Best Kept Secrets

"How come she didn't raise hell about the murder when

 

it happened?"

 

"I asked her that myself. She didn't have much money

 

and she felt intimidated by the legal machinations. Besides,

 

the murder had left her drained of energy. What little she had

 

went into rearing me."

 

It was now clear to Alex why, since her earliest recollections,

 

her grandmother had pushed her toward the legal

 

profession. Because it was expected of her, Alex had excelled

 

in school and had ultimately graduated from the University

 

of Texas Law School in the top ten percent of her class. The

 

law was the profession Merle had chosen for her, but thankfully

 

it was a field that intrigued and delighted Alex. Her

 

curious mind enjoyed delving into its intricacies. She was

 

well prepared to do what she must.

 

"Grandmother was just a widow lady, left with a baby to

 

raise," she said, building her case. "There was precious little

 

she could do about the judge's ruling at Hicks's competency

 

hearing. With what money she had, she packed up, left town,

 

and never went back.''

 

Greg consulted his wristwatch. Then, anchoring his cigarette

 

between his lips, he stood up and pulled on his suit

 

jacket. "I can't reopen a murder case without a shred of

 

evidence or probable cause. You know that. I didn't snatch

 

you out of law school 'cause you were stupid. Gotta confess,

 

though, that your shapely ass had something to do with it."

 

"Thanks."

 

Her disgust was obvious and it wasn't because of his sexism,

 

which was so brassy she knew it was insincere. "Look,

 

Alex, this isn't a teensy-weensy favor you're asking of me,"

 

he said. ' 'Because of who these guys are, we're talking earth-shattering

 

shit here. Before I stick my neck out, I've got to

 

have more to go on than your hunch and Granny's ram-Wings."

 

She followed him to the door of his office. "Come on,

 

Greg, spare me the legal lingo. You're only thinking of yourself."

 

 

 

"You're goddamn right I am. Constantly."

 

His admission left her no room to maneuver. "At least

 

grant me permission to investigate this murder when I'm not

 

actively involved in other cases."

 

"You know what a backlog we've got. We can't get all

 

the cases to court as it is now."

 

"I'll work overtime. I won't shirk my other responsibilities.

 

You know I won't."

 

"Alex--"

 

"Please, Greg." She could see that he wanted her to withdraw

 

the request, but she wouldn't capitulate to anything less

 

than a definite no. Her preliminary research had piqued her

 

interest as a prosecutor and litigator, and her desperate desire

 

to prove her grandmother wrong and absolve herself of any

 

guilt further motivated her undertakings. "If I don't produce

 

something soon, I'll drop it and you'll never hear of it again."

 

He studied her intent face. "Why don't you just work out

 

your frustrations with hot, illicit screwing like everybody

 

else? At least half the guys in town would accommodate you,

 

married or single." She gave him a withering look. "Okay,

 

okay. You can do some digging, but only in your spare time.

 

Come up with something concrete. If I'm going to win votes,

 

I can't look or act like a goddamn fool, and neither can

 

anybody else in this office. Now I'm late for lunch. 'Bye."

 

Her caseload was heavy, and the time she had had to spend

 

on her mother's murder had been limited. She read everything

 

she could get her hands on--newspaper accounts, transcripts

 

of Buddy Hicks's hearing--until she had the facts memorized.

 

They were basic and simple. Mr. Bud Hicks, who was

 

mentally retarded, had been arrested near the murder scene

 

with the victim's blood on his clothing. At the time of his

 

arrest, he had had in his possession the surgical instrument

 

with which he had allegedly killed the victim. He was jailed,

 

questioned, and charged. Within days there was a hearing.

 

Judge Joseph Wallace had declared Hicks incompetent to

 

stand trial and had confined him to a state mental hospital.

 

 

 

It seemed like an open-and-shut case. Just when she had

 

begun to believe that Greg was right, that she was on a wild

 

goose chase, she had discovered a curious glitch in the transcript

 

of Hicks's hearing. After following up on it, she had

 

approached Greg again, armed with a signed affidavit.

 

"Well, I've got it." Triumphantly, she slapped the folder

 

on top of the others cluttering his desk.

 

Greg scowled darkly. "Don't be so friggin' cheerful, and

 

for crissake, stop slamming things around. I've got a bitchin'

 

hangover." He mumbled his words through a dense screen

 

of smoke. He stopped puffing on the cigarette only long

 

enough to sip at a steaming cup of black coffee. "How was

 

your weekend?"

 

"Wonderful. Far more productive than yours. Read that."

 

Tentatively, he opened the file and scanned the contents

 

with bleary eyes. "Hmm." His initial reading was enough

 

to grab his attention. Leaning back in his chair and propping

 

his feet on the corner of his desk, he reread it more carefully.

 

"This is from the doctor at the mental hospital where this

 

Hicks fellow is incarcerated?"

 

"Was. He died a few months ago."

 

"Interesting."

 

"Interesting?" Alex cried, disappointed with the bland

 

assessment. She left her chair, circled it, and stood behind

 

it, gripping the upholstered back in agitation. "Greg, Buddy

 

Hicks spent twenty-five years in that hospital for nothing."

 

"You don't know that yet. Don't jump to conclusions."

 

"His last attending psychiatrist said that Buddy Hicks was

 

a model patient. He never demonstrated any violent tendencies.

 

He had no apparent sex drive, and in the doctor's expert

 

opinion, he was incapable of committing a crime like the one

 

that cost my mother her life. Admit that it looks fishy."

 

He read several other briefs, then muttered, "It looks fishy,

 

but it's sure as hell not a smoking gun."

 

"Short of a miracle, I won't be able to produce any concrete

 

evidence. The case is twenty-five years old. All I can hope

 

for is enough probable cause to bring it before a grand jury.