Redress of Grievances Read Online Free Page A

legal pad against her drawn up knees. She had ten days to prepare a motion
for an appeal on a pro bono case involving a homeless man who had been arrested
and convicted in the death of another homeless man during a fight over
squatter's rights for a piece of worthless dirt and weeds under a train trestle
in southern Travis County. But no matter how hard she tried, every time she
tried to concentrate on her motion, Jared Wilkes's face flashed through her
mind. She was furious at Alex for helping him escape from the mental prison in
which she had had him safely locked away.
    Jared
Wilkes had been a young man who had everything: wealthy, doting parents who had
conceived him late in their lives; and the finest life had to offer someone of
his social standing. And yet he had chosen to become a serial rapist and a
murderer.
    NEARLY
TWELVE YEARS earlier, she had been preparing for a well-deserved long weekend
and clearing the last of her paperwork from her desk when Alex tapped on the
door and peeked into her office.
    "Do
you have a minute, Harriett?" she asked.
    Harriett
smiled when she saw her. Even if she had been busy, she would have made time
for Alexis Dunne.
    "Of
course. I'm just finishing up some paperwork. Nothing is going to distract me
from this weekend," she smiled.
    Alex
wasn't smiling, and Harriett became immediately apprehensive. They had planned
this weekend together for so long, but the look on Alex's face told her all of
their precautions and well-laid plans were circling the drain.
    "No
one deserves the time off more than you, Harriett."
    "But,"
Harriett frowned.
    "One
of our clients has a problem, and Doug and I both think you're the right
associate to handle it."
    "And
I don't suppose this client can wait until Monday."
    "You
could refuse the case. We'd certainly honor your wishes," Alex continued.
    Sensing
Alex's managerial mood, Harriett leaned back in her chair and exhaled,
"What's the client's problem?"
    Alex
returned to Harriett's office door and opened it.
    "Eleanor,
please hold Ms. Markham's calls for about thirty minutes," Alex said to
Harriett's secretary.
    Alex
depressed the lock on the office door and closed it behind her. Harriett
wondered how much Eleanor knew or thought she knew about her relationship with
the firm's senior partner. Alex unbuttoned the coat to her suit and sat down on
the couch as Harriett rose from her chair and poured two cups of coffee from
the coffeemaker on the credenza behind her desk. Handing one to Alex as she
joined her on the couch, Harriett kicked her heels off, leaned back slightly
and looked at Alex.
    "So
tell me about this case only I am qualified to handle," she said with a
smile.
    Alex
sipped at her coffee, looking as though she was organizing thoughts in her
head.
    "The
client is Jared Wilkes. His father is Clarence Wilkes, CEO of Wilkes Transport,
one of our corporate clients. Jared was arrested this morning by Dallas
PD," Alex explained.
    "What's
the charge?" Harriett asked.
    "Rape
and murder times four," Alex answered quietly.
    "He's
accused of raping and murdering four women?"
    "Four
teenage girls between the ages of sixteen and nineteen," Alex nodded.
    "I
see," Harriett said.
    "The
deaths have occurred over about a ten month period."
    "Do
you know what the police have in the way of evidence?"
    "Nothing
specific. Of course, old man Wilkes is absolutely positive his son is innocent
and wants the best Winston and Dunne has to offer." Turning to look at
Harriett, she said, "And that's you."
    "Why
aren't you handling the case, Alex? After all, you are Winston and Dunne."
    "Wilkes,
the son, wants a younger woman for his counsel. Thinks the jury will believe he
didn't commit the rapes if a woman is presenting his case."
    "He's
probably right."
    "He's
a nothing," Alex said with a touch of anger in her voice as she leaned her
head back on the couch. "Been kicked out of every prep school and college
in north Texas. As far as I know, he's never done a worthwhile thing in