Lone Witness

by Rachel Dylan

  She raised her right eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I know you’ll never admit it, but just know that I know, okay?” He paused. “I need to finish packing up, and you need to get to the press, don’t you?”

  Ashley smiled. “That I do.”

  He watched as she walked back over to Ricky and Juan. Patrick had expected after a big victory that they would greet her warmly, but the exchange seemed hostile. Ashley took a step back from Juan as he raised his voice. Then he grabbed her arm before she shrugged him off.

  As much as Ashley got on his nerves, he couldn’t believe that such a strong woman would put up with being treated like that. And there was a side of him that wanted to intervene. Wanted to go over there and tell Juan to back off and get his hands off of Ashley.

  But this wasn’t his battle. Ashley had made her bed, and now she had to deal with the consequences.

  That evening Sophie sat huddled in the living room of the safe house, feeling numb. She’d told herself that she was prepared to lose, but it felt much worse than she had expected. She’d tried to put on a strong face for Patrick because she empathized with how he felt. But today was one of those days where the good guys didn’t win.

  They’d decided they needed to regroup, so Noah had picked up Patrick so they could discuss their next steps.

  “I’d like to go home,” Sophie said. “I can’t live here forever. And even if Patrick does try the case again, it could be a while before that happens, right, Patrick?”

  “This is all very fresh. There are two schools of thought—strike while the iron is hot, or give it some time to cool off and try again.” Patrick stared off into the distance. “I also have to weigh whether it makes sense to use the state’s resources for a retrial. We all know what we’re up against here. Juan only has to get to one member of the jury to make it another mistrial. I don’t know how I can fight against that.”

  Sophie had strong feelings on the topic, which she couldn’t help sharing. “Ricky Wade killed two people. I know this isn’t my case, but I believe you have to make a second attempt. We can’t let criminals think they can buy off the justice system like this. There has to be repercussions.”

  “On the flip side,” Noah said, “I bet Ricky Wade is going to end up on the wrong side of the law again. There may be another opportunity to put him away or at least make him do some solid jail time. The penalties here were so severe, I think that his brother was willing to do anything and everything to prevent a guilty verdict.”

  She looked over at Cooper, who had been pretty quiet. She wondered what was going on in his head. After their awkward exchange, there had been a lot of tension between them.

  Patrick shifted in his seat. “Given all the extenuating circumstances, I think it’s safe to say that even if I want to retry the case, it’s going to take some time. I’ll have to jump through all the hoops, given that I’m a special prosecutor from another county, and everyone will need to be on board. Even if I pushed as hard as I could, I’d say we’re at least a month or two out from going at it again. And that’s the best-case scenario. I’d also need time to deal with the APD and Officer Gray. That kind of thing can’t happen. Regardless of the outcome here, I’m going to suggest an internal investigation into Officer Gray.”

  “That’s something,” she said. “But everything you’re telling us just supports my position that I should go home and get back to work. Juan won this round. Who’s to say he even cares about me anymore?”

  Patrick nodded. “Possibly. You’re already on record, so he can’t do anything about that. That testimony is set in stone. But he doesn’t strike me as the type of man to just forget the fact that you testified against his brother.”

  “Or that you prosecuted him,” she added.

  “True. But that comes with the territory.” Patrick stood up. “I’ve got to get some things done. I’ll leave you all to discuss how you want to handle Sophie’s situation. My two cents is that she’s probably as safe as she’s going to be. She’s right that she can’t stay locked up forever. If Juan wants to come after her again, he could wait her out for months or years. I think life’s too short to live like that.”

  “I’ll take you back,” Noah said. “Cooper, I’ll call you later.”

  Once she was alone with Cooper, Sophie took a seat beside him on the sofa, making sure not to get too close.

  “I’m sorry about how this all turned out,” he said.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “I know how much this meant to you.”

  She nodded. “Yes, but like you said, I was prepared for this. It sickens me, though, that men like Juan can run roughshod over justice.” She leaned her head against the couch. “I want to go home.”

  “I know you do. We’ll see what we can do.”

  Sophie turned her face toward him. “My father won’t like it. I’m just warning you.”

  Cooper gave a weak smile. “I figured as much. I know you think I’m being overly protective, but there are a lot of unknowns right now.”

  “I’m not suggesting that you just drop me off at my doorstep to fend for myself.” She wanted to clear the air between them. “I don’t want things to be weird between us. You’ve been so good to me throughout this, and you’re great at your job. I feel safe because of you.”

  He nodded. “That means a lot to me. Let’s just continue to work together on your SIB case and try to put the other stuff out of our minds.”

  “Sounds good.”

  But she wondered how she’d ever be able to put it out of her mind. Because while she hadn’t allowed herself to fully act on it, she had developed some serious feelings for Cooper.

  Chapter

  Twenty

  Juan sat in Ashley’s office, wearing a smug grin. “I held up my end of the bargain.”

  “I did too,” she shot back.

  “Well, that remains to be seen. I need you to do something else for me.”

