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Hez sat down and turned to watch Hope. Bail was a long shot in any capital murder case because of the aggravating factors that separated that crime from regular murder. Still, if any capital murder defendant deserved bail, it was Jess. And if any prosecutor would agree to bail, it was Hope.
The judge turned to Hope. “Ms. Norcross?”
Hope gave Hez a look that he couldn’t quite read. Sympathy? Doubt? At least she seemed uncertain, which he took as a good sign.
She slowly got to her feet. “Your Honor, there appears to be, um, some sort of misunderstanding or mistake here. Ms. Legare not only is a flight risk; she actually has a flight booked for the day after tomorrow. She has chartered a private plane from Birmingham to London, England. We discovered the charter documents on her computer this morning and confirmed with the airport just before this hearing. We cannot agree to bail under these circumstances, of course.” She sat down, avoiding Hez’s stunned gaze.
The bottom dropped out of Hez’s stomach. This couldn’t be true, could it? Hope must be the one making a mistake. He turned to Jess, whose face was set in grim lines.
“Mr. Webster, is this true?” the judge demanded.
Hez stood, his mind reeling. “I . . . Could we have a five-minute recess, Your Honor?”
The judge glowered at him. “Two minutes.” He turned to the court reporter. “Off the record.”
Hez sat and swiveled to Jess. “What’s going on?” he hissed in her ear.
She gave him an icy look. “I said I had an important meeting. You didn’t ask where.”
“What?!” Several heads turned toward him. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “Why do you have to go to London?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Hez barely resisted quitting on the spot and walking out of the courtroom. “If you can’t be straight with me, Jess, I can’t represent you.”
She folded her arms and pressed her lips into a thin line.
“Okay, recess is over,” Judge Hopkins announced. “Back on the record. Mr. Webster, is the defense still requesting bail?”
Hez didn’t bother consulting Jess before he rose. “No, Your Honor. Ms. Norcross is correct. There has been a mistake.”
“I thought so.” The judge jotted another note on his pad. “That’s the last item on my list. Are we done here?”
Hope half rose. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Hez said as he shoved his notepad into his briefcase. “We’re done.”
* * *
The Baldwin County seat of Bay Minette was a bit of a drive, but Savannah couldn’t bear to wait at home for news of Jess’s bail hearing, and she’d been too nervous to sit in the courtroom. She waited on the wall around the park fountain where she could spot Hez the minute he started her way from the nearby courthouse.
Her watch seemed to tick each minute off slowly as she watched mothers with toddlers stopping to smell the flowers scattered in beds around the park. Ella had loved flowers and couldn’t pass one without pausing. Savannah glanced at her watch again. Surely the hearing was over by now. Once she knew how much bail she had to raise, she could decide what to do. A call to her father wouldn’t be fun, but surely he’d help her.
She spotted Hez before he saw her. His tight jaw and flushed cheeks didn’t bode well, and she rose with her hand to her neck. He spotted her, and the glacial expression on his face eased into a tight smile that didn’t reach his blue eyes.
She bit her lip when he stopped in front of her. “Bail is high?”
“Worse than that. Much worse. Two counts of capital murder plus embezzlement. But that’s not the worst of it. She booked a charter flight to London for the day after tomorrow and didn’t tell me about it. I waltzed into the courtroom confidently, expecting to convince the judge she wasn’t a flight risk, and was blindsided by her complete and utter stupidity. And when I requested a short recess to find out what was going on, she refused to tell me what the trip was about. Of course the judge wouldn’t release her. I couldn’t even ask him to do something so foolish.”
“Why was she going back to London? She was there three weeks ago.” Savannah wrapped her fingers around his forearm. “She has to stay in jail? Until the trial? That’s months, Hez!”
His warm hand came down over hers with a comforting pressure. “Probably a year.” His jaw flexed, and he shook his head. “Savannah, she did this to herself. I can’t represent her if she isn’t honest with me. I looked like a fool to the judge.”
“I’ll talk to her. Please don’t quit, Hez. She needs you.” Savannah wanted to say she needed him too, but it wasn’t fair to put that kind of pressure on him.
Her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. “It’s Jess.” She swiped it on. “I’m here with Hez, Jess. I’m so sorry.”
“I need to talk to you right away. I got permission for an emergency meeting. Can you come right now?”
