Once You'Ve Touched the Heart (30 page)

“You better find a way for this to go away or I will find a way for Harrison to go away.”

“I’m not sure,” she said, “but I believe you tried that and it did not work. But either way I don’t want to know about it.”

“Get to Hector,” Juan ordered. “Tell him to go to the reserve plan; he will know what to do.”

“I’m not going to tell him that,” she said. “Anything you need Hector to know put it in writing, seal it and I will give him the note. In the meantime, I will file a motion to have Harrison removed from the case. It will not be granted, but at least it may give us grounds for appeal if you are convicted. I will strongly recommend that you make no further attempts to delay this trial by physical harm to Harrison.”

T
he news conference went just as Carolyn had planned. Making the two announcements simultaneously ensured JD being there with Gavin as he announced his candidacy for governor. The public would think JD was a supporter, whether he was or not. “Perception is the key,” Carolyn said to Gavin.

The room was packed with dignitaries from the Democratic Party and all of Gavin’s supporters. News reporters and television crews were there, including Victoria. All but a few from the DA’s office were present and accounted for. There was a certain air of excitement in the room. “Senator Roth.” JD extended his hand.

“JD,” the senator greeted him as he shook his hand, “it’s good to see you, my boy. How have you been?”

“I’m doing fine, sir, thank you for asking.”

“Mrs. Harrison, it is wonderful to see you today.” Senator Roth smiled.

“Thank you, Senator, it has been a while.”

“Good morning, Tracy,” the senator greeted.

“Good morning,” she replied, surprised he remembered her name. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you, too. I don’t think you are going to have any issues with Carolyn today,” he said. “She is in her element here; in total control.”

“Everyone is scared to death of her?” JD asked.

“You know it.”

“Yes, that’s when she works the best,” JD replied.

The senator looked at JD and said, “That should be you up there, son.”

JD looked at him with a questioning glance, as did Tracy. “Oh, I don’t mean with Carolyn,” the senator explained. “You should be the one making this announcement today.”

“That’s good of you to say, Senator, but I have enough on my plate right now,” JD smiled, squeezing Tracy’s hand.

“Well, whenever you are ready, son, you’ll have my backing all the way,” the Senator said, patting JD on the back.

Carolyn walked up. “Good morning, one and all,” she said. “Daddy, we are going to need you on stage; you too, JD.”

Brian and JD’s security detail walked up. “Mr. Harrison, this way please,” one man said.

JD kissed Tracy on the forehead. “I’ll see you when this is over.”

Calvin, Jackie, Mrs. Langston, Magna and Dan came over as JD, Carolyn and the Senator were leaving. Tracy hugged Calvin and Carolyn spotted the ring. She stopped walking and looked at JD with a frown. “So you decided to ruin your future anyway?” Carolyn said angrily.

JD looked at her. “What are you talking about, Carolyn?”

“That ring on Tracy’s finger.”

The Senator grabbed Carolyn’s upper arm. “You are about to announce your engagement to the next governor of this state,” he said bitterly. “Let it go.”

She pulled her arm away, put on a smile and stepped onto the stage. They took their seats and the news conference began.

After all the formal introductions had been made, Gavin made the announcement he was stepping down as district attorney. “The good news is that I will be leaving you in very capable hands. J.D. Harrison—” He could not finish the statement. The crowd began to clap and cheer as if they had just won the lottery. Gavin stepped back and looked at JD. JD held his head down and smiled; it was a humbling experience for him.

Mrs. Harrison said to Tracy, “His dad would be so proud of him.” She stood and started clapping with the crowd. Everyone else that was supposed to remain neutral stood as well and began to clap. Gavin hushed the crowd.

After everyone settled back down, Gavin looked over at JD. “You are not planning on running for governor, are you?” The crowed cheered and laughed at the same time. JD smiled.

Gavin continued. “As I was saying, JD Harrison will be assuming the position of district attorney for the remaining two years of my term. It is the good people of the district attorney’s office, such as JD, who afforded me the opportunity to step away from my position. I would like to serve the good citizens of the great Commonwealth of Virginia at a higher level. With your help and your blessing, I humbly submit my name as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The crowd applauded and cheered the announcement. The applause went on for a few minutes non-stop. Cameras started flashing. Television cameras moved in for a close-up.

