Redress of Grievances (8 page)

Riley
stopped abruptly in front of Harriett and glared at her.

"Can
we help you?" Alex asked coolly.

Riley
opened the folder in his hand and tossed a picture on the table.

"Thought
you might want to see the result of your exceptional legal work,
counselor" he spat at Harriett.

She
turned her eyes toward the picture, afraid to look at it, and closed them
immediately.

Riley
leaned down closer to her, resting a hand on the table next to her.

"Meet
number five, Ashley Lawrence, age seventeen, football sweetheart. Thanks to you
she won't make it to eighteen," he breathed heavily in her ear.

"What
the hell are you talking about?" Alex demanded as she stood to face the
detective.

"Come
on, Jimmy," Wolf said, grabbing Riley by the arm. "This ain't gonna
help, man."

Riley
jerked his arm away from Wolf and straightened up, turning his head toward
Alexis.

"They
caught Jared Wilkes again last night. Unfortunately, they didn't get there in
time to save Ashley Lawrence's life," the detective said. Leaning back
down next to Harriett again, he lowered his voice, "He was still fuckin'
her dead body when they grabbed him. They had to pull him off. But he still
managed to come all over her."

Harriett
couldn't look at Riley. She felt sick, but there was no place for her to go.
Other customers were staring at her table, and she had to take a deep breath to
clear her head. Two uniformed officers arrived at the table to escort Riley
outside. As they turned to leave, Alex said, "You forgot your
picture."

"She
can keep it for her memory book," Riley snapped.

"Do
you want to press charges, ma'am?" one of the officers asked.

Numbly,
Harriett shook her head. Her hands were shaking, and suddenly her lungs
couldn't take in enough air. Alex touched her arm, making her flinch. When she
could finally force herself to look at Alex there were tears in her eyes.

"I
have to get out of here," she managed to say.

"I'll
take you home," Alex said softly.

Alex
called the office from Harriett's apartment and spoke to Doug Winston,
explaining what had happened. Alex helped Harriett undress and poured her a
glass of straight bourbon. When she awoke, it was after dark, and she was
curled up in Alex's arms.

"I'm
sorry, Harriett. There was no way anyone could have known...," Alex began.

"Where's
Lacey?"

"Eleanor
picked her up after school. She'll bring her home in a little while."

"I
need a few days off," Harriett said flatly. "Will you have Eleanor cancel
my appointments for the rest of the week?"

"Of
course. Do you want me to drive you up to the cabin?"

"No.
Lacey has school. I just need some time alone."

"I
don't think you should be alone, Harriett. Not yet."

"Don't
worry. I'll be at the office in a few days."

FOUR
DAYS LATER, Harriett entered the offices of Winston and Dunne, pausing for a
moment before pushing the door open. No one spoke to her as she proceeded
toward her office.

"Schedule
a meeting with Doug and Alex for me as soon as possible, please," she said
as she passed Eleanor's desk. Eleanor nodded and picked up her telephone as
Harriett closed the door to her office.

In
less than an hour, she was seated in Doug Winston's office facing the two
senior partners.

"I've
decided to tender my resignation from Winston and Dunne," she said.

Doug
Winston rose from his seat and moved to where Harriett was sitting.

"I
know what a disturbing business the Wilkes case has been for you, Harriett, but
you can't let it ruin your life. You'd be throwing away everything you've
worked for."

"I
have to do this, Doug," she said firmly.

"What
are you planning to do?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm
thinking about moving and setting up my own practice. The Wilkes case will
always be in my mind, but I'll be able to get over it faster if I'm not in
Dallas."

"We
should have never suggested the case to you," Doug said.

"It's
not your fault," Harriett said with what passed for a smile. "No one
forced me to take the case. It was my decision alone. Every attorney knows this
can happen. They just pray it never does. "

"I
think you're making a hasty decision under duress," Alex said tightly.
When Harriett looked at her, there was sadness in Alex's eyes. She loved Alexis
Dunne, and she loved her job, but she knew she would have to give them both up
to make peace with herself and start over.

"No,
Alex," Harriett said softly. "I accept that my actions resulted in
the death of Ashley Lawrence. I don't like it, but I'll learn to live with it.
What I can't live with is the backlash against me and possibly against this
firm. I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if there will be some type of
retaliation, or if someone at Lacey's school will say something to her about
the case or me. I can't place her in that situation."

"You
might find it interesting that Wilkes has requested you as his attorney
again," Doug said. "I didn't think you'd mind if we turned the
sonofabitch down on your behalf."

"Incredible,"
she said.

"He's
retained the Snake," Alex said.

"Lewis
Sullivan?" Harriett asked.

"Yeah,"
Doug said. "The scuttlebutt is that Sullivan is going to file an insanity
plea."

Harriett
shook her head. "Jared Wilkes is sick, but he's not insane."

"Well,
that's out of our hands now," Doug shrugged.

"I'd
like my resignation to be effective at the end of the month. I'll clear up the
cases I have pending and will probably have to reassign a few of them."

"Let
us know if there's anything we can do to help you, Harriett," Doug said
patting her shoulder. "You know, I was looking forward to changing the
sign on the door to Winston, Dunne, and Markham."

"So
was I, Doug," she said as she stood to conclude the meeting.

Harriett
was in the process of going through a stack of papers on her desk when Alex
came into her office, instructing Eleanor to hold any calls. Going around the
desk, she bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"I
don't want you to leave, Harriett. I love you."

"This
isn't about just you and me, Alex. There are others we have to consider."

