Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(34)

“Yeah, I mean, they had him. No question. But some of the paperwork was hurried.” She sighed. “It happens in high-profile cases sometimes, but it makes things harder in court.” She squeezed her eyes shut again. “And God, it was hard. The worst case I ever worked on. It was all-consuming.”

“I bet.”

“It didn’t help that there was this media spotlight on everything. We worked a lot of long days. Long nights. And every morning, I had to go into that courtroom and sit right across the aisle from him. And sometimes he would just stare at me when the jurors weren’t there. I fucking hated it. I’ve never been so relieved to get to a verdict.”

Erik watched her intently, his blood simmering at the thought of that shitbag murderer intimidating her that way. Erik had wanted to get his hands on the man for days, but now he truly felt the urge to throttle him.

The waitress was back with two beer bottles, each wrapped with a neatly folded napkin. She set down the beers and then a glass for each.

“Something to eat?” she asked.

“We’ll start with the egg rolls,” Brynn said. “Then I’d like the sesame chicken, the spare ribs, and the ginger broccoli.”

The woman looked at Erik.

“Vegetable lo mein,” he said.

“That’s it?” Brynn asked.

“Yeah.”

The server left, and Brynn poured her beer, tipping the glass to minimize the head.

Erik watched her, waiting for her to keep talking about the trial. Her hair was still damp and had made little wet spots on her shoulders. She looked so anxious sitting there, and Erik hated Corby all over again.

“Finally, the jury came back with a verdict,” she said. “Guilty on all counts, just like we expected, but I’ve never in my life been so relieved. I never wanted to see him again. Or read about him or even think his name after that.”

And yet she had. She’d kept tabs on him. She knew his nickname in prison. And she knew he’d had no visitors, besides those few reporters chasing an interview.

“All this stuff, it’s dredging everything back up again.”

“I know.” He watched her, wishing there was something more that he could say.

“I’m glad they came, though,” she said.

“You mean Gorman and Leary?”

“Yeah. Actually, I’m surprised they reached out to me. We’re not exactly chummy with the cops around here, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“What’s that about, anyway?”

“It goes back to this case Reggie had here in Dallas. Hector Bell.” She sipped her beer. “You really want to hear this?”

“Yeah.”

She took a deep breath. “Hector was thirty-one. He’d used up two of his three strikes and was out on parole when he got pulled over for a busted taillight. He was driving an old Buick and had an envelope in the front seat stuffed with five thousand dollars in cash. The cop who pulled him over asked about the money, and Hector said he was on his way to buy a car. He had the Buick’s title in the envelope, ready to make the trade.”

“Sounds legit.”

“It was. So the officer ran him through the system, then returned to the window and demanded that he hand over the money. Hector refused. The cop asked him again, this time showing him the drop bag he promised to plant on him if he didn’t comply. The bag had enough coke to guarantee Hector a one-way ticket back to prison if he didn’t cooperate. Hector happened to have his cell phone recording the whole exchange, but the officer didn’t know that until much later.”

Erik shook his head.

“Reggie blew it out at trial, revealing a scam that involved three dirty cops, who sullied the reputation of the whole department. The three cops got fired, Hector got a walk, and Reggie got a ton of media coverage in Dallas. The case was a boon to his career, but when the dust settled, he decided to pick up stakes and move his practice to a place where he wasn’t hated by everyone with a badge.” She took another sip of beer. “So that’s it. That’s the case that made any lawyer from Blythe and Gunn a pariah around here.”

The server was back with the egg rolls. Brynn divided the order and slid a plate in front of him.

“You’re going to like these,” she said, spooning mustard from a tiny jar.

Talking about Reggie seemed to improve her mood. Or maybe it was the food. She had the appetite of a linebacker, but somehow she managed to stay in shape.

“Looks like your case is off to a good start,” Erik said.

“Where’d you hear that?” She chomped into her egg roll.

“I slipped into the courtroom and watched for a while.”

“Slipped?” She dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “You guys don’t slip anywhere. How come I didn’t see you?”

“I’m unobtrusive.”

She snorted and picked up her beer.

“You were preoccupied with your jury selection. Nice job, by the way. I think you made a good impression on those people.”

“Yeah, well, Reggie’s a good teacher.”

“Is that how he got you? I know it wasn’t all about money.” Erik reached for the mustard and spooned some onto his plate.

“That’s hot,” Brynn warned.

He added another dollop.