Page 53 of License to Kill

“Put it in here,” he offered, setting his black leather briefcase on my desk and opening it.

I handed over the devices. “Thank you, sir.”

“Bring a briefcase tomorrow. You’ll need it.”

I swallowed my sigh at the unwanted expense—and the hassle involved with going out and finding a court-appropriate briefcase. While I had a laptop of my own, it had cost less than three hundred and I only used it when absolutely necessary. I’d be laughed out of court if I showed up with it. “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s go. You can read over the papers in the car.”

Since Mr. and Mrs. Hemshaw had already been scheduled to appear in court for the divorce trial, the docket had been adjusted to do a back-to-back opening of the divorce trial and the arraignment of the kidnapping case. The notes for the divorce trial argued that due to Mrs. Hemshaw abusive behavior, she shouldn’t be entitled to a full fifty percent of Mr. Hemshaw’s wealth.

A motion to include evidence from the kidnapping case waited for presentation to the judge, and I suspected they wouldn’t have any issues having the motion approved despite the timing. The FBI agent still lingering in me thought the timing was too perfect, that Mr. Hemshaw had gotten off too easy while his daughter battled for her life, that he had too much to gain from her death.

“You have an odd expression,” Mr. Desjardins commented after parking his car in the paid lot near the courthouse.

“If I were investigating this case, I would be taking a close look at Mr. Hemshaw right now,” I confessed, closing the manila envelope and returning it to the attorney’s briefcase.

“Explain.”

“According to this, Mr. Hemshaw’s net worth sits at a little below three hundred million dollars, of which one fifty of his assets would become the property of Mrs. Hemshaw. Their physical property values aren’t even ten million dollars, which would result in a great deal of lost stocks and other financial properties becoming Mrs. Hemshaw’s property. He currently has custody of their daughter, as she wasn’t working and he had sufficient evidence to support him being the better parent.” I slung my purse over my shoulder and slid out of his vehicle. “I want to withhold judgment on the likelihood of Mrs. Hemshaw risking one hundred and fifty million dollars to kidnap their daughter when their custody agreement has her with extensive visitation and parental rights without owing child support.”

“A similar thought had occurred to me. Mr. Hemshaw is very fond of his money.”

I wondered if Mr. Desjardins would side with his client’s pocketbook or the truth. I expected the worst but hoped for the best, something I recognized would end in disappointment. Some things never changed.

Twelve

There won’t be a problem, sir.

The scent of spice and cinnamon hit my nose the instant I stepped into the courthouse, and every muscle in my body tensed. I hadn’t become a fox since leaving Baltimore, but my memories of a Fenerec’s distinctive smell refused to leave me alone.

A lot of members of CARD were witches or werewolves, with the rare and talented Normal filling in the blanks. In my effort to put the FBI and everything it had represented behind me, I had forgotten. Swallowing, I tailed Mr. Desjardins to the courtroom, forcing a smile while the attorney introduced me to our client. I took a seat on the other side of Mr. Hemshaw, a middle-aged man with dark, hard eyes and the first hints of gray touching his hair.

The firm insisted on natural hair only, which meant my white tips stayed. I had offered to dye them away, claiming that I had some freakish genetic mutation that meant the ends turned white over time. Since I no longer had photographs from my childhood to prove it, I had offered to demonstrate the issue by cutting off the ends, since I needed a trim anyway.

Within a month, the tips had faded as they liked to do, and I was informed I wasn’t to dye my hair. If needed, I could cut the ends off. I thought the rule was ridiculous, but not even the lead attorneys hid their gray hairs, so I left mine alone. In the months since my initial return to humanity, I had added over a foot of length, and it’d grown in thick, so when I tied it back, it resembled a fox’s bushy tail.

To hide as much of the white as possible, I wrapped my hair in a bun.

During the wait for the trial, I claimed one of Mr. Desjardins’s extra legal pads and a pen, preparing to take notes.

“Why did you bring your assistant?” Mr. Hemshaw asked in a way that made it clear he wasn’t happy with my presence.

“She has expertise relevant to your case and will be an invaluable source of information for ensuring a smooth trial.”

I had to give Mr. Desjardins credit. Unless Mr. Hemshaw really thought about it, he wouldn’t realize his own attorney hadn’t given any claims it would work in his favor.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Taylor,” the bailiff announced. Like everyone else in the room, I obeyed, although I kept my gaze focused on the yellow pad in front of me.

The instant it was acceptable, I sank onto my chair, aware of too many eyes focused on me, my client, and the attorney I worked for. Mr. Desjardins presented the motion to delay the divorce trial due to the kidnapping case, which would provide substantial evidence supporting the decision regarding Mr. Hemshaw’s wealth and full custody of his injured daughter.

The judge approved the motion, and without delay or fanfare, ordered the bailiff to proceed to the next item on the docket, the kidnapping of Jessica Hemshaw. Mr. Desjardins hadn’t had full information—or hardly anything beyond the fact she’d been kidnapped and battled for her life in critical condition.

When the judge called in the CARD team for the presentation of base evidence for the arraignment, my heart took up residence in the general vicinity of my feet. Jake noticed me around the same time I had noticed him, and he betrayed his shock with a widening of his eyes.

I counted my blessings; I couldn’t pale much thanks to my complexion, although I felt the blood rush out of my head to join my heart.

Jake’s parents were with him, and I made a note that in order for the Thomas family to be involved in the case, Jessica had been taken to Maryland, Washington D.C., or Virginia by the time CARD had gotten involved, which was where they would have deployed from. For there to only be three of them, they had either had special disposition to work as a three-man team, or they had a replacement team member who hadn’t been able to attend.