White Collared Part One: Mercy (4 page)

This was her baby.

Her teal-and-black 2000 Harley Davidson Sportster. Not the most badass ride, but for a sixteen-year-old who’d just gotten her license and had no other way of getting where she needed to go, it had been a necessity.

And she owed it all to her best friend from home, Caden. When she’d gone off the rails in high school, he’d been the only person who remained her friend, and since he was gay, he’d also been one of the only guys in her small school she hadn’t messed around with. Caden hadn’t judged her during that phase. Just made sure she had an ample supply of condoms.

Trying to keep her out of trouble, he taught her everything she needed to know about motorcycles, and together they fixed up the Sportster and rebuilt the engine. But afterward she’d kept up on the maintenance of the bike herself and had driven it twelve hours from the Upper Peninsula down to metro Detroit when she moved here for college. Sucked on rainy and snowy days, but if she needed a ride, she’d get one from Hannah or take the People Mover, Detroit’s version of Chicago’s L.

She never felt freer than when she was on the back of her baby. And tonight, she needed to feel free more than ever. Although she appreciated Nick’s advice on taking care of herself, she hadn’t gone out with her friends since the summer. He’d ordered her to go home, but a girl had to eat, right? Besides, she had nothing in her fridge.

Decision made, she slipped her cell from her pocket and dialed.

Hannah answered on the first ring. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I don’t want to talk over the phone.” She smiled. “Want to meet for a drink?”

Chapter Five

K
ATE WINCED AS
she squeezed in between two burly men dressed in Detroit Lions jerseys standing by the entrance of the bar. “Excuse me,” she shouted over the bar’s piped-in music.

The bar was packed tonight. She hadn’t stepped foot inside since she’d started her internship. Staring at a sea of singles, she realized she hadn’t missed this place. Still, she’d enjoy spending time with her friends.

The downtown bar was centrally located, making it easily accessible to three universities as well as two arenas. Decorated with Detroit sports memorabilia, it prided itself on being the number-one sports bar in the state. She’d call it a meat market with overpriced, spoiled meat. But the food was good and the bartenders could fix her drink right, which gained the bar several points in her book. Too many times she’d garnered a blank stare when asking for a Sloe Gin Fizz. These days, girls drank Sex on the Beach and Flaming Orgasms. Standard drinks were considered relics.

Guess she was an old-fashioned girl at heart.

She scanned the room, but at five-foot-three, she couldn’t see over the people standing around the bar. Chances were good Hannah had nabbed a small table in the back.

Spotting Hannah sitting with a couple of other interns from the firm, she thought about inviting Tom. He’d probably be getting off his shift now at the hospital, and, with her new schedule, they hadn’t spent much time together lately. She couldn’t wait to tell him about Nick requesting she work with him on the Deveroux case.

Hannah waved at Kate. “Hey, sis. We were just talking about you. I can’t believe you’re actually here. I thought you’d officially moved into the law firm.”

Back in the first year of school, Hannah had begun calling her “sis” when a couple of guys had mistaken them for twins because they both had long, wavy blond hair, blue eyes, and petite builds. But although she adored her friend, Kate had never felt comfortable returning the sentiment. Maybe because she didn’t have the best history with her family.

As soon as she dropped into her chair, the waitress came by and Kate ordered two Sloe Gin Fizzes, figuring she’d save the girl an extra trip. When the waitress left, Kate said, “I had to go out for sustenance at some point. You can take only so much of watered-down coffee and cookies before you start craving a vegetable or two.”

“Well, if it’s vegetables you’re craving, David here is an excellent couch potato, and when he’s drunk a couple of beers, Logan gets rather corny.”

She recognized David Washington and Logan Bradford as interns from Joseph and Long. They didn’t work with Hannah and Kate in the “bat cave,” the name coined by previous interns for the room due to its lack of windows. David and Logan interned for criminal defense attorneys and worked in the “cafeteria,” a room with plenty of natural sunlight, its own coffeemaker, a refrigerator, and a microwave. Kate had passed by it on her way to the copy room and was surprised by the sounds of laughter coming from inside. Almost made her wish she’d chosen to pursue criminal law.