  She hated to think what he had in mind now. “What?”

  “I need you to convince that prosecutor not to retry the case. We need to put this awful mess behind us.”

  “In case you didn’t notice, I’m not Patrick’s favorite person right now. Getting a mistrial stinks. I’m sure he’s still wrecked over the decision.”

  “All the more reason to get him when he’s vulnerable. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I think he has a thing for you.”

  She laughed loudly. “The thing he has for me is hatred, Juan. Nothing more. He thinks I’m disgusting.”

  Juan shook his head. “No way. He’s a man, isn’t he? He can hate you and still want to—”

  “Enough,” she snapped. She didn’t need to hear what he was going to say. She’d always been objectified by men like Juan, but she wouldn’t allow him to do it in her office. She was near her breaking point with both brothers and ready to put this case behind her.

  “No need to get all testy. I get that it was a stressful trial. And I appreciate what you’ve done.” He reached into his jacket.

  She gripped her chair, fearful that he was pulling a gun. But when she saw the envelope, she let out a breath.

  “Here’s your payment. It’s cash. Hope that’s not a problem.”

  “Of course not.” She tried not to think about the fact that it was dirty money. She’d signed on to this life, and she had to deal with it. No judgments. “But I haven’t sent you my bills for the trial yet.”

  “I think this payment should more than cover it. If it doesn’t, you know where to find me.”

  She accepted the envelope. “What’s next for you? Are you going to lay low? And what about Ricky?”

  “I’m sending Ricky out of town. He needs to get out of the ATL. I’ll go about business as usual.”

  She had to bring it up, because it was on her conscience. “I assume now that we have the mistrial, you’re going to lay off Sophie Dawson?”

  “If she doesn’t mess with me, then I have no
reason to mess with her. But if this case goes to trial again, I can’t say the same thing. If you have some interest in her well-being, that’s all the more reason for you to convince the prosecutor to put this one to bed. I have no doubt you can be very persuasive about this.” He stood up. “Hopefully I won’t need your services again anytime soon, but you know how it is. I’m sure we’ll be talking again in the near future.”

  Juan walked out of her office, and she opened the envelope. As she started to count the cash, she wondered if she could believe him. Would he really just leave Sophie alone? And now she had the added problem of him wanting her to get Patrick to lay off. Juan was delusional if he believed Patrick had a thing for her. She knew when men were into her, and Patrick was just the opposite.

  But maybe Juan was right about one thing—maybe it was best to go to Patrick sooner rather than later. But her interests didn’t align with Juan’s. She needed to figure out what was best for her. She’d catered to Juan for far too long.

  The last thing Patrick wanted to do was have a meeting with Ashley, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. He made her come over to his turf, though. If she wanted the meeting that badly, then she’d be willing to come to him.

  He figured she probably wanted to gloat, but it took a lot of guts to request a meeting just for that purpose. The more time he’d had to think about things, the more convinced he was that Juan Wade had played a role in the hung jury. Yes, his case had experienced some setbacks, but the gang leader had no qualms about taking drastic action. The attacks against Sophie had shown that.

  A deep feeling of conflict was brewing inside him. On one hand, he wanted to get back to his other cases and put this whole ordeal behind him. But on the other hand, it infuriated him how Juan had worked the system. He didn’t want to be a coward and back down. But the result could be the exact same the second time around, and he’d be powerless to stop it.

  When Ashley walked into his office a few minutes later, he tried to put on his best poker face. “Have a seat,” he told her.

  She sat down and looked at him. “How’re you doing?”

  “I doubt you came here to check on my emotional state. So let’s cut the crap and get down to it.”

  She leaned forward. “I know you think I’m some sort of monster, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Just because we chose different sides of the law doesn’t mean I’m evil. Far from it.”

  “So now you’re patting yourself on the back? Having a guilt trip, maybe, about what you’ve done?” He couldn’t stop the words from coming out. There was no doubt he was still raw about the whole thing.

  She shook her head. “Absolutely not. But I am here to give you some friendly advice—lawyer to lawyer.”

  “I can only imagine what that’s going to be.” He figured she was about to put on the hard sell to make sure he didn’t re-try the case.

  “You’re not going to win this one. Walk away from all of it.”

  “Of course you’re saying that.”

  She laughed. “Actually, it’s better for me personally if you do retry the case. More exposure, and it keeps me relevant. But my clients’ needs are my top priority.”

  One thing he grudgingly admitted about Ashley was that she was a fierce advocate for her clients. “I haven’t made a decision yet. I need some time to think about it and regroup. Especially after Juan got to Officer Gray.”

  Ashley crossed her arms. “You don’t have a shred of evidence to support that.”

  “Not yet. But when APD is finished with their investigation, I think it will be crystal clear what happened. And don’t even get me started on the jury tampering.”

  Ashley placed a hand over her chest. “Patrick, I didn’t tamper with the jury.”

  He was quickly losing his patience. He knew as a prosecutor that he should take the high ground, but she was making that very difficult. “Really, I don’t know why I waste my time talking to you. What do you want from me?”

