Page 14 of Justice Delayed

“I’m not asking you to find what will please me. I want you to help me find the truth.” She reached down and put a tote bag on the table. “Here’s a copy of the court transcript. Call me when you’ve read it.”

Brogan stood and picked up the bag. “Okay.”

As he walked away, Melender drained the rest of her water bottle. She might have made a huge mistake trusting a journalist like Brogan Gilmore, but maybe, just maybe, she could use his need to prove his integrity to her advantage.

ChapterSeven

Brogan tossed the court transcript on the coffee table, then scrubbed a hand across his chin. Questions spun in his mind, the answers of which should have been contained in the stark pages of a week-long court case. Questions that had him doubting Melender’s guilt. Questions that had him not entirely convinced she had no role in Jesse’s disappearance. In other words, reading the court transcript had ignited a driving need to uncover the truth of what happened to Jesse, because if one thing kept bubbling to the surface as he read through the testimony, it was that what really happened that long-ago night hadn’t been told in court.

He pulled his laptop onto his legs and looked up Melender’s attorney, Dan Stabe. The lawyer had left the public defender’s office he’d been with at the time of Melender’s trial and now was an associate at the law firm of Davis, Ramsey, and Stevens. According to Stabe’s posted bio on the firm’s website, he had spent just three years with the public defender’s, then moved to the larger firm. Brogan doubled checked the dates. Yes, Stabe had made the change less than a year after Melender’s trial and sentencing. Davis, Ramsey, and Stevens wasn’t a criminal firm. The attorneys practiced corporate law, a far cry from a defense law practice.

On a hunch, Brogan pulled up the website for Thompson Energy. There, buried on the About Us page, was the name of the company’s law firm. Davis, Ramsey, and Stevens. He leaned back on his couch, staring at the words on the screen. That kind of coincidence—Melender’s attorney ending up working for the law firm representing her uncle’s company—ignited his Spidey sense.

Grabbing his phone, Brogan called Melender. As it rang, he glanced at the clock on his computer. 1:00 a.m. He probably should hang up and make the call in the morning.

“Hello?” She sounded cautious but wide awake.

In the background, the faint sound of traffic and the muted tones of an instrumental tune captured his attention.

“Ms. Harman, Melender? It’s Brogan Gilmore.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Brogan smacked his forehead. Of course he had, calling her after midnight.

“I’m driving to my next cleaning job, so I have a few minutes.”

Some of the tension eased out of his shoulders at the reminder she worked the overnight shift as an office and business cleaner. Why he should be glad he hadn’t disturbed her rest, he didn’t want to contemplate. Better to focus on the story.

Brogan cleared his throat. “I read the transcript.” Her silence encouraged him to plunge on. “I agree there are some major inconsistencies in the evidence and testimony presented.”

“Some major inconsistencies.”

Brogan winced at her flat tone, but he wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. “Here’s the thing. I don’t know if you’re innocent or guilty.”

“I see. Thank you for reading the transcript.”

Sensing she might disconnect the call, he hurried on. “But I do agree there are some rather large holes in the testimony and evidence from court.”

“So you said.”

“So I did.” The old Brogan would have told a source whatever she wanted to hear in pursuit of a story, but the new Brogan, the one who had clawed his way out of a hole of his own making, wanted to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.

Drawing in a deep breath, he shot a prayer heavenward.God, please grant me the right words to say that will not give false hope to this woman, but would honor You.

“Are you still there?”

Brogan snapped his attention back to the phone call. “Yes, sorry.” He rubbed his forehead, then plunged in. “If we’re going to be working together, I need to lay out some ground rules.”

“Working together?” A wariness invaded her voice. “Does that mean you’re going to look into Jesse’s disappearance?”

“It means I’m going to take a closer look at the evidence and testimony presented at your trial to see where it leads.” He paused. “It doesn’t mean I’m out to prove you were wrongly convicted.”

“All I ask is you view it with an open mind.”

“That I promise you I will do. What I won’t do is pursue any personal vendetta you might have against your aunt and her family.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do such a thing.”

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