“Him among others,” Angie said. “She didn’t share with me all her boyfriends, but I know there was another guy. He was rich. He bought her a lovely ivory necklace. Heart shaped.”
Malcolm leaned forward. “We never heard about this guy.”
“She kept him very secret. No one knew about him because she said he insisted on it.”
“She never told you the name?” Malcolm said.
“No. But he did fly her to Florida a couple of times. He keeps a boat down there. And they always met in a private condo.”
“You know where?”
“No. Again, she didn’t tell me.” She pulled off her glasses. “She told me just about everything in her life. In fact the details got to be a bit much at times. But this guy she never talked about. She liked him, but she was a little afraid of him as well.”
“You said she also never mentioned Dixon.”
“That is correct.”
“Could they be one and the same?”
“I don’t know.”
“Would this mystery man have been at the cast party week before last?” Garrison said.
Angie shook her head. “I doubt it. It would have been too public for him. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have been waiting for her nearby. Or maybe she went to see him after the party.”
“Maybe he was pissed she hooked up with Gold at the party.”
Angie shrugged. “That’s for you to determine.”
Garrison sipped his coffee. “Can you give us anything else?”
“She had a weakness for lingerie. And this guy liked to give it to her. She often commented that he bought her nice things.”
“That it?” Garrison said.
“If anything else comes to mind, I’ll call.” For the first time the ice dropped, and he glimpsed a caring woman. Angie once told her sister that Eva’s false conviction had driven her into the law. She’d been determined to help those who had the system against them. A noble cause that Malcolm guessed had been tainted by money.
Malcolm could see that she wanted this killer caught as much as he did. “Have you heard any more from Dixon?”
For the first time he saw disgust tighten her lips. “No. As I said, I made it clear that I didn’t want any more to do with him.”
Malcolm leaned forward, narrowing the safety zone that she liked to keep around her. “Did he ever work with anyone else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Anyone who might have shared his darker tastes?”
She didn’t retreat. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know or won’t tell?” Malcolm said.
“I don’t know.” She sat back, and he noticed the pulse at the base of her neck throbbed faster.
“You never asked, did you, Counselor? You never asked him about his dark fantasies.”
“I asked him if he was guilty, and he said no.”
“But you didn’t push.”
“If a client confessed truly horrific details, I could not represent them.”
Malcolm’s gaze narrowed. “But you don’t demand that they tell you everything.”
She didn’t answer.
“So you could have been representing an animal?” He wasn’t sure why he was dumping his anger on her. She’d come to help.
Angie rose. “I’ll call if I discover anything else that would be relevant.”
“Great.” Malcolm watched her walk toward the door.
“So why did you go out of your way to piss her off?” Garrison asked.
The reason was so complicated he couldn’t have condensed it into a short answer even if he could. “I don’t know.”
“You rattled her for a reason.”
He sat back in the booth, tearing his gaze from the door she’d just vacated. “She didn’t look rattled.”
“Defense mechanism.”
“She covered it well.”
“She’s an attorney.”
Angie wasn’t looking forward to her meeting with Charlotte and Micah Cross.
She’d have preferred to have spent the morning reading over Lulu’s case file because she didn’t want to go into the court hearing cold. Especially considering that Judge Odom would be on the family court bench this morning. He was very conservative by nature and wasn’t afraid to terminate parental rights in favor of protecting a child.
As she glanced at the digital clock on her desk she realized she’d have to use that hour before court and just cram in as much information as she could. As long as Lulu showed up, was sober and dressed for the part, she might be able to get Judge Odom to grant some form of visitation for the young mother. He was a tough nut but not uncaring by any stretch.
The bottom line was that no amount of legal tricks or prep work would combat a drugged-out mother. If Lulu didn’t do her part, not much else mattered.
A soft rap on her door had her looking up to find Iris. “Mr. Cross is here. I’ve settled him in the conference room and notified Charlotte.”
“Where is Charlotte?”
“Wrapping up a call.”
“And wanting me to make nice.” Angie rose and smoothed her hands over her pencil skirt. She didn’t need a babysitter to handle Cross. She’d swum with enough sharks to know how to maneuver. “Thanks.”
She grabbed her leather-bound notepad and moved with calm efficiency toward the conference room. She found Mr. Cross standing alone, facing the door, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him stood bookshelves filled with the gold and red spines of the law casebooks. He wore a dark, hand-tailored suit, a crisp white shirt, and a red tie made of fine silk. Dark hair was slicked back off his angular face.
He had a jaw that was freshly shaved and likely would remain smooth most of the day unlike Kier, who sported a five o’clock shadow by early afternoon. Cross’s body was lean, well toned, and fit, no doubt whipped into shape by a personal trainer. Kier’s percentage of body fat was just as low, but his body was broad and more mu
scular. She hesitated, wondering why she’d bothered to make the comparison.
Angie smiled broadly and extended her hand as she moved across the room toward her new client. “Mr. Cross, it is a great pleasure to have you in the office.”
He wrapped warm, soft hands around hers. His gaze projected intensity so much like his father’s. She’d only met Darius Cross once. It had been at Eva’s trial. The old man’s eyes had bored into her as he’d stared at her across the courtroom. She’d been caught in a hunter’s sights. Young and inexperienced, she’d been afraid.
“Ms. Carlson. It is indeed a pleasure,” Micah said.
She refused to acknowledge any fear now. “I understand we are going to represent you with regard to a charitable foundation.”
He held her hand an extra beat, and then released it. “You are. And before Ms. Wellington arrives I wanted us to have a moment to talk about the connection between our families.”
“I promise you I will give you the very best representation. I do not hold you responsible for the actions of your family.”
He nodded. “I appreciate that. But let’s face it, those connections were dark and rather brutal.”
“Eva has told me you have been nothing but kind to her. That is enough for me.”
“I appreciate that.”
He had an easy charm about him that had her relaxing. “Let us move forward, Mr. Cross, so that our professional relationship thrives.”
“You are an open-minded woman.”
Charlotte appeared in the doorway. She’d swept her red hair up into a chignon and applied a discreet but effective amount of makeup to a porcelain complexion. She’d chosen a hunter-green suit and an off-white silk blouse. Both accentuated her figure but not so much that she bent any professional standards. Charlotte understood where the “line” was and could dance right on it without crossing it.
“Mr. Cross,” Charlotte said. “I am so glad you could join us. It was so kind of you to come to our offices. We’d have been glad to meet you at yours.”
Cross stared at her, a gleam of appreciation in his eyes. “It was important to see your offices for myself. A person’s space tells me so much about them.”