Beyond Innocence

by Carsen Taite

  “Oh my God. What happened?”

  “The truth came out. I eventually realized maybe I don’t know everything and my detective skills aren’t perfect. I told the defendant’s attorney what I’d done and they were able to get the case dismissed.”

  “Bet that made you pretty popular around the police department.”

  “They waited a respectable amount of time and then allowed me to either resign or be dismissed. I quit, but it was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.”

  “And now?”

  “Now, I work for the other side and I do my best to keep my head clear about the difference between the process and the result. I have to tell you, it’s not always easy. When you see what you’re sure is an injustice, you don’t always want to take the careful route to right it.” She stopped to take a big swallow of her coffee. “I’m willing to bet Cory got herself in trouble for that very reason.”

  “So if her motives were pure, she shouldn’t suffer any consequences for putting an innocent man in prison?”

  “I didn’t say that. Truth is, neither one of us know the whole story.”

  “I wish I did.” Serena whispered the words, a personal reflection. She wanted to know the whole story. Good or bad, the truth might allow her to either detach from or embrace the strong attraction and powerful arousal Cory elicited. If she knew more, would she have compassion, be able to forgive what she perceived as global slights? Didn’t matter. The only person who could tell her the truth wasn’t interested in having anything to do with her. Cory had made that clear during their curt exchange this morning.

  Wait a minute. Surely someone besides Cory could give her details, at least enough to give her more of the picture instead of the partial glimpse the press had provided. Serena stared at Skye, chowing through a plate of pancakes, and realized she might have already found what she was looking for. “You ever do any work that doesn’t directly involve a criminal case?”

  “Huh?”

  “I want to hire you.”

  “You already did.”

  “No, I mean I want to hire you, not on behalf of someone else, I want to hire you to find out the rest of the story.” She grew frustrated at Skye’s puzzled look, but mostly it was directed at herself. “You know, with Cory.”

  Skye pushed her plate aside. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No.” Serena spoke the single word with more confidence than she felt. She shouldn’t care. She certainly shouldn’t spend the money. What she should do is get on the next plane and return to her life in Florida. Her stale, boring, sequestered life. No passion, no problems, no Cory Lance.

  But what if she left hope behind? She braced herself for a battle and faced Skye. “Will you do it? Don’t you want to know more? Surely, you still have the connections to get some answers?”

  “I still have some connections, but I don’t think many of them would be willing to talk to me about Cory. Law-and-order types tend to close ranks when it comes to one of their own.”

  “I’m not asking you to implicate her in anything. I only want to have some peace of mind. Maybe you’re right. Maybe the situation wasn’t as simple as the media made it out to be.”

  “What if I find out that isn’t the case, that Cory broke the law to put Nelson away?”

  “Then we’re back to the status quo.”

  Skye shook her head, and several beats of silence passed between them. “I can’t believe I’m saying yes, but yes, I’ll see what I can find out. You don’t have to pay me.”

  “That’s sweet, but I’m paying you. Whatever you find out belongs to me. Fair?”

  “Okay, fair, but on one condition.”

  “What?”

  “You stay in Dallas, like you planned.”

  “I don’t see why that’s necessary.”

  “Maybe you don’t, but I do. Stay here and I’ll find out what you want. Leave and I’m off the job.”

  “Blackmail.”

  “Yep.” Skye didn’t try to hide her evil grin. Serena shook her head. “Fine. I’ll stay, but you have to keep me updated on both cases you’re working. Directly, not through Cory.”

  “What’s going on between you two?”

  “Nothing.” Serena faced Skye’s probing look with what she hoped was a mask of indifference. She could tell Skye didn’t believe her and she didn’t blame her. There was a lot going on between her and Cory, and a whole lot of nothing she could do about it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cory, along with the rest of the staff and volunteers, stared at the clock on the clinic wall. Five minutes past six p.m. By law, the warden had from six p.m. until midnight on the scheduled execution date to carry out the sentence. Liz Martin, the staff attorney who had worked Michael Young’s case from the moment the clinic had taken it on, was down in Huntsville, waiting to be ushered into the room where she would watch her client be put to death. While she waited, she talked to Paul and the rest of the clinic staff through the speakerphone, second-guessing every decision she’d made as lead on the case. There was still time for the governor or the court to intervene, and the warden had been informed that a writ seeking a stay of execution was pending before the Supreme Court at that very moment.

  Everyone in the room was silent, and the only sounds were Paul’s gentle voice on the speakerphone, reassuring Liz that she’d done everything she could, and the play-by-play offered by the Execution Watch radio show. The host of the show echoed what they already knew. The warden wasn’t legally bound to wait to carry out the death warrant, but it was customary to give deference to the slow moving legal system. To a point. Liz told them the warden had been particularly receptive in Michael’s case. Michael had been a model inmate, content to sit in his cell and draw and read and reread the same two picture books without complaint. The guards had treated him with respect on his final day on earth, but respect didn’t mean they held back on carrying out their execution day duties. Hours ago, he’d been taken from his cell at the Polunsky unit to shower, change, and ride in the back of a secure van to the Huntsville unit where he sat in a room waiting with a prison chaplain and his attorney until the guards collected him for his final walk to the death chamber. He was likely strapped to a gurney right now, waiting for the execution team to place the IV lines that would be used to put him down.

