Abel Ladd - The Crying Child | Day 17 : 2564 words

His little legs carried him unsteadily down the hallway to the kitchen where Esme stood at the counter, her back was to him as she was talking to her pda. He ambled over to her leg and grabbed a hold of her fleece pants leg. She set the pda on the counter and reached down and picked him up and slid him onto her hip as she said, “don’t you think a year is more than enough time?”
“Yes Esme I understand but these things do take time. The settlement is rather substantial which is making it difficult for them to arrange.” The voice on the pda replied.
“Come on Trey, aren’t you here to keep pressure on them to make this happen? TDI is large enough they should have no problems funding the settlement,” she said.
“Yes but they also had the record breaking fines from OSHA which unfortunately for you puts you second to the government.”
“That’s not my fault. What little I’ve gotten so far is just about gone as I still have bills and rent and a child to take care of.” Esme was tired of being frustrated by the process and her tone showed it.
“I’ll do what I can to speed the process up and I’ll find out about an advance on the settlement to get you by till it funds. I’ll let you know what I find out. I have to go Esme.”
He grabbed a handful of hair and yanked quickly causing Esme to shout in pain as her hand came up to grab his little fist and pry his fingers apart. “Alright Trey, thanks,” she said then turned her pda screen off once the call ended.
“Why must you do that?” she asked accusingly as she looked Abel in the face.
He smiled back her and managed to say, “mama” as he reached his hand for her hair again. She deftly brushed it aside and pulled him off her hip then lowered him to the floor again.
“Are you hungry?” she asked him.
His wobbly head nod was her answer and she quickly was sweeping him back up off the floor, grabbed her pda from the counter and soon she was seated on the couch with him sucking away. She busied herself going through the various notifications that had popped up on her pda while she was on the call with Trey. As she acknowledged each it slid to the side and then she stopped and read the next with wide eyes, “Urgent: Case update, please call our office. Bedlam, Loftus, & Bridge Law Office.”
He bit down on her nipple as he suckled and she jerked in reaction. She rubbed the back of his head with her hand then found the contact in her list and called their office.
“Bedlam, Loftus, & Bridge Law Office, how can I help you?” the young sounding receptionist’s voice said in a rote tone.
“Bev it’s Esme Ladd. I got a message to call.”
“Hi Esme, let me see if one of them is available.” The line went to hold music for a short time then suddenly stopped and a man’s voice said, “Mrs. Ladd thank you for calling. There has been a rather serious change in the circumstances of your husband’s accident. I’d like to have you come in to our offices to meet and go over the new evidence we have found.”
“Really? What’s happened?” Esme asked.
“We just need you to come in so we can talk privately. Can we send a car for you?”
Esme looked down at him then back at the pda and said, “I have my son with me.”
“That’s no problem. We just need to see you as soon as possible.”
“Alright, send a car. I guess I’ll see you in a while,” she said as she shifted him in her arms.
“Thank you, I think you will be a bit shocked by these new circumstances. We’ll see you soon,” he said then the call ended abruptly.
Her shifting body made him lose his grip on her nipple and he tried to get it back but she was in motion and it was gone. He frowned as she pulled him up to her shoulder and patted his back. The subsequent eruption lessened his frown and soon they were whisking around the apartment as she gathered papers and his go bag.
The ting of sound from her pda made her turn and grab it off the counter top to see the car was waiting below. She quickly messaged back and soon they were in the elevator. The car door was open as they approached and the car sped off across the city faster than he could remember any prior trip. Before long they were stopped in front of a multi story glass faced building with the Bedlam, Loftus, & Bridge Law Office sign lit brightly in neon on the side.
The drive came around and opened the door and she gathered him into her arms tightly and they made their way into the building. Stopping at the front desk Esme said to the receptionist, “Bev? I’m Esme Ladd, they are expecting me.”
“Oh hi Esme, yeah they’re waiting for you in the main conference room. Just go up to the second floor and you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” she said then climbed the nearby stairs that lead to the upper floor and the conference room was directly in front of them ensconced in big sheets of glass. She could see the 3 lawyers sitting at the long table inside and they motioned her inside upon seeing her.
One woman stood up from the table and quickly walked to the glass door and opened it for them which they walked through and she said, “thank you for coming Mrs Ladd. Please have a seat.”
The room was bright and the long table was dark as he looked around the room. Each of the lawyers faces looked strange to him and he found himself looking back up at her face often. Soon they began the barrage of words and he tuned out for most of it.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice Mrs. Ladd. There has been a fairly large discovery that changes the entire scope of your case,” Ana Bridge said with a tense look on her face.
“Uhm, what could have come up after a year?” Esme asked.
“Well. The security camera footage from TDI was being reviewed and something was found prior to Neal’s accident,” Jim Loftus said. “There is evidence that the machine was tampered with prior to the accident. At least that is the appearances now. The video footage shows an unknown person accessing panels on the machine two days prior to the incident. There is real cause to believe that someone sabotaged the machine in a direct effort to inflict harm.”
Esme’s mouth fell open as she listened in stunned silence, her mind racing over who could possibly have wanted to do such a thing to Neal.
“Division’s OSI is taking the investigation on now that it is potentially a crime. They have not given us much more to go on other than they have a few possible suspects but that is still a bit vague given their history,” Sara Bedlam continued.
