Hopefully, he’ll be able to come see me now that I’m closer.”
“We can call your daughter, too, if you’d like,” London said.
The man shook his head. “My Jackie lives in New York now. She has a good job with some fashion company there. I don’t want y’all upsetting her. I’m sure her brother will tell her whatever needs to be told.”
“Yes, sir,” London said. “Do you have any questions for us, Mr. James?”
He shook his head, his expression blank.
London nodded. Rising from her seat, she knocked on the door, and the guard responded almost immediately. “We will probably be back sometime early next week,” she said. “If you need anything before then, just call.”
Mr. James nodded. “Just get that message to my son. I don’t need anything else.”
The guard gestured for them to leave. Mr. James called after Collin.
“Yes, sir?”
“Please, tell your father hello for me.”
* * *
“He wasn’t excited,” Collin said, the words spoken aloud before he could catch them.
London cut an eye in his direction.
He eyed her back, his shoulders shrugging slightly. “I thought he would have been more excited.”
She blew a soft sigh. “The first time I met him I thought the same thing. But when you think about it, for the last thirty-two years he’s known nothing but disappointment. His wife dies. He’s barely able to grieve before he’s being accused of her murder. The trial was a travesty. He’s convicted and incarcerated. He loses his children. Every countermotion his defense team made either failed or was rejected. And now we’re going to make him relive it all again, with no assurances of a different outcome. Unfortunately, he’s a black man in a judicial system that doesn’t value his life. When you consider the odds are stacked against him, and us, he can’t afford to be excited. If we lose, he could very well be given the lethal injection this time.”
Collin nodded. “Sounds like you and I have our work cut out.”
“You and I will not lose this case and I don’t care what it takes,” she said emphatically.
He met the look she tossed him, her eyes slightly misted. “I’m going to hold you to that,” he said.
“I haven’t eaten anything today,” she said. “If you don’t have plans, why don’t we grab some lunch? I know you’ve been through most of the files already and I can answer your questions and fill in any blanks for you.”
“I’d like that,” Collin said. “I would like that a lot.”
She smiled. “Don’t get too excited, Stallion. I plan to grill you, too. I need to see what you do and don’t know.”
* * *
His father was in his office poring over a mountain of paperwork when Collin entered the family home. It was late, and his mother and brother were already in bed. Matthew looked up from what he was doing and gave his son a quick nod of his head.
“Hey there! You’re keeping some late hours!”
“Working on a case. There’s a lot to catch up on.”
Matthew leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together in his lap. “So, how are things going with your new job?”
“I like it. I really like it a lot. Met my client today. Apparently, he knows you. He asked me to tell you hello.”
“Really? Who is he?”
“Jerome James. He’s been incarcerated for the murder of his wife. He’s been granted a new trial and I’m going to be sitting second chair.”
Matthew’s eyes dropped as he fell into thought. When he looked back up Collin was eyeing him curiously. He gave his son a slight smile. “Jerome and his wife, Mary, went to school with us. Jerome graduated with your uncle John and Mary graduated with me. Back in the day we were big supporters of the causes Jerome took up. Even marched the streets with him a time or two. He was a good man. Everything about that case was tragic.”
“The case file reads like a witch hunt.”
“The racial climate back then was rough, and Jerome loved to make waves. He was not popular with the local police or the politicians. He wanted change and he fought hard to make that happen. Remind me, who was the original prosecutor?”
“Victor Wells.”
“Newly appointed Texas Supreme Court Justice Victor Wells?”
Collin nodded. “The one and only. Do you know him?”
Matthew nodded. A look of foreboding washed over his expression. The same look that Collin had seen on London’s face when they had first discussed the case and Wells’s name had been mentioned. It had given Collin pause and when he’d asked about it she’d dismissed him, insisting that there wasn’t anything amiss that he needed to be concerned with. “Yes, I do,” Matthew finally answered.
“Is there something about Justice Wells that I should know?” Collin questioned.
Matthew hesitated for a quick second as if there was more that he wanted to say, but he didn’t elaborate. He just shook his head no.
“Any advice?”
“Just be smart and make sure you do your due diligence. And no matter what happens, do not be intimidated.”
Collin nodded as his father continued.
“Who’s your first chair?” Matthew asked.
“Attorney London Jacobs. She’s been with the initiative for a few years and litigating their big cases for the last two years.” Collin’s eyes were bright, his entire face lifting with the smile that spread from ear to ear. He thought back to his day and the shift in her attitude toward him between breakfast and lunch. She’d been exceptionally open and forthcoming as they’d discussed the case. She’d asked his opinion and had seemed genuinely interested in his answers. An encounter that had started out tensely had transitioned nicely to a pleasant exchange.
Matthew smiled back. “I know Ms. Jacobs. She’s quite impressive. Jerome will be well served.”
“I think we’re going to be a great team,” Collin said, a hint of excitement in his tone.
His father nodded, his head bobbing up and down slowly. He stared at his oldest child but said nothing, bemusement painting his expression.
“What?” Collin asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Matthew shook his head. “Nothing, son. Nothing at all.”
London was pleasantly surprised by Collin’s work ethic. He asked questions she hadn’t expected, even giving her reason to pause as she pondered a few of his suggestions. He was formidable, and it was apparent he was as dedicated to Mr. James’s interests as she was.
She hadn’t expected to like him as much as she did. She found herself looking forward to seeing him when she arrived at the office. Since that first lunch, they’d eaten lunch together a few times, that hour of personal time quickly becoming the highlight of her day.
When he burst through the door of her office, his excitement was palpable. “We got the DNA tests back!” he exclaimed, waving the file over his head. He passed her the manila folder, reciting the results as she flipped through the documents. “According to the lab, the DNA on the towel belonged to Mary James and an unknown male. It was also a perfect match to the DNA from the sperm left on the bedsheets. They’re running it through the CODIS database now to see if we can get