False Justice

by Larry A Winters

  “Don’t make promises you might not be able to keep,” Harland Black said. “Besides, the last time you bailed on me, you left me enough delicious food to last a week. I wouldn’t say no to that happening again.”

  He gave her a big smile, but Leary, with his trained eye, caught the effort behind it. There was no ignoring the bruises and scratches beneath Jessie’s makeup.

  Leary remained silent. Under the table, his hand returned incessantly to his pocket, where he traced the hard circle of the engagement ring he’d been holding onto for what felt like an eternity now. Even though he knew what Jessie’s answer was going to be, he still felt a tremor of nervousness as the moment approached to ask for real.

  Jessie’s father put down his menu and gave Leary a wink. “You know what? I think I need to hit the head. See you later, kids.” He rose and gave Leary’s shoulder a squeeze as he walked past. Leary saw Jessie’s face flush red. He was sure his own followed suit.

  Guess that’s my cue.

  Leary got up from his chair, walked closer to where she was sitting, and got down on one knee. He raised the engagement ring. The diamond caught the light from the restaurant’s chandeliers and sparkled.

  “So we’re going to do this the old-fashioned way this time?” Jessie said.

  “Seems a little more romantic than doing it in between being tortured and running for our lives.”

  “Little bit.”

  The other diners in the restaurant took notice, and the murmur of conversation around them died. Waitstaff stopped in their movements to watch. Leary felt as if a spotlight had been aimed at him. He tried to ignore the attention. He reminded himself that only one person in this restaurant mattered right now. Maybe two, if you considered his future father-in-law helpfully loitering near the men’s room door.

  “Will you marry me, Jessie?” He lifted the ring to her.

  “Yes, Mark. Nothing would make me happier.”

  Leary slid the ring onto her finger. His whole body trembled with excitement and happiness, a visceral, physical reaction he could not control, and didn’t really want to—in fact, he wouldn’t mind if the feeling lasted forever.

  Jessie seemed filled with emotion as well, her smile as wide as he’d ever seen it. She wasn’t looking at the beautiful diamond on her finger, though. She was looking into his eyes.

  A round of applause thundered around them. Diners rose from their chairs to clap, whistle, and tap their silverware against wine glasses.

  Leary felt instant embarrassment, but not enough embarrassment to stop him from doing what felt natural. He rose to Jessie’s height, pressed his lips against hers, and they kissed.

  When they were back in their seats, Jessie’s father returned. He showed Leary and Jessie a picture on the screen of his phone.

  “You took that from inside the bathroom?” Jessie said with a wry smile.

  “Ha ha. You think I’d miss my only daughter’s marriage proposal?” Her father laughed. He gave Leary another affectionate pat on the shoulder. “You did great, by the way. Very chivalrous and romantic. You’re a natural at this.” He seemed to think about his own words for a second, and then added, “But don’t think you’re ever doing it again. This is a one-time deal.”

  “I’m in this for life, Mr. Black. Don’t worry about that.”

  “I’m not worried at all,” he said. “And call me Dad”

  After dinner, Jessie and Leary walked back to their apartment holding hands. It was more of a public display of affection than they normally engaged in, but neither could resist. “I guess we’ll have to tell everyone at work,” Jessie said. Leary heard the note of nervousness in her voice.

  “I don’t think anyone’s going to be too surprised.”

  She gave him a sidelong glance and bumped her hip against his as they walked. “Probably not.”

  “But just in case,” Leary said, “maybe we should take tomorrow off. Spend it at home. In bed.”

  Her smile widened. “I think that’s a very prudent idea.”

  46

  Jessie and Leary visited Kelly Lee’s office about a week later. The Rowlands were there, as was Noah Snyder, who was filling a rocks glass with Scotch. Cheyenne was there, too, looking happy to be back at work, although still wary of Snyder.

  “Anyone want a drink?” The silver haired lawyer smiled graciously, as if he were welcoming all of them to his office. “How about you, Leary? Jessie, you want another glass of my good stuff?”

  Leary accepted a glass, but Jessie declined. Her focus was on Kelly, who seemed to be recovering reasonably well from her ordeal. Her body still bore the evidence of what she’d endured, and she would walk with a limp for the rest of her life, but the distant, shell-shocked expression she’d worn during her rescue had been replaced with the bright, intelligent look Jessie remembered from law school.

  Kelly was working again. The class action suit was moving forward, and Jessie’s understanding was that the case was progressing well. Kelly relied on Snyder to be the face of the team in court while she recovered. Kelly believed—probably correctly—that her physical condition would distract the jury. But knowing Snyder as she did, Jessie assumed Kelly was doing all of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Nevertheless, the two seemed to get along and make a good legal team.

  The Rowlands, while not exactly happy, seemed to be in better spirits than the last few times Jessie had met with them. The progress they were making in their case against Boffo Products Corporation seemed to be having a healing effect on them, and they made no effort to hide their satisfaction about the mess of civil and criminal suits in which Douglas Shaw was currently embroiled. Jessie supposed no courtroom victory could ever heal the wound of a lost child, but she could see that it was helping. Maybe that was enough.