David hooked an arm over Hannah’s shoulder and squeezed her. “Funny, Hannah Banana. What kind of law are you planning on practicing? Entertainment law? Because you always entertain me.”

David was older than Kate by a few years, heavy-set yet handsome with a dimple in his chin, laughing blue eyes, and black curly hair. He reminded her of a teddy bear, but she’d heard through the grapevine that he had one hell of a growl. Logan, on the other hand, was tall and lean, with a buzz cut and serious brown eyes. Closer to Nick’s age, he’d spent a few years in the army before attending law school and still looked every bit the military man. She was glad to finally meet some of the other interns out of the office.

“Family law,” answered Hannah. “Although if Ryan Gosling sought my expertise, I wouldn’t turn him down.”

“I bet you wouldn’t,” Kate said wryly.

The waitress returned with the drinks, and Kate started in on hers immediately, relishing the burn of the alcohol down her throat.

“Speaking of celebrities, we caught the six o’clock news at the firm,” said Hannah. “You clean up good on camera, although they got only a couple of brief shots of you standing behind Mr. Trenton. So we’re dying to know. What happened?”

David and Logan stopped chatting. She shouldn’t feel awkward, but she did, as if she were in the spotlight on stage, giving her debut performance. “Obviously I can’t get into the specifics of the case, but Mr. Trenton brought me to Mr. Deveroux’s police interview.”

David crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. “I’m surprised they haven’t arrested him yet.”

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“Oh, come on. It’s far more likely Deveroux did it over a stranger. He probably got carried away while they were getting their kink on and killed her. I mean, who else would have bound her naked in their bed?”

A feeling of unease spread through her. “How did you know she was bound naked?”

He gave her a quizzical glance. “The news. They did a whole report on S&M, and Friday night they’re airing a special on the seedy side of underground sex clubs. As if there’s a sunny side to them.”

She pulled out her cell phone and started dialing. “I should call Nick.”

“Why?” Hannah asked.

“He should know about the media.”

“I’m sure he does,” Logan said, plucking the cell from Kate’s hand. “He didn’t get to where he’s gotten by being ignorant. I’m sure if he needs you, you’ll get a call. After all, you’re his intern.”

She retrieved the phone from Logan and tossed it in her purse. “So is Hannah, but he didn’t bring her to the police station.” As soon as the words left her lips, she realized her error, not intending to have insulted her friend.

Hannah waved her beautifully manicured fingers in the air. “He knows I’m squeamish from my initial interview. That’s why I’m going into civil law rather than criminal. He was being considerate of me.”

David snorted and muttered, “If you say so.”

“I’m sure he’ll include you if anything else happens,” Kate said to Hannah in an attempt to rectify her mistake.

David brandished a hundred-dollar bill in front of them. “I’ll put a hundred bucks down that the DA will issue an arrest warrant by Halloween. You guys in?”

Hannah laughed, but Logan had the decency to frown at his friend and tell him to put his money away. Kate didn’t understand how anyone could make light of murder. She reeled in her temper and took another sip of her drink. These were her co-workers after all.

“The police won’t arrest Jaxon Deveroux because he’s not guilty and has an alibi to prove it,” she argued. “I’m sure they’ll find evidence that will lead them to the perpetrator and justice will prevail. I mean, there’s no such thing as a perfect crime.”

Logan shook his head. “Kate, you’ve watched too many crime procedurals. Do you know how many homicides go unsolved in Detroit? Something like seventy-five percent. Trust me, if you want to commit a murder, do it here.”

In high school, she’d obsessed over grisly homicides, but she’d never come across that statistic. “Alyssa Deveroux was killed in the suburbs.”

“Still,” Logan began, animatedly using his hands as he spoke, “even if the perp left behind evidence, the police have to find it and process it. Budgets are tight and people are incompetent. If they don’t find the killer in the next two weeks, the chances of them solving the case go way down, and you know the media is going to scare everyone into thinking they’re the next victim. They’re going to go hard after your client whether he’s guilty or not. Remember the JonBenet Ramsey case? Case went cold, so everyone assumed it was the mom, the dad, the brother. Ruined their fucking lives.”

