Hot Lawyers: The Lee Christine Collection

by Lee Christine

  ‘Not yet. Wait until we speak to Dickson.’

  Her head came down on his shoulder, her familiar softness momentarily quenching his thirst for revenge. Not since school, when he’d lain in wait for the cowards picking on Duncan, had he been so consumed with a need to extract violence.

  Not even in his football days.

  But this?

  This made him want to go out and hunt the guy.

  Evan dragged in a ragged breath and held her loosely, trying not to manhandle her too much. He didn’t speak, didn’t want to push her for too many details. She’d have to relive everything soon enough when this Detective Inspector Cross arrived.

  Ten minutes later, he was introducing himself. Even this late on a Thursday, Cross exuded a reassuring energy, and it didn’t take him long to get to work.

  ‘Laila.’ He sat opposite Laila on the ottoman and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. ‘I’ve got men scouring the park as we speak. Do you need a doctor right now, or are you able to tell me what happened?’

  She nodded. ‘I’m fine now. I can tell you what happened.’

  Evan moved to stand behind the detective, watching as Cross took a notepad from his pocket and flipped over to a blank page.

  ‘Start at the beginning.’

  Laila took a deep breath. ‘I got off the bus. It was darker than usual, beginning to rain. One minute it seemed the storm was about to hit, then it blew over.’

  ‘Do you always catch the same bus?’

  ‘Mostly.’

  ‘Did he get off with you?’

  ‘I don’t remember seeing him on the bus.’

  ‘So he was lying in wait?’

  Laila shifted uneasily. ‘I’m not sure. He could have been. I — I didn’t notice him when I got off either.’

  ‘Okay.’ The detective turned a page in his notebook. ‘You told me the other day you had the feeling you were being watched.’

  ‘What?’ Evan couldn’t help interrupting. Laila hadn’t said anything to him. Then again, why would she? They were officially broken up. He didn’t have a right to know anything now — if he ever did.

  Laila turned wide brown eyes on him. ‘Dickson’s investigating the fire. It was deliberately lit. He showed me a photo of a guy they caught on security camera.’

  She turned to Dickson then. ‘I think it might have been him.’

  ‘Okay, back up a bit.’ Dickson scribbled frantically on his pad. ‘Go from where you got off the bus.’

  Over the next few minutes, Laila described her horror walk home and the ensuing struggle.

  ‘A gun’s unusual in a rape.’ Dickson said, when she reached that point in the story. ‘Usually it’s at knifepoint.’

  ‘At first I thought he was going to rape me, but the zipper I heard was from his jacket, when he took out the gun. And it was the words he used. He said “someone wants you dead, bitch”.’

  ‘That was after you hit him with the rock?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Dickson took the picture from his pocket, the same one he’d shown her yesterday. ‘Take another look.’

  The sight of her attacker sent a fresh shudder through Laila’s body. ‘I’m not totally sure. He was looming over me. There was lightning. I caught glimpses of his face.’

  Concerned that she was still in shock, and wishing more than anything he’d been there, Evan moved to sit beside Laila again. He leaned over and looked at the photograph. ‘I’ve seen that guy.’

  ‘When?’ Dickson snapped out the question, eyes lowered to where Evan had slipped his arm around Laila’s waist.

  ‘The day of the fire. He was coming out of the building. He tried to stop me going in.’

  ‘Evan brought Mike out,’ Laila explained.

  Dickson directed his next question at Evan. ‘What did he say?’

  ‘The smoke was getting worse, and not to go in.’

  Laila leaned back against the cushions. ‘Maybe the man has a conscience after all.’

  ‘More likely he knows us both.’ Unable to sit still, Evan pushed himself up and began pacing the floor. ‘Laila, you said you thought you were being watched?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘If it was this guy, what if tonight was his second attempt to hurt you? Could the fire have been his first?’

  He turned to the detective. ‘Think about it. He assumes Laila’s in the building, so he lights the fire. Only she’s in court. He evacuates along with the others, but outside, she passes him and goes into the building. At that point, he still thinks he’s in with a chance, whatever his motive is. What he doesn’t know is that I’m coming after her. Then he spots me. And if he’s been watching Laila, he knows me too.’

