Reasonable Doubt: Volume 1 (Reasonable Doubt #1)(13)

As Will and George continued to pepper her with questions, I googled variations of that federal gun case. “Man fires gun in bank.” “No contest plea in federal bank case.” “Man injures himself in bank shooting.”

Still, nothing.

“Miss Everhart, are there any lawyers that you wish to model your own career after?” Greg asked.

“Yes, actually,” she said. “I’ve always admired the career of Liam Henderson.”

“Liam Henderson?” I raised my eyebrow. “Who is that?” Usually, interviewees named a federal judge, a well-known prosecutor, or a familiar district attorney. But an unknown? Never.

“Well, he made history as the youngest lawyer to ever uncover a government conspiracy, and he—”

I tuned out her answer. I’d just thought of another phrase to google.

“Interesting choice, Miss Everhart,” Will said. “Do you have any current mentors in the law profession besides your family members?”

“I do.”

“Are you in close contact with this mentor? If so, how often?”

“We talk almost every day, so I’d like to think that we’re close.”

Why isn’t this case popping up? If it’s a “federal” bank shooting, it should be plastered all over the papers...

“Would your mentor be able to speak to us, or send a letter regarding your character?” Will was definitely impressed with this woman, and she had this job. The second set of questions he had yet to ask weren’t really necessary.

“I’m sure I could ask him to do that if need be,” she said just as I was starting a new web search.

“Great. So, tell us, what’s the last bit of advice that your mentor gave you?”

I looked at my watch. As soon as today’s interviews were over, I was going to call Alyssa about this case. Maybe she’d fudged some of the details to continue shrouding her identity.

“When I told him I was nervous about my interview today,” Miss Everhart said softly, “he told me, it is what it is.”

My head immediately shot up.

“Did he now?” George clutched his chest, laughing. “That sounds like something our Andrew would say!” He patted me on the shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Andrew?”

“Yes.” I narrowed my eyes at ‘Miss Everhart.’ “That sounds exactly like something I would say...”

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be sure to tell my mentor that someone actually enjoys his odd sense of humor.”

“Please do.” I watched as she answered the next questions with ease, as she barely blinked her big blue eyes when the questions became tougher. And the more I heard her talk, the more I heard the familiarities of her speech pattern, I had to force myself not to f**king lose it.

One coincidence was fine, but two? Damn near unfathomable.

As they asked her about her favorite inspirational quotes, I scrolled down to Alyssa’s number and dialed. I knew for a fact that she never silenced her phone for some strange reason, and I had to know if what I was thinking was true, or if my mind was playing a cruel joke on me.

I could see the rings on my phone’s screen, see the seconds as they passed, and when it rang three times, I let out a huge sigh of relief. But then the sound of bell chimes filled the room.

“I am so sorry.” Miss Everhart’s cheeks turned pink and she picked up her purse. “I have a weird thing about never putting this on silent...I really meant to leave it in my car.” She pulled out her phone, slightly smiling once she looked at the screen, and then she hit ignore.

WHAT. THE. FUCK!

“Happens all the time.” Will laughed. “We were going on and on anyway. It’s a good thing it went off so we can close out with the final questions. Anything from you, Andrew?”

I glared at ‘Alyssa’. I was confused, pissed, and unfortunately aroused all at once.

“Andrew?”

“No,” I said, noticing that she was blushing again. “I have absolutely nothing to say.”

Will and Greg both stood up and smiled, reaching out to shake her hand, but I remained seated.

I couldn’t believe this shit.

She wasn’t a green-eyed redhead like she’d said over the phone, far from being a licensed lawyer, and she was a f**king liar...

“Mr. Hamilton?” She was standing in front of me with her hand outstretched. “Thank you for interviewing me today. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.” I shook her hand, trying my best to ignore the smooth softness of her touch. “Good luck.”

She nodded, said goodbye to the three of us once more, and then she left the room.

As Will and George discussed how impressed they were with her interview, I forced myself to look through her file.

Double major student at Duke: Pre-law and Ballet. Perfect 4.0 GPA. Recently cast as the lead of Swan Lake, recently listed in the top ten percent of her class. There were ten letters of recommendation in her folder—all from impeccable lawyers; there was even one from the newly appointed assistant district attorney.

As amazing as her personal accomplishments were, it was her birthdate that stood out to me the most. She was twenty two.

Twenty f**king two.