Redress of Grievances Read Online Free

responsible for what happened."
    "I'm
turning this case down, Alex. One serial killer is enough for a lifetime."
    "At
least talk to Sharon before you decline the case. Then if you still want to
turn it down, I won't try to convince you otherwise."
    Harriett
shook her head. "The best I can do tonight is tell Collins that I'll think
about it and give him my decision in a few days. I'd like to talk to my law
partner first."
    "Fair
enough," Alex said as she lightly squeezed Harriett's arms before
releasing them.
    Harriett
loved prime rib, but that evening she could have been eating cardboard and
wouldn't have known the difference. Dinner seemed to last forever, and she was
eager to get away from Alex, Collins, and Paige. Memories suddenly dredged up
about the Wilkes case, coupled with others associated with Alexis Dunne,
overwhelmed her. She thought she had gotten over the past and successfully
walked away from it. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
    At
the end of the longest evening of her life, Harriett waited for the parking
valet to retrieve her vehicle.
    "I
wouldn't drag you into this case if I didn't think you could handle it,"
Alex said as she came up behind Harriett.
    "I
still believe you must have an associate who can handle this one."
    "We've
never had an associate as good as you, Harriett," Alex said warmly.
    "How
is Doug?"
    "Doug's
Doug," Alex shrugged with a smile. "You know how he is."
    The
thought of Douglas Winston made Harriett smile slightly. He was a bear of a man
and as gentle as a puppy. Although Doug and Alexis were equal partners in their
law firm, there weren't two people on the planet more different. Doug hated the
social niceties required by their clients and turned anything even remotely
social over to Alex. Doug preferred hunting and fishing to cocktail parties
and, as far as Harriett knew, had only attended parties given for Winston and
Dunne employees.
    Looking
down at the pavement, Harriett wasn't sure whether she wanted to ask the next
question or not.
    "And
how is Gwen?" she finally managed to ask.
    "We're
not together anymore," Alex said matter-of-factly.
    "I'm
sorry to hear that, Alex."
    Alex
looked at her and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, "No, you're
not."
    Harriett
was grateful when she saw her truck coming toward them. The valet jumped out
and held the door for Harriett as she walked around the front of her vehicle.
    "This
yours?" Alex laughed.
    "Yes."
    "What
did you do with your Beemer?"
    "Traded
it in. It wasn't really me. I grew up in dusty, small town West Texas,
remember?"
    Alex
opened the passenger door and looked around the inside of the truck.
    "Pretty
fancy," she nodded. Her eye caught Harriett's for a moment. "Maybe
you've changed more than I realized," she grinned.
    "And
maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought you did. Do you need a
ride?"
    "I
can take a cab."
    "Get
in, Alex. You might as well see how it feels to ride around in a cowboy
Cadillac."
    Twenty
minutes later, Harriett wheeled her truck into the drive near the front
entrance of the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin.
    "They
have a fair bar here," Alex said. "Can I buy you a drink before you
go home?"
    "I
can't. I promised Lacey that I'd make the last half of her basketball
game."
    "How
is Lacey?"
    "Graduating
from high school this year."
    "She
must be tall like you if she's playing basketball," Alex said. After a pause,
she continued, "I'm going to be in Austin a couple of days. I'd like to
see you again."
    "That's
probably not a good idea, Alex, but I appreciate the offer."
    Alex
hesitated a minute before getting out of the truck and entering the hotel. Harriett
had to stop herself from following her with her eyes. It would have been a good
evening for several drinks. Pulling the truck into unusually light traffic
along Congress Avenue, she headed toward Interstate 35 and St. John's Prep.
    Chapter
Three
    TRYING
TO SETTLE her mind, Harriett leaned back against a pillow on her bed and rested
a