AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good. How soon can you get me out on bail?”
He returned to his seat. “The earliest opportunity would be when you’re arraigned tomorrow morning. I’ll ask for bail, but don’t get your hopes up.”
She leaned forward, and there was new urgency in her voice. “I need you to get me out in the next week. What will that take?”
“Persuading the judge that you’re not a flight risk or a danger to the community. And if there’s a specific reason you need to be out, it’s good to mention that too.”
She hesitated. “I have a very important meeting. It’s confidential school business.”
“Okay, well, I’ll see what I can do.”
She laid a hand on his arm. Her fine-boned fingers were surprisingly strong. “Hez, you have to win this.”
* * *
Savannah sat in a waiting room at the Baldwin County Corrections Facility. She’d been relegated to this room for over an hour already. Was Hez still with Jess? It would explain the long wait, but it might be that Jess didn’t want to see her. She had to approve the visit before Savannah could go back.
The door opened, and Nora stepped into the room with a University Grounds coffee in her hand. “I came as soon as I heard.”
Savannah jumped up and embraced her friend. Her eyes burned, but if she let out the tears, she’d be unable to marshal her strength for a while—and she needed every bit of control she possessed to get through this. She released Nora and pulled her over to sit with her. “It’s insane, Nora. Why would they accuse Jess of something like this? She didn’t kill anyone.”
Nora handed her the coffee cup. “You know I can’t talk about the case, but let me just say they do have some evidence.”
Savannah’s knees went weak, and she sank onto the chair. “Someone must be framing her, and the police are buying it. I thought the police were the good guys. Aren’t they supposed to dig until they actually find the truth?”
Nora sat on the chair beside her. “I know you’re hurting, Savannah, but you have to let this play out. Who’s her attorney?”
“Hez. He might be in there right now. They haven’t let me back yet.”
“He’s a great attorney.”
Savannah took the lid off her coffee and inhaled the aroma that pushed aside the stench of despair permeating the building. “He’s not confident he can get her off. He even warned me he might not get her out on bail. The trial will take a long time—and he’s moving away in a couple of months. I think his attention will be split, and he won’t be here to find out the truth.”
The thought of being on her own with such a huge task felt overwhelming. Could she do it? Her thoughts whirled. Jess’s future—her whole life—depended on her being exonerated. If the police wouldn’t do it, and Hez wasn’t here and fully committed, that left only Savannah to get to the bottom of what was going on at the campus. She had to step up and do this. Jess could spend the rest of her life in prison. Even worse, she could be executed. There had been two murders, and she was being accused of committing both.
“I see the wheels turning,” Nora said.
Savannah fingered her bracelet. “I just realized I have to figure this out myself. I can’t depend on the police or Hez. He filed for divorce for a reason.”
“He filed to make you happy.”
“I’d like to believe that, but maybe he’s tired of the chaos too. Maybe he needs to move on to heal, and that won’t happen as long as he’s living here. At the first sign of a problem, I rush into his arms.”
Nora lifted a brow. “Oh? And how did he react?”
“He held me while I fell apart. I asked him to go see Jess and represent her. I don’t think he really wanted to do that.” She knew her husband’s every expression, and he’d only agreed because she asked. How was that fair to him?
“Maybe Beckett would help. He might have the power to get into files and places you can’t.”
Savannah tensed. “I don’t think so. To tell you the truth, Beckett is a little too possessive even though we aren’t dating. It’s like he expects me to run into his arms the minute my divorce is final. I’m trying to keep some distance between us, at least until I’m completely sure about Hez.”
“I can understand that, and I think that’s wise. What about your dad? He’s got the money to hire a private investigator.”
“Maybe. He and Jess don’t get along.” Had she explained the family dynamics to Nora? Probably not. It wasn’t a pleasant topic of conversation.
A female officer opened the door and peered in. Her glance bounced from Nora to Savannah. “Come with me, Ms. Webster. Your sister has agreed to see you.”
Savannah sprang to her feet. “Thanks for coming, Nora. I’ll talk to you later.” She followed the officer down a tiled hallway to a room where she spotted her sister behind plexiglass. When Jess saw her, she grabbed a phone. Savannah slid into a chair and picked up the handset.
