Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(92)

Brynn hurried up the courthouse steps before she could say or do anything stupid, like pelt him with questions. When are you leaving? When will I see you again? How the hell are we going to make this work? Because sometime between waking up beside him and kissing him good-bye just now, she’d decided she wanted to. If he had reservations, she’d just have to convince him.

Brynn shoved the thoughts from her mind to focus on the day ahead as she went through security. Conlon was already in the courtroom. As she passed through the gallery, the door to the judge’s offices opened, and Linden’s clerk stepped out.

“Counselors.” She nodded at both of them. “The judge would like to see you in chambers.”

Brynn shot a look at Conlon. He didn’t appear surprised or even curious as he followed the clerk past the bailiff and into Linden’s private office. The judge sat behind his desk, reading a document, as the clerk ushered them inside.

“Have a seat,” Linden said.

Brynn sat, darting another look at Conlon, and for the first time, she noticed the gray pallor of his skin. He looked like he might be sick.

“Mr. Conlon? You had an important matter to discuss?”

The prosecutor cleared his throat, not looking at Brynn. “Yes, Your Honor. Thank you.” He paused. “It has come to my attention that Joel Sebring was arrested last night.” He glanced down at his hands. “He’s being held on murder charges. Two murders, in fact. One of them is Seth Moore’s.”

Brynn’s jaw dropped open. “What—”

“Seth Moore, whose murder Justin Sebring is being tried for?” Linden looked at Brynn. “Ms. Holloran, were you aware of this development?”

“No . . . Your Honor. I just—what the hell, Jack? Why didn’t you call me?”

“I just found out this morning. A confidential informant who was arrested on drug charges yesterday implicated Joel Sebring in two separate killings.”

“Implicated?” the judge asked.

“He claims he was there at the time.”

Brynn stared at him. “He claims?” People would claim just about anything, especially if they were in the hot seat and facing incarceration.

“And how credible is this informant?” Linden asked.

“Very.” Conlon tugged at his tie. “Apparently, he has evidence of these events on his cell phone. Video evidence. From what I understand, he was in the car when Joel Sebring shot Seth Moore.”

The judge leaned forward, looking at Conlon over the tops of his glasses. “In the car?”

“That’s correct, Your Honor.”

Brynn stared at the prosecutor in shock. He still hadn’t looked at her since dropping his bombshell.

“Ms. Holloran?”

She looked at Linden. “Your Honor?”

“I would suggest you make a motion to dismiss.”

The next hour was a whirlwind.

Back in the courtroom, Brynn made a motion to dismiss the charges against her client, which the judge granted without a word of argument from Conlon. Linden had a brief conversation with the jury, vaguely outlining the situation and thanking them for their service before sending them on their way.

Justin was shell-shocked. His mother was a basket case. Sylvia waited in the courtroom, crying and wringing her hands, while her son went through the required procedures and then was released. After an impromptu press conference in the courthouse lobby—from which Conlon was conspicuously absent—Brynn led Justin and his mom to the back of the building so that they could slip out without being mobbed by reporters. They would have plenty of chances to talk to the press in the coming days.

By the time they parted ways, it wasn’t even eleven o’clock, and it had already been the second-most tumultuous day of Brynn’s career. After disentangling herself from a few lingering journalists, she slipped into the first-floor ladies’ room to get some space.

She washed her hands and examined her reflection. She looked as bowled over as she felt. This case had been one of the most challenging of her life. And before it even got to the jury, her client had been miraculously exonerated, sparing everyone on his side an agonizing wait and the even more agonizing possibility of a conviction.

And Conlon was spared being reported for witness tampering.

Even in the confusion of the morning, that little detail hadn’t been lost on Brynn, and she intended to check into it. She’d call Bulldog and get him to see what he could sniff out. But first, she needed to call Reggie.

The door opened, and Brynn glanced over her shoulder.

“Molly, hi!”

“Hi yourself.” Molly grinned at her. “I hear you just caught the break of the century.”

Brynn stepped over and gave Molly a hug. They had been friends since law school but drifted apart when Brynn moved to Pine Rock.

“Good news travels fast,” Brynn said.

“Yep. It’s all over Twitter. And probably CNN by now. That is awesome, girl. Now I know why they call you Reggie’s good-luck charm.”

She smiled. Reggie knew Molly from the Dallas days and had tried to recruit her down to Pine Rock.

“Hey, when are you going to come down and work with us?” Brynn asked.

Molly made a face. “Not anytime soon.”

“I promise, you’d like the money, and we could really use your talent for appellate work.”