Beyond Innocence (23 page)

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.

“It was a hard day.”

“I can tell that just by looking at you.”

“I want you to know, up front, that I didn’t finish writing the brief on Eric’s case, let alone get it filed.”

Serena mentally counted to five before she responded. “I’m sure you had a good reason.”

“I suppose. I wanted to work on it, but Paul put the entire team to work on another case. In fact, he called me in last night.”

That explained the tired eyes, the rumpled appearance. “You worked all night?”

“Yes.”

“Care to tell me about it or is it confidential?”

“Let’s talk about something else.”

Serena set the knife down and walked back over to the table. This conversation felt like pulling teeth. Cory was hunched over and on edge. She looked miserable. Serena rested her hands on her shoulders and began to gently knead them. “I think you need to talk about your day or it’s going to eat you up. If you are allowed to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

Cory leaned back into the comfort of Serena’s touch, and the words came tumbling out. “Michael Young killed five people. With an axe. He chopped them into little bits, each one, while the others watched, too paralyzed from fear to do anything but scream. He didn’t give a damn what happened to those people. Probably still doesn’t to this day, years later.” She paused and let Serena’s soothing touch sink in. She wanted a drink, but to get one she’d have to break the connection. Instead, she spat out the reason behind her angst. “The people he killed will never enjoy a spring day, have children, grow old, but today his life was spared.”

Cory leaned back as Serena stopped the massage and wrapped her in strong arms. Neither of them spoke. Cory was out of words. She’d used the power of language all day in her quest to save Michael Young’s life. No words were left to adequately express the pain, the conflict that came from having to use her powers of persuasion to defend a murderer. The comfort of Serena’s embrace was a surprise. She hadn’t meant to share any of the details of her day, her struggle to align her principles and her gut feelings, especially not with Serena since it might be too easy to draw a parallel between Eric and Michael.

“Was it this hard to work the other side? As a prosecutor?”

Cory took a deep breath and settled on honesty. “I didn’t let it be. I think my perspective from the prosecution side makes working these cases more difficult.”

“I think that might be horseshit.” Serena resumed her gentle massage, but the action didn’t soften the blow of her remark.

Cory twisted around in her chair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you, miss high and mighty prosecutor, are not the only one who is conflicted about saving the lives of criminals. This man whose life you all saved today, was he the one who had mental issues?”

“Understatement, but yes, that’s the guy.”

“You think I don’t have mixed feelings about whether life in prison is adequate retribution for murder? Well, I do, and I imagine that if someone I loved was one of his victims, the decision would be a whole lot harder. So quit acting like you’re the only one who has all this conflict to deal with.”

Cory grinned. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel? Seriously, do you really have mixed feelings? Even about Eric?”

“Let’s be clear. We don’t know yet if Eric did what he’s accused of doing. But if he did? Well, I wouldn’t want him to die, because he’s my brother, but I do think he should be punished. If I were Nancy McGowan’s mother, I might want him to die a slow and painful death. Point is, it’s not an easy issue.”

“Okay, but back to what you just said. If Eric did what he’s accused of doing. What if you don’t know and could never find out? Michael Young got caught at the scene, bloody axe in his hand, covered in victim DNA. Cases don’t usually pan out that way. Usually, only two people know who committed a crime and, when the crime’s murder, the murderer is often the only one alive to tell the story.”

Serena sat next to Cory. “Why, in cases where you never hear from the victim, do you automatically think the person you’ve put on trial is the one who did the crime?”