Page 87 of Justice Delayed

“I don’t know.” He placed his hand over hers. “But it’s not up to you. Livingston called the Commonwealth’s attorney’s office, which will determine if a crime has been committed and if there was a miscarriage of justice in your case.”

She moved her hands away from his and bowed her head. “Can we go now?

He wanted to argue with her, make her see the wheels were in motion on the pathway to clearing her name, but things were too raw right now for those arguments to make sense to her. While he didn’t agree with her point of view, she wasn’t wrong. If Jillian had suffocated Jesse by playing a game with him, carrying that guilt around for the rest of her life would be a terrible burden.

Of all the outcomes for this case, that was one neither one of them had considered. And Brogan was very much afraid it would mean the demise of his budding relationship with Melender as well.

ChapterThirty-Four

“He did what?” Phone to his ear, Quentin stalked to his office door and slammed it shut.

“He fired me,” Dan Stabe said. “Jared said he didn’t think I would have his best interests at heart.”

Quentin blistered the air with a string of curse words. His plans were crumbling before his eyes. All because of Melender Harman. Nothing had gone right since she’d come out of the mountains and infiltrated his life. He should have listened to Ruby when she’d begged him not to allow Melender to stay in their home, but no, he had to play the magnanimous uncle. It’s as if Ruby had known the destruction that would follow in Melender’s wake.

He’d missed whatever else Stabe had said but didn’t bother asking the attorney to repeat it. Without caring of the consequences, he barked, “You’re fired.”

“What?” Stabe’s indignation mimicked his own. “You can’t do that.”

“I most certainly can.” A grim smile curled the corners of Quentin’s lips. “If you recall, your current position is based on my recommendation.”

“That may be true, but I remind you that I know things about the past.”

“Don’t threaten me. If you want to go running to the cops or the Commonwealth’s attorney, go right ahead. Whatever you say about me, you’re the one who faces disbarment for your conduct during the trial.”

“You’re so sure this won’t come back to bite you, but I’m not as incompetent as you think.”

The best way to deal with people like Stabe—make sure they know you’re not worried about being blackmailed. “So I paid you to make sure you only put up a facsimile of a defense. That’s a minor offense compared with taking a bribe to throw a trial. Oh, and don’t forget, breaking attorney-client privilege to keep me informed of everything Melender said to you.”

“You could let that particular cat out of the bag, but I don’t think you will.”

The assurance in Stabe’s voice alerted him to be wary, but Quentin had other things to think about, like how he was going to keep his son from making a huge mistake.

Stabe resumed. “There’s also the matter of conversations we’ve had since then. I think the FBI will be very interested to listen to what you had to say about a certain senator and a bill that grants you mining rights in Shenandoah National Park.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“That I hold all the cards.”

“Do you?” His longtime subordinates would have instantly recognized the menace behind those softly uttered words.

Stabe ploughed forward. “I recorded our conversations, and will turn over the recordings to the FBI, unless…”

Quentin opened a desk drawer and extracted one of his burner phones. Powering it up, he asked the question Stabe was waiting for. “Unless what?”

“I don’t see why things can’t continue as before.”

Stabe’s actions read like a script, so predictable. Quentin would have laughed at the sheer pedestrian aura of it all, but he didn’t have time for frivolity. “You’re right,” Quentin finally responded.

A short pause, then the other man ventured, “I am?”

“I was too hasty in my decision to fire you. Consider yourself rehired.” Quentin thumbed in a number on the burner phone without hitting the connect button.

“Great.” Stabe cleared his throat. “What about Jared?”

“I’ll take care of my son. And Stabe?”

“Yes?”

---