Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Kenji turned back to his laptop with a satisfied smile. “Mmhmm. Careful, Landry, or you’ll also be flying coach.”
Landry gasped and clutched his chest. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Judging by the tiniest uptick of the edge of Kenji’s mouth, I thought he very much probably would.
TWENTY-SEVEN
TULLY
My hands shook as I knocked on Orris’s office doorframe. “Good morning. Dawn said I could grab a few minutes of your time today…”
He looked up from some documents and peered at me over his reading glasses. “Sure, Tully. Come on in.” He leaned back and pulled the reading glasses off. “Did you hear the latest on the Scott custody case?”
I nodded, closing the door behind me and moving to the seat in front of his desk. “Yes, sir. And I have to be honest.” I exhaled and let my shoulders drop. “I’m relieved in a way.”
I was relieved to finally have something solid to pin on the Scotts… if I could just get a confession of some kind.
“You’re not the only one. Now it’s just a matter of getting the judge to make the ruling, and we’ll be able to get the local LEOs to help us retrieve her and bring her back where she belongs.”
“I will definitely feel better when she’s safely with the people who love her best and it’s no longer up in the air,” I said, speaking from the heart. “I think Katie would want it to be settled quickly.”
He gave a solemn nod, as if honoring Katie was his top priority.
I shifted nervously in my seat before glancing back at the closed door and lowering my voice. “I just needed to ask your advice on how to handle something related to the case.” I twisted my hands in my lap and hoped I wasn’t overplaying my nerves.
His forehead crinkled. “Sure, son. What is it?”
“Orris… the witness from Brock’s office switched the samples right after they were taken. There was a distraction in the room, and he… he switched them out. I wasn’t sure at first, but when the results came in… I mean, anyone can see that girl is related to Devon McKay. So how do we…” I let the question fade off in hopes he would jump in.
I wasn’t disappointed.
“Tully… I think maybe you didn’t see what you thought you did.”
I shook my head. “No, I did. I’m very sure of what I saw.” It wasn’t a lie. I was sure I saw nothing more than Lellie wandering off and a room full of adults trying to make her stop.
“But you said you were happy about the results…”
I lowered my voice even more, as if I was part of the conspiracy and didn’t want anyone else to overhear. “It’s just… I need to know how trustworthy that guy is. I’m uncomfortable with Brock putting the Scotts’ integrity on the line unless the witness is rock solid, you know? What if he winds up telling someone…? I know these young lawyers. Hell, we all do. They go out drinking and brag about their accomplishments. Who’s to say this guy doesn’t end up doing that? It could put the Scotts’ custody in jeopardy.”
Orris sighed and rubbed at the glasses marks on his nose. “We have to trust Brock. He’s done this before. Remember the Howard case a few years ago? The one with the actor and the hotel maid who tried to sue him for paternity?”
My stomach turned, but I managed to look surprised and pleased. “He switched the samples on that one? But the housekeeper won custody, didn’t she?”
He shrugged. “She ended up getting custody, but it was due to an unrelated assault case the actor pled out on. The DNA results weren’t to blame. Brock came through on those.”
I tried to school my outrage. “Isn’t he afraid of getting caught?”
Orris tilted his chin down and peered at me over his desk like I was a first-year law student. “Tully. Even if he was caught, what exactly do you think would happen to him? He’s worked with the judges in this town for dozens of years.”
I sat up straight and blew out a breath. “So Brock arranged to switch out the samples, but he did it in a way we can trust.”
Orris nodded. “You don’t need to worry. Just keep your head down and let him handle it. He has a call in to the judge now to see if he can get the decision moved up. If so, the Scotts may even be able to travel to Wyoming before midweek. Now… something you can do is to keep tabs on Mr. McKay. I’m sure his legal team will try to have the tests redone before he gets nervous enough to run. But he won’t be able to run far since he’ll lose access to the money.”
Orris obviously didn’t know Dev had plenty of his own money.