The next day at eleven thirty a.m., Landon ducked past the press into the restaurant and was ushered to a private room. She pointed at the table, which was empty except for Jane. “Where is everyone?”
“You’re late?”
She chose a seat on Jane’s right side. “Sorry, I was reading a case on Lexis, and lost track of time.” To her credit, it looked like she’d beaten Carly to the restaurant. Plus one in her column. “Where’s Trevor?”
“I asked him to join us at noon, so we’d have time to talk before he arrived,” Jane said. “I figured that would give you and Carly time to bring me up to speed on what you’ve learned about the case so far.”
Landon looked across the table at the other empty seats. “I guess you’d like to wait until Carly gets here before we start?”
“Actually, she got here before I did. She just stepped out to call Trevor and let him know where we’re meeting, but she’s back now.” Jane pointed toward the door.
Landon watched Carly walk toward them, her stride confident and her face impassive. The complete opposite of Landon’s rushed entrance moments before. In fact, Carly’s entire appearance was a stark contrast to hers. Carly’s black suit was stiff, dark, and somber whereas Landon’s light gray slacks and cornflower blue collared shirt was more laid-back and gave her a pop of color. Carly wore minimal jewelry—a simple silver chain around her neck, a plain silver band on her right ring finger, and a basic silver watch. Landon’s watch was the latest design from Shinola, and she wore several rings, including a large lapis stone she’d purchased on a vacation in Santa Fe. She’d bet big money that Carly considered vacations frivolous.
“We don’t have much time left,” Jane said, “So let’s get started. Landon, Carly was telling us some information she’d managed to unearth about possible extraneous offenses. Carly?”
Carly nodded at Jane and consulted her iPad. “We all know about the most recent case with Vanessa Meyers.” She turned to Landon. “Vanessa told police that while Trevor was traveling during the off-season, she started getting emails from him, accusing her of cheating on him. The emails ramped up and words like slut and whore were tossed around. The last email, the one that caused the NFL to impose the suspension, told her to just break things off or there would be dire consequences. The email was sent from a computer in a hotel business center near the team’s practice center. The league has taken a firm stance on actual violence recently, but threats without more was something else entirely. To avoid bad press, they took a hard line and suspended Trevor, but we won the first round by alleging they didn’t have proof Trevor actually sent the emails.”
“This is all in the file. Is there a reason you’re repeating it?” Landon asked.
“Context. Something about the way the arrest warrant affidavit read made me think the police have reason to suspect Trevor has a history of threatening women. I contacted Skye and asked her to check Houston PD for any police reports that listed Trevor as either the complainant or defendant. She found two calls.” Carly swiped to the next page on her iPad. “In the first one, Trevor called 911 because his girlfriend at the time, Jocelyn Aubrey, was behaving erratically, accusing him of being an ass for ghosting her. She’d been drinking, and the police offered to arrest her for public intoxication, but Trevor asked them not to and had someone drive her home. The second call, a month later, Jocelyn dialed 911when she opened her back door and found a pile of clothes burning on the steps. She told the police she recognized a shirt in the fire as one she’d left at Trevor’s house when they’d been dating. The police questioned Trevor, but he said he knew nothing about it, and his alibi that he’d been traveling at the time checked out solid. Jocelyn didn’t press the issue and no case was ever opened. Since they didn’t make any arrests, there isn’t much to the record, but there might be some portion of the report that we don’t have access to.”
“Sounds like a bad Dateline episode,” Landon chimed in. When Jane frowned, she protested. “Everyone always looks at the boyfriend first, and even when there’s no proof of any wrongdoing, a cloud of suspicion looms over them and follows wherever they go. But why wasn’t any of this in the arrest warrant affidavit?”
Carly cleared her throat. “Probably because they didn’t want to tip us off or distract the judge with sketchy facts. The bigger question is why Dallas hired him if they knew about all this.”
“One word,” Landon replied. “Touchdowns. Trevor is one of the best wide receivers in the league. He could sell fake stocks to little old ladies, and this team would have traded for him because they need a winning season.”
“Investment fraud is a far cry from murder.” Carly edged back in her chair as she delivered the words like she wanted to get as far from Landon as she could.
But Landon wasn’t having it. She leaned forward. “He’s not a murderer until they prove he did it. If you’re going to start with the premise he did it, then they’ve won already.”
“Hey,” Jane said in a hissed whisper, “let’s take it down a notch. First, when I said I wanted you two to work on this case, I meant you’d be working on the same side. Second, everything is on the table here—all theories and opinions are fair game. We don’t rule anything out until we can rule everything out. Understood?”
Landon glanced at Carly and read her reluctance to agree. She was reluctant too. How was she supposed to work with someone who so clearly didn’t get it? Did Carly even have any experience working on criminal cases? Landon made a mental note to extend her digging on this case into her trial partner’s background, but for the moment, she made a strategic decision to step up. “I understand.” She thrust a hand at Carly. “Let’s make this work.”
