Here She Lies

post bail,” she explained. “The charge would still stand, but you could move freely within the state.”
    It sounded more hopeful than anything else I’d heard in the last eight hours, and I thanked her.
    A few minutes later, back in the cell for more waiting, I was surprised to find only the Chinese woman there, alone, still staring at the wall. I felt a little disappointed that the Hispanic girls were gone; I was sure they would have wanted to know what had happened and I wanted to talk.
    “I have a lawyer,” I told my lone remaining cellmate. “I’m getting arraigned soon.”
    She looked at me now. In her small, dark eyes I saw that it wasn’t anger I’d perceived in her face before. It was longing.
    “Good,” she said.
    “And you?” I asked her.
    She said only, “I finished,” and then her eyes again found the wall.
    Liz eventually returned. When the guard unlockedthe cell I said good-bye to the Chinese woman, but she didn’t respond. I felt terrible for her, worse than for the other women. I had the sense that something unexpected had shattered this woman’s life, that she may have reacted badly to some grave surprise and she already knew that her reaction would cost her everything. Did she have family who would help her now? I wondered, following Liz down the hall.
    We walked quickly through a maze of underground corridors until a different elevator took us up two flights to the courtrooms. “We’ve got a decent judge,” Liz said. “He was willing to squeeze us onto his docket. And your husband’s waiting.”
    “Bobby’s here?”
    Liz nodded. “You’ll only have a minute to talk before we go in.”
    We found Bobby pacing in the broad hallway outside the courtroom. The marble floor was glassily polished, making his every step squeak, and under the high ceiling he seemed very small. His work clothes — blue slacks and white shirt — looked wilted after the long flight. He was wearing his brown corduroy jacket, the one he kept in our downstairs hall closet, which told me he had stopped at home on his way to the airport. I wondered why he had taken the time. That he had changed from shoes to sneakers said he was planning on testing his endurance. His face looked a little haggard, as if he had already been up all night.
    I stood in front of him, all rumpled beige suit and torn stockings and scrambled hair and mascara-darkened eyes, hands manacled behind me, lawyer and guard on either side.
    “Oh, Annie.” It was that luscious voice of his, soft and a little coarse when he felt moved.
    I stepped toward him and he put his arms around me. He kissed my cheek twice and the tears just seemed to heave out of me. “It’s okay. Shh, shh. We’ll work this out.”
    “Did you reach Julie?”
    He shook his head. “I left her a few messages. I gave her your cell number since mine won’t work here.”
    “They took my cell phone,” I said. “She won’t be able to reach me.”
    Liz, who stood off to the side, interjected, “You’ll get that back when this is over.”
    “But what if something happens to Lexy?” I asked her. “What if Lexy or Julie needs us?”
    “I know it’s frustrating,” Liz said. “Just be patient.”
    Easier said than done, but what choice did I have?
    “What about Kent?” I asked Bobby. “Did you talk to him?”
    “He doesn’t know anything about it,” he said. “He seemed pretty upset, actually. He said he was sorry we were going through this and he wanted to be supportive.”
    “Kent said that?”
    “Believe it or not, he did.”
    Liz glanced at her watch. “All right, guys, let’s have a word before we go in.” Her voice fell to a whisper: “I think we’ll do fine with this judge, but he’s famous for not giving RORs. We should expect bail, so, Bobby, why don’t you save your wife some time by getting the ball rolling?” She handed him a business card. I managed to read the larger print: B AD S EED B AIL B ONDS. “It’s across the street and left one block. They’re open twenty-four hours. Ask for Vinnie and tell him I sent you. Tell him to start the paperwork; I’ll call you at Vinnie’s number with the amount. You brought it, right?”
    “Yes.” He touched the outside of his jacket and I remembered that it had a deep inner pocket.
    “Brought what?” I asked.
    “Don’t worry, Annie,” Bobby said.
    “Don’t worry ?”
    “He’s right,” Liz said. “All you should be thinking about right now is getting out. Your house should