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I rushed over to his side, Kellan opening the door the rest of the way and revealing a dingy office, totally bare of furniture except for a sleeping bag and a contractor’s bucket covered with a piece of wood; I didn’t need to ask what that was for. Food wrappers and empty bottles of water were strewn here and there.
It was, without a doubt, where the girl was being kept.
Only one problem.
She was gone.
Chapter 16
Claire
“Tell me again what happened, in your own words.”
It was the manner in which I started every first meeting with a potential client. I’d found the sentence to be effective in allowing the individual to let down their guard and begin the process of establishing trust in the way that was necessary for any good working lawyer-client relationship.
And the client I had before me seemed in dire need of some trust.
The girl, named Lily Baker, was seated across from me in the office I shared with Ana Montanez, another attorney. She was out for the day, so I’d taken the opportunity to meet with Lily there.
Lily, petite and slender, with blonde beach waves and a pretty, doll like face, was a student over at Harvard. She sat across from me in a state of disbelief at the situation in which she’d found herself.
“This is insane!” Her big, brown eyes flashed as she spoke the words. “Totally insane!”
I said nothing, instead offering her a box of tissues nearby. Lily hardly struck me as the crying type. She’d been all fire when we first spoke on the phone, and when she’d come into my office, she’d done it with the ardent stride of a woman out for justice.
Still, shewasa defendant and the charges against her were no small thing.
“From what you told me on the phone last Friday, I’m inclined to agree. But tell me again what happened.”
She sighed, dabbing the tears of frustration from her eyes before taking a long swig from the bottle of Fiji water she’d brought with her.
“So, it was last week, and I was over at the Parlor Lounge.”
“That’s one of the campus bars, right?”
“Yep, one of the newer ones. Anyway, the place was packed and I was there with my girlies. Then, out of nowhere, I felt this pinch on my ass. Kind of hard, really, hard enough to hurt. So, I whipped around and there’s this prick standing there, total pervy grin on his face. I’m like ‘what the fuck?’ And you know what he says back? He says, ‘sorry, but an ass that fine is begging to get squeezed.’”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “Nothing like a little entitlement to ruin an evening.”
“Right? So I asked my friend Sophie to hold my drink, then I pulled back and slugged the shithead as hard as I could in the face. Guess I didn’t know my own strength because I sent this guy flying.”
I knew I was supposed to be Ms. Professional during a meeting like that. All the same, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the idea of some grabby prick getting what was coming to him.
“Of course, everyone got out of the way as he tumbled backward. Then he slipped, fell on his big ass, and banged his head against the side of the bar on the way down. Yeah, he was unconscious but for only like, twenty seconds at most. Turns out his family is some Boston Brahmin big money dynasty, and they’re not happy that their kid got publicly slugged like that.”
“And now they’re pressing charges,” I said. “Intentional aggravated assault.”
The fear returned to her face. She pursed her lips, then shot her hand into her purse to check her phone, a gesture that seemed more out of nervous energy than anything else.
“I’m pre-med, not pre-law,” she said. “But I looked into the charge and it’s bad. It’s a felony. Do you have any idea what would happen if I got charged with a felony? I mean, aside from the prison sentence? My life would be over, and all because I, in my humble opinion, did the right thing.”
I raised my palm, giving her the signal to stop, to calm down, to take a breath.
“My friend Lexi’s dad worked with you on some car accident case, said you were one of the best in the city.” She shook her head. “But the thing is I’m not a rich kid like that asshole. I’m from Cincinnati; my Dad’s a mechanic and my mom works at the Clinique counter. I’m here on scholarships, and whatever extra money my folks have is wrapped up in putting me through school. I’m screwed if I go to court, but I don’t know if I can even afford you.”
I reached over, offering the box of tissues again. Lily took it, yanking one out and blowing her nose.
“Listen, here’s the good news. There’s zero chance that they’re going to get you with intentional. You didn’t stroll up to the guy and clock him out of nowhere. They’re trying to scare you and it looks like it’s working.”
