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“Cat, it’s Royce.”
“Lauren called you.”
“Yes, but I’m actually on the bench right across from you.”
I look up to find him sitting there. “You’re following Kelli,” I say.
“Yes. And I wanted you to know that if she gets close to you, we’re close to you. I sent you a warning text you ignored.”
I glance at my phone, and sure enough, there’s a message that reads: This is Royce. Kelli Ward is heading your way, but I’m here with you.
“If she approaches you again, Kara is going to immediately join you. We’re here.”
“She’s not going to touch me,” I say. “That would be stupid, and that woman isn’t stupid.”
“We’re here, Cat.” He hangs up.
He didn’t agree with me, but I’ve been around people like her. I’ve helped convict them. And I’m going to help convict her, too. I text Reese: Kelli got in my face. Royce was watching. But she’s your girl, Reese. Get her.
He calls me immediately. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. I worked for the DA’s office. This is not new to me. I just wanted you to know that her loose cannon is getting looser.”
“Text me when you get to the courthouse. I won’t answer, but I need to know you’re here. Be careful.”
We disconnect and I get up and start walking, the words “be careful” now burned into my mind.
Reese
I disconnect with Cat and glance around the conference table where my two co-counsels sit, along with Nelson Ward, who is directly in front of me. “Your wife not only had that confrontation with me today, she just confronted Cat and threatened her as well. Control her.”
Nelson’s lips thin. “I’ll handle her,” he says.
“Like you handled her when you got on that plane Saturday night?”
“We’ve covered that to the point that it’s a baseball bat hitting me over the head. It was a mistake.”
“If you don’t handle your woman better than you did then,” I say, “I’ll have her banned from the courtroom, and I’ll get a protective order for Cat. Actually, that works for us. We need suspicion cast elsewhere. If your wife is volatile, that does the trick.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he demands, leaning forward.
“Are you protecting her?” I press.
“Why would I be protecting her? From what?”
“Did she kill that woman and her unborn child?” I ask.
“I’m not protecting her,” he says.
“That’s not an answer,” Elsa chimes in, sounding appalled. “Did she kill her?”
“No,” he says, cutting her a sharp look, and then eyeing me. “Kelli didn’t kill her.”
“What if she was jealous of Jennifer?” Elsa pushes, while I listen with interest.
“I met Jennifer at a coffee shop,” Nelson snaps back. “You know this story but since you’ve forgotten and you’re one of my attorneys, let’s repeat. She was crying. She wanted to leave her boyfriend. She said she needed a job. I saw her there several times. She was never without tears. I told my wife about Jennifer. Kelli generously decided to help Jennifer get a job. And the baby wasn’t mine. DNA confirms that fact.”
“But Kelli didn’t have DNA testing when she found out Jennifer was pregnant,” Elsa argues.
