Waiting for the Moment (Rizzoli and Isles)

Chapter 16

"Hey, kid! Get up!" Jane yelled. "Take a shower and get downstairs for breakfast. The judge will not like it if we're late."

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"Her. I know her."

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"Thank you for watching Jacob, mother. No one else was available." Mom said.

"I don't mind." Constance replied. "After all, the boy is my grandson."

On our way to the court house, no one spoke, except mom, who kept telling Jane to slow down.

Once we arrived at the courthouse, Jane spoke.

"Make eye contact while she's speaking to you. Be clear and concise when speaking to her. Articulate your words. She can be slightly intimidating."

I nodded.

"I'm serious, Lyndzie! She does not mess around. I'm gonna get a heap of shit from her too."

"Detective Rizzoli, As a law enforcement officer I expected your children to be calm and well behaved. It seems like someone has been too focused on her job and not focused enough on her family." Jane said mockingly.

Jane and I laughed.

"Perhaps that's why we're here." A woman said from behind us.

"Very nice to see you again, Jane." She said as we turned around. "If your daughter is anything like you, I expect to see her often."

"Your honor, my daughter is much like my wife. However, she made a mistake, which is why we're here today."

The judge nodded and walked in front of us. She then turned around.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there?"

"We're coming." Jane said quickly.

"Who is she?!" I asked.

"Judge Elysa Grant." Mom said.

"I went to school with her little brother, Joe." Jane added.

I shuttered at the name.

"Mom, I'm scared."

"You should be." Jane said. "She really cracks down on teens who drink. You'll be lucky if she gives you any less than 120 hours of community service."

"Go in that door please." The judge said as she kept walking.

"She looks too young and too pretty to be judge." I said.

Mom and Jane looked at me.

"What? Do you not see the way her dark wavy hair cascades down her back, like some...waterfall? And her eyes! Guys, they're like, ice blue!"

"She's forty-five with three kids under the age of four. Eventually, her stress level will catch up with her looks and her dark brown hair will become grey, just like mom's." Jane said.

Mom gasped.

"I do NOT have grey hair!" Mom said.

We took our seats and waited for the judge to come out.

"You totally have grey hair, babe. It's okay though. It suits you."

"Someone obviously doesn't want to have sex anymore." Mom joked.

"All rise." The bailiff said loudly.

"There's three of us, man. Do you really have to be that loud?"

He shrugged.

"Habit."

The judge walked in.

"Lyndzie Elizabeth Taylor, please rise."

I stood and approached the podium.

"To the charges pressed against you, underage drinking, how do you plead?" She asked.

"Guilty." I said.

"Good, you'll make this easy for me as well as yourself."

She took her glasses off and put them on top of her head. Then she folded her hands in front of her.

"I'm giving you 30 hours of community service at M.E.N.D Women and Children's Clinic under the supervision of Dr. Hope Martin. I'm also putting you in the scared straight program and ordering you to spend two nights in Abraxis Juvenile Detention Facility."

I said nothing. I'll be spending two nights in Abraxis, where the most dangerous Juveniles in Massachusetts are held.

"Your honor, with all due respect-" Jane started.

"Jane, don't." Mom interuppted. "You'll make it worse."

"-with all due respect..." Jane continued. "...Lyndzie shouldn't have to spend the night in Abraxis. All she did was drink a little too much. It's not like she killed anyone."

"You're right." The judge said. "One week in Wellington Penitentiary and 45 hours of community service after you do your time." She picked up the gavel and smacked it down onto the soundblock.

"Case dismissed!"

Mom stood up with tears in her eyes and looked at Jane.

"I told you to leave it alone." She said quietly. "You should've left it alone."

Mom wrapped one arm around me and walked me out the door.

Two days. I'm going to prison in two days.