The Price of Justice Read Online Free Page B

wipe off the smirk that kept appearing on his face, he came off as an arrogant rich kid. I think that hurt him more than any specific testimony.”
    “Is that why you didn’t put him on the stand?”
    “God, he would have been awful if I did. The kid had no humility at all. The jurors would have hated him.”
    “Did he tell you anything about that night, or his relationship with Carly, that I won’t find in the transcript?”
    Jack picked up his glass and took a sip of Perrier. When he put it down, he tapped his fingers on the table a few moments before answering. “He’ll probably tell you this when you meet with him. He was with Carly that night. Princeton was on semester break, and his family was at their winter home. He hadn’t spoken to Carly since they’d broken up when he’d left for college. The high school’s holiday ball was Saturday night, and he decided to go to catch up with some old friends. Carly was there, with her date. When her date left her alone for a minute, she strolled over to him to say hello. She asked him to walk outside with her. He followed her into the woods behind the school, and when they reached a clearing, she threw her arms around him and began kissing him. He says he pushed her away, that he didn’t want to get started with her again. She got angry and pulled at his hair—he thinks that’s how some was found at the murder site. According to Win, he left her alone in the woods, went back to his car to wait for his friend, and then drove home.”
    “Win? Is that what his friends call him?”
    Jack nodded. “Everyone but his grandmother calls him Win.”
    “Why do you think the state attorney won’t reopen the case based on the new confession?”
    “Did Mrs. Melton tell you we didn’t handle that aspect?”
    Dani was taken aback. Jackson’s firm had handled the trial and all the appeals. There seemed to be no reason not to handle this new information. “No. Why didn’t you?”
    “We knew the death warrant had already been signed by the governor. We thought it best to let a local attorney, one politically connected, handle it. We gave Mrs. Melton a few names to choose from, and she selected the attorney. His name is Frank Lesco. He can answer any questions you have about that.”
    “Didn’t he keep you in the loop, though?”
    “Afraid not. Although my understanding from Mrs. Melton is that he just made some phone calls. Before he had a chance to file anything, she decided she wanted you to handle Win’s case.”
    There were many occasions when HIPP brought in local counsel. In fact, because most of the HIPP attorneys were only admitted to practice law in New York State, local counsel was needed to make a motion to the out-of-state court to admit them for the purpose of representing a specific defendant. Sometimes, they asked the local attorney to do more, but they always were in charge. Why wasn’t Jack aware of every detail of Lesco’s dealings with the state attorney? Something was wrong with this picture, and she needed to find out what.

C HAPTER
    7
    A fter reviewing the files from Donahue, Dani gathered her team together for a call to Edward Whiting, the Florida state attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. She wanted them to hear firsthand his reasons for refusing to reopen Winston Melton’s case. She had prearranged a time to speak to Whiting and now, with Tommy and Melanie in her office, and the phone on speaker, she dialed his private number. He picked it up on the first ring.
    “Ed Whiting.”
    “Good morning, Mr. Whiting. It’s Dani Trumball, and I have with me Melanie Quinn, an attorney in our office, and Tom Noorland, our investigator.”
    A gruff “hello” was uttered on the other end.
    “I appreciate your taking the time to speak to us. As I told your assistant, my office has been retained to represent Winston Melton.”
    “It’s a little late for new representation, I’m afraid.”
    “That’s why we’re calling. I understand another