  The door opened behind them, and Jessie and Leary turned. A large man burst into Kelly’s office. He wore a bulky, ill-fitting suit, under which Jessie thought she recognized the bump of a concealed weapon. Leary stepped protectively in front of her.

  “Get to cover,” he said. The words came out quietly, through gritted teeth.

  “You know this guy?”

  “Shaw’s personal thug. Met him at Boffo.”

  “This is a private office,” Graham said. She had her gun in her hands. “Leave now.”

  The man didn’t leave. He had the steely gaze and grim expression of a hardened criminal. Jessie’s body went tense. She mentally braced herself for a firefight.

  “I’m not going to ask twice,” Graham said.

  The tension in the room was abruptly broken by a laugh. It was Snyder, wearing a huge and very amused smile.

  “Easy, supercop. Troy is a friend.”

  “He’s no friend,” Leary said. “He’s one of Douglas Shaw’s henchmen. A bodyguard or something. Trust me, we encountered this goon at Boffo’s headquarters.”

  Snyder laughed. “This goon, as you call him, is the linchpin of our case. Jessie Black, Mark Leary, meet Troy Fowler. You remember when Kelly told you she had a mole inside Boffo who was helping her? Troy’s the mole. When Kelly was thought dead, he stopped communicating. Can’t really blame him. But now that Kelly’s back, Troy is back, too, along with all his wonderful, juicy, incriminating witness testimony.”

  Leary turned to Kelly. His face looked incredulous.

  Kelly nodded. “It’s true.”

  Troy approached Leary and extended a hand. “Sorry I couldn’t tell you. With Kelly gone, I didn’t know who to trust.”

  Leary shook the man’s hand. Graham put away her gun and did the same.

  “No apology necessary,” Graham said. “Thank you for doing the right thing.”

  Jessie felt a touch on her arm and turned to see Kelly looking at her with an uncertain expression. “Can we talk? In private?”

  “Of course,” Jessie said.

  When they were alone in another room, Jessie said, “How are you holding up?”

  Kelly’s shoulders sagged, but then she seemed to rally. “I�
�m doing okay. I feel like I’m working through it. Sometimes, I still wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares, and sometimes I find my mind wandering during the day, or just, like, shutting itself off. But slowly, I’m becoming the old me again. I can feel it.”

  “Good,” Jessie said.

  “What about you?”

  Jessie thought about it. She had a lot to be thankful for. She was engaged to the man she loved. The Rowlands’ trial was back on track. Ray Briscoe was in custody—arrested by Lorena Torres—and facing murder charges now that the real identity of the body in Kelly’s car had been formally established as that of the missing councilwoman. But Jessie still had sleepless nights. She would often lie awake thinking of what could have happened to her in Briscoe’s torture room, and of what actually had happened. Sometimes she would remember, too vividly, the sensation of driving the scalpel into Briscoe’s chest.

  “I guess I’m working through it, too,” she said.

  “I never really thanked you,” Kelly said. “I want to do that now. From what I’ve heard, you were the only person who didn’t give up on me. You didn’t believe the car accident was what it appeared. I owe you my life.”

  “You’re welcome. But you don’t owe me anything.”

  Kelly’s gaze wandered to her feet. “Are we friends, Jessie? Ever since you got me out of that hellhole, you’ve seemed…. I don’t know. Cold.”

  Jessie looked away. Had her feelings been so obvious? “It’s nothing.”

  “Please, Jessie. If something’s on your mind, just tell me.”

  Jessie took a breath and met the woman’s gaze. “Emily Graham.”

  “The cop who helped rescue me?”

  “The cop you brought a misconduct claim against years ago. A claim that was bogus and could have—maybe did—hurt her career.”

  Kelly took a step back. Her face changed as she seemed to remember. “I thought the name sounded familiar. Look, Jessie, if my client’s claim wasn’t true, I didn’t know that. I—”

  “It’s not a one-time occurrence.” Jessie felt anger rise within her like heat in her chest. She hesitated, not sure whether she should continue. Kelly was still recovering from a hugely traumatic event. Was this the right time for this discussion? But she continued because something inside her wouldn’t let her remain silent. “It’s a pattern, Kelly. Vicki Briscoe—”

  At the sound of the woman’s name, Kelly shuddered.

  “The medical malpractice claim against Vicki Briscoe was false, too,” Jessie said. “Leary talked to your client. We know you fabricated the lack of informed consent. You manipulated the facts to extort the hospital’s insurance company, and in the process, Vicki Briscoe lost her job and her medical license. Her whole career.”

  “I think I’ve been punished enough for that.”

  Jessie didn’t respond. Whether Briscoe’s revenge absolved Kelly wasn’t Jessie’s call to make. She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “The Rowlands’ case is real. And from now on, cases like theirs are the only ones I intend to take. I’m done with the legal games.”

  “I hope that’s true, Kelly.”

  “It is.” Kelly shifted uncomfortably, almost shyly. “Do you think we could have lunch sometime?”

  Jessie thought about it, then nodded. “Sure.”

  Kelly’s face brightened. “I’d like that.”

