Holidays at Crescent Cove by Shelley Noble Page A

‘quasiwitnesses,’ two nurses going off duty and another couple of pedestrians, but it was after five. Dark except for a couple of streetlights. Easy to discredit their testimony because of that.”
    â€œThe paper said there was a car chase. What about the guys in the other car?”
    â€œA bunch of punks, guys with records as long as your arm. They panicked, pulled a U-turn, and one of the nurses got the license number.”
    â€œWhich the defense will say is inadmissible since it was too dark to see,” Grace said wearily. “Same old, same old.”
    â€œExcept one of them ratted in exchange for not being named in any possible litigation.”
    â€œSuspects cop pleas all the time,” Grace pointed out. “The prosecution will portray them as a remorseful patsy. The defense will attempt to show that he would lie, cheat, say anything the police wanted them to say. What else have you got?”
    â€œThe prosecution’s strongest witness is the girl’s husband.”
    â€œThe husband?” Grace sat up. “I thought he was in the parking lot.
    â€œHe’d gone ahead to warm up the car for his new family and was on his way back for his wife when Sonny sped right past him and hit his wife. She flew a good ten feet. The husband totally broke down during the interview, raved about killing the driver that killed his wife and baby. ” He held up both hands. “A fragile witness.”
    Grace nodded. She’d seen that memo. “Easy to badger and then dismiss as distraught and unreliable.”
    â€œIt’s all the defense has at this point.”
    â€œWhich is you,” Grace pointed out, trying to stop the sick feeling roiling her stomach.
    â€œWhich was me.”
    Grace heard the past tense but it took a second to register. “What do you mean ‘was’?”
    Her father turned in his chair so that he faced her. “I’ve left the firm.”

Chapter Eleven
    â€œ Y OU WHAT?”
    â€œI’ve resigned. Quit. Retired.”
    â€œI don’t understand.” Grace moved around the end of the table, pushed his feet over and sat down on the ottoman.
    â€œI advised we not take the case. I was overruled.”
    â€œBecause you thought you couldn’t win?”
    He barked out a bitter laugh. “Of course that’s what you’d think. And who could blame you? But no. I quit because I knew that Cavanaugh would be willing to reach deep in his very deep pockets to win his kid’s freedom.”
    â€œKid? Kid? I wish everyone would stop calling Harrison Cavanaugh a kid. He’s almost thirty. Most people are responsible members of society by that age.” She bit her lip. “Or behind bars.”
    â€œWhere Harrison Cavanaugh should be.”
    Grace couldn’t believe her ears. Something was deadly wrong here.
    â€œYou were right about him all along.”
    Grace hugged herself as the chill of his words settled over her.
    â€œOh, I went through the motions at first. You know me. Old innocent until proven guilty.”
    She’d thought she’d known him. And she thought he’d sold out for the prestige and the money.
    â€œI talked to Sonny after his father had put up a half mil for bail. He said someone else had driven his car but he didn’t know who. That model Jag can’t be hot-wired, so I asked him who had access to it. He named several of his lowlife buddies. Bunch of crap. After all these years in court and dealing with all sorts of clients, I can pretty much tell who’s lying. I knew he was. He wasn’t even doing much to convince me otherwise. He was so sure of himself. So arrogant. Vicious—”
    His voice cracked. “The police reports came in. The girl he hit was on her way back to her car after a sonogram. The baby was a girl. Mother and baby died. The father was half crazy with grief. He IDed Cavanaugh, but in his state, the defense will make mincemeat of