Page 53 of Cause of Action

“This.” I handed him the file.

He set it on his desk and studied it.

“You’re kidding me, right?” He glanced up at me.

“No. I believe we can prove that Theodore Williamson is innocent.”

“And who’s this?” He pointed at Morgan.

“This is my private investigator, Morgan Ashley.”

“What did you find, Miss Ashley?” Judge Barrister asked.

“She found out?—”

“I want to hear it from her, Mr. Hamilton.”

“Yes, your honor. I apologize.”

“Well, Gregory Williamson’s car was parked across the street from the restaurant the night Grace was killed. The diamond necklace she wore was given to her by Gregory Williamson, not her mother, as she told everyone. He was the one she was having an affair with and was the father of her baby.”

“Do you have proof the child was his?” he asked.

“Not yet, but I will,” Morgan replied. “Here’s the thing, your honor. Gregory Williamson was jealous of his brother. He was jealous of the relationship between him and his mother, and he was jealous of his relationship with Grace. That’s why he began an affair with her. But when she got pregnant, that threatened everything. Their father was all set to give Theo the V.P. position at his company, and Gregorywas livid because he thought he deserved that position. After all, he was his biological son, not Theo.”

“Are you saying that Theo was adopted?”

“Yes. The Williamson’s adopted Theo when he was a baby after Mrs. Williamson was told she couldn’t have children. But soon after they brought Theo home, Mrs. Williamson discovered she was pregnant.”

“There was no mention during the trial that he was adopted,” Judge Barrister said.

“Because nobody bothered to look into it or ask,” Morgan spoke. “All the evidence pointed to Theo, which was good enough for the D.A. As far as they were concerned, it was an open-and-shut case.”

“I’m still not convinced there’s enough to retry this case.”

“I have proof that ties Gregory to Grace, your honor,” Morgan said. “He was the one having an affair with her, not some guy named Travis nobody could find.”

“But there’s no actual proof that he murdered her, Miss Ashley. Do you understand that? And you, Mr. Hamilton.” He pointed at me. “You should know better than to bring this to me without hard evidence. Do you know what the public would do if we were to reopen this case? Everyone believes Theodore Williamson murdered his girlfriend. It only took the jury two hours to deliberate. There was no doubt in their minds either.”

“Because it was set up to make him look guilty,” I said. “You know I don’t take on cases I don’t think I can win.”

“I also believe Gregory killed his own mother,” Morgan blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Judge Barrister’s brows furrowed. “You can’t say something like that without proof, young lady.” He leaned back in his chair and ran his hand down his face.

“An innocent man was wrongfully convicted. Will you be able to sleep at night knowing this?” Morgan asked.

“You need more proof,” Judge Barrister said.

“And I’ll get it.”

He stared at her momentarily and then at me. I smiled when he grabbed a pen from the holder and signed the motion.

“I’m putting this case on my docket for two weeks from today. Don’t make me regret this.”

“Thank you, your honor.” I smiled.

CHAPTER 19

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