Page 59 of Savage Justice

He’s not serious. Is he?

“Boss? She didn’t do anything.”

“I know that. Prisons are full of people who didn’t do anything. Your point is?”

“What about her children? They need her.”

“Where are they now?”

“Still at Caernbro Ghyll.”

“So, they’re safe. They can stay there while this is sorted out.”

“But—”

“Doesn’t she have family who could look after them?”

“Her mother, but she lives abroad. Ethan, we have to—”

“We all know it’s a stitch-up. The courts will see that, too, and she’ll be released. Eventually.”

“But that could take ages. And what if she isn’t? What if Norris somehow manages to make this stick?”

“Isn’t what? Innocent?”

“No. Released. Of course she’s fucking innocent. But that inspector’s on the take, that much was obvious. Glodowski must be paying him to fit her up. He’s good. It could go either way in court.”

“Molly may be innocent, but someone stole that painting,” Ethan reminds me. “It’s definitely gone.”

“Glodowski, it must be. He’ll have it stashed somewhere.”

My boss nods. We can all see how this is playing out. Glodowski has somehow pulled the strings from his exile in Warsaw to execute this heist and throw the blame on Molly. Revenge, maybe, or perhaps it’s still part of a ploy to get his hands on his son. The man is relentless, and it’s high time he was stopped permanently. I intend to see to that at the earliest opportunity, but first I need to convince Ethan to help me get Molly out of jail.

“I need Lynne Meadows,” I state. “She’s the best. If anyone can get these charges dropped, it’s her.”

Ethan fixes me with an icy glare. “I agree. She is the best. And the most expensive. That woman charges a hundred quid a comma. She doesn’t get out of bed for less than a thousand pounds an hour.”

“Boss?” I’ll beg if I have to.

“Oh, fuck.” He grinds his teeth. “Right, I can see how it is. Okay, you can have Lynne. I’ll make the call. I’ll also be having a word with Kristian Kaminski. He’s supposed to have Glodowski on a tight leash.”

I heave a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Ethan. As for Kaminski, we need to deal with Borys ourselves.”

“Agreed, but Kaminski made a deal with me, and I’m not about to let that go. He owes me now.”

Ethan calls the offices of Savage and Southern, the prestigious firm of lawyers in Edinburgh who handle most of our business. He commissions the services of their most ferocious litigator. One of his cousins is a partner in the firm, so we’ll get a discount, but even so, their fees are eye-watering.

But they’re good. With Lynne Meadows on the case, it’s only a matter of time now before Molly is out.

It actually takes Lynne three days to secure Molly’s release, and even then, it’s only on bail. The shit-hot lawyer worked her magic and convinced a different magistrate to reconsider the flight risk nonsense but couldn’t get the charges dropped entirely. We’re still working on that.

I’m waiting for her outside the prison when she walks out. She takes one look at me and bursts into tears. I bundle her into the back of the SUV and let her cry herself silly while Tony drives us back to Caernbro Ghyll.

“I thought…” She gulps when the sobbing subsides briefly. “I thought I was…”

“I know,” I soothe. “I know…”

“How could they actually think…?”

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