  Ashley’s eyes softened. “I’m not the enemy, Patrick.”

  “You sure seem like it.” He paused. “If you really want my opinion, you should drop Wade as a client. I’ve seen the way he treats you. He’s not worth it. No amount of money is worth putting your self-respect on the line.”

  She blew out a breath. “It’s always so black and white with you. My life is much more complicated than that. My law practice is shades of gray, not one extreme or the other.”

  “But it’s your own practice, and you have the freedom, especially at this point in your career, to make choices.”

  “Don’t act like you’re immune to the issues I deal with,” she snapped. “Don’t you have your sights set on something much higher? Maybe being the district attorney one day? Ambition basically oozes out of you.”

  “You have guts, I’ll give you that much. But what do you think Juan would do if he knew you were here now in my office?”

  “He’s the one who ordered me to talk to you.”

  “I bet his orders involved you talking me out of retrying the case. Right?”

  “Obviously. But know one thing—if you do decide to re-try, I’m not going to go soft on you. I’ll put everything I have into it.”

  He found himself smiling. “I’ve come to expect nothing less from you.”

  As she exited his office, he struggled to figure out what Ashley really wanted.

  Sophie felt energized as she walked into the District Attorney’s office. It hadn’t been that long, but to her it felt like forever. Yes, the Wade case had completely gone sideways, but that only motivated her more to work on her own case—the Shelton case. Which in her mind had expanded to become the SIB case. But if she said those words to Keith, he would pull her off so fast, her head would spin.

  “You’re back.”

  Harrison was lurking in the hallway near her office.

  “Yes, I’m back.”

  He reached out and patted her shoulder. “Too bad about the Wade case. They always say that lawyers make the worst witnesses.”

  Instinctively, she took a step back. She hated it when he touched her. “I did all I could do. We knew it would be a tough one.”

  “I talked to Keith. It seems like it won’t impact your review, from what I could tell.”

  Anger simmered beneath the surface, and she could feel her nails pressing into her palms as she clenched her fists. “And why would my performance review be any of your business, Harrison?”

  He held up his hands. “No need to get testy. I thought I was doing you a favor.”

  “I don’t need favors from you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”

  “Just make sure you don’t screw up the Shelton case. You can’t afford to have two losses back to back. I’m ready to offer my services if you feel like you’re in over your head.”

  Furious thoughts ran through her mind. Lord, please give me the strength to hold my tongue. She brushed past him and into her office, then slammed the door.

  It took her a few minutes to get her emotions in check. She knew better than to let Harrison get under her skin. What she needed to do was get back to work and not spend any more time letting him bother her. She dialed Monica’s number and asked her to come down.

  A few minutes later, Monica opened the office door and greeted her warmly with a big smile. “I’m glad to see you back.”

  “It’s wonderful to be here. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “How’re you doing? You’ve been through so much.” Monica’s dark eyes showed her true concern.

  “It was a trying situation, but I did everything I could. It’s actually a good lesson and reminder for all of us. The justice system isn’t perfect, but it’s the best thing we’ve got. This time justice didn’t prevail, but one of two things will probably happen. Either this experience will cause Ricky Wade to straighten up and change his life, or he’ll commit more crimes and get caught again. I believe it will all work out in the end.”

  Monica smile
d. “I like your positive outlook. A lot of people would’ve just thrown in the towel or gotten really upset about the outcome.”

  “That doesn’t help anyone. Which leads me to our next topic. We have to get down to the bottom of what is happening at SIB.”

  Monica leaned forward. “I’m ready. I reviewed all the documents you sent me, and I agree that there’s a pattern. I found some additional deposits to Shelton as well, but I feel like it’s almost impossible to track all of his output. He makes some cash withdrawals, but that’s where the trail goes cold.”

  That wasn’t surprising. “Keep looking.”

  “What do you think is actually going on?” Monica asked.

  “Nothing legal. But right now, I can’t prove anything. My own personal speculation isn’t going to get us very far. That’s why we need evidence.”

  Monica stood up. “I’ll get back to work, then.”

  Sophie turned her attention to her email for a bit to get caught up. She’d gotten lost in her work when she looked up and saw Keith standing at her door.

  “Welcome back,” he said.

  “Thank you. I’m glad to be here.”

  “I’m sorry about the Wade trial. I know you put it all out there. I think Juan Wade got to someone on that jury.”

  “I do too.” But of course, they couldn’t prove that either.

  “Don’t be hard on yourself. I know I probably put a bit of pressure on you, but this wasn’t your fault. You did your job and made the office proud.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Keith. It means a lot for you to say that.”

  “I imagine you’re still champing at the bit on the Shelton case?”

  She didn’t want him to know just how focused she was. “I’m ready for trial. We’re in good shape.”

  “And what about the other things you were looking into?”

  “That’s still in the preliminary phase.” She needed more time to get her ducks in a row. “Shelton’s trial is my first priority.”

  “All right. Well, try to wrap it all up so we can get you onto your next big case.”