  ‘It makes sense.’ Dickson said after a while. ‘There’d only be one reason he’d risk speaking to you.’

  ‘He didn’t want me stopping Laila from entering that building.’

  ‘You missed your calling, mate. You should have been a cop.’ Dickson began writing again. ‘So Laila, despite the damage you did with the rock, he still managed to pull the gun on you? How did you get away?’

  ‘Another guy hit him from behind.’

  Two sets of male eyes bored into her.

  ‘Pistol whipped him.’ Laila pointed to the printed photograph. ‘He was out cold before he even hit the ground.’

  Dickson sat straighter. ‘Did this other guy say anything?’

  ‘He told me to go. I wanted to call the police, but he told me to run. I didn’t argue.’

  For a few uneasy moments nobody spoke.

  Finally, Evan broke the silence. ‘What’s he got to hide? Could this be another gangland thing?’

  Dickson didn’t answer, just kept pressing Laila. ‘Did you get a look at him?’

  Laila nodded. ‘Tall, lanky, salt-and-pepper hair. He looked kind of familiar. I think I’ve seen him before, but I can’t remember where.’

  ‘You’re still in shock,’ Evan said quietly. ‘It might come back to you later.’

  ‘He’s right.’ Dickson agreed. ‘If you feel up to it, I’ll take you down to the station. You might recognise him from a mug shot, and forensics will need to do a fingernail scrape and test your clothing for specks of blood.’

  ‘When you find him he’ll have scratch marks on his face and a bite mark on his arm.’ Laila shuddered. ‘I can still taste his skin in my mouth.’

  ‘Do you feel up to going down to the station?’ Evan asked. He wasn’t convinced they shouldn’t call a doctor first.

  ‘I’m okay now. I was very lucky.’

  He smiled, pleased she’d stopped shaking. If he had his way, he’d personally check every square inch of her body. But she was a sensible woman. He had to take her word for it.

  Tearing his eyes away, he jabbed at the printout. ‘So, who’s this guy?’

  ‘John Holt, a member of the Altar Boys motorcycle gang.’ Dickson pointed to the rosary beads tattooed around his neck. ‘He’s a professional crim.’

  Evan heard George Peyton’s voice in his head. Who’s this lady lawyer? Pressure can be brought to bear.

  His mind rocketed backwards to his conversation with George. That meeting had been last Monday night, after the fire. But Duncan had learned Laila’s name at The Bowery, the previous Friday, and he’d spoken to his parents over the weekend. There was every chance George would have known Laila’s name before he’d asked Evan about her on Monday.

  Sick in the guts, his mind in turmoil, Evan stared at the picture. Surely George couldn’t be involved in this? Not the man who’d singlehandedly kept him out of foster homes and probably juvenile detention as well. It didn’t make sense. If George wanted someone stopped, the obvious person was Scarlett. Stopping Laila would only prove a temporary measure, until Scarlett found another lawyer.

  And yet, he couldn’t help remembering Duncan’s slip about the standover merchant they’d hired to recover money. He wasn’t supposed to know about it, but he did.

  What other Peyton secrets didn’t he know?<
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  As much as his mind rebelled against the possibility, Evan feared that something Laila saw as her big break could be bringing her grief. And if that were true, then he was responsible.

  And powerless to do anything about it.

  The Peytons were his clients. He was bound by client attorney privilege to keep both oral and written communications confidential. He couldn’t divulge what was said to anyone, including this Detective Inspector Cross.

  Not even to protect Laila.

  Evan reined in his frustration. The only thing he could do was take her somewhere safe while he carried out some investigations of his own.

  Realising the other two were looking at him, Evan put the obvious question to Dickson Cross. ‘Why would a professional crim be after Laila?’

  Dickson and Laila exchanged glances, but it was the detective who answered. ‘Laila might be able to shed some light on that.’

  Surprised at the detective’s answer, Evan turned and studied her face. The colour had returned to her cheeks, but her lips were pulled into a straight line and she looked far from pleased.