Carly looked at Landon’s hand like she was holding a knife, but after an uncomfortable few seconds, she gripped it in her own. Her hands were warm and her grip was strong, both details that surprised Landon, and she let slip a slight smile that Carly almost returned. Before she could analyze whether their truce was real, Trevor walked up with a beautiful woman by his side. Landon’s first thought was new girlfriend, bad optics, but she plastered a smile on her face.
Everyone at the table stood and greeted the new arrivals. When Jane introduced the woman as Shelby Cross, Trevor’s agent, Landon breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, Shelby was a helluva lot friendlier than Carly, otherwise there was going to be a whole lot of tension in the room. After an awkward moment where Landon had to snag the waiter to get him to bring another chair since obviously no one expected Trevor to show up with his agent in tow, they all ordered and settled in to talk about the case.
Jane started off. “Before we get into any details, Trevor, I have to tell you that anything you say to us is privileged and we can’t be forced to reveal it unless you tell us about a crime you’re about to commit—”
“As if,” Shelby huffed. “Trevor is no criminal.”
“Or if you tell us something in the presence of third parties who we do not represent.” Jane finished her admonition with her eyes squarely on Shelby.
Trevor shook his head. “Shelby’s been with me since the beginning. Anything you have to tell me, you can say in front of her.”
“Actually, it’s more a matter of what you have to tell us,” Carly piped in. “If you tell us about incriminating evidence, then we can be forced to divulge the information if no reasonable expectation of privacy is assumed.”
Shelby stared hard at Carly and then turned to Landon. “What about you? Do you speak English?”
Landon smiled one of her big, jury-winning smiles, and ignored the daggers Carly was shooting her way. “Absolutely.” She went on to explain the privilege in layman’s terms, and watched Shelby relax. “As long as we’re discussing strategy and procedure or merely reviewing the evidence, it’s perfectly fine for you to sit in.” She turned to Trevor. “But if you decide you’re about to blurt out some information that might implicate you, then by all means, let’s clear the room.”
“Not going to happen,” Trevor said, with a reassuring glance at Shelby.
Pleased she had so quickly identified that the way to Trevor ran through his agent, Landon shot a look at Carly, who stared like she wanted to throat punch her. Landon may have been late to lunch, but she’d scored first in this round. She smirked at her competition. Bring it on.
* * *
Carly glared at Landon, who was openly flirting with Shelby, and wished she had the ability to make people disappear. But she had no such power, and Shelby, and Trevor for that matter, were soaking up Landon’s words like they were gospel. Two minutes ago, she’d said essentially the same thing that Landon was saying now, but apparently, Trevor and his agent were big on delivery and short on substance, and although she preferred to win on expertise alone, she filed that little note away. Two could play this game.
“I’m confident Trevor has nothing to hide,” Shelby announced. “But if he wants me to leave, I will.”
Everyone at the table looked between them, waiting for Trevor’s decision. They didn’t wait long. “I don’t have any secrets,” Trevor said, opening his arms wide. “Besides, I’d prefer Shelby hear everything firsthand so I don’t have to try to remember it all. Regular season starts soon, and even if I’m riding the sidelines, I need to get my head in the game.”
Carly watched Jane closely, but her expression remained neutral. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shelby duck her head. It was possible no one had discussed with Trevor that his team was unlikely to allow him to show up at the games while the cloud of the criminal investigation loomed, but maybe she was missing something. She wasn’t about to be the one to bring up the unpleasant reality, so she kept quiet.
After they placed their orders, Jane dove in. “We have a lot to do to prepare for your case. The first step is the grand jury. I spoke with the prosecutor assigned to your case and she plans to present the case in the next two weeks.”
“She?” Shelby asked.
“Yes,” Jane replied. “Her name is Donna Wilhelm, and she’s an experienced prosecutor in the family violence unit.”
“What?”
“I don’t get it,” Shelby said. “Family violence?”
Carly’s jaw nearly dropped as she watched Landon place a hand on Shelby’s arm. “Don’t get hung up on the name of her unit. She’s a felony prosecutor who happens to work in the family violence unit. The DA’s office considers it a crime of family violence whenever the victim had been dating the person they’ve accused of being responsible for the harm.”
“Because the law says so,” Carly blurted out, unable to help it. “There are special considerations in these types of cases which can enhance the punishment based on alleged prior acts of family violence.” She ignored Landon’s incredulous stare and pressed on. “That’s why it’s extremely important that we find out everything there is to know about Trevor’s past. If there are any skeletons that might come jumping out, better we know up front so we can make plans to deal with them.”
“And by skeletons,” Jane said, “Carly means people who would say harmful things about Trevor to try to hurt his career or get him to pay hush money. Right, Carly?”
