Blood Defense

TWENTY-NINE

Reporters had gathered downstairs, but I’d had my say in court-and then some. When I got outside, I gave a shortened version of my earlier statement, adding only that I was “confident the jury would know better than to be swayed by these underhanded tactics.”

Edie and Brittany waved to me, but I wanted to get out of there. I waved back and pointed to Xander, who was idling at the curb. As I made my way toward the car, Trevor came up and spoke to me in a low voice. “Why didn’t you come to me first with the story about your father?”

“Sorry, Trevor. I just thought it was more of a face-time story. I promise you’ll get the next one.”

He gave me a measuring look. “What’ll you give me if I find out who leaked?”

If I could prove Zack was the leak, it’d really hurt his credibility. That wouldn’t necessarily be a game changer. But with a case this tough, every little bit helped. The only problem was, I didn’t really have anything to trade yet. “Get me the information and we’ll talk.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

I got into the car. Xander slowly pulled away. “I watched you on my phone. You’re having quite the day.” He pulled into the left-turn lane.

“Yeah.” I sighed, thinking he didn’t know the half of it. “Thanks for driving me, Xander. At least I get to suffer in style. Is this helping your business any?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure it will.”

Alex and Michelle were watching the news on the television in my office when I got back. Alex gave me a thumbs-up. “You really reamed that prosecutor-”

“And that was nice work with the press,” Michelle said.

I set down my briefcase. “How’d Zack do with the reporters?”

Michelle sighed. “Unfortunately, pretty well. Said he had no idea who would’ve leaked that report, and he hopes the guilty party is caught immediately, blah, blah, blah. But he sold it.”

I glanced at the screen and saw a reporter standing on the courthouse steps. They’d be chewing on this story all night. “You sure you’re not just a sucker for a pretty face?”

“Oh, I most definitely am. But so is your jury pool.”

Unfortunately, true. I turned to Alex. “What’d you think?”

Alex gave me an apologetic look. “I agree. Sorry. What can you do about him going to the grand jury? Can you object?”

“No, but I don’t want to.”

Michelle’s eyebrows lifted. “You don’t? But the grand jury always indicts. A judge might-”

“Dismiss?” I asked. Michelle nodded. “No friggin’ way. It’s a solid case, and most of the testimony is going to come from experts talking about DNA and fingerprints. Janet’s the only civilian they’ll call, and a nuclear bomb couldn’t shake her testimony. So all a prelim does is get the bad stuff out there where the jury pool can chew on it for the next couple of months. A grand jury keeps it quiet.”

Michelle deadpanned, “Unless there’s a leak.” She saw my expression. “Too soon?”

Alex stood up and put on his jacket. “I’m on my way to go talk to Dale.”

“Just in case you can’t get a decent address for that tweaker, have Dale tell you where he busted him. He might still be hanging around there-”

“You want me to talk to the tweaker if I find him?” I nodded. “How am I supposed to get him to talk to me?”

“Michelle, give him a twenty.” Dale’s retainer check had cleared, so I’d replenished our slush fund. She fished out the bill and gave it to him. “And give him my card. You’ve got some, right?” Alex shook his head. Michelle gave him a stack. “Always keep these on you. It’s a nice carrot for guys like that.” I wouldn’t necessarily represent him if he called, but he didn’t have to know that.

Alex tucked the cards into his jacket pocket. “Any chance I can get some of my own cards? It’d give me a little more credibility.”

Michelle nodded. “Already ordered. Should be ready for pickup in a couple of days.”

The cards couldn’t say he was licensed, but that wouldn’t be much of a problem. Most people don’t really look.

Alex smiled. “Thanks, Michy.” He started for the door, then turned back. “If I find Jenny, do you want me to talk to her?”

“No. Hold off on that one. We need to do it together.” That would be a tricky interview. If Dale was telling the truth about her, she was a dangerous person to tangle with. I didn’t need the state bar investigating me for some bullshit charge that I’d threatened or pressured her. “But find out where she lives, see if you can find people who know her, and get them talking.”

“Got it.”

I looked at his khaki pants and navy-blue blazer. “And for God’s sake, change into something grungier. Put some street on your back.”

Alex made a face. “Fine.”

“We don’t have a lot of time to waste on this rape charge. So get done what you can today and report back.”

After he’d left, I told Michelle about my phone call with Celeste-and that it’d been my last. I hadn’t been sure if I’d be able to talk about it. I’d thought I’d be too upset. But I wasn’t. I’m not saying I was in the mood to light fireworks or lead a conga line. I was just… at peace.

When I finished, Michelle gave me a long hug, then stood back and gave me a searching look. “I’ve been hoping to hear you say this for years. She’s poison. I can’t remember you ever coming off a phone call or a visit with her that didn’t leave you feeling like shit.”

No question about that. “But shouldn’t I be at least a little torn up about this? I feel kinda okay with it.”

“Like you stopped beating your head against the wall?”

I smiled. “A little bit, yeah. But still…”

“Look, you might feel lousy at some point, but if you do, it’ll only be because you finally admitted that you never had anything close to a real mother.” Michelle put her hands on her hips. “Or it’ll be a guilt trip, which I will not allow.”

I owed Michelle so much. She was a friend like no other, and I loved her like a sister. But that thought brought me to the likely repercussions of cutting off Celeste. “Her friends are going to think I’m the monster. So will Jack.” I didn’t like most of her friends, so that was no loss. But my stepfather had saved me from myself when I was going down the drain in high school. I’d only wished he’d met Celeste sooner. “For some reason, no one else ever seems to see her ugly side.”

Michelle frowned. “I’m not sure that’s true, but think about what you just said. If her friends don’t get the same treatment, what does that tell you? She chooses to treat you the way she does. And I disagree about Jack. He’s a good guy and a smart guy. He’ll get that you must’ve had a damn good reason for doing it. And you have no idea what he’s seen. He might know more than you think. After all, she lives with him. It’s harder to keep up a good act with the person who shares your bathtub.”

I covered my ears. “Ick. Thanks for that.”

We laughed, and after a few minutes, we got back to work.

I still had the rest of my caseload to worry about, so I dug out my files and got to work. I was halfway through a sentencing memo when Michelle buzzed me.

“Remember our buddy Ricardo Orozco?”

The gangbanging asshole murderer. “Wish I could say no.”

“His father wants to make an appointment.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Did he say what he wanted?”

“No. Want me to tell him you’re not taking any new cases?”

I shook my head. “Go ahead and make the appointment.”

Michelle said she would, and I went back to my sentencing memo.

It was seven thirty by the time Alex got back. It’d been his first day operating on his own, and I could see he’d loved it. When he sat down in my office, his expression was serious, but his eyes were shining. And he’d taken my fashion advice to heart: his jeans were sagging, his T-shirt looked like it’d been used at a car wash, and his Converse sneakers had no laces. “Nice threads, man. Way to blend.”

Alex glanced down at his clothes like they were made of roadkill. “They’re not mine. I borrowed them from my sister’s boyfriend’s kid brother.”

“Whatever. It worked, didn’t it?” Alex nodded reluctantly. “So what’ve you got?”