  Evan frowned. If she had information that would ease his mind about the Peytons, he needed to hear it. It was tearing up his insides, imagining his adopted family could be capable of such evil — purely because a development was at stake.

  Chapter Nineteen

  7.45 p.m. Friday

  ‘Would you excuse us, detective?’ Laila asked, her eyes on Evan’s mystified face.

  Dickson raised two hands in the air. ‘Alright, alright, I know you can’t say anything because of your client attorney privilege.’

  Laila nodded. ‘That’s right. I can discuss the case with another lawyer though, providing there’s no conflict of interest. If Evan doesn’t act for the military, I’m free to seek his advice.’

  ‘I’ll remove myself then.’ Looking a little put out, Dickson stood and shoved his notepad in his shirt pocket. ‘I’ll go ring the boys, see if they’ve uncovered anything at the park.’

  Evan shot the detective a grateful look. ‘Thanks Cross.’

  Muttering something like ‘bloody lawyers’, the detective left the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed.

  Laila jumped, nerves still on edge as Evan’s expression changed to one of disbelief. ‘The military?’

  ‘Yes.’

  He raised both hands. ‘There’s no conflict of interest on this one. Poole Greenwood doesn’t act for the military.’

  ‘Good.’ Laila breathed a sigh of relief. ‘So long as we don’t discuss the Peyton case, we’re okay, right?’

  ‘Right. As far as I’m concerned, the Peytons are the only no-go area.’ He gave her the kind of searing look that had her thinking about something else entirely.

  ‘I think I need to move a bit.’ Without waiting for an answer, Laila stood. The muscles in her shoulders and legs were beginning to hurt, and a dull ache was already throbbing behind her eyes.

  ‘Do whatever makes you comfortable.’

  ‘You know my husband was killed while on a training exercise, when a Blackhawk went down?’ she began, nervous at the prospect of discussing her husband with her lover — her ex-lover.

  He nodded. ‘That’s not the kind of thing I’d forget.’

  Laila steadied herself. She’d only spoken the words aloud once before, to her parents. ‘Will was the pilot. There was an enquiry into the crash. The official finding was “pilot error”. Will was responsible for the deaths of nine men and another eight who were catastrophically injured. Mike was among them.’

  Evan didn’t move, but the compassion in his eyes brought a lump to Laila’s throat. She’d bottled everything up for so long, now she feared it would all come tumbling out in a torrent of emotion.

  Four long years.

  Strange, but it felt like Will had been gone longer now.

  ‘Do you think the verdict could be behind the attack?’ Evan asked.

  ‘Oh — no.’ Laila blinked away the hot tears that stung her eyes. ‘Understandably, the families are bitter, but I doubt any of them would try and extract revenge on me, especially now. I was one of them. I lived on the base for years.’

  Evan leaned forward, brows drawn together in a frown. ‘Why especially now?’

  She moistened her lips and took a deep breath. ‘Months before the accident, Will told me there was a fault with the panoramic night-vision goggles. They were interfering with his depth perception. It totally freaked him out.’

  ‘Did he report it?’

  Laila nodded. ‘The commanders dismissed it. It left him angry and frustrated, but in the end he had no choice but to accept their decision.’

  Laila faltered, raised a hand to her forehead as a wave of dizziness came over her.

  ‘Laila.’ Evan stood and came towards her — tall, dark, reassuring. ‘You have to speak to someone. If you can’t speak to me, then…’

  ‘No, I can.’ Oh god! She wanted to tell him more than anyone.

  He took hold of her shoulders, hands warm and comforting. ‘Just take your time. I’ll give you my honest opinion.’

  She started again. ‘Will’s report was brought up in the crash enquiry. But they twisted it, made it sound like he wasn’t performing well at his job. They suggested he became disoriented. I guess it was convenient to return a finding of pilot error.’

  ‘Are you sure he didn’t have a physical problem, or that something else might have caused the accident?’ Evan asked.

