from his fall during their squash game that morning. He should send a bottle of champagne to apologize, he thought, even though the shot he’d taken had been fair and it wasn’t his fault that the judge wasn’t as steady on his feet as he should have been. Really, the judge should be the one sending him champagne, not just because he’d let him win the match. This case was a peach, enough to make the judge’s name, maybe even get him on the short list for the circuit. He could already hear the solemn tones of the nightly newscaster: “A remarkable breakthrough for antiabortion activists in Texas today as Lubbock County judge Anthony Proctor ruled that an unborn fetus deserves the same rights and legal protections as a person.”
Of course, he hadn’t made the ruling yet, but Rich knew he would. There was a reason he’d told his lawyer to go for Judge Proctor. He knew which side his bread was buttered on. Rich had made sure of that.
Patrick’s knee started to judder under the desk next to him, and Rich nudged him to stop. He knew the guy was nervous, but he needed to hide it. There were cameras waiting for them on the other side of those double doors. He needed his candidate looking calm and assured as soon as they started snapping.
The judge cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming this morning. I’ve had the chance to consider both sides of the argument and am ready to give my ruling. On the matter of McRae v. McRae, with the defendant Rebecca McRae understood to be in absentia, the court sides with the prosecution and hereby agrees to a temporary injunction preventing the defendant from taking her unborn child, hereby referred to as ‘Baby McRae,’ across state borders and preventing her from seeking termination of the pregnancy.”
He waited until the murmur in the courtroom had subsided. Rich could tell by the way the judge puffed up his chest behind the bench that he was enjoying it. Scrap the champagne. He’d given the old guy enough of a gift today.
“I have not taken this decision lightly. Guiding this ruling is the importance of the marital relationship in our society as shown in Griswold v. Connecticut and Maynard v. Hill. It is this court’s belief that the institution of marriage can only continue to prosper if the rights of both partners are considered to be equal, and it is this court’s opinion that the father’s right to protect his child’s life should be placed above the mother’s right to destroy it. We recognize that when a woman decides to terminate a pregnancy without the consent of the father of that child, she is violating not only the rights of the father but also the rights of the unborn child, for whom the father advocates. I believe it is the state’s role to protect the lives of its citizens at all costs, and I believe that Texas should be following in the footsteps of the great states of Alabama, Kansas, and Missouri by protecting the rights of our most vulnerable citizens, those who have not yet been born. As Baby McRae cannot argue for his or her own protection, I understand that Mr. McRae is acting on the child’s behalf. Should Mrs. McRae violate this decision by taking Baby McRae across state lines without the express permission of both Mr. McRae and this court, and should she seek to terminate the life of Baby McRae without the express permission of Mr. McRae and this court, she will be in violation of the court’s mandate and will be subject to prosecution.”
Another murmur from the court. Rich saw Patrick’s shoulders begin to shake and moved to stop him before checking himself. Fine, let the guy cry. The public loves a politician who shows emotion, as long as he’s a man. Housewives around the state will be swooning when they see his handsome, tear-streaked face. What a father, they’ll say to themselves. What a man!
Yep, he was playing this one right out of the ballpark. Rebecca thought she was smarter than he was, thought she didn’t need to listen, that she could do whatever she wanted and somehow get away with it.
He smiled to himself.
She was about to learn that nobody outsmarts Rich Cadogan. Nobody.
Texas Border—86 Miles from Albuquerque
They know about Adam.
That was Cait’s first thought when she saw the cop leaning through the Jeep’s window and shining a flashlight in Rebecca’s stricken