. The problem is that Craig Taylor was not only one of them, but also the man who had been keeping a record of her activities. Michael paid Craig to keep quiet about what he knows, regarding both himself and Lindsay. It’s no secret that his business is in trouble and he’s money-hungry. Consequently, he is also facing charges for his part in denying his son, Justin, the inheritance left to him by both sets of his grandparents. Within that sheaf of papers is also the detailed account of Michael and Lindsay’s plan to entrap my other client, Brian Kinney, with children who are due any day now.”

“Due?” James asks, puzzled by what he’s reading through.

“Yes, due. In fact, Taryn Charles arrived at the hospital last night in labor. Brian and Justin are with her right now. Upon the birth of the children, it will be determined which one will take legal action against both Lindsay and Michael.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mel. There is only ONE possible father. I made sure of it,” Lindsay says, flipping her hair, to which Melanie laughs. James just looks at her in shock. I think it may finally be sinking in with him that his client is far from the innocent she portrays.

“I’m curious. How could you actually know that, Lindz?”

“Brian is the ultimate top…”

“Except when it comes to Justin,” Mel says, letting that fact hang in the air. We can all tell when Lindsay finally gets the message, even before she yells.

“YOU’RE LYING!”

“Nope, I’m not. It’s the same way for Justin, by the way. So you and Michael, thinking that Ethan would take Brian’s place in Justin’s life, was just as flawed as your reasons for making complete asses of yourselves. But here’s the real kicker for you, Lindsay. The day you STOLE those condoms from the loft, Brian and Justin took turns topping each other. Since I know that within your own arrogance, you would have thought of Brian as the only possibility, I’m sure you joined the samples. So as soon as the babies are born, we will know who the father or fathers are. But we already know who the mother is.”

“Wait a moment,” James interrupts, as Mel sits there looking as serene as I’ve ever seen her. “You mean to tell me that this… Taryn Charles woman was artificially inseminated with stolen sperm?”

“Yes,” Melanie answers, not taking her eyes off of Lindsay as the mottled, guilty flush creeps across her face. “But the supposed anonymous egg donor is actually your client.”

“Really? How do you know that?”

“If there is one thing I know, it’s that Lindsay Peterson would NEVER let another woman bear the children of Brian Kinney, even though she couldn’t carry them herself due to her own extracurricular sexcapades and the fact that she has been taking the Depo shot as birth control since just after Gus was born. The eggs that were used were from the first time Lindsay was impregnated with Brian’s sperm. We had the eggs frozen, in case the first try didn’t work. Yes, Lindsay. I know all about it.” She smiles smugly, even as Lindsay continues to glower at her.

“I… I need a few minutes to confer with my client, but before I do that, where does Craig Taylor fit into this again?”

“Other than blackmailing Lindsay and Michael, within that packet is a written agreement that if Michael and Lindsay’s foolproof plan falls through, the children were to be given to him and he would take care of them. Knowing Craig Taylor as we do, that means the children were probably going to be sold on the black market, since he was not their legal parent and the adoption process for him to become their legal guardian would take too long. Not that he would have been given guardianship anyway, considering how he treated his own son when he was still in high school and under the age of eighteen.”

“Well Justin should have thought about that before he started encroaching on my territory,” Lindsay says through gritted teeth.

“Foolish woman as always, aren’t you Lindz? I mean, you think that you are so smart that you are actually really dumb. First thing first is to disabuse you of the notion that Brian was ever yours to begin with. We both know that’s not true since his heart belongs to Justin, and has since the first night they met. You and Michael just couldn’t handle the fact that neither of you could ever compare to that brilliant young man. But to explain all the legal aspects to you in terms you can understand, here are the facts.

"Unless Justin was an emancipated minor, which he was not, Craig Taylor was STILL responsible for his well-being. The age of consent to have sex has absolutely nothing to do with the law in terms of legal responsibility towards a person under the age of eighteen. Bottom line: what Craig Taylor did equates to neglect and abuse in the eyes of the law; same as you when you fucked someone with Gus strapped into his carseat, while you committed sexual acts in front of him, regardless of whether he was asleep or awake. It’s about what could have happened, while you were being less than vigilant. For all you knew, any one of those men could have been a murderer, or even arrested while they were fucking you out in the open. There sure were enough of them with a host of skeletons in their closets, especially in terms of legal trouble.”

“Wh-what? Lindsay?”

“Oh come now, James,” Annette snickers. “You couldn’t possibly have believed that you were her only lover, could you? Oh, you poor thing, you did! Well I hate to break it to you, but Lindsay is a rather indiscriminate whore. She will always be out to get the highest bidder, or farm herself out to the person who can do the most for her in terms of achieving her goals. But rehashing Lindsay’s sordid sex life isn’t the only reason why we are here. I will have a complete list of her charges to you by the end of the day. Forensics should be finished with the newly acquired evidence by then. Oh, by the way Lindsay, Christopher Hobbs told us exactly what he did to Justin Taylor and why. So I will inform you now, James, that there will definitely be a statutory rape charge as well.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Lindsay explodes.

“I’m talking about the fact that although he was a senior in high school when you fucked him to gain his cooperation in your plans for Justin, he was three weeks shy of reaching the age of consent when you did. I guess someone should have taught you to check IDs when screwing high school students. Have a good meeting.”

We left the room to the sound of Lindsay screeching and begging for her attorney to believe her by turns. I look over at Mel, ready to offer my shoulder should she need it to cry on. But shockingly, all I see is relief. For her this is just beginning, but I think with that last confrontation on a semi-personal level, it gave Melanie some confidence and much needed closure. She laughs aloud.

“Come on, Carl we have to get to the hospital to welcome the newest members of the family. I can’t wait to find out who the father is… but honestly, I hope it’s both of them.”

“Why?” I ask. In my opinion both Brian and Justin are just now getting their lives back. I can’t imagine that having kids at this juncture would be an entirely great thing for them right now.

“Let’s just say, the three of us have a little side bet about the babies’ sex.”

“What do you get if you win?”

“To be there when they confront Joan Kinney.”

“Why wouldn’t they want you there?” I ask, genuinely puzzled.

“Let’s just say I have a score to settle with the old crone. There’s a reason Lindsay is the way she is.”

“I thought it was because of her mother.”

“No. It’s because of his.”