I’m pleased to see you again.” Morris’s smile was polite but restrained, suggesting that it was up to Jase to be sure this was indeed a pleasure. “Come in.” Without rising from behind the massive cherry desk, he nodded to the leather client’s seat.
“Thanks. And thank you, as well, for lining up the apartment for me.”
Judge Morris waved the gratitude away. “Evelyn took care of all that. You’ve met her already. Trey Alter, my associate, is out of the office today, dealing with another matter for one of our clients.”
“I look forward to meeting him.” He’d been wondering how Alter would react to the judge’s hire.
“You’ll want to take some time to move into your office and get up-to-date on the cases we have in hand,” he continued briskly. “Trey will be relieved to have someone to share the load, since my judicial responsibilities keep me from taking a more active role.”
Jase nodded. Judge Morris couldn’t be involved in anything that might conceivably appear before his court, but that still left plenty of work. It had been assumed that the judge’s son would take over, but his death had changed things. There was obviously a need here.
He just wasn’t convinced that he was the right man to deal with it. He suppressed a grimace, thinking that old sayings became clichés because they were true most of the time. Beggars can’t be choosers.
“I’ve gone over the case material Alter sent me, and I’m ready to dive in right away.” He hesitated, but it had to be said. “As for the other matter we discussed, it’s not going to be easy to investigate your daughter-in-law in a town this size, not without making people suspicious.”
Morris’s jaw tightened. “I don’t expect you to mount a stakeout. Something a little subtler is required.”
“I see that, but I’m not sure what you think I can do.” Jason tried to keep his distaste for the strings that had been attached to the job offer from showing in his voice.
Swinging his chair around, the judge reached out to grasp a framed photo from the shelf behind him. He thrust it across the desk so that Jase could see it clearly. “My son. And my grandson.” The boy was hardly more than a toddler in the picture, face still round with babyhood curves. Frank hadn’t changed much from law school, still a good-looking guy, attractive to women, but with an ominous weakness about his mouth and chin.
Judge Morris paused, emotion working behind the facade of his judicial face. “Deidre was never good for Frank, never. He had a brilliant future here, could have become the youngest county court judge we’ve ever had. But she didn’t encourage him. From the day they married, she tried to separate Frank from his family.”
Not that unusual a story, was it? In-law relationships were notoriously dicey. Jase sought for a way to deliver an unpalatable truth. “Even so, I’m afraid that’s not a basis to file for custody of your grandson...”
“I do know something about the law.” Morris’s tone was icy. Maybe he realized it, because he shook his head quickly. “Of course not. My goal isn’t to take Kevin away from Deidre. She is his mother, after all. But she’s always been rather unstable, subject to irrational likes and dislikes, making quick decisions that end up hurting someone. If Frank were alive, he could serve as a balance to that...but he’s not, and I’m determined to do what I can to protect his son.”
This was becoming more unpalatable every minute. But how did he say no to someone who’d just given him his future back? “If you don’t intend to sue for custody, then what?”
“Leverage.” Judge Morris pronounced the word heavily. “I need leverage to convince Deidre that she and Kevin should move in with us. Once that happens, we’ll be able to provide the stability and the good life the boy needs. Without a father, subject to his mother’s whims... Well, I’m concerned about what will become of him.”
It sounded like the kind of messy, emotional case that had sent him into specializing in financial fraud, where the only emotion involved was greed. “Naturally you’re worried about your grandson. But I’m not sure what I can do.”
“Deidre is having an affair with a married man.” His expression was harsh with condemnation. “At least, that’s what my son thought. For all I know, that might have been what sent him speeding into a concrete wall. Find me proof, and I’ll know what to do with it.”
“If you’re sure of your facts...” he began.
Judge Morris stood abruptly, the framed photo in his hands. He stood at the window, staring down at the photo and then setting it back on its shelf, centering it carefully.
“In my position, I have to be careful. It wouldn’t do for a county court judge to be seen as collecting evidence against his own daughter-in-law. I don’t expect you to shadow her or sneak around taking photographs. You’re close to Deidre in age, living right next door. It shouldn’t be hard to gain her confidence and keep an eye on the situation.”
He caught Jase’s expression and gave a thin smile. “It wasn’t a coincidence that Evelyn rented the apartment in the old Moyer house for you. Deidre’s family home is the white colonial to the left as you face the house.”
“The place with the swing set in the backyard.” He could hardly help noticing it. His bedroom windows overlooked the property. Obviously the judge’s staff work was excellent. “There’s no guarantee that I can find anything to help you,” he warned.
Judge Morris gave a curt nod. “I accept that. Don’t imagine that your position here is conditional on success.” A muscle in his jaw worked. “Deidre is a manipulative woman who betrayed my son. I have to keep her from damaging my grandson.”
Manipulative. Betrayed. Did Judge Morris know that those words would strike fire in him? Maybe, maybe not, but it didn’t really matter. He already knew what his answer had to be.
“All right. I’ll do my best.” Now his jaw clenched. He didn’t have a very good track record when it came to outwitting a manipulative woman. But this time, at least, he was forewarned.
* * *
DRESSED FOR HER evening meeting, Deidre peeked into Kevin’s room. He’d been determined to stay awake until the arrival of Dixie, her neighbor, who’d offered to babysit tonight. But he was already sound asleep. She tiptoed to the sleigh bed that had been hers as a little girl and bent to kiss his smooth, rounded forehead. Kev slept with abandon, as always, one arm thrown over his head and his expression concentrated.
“Sweet dreams,” she whispered.
She’d told him that the bed, with its curved headboard and footboard like an old-fashioned sleigh, had always brought her good dreams. Maybe it worked for Kevin, too. Although he sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, he never seemed frightened, going back to sleep as quickly as he’d wakened.
Leaving the door ajar so Dixie would hear him if he called out, Deidre hurried downstairs, glancing at her watch. This first meeting of the Echo Falls Bicentennial Committee would probably be a fractious one, with representatives of every segment of town life in attendance. She’d promised to arrive early at the library and start the coffee—one of the inevitable chores falling to the only person on the library board who was under seventy.
A tap on the front door heralded Dixie’s arrival, and she came in without waiting for Deidre to answer. “Am I late?”
