“She looked tiny sitting there with her mum in among that lot,” she muttered.
I shrugged. “She’s small, but she can certainly do some damage of her own. Because of her, the whole case will be suspended until they can appoint alternative counsel.”
Willow was frowning as she tilted her head to the side. “Did you see any of the police interviews with the mum?”
I nodded. “Yes, of course.” The interviews were pretty irrelevant, really, but we’d wanted to be thorough with our research. Make sure no stone was left unturned. What a joke that was now.
“She looked tiny then as well. It was weird, remember? Sort of like the lights were on but nobody was home. And she seemed to flinch at everything. Even the scraping back of the chairs seemed to startle her.”
I shook my head. “What are you trying to say, Willow?”
“I just… maybe you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about?—”
“Jump to conclusions? Willow, I’ve been fucking this woman for overthree months. She had every opportunity to tell me who her family was, but instead, she lied repeatedly, going as far as telling me her parents weredead. She fooled me, my sister, my parents, but worst of all, my son. She’s a lying, manipulative bitch, and I wouldn’t touch her again with a barge pole. So, no, I’m not interested in how some gangster’s wife reacted in an interview weeks ago. What I do know is that Marie Mason gave absolutely no useful information about her husband’s criminal activities to the police, despite the fact she has clearly witnessed those activities repeatedly. As, presumably, has her daughter. Both of those women want to protect that family, and as far as I’m concerned, the lot of them can jog on.”
Chapter 28
I was a product of them, wasn’t I?
Clara
“What a pious twat,”my father spat.
I glanced up at his scowling face, which was flushed an angry red colour.
“Recusing himself because he’s fucked you. Honestly, these legal wankers have sticks rammed so far up their arses it’s a wonder they can sit down.”
I didn’t reply, keeping my head down as we walked down the corridor from the court. The judge had dismissed us until new counsel for the prosecution could be appointed. Freddie had been taken back into custody, so my father and his vast entourage had wasted no time getting out of there. Courtrooms were not their favourite places.
“At least we don’t have a fucking shark prosecuting him now,” Pinky said to my father. “That’s something. If he’s not in our pocket, the bastard’s conviction rate would be a big fucking problem.”
Dad rolled his eyes. “Would have been better if Runt here had done her fucking job properly.” He tightened hisgrip on my elbow and gave me a small shake. “Why didn’t you prime him before the hearing? Did you even ask him for a favour? He looked like he had no idea you’d be there. You were supposed to butter him up. Make sure he went easy on Freddie.”
“I did ask, but he refused, Dad,” I lied in a small voice. “I told you that last week. Rafe would never have thrown the case.” I was feeling lightheaded now with the stress of the situation and the pain of my dad’s iron grip on my elbow.
If my father found out that I hadn’t even asked Rafe to throw the case, he would beat me.
But Freddie’s case was child’s play compared to the case I’d probably triggered with the Big Terrible Thing. If Dadeverfound out about the Big Terrible Thing, I knew without a doubt he would kill me.
I did not want to be beaten or killed, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Where the fuck has that scrawny bastard gone?” Dad muttered, pausing to turn us around to look for Skinny Pete. “Fuck’s sake,” he snapped. “He can catch us up.”
But when Dad tried to haul me along to keep moving, I stayed frozen in place, my gaze still fixed back down the corridor. I couldn’t look away. Striding towards us was Rafe with his redheaded assistant counsel. They had both removed their wigs but they were still wearing those long black robes over their suits. It made Rafe seem even more intimidating and larger than life.
As I stared at him, for one mad moment my feet itched to start running towards him. I wondered what would happen if I ran straight into his arms and told him everything.
I winced as my father’s fingers tightened around my elbow and he gave me a rough shake.
“Let’s get a fucking move on, girl,” he snapped.
But I was too fixated on Rafe’s face to move. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Then Rafe’s gaze moved to me and I flinched again. I’d expected anger, but not quite the level of absolute hatred burning like blue fire in his eyes. He had a right to that fury. A stupid little girl like me had wrecked his case, hiscareer-buildingcase. For a powerful man like Rafe that had to be galling.
And hewaspowerful. I’d always known that. But seeing him here in the majestic surroundings of this courtroom, wielding his power and influence in the legal system, seeing how he fitted here, how he ruled this place, I understood exactly how powerful Rafe Sterling was.
More powerful than my family?
For a moment, it was like the fog of my anxiety cleared, and I was struck with a realisation. Rafe Sterling was powerful enough to help me. Why hadn’t I just told him what was happening? Why hadn’t I confided in him about the Big Terrible Thing? I’d been ready to tell him the day he brought Ophelia to the house, but then seeing him with her had changed my mind. But so what if a woman like her was a better match for him? So what if he didn’t love me after what happened today? He had enough moral fibre to still help me, and he was powerful enough to do so.