It was difficult enough on a local level, but at least she hadn’t been in the international spotlight like the Ramseys. “You’re telling me if they don’t find another suspect in two weeks they’re going to arrest my client?”

“David was right about one thing,” said Logan. “You’ve got until the first week of November.”

“Elections.” She peered at the table and realized she’d already finished her first drink and had started on her second.

“Yeah,” Logan said, nodding. “High-profile case like this, every official up for reelection within a twenty-mile radius of the crime is going to use this case to their advantage. But the real battle’s gonna come from the district attorney’s office. Mason Ford’s campaigning on county prosecutor Savage’s soft position on domestic violence and sex crimes. He fucked up a couple years back, decided not to prosecute a guy suspected of hitting his wife because the wife refused to testify. Guy got released and shot his wife dead that night before turning the gun on himself.”

The pressure of public scrutiny always weighed heavy on elected legal professions such as judges and prosecutors, especially on the county level. One wrong decision could ruin a career. This meant not only did they have to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, they had to worry about their next campaign and whether their choices would result in the unseating of their position come election time.

Logan had a pleasant demeanor despite his grim warning. She immediately liked the man. “You intern for Reaver, don’t you?” She finished off her second drink, feeling the subtle buzz of its effects. Hannah and David were laughing and, from Kate’s point of view, looked a bit cozier than typical co-workers. Although she had hoped to spend this time catching up with her friend, she was glad to have the opportunity to talk with someone knowledgeable in criminal law.

Trying to get the waitress’s attention, Logan lifted his empty beer bottle into the air. “Gotta say, I’m surprised Trenton doesn’t want Reaver on this case.”

“I wouldn’t say Nick doesn’t want him. It’s the client’s choice.”

“You got lucky. Here I’m working for one of the top defense attorneys in the state, and you get the case of the decade,” he said with a glint in his eye that told her he was teasing. “But seriously, if you need any help or have any questions, I’m your guy.”

“Thanks. I may take you up on it.” Although she’d prepared for a fictitious criminal trial in the National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy contest, she didn’t have experience practicing the skills on a real case. It would be great if she could turn to Logan with a question now and then. So long as Nick didn’t find her incompetent.

“So, it’s Nick now?” Hannah asked, leaning forward from David’s embrace with a smile Kate had come to know as Hannah’s display of sweet before she went in for the kill. Very effective in both picking up men and crucifying a witness on the stand.

She tried to play dumb. “What are you talking about?”

“Twice you’ve referred to Mr. Trenton as Nick.”

Normally Kate would confide in Hannah and tell her all about how Nick had treated her as an equal, complimenting her on her abilities, and how he’d almost seemed as though he was flirting with her. But she didn’t want to hurt Hannah’s feelings since, technically, they were competing for a spot as associate attorney at the firm next year. Not to mention she didn’t want to embarrass herself by misconstruing Nick’s personal intentions toward her. For now she’d keep it to herself. “He said I could call him that out of the office, and it slipped out. If it bothers you—”

“Why would it bother me? He’s hot. If you and he—”

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m dating Tom.”
Good old reliable Tom.

“Right. Tom.” Hannah gave Kate another one of her deadly smiles. “Where is Tom tonight?”

“Probably getting off work.” By now he’d have gotten home and was probably eating a bowl of Wheaties and soy milk before taking a shower to get ready for bed. She wasn’t in the mood for him tonight. Kate gave Hannah her own version of a manipulative smile and pivoted her chair toward her friend. “I’ll call him later, but I wanted some time with you. We haven’t had a chance to hang out since we started our internships. What’s new with you? Are you dating anyone?”

“Um . . .” Hannah blushed. Actually blushed. Kate had never seen her friend get flustered over a man.

“You are! Tell me about him.”

“Well, he’s really sexy,” Hannah said, looking down at her lap. She waited a beat and then lifted her head, her usual confidence expressed on her flawless face. “And he’s an amazing fuck.”

“Hannah!”

David and Logan stopped their own conversation. Poor David blushed bright red, obviously having thought he and Hannah had something brewing and discovering he thought wrong. The men got up, David mumbling that they were going to get another drink, and they left the women alone to discuss Hannah’s love life.