"I'll
leave Gwen and go with you if that's what you want."

Harriett
stood up and walked away from her.

"What
good would that do, Alex? Everyone in Dallas will still know that I freed a
killer to kill again. We both know you can't leave Dallas. The firm depends on
you. I have to do what's best for me and for Lacey now."

Alex
pulled Harriett into her arms and held her tightly. "What will I do
without you?"

"Same
thing I'll be doing. Wishing our lives had taken a different road."

Harriett
moved to Austin a month later, but kept up with the Wilkes case through the
Dallas newspapers and began paying regular visits to a psychologist in Austin.
By the time the Wilkes case was nearing its conclusion, she had begun coming to
grips with something that was every attorney's nightmare. Without informing
anyone, she made the decision to return to Dallas to observe the conclusion of
the Wilkes case, timing her arrival to coincide with the return of the jury's
verdict. Lewis Sullivan had presented an insanity plea based on the fact that
Jared Wilkes suffered from multiple personality disorder. A string of expert
witnesses had argued the case for weeks and now sat with their fingers crossed.

When
the jury forewoman announced the verdict of "not guilty by reason of
mental disease or defect" she couldn't believe it. Although she was seated
in the rear of the courtroom, she could see Wilkes's face clearly. For
everyone's sake, she hoped he would spend the remainder of his life in a mental
institution. As Jared stood to be hugged by his mother before being led away,
he spotted Harriett in the back of the courtroom. When he was sure she was
looking at him, he smiled and winked at her. He had gotten away with murder and
wanted her to know it. The drive back to Austin seemed to take forever as
Harriett tried to put as many miles between her and Jared Wilkes as possible.

Chapter
Eight

HARRIETT
COULD SEE her breath in the cold morning air as she shifted from one foot to
another on the front porch of a restored two-story turn of the century house
that sat on spacious grounds a few blocks from the State Capitol Building. She
hadn't been able to sleep more than three or four hours the night before.
Finally giving up the battle, she had quickly dressed and left her townhouse
before the sun was up. She was being childish and even though she knew that,
she needed to talk to Helen.

When
the front door opened, Helen Mortenson, a fifty-ish woman with silver hair,
blinked into the sunlight that was just making its way over the horizon.
"Harriett?"

"Good
morning, Helen. I'm really sorry to disturb you so early, but could we
talk?" Harriett asked, clearing her throat slightly.

"Of
course, my dear." Swinging the door open wider, Helen pulled the belt of
her robe tighter. "You look like you haven't slept a wink."

Stepping
onto the polished wooden floor of the home's foyer, Harriett looked around at
the familiar surroundings. "I'm sorry if I woke you and Eric."

Wrapping
a chenille-clad arm around Harriett's shoulders, Helen said, "You didn't,
dear. I was just making some coffee when I heard the doorbell. You look like
you could use some, and I know I can."

Harriett
stood leaning against a kitchen counter, feeling a little self-conscious, as
she waited for Helen to fill two large mugs with the steaming brown liquid. She
had met Dr. Helen Mortenson soon after she had moved to Austin, and their
friendship had been immediate. Still disturbed by her experiences in the Wilkes
case, Harriett had sought help, and Helen's name had been the one her finger
had landed on in the phone directory. Helen and her husband, Eric, had a
successful practice in Austin and were considered two of the best psychologists
in the state by their peers. Following her into her office, Harriett found the
chair she had sat in many times while she had been in therapy.

For
a few minutes, neither woman spoke, and just as Harriett was finding the
silence uncomfortable, she glanced at Helen who smiled benignly at her and
tilted her head to the side in an unspoken question.

"It's
Wilkes," Harriett said softly into her mug.

"Why
now? It's been a long time."

"A
case from Dallas has been referred to me. I can't go into any detail about it,
but the circumstances are so similar that I'm not sure I want to or even should
consider taking it."

"Do
you want the case?"

"What
do you mean?"

"Is
it a case where you can actually help the client?"

"I
don't know. They're waiting for my response," Harriett said. Looking at
Helen she continued, "It was referred to me by Alex Dunne."

"Ah,
I see," Helen said as she set her mug on the table beside her. "That
could complicate things a little. So is it the case you're reluctant to take or
the idea of perhaps seeing Alex again?"

"I've
already seen her. She came to my office yesterday to refer the case on behalf
of the client's family."

"And
how did you feel when you saw her again?"

Taking
a deep breath and blowing the air from her lungs, Harriett looked up at the
ceiling. "I don't know. It was almost surreal."

"That's
bullshit and you know it, Harriett. How did you feel when you saw Alex?"

"She
was stunning, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?" Harriett snapped.

"I
want you to be honest with yourself about your feelings."

"I'm
sorry, Helen. Everything about her was almost exactly the way it was the last
time I saw her. I felt...I don't know...happy, sad, regretful, angry. Maybe all
of those."

"But
then there's the Wilkes thing."

"Yeah,
there is that. I should just turn the case down and let it all go away
again."

"But
then you wouldn't get to see Alex. Isn't that what this is really all
about?"

"She's
not with her partner any longer. They separated," Harriett answered while
studying her hands.

"Then
she's available."

"Yep,"
Harriett nodded.

"Do
you want to renew your relationship with her?"

"I
don't know, Helen, and that's the God's honest truth."

"If
you took the case, would that mean spending more time with Alex?"

"I
suppose, at least at first. It would be my case, and she wouldn't have any say
in how I conducted it once I accepted."