Deadly Questions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 8) by Lily Harper Hart

that’s nice.”
    “He represented Emma’s father,” Mandy said quietly.
    Sophie stilled. “Oh.”
    “How is Ms. Pritchard?” MacIntosh asked. “I always worried about her when I saw her in court. She seemed so … sad.”
    “She’s good,” Mandy said. “She’s taken care of.”
    “Finn dotes on her,” Sophie said. “He’s very good to her.”
    “That’s good,” MacIntosh said. “She needs someone patient. She needs someone aware of her situation, someone who can be both sympathetic and push her when the time is right. Mr. Hardy is patient, isn’t he?”
    “He’s the most patient one,” Mandy said. “James flies off the handle and then regrets it every time.”
    “Grady is slow to anger, but then he pouts on stuff for what seems like forever,” Sophie said.
    “And Ally, well, I think the Hardy genes were out of patience by the time Ally came around,” Mandy said, grinning.
    “I think you’re right,” Sophie agreed.
    “Well, as long as Ms. Pritchard is around the two of you, I’m sure she’s fine.”
    “She won’t be if this case overlaps with the case against her father,” Sophie replied. “It’s going to stir up old memories and wounds.”
    “We don’t know that Patterson is involved,” Mandy cautioned. “We just know he’s a dirtbag.”
    “Mandy is right,” MacIntosh said. “Just because he defends these … animals … that doesn’t mean he’s involved in anything else.”
    “It doesn’t mean he isn’t,” Sophie said, her face pinched.
    Judge MacIntosh exchanged a worried glanced with Mandy. “I think you should give this information to the Hardys. Go ahead and print it out. Let them decide how things are going to go.”
    “I agree,” Mandy said.
    Sophie was on her feet. “Yeah. Great. Can you email me a copy of that? I have some more things to check on before I go home.”
    “Sophie … ?”
    Sophie moved through the door. “I’m fine. I’ll see you later.”
     
    “HEY, baby.” James greeted Mandy with a warm kiss and an affectionate pat on the rear when he saw her move into the kitchen. He was standing in front of the stove cooking dinner, music blaring from the small speaker on the counter.
    “Hi,” Mandy said, glancing at the pan on the stove as she bent down to remove her pumps. “What are you cooking?”
    “Hamburgers and fries.”
    “You made fries?”
    “I bought the frozen bag and put them in the oven,” James countered, a cheeky grin moving across his face. “Only the best for my wife.”
    Mandy smiled, although the expression didn’t make it all the way up to her eyes.
    “What’s wrong?” James asked.
    “Sophie came to see me today,” Mandy said.
    “About the case?”
    “Yeah.”
    “What did she want?”
    Mandy told James about Sophie’s visit. He didn’t look half as worried as she felt when she was done.
    “Sophie is just driven,” James said. “She fixates on things. That’s what makes her good at her job.”
    “She gets obsessed,” Mandy mumbled. “That’s what you’re saying.”
    James swiveled, fixing Mandy with a curious look. “Okay, I think I’m missing something. What’s wrong?”
    “Sophie seems unnerved,” Mandy said. “She was fine until she found out that the attorney who represented this Christian Faulkner on all of his charges was the same man who represented Lance Pritchard.”
    James frowned. “That could just be a coincidence. Attorneys make a name for themselves in certain areas. This Faulkner probably just focuses on sex crimes.”
    “I agree,” Mandy said. “Sophie just … she just bolted right after. I can’t figure out why she’s so upset.”
    “I think Sophie has very strong feelings about justice,” James said.
    “We all do,” Mandy said. “I think Sophie is so worked up because she thinks this could have happened to her.”
    “How?”
    “Sophie was in some horrible foster homes when she was a kid,” Mandy said. “She doesn’t really talk about it, but I know it scarred