A Cowboy for Katie
Page 9
Surprised to catch himself considering Mrs. Davenport’s options, he shook his head. He’d promised the boy to talk to his mother, nothing more. Having given up criminal law, he had no intention of repeating past mistakes.
He’d simply tell Jesse that her current lawyer was doing all that could be done and leave it at that. He owed the boy no more or no less. The decision not to get involved was easy to make. The hard part? Forgetting the sadness in Mrs. Davenport’s big blue eyes even as she smiled.
The door flew open and the prosecutor barreled in to the office.
Brock grimaced. “Mr. Ambrose. What a surprise.” An unpleasant one, at that. He hadn’t expected news of his jailhouse visit to travel through town so quickly.
“Why are you sticking your nose in the Davenport case?” Ambrose was so incensed he fairly sputtered. As wide as he was tall, he barely reached Brock’s shoulders. With his slanted forehead and carrot-colored hair brushed straight back, he looked even more lion-like today than usual.
“I see the rumor mill is at full tilt.”
Ambrose’s face grew redder. “Answer me!”
“Why is the location of my nose any concern of yours?”
Ambrose’s gold-flecked eyes glittered with obvious dislike. “It’s an open-and-shut case. I don’t need no Philadelphia lawyer pulling courtroom theatrics.”
Brock had been accused of many things in his career but never theatrics. He started to explain why he had visited the prisoner, but the memory of big blue eyes stopped him. Or maybe it was the sadness he’d seen in their depths.
Resting his elbow on his arm, he tapped his chin with a knuckle and studied Ambrose. Sweat ran down the side of his bloated red face. It looked like he’d run here all the way from his office. Why? If Mrs. Davenport’s case really was that clear-cut, what was he so worried about?
“I consulted with the defendant by family request,” he said.
Ambrose sneered. “She hasn’t got a family. She killed them all.”
Brock rubbed his chin. Apparently the prosecutor discounted Mrs. Davenport’s son—a mistake. “Why the death penalty?” Far as he knew, a woman had never been hung in the county. Probably not even in the territory. “If she’s found guilty, why not just send her to prison?”
“We’re not talking one dead husband; we’re talking three.”
Brock’s jaw clenched. “When I read the court papers, I didn’t see anything in the way of real evidence against her.”
Ambrose drew back as if surprised. “I don’t need evidence; I’ve got facts.”
“All you have is circumstantial at best.”
“All?” Spit sprayed from Ambrose’s mouth. “I have witnesses who saw her not only arguing with her husband but threatening him.”
“But no one actually saw her pull the trigger.”
Ambrose practically foamed at the mouth. “If that was the criteria for judging guilt or innocence, every murderer would walk free.”
“And if you had your way, everyone charged with a crime would be ruled guilty. Why don’t you just do away with the not guilty plea altogether?”
“And why don’t you go back to Philadelphia where you belong?” Ambrose stabbed Brock’s chest with a thick index finger. “I’ll get my conviction, don’t you worry about that.” Without another word, he stormed out of the office. The slamming of the door rattled the windows, and Brock’s Harvard diploma crashed to the floor.
He picked up the frame. Not having a hammer to replace the nail, he walked through to his office and set the frame on the desk. That was when he noticed the coins lined in a neat row on the ink blotter. The money totaled fifty-six cents.
The story continues in Courting Trouble by Margaret Brownley.
Other Books by Debra Clopton
Her Unforgettable Cowboy
Her Homecoming Cowboy
Her Lone Star Cowboy
Her Rodeo Cowboy
Her Forever Cowboy
His Cowgirl Bride
The Trouble with Lacy Brown
About the Author
DEBRA CLOPTON IS A MULTI-AWARD-WINNING NOVELIST who was first published in 2005 and has more than twenty-two novels to her credit. Along with her writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra is the author of the acclaimed Mule Hollow Matchmaker series, the place readers tell her they wish were real. Her goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.