LITMIR.BIZ

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wasn’t long after that she’d been accused of stealing those art supplies and had come before the student government tribunal. She probably thought he’d voted her guilty to get back at her for rebuffing him. That hadn’t been the case; he’d honestly thought her guilty and still did. But he’d taken some small gram of satisfaction from seeing her punished. In fact, he’d been the one to devise her penalty.

      “Is that them?” Raleigh asked, nodding toward the door.

      Ford waved to get their attention. “Yeah, that’s them.”

      Curvaceous Trina Jasperson looked slick in a lime-green sundress, the neckline plunging to reveal impressive cleavage. Her hair moved just so as she walked her bouncy walk, and she wore enough makeup to lend truth to her questionable past.

      Beside her, tall, long-legged Robyn wore a gauzy, paisley shirt and faded jeans with a big smudge on the thigh. Her hair was pulled back in a careless ponytail. No kitten heels tonight. She wore flat, leather sandals. And still, she made his mouth grow dry. There was something about her…she reminded him of a mustang filly, alert and high-spirited, loath to trust anyone.

      He bet she’d hated coming to him for help. But she’d done it, to save the life of a man who’d cheated on her and betrayed her. That took guts, and he admired her for that.

      The two women joined Ford and Raleigh at the table. By the time introductions were made, the waitress came by. “Can I get you ladies something to drink?”

      “Bud Light,” Trina said without hesitation.

      “Iced tea, please.” Robyn’s polite smile faded the moment the waitress disappeared. She looked straight at Ford as if no one else were at the table. “Please don’t leave us in suspense. Are you taking the case?”

      “Yes. I’m sorry. I guess I should have told you that over the phone.”

      “Like, yeah,” Trina said, grinning suddenly. “I was so nervous on the way over here I chewed the polish off my nails.”

      Rather than berate him, Robyn just looked relieved. “Tell us what our next step is.”

      Raleigh was prepared for that question. She pulled her briefcase onto the table and extracted a thick sheaf of papers Robyn and Trina would have to sign, basically naming Raleigh as the attorney of record for Eldon and holding Project Justice and its agents harmless, whatever the outcome of their effort to free Eldon Jasperson.

      Trina peered suspiciously at her stack of papers. “This isn’t gonna cost me anything, is it? I mean, like, y’all do this for free, don’t you? Like a public service?”

      Robyn visibly tensed while Raleigh, used to such questions, quietly explained to Trina the foundation would handle all reasonable expenses.

      She worried at her lower lip. “My lawyer has told me not to sign anything without his okay.”

      “Jeez Louise, Trina, just sign the damn things,” Robyn said. “We don’t have time for more lawyers.”

      Trina looked chagrined. “You’re right, of course. Do you have a pen?”

      Ford fought the urge to reach over and touch Robyn’s arm, to soothe her jangled nerves. They were all going to be pulling their hair out by the end of this thing. No use going into it frazzled. But he didn’t dare touch her, not when he was so blatantly aware of her sexuality. He recalled her cold rebuff from high school and decided she might not welcome any friendly overtures from him, no matter how well-meant. She’d hired him to perform a service, nothing more, and he would do well to remember that.

      With the legalities out of the way, Raleigh took off. She had a court appearance the following day, and her role on this case was strictly advisory. He would bother her only when he had legal questions or requirements—or enough evidence to move forward.

      “She scares me.” Trina took a long draw from her beer, which the waitress had just delivered. “I’m glad she’s on our side. She should do something with her hair.”

      Robyn again tensed, her hands gripping her glass until her knuckles turned white.

      “Raleigh is what I call coldly efficient,” Ford said, attempting to ease the tension. “We’re lucky she agreed to squeeze us into her schedule today. Are you ladies hungry? I can order up some food.”

      “I don’t eat fish,” Trina said. “They got something else here? Hamburger steak, maybe?”

      “They have all kinds of things. I’ll get you a menu. Robyn?”

      “I’m not hungry.”

      “We’ll be working a lot of long, stressful hours,” Ford said. “I want you both to eat well and stay hydrated.”

      “You make it sound like we’re running a marathon,” Robyn said.

      “We are, in a way. Given the deadline.”

      At this grim reminder, Robyn sobered and Trina’s eyes filled with tears. “Try not to remind me, okay? I just get so upset every time I think about it.” The waitress brought menus, but Trina waved hers away. “I can’t eat, either.”

      With a sigh, Ford ordered himself an overpriced, rare tuna steak and a side of pasta. He tended to eat a lot when he was in the thick of a case.

      Once the waitress left, Ford cleared his throat. “All right then, let’s start at the beginning.”

      “What do you mean?” Trina asked.

      “We can start with the weekend of the murder.”

      “Kidnapping,” Robyn said in a firm voice. “Although realistically I know my son must be…gone, we shouldn’t assume anything. All we know for sure is that he disappeared.”

      “Point taken. Eldon had visitation with your son that weekend?” Ford asked. He knew the answers to most of the questions he would ask, but he wanted to hear them from the source.

      “Yes. He kept Justin every other weekend, and sometimes during the week, too. He seemed to enjoy the time he spent with Justin, never complained or tried to weasel out of it.”

      “He really did,” Trina agreed. “That kid was everything to him.”

      “And was there anything unusual about this weekend? Any confusion or resentment, any arguments?”

      “If you’ve read the trial transcript, you know that Eldon and I had an argument. But it wasn’t a big deal like the prosecutors made it. His mother was trying to tell me how to raise my child, and Eldon thought his mother could do no wrong.”

      “You can say that again,” Trina put in. “She’s a control freak.”

      “It was just the usual stuff all divorced couples argue about. Not a big deal.”

      “So Eldon picked up Justin after work, took him to his house, and…where were you, Trina?”

      “At a professional development conference. I was working to get my massage therapy license at the time.”

      “And this conference was…where?”

      “Corpus Christi, at the Sheraton Hotel. I tried not to hang around too much when Eldon had Justin, so they could do their father-son thing without the evil stepmother getting in the way.”

      “The police verified your alibi?”

      Trina nodded. “Oh, yes. A bunch of us from the salon where I used to work went to the conference together.”

      “Okay. So Eldon maintains that he was home, alone, with Justin on that Friday night. But for some reason he went out for pizza at midnight.” Ford consulted his notes. “A large half pepperoni, half black olive pizza.”

      “Black olive?” Trina snorted. “Who told you that? Eldon hates black olives. I’m the one who likes olives.”

      “I got it straight from the police report,” Ford said.

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