Page 88 of Justice Delayed

“I expect those recordings to be destroyed immediately.” Quentin knew Stabe wouldn’t do any such thing, but his tone didn’t convey that knowledge.

“Absolutely. I’ll take care of them right away.”

Quentin ended the call without replying, then touched the connect button on the burner phone.

“Yes?” The other man’s voice had a husky timber to it.

“Jared fired Stabe.” In his leather executive chair, Quentin leaned back and let his head rest against the upholstered leather.

“And?” By the inflection in the other man’s voice, he had picked up on the tension in Quentin.

“The little weasel tried to blackmail me, so I fired him too.”

A short bark of laughter on the other end of the phone. “Lawyers can be so smug.”

“Stabe said he made recordings of all of our conversations.”

“I see. What did you do?”

“I rehired him and told him to destroy the tapes. Immediately.” Quentin’s personal cell phone sounded with Ruby’s ringtone but he swiped to ignore the call. “I don’t expect Stabe will be a problem much longer, if you get my meaning.”

The other man disconnected without replying. The understanding between the two needed no explanation. He would take care of Stabe and those blasted tapes, if they even existed, and Quentin could focus on saving his family. A picture of Ruby right after she’d given birth to Jesse filled his mind. The radiance of her countenance had been brighter than any star. He had tried so hard to shield her, but he couldn’t hold back the landslide any longer. Maybe one day, she would find it in her heart to forgive him.Oh, my darling wife. I’m so sorry.

* * *

Jared tiltedhis head back to finish the last swallow from his soda can. The remains of his lunch lay crumpled on the metal table. His new defense attorney, a public defender named John Billings, sat beside him jotting notes on a yellow legal pad. After spilling his story to Billings, the lawyer had arranged for Jared to speak with the two detectives and the Commonwealth’s attorney.

“I gotta say, this sounds rather fantastic.” Billings removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

“It’s the truth.” Jared shrugged. “Isn’t there some saying about the truth being stranger than fiction?”

Billings smiled. “They do indeed say that.”

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Jared didn’t have a tightness in his chest. Guess sharing what had happened the night Jesse disappeared had been good for his body as well as his mind. The door opened, and the two detectives entered, followed by a slim woman with cropped hair.

Billings stood, his hand outstretched toward the detectives. “I’m John Billings, representing Jared Thompson.”

The male detective shook Billings’s hand. “Detective Livingston. This is my partner, Detective Collier, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina Valbuena.”

Jared didn’t rise but nodded his greeting in their direction, second thoughts about this course of action tying his stomach up in knots. No, he needed to look after himself, and this was the only way to mitigate the kidnapping charges.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” Billings retook his seat next to Jared as the others sat around the table. “Thank you for agreeing to come down this morning, Ms. Valbuena.”

“You’re welcome.” The lawyer set her briefcase on the floor. “However, the Jesse Thompson murder is a closed case, as far as the Commonwealth of Virginia is concerned.”

“And yet you’re here.” Billings tapped his pen on the legal pad. “I heard there’s a recording that will corroborate my client’s story.”

“What?” Jared couldn’t stop the question. “What recording?”

Billings laid a hand on his arm, signaling Jared to not say another word.

Ms. Valbuena shot Detective Livingston a look. The detective shrugged. “What does Mr. Thompson have to say?”

“First, I’d like assurance that my client will not be charged with anything related to what he’s about to tell you,” Billings countered.

The Commonwealth’s representative glanced again at Livingston, who nodded once. “I can guarantee no charges will be filed against Mr. Thompson apart from the attempted kidnapping.” She leaned across the table, her finger pointing directly at his chest. “But that guarantee doesn’t extend to murder.”

Some of the anxiety eased out of Jared at her assurance. Since he wouldn’t be confessing to killing Jesse, he should be safe.

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