“Then I will too. I want to remain standing when you fire me.”
CHAPTER7
“Ihave no intention of firing you,” he said, bracing his shoulder against the burnished wood mantel over the fireplace. His gaze went to the books in the nearby built-in shelves.
Taking a deep breath, she settled onto an armchair that sat at an angle to the sofa. “You don’t?”
Jericho raised one dark eyebrow, his eyes as emphatic as his voice. “No. No way, not over this.”
“How can you be sure that I won’t hold something back in court?”
He pushed away from the mantel and took a few steps toward her. “Kate, that would never happen. Never,” he emphasized.
The tension deflated out of her like a hot air balloon losing altitude. She had no idea that her job had meant so much to her or that Jericho’s opinion mattered just as much. “Are you saying that you trust me to do the right thing?”
“Without question.”
She couldn’t seem to form words at his unequivocal answer. Her parents had revered her. Anything she’d done had awed them. Faculty had praised her. Coworkers held her in great esteem. But the knowledge that Jericho trusted her so implicitly had sudden emotion clogging her throat. It was a defining moment in her life to know that this man found her not only worthy but considered her beyond reproach.
His eyes softened and the look tugged at her heart. It would take so little effort on his part to make her fall in love with him. Maybe she was already halfway there.
“I think your loyalty is misplaced in this instance, but I admire it tremendously, Kate. Danny’s lucky to have such a friend as you.”
She finally found her voice. “So, you have no problem with me being on this case.”
He took a few more steps and walked over to a bar. Picking up a pitcher of ice water, he poured a glass. Walking over to her, he offered her the water.
She took the glass out of his hand, electricity snapping against her fingers as they brushed his skin.
He went back to the bar and poured another glass. He downed it in three quick swallows and poured another. “If it was up to me, I’d say yes, continue, but the DA wants to move forward. He thinks you’d be wasting your time chasing ghosts. He believes that there was no one else in that apartment. He wants me to go with the evidence that I have that Danny killed her. I argued with him, but it did no good.”
“Obviously you didn’t argue hard enough.”
“I think you want to find evidence that someone else was in the apartment, but I think you’ll come up empty. You’ll have to accept the fact that Danny killed her.”
Sparring with him was something that she knew how to do. Using her mind was second nature to her. It only became hard when she was asked to give more than she could emotionally. Feelings were so unpredictable and had no rhyme or reason. “I don’t think so. I’ll prove it to you, Jericho, and to the DA.”
He took another long swallow of the water. “You’ll have to do it on your own time and make sure the DA doesn’t find out.”
“You’d cover for me?”
“Kate, you’ve been a criminalist for a long time. I believe in turning over every stone to make sure nothing else crawls out. I don’t like to be surprised in court. Roth will have us both by the short hairs if he finds out, so be careful and discreet.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I don’t mind using my free time to prove that Danny’s innocent. But I think you should be prepared to postpone the trial.”
“Why is that?”
“I think a competency hearing is in order. Danny has about a seventh-grade understanding. He couldn’t possibly understand court proceedings.”
Jericho finished his water off and set the glass down on the edge of the mantel. “The DA has already gotten the judge to waive a competency hearing. He’ll be arraigned tomorrow as scheduled and the trial will go forward.”
“You agree with the DA?” Kate snapped.
“Not entirely, but I don’t see any merit in dragging Danny to a competency hearing. He knows right from wrong. That much I gathered when I talked to him.”
She stared at him long and hard, her chest heaving with temper, her jaw set so rigid her teeth hurt. She knew that his hands weren’t tied. He could order a competency hearing if he wanted to, but he was Roth’s fair-haired boy, running for DA with his blessing. She nodded. “I see. Now that Roth has endorsed you, you don’t want to step on his toes. I’m sorry I disturbed your workout. I’m sure you’ll want to get back to it.”
“Wait just a damn minute. My decision has nothing to do with my political aspirations.”