  Only five of the nine Supreme Court justices had to vote for a stay for it to become effective. Of course, a stay only meant a delay to allow the courts to consider the evidence they’d either ignored or hadn’t had the opportunity to consider up to now. A win tonight could mean that Michael might have to go through this entire ordeal in a month or a year. Cory couldn’t imagine the toll that kind of uncertainty would have on Michael. On anyone.

  She thought of Eric. So young, so vibrant. How had he managed to stay hopeful while counting the days until he met the same fate as Michael Young? Because he believes in you, in the work the clinic does. He believes the truth will set him free. If only the truth was a concept Cory could believe in. She’d given up thinking she could nail down that concept long ago. All she could do was trust her instincts and believe they would lead her in the right direction. She’d never questioned her convictions. Not until Nelson. Now she had no idea if Eric was innocent or guilty, but she wanted him to have the benefit of her doubt. She’d file the motion on his case first thing in the morning, no matter what Skye found out from Bolton. She would fight as hard as she’d ever fought to give him a chance at a fair trial. If he was really guilty, the truth would bear out.

  As for truth, she owed Serena the truth too, not the brush-off she’d delivered this morning. The truth wouldn’t win her any points, but Serena, who’d trusted her enough to share her most private thoughts and feelings, didn’t deserve the cold morning after Cory had served up. She hadn’t had any business kissing a client’s family member in the first place, no matter how attractive she was, no matter how she made Cory shiver with pleasure whenever she was near. She was the professional, and it was time
for her to act like it. As soon as she filed the motion tomorrow, she’d go see Serena, tell her she was sorry, and throw herself into the work she’d promised to do.

  Resolution made, she turned her thoughts back to Michael Young. Six thirty p.m. Time was ticking away. The hosts of Execution Watch droned on with their experienced speculations about whether the governor or court would intervene. Cory had only met Liz a couple of times during her stint at the clinic, but she was a spitfire. She was probably marching around the prison, making all her best arguments in an attempt to get the warden to wait. Liz would take it hard if Michael Young died that night. Cory glanced around the room. The entire team would take it hard, herself included. Every one of them had worked furiously throughout the night, researching, writing, rewriting, in pursuit of zealous advocacy for their client. Cory knew in her gut the team had risen to the challenge with the same vigor for every one of their clients. When Eric’s time came, they’d do the same. Except she wouldn’t be here.

  Her time at the clinic would end before Eric’s execution was scheduled to be carried out. If she couldn’t stop the process in advance, some other attorney would be on the ground in Huntsville, overseeing Eric’s deathwatch. Would Serena choose to attend the execution? Would she sit with one of the other attorneys from the clinic while she watched her brother utter his last words and then breathe his last breath? Cory shuddered as she imagined how Serena would feel, wracked with guilt and loneliness as she watched her only blood relative meet such a terrible fate.

  If she couldn’t be there with Serena at the end, she could do everything in her power to change the ending. She walked across the room to where Paul was standing, no longer on the phone. Liz had gone into the viewing room, along with the other witnesses to the macabre death show. Their only direct connection to the execution was the radio show, which was winding down. She tapped Paul’s shoulder and he turned to face her.

  “I know this isn’t the best time, but I’d like to get the writ on Eric Washington’s case filed first thing in the morning. Would it be okay with you if I snagged a couple of the interns to help me with the research?”

  His smile was tired. “I appreciate your dedication, but everyone has worked all night. Take a day and then come back to it with a fresh perspective. Besides, I think the interns all skipped class the last few days. At least let them catch up on their assignments before you load them up.”

  “Okay for them, but I think I’ll get it done by myself. Since Eric’s sister is in town, I feel an extra sense of urgency to get the process rolling.”

  “You’re free to work on the writ whenever you want. I’ll even help you. But if you’re trying to get it filed tomorrow because you think Serena will be here breathing down your neck, you needn’t worry. She sent me an e-mail this morning saying she’s headed back to Florida.”

  Serena was leaving? Headed back to Florida? “When?”

  “Today, I think.”

  Cory struggled to digest the news. Today? Serena was leaving today? Today was almost over. So the last time she’d seen Serena, she’d been cold and unfeeling. Serena had left, and doubtless her only memories of Cory were sour ones. Had she told Paul why she was leaving? Did it have anything to do with Cory crossing the line? She wanted to ask, but this wasn’t the time. Paul was distracted, defeated. She had no business advancing her personal interests when the rest of the group was focused on what was going on in a room far away. She had no business being here in the first place. She felt like a traitor in their midst. When she’d sent someone to death row before, she’d kept a similar vigil, but she’d wished for a different outcome than the one wished for here. She should slip out, go home, let the rest of the group mourn their loss without having to wonder if her own grief was truly genuine.

  No one was paying any attention to her. The perfect time to slip away. She walked toward the door, but as she started to push it open, she froze in place when she heard the loud ring of the office phone.

