some of them nervous and fidgety, others merely bored. Liz Fischer stood next to the front row and cast furtive glances at her watch. The district attorney, Kelvin Lucas, sat sprawled in a chair across the aisle wearing a smug smile as the seconds ticked away. Carlotta remembered the way the man had grilled her after her parents had disappeared.
“They must have said where they were going, or called to say they were okay. If you know something and you don’t tell me, young lady, I’ll have to charge you with accessory, and then who’ll take care of your brother?”
But she’d stood her ground—she hadn’t known where they were. If she had, she would’ve turned them in just to stop her brother’s tears.
The man’s hair was grayer, his neck thicker, but the arrogant set of his mouth was unmistakable. “Tracking down Randolph Wren is my top priority,” he’d said to a TV reporter ten years ago, a vein jumping in his forehead. “Now it’s personal.”
When his heavy-lidded gaze now landed on Carlotta, she swallowed and looked away. The man gave her the creeps, although she supposed that was part of his job description. She wondered if he had any idea who she was and how much he’d added to her nightmares at a time when she’d thought she might never sleep again.
“Did you lose your client?” Carlotta heard him ask Liz Fischer, his voice cutting through the noise.
“He’ll be here,” Liz responded, her tone cool.
Lucas gave a derisive laugh. “It’s déjà vu, Counselor. Just like ten years ago.”
Carlotta set her jaw. Ignoring the man, Liz strode toward her and leaned down. “Where the hell is Wesley?”
“He’s in the restroom,” Carlotta said hotly. “He’ll be here in a minute.”
“He’d better,” the woman said. “I don’t even want to think about what I had to do to get him this deal.”
Carlotta gave her a pointed look. “I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t done before.”
“All rise,” the bailiff announced as the judge walked in.
“Go find him,” Liz said through clenched teeth.
Carlotta rose and exited the rear doors into the hallway, nodding at the guards stationed there. She scanned the area for Wesley, panic gathering in her chest. Had he fallen ill? Been detained in some way? Another thought slid into her mind and took her breath away. Had Wesley, who so adored their father, somehow gotten it into his head to imitate The Bird’s behavior, to earn his own notorious reputation?
She asked one of the guards for directions to the men’s room. She practically ran in the direction the man pointed and when she found it, hesitated only a second before barreling inside. There she found Wesley leaning over a sink, his mouth bloody and his clothes disheveled and a bulky man standing over him—Detective Jack Terry.
Her maternal hackles stood on end. “Get away from him!” She went in slapping at the bigger man like a windmill.
“Hey, hey, hey!” he said, arms raised to ward off her blows while he backed up. Then he grabbed her wrists and held her, his eyes blazing. “What the devil are you doing?”
“This is police brutality!” she cried. “Help, someone!”
He released her wrist to clamp a hand over her mouth. “Shut up before you get someone hurt, dammit. I walked in and found your brother like this. I was trying to help him get cleaned up before his court appearance.”
She cut her gaze to Wesley for confirmation and her brother nodded. “He was trying to help,” he mumbled through a fat lip.
She relaxed and the detective released her, her red lipstick bright against his fingers. “What happened?”
Wesley dabbed at the blood on his face. “Some guy jumped me, took my wallet.”
She narrowed her eyes at him in the mirror but bit her tongue. She’d bet anything the “guy” had something to do with Father Thom, a detail that Detective Terry didn’t need to know. “Liz Fischer sent me to find you. You need to get to the courtroom right away.”
She moved next to him, her heart beating faster to see his puffy lip and bloody teeth. At least his glasses weren’t broken. “Are you okay?” She reached for him, but he leaned away.
“I’m fine, sis,” he said, then walked toward the exit, tossing the wet napkin in the trash. “Let’s get this over with.”
When the door closed, she turned to face the detective, who seemed bemused.
“Told you we’d be crossing paths again,” he said. “I just didn’t think it would be in the men’s room.”
She glanced around the slightly grubby tiled room lined with urinals. “Um, sorry for…attacking you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Then he frowned. “Your brother seems to be having a string of bad luck.”
“Yes. Thanks for helping him.”
“Just doing my job,” he said smoothly. “I hear that Liz Fischer made a deal with the D.A.”
“Yes, thank goodness.” Then she frowned. “Do you know Liz?”
“Sure,” he said with a slow smile. “Liz and I are…friendly.”
She pushed her cheek out with her tongue. “I so didn’t need to know that.”
He shrugged. “Just making conversation.” Then he gestured toward the urinals. “Now, if you don’t mind, I actually came in here for a reason.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Hmm? Oh…” A blush climbed her neck as she turned on her heel and headed for the door.
“But I need to talk to you,” he said behind her. “Save me a seat.”
“Fat chance,” she muttered.
When she entered the courtroom, she slid into a seat in the back row just as Wesley’s case was being called. He and Liz Fischer stepped forward and took their place behind the defendant’s table. Her brother looked so handsome in the brown suit that she’d pulled out of his closet, cut off the tags and forced him to wear. His normally shaggy hair was combed and his posture was arrow straight. But Carlotta’s gaze was riveted on how Liz touched Wesley’s chin and peered at his injury, then angled her head toward his ear as the judge situated his paperwork. Her body language seemed almost…intimate. Carlotta hardened her jaw. Had the woman transferred her affection to the son of her former lover?
“Don’t look so grim,” Detective Terry murmured in her ear as he took the seat next to her. “If the judge goes along with the plea bargain, your brother’s getting off easy.”
Carlotta frowned, and leaned away from the man who had somehow insinuated himself into their lives. Unbidden, thoughts of the detective and Liz Fischer together in bed popped into her head. She squeezed her eyes shut. Good grief, what was it about stick-thin women that drove men nuts?
“Can’t bear to watch, huh?” the detective whispered, touching her arm.
She
