Riggs Crossing by Michelle Heeter Read Free Book Online Page B

ago.
    I’ve just about replayed the whole episode in my head by the time I make it back to the shelter. It pisses me off that the nutcase woman who says embarrassing things out loud on city buses is a Clarissa Hobbs fan, just like me. One of the things I’ve always liked about Clarissa Hobbs is that no one else at the Refuge watches it.
    It takes me a whole week to stop being annoyed about that. Fortunately, I never see the woman on the bus again.

Chapter 13

    It’s a Clarissa Hobbs : Attorney at Law night, so I’m lying on Clementine in the lounge room. Shane is already in bed. Bindi has been sent to her room for the evening because she called Karen a fat little pig at the dinner table and made her cry.
    ‘Yeah, like I really care about being sent to my room,’ Bindi sneered. ‘Youse all suck, anyway.’
    She scraped back her chair, practically threw it against the table, and stomped out of the dining room without taking her plate to the kitchen. As soon as the dishes were washed, Cinnamon went to Bindi’s room. The two of them are up there listening to music and laughing loudly. Lyyssa is in her office typing. Karen is sitting in her favourite armchair. I don’t really like to be in the same room as Karen, but at least she’s keeping quiet, apart from the occasional snuffle.
    You know what’s really stupid? Karen’s crying because Bindi called her a fat little pig for taking all the mashed potatoes from the bowl before it had been around the table. If you’re going to get upset if people call you a fat pig, the sensible thing to do would be, maybe, go on a diet? Or at least not get any fatter. So what does Karen do? After she’s already eaten a huge dinner, she gets a bag of miniature candy bars from her room and starts eating them in front of the TV. I bet you she finishes the whole bag before the show is over.
    After some stupid ad for a discount bedding warehouse, the opening sequence comes on, with Clarissa driving her BMW through sunny LA, Clarissa addressing a jury, Clarissa playing racquetball, Clarissa passionately kissing a handsome, grey-haired man. I block Karen out of my mind and concentrate on the story.
    Sure enough, Clarissa Hobbs is defending Trell again, just like she said she would.
    Last time, Clarissa got Trell acquitted when he was wrongfully accused of arson and manslaughter. This time, Trell has been accused of shooting dead a rival gang member outside a Burger King restaurant, and Clarissa knows that he’s guilty.
    Even so, Trell won’t admit his guilt to Clarissa. He keeps crapping on about how he was with his girlfriend that night, but Clarissa isn’t fooled. When Clarissa threatens not to represent him, Trell finally comes clean.
    ‘So I did it. So what?’ Trell looks sullen and angry.
    ‘So what ?!’ Clarissa shouts. ‘So you’re going to be on Death Row right next to your old man if you don’t take this seriously!’
    Trell starts to look afraid. ‘You the best lawyer in LA,’ he whispers. ‘You gotta get me off.’
    ‘I can’t do that without your help,’ Clarissa says, her voice calmer.
    They work out a strategy. Trell is going to admit to the shooting, but will plead self-defence. She’ll also try to stack the jury with people likely to be sympathetic to someone like Trell. ‘And we’ve got to get you a suit,’ she concludes.
    ‘I got one at home,’ Trell says in a low voice. ‘My mama can bring it.’
    ‘By the way, Trell,’ Clarissa adds, ‘you said I was the best lawyer in LA. Actually, I’m the best lawyer in the state of California.’
    Trell manages a wry smile as he is led away, cuffed and shackled.
    As the closing credits roll, it’s late at night and Clarissa is back at her office working on Trell’s case with a bunch of junior lawyers. They’re sitting around a huge table reading thick law books and eating takeaway food from Burger King.
    Are there Burger King restaurants in Australia? If there are, they’re probably about the same as