Toward the end of his speech, Gavin announced his engagement to Carolyn Roth. She stood and joined him at the podium. Carolyn was raised for this role. She had all the right qualities a governor would need. She finally got what she always wanted—the spotlight. But it came with a price. Behind all the smiles and hand shaking, Carolyn Roth was fuming. And all her wrath was aimed toward Tracy. As she stood there at the podium kissing Gavin and waving her hand, she vowed to find a way to make Tracy Washington pay for taking away her full dream: public life, the mansion and JD Harrison.

♥

Back at the office the new regime was settling in. JD held a staff meeting with all the employees. He wanted to let them know what he was expecting and what he planned to give in return. The staff was very receptive. They already knew JD, liked and respected him. No one was uncomfortable working for him. One or two would have to change their way of doing certain things. JD did things by the book. No cases would be assigned under-the-table. Most of JD’s time was spent going over the managerial responsibilities that he had not been involved with previously. Getting acquainted with his new boss was easy; it was the current attorney general. JD had worked on several cases with him. The transition was smooth.

JD surrounded himself with good people who approached the law with the same enthusiasm as he. At the beginning, he was going to have to pull some long hours to get caught up on the administrative end. After that he was sure things would slow down. Ironically, on his first day in the position, JD received a petition to appear in court before Judge Mathews. The defense was asking the judge to remove JD from the Cortez case to prevent the attempt at malicious prosecution. JD laughed at the petition, but called Calvin in for a strategy session just to make sure all bases were covered.

♥

Tracy went back to the office after the news conference and jumped into the project she had left behind. It felt good to have things back to normal, at least for the moment. “Hey,” Ashley said grinning, “I saw the news conference—looks like it went well. Carolyn seems to have everything on point with Gavin. Did they set a date for the wedding?” Ashley looked at Tracy then smiled. “Have you set a date?”

Tracy smiled. “Not that I’m aware of. And as for me, no, not yet.”

“I’m going to miss you so much, Tracy. You have been there for me through so much stuff,” Ashley whined.

“Am I going somewhere?”

Ashley laughed. “No, but we will not be living together anymore. Do you realize we have lived together for more than six years?”

“I know this is a happy occasion, but it’s sad, too,” Tracy said. “You gave me the family I never had. Now we are really going to be sisters; isn’t that something.” They both laughed.

“I asked JD about a date and he said it’s up to you,” Ashley said. “So when is this going to happen?

“I don’t know; we haven’t talked about it,” Tracy said.

“Okay, where are you going to live? You can’t stay in JD’s place, it’s too small. Let’s go house hunting,” Ashley said eagerly. “We get to plan a wedding and shop for that, too.”

“Wedding?. Ouch.” The thought scared Tracy. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“What the hell do you mean? That’s the best part,” Ashley asked, surprised.

“No, I can do without the wedding. Just let me have your brother for the rest of my life.”

“One comes with the other.” Ashley smiled. “With JD’s career you have to have a wedding. There’s no getting around that.”

Tracy stretched out across her desk. “Do we have to?” she cried.

“Yes,” Ashley replied.

Tracy sighed. “You are going to be there with me, right?”

“All the way.”

“Maid of Honor?”

“With pleasure.” Ashley smiled. They were silent for a moment. “Are you going to let Cynthia do the wedding?”

“I don’t know about that, Ashley. How do I trust Cynthia to handle the most important day of my life?”

“It’s a job; and Cynthia would not do anything to hurt her business. You know that, Tracy. This wedding is going to be a big event, one of the biggest in this city. She knows that.”

“Ashley, even if I was willing to give Cynthia a chance, I don’t think Jeffrey will.”

“Tracy, Jeffrey will do anything you ask him to. Just think about it,” Ashley replied.

“Okay.”

Ashley hesitated. “Do you think James and I will ever make it to this point?”

Tracy smiled. “How are things going with you two?”

Ashley smiled. “Girl, I lie to you not, the man rocked me from one end of his bed to the other.”

Tracy laughed. “That’s good, but what else? Have you two talked?”

Ashley closed her eyes. “Yes, we talk all the time. But not the way you mean. I don’t want to push him.”

Tracy looked at her. “Are you okay with that?”

