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“I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” She ended the call. “Jess needs to talk to me.”
“Try to convince her to be honest about what’s going on.”
“I’ll try.” She paused a moment. “Thank you, Hez. For everything.”
“Of course. You know I’d do about anything for you.”
It was wishful thinking to read more into his statement than he meant. She removed her hand and took off at a quick jog toward the jail. Her heart thudded with every step. Capital murder and embezzlement. Was there more to what was going on than Savannah wanted to admit to herself? She pushed away the thought—this was Jess, and she loved her sister with her whole heart. She had to have been framed.
She could barely think as she gave her name and was ushered into the room with her sister. Jess looked pale and subdued in an orange jumpsuit behind the window. Savannah slid into the seat and reached for the phone as Jess did the same on the other side.
“Thanks for coming,” Jess said. “I need you to do something for me. You have to fly to London since I can’t go.”
“London? What’s so important in London that you’d wreck your chances of getting out of jail until the trial?”
Jess pressed her lips together, and her gaze searched Savannah’s for a long moment. She tucked a strand of lank blonde hair behind her ear and wet her lips. “My son.”
The blood drained from Savannah’s head, and she felt faint. “S-son?”
“He’s ten, and his name is Simon. He’s at boarding school in London, and he has a break right now. I promised to pick him up on Friday, so you’ll need to fly there on Thursday. You’ll have to explain who you are. Tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t come.” Her words flew faster and faster. “You can fly over and spend a few days with him, then take him back to school. Don’t tell him I’m in jail.”
“You have a son.” Savannah could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth. “Wow. Who’s his father? And why did you keep him hidden all this time—hidden from me?”
Jess folded her arms. “We can talk about that later. I need your help now.”
“Why didn’t you tell Hez about this? It might have mattered in whether or not you got bail. Jess, you aren’t thinking clearly.” Savannah shook her head, trying to make sense of this surreal situation. “Your son—Simon—can’t go back to school. You’ll be in jail for months. What about his vacations, like at Christmas and next summer? I’ll bring him here.”
Jess scowled. “See, this is exactly why I never told you. Erik can never know he has a son. He’ll use it to try to control me, and he’d be a terrible father. Promise me you won’t ever tell Simon or Erik.”
Everything about this felt wrong. Savannah leaned closer to the glass. “Every child has the right to know who his parents are. I mean, I agree with you about Erik, but your situation is a prime example of how the truth always comes out. You knew Dad wasn’t your father, and you pressed for the truth until you knew. Simon will too.”
Jess raked her hand through her hair. “It can’t come out now. Erik will use my situation to try to gain custody of Simon. You can’t let that happen, Savannah. You just can’t.” Her voice rose to a frantic note.
Savannah pressed her palm on the glass. “We don’t have to say who he is. I have very little contact with Erik. I can make this work.”
Her sister’s strange behavior with her son emphasized to Savannah the trauma of her upbringing. Jess had wrapped her cold strength around her as a shield against their father’s snide comments. Savannah had tried to help as much as possible, but she was a child herself and could do little to buffer either Dad’s narcissism or Mom’s passionate recklessness. And Jess letting anyone know about her pregnancy would have felt like she was no better than their ruined mother. It would have confirmed Dad’s opinion of her. No wonder she’d hidden it all.
Jess covered her eyes with her free palm. “You have to help me.”
How could she? She needed to leave in two days. Was there enough time to find someone to cover her classes? “You should have told Hez. He’s livid about being blindsided.”
Jess dropped her hand and sighed. “I know. Please don’t let him drop me. I need him.”
“I’m not going to manipulate him for you. Apologize and work it out with him on your own. Hez is a good listener. Tell him the truth about the trip. He’ll understand.”
But from Jess’s expression, Savannah wasn’t sure she’d tell Hez the truth. And without the truth, Hez was flying blind.
Chapter 27
Knots twisted in Hez’s stomach as he walked down the jail corridor toward the interview room where Jess waited. He knew what he needed to say, and he knew the conversation could get ugly. Firing a client was never easy, even if it wasn’t his sister-in-law.
The guard opened the door for him, and he went in to face Jess. He sat down as the door shut behind him. She watched him from the other side of the table. She had a good poker face, but he could see the tension in her rigid posture.
“Might as well cut to the chase.” He took a sheet of paper out of his briefcase and slid it across the table to her. “I’m withdrawing. Here’s a list of four good criminal defense attorneys. I can vouch for all of them.”
She didn’t take the paper. “I understand why you’re upset, but I need you to stay on.”
He groaned inwardly. Here we go. “Jess, this isn’t your decision.”
