chapter 7
The day after she talked to Tony, Linda stood in the office across the hall from hers and exhaled in frustration. “Look, Heald, I’m just asking you for a favor. The evidence against the defendant is strong, but it’s not foolproof. You like a challenge, don’t you?”
Heald crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “So do you. So why are you in such a hurry to hand it off? You lost a case recently, didn’t you? Did it make you lose your nerve?”
Jerk, she thought, wondering how many times she would before this conversation was over. He was still pissed that she’d shot him down. Why else would he deliberately mention her recent loss in court?
She didn’t like having to ask anyone, let alone Brian Heald, a favor. But, unfortunately, he and Neil were the only two deputies with the time to take Tony’s case, and because of their recent flirtations, because Tony had specifically witnessed Neil’s flirtation with her, Linda didn’t want Neil and Tony getting within speaking distance of one another.
“I told you. I have a scheduling conflict,” Linda said. She could do her duty and find another prosecutor to handle Tony’s case without revealing the fact they’d used to be intimate. That was nobody’s business but their own.
“You never have scheduling conflicts. You’d have to have a life for that. Besides, I heard this guy is a user and has a past connection to Guapo. Along with his confession? Sounds like a pretty foolproof nonchallenging case to me.”
She stared at him, struggling to hide her surprise. Damn it, Allie must have been talking about Tony’s case with Brian. She hadn’t told Allie to keep their discussion about Tony’s case a secret, so the other woman hadn’t done anything wrong exactly, but Linda should have been more careful about revealing Tony’s personal business to anyone. “So that’s a no?” she confirmed.
“Unless you’d like to reconsider my invitation to go clubbing? If you promise not to get jealous, I’ll show you pics from my vacation.”
Ugh. He was an even bigger jerk than she’d thought. Linda smiled stiffly. “No, as tempting as that offer is, I think I’ll pass. Thanks a lot.”
“Anytime, Linda,” he said, pointing his trigger finger at her like a gun, a gesture he often used when he was trying to be cooler than cool.
Barely refraining from rolling her eyes, she turned and walked out the door.
And ran straight into Neil.
He was looking at her with a puzzled frown. “What’s going on, Linda? I heard part of what you were saying to Brian.... You need me to take a case for you?”
She did, but she knew Neil. He’d ask questions and wouldn’t relent until he’d gotten some satisfactory answers. Would she give them to him?
She liked and respected him. He seemed to feel the same way, and she believed she had his genuine support when it came to her bid for the open judgeship. Instinctively she felt she could trust him to be discreet about her past with Tony, something she hadn’t believed about Brian.
Linda suppressed a sigh of resignation, and then did what she should have done in the first place. She pulled Neil into her office so they’d have some privacy, then explained about Tony.
“To be clear, I’m not asking for special privileges or leniency. I wouldn’t want you to handle this case any differently than any other. But as far as my involvement with Tony...I’d rather it not be an issue unless it has to be.”
Neil nodded slowly. “I understand why you wouldn’t want word of that getting out, especially now. It’s irrelevant to your qualifications as a judge anyway. Plus, you obviously knew leaving the guy was the right thing. That must have been hard for you. I can see you still care about him.”
She hesitated. “I care about the man I once knew. This man?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
“You have to know this already, but if you have personal knowledge about his history with drugs, that could be relevant should he go to trial for Guapo’s murder. To establish how they knew each other. And a possible motive.”
She swallowed hard. She knew that, and she was taking a gamble, but she didn’t have any other choice. “Read the file. You’ll find there’s more than enough evidence to prove his guilt without having to delve into his past romantic relationships, even the one he had with me.”
It was true, but even so she couldn’t help remembering Tony’s accusation that the reason she was recusing herself as the prosecutor on his case was because she didn’t want her reputation or her judicial campaign tainted by their past. While that wasn’t her main motivation, she couldn’t deny that he was partially correct. But was that so wrong? To want to protect her future when she knew he could never be a part of it anyway? Swallowing tightly, she returned her attention to Neil.
“In the event Tony recants his confession, you can also move to unseal the confidential court documents proving he acted as a confidential informant against Guapo. But if it comes down to it, if you absolutely need me to testify, I’ll do it. I won’t ask you to ignore your ethical duty or my own.”
Neil stared at her then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for trusting me with this information, Linda. I’ll review the file and let you know if I run into anything troubling.”
Twenty minutes later she was alone again. But despite her transparency with Neil and his reassurances, her stomach still felt weighed down with dread.
Tony hadn’t given her any reason to believe he deserved her help, yet he’d accused her of abandoning him. Maybe she hadn’t done it the first time, but was she doing it now? Was she simply thinking of herself so she wouldn’t have to deal with the man she’d once loved?
And to some extent, despite everything, the man she still loved?
Just as she’d continued to love her father despite knowing he was a thief.
To her horror, tears of helplessness welled in her eyes. She felt torn. Like she was grieving her childhood and the end of her relationship with Tony all over again. And she knew why. Even years after her mother had finally left her father, she’d always harbored hope that he would turn his life around and choose a relationship with her over his thieving ways. It was the same hope she’d harbored about Tony and his addiction. That someday Tony would return to her. That they’d beat the odds and end up together.
But with each minute that passed, there was more and more evidence being discovered to prove they wouldn’t.
She took a long, shaky breath.
She wasn’t abandoning Tony, she told herself.
She was doing what was best for both of them.
Neil was a good attorney. He’d be fair. Evaluate the evidence without the baggage of having known Tony in another context. As a lover.
If there was any chance Tony hadn’t killed Guapo, Tony would be lucky to have Neil as the prosecuting attorney.
And if the evidence showed otherwise, Neil would do what he was trained to do. What he and Linda and even Brian were compelled to do.
See that justice was done.
No matter how much it broke Linda’s heart.