  *

  Serena sat outside Cory’s house in her rental car. She’d been here for an hour, but the house remained dark. She wondered how much longer she could sit there until one of Cory’s neighbors called the cops.

  She’d spent the balance of her day organizing her life. After she’d made her promise to Skye to stay in town, she realized she should use the day to catch up on all the personal errands she’d let fall by the way while she volunteered at the clinic. She’d checked in at work, talked to her parents, balanced her checking account, and did a few loads of laundry. Now it was time to clear the air with Eric’s attorney. She had to think of Cory in that role because that’s all she was and all she could ever be to her. No matter what tides of passion swept through her whenever Cory came close, her own pleasure had created a rift in the professionalism between them. She couldn’t risk the harm that rift might do to Eric, and she certainly couldn’t resist the damage it would do to her heart.

  Tonight she would let Cory know, in clear and certain terms, the parameters of their relationship. She’d help with Eric’s case in any way she could, even if that meant sharpening pencils while Cory drafted the arguments to set her brother free. She didn’t have any preconceived notions about their chances, but she needed to know that even if the end came on schedule, they’d done everything they could to fight for his life. And she would not let her own feelings interfere with her brother’s future.

  Just when she was about to give up and head back to the motel, she saw a light flick on inside Cory’s house. She must have parked in the rear drive. Serena steeled her will and walked toward the front door, determined to maintain professional boundaries despite the late hour and the fact she was at Cory’s home. When Cory answered, her resolve melted.

  She wore the same clothes she’d had on the night before. This morning, they’d been wrinkled, now they looked as if she’d slept in them. But Cory’s tired, red eyes told her she probably hadn’t slept at all in the past twenty-four hours. Now was not the time for conversation about boundaries. At least not right away. Serena walked through the door without waiting for an invitation.

  “You look terrible. When’s the last time you slept or ate?” She placed her hands on either side of Cory’s face and stared deep.

  Cory managed a half smile. “Slept? Not sure. Ate? I’m pretty sure the last real meal I had was the one you made me last night.”

  Serena wanted to pull her into her arms and tell her that whatever caused the hollow look in her eyes, the lines of worry on her forehead, would go away. Instead, she resorted to less intimate caretaker skills. “Follow me.” She made her way to the kitchen without waiting for Cory to follow. She started pulling ingredients from the refrigerator and reached into the cabinets for a small pan.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m thinking an omelet. Surprisingly, you have some eggs that aren’t out of date. I’ll use the leftovers from dinner last night for the filling. Sound good?”

  “If you manage to salvage anything from last night, I’d consider that good.” Cory’s expression was contrite. “I’m sorry. Last night was perfect until…well, until it wasn’t.”

  “I think we should start over.”

  “I’d like a chance to explain.”

  “You look like you’re about to fall over, and you don’t owe me an explanation.” Truth was, Serena wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth. The woman who’d appeared on Cory’s doorstep the night before had acted possessive and territorial. She wouldn’t call Cory a liar to her face, but no boss she’d ever seen acted like that, at least not outside the workplace. No, there was more to the story and, since she’d decided to maintain professional boundaries with Cory, the details shouldn’t matter. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know.

  “You may not need an explanation, but I need to tell you.” Cory reached out for her hand and led her to the big kitchen table. Serena settled in, bracing herself against the truth. “Julie is my boss, and that’s the truth. But she’s also been my lover for
the past six years.”

  Cory paused and the silence was deafening. Serena felt compelled to break its hold. “That’s a long time.”

  “A long time, but not much in the way of substance. We’ve worked together since we met, and our time in the courtroom is the only time we spend together outside of…” Cory let the sentence fade off, but Serena knew where it was headed. An image of Cory, naked, filled her mind, but it quickly became unpleasant when the reality of another woman enjoying the real version struck her.

  She spoke before Cory could continue. “That’s none of my business.”

  “Last night I wanted it to be your business. I thought you might be interested in something more personal as well, or did I completely misread the situation?”

  “You didn’t. When you kissed me, I felt…” Serena struggled to capture the essence of what she’d felt. Chills, heat, the realization she’d finally found the passion she’d purposefully avoided, but deeply craved. She wasn’t ready to speak those words or anything like them. Instead, she attempted to minimize her feelings. “I’ve never felt better, but—”

  “But I’m not what you’re looking for, and the way I acted last night was extremely unprofessional.” Cory hung her head. “Totally my fault. I apologize.”

  Serena took a deep breath. She’d come here to clear the air, restore their professional relationship, but she hadn’t counted on it being so difficult to contain her feelings once she saw Cory again, fatigued and adorable. Her resolve had begun to fade, but apparently, Cory felt last night was a mistake as well. Time to concede that their circumstances had flamed passion when it shouldn’t have. At least they’d stopped before things got more heated or serious between them. Still, she wasn’t ready to hear more about Julie, so she abruptly changed the subject.

  “Talk to me while I cook. Tell me about your day.” She selected a knife from the cutting block and focused on the task of making dinner. She didn’t dare face Cory while she worked for fear she wouldn’t be able to hide the sadness, the pain of the distance their mutual decision had placed between them.