Esme’s head shook from side to side and he felt her body jiggle slightly with the movement. He squinted his eyes against the bright lights to look up at her and he reached his hand out and tapped her on the cheek. She looked down at him and nestled his arm back by his side then looked up and asked, “why did this take a year to come to light?”
The three lawyers looked around the table at each other then Sara said, “The footage was in the file but as there had been no reason to suspect anything it was never fully viewed, but in the process of finalizing the case we had an intern go through all the footage just in case, and he found the potential evidence.”
“So what does that mean for us?” Esme asked.
“Well, that means that this is going to be prolonged a lot longer as this is incorporated into the case. A lot depends on who that person was and their motive. Most everything is speculation right now until there is more investigation done,” Jim said.
Turning to Ana Esme said, “Trey has been trying to get my advance on the settlement, I’m running out of money and need to keep up on rent. I need something here,” she said as she lifted him up slightly to show.
Ana quickly replied, “of course we are going to get the advance for you, I will make sure it is to you in the next day or two. If anything we will make it happen regardless.”
The constant drone of the voices was starting to make him tired and he felt the waves of sleep washing over him when the voice suddenly rang in his head, “STAY AWAKE.”
A frown came over his face then and he had no desire to stay awake but the voice persisted, “Abel, listen. This is very important. Listen and remember.”
Esme shifted him around in her arms then switched him from the right arm to the left, in doing so she bumped his head against her elbow and the pain shot through his head. The sudden searing throb of pain welled up quickly just in line with the full volume scream that he let out into the conference room. All of the lawyers looked at each other across the table and they each covered their ears with their hands. The sound was deafening in the glass walled room and even Esme had a hard time with it.
Soon his scream dwindled to a cry and the sudden gasps from the lawyers drew Esme’s eyes up and she stared at them with concerned curiosity. “What was that?” she asked pointedly.
The three lawyers looked across the table at on another and they seemed to make a decision without speaking. Ana was the first to break the silence. “Esme, you do realize who he is,” as she pointed Esme looked down at his brooding face.
“I don’t want him to have that kind of responsibility, not now, not yet.” She replied.
“I under… We understand that this is a VERY difficult position you are in but if we can make one very big and pertinent suggestion?” Jim asked.
“What?” she asked.
“We feel that is would be best for you, safest for you both, if you were to relocate to a new residence, one that would be unlisted to help keep you both from the scrutiny that is likely to follow this case now.” Jim’s words were cautious as he spoke.
“How do you expect me to do that when I have no money?” Esme asked sharply.
“We understand Esme, and like I said we will make sure you are setup in the next couple of days. There are a few options available to you for potential locations that would be safer that we have available, ones that our firm owns and would not be connected to you,” Ana offered.
“I still don’t understand how we would be in any danger, it’s been over a year since it happened, wouldn’t we have been in danger this whole time then?” Esme asked.
“That is why we are making the suggestion,” Sara replied.
He was getting a twitchy feeling in his legs and started to squirm in her arm enough that she set him down on his feet on the floor and said, “stay close, don’t go running around.” He heard her speak but his eyes were already on the knobs on the front of the antique radio sitting against the one non-glass wall and his little legs wobbled as he toddled towards it.
“It still doesn't make sense, a year later? And why would WE be in any danger?” Esme asked as she turned to look for him. Seeing him heading for the radio she quickly rose from her chair and scooped him back up into her arms and returned to the seat.
“The concern now is that if whoever that person was finds out that the investigation has begun to try identifying them, that you may be in potential danger. We can’t say for sure but out of an overabundance of caution we highly suggest relocation,” Jim answered.
“I don’t know, I just don’t see how we could be in any danger at this point. I’ve kept him out of the public view this whole past year,” Esme said.
His legs were again getting the buzz of energy and he needed to move. His squirming got bigger and more noticeable until she had to set him down on the floor again. As soon as his feet hit the floor he was headed for the couch sitting along the wall by the radio. His goal was to climb onto the couch but his little form was to small to make it easily and he became determined to climb up.
“Please consider it, I can get the list of places we have available so you can see what areas they are in,” Sara said.
His leg swung up as he tried to pull himself onto the couch but each time it would slip off and he found himself getting frustrated. After numerous attempts he reached up and grabbed hold of the cushion with both hands and as he tried to get his feet up he pushed against the front of the couch which then let go of its cushion. The cushion slid out and then off the couch with him now under it and they both soon landed on the floor with a thud. The suddenness of it all shocked him enough that he didn’t feel the lump welling up on the back of his head until she had picked him up and placed the cushion back on the couch.
The pain struck suddenly and his cry exploded just as fast. Esme turned her head away from the roar and as she bounced him on her hip with her hand on his head she shushed him gently. She carried him back to the chair but did not sit down.
“I’ll think about but I really should get him home,” she said motioning to his still crying form.
The three lawyers all wore a gaunt faces as the crying continued before Ana said, “okay. We’ll get you funds as soon as we can to get you by and we will be in touch soon about it.”
The lump had gained its maximum size and was extra tender which made him continue to cry as it very slowly started to shrink. He buried his face into her chest as she said, “good, thank you. It’s the most important thing right now so I can take care of him.” She then picked up his bag and her folder of papers and forms and walked with him back down to the front desk. As they approached Bev said, “the car is waiting out front for you and will get you home.”
His cries were just whimpers as she carried him to the car and soon they were whisked back across the city.