  ‘At first I accepted their finding, along with everyone else. Then a while ago, another pilot contacted me — anonymously. Two more had experienced problems with the night vision. There have been many close calls, one only recently.’

  Evan’s eyebrows shot up, and a different kind of respect shone in his eyes, as if she’d surprised him.

  ‘You’ve been talking to an informant?”

  Laila nodded. ‘In the art gallery.’

  ‘The art gallery?’ An amused expression crossed his face. ‘Why not a seedy alleyway, or an abandoned warehouse?’

  Laila gazed into his handsome face, and smiled a little. His teasing, his ability to add a light touch to the most dire of situations, reassured and calmed her, making her feel like he could handle anything.

  Dickson’s voice drifted in from the veranda. Any minute now he’d be back to take her to the station.

  Laila moistened her lips and went on. ‘The problem with the night vision hasn’t been isolated. There could be multiple factors involved, or it could be a gap in their training. Regardless of the cause, one thing’s for sure. More soldiers will die if something isn’t done.’

  She quickly explained about the pilots’ fear of reprisals if they came forward.

  Evan listened intently as she explained the class action she was handling, and how her filing cabinets had been tampered with.

  ‘So, you’ve had a break-in.’ Evan ticked the points off with his fingers. ‘Plus a fire in your building and now an attack on your person.’

  Laila nodded. ‘And someone could have been in this house, but we’re not sure. Dickson’s checking the phones at the office first. I’ve had a problem with both landlines. Individually, they wouldn’t have raised a red flag, but in the space of a week…’

  ‘You think they’re connected to this case.’

  Laila let go of a breath, relieved to have shared her concerns with someone other than Mike. ‘They could be.’

  ‘Are we talking a military cover-up here?’

  She nodded again. ‘If the real cause of the crash has been covered up, heads will roll.’

  ‘Jesus.’ Evan wandered around the room as if checking out the soft furnishings, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Where are you at with the case?’

  Laila thought of Trudy. She’d been hoping for a phone call saying Eddie had been through the document. ‘Hopefully I’ll file it Monday. I’m waiting on one more thing.’

  ‘You haven’t filed it yet?’ He swung around. ‘What’s the hold-up?’


  Laila bristled. ‘I have a slight issue with money, Evan. That’s why I was so thrilled to get the Peyton case. I need the costs it will bring in to fund an investigation. I can’t go into this underprepared. If we lose, my clients will be slugged with the military’s legal costs. I can’t risk that. I have to be as certain of the facts as I can be.’

  ‘Okay, don’t get defensive. I have a few concerns though.’

  She watched as long fingers worked at the knot in his tie. ‘Are you speaking as a lawyer, or as my…friend?’

  ‘Both.’ He lifted his chin and undid the top button of his shirt. ‘And you and I know there’s a lot more going on here than friends.’

  Before she had time to react, he went on. ‘My experience with the military is limited, and hardly positive. Still, I find it difficult to believe they’re capable of sabotaging your office and potentially silencing you. Do you believe that?’

  Laila hesitated. ‘Honestly, I don’t know.’

  ‘Then my advice would be to lodge the class action immediately. Once the documents are served on the military, they can’t touch you. Anything happens to you, and they’re the number one suspect.’

  He had a point. The military would go into defence mode. With luck, they’d ground the fleet and launch another investigation, hoping the court would look upon their actions favourably. They’d want to be seen to be doing everything within their power to address the problem.

  ‘I agree, but the money…’

  Evan closed his eyes for a beat. ‘Just forget about the money for a minute, will you?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘I agree that the best way to question them is in a court of law. However, I don’t think it’s wise taking on a case when you’re one of the plaintiffs. I know it’s allowed, but it’s generally not recommended.’

  ‘I’m not a plaintiff. I only want the verdict overturned, and Will’s name cleared. And proper compensation for the wives and widows, of course.’

  ‘You’re one of the widows.’

  Laila went on as if she hadn’t heard him. ‘Their payout from the military was an absolute pittance, Evan. They deserve more for their pain and suffering. The men who survived — they’ll never be the same. And the wives need help…’