The Child Comes First Read Online Free

forth idly as she waited. She nibbled anxiously on her fingers.
    The social worker opened the door and walked in first, and a huge smile lit the girl’s face.
    â€œJayda!” She launched herself from the seat and flew into the woman’s wide-open arms. Hearing the name spoken aloud in the child’s voice made it real for Simon, and he ceased thinking of her as Ms. Kavanagh and began to think of her as Jayda.
    â€œI missed you,” Jayda said after she’d set the girl back on her feet. “How are you? Have you been okay?”
    â€œYes, I’m fine,” Tiffany said, but her eyes shifted away. “I can take care of myself. I’m small, but I bite.” She gave a mock smile, showing her teeth and flashing a defiant glare.
    Jayda winced. “No biting,” she warned. “We’re going to do everything we can to get you out of here.” She turned toward Simon, drawing the girl’s attention to him. “This is the new attorney I found for you.”
    Simon put on his best lawyer face. Not quite certain how to approach an introduction to a child client, he resorted to habit and offered his hand to shake. “I’m Simon Montgomery,” he said.
    Solemnly, Tiffany put her small hand in his. “Tiffany Thompson,” she returned. Tiffany studied him carefully with a penetrating gaze. For the first time in years, Simon felt his expensive suit was an ineffective disguise that did little to hide the in-over-his-head guy he sometimes felt himself to be. “Are you going to do any actual lawyering, or will you be another slacker who lets me be victimized by the system?”
    â€œTiffany,” Jayda warned. “Best behavior, please.”
    Simon found such forthrightness refreshing. So many of his clients bowed and scraped with him, but not this kid. “I am not a slacker,” he assured her. “Let’s sit down and talk about everything, okay?”
    â€œOkay.” Tiffany climbed back into her chair and clasped her hands on top of the table.
    He saw that her nails were bitten down, and he couldn’t blame her. She was definitely in a nail-biting situation. But she held herself still and gave him the impression of a poker player attempting to keep tells to a minimum. Tiffany was apparently savvy enough to know that body language could give away information she might not want people to know.
    Jayda slid her chair closer to the table and turned to the girl. “Mr. Montgomery is a much better attorney than the last one, and he’s promised to help you.”
    â€œWhy?” Tiffany asked pointedly.
    Simon wasn’t sure how to respond. No one had ever asked him that before, not even his other pro bono clients. Once again, falling back on the familiar, he gave her one of his practiced smiles, the one intended to instill confidence in worried clients. “Because everyone has the right to a fair trial,” he said.
    She nodded, staring at him with unblinking saucer-size eyes that declared innocence, just as Jayda had promised. But Simon knew from experience that even the sweetest face could mask a black heart. Glancing at Jayda, he saw the caring in her eyes and hoped the child wouldn’t disappoint her.
    â€œSo, Tiffany,” he said, holding her gaze once more, “I need to ask what happened between you and Derek that day. Can you tell me about it?”
    She nodded again and began to speak. “Miss Hester had to go out and I had to look after Derek. I didn’t like it—I’m not supposed to be a babysitter,” Tiffany said. “But I didn’t have a choice. So we just watched TV for a while.”
    There was sincerity in her voice. Guilty or not, Simon knew she’d make a great witness if he decided to put her on the stand. “Then what happened?” he asked.
    â€œDerek started banging a toy truck around, making noise and poking me with it.” She looked down at her hands, the first sign