N. Walters: A Legal Affair

Alicia sighed and gave into the inevitable. Gill was right. Whatever happened, it would be a mutual decision. Right now, all she had to do was enjoy dinner with the man.

One step at a time.

Pulling down two glasses, she filled them with water. She thought about the bottle of cabernet sauvignon she had chilling in the refrigerator, but she needed her wits about her tonight.

She placed the water glasses on the table and Gill held out her chair as she sat down.

“Thank you,” she automatically replied, charmed by the gesture.

He joined her, taking the chair across from her, and they both helped themselves to the food. Alicia selected some of the vegetable chow mein, a helping of chicken fried rice and a small amount of the sweet and sour chicken. Gill piled honey garlic ribs and some of the chicken on his plate, along with a mound of the rice and a pile of chow mein. He unwrapped two spring rolls and placed one on the corner of her plate.

“So, did you get started on the list this afternoon?” She needed to talk about something. Anything to get her mind off the low-level arousal still thrumming through her body. Scooping up a forkful of the delicious-looking rice, she started to eat.

Gill finished chewing his mouthful of food. She watched the strong column of his throat move as he swallowed. Damn, the man even looked sexy while he ate. That just seemed wrong somehow.

He laid his fork on the corner of his plate and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small notebook. “I talked to a few of Brown’s friends. No help there.”

Alicia nodded as she chewed. That wasn’t exactly a big surprise.

“I did locate a former employee, a woman who used to be the receptionist at Brown’s real estate firm.”

She laid her fork by the side of her plate. “Why would you want to talk to her?”

Alicia didn’t even know who the woman was. Her name wasn’t on the list she’d given Gill earlier.

He gave her a grim smile. “Because bastards like that tend to stray. I thought she might be a likely candidate as an ex-girlfriend. Even if she weren’t, she would have been in a position to see things, maybe overhear things. Plus, she doesn’t depend on him for her livelihood any longer. Kate Thomas is happily living in New York now and she had quite a bit to say about Jim Brown.”

“Tell me.” From the look in Gill’s eyes, she knew it was going to be good.

He reached out and took a sip of water, placing the glass back down on the table.

“Apparently, he likes his sex on the rough side.”

“Oh my God.”

“Yeah. Not only that, she overheard him many times yelling at his wife over the phone. It’s not enough, but it’s a start.”

“And a good one.” Pleased, she stabbed her fork into a chicken ball and popped it into her mouth.

Gill flipped his notebook closed, sliding it back into his pocket. “She’s more than willing to testify if it comes to that. I had Patrick take her statement over the phone this afternoon. Once it’s typed up, he’s going to mail it to her so she can sign it.” Gill shook his head. A lock of hair fell across his brow and he pushed it aside. “I got the feeling she’d love the opportunity to tell everyone just what a bastard Jim Brown is.”

Alicia chuckled.

“In the meantime, I’ve got calls out trying to connect with four people on the list, including the daughter’s teacher. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Good.” She wanted this wrapped up as soon as possible for Elizabeth’s sake.

Picking up her glass, she took a sip of water. “Will you be leaving then?” She needed to know the answer. Had to know what she was dealing with before she made any decisions about what was going to happen between them.

“I don’t know.” He forked up a piece of chicken and popped it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “I’m at a crossroads in my life right now. I left police work because I got tired of too many bad guys getting away on technicalities.”

“That happens.” She picked up her spring roll and nibbled on a corner.

“Too much.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m not blaming the courts or the lawyers, not exclusively anyway.”

“That’s good to know,” she retorted.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I know some great folks who are lawyers, present company included,” he teased before his tone turned serious again. “The cops are sometimes at fault too, not following proper procedure. Then there are the lawmakers and the overcrowded prisons that let violent offenders out early.”

“Like what happened with Shannon O’Rourke when she first came back to Jamesville.”

“And my sister.”

Alicia could hear the pain in his voice. “Your sister?” She knew this wasn’t going to be good.

“Yeah, Janet’s first husband beat her.” He pushed away from the table and walked to the window. It was dark outside. She could see his reflection in the glass, see the anguish etched on his face.

He whirled around. “She didn’t tell me. I’m her brother and a cop and she didn’t tell me.”

Alicia had worked with her share of abused women during her work terms from law school. “She was probably too ashamed to tell you.” It was a sad fact that many abused women felt as if it was their fault it was happening.

“I know that.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “Now, at any rate. I found out when she ended up in the emergency room. One of the other guys on the force was there following up on an accident victim and he saw her. He’d met her at my place at a summer barbeque. He called me.”

He sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes. Waves of grief emanated from him as he relived the memory. “Lying in her hospital bed, she tried to deny it. But I’d seen too much domestic abuse to be fooled.”

“What happened?” Unable to stand his torment any longer, she stood and went to his side. Wrapping her arm around his shoulder, she hugged him.

Gill leaned into her, his head resting on her chest. “I called a woman I knew who ran a local shelter and got her to come in and talk to Janet. She eventually pressed charges and he was put away. It took some time, but she got counseling and met a great guy.

They married and moved to California. Janet needed to be as far away from the memories as she could get.”

“What happened to her ex?”

Gill gave a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Sometimes justice is rough. He died in prison. Pissed off the wrong guy and got knifed.”

Alicia shuddered. So much violence.

Gill pulled away and stared up at her. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to get so intense.”

“That’s okay.” Actually, she was pleased that he’d shared with her.

“What about you? Any dark secrets from your past?”

She thought about sitting down again, but he had his arm wrapped around her waist.

It felt amazingly right to stand here beside him.

She chuckled. “I had an incredibly normal life. My father is businessman and a former mayor of Jamesville, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom. I went to school 52

here and then went away for college and law school. I worked with a firm in Portland for a couple of years and then came back home to open my own practice.”

“No marriage?”

Alicia shook her head. “No. Two serious relationships, but they didn’t work out.”

She shrugged, trying to act like it didn’t bother her, but it did.

The first relationship had been with a fellow student while she was in college. It had been intense and emotional, filled with fights and make-up sex. He’d been a philosophy major and she’d been headed to law school. It had lasted one tumultuous year before she’d had enough and broken it off.