Bluegrass State of Mind(54)

Kenna felt the tears start again and wiped her eyes. "What are you trying to do, make me into a blubbering idiot?" She rose to her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Bright and early the next morning, Kenna pulled her Lacoste sunglasses down to shield the glare from her bloodshot eyes as she stepped out onto the front porch. Miss Lily made sure she got up and showered. She also supplied her with coffee and a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with a side of aspirin to help the hangover. The throbbing and spinning had stopped, but the headache was a killer.

As she walked to the courthouse, she waved to the neighbors and tried not to process the remorseful looks they were throwing her. She thought about the docket for the morning and knew it would go until lunch by the amount of cases on it. It was her day to handle domestic violence. After her encounter with Chad, she didn't think she'd ever look at the issue the same. She reminded herself that because some men were assholes, it didn't mean they all were. It was her job to make sure the guilty were punished, but the innocent cases were dismissed.

She got off the elevator and bypassed the line. Today, Deputy Noodle wasn't there. But a man no more than twenty-two was checking bags and keeping the victims separate from the accused. He gave a slight wave, indicating he wanted her to wait. After he informed a man that shirt and shoes were required in order to enter the courtroom, he came over to her.

"Hi ya, ma'am. I'm Dinky, Noodle's partner. Today is my day in the courtroom and I wanted to introduce myself." Kenna removed her sunglasses and put them into her briefcase. "Geez almighty, ma'am! You okay?" Kenna touched her puffy, bloodshot eyes and winced at the bright overhead light.

"It's nice to meet you, Dinky. Can you make sure I have water in the courtroom?"

"Sure, ma'am. He's not worth it, you know."

Kenna couldn't help but laugh and then grabbed her head to stop the throbbing it caused. "I won't ask how you know about my relationship, or lack thereof, with Will. I assume everyone knows?"

"Yes, ma'am. There was a pool going that you'd be in too delicate of a condition to come in this morning. Martha is sitting in the courtroom waiting to find out, collect the money, and then call Tom to fill in this morning."

"Where did you put your money?"

"I put a twenty in that you'd not only show up but be able to work." He gave her a broad smile that even managed to bring a little smile to Kenna's face.

“I'll let you in on a little secret. The bloodshot eyes are from drinking too much at Classic's last night. But, I think I better go put on a good show for the gallery, don't you think?" With a wink to Dinky, she put her head down, grabbed some Kleenex out of her purse, and started the slow, downtrodden walk into the courtroom.

As soon as she entered, she stopped and blew her nose. Looking out at the occupants in the courtroom from beneath her eyelashes, she saw everyone take note of her, and some hung their heads in defeat. Others bragged about their soon-to-be winnings. Kenna gave one more breathless sob and dabbed her eyes again. Holding onto the benches, she slowly made her way to the front table where Martha sat with a look of disgust. Kenna took the seat next to Martha and let out a shuddering breath.

"Well, it appears I better call Mr. Burns to come down and cover for you. You're obviously in no condition to do your job." Martha turned the office chair away from Kenna and was about to stand when Kenna put both hands on Martha's shoulders and laid her head on Martha's shoulder as if needing the support.

"Appearances aren't always what they seem. Where did you place your money?" Kenna said in a soft, confident voice with a hint of her own displeasure in it.

Martha went still, as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "You know about the pool?"

"Of course I do. You think anything can stay secret around here. I'm just giving everyone a show for their money, seeing who supported me and who thinks I'm too weak to go on. I have, at quick glance, about fifteen who thought I couldn't handle a tough relationship. I want you to organize the cases in the following order so that I can wipe those smug little smiles off their faces. I'm also guessing you bet against me. For that, you get to stay here and handle all the paperwork. And tell everyone who bet against me, never to do so again." Kenna let out another sniffle and slouched back into the chair. She looked over at Martha and saw she still hadn't moved. Kenna fought back a smile. Today she was going to be the victor.

Dinky called the court to order and Martha called the first case. The attorney handling the matter was as smug as they came. It was clear he thought he could take advantage of Kenna’s downtrodden spirits to get the case thrown out against the boyfriend. The boyfriend was a twenty-one-year-old thug involved in the prescription drug trade coming in from Eastern Kentucky. He was skinnier than Kenna but wore XXL sweatpants that only stayed up if he kept his legs a yard apart. Tattoos covered his pale arms and were easily seen since his sleeves on his once-white t-shirt had been torn out. Kenna knew they were building a case against him for drug trafficking, but it wasn't complete. However, if his girlfriend would testify against him, then he'd be locked up for decades. Kenna stood in between the boyfriend and girlfriend. It was customary for both lawyers to stand between the accuser and accused. But Mr. Sleazebag Attorney wanted to scare the girlfriend, so he put his client as near to her as possible. Kenna faced the victim, her bruises still fresh on her face and arms, while Mr. Sleazebag made his case that the boyfriend would never do anything like this. He blamed the bruises on an ATV accident in which she was thrown from the vehicle.