Page 53 of Legal Passion
He cared about justice as much as she did. Maybe more. Because he didn’t just want to win; he wanted to make sure the right person paid for the crime.
* * *
Stone must have shown the photo to his client and let him know that she had it, too.
Byron Mueller knew it was all over now. He was certain to be convicted once she submitted the evidence. What did he want? Murder two?
That was the conviction she was certain to get with no negotiating with him and his high-priced lawyer. And knowing Stone, he probably wanted something less.
Manslaughter.
She snorted. That wasn’t going to happen. No matter how good he was in bed.
This wasn’t about sex. This was about justice.
Bethany deserved it. She’d died way too young.
The jail guard stepped back and opened the door for Hillary. With a nod of appreciation, she stepped over the threshold into the small visitation room. She visited the jail a lot. But given his clientele, Stone did as well.
Did it bother him when he did? Did it remind him of visiting his parents? Or hadn’t he ever visited them? Since he’d run away from them, maybe not.
Unlike his client, who was seated at a table, Stone was standing and pacing the small confines of the room like a feral cat who’d been caged. And she knew this wasn’t where he wanted to be, which was probably how he’d felt as a kid.
She felt a twinge of regret over his childhood. It had sucked. But instead of turning to a life of crime, he’d...
Chosen to help criminals.
Really, what was the difference?
She couldn’t see it. And because she couldn’t see it, she couldn’t see a future for them. Not that she wanted a future with him—or with anyone else. Hell, nobody knew whether or not they had a future.
Her mother had found that out, way too young.
She drew her attention from Stone, took the chair across from Byron Mueller and focused on him. He didn’t look like the brash billionaire who was used to either buying or bullying to get whatever he wanted. But maybe he’d realized that he couldn’t buy his freedom.
“So why did you want to see me?” she asked, but she directed the question at Byron—not his attorney. She didn’t want to talk to Stone after the way they’d left things, after he’d accused her of being unfair.
He didn’t know her at all. Even Miguel had said she was fair.
“No offense, Ms. Bellows,” Mueller said. “But I didn’t want to see you.”
She had to glance at Stone now. He’d stopped pacing to stand beside Byron’s chair. “So why am I here? I thought your client had an admission to make.”
“You know what the admission is,” Stone said. “That his wife was having an affair with his son.”
“Yes...” She furrowed her brow with confusion. “I am well aware of that, and I know your client is, too. The private investigator he hired is the one who took that photograph.” The PI hadn’t sent it to her, though, and he claimed he didn’t know how it had gotten out. His client—Mueller—had told him to destroy it.
She figured someone had hacked his computer. He’d taken the photo with a digital camera and downloaded it. He probably hadn’t deleted it from everything.
Mueller glanced nervously at his lawyer. He must have been surprised she knew so much.
Stone didn’t look surprised. He would have known that she would do her research before submitting the photo as evidence in court.
“The private investigator is going to testify that you came unglued when he showed you that photo,” she continued.
Mueller’s face flushed.
“You’ll have to get it admitted as evidence first,” Stone said.