  They returned to the main office, where Snyder was regaling his audience with a courtroom war story. Leary caught Jessie’s eye from across the room. His expression asked if everything was okay. Jessie nodded, and walked over to join him.

  47

  Jessie took a deep breath of the elevator’s stale but familiar air. It felt good to be back inside the Criminal Justice Center, where courtrooms buzzed with the routines and traditions of Pennsylvania criminal law and procedure. She touched the button for her floor. The elevator doors were about to close when Randal Barnes darted into the elevator.

  “Morning, Jessie.” The defense attorney smiled, catching his breath.

  “Hi, Randal.”

  “I heard the big news. Congrats!”

  Jessie touched her engagement ring. “Thanks.”

  “I’m sure you have a lot of planning to do, right? Picking a venue, a photographer, all that wedding stuff. An extra month should be a big help.” He studied his reflection in the elevator doors, then ran his fingers through his hair until it stuck up in an unruly mess. He yanked the knot of his tie, making it loose and lopsided, then rubbed his eyes until they looked red.

  “What are you doing?” Jessie said.

  Barnes shrugged. “Gotta give Judge Bobblehead a decent show, right? Woe is me, the overworked, overstressed, but valiant defense attorney, doing the best he can despite—”

  “We’re not postponing Alvarez’s trial again,” Jessie said, cutting him off.

  “What?” Barnes reached down and stabbed the button to halt the elevator. The car rocked to a stop and a warning sound chimed. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re going to withdraw your request for another continuance.”

  “Like hell I am. Tomas’s mama still owes me three grand. Until she pays up, her baby stays in jail.”

  Barnes laughed. Jessie didn’t.

  “I’m serious, Randal. You’re going to withdraw the motion.”

  His smile faltered. “Or what? You’ll oppose it? Give me a break, Jessie. You’ll lose. These motions are routinely granted.”

  “I don’t think Judge Bobblehead, as you so respectfully call him, will agree once I fill him in on your shenanigans. Or when I introduce him to your client’s mother.” She watched Barnes’s jaw open and his face drain of color, and tried not to enjoy the spectacle. “Then again, I doubt the Alvarez trial will be the first thing on your mind when you’re dealing with the bar disciplinary committee.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Why do you care about some gangbanger and his mother?”

  “Maybe you should ask yourself why you don’t. Why did you become a lawyer, anyway? Why don’t you think about that?”

  “You are serious,” he said.

  “We’re going to trial.”

  She reached past him to the elevator’s control panel and disengaged the emergency stop button. The elevator resumed its ascent.

  When the doors opened, Barnes walked out, looking dazed. Jessie followed him. She felt the beginning of a smile touch her face.

  Yes, it was definitely good to be back.

  THE END

  Thank you for reading False Justice.

  Don’t stop now! The next book in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller Series is called Silenced Witness.

  Click here to read Silenced Witness today!

  —Larry A. Winters

  Want to find out what happens next?

  Grab the next book in the Jessie Black Legal Thrillers series, Silenced Witness!

  A savage killer. A silenced witness. A driven prosecutor who refuses to back down.

  Life is good for assistant DA Jessie Black. She just brought another murder trial to a successful conclusion. Her reputation is growing as a top prosecutor in Philadelphia. And she’s engaged to a strong, handsome man she loves. Now it’s time to step back, plan her wedding, and look forward to a bright future.

  But when a young man is brutally butchered in his own home, the courtroom calls to her. Especially when the police are desperate for help. Hal and Kristina Nolan, a clever husband-and-wife team of defense attorneys, have filed motions to block key evidence and keep a critical witness off the stand. Jessie knows she needs to go to trial and beat them at their own game. Because if she fails, their client, a remorseless human monster, will stroll out of the courthouse a free man.

  Silenced Witness is the sixth novel in the highly rated Jessie Black series of legal thrillers. If you love powerful characters, quick-witted dialogue, and startling, unpredictable stories, you’ll love this courtroom page-turner by Larry A. Winters.

  As usual, the odds are against Jessie. Ca
n she overcome cunning legal tactics to put a killer away forever?

  Buy Silenced Witness now and find out!

  Books by Larry A. Winters

  The Jessie Black Legal Thriller Series

  Grave Testimony (prequel)

  Burnout

  Informant

  Deadly Evidence

  Fatal Defense

  False Justice

  Silenced Witness

  Also Featuring Jessie Black

  Web of Lies

  Other Books

  Hardcore

  About the Author

  Larry A. Winters’s stories feature a rogue’s gallery of brilliant lawyers, avenging porn stars, determined cops, undercover FBI agents, and vicious bad guys of all sorts. When not writing, he can be found living a life of excitement. Not really, but he does know a good time when he sees one: reading a book by the fireplace on a cold evening, catching a rare movie night with his wife (when a friend or family member can be coerced into babysitting duty), smart TV dramas (and dumb TV comedies), vacations (those that involve reading on the beach, a lot of eating, and not a lot else), cardio on an elliptical trainer (generally beginning upon his return from said vacations, and quickly tapering off), video games (even though he stinks at them), and stockpiling gadgets (with a particular weakness for tablets and ereaders). He also has a healthy obsession with Star Wars.

  www.larryawinters.com