***
I don't know how long I sat there on the dirty floor, tears streaking my face, before a different police officer came and escorted me out. "Your bail's been posted. You can leave."
Ash was waiting for me in the front room, his face lined with worry and fear. "Catelyn, oh my God, what did they do to you?"
I threw myself into his arms, shaking and crying. He put his arms around me and stroked my back. "Let's get you home. We'll deal with these assholes later."
He glared at Gray who shrugged in a 'just doing my job' way.
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer," Ash said.
I looked up at him. "Lawyer?"
He stroked my face. "You need a good lawyer, sweetheart. This is serious."
"For what? I didn't do anything wrong. I can represent myself."
"Catelyn, you're not a real lawyer yet and my guy is the best. Trust me."
Gray smirked. "Listen to your boyfriend, Miss Travis. You're going to need one, but it's probably not going to help. Not with what we have. See you soon."
Chapter Fifteen
Guilty Until Proven Innocent
MAXWELL FISHER, ESQUIRE, was a tall, lean man with impeccably cut sandy blond hair, an infectious smile and blue eyes. He looked trustworthy and likable and I knew every female jury member would be hot for him by the end of the trial. The guys would probably all want to buy him a beer just to feel cool. He was that kind of guy.
I didn't trust him at all.
He asked Ash to wait in the lobby while he escorted me to an expensive office with plush leather furniture and polished dark wood everywhere. Law books lined the walls behind his desk—books I'm sure he didn't use often.
I saw one book I recognized and went to pull it from his shelf, opening it to my mother's familiar signature. "You knew her?"
He nodded. "Fierce lawyer. The only time I ever lost was to her." He took the book from me and opened to the acknowledgements, showing me his name in it. "We respected each other, Alice and I. Her death came as a shock to us all."
"Murder," I said.
"What's that?" He put the book back on the shelf.
"Murder. She was murdered. She didn't just die, she was killed."
"Of course."
"And you might have defended her murderer, had it come to that."
He sat down behind his desk, where a legal pad and pen sat unused and waiting.
I sat on the chair in front of the desk, crossing my legs and holding eye contact with him.
"I wouldn't have taken the case, Catelyn. Not to defend the potential murderer of your mother."
"But someone would have."
He nodded. "Yes. That's our system. You of all people should know that."
"He's still out there," I said.
"I've heard that's your theory."
“It’s more than a theory." I took him through everything that had happened, pointing out the key facts that lent credibility to my case.
"Why?" he asked. "What does he want from you? What does he want with Bridgette?"
"My mom's other book, the one she never published. It names names. It names his name. He wants it, and he thinks I know where it is."
Maxwell leaned forward, his eyes greedy. "Do you?"
"No, I don't. I don't think it even exists, but the killer seems to think it does."
He sat back, his expression disappointed. "They're going to try to pin this on you, and they're not without evidence."
"The evidence is fake," I said.
"We have no proof of that."
"Do you believe me?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter what I believe, only what I can prove in court. And I'm going to prove you're innocent."
His answer wasn't satisfying, but it would have to do.
"First, Catelyn, I need you to tell me everything. Every secret, every misdeed, every skeleton. I can't help you if you're not 100% honest with me. I will never tell anyone, not even Ash. But you can't hold anything back from me or we're both fucked."
"I've told you everything," I said.
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you've told me everything. I'm a very good read of these things."
I took a deep breath, weighing my options, trying to decide if I could really trust him. I looked over at the book my mother had signed to him. She respected him. That had to count for something. Ash trusted him. That counted for more.
"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Ever."
Chapter Sixteen
Double Crossing
THAT NIGHT I read through my mother's book again, looking for any clues that could help me. When I came to the acknowledgments, my eyes landed on my lawyer's name. Maxwell Fisher. How close had they been? Did they ever talk or meet outside of court? Did he know something about her murder that he wasn't telling me?