Not at all what she meant, but Jane’s arched eyebrows signaled exactly what her reply should be. Fine, Jane was the boss, and Carly would defer to her lead. “Exactly.” She turned to Trevor. “Like the false allegations that got you suspended.” She started talking faster like she’d had a breakthrough. “We should start there. It would be helpful if you made a list of anyone who would benefit from seeing you off the team.”
Carly watched Trevor’s expression change from dejected to hopeful, and she regretted the ray of hope she’d given him since she figured it was pointless because this case was no longer about whether or not Trevor had harassed his ex-girlfriend. A woman had been murdered, and the prosecutor was out for blood.
The rest of lunch consisted of Jane filling in details about what Trevor could expect procedurally for the foreseeable future, and answering questions for Shelby about the process. When Trevor rose to leave, Carly realized they hadn’t discussed anything about the Houston police reports she’d dug up in preparation for this meeting.
“Trevor, before you go, I was hoping we could ask a few questions about—”
“We’ll have more questions later,” Jane interrupted. “But for right now, go on about your business. The only thing we ask you to do is to keep a very low profile. Avoid social media, no comments to the press, and run any press engagements by us before you agree to appear on TV or give any interviews.”
“Trevor has several appearances tied to his endorsements,” Shelby said. “What about those?”
“Run everything by me. We’ll call those on a case-by-case basis. I know you have obligations, but right now, we have only one, and that’s to make sure Trevor stays a free man. Understood?”
Shelby nodded, but she didn’t look happy about it. She stood to leave and Landon rose beside her. “I’ll walk you out,” Landon said. Carly rolled her eyes, but when she saw Shelby sigh with relief, she wished she’d thought of the tactic. Landon had the whole “rescue the damsel in distress thing” down.
After they left the room, Carly confronted Jane. “When are we going to get to talk to Trevor about the information I found in Houston?”
“Not now.”
“Obviously, but you agree it’s important that we know more, right?”
“Of course, but he’s not going to tell you anything incriminating in front of his agent, and if he merely denies any wrongdoing right now, then he’ll get entrenched in that position and never change his mind. First, we’ll find out what Donna knows, and then find a time to talk to Trevor, just you and Landon. He’ll be more likely to talk to you when he doesn’t feel like he’s going to lose face in front of the woman who sells his brand to the world.”
Jane’s words made sense, but surely Trevor would think his freedom was a little more valuable than saving face in front of his agent. Besides, his agent seemed to be pretty distracted by Landon’s attention, a fact that annoyed Carly more than she wanted to admit. “Okay. I’ll do some more digging. I know Donna, though, and she’s not going to share much about her case before she presents it.”
“Maybe we can leave that to Landon,” Jane said. “She seemed to be working magic with Shelby.”
“No,” Carly replied too quickly. The very last thing she wanted to do was suck up to Donna Wilhelm, but no way was she going to let Landon hog this entire case and steal the partnership out from under her. She’d earned this partnership, and if she had to step out of her comfort zone to seal the deal, then she was going to make it happen. “I’ve got this.”
“Got what?”
Landon walked back to the table and slid into the seat next to hers. Again with that little self-satisfied smirk. Carly imagined her flirting with Shelby all the way to the door, and the idea of that bothered her way more than it should. Suddenly feeling very warm, she shifted in her seat. “Just talking over a little case strategy. Thanks for hand-holding the clients.”
“Hand-holding is half the battle, right, Jane?”
“True,” Jane said. “Carly, once you’ve gotten Donna to talk to you, fill Landon in and both of you meet with Trevor to discuss that business in Houston.”
“You don’t want to be there?” Carly asked, ignoring the curious look on Landon’s face.
“I think he’ll feel less intimidated about discussing things with just you two.” She stood. “Besides, one of you is going to be a partner after this case, so it’s time to start doing partner level work. Just let me know what you find out. I’m headed downtown for a hearing in the Gosling case. See you back at the office.”
A moment later, she was gone and Carly stared at her half-eaten salad.
“You should’ve ordered the lobster mac ’n cheese,” Landon said, pointing at her own empty plate. “It was off the hook.”
“My salad was great.”
“Said no one ever.”
“You eat your food and I’ll eat mine. If I’m not trying to shove it down your throat, then I don’t see why it matters to you what I choose to have.” Her anger was irrational, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She stood. “I’ve got to go. I have work to do.”
“Is this your first murder case?”
“No.” Not entirely a lie, but not entirely the truth either. Carly shot back, “Is it yours?”
“Not hardly. I don’t know what kind of cases you’ve worked before, but just a word of advice. You have to gain the client’s trust before you can get him to open up to you, and part of that is gaining the trust of the people around him. It’s pretty clear Trevor takes his lead from Shelby, so you might want to spend some time getting her to warm up to you.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Carly edged away from the table. “And here’s a tip for you. You could be a damn sight more subtle when you’re flirting. It makes it seem less like you’re trying to give legal advice and more like you’re trying to get a date.” She didn’t wait for a reply before she turned around and walked out, leaving the infuriating Landon Holt to stew in that.