“For the moment,” Ashley replied. They were quiet for a minute. “David’s been quiet since the function. No notes or anything.”

“Did James ever tell you what he said to him?”

“No, and I did not ask. And you would not have asked either, if you had seen the look on James’s face when he came back into the room.”

♥

James was in his office when Karen Holt knocked on the door. “Do you have a moment, James?” Karen asked.

“Sure, have a seat,” James replied. He sat back in his chair and placed his pen on the desk. He was wondering when Karen was going to stop avoiding him. She returned to work the week JD was in the hospital.

During that time, James’s attention was on Ashley. With all that was happening with JD, most of his free time was spent with her. He really did not have a chance to talk with Karen about David. James was sure David had put his own spin on what was happening. He was just as sure that whatever David told Karen, she believed. James had spent a lot of time with Ashley during the weeks following the confrontation with David. He did not trust David and did not want Ashley to be alone or vulnerable to him. He had seen David in action at several DNC functions. David knew how to put on a good front.

“James, we have not really had a chance to talk lately. I felt it was important that you and I talked before things went any further,” Karen started.

Karen was a class act. James respected her and her abilities. He did not understand for the life of him why she was with David. “What is it you feel we need to discuss?” he asked.

“David tells me you have concerns about his past relationship with your friend Ashley.”

James acknowledged, “Yes, that’s true.” Karen looked a little shocked, so James continued: “Did he tell you what those concerns were?”

“James, I know about the supposed attempted rape. I was there. If things had happened the way Ashley claimed, David would have been charged. There were no charges filed.”

James knew women like Karen well enough to know they would protect and defend their man no matter how much evidence you put in front of them. “Karen, did David tell you what’s happened recently?”

“Yes, he told me you insinuated my position here could be in jeopardy because of his past with your girlfriend,” Karen exclaimed.

James smiled in disbelief. “And you believed him?”

“He’s my husband; of course I believed him.”

James stood up, put his hands in his pocket and looked directly at her. He had to take a minute. If he spoke too soon the anger he was feeling would be exposed. That would not be good. James never understood why some women were actually blinded by love.

“Karen,” he said calmly, “you are a valued part of this administration. I have no intention, nor did I ever insinuate any intentions, of removing you. I have never and never will make business decisions based on personal issues. With that said, I believe you are in a difficult position. As long as I am commissioner, you are here with me.”

Karen was speechless. She was ready for a fight with James. But he turned the tables on her.

“You must have said something, James. David would have no reason to lie.”

James did not want to get into personal issues with Karen. Rather than telling her what actually happened, he chose to refer her to David.

“Apparently he did have a reason. It’s up to you to determine what that reason may be. Was there anything further we need to discuss?” James asked, in a tone that let Karen know the discussion was over.

Karen stood. “No, nothing else.” She left the room.

James sat back down. “Oh, Mr. Holt, I did warn you,” he said to himself. Too pissed to continue working, James called Ashley. “I really need to see you tonight.”

♥

“JD! Man, I’m glad I caught you,” Brian said as he stepped into JD’s new office. “I have some feedback on Tracy’s family. You better sit down, JD.” Brian exhaled. “I know what I found out is not all that there is, but I can tell you Tracy did not have a charmed life. And I have to agree with Al, she needs to stay away from her family.”

“Tracy told me some of the story. What did you find?”

“Tracy’s father had a thing for little girls. He had his way with the oldest sister—Valerie is her name—and the other sister, Joan. Word has it, Joan fought back, and ended up dead. The death report indicates she died during a rape; assailant unknown. Day moved out and took to the street life. The oldest girl was sent to live with an aunt. Tracy was young and his actual daughter, so she stayed with the mother. Rumors have it the father disappeared after a fight with Day, and never returned. After that, it was the mother and the little girl. The neighbors in their old neighborhood said that the daughter was left alone in the apartment regularly. The family eventually moved into a house that Day purchased in a different neighborhood, which is where the mother still resides. That neighbor said that the girl spent most of her time in the house or at school. Every now and then she would go to church with her family. When Tracy went away to school, she never came back. The mother is money hungry. Day was paying her a thousand a week, back in the day, to keep Tracy. Can you imagine that shit, man? Someone had to pay you to take care of your own child.”