Sacking the Quarterback Read Online Free Page A

plate.
    “Wanna talk about it?” She forks more pasta into her mouth.
    “No—” I pause. I can tell Tori anything. Anything within legal parameters, that is. “Yes.”
    She laughs.
    “It’s just this case I’m working on…I feel conflicted.”
    “Conflicted?” Her brows rise.
    “I just…I think the guy is hiding something. I don’t think the case is as clear-cut as everyone else thinks it is.”
    “You mean as clear-cut as Ben thinks it is.”
    “Yeah.” I sigh.
    “So, you think this guy is what? Innocent?”
    I chew on my thumbnail. “Maybe not innocent. Just not as guilty as he appears.”
    She studies me for a minute, then says, “Go with your gut, Mel. You have great instincts. You think there’s more to this, then find out what it is. What if Ben makes you put the guy in prison? You give jail time to an innocent man and find that out after the fact…I know you, it’ll eat away at you forever.”

Chapter 9
    I’m just shutting down my computer when Ben comes into my office.
    “Hey. Everything okay?”
    “Yeah,” he says, but he doesn’t sit. He stands behind the chair on the other side of my desk, hands resting on the top of it. “I’ve just been reading over the Grayson Knight case.”
    “Okay,” I say, waiting to hear what he’s going to tell me. My heart starts to beat a little faster. I don’t know why. “What do you think?”
    “I think your proposal of charging him with possession of a Schedule II drug is too light. I was reading over the police report, and the amount of drugs he was carrying…I think we should push for possession with intent to supply.”
    “You do?”
    “You don’t?” he says, his brows pulling together.
    “It’s just…he’s Grayson Knight. Superstar football player. Squeaky-clean record. Incredibly wealthy. Arguing for possession with the intent to supply will be a hard sell. It’s not like he needs to deal drugs to make money. I think a judge would more likely accept a charge of possession of a Schedule II drug. That way, we still have a good chance of winning the case in front of the public.”
    “I disagree,” Ben says, and his words are biting. I’m surprised, because Ben rarely disagrees with me, and when he does, he does it respectfully. “He won’t get enough jail time with a Schedule II felony. With a good lawyer, he’ll only get probation and a fine. Maybe community service. I told you that I want to make an example of Grayson Knight. That charge won’t make an example of him.”
    “Okay,” I say, unsure which tack to take right now. “So…you’re saying you want me to…?” I let my words drift so he can fill them in.
    “Up the charges to possession of a Schedule II drug with intent to supply. Let’s make him look at a felony in the second degree.”
    I nod once in assent.
    “Okay, then,” Ben says. He pushes off the chair and takes a step away. “You’re leaving for the night?”
    “I was heading out, but I can stay. Do you want me to draw up the charges tonight?”
    “No, go home. Do it in the morning.”
    “Okay.”
    “Good night, Mel.”
    “Night, Ben.”
    I watch him leave my office, my door closing behind him.
    His words rattle around in my head.
    Why is he so insistent on putting him in prison? I know that putting a high-profile celebrity like Grayson away would look good for him. But there are no elections till next year. And Ben is highly respected in Miami. It’s not like he needs to pull tricks to get reelected.
    Ben’s words, mixed in with Tori’s from last night, swirl around in my head.
    What Tori said was right. If I prosecute Grayson without knowing the whole truth and he ends up going to jail as an innocent man, it’ll eat away at me. Especially now, since Ben wants me to up the charge so that Grayson will be looking at some serious jail time.
    I got into this job to do good. I want to be the best assistant state attorney, and to me, that means being honest. I don’t want to put people in jail to