“Hi, Juliet. Is Alice around?” I asked. Maybe we could plea out Oliver Duck’s case.
Juliet shook her head. “No. She planned to work from home tonight.”
I glanced down the hallway. “What about Nick?”
“He’s here. Go on back.” She smiled.
At least I still had one friend left in the prosecuting attorney’s office. “Thanks.” I hurried off before she could think twice and soon knocked on Nick’s door.
“Come in,” he called out.
“Hey.” I stepped inside and shut the door, quickly heading to what had often been my seat on the other side of his desk.
He looked up from behind his desk, still in a gray power suit with light green tie. “Hi. Alice called in and said you did a good job your first day in trial.”
“Thanks.” I wished I still worked with Nick. “Did she tell you I took on the Oliver Duck case?”
Nick’s eyebrow rose. “What’s an Oliver Duck?”
I gave him the whole story, and when I’d finished, he just shook his head.
“What?” I asked. “Come on. You grew up dirt biking, four wheeling, and snowmobiling anywhere you wanted. Probably on that farm at some point. You can’t want that kid to get a felony.”
“Of course I don’t,” Nick said, his eyes a light brown. “But I’m down one lawyer and I can’t piss off Alice. I don’t interfere with the cases of my attorneys, and the last thing you want is to go over her head, considering you’re in trial together and probably will be again. Find a way to deal with her on this.”
Frustration heated down my back. “She doesn’t want to deal.”
“Then go to trial,” he said reasonably. “I’m not interfering.” He reached for a file folder beneath a stack. “Now that you’re out on your own, are you working on your sister’s case?”
I wasn’t exactly out on my own. In fact, I should start looking for a job. “Yes,” I said.
“Good. File a Notice of Appearance, would you? For now, here’s evidence I need to turn over.” He handed me the file folder, and stress lines showed at the sides of his mouth.
Dread cut through my solar plexus. “What is it?”
“Lab results. We found Danny Pucci’s prints on Tessa’s toilet, and based on the timelines given by Tessa and Aiden of the day he was killed, somebody is lying.” Nick sat back. “You might want to find out who.”
Chapter 31
Igrabbed pizza on the way home and met Clark at my front step, where I handed over the documents. “We’re missing something.”
Clark followed me inside and flipped through the documents. “So either Aiden is lying with the timeline of Danny going in and getting shot, or Tessa is lying about Danny not being at her place for so long.” He walked and read, somehow missing the furniture. His phone rang.
I set the pizza down and tried not to freak out. My sister did not lie to me, so Aiden’s timeline had to be off. But why would Aiden lie?
“Clark Bunne,” Clark said, answering his phone. He straightened. “No. Sorry, Detective Pierce. My client has made the only statement she plans to make. Yes, I understand. Goodbye.” He clicked off.
“You sound tough,” I mused.
“I am tough.” Clark slid his phone back into his pocket. “Pierce wanted to interview Tessa about the new evidence. I say there’s no reason for her to talk to him, but I’ll call her so she’s updated.”
It was so different being on this side of things. I dished out the pizza and we both sat to eat. While eating, I told Clark about my first trial. “I just don’t think I can show that Pucci is innocent.”
Clark shrugged. “Then don’t. Show that it doesn’t matter.”
I drank some of the Chardonnay I’d poured for us. “What do you mean?”
He snagged another slice of pepperoni. “You’re looking at the case like a prosecutor. Right and wrong, guilty or innocent. You’re defending a guy, which lets the middle road in. Even if he had a gun, so what? If the jury wants to find a reason to let him go, they will find one. If you can show that the other guy really did grab Krissy’s butt, which is a sexual battery, then they won’t want Pucci to go to prison for defending her honor.”
