The Last Invitation (34)
“Do you know who Judge Loretta Swain is?” he asked.
Everybody did. The woman was a legend. The first Black woman on the state’s highest court. A millionaire who chose public service. She’d taught at Gabby’s law school. Students fought to be in her class then tripped over one another trying to impress her.
“You’re saying she’s involved?” Gabby used her best you’ve lost it tone.
Rob didn’t seem to notice. “I’m not. The file does, or it suggests she could be, which is why I’ve been trying to talk with the judge. To study the people closest to her. Someone inside must feel . . . I don’t know, sickened by all of this?” His voice grew more distant. “I can’t believe killing Tami was part of the original plan. She stumbled in and . . .”
His words crashed together as he spoke. He drifted from one idea to another as if he needed to race to get all his theories out. She wondered if his grief had manifested into something almost delusional.
“I think the group is expanding, which means even more people will die,” he said.
That sounded like a leap. “How do you know that?”
“Her. She’s been visiting Retta.” He grabbed his phone and flipped through the stored photos until he got to what looked like a woman standing outside of a gate. “Jessa Hall.”
Oh, come on. Speaking of fellow law school students who would trample over anyone who got in the way of her capturing the spotlight. Jessa rose to the top of the sludge pile. “Why does messed-up garbage always come back to Jessa?”
“If I’m right, you’ll soon see bad press about her.”
“Not surprising.” The way Jessa lived, the corners she cut, a bad end was all but guaranteed. Gabby had predicted that years ago.
“If that public attention immediately shifts from negative to positive, you know she’s in the group. It means she gave in and joined up,” he said, reinforcing his own theory.
Gabby regretted not ordering coffee. She needed caffeine to get through this. “I’m happy to jump on the anti-Jessa bandwagon. Honestly, I’ve been on that ride for a long time, but you don’t have any evidence. All you have is theories. And loss, and for that part I’m really sorry.”
He shoved the stack of files closer to her. “These are for you. Review them.”
There had to be twenty files, maybe more. “I don’t have time for this.”
Rob’s manic arguing and attempting to convince slowed long enough for him to lean back in his chair. “If they came for you through your daughter, do you really have a choice?”
Chapter Thirty
Jessa
The office visit Jessa dreaded happened an hour after Faith left. Covington walked in and shut the door behind him. He held a file and didn’t give her eye contact. That could only mean more bad news.
She tried to launch an offensive strike. “I’m guessing you’ve heard. But you should know—”
“Detective Schone had some questions for me about your work activities.”
Not what Jessa expected. She almost hated to ask for more information but did anyway. “What did you say to her?”
Covington finally looked at Jessa. “Tell me how concerned I should be about your behavior.”
Uh . . . “Not at all.”
“People are going to dig around and find the worst, Jessa. They’ll look at your law school performance. Your friends. Your activities. The meetings you attend. The groups you join. Your previous casework here and at your other firm.”
Okay, that last part could be problematic. No one had a shiny, perfect record. There were issues and bad calls, totally unrelated to her legal prowess, that could be embellished and taken the wrong way. “I’ve done good work for this firm.”
Covington sighed. “That’s a classic lawyer nonanswer.”
Fine. She jumped right to the point. “I didn’t tell Ellie Bartholomew to run.”
“She says you did.”
“Her husband threatened her. Clearly, that’s the only explanation.”
Covington’s stiff stance unclenched a bit. “Do you have proof of that?”
She’d thought about it from the minute the detective left the office. “Not yet, but I’m going to ask the judge for a hearing. Let Darren come into court and try to defend his actions. I don’t think Ellie will be able to hold his lie together under oath or during cross-examination.”
“No.”
Jessa had other ideas, but the curt no stopped her. “To which part?”
“As of right now, you’re suspended. You are not authorized to work on behalf of this firm, including as the GAL for Curtis Bartholomew. Any work you do from now forward will be at your own peril. The law firm’s liability insurance will not cover you.” He put a sealed envelope on her desk.
She assumed the letter contained notice of the law firm action. She refused to let him drop it and run. He needed to say whatever he had to say right to her face. “Why aren’t you supporting me?”
“This will be an administrative suspension with pay while the firm conducts an independent review of—”
“Answer me.” This was ass-covering bullshit. They both knew it, but only she had the guts to admit it. “You can’t believe these allegations are true.”