The Advocate (The Advocate Series) by Teresa Burrell Read Free Book Online Page A

dialed 9-1-1, ready to push “Send” if needed. Her heart pounded as she tiptoed to the back door. She lifted one slat in the blind very carefully and peeked out into the parking area. The dim porch light provided little help. Sabre couldn’t see anything and detected no movement. She stood still, watching for a few minutes. She took a deep breath, tried to dismiss it, and went back to her desk to finish preparing her cases for court.
    Sabre reached for a pencil, but her trembling hand dropped it. She let it lay there and gathered up her files to leave. She peeked out the window again before she slowly opened the back door and looked around. When she decided everything was okay, Sabre stepped out, locked the back door behind her, and jumped in her car to leave. Once on the road, she began to breathe easier thinking how silly she had acted.
    Sabre called Jordan Receiving Home to remind them she was taking Alexis and Jamie on a little excursion. Though her office was located only a few blocks away, by the time she parked and entered the building, the children were ready to go.
    “Hi, Alexis, remember me?” she asked the little girl standing there in a pretty yellow dress.
    “Yeah, you’re the lawyer and your name is Sabre. Are we really going to McDonald’s?”
    “Yes, we are. Do you like McDonald’s?”
    “I love their French fries. Can we get a kid’s meal? Jamie likes to go there, too. He can have my toy if he wants.” She turned to Jamie, “Come on, Jamie. Let’s go.”
    “Okay, Alexis, we’re ready. You bring Jamie and I’ll get the car seat for him.” Sabre saw Alexis gently take the hand of her little “brother.” Sabre buckled Jamie in the back seat and Alexis watched as if to make sure it was done correctly. She sat down in the front seat, listening and responding whenever Jamie spoke.
    “I’ll show you where my office is,” Sabre said. “We drive past it on the way.” They drove three blocks, made a right turn, and half way up the block Sabre said, “There it is, on your right, the one with the bright lights in the front.”
    “You have a pretty office,” Alexis said.
    “Thank you.”
    They continued their conversation at McDonald’s, Sabre being careful not to interrogate her. “Tell me about school in Atlanta. What did you like best about it?”
    “My friend, Mattie,” Alexis said. “She’s my best friend in the whole world. We played with our Barbie dolls. She has more than I do, and she has lots of doll clothes, too. But mostly, we played school and I was the teacher. We didn’t play with the other kids because they would tease Mattie and call her names because she couldn’t hear and she talked kinda funny. I wonder who she plays with now. I sure miss her.” Alexis always spoke fast, like she needed to make sure she could get it all in.
    “Maybe you could write her a letter. Do you know her address?”
    “Yeah, I’ll write her a letter. She’d like that.”
    Sabre picked up her briefcase and took some paper, an envelope, and a stamp and handed them to Alexis. “Here’s everything you need.” Sabre pointed to the upper left corner and said, “You put your name here above mine and Mattie will know who the letter came from. If she writes you back, I’ll bring the letter to you. Here’s where Mattie’s name and address go.” Sabre wrote Mattie’s first name on the envelope for her so she would know where to write it. “What’s her last name?”
    “Sturkey,” Alexis said with a smile. “It’s turkey with an ‘S’ in front. It’s a funny name, but she can’t help it. The other kids would gobble around her. She couldn’t hear them, but she could see and she knew they were making fun of her. When I grow up, I want to take care of kids who can’t hear, like Mattie. Maybe I can teach them things. I can sign, you know. Mattie taught me.” Alexis spelled out her name in sign language. “A-l-e-x-i-s. That’s my name. I can say other things too, like ‘Good