Double Jeopardy Read Online Free Page A

tub of lard like me.” Travis knew he wasn’t that overweight, but because he was only five foot seven, every extra pound looked like three.
    “You need to get out more,” Dan grumbled. “I don’t care if it’s Gail, but you hear what I’m saying—it’s time to start dating again.”
    Travis pressed his lips together. “I’m … not ready for that yet, Dan.”
    Dan laid his hand on Travis’s shoulder. “I don’t mean to seem unsympathetic, Travis, but it’s been over four years. When you were in law school, it was understandable—you were busy. You didn’t have time to deal with it. But now you have a good job, a steady income. It’s time.”
    “I said I’m not ready. Okay?” Travis hoped he sounded forceful, but not rude. He would never intentionally offend Dan Holyfield, the one bona fide hero he had ever known. Dan had put in thirty-five years as a criminal defense attorney, taking unpopular clients, defending unpopular causes, representing the poor and elderly for free long before it became trendy. Most important, Dan had been there when Travis needed someone—in fact, he was the only person who was. Travis didn’t have any living relatives, and he didn’t have any inside connections to the rich or powerful. Dan Holyfield made it possible for him to attend law school. When Travis received his J.D. and hit the streets, he was an ex-cop, already in his midthirties, with mediocre grades. Not what most of the blue-chip firms were looking for. Or anyone else for that matter. But Dan Holyfield was willing to give him a chance. That meant something to Travis. That meant a lot.
    “All right,” Dan said, “have it your way. But don’t be surprised if you come in some night and find I’ve locked you out of your office.” He smiled, almost as an afterthought. “I hear you won your trial today.”
    “Yup. Jury was out less than an hour.”
    “Talk about turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. You’ve become a mighty fine defense attorney, Travis.”
    “I learned it all from you.”
    “That’s a crock of bull, but it’s nice to hear, anyway. What are you working on now?”
    “New case. Forcible rape, aggravated assault. Pretty grisly stuff.”
    Dan thumbed through the photographs on the desk. “Grisly is an understatement. I thought you were going to take on more civil work.”
    “Didn’t have any choice about this one. Judicial appointment.”
    “I see. Hagedorn punishing you for having the audacity to win?”
    “Something like that. I don’t suppose you’d like to second-chair this loser?”
    “No thanks, Travis. That’s why I hired you, remember? So I wouldn’t have to try slop like this. When I said I was retired, I meant it.”
    “That decision was a monumental loss for the Dallas criminal justice system.”
    “Travis, if this flattery is your way of campaigning for a Christmas bonus, forget it.”
    Travis grinned. “Sorry, Dan.”
    “My retirement was way overdue. I’ve been staying plenty busy running my parents’ food-distribution business since they died. Conrad and Elsie Holyfield may not have been college graduates, but they made a fine little company—and I’m not going to let it go down the tubes.”
    Actually, Travis was glad Dan had slowed down, though he’d never tell Dan that. Dan was one of the few who deserved retirement; he’d fought the good fight and lived to tell the tale. Looked remarkable for his age, too, which had to be near sixty. The clerks down at the courthouse called him Dorian Gray.
    “You’ll be impossible to replace in the courtroom, Dan.”
    “Nonsense.” Dan walked to the door. “Don’t stay up too late.”
    “Sorry, but I may have to pull an all-nighter. The trial starts tomorrow morning.”
    “Tomorrow morning? Man alive, Hagedorn stung you but good.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Going straight from one trial to another like this will kill you, Travis, and that’s a certainty. Promise me you’ll