Family Ties (Flesh & Blood Trilogy Book 2) by Christina Morgan Page A
Authors: Christina Morgan
Ads: Link
promised to tell me why you need this file.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell Mr. Hayes everything, but I knew I would need his input and that he might have a lot of information I needed if I was going to have any chance at helping Randy. “Recently, I became a private investigator. When I told my father, he surprised me by telling me he is innocent and he asked me to look into his case…see if I could exonerate him.”
Mr. Hayes whistled as he leaned back in his big chair, the leather squeaking. “Interesting.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because, my dear, your father confessed…of his own free will. I was preparing to take his case to trial, until one day he told me he wanted to confess and take a plea deal. Just like that. No warning. I always just assumed he was guilty.”
“Didn’t that strike you as odd, though? That he confessed out of the blue like that?”
“Well, I suppose it did, but it wasn’t the first time one of my clients had a sudden change of heart. The prospect of a lengthy trial can be quite daunting and scary, especially if you really are guilty. Trusting your fate to the hands of twelve strangers is like shooting craps at a casino. The die could come up any way. Some people just can’t handle the stress and the uncertainty. But in your father’s case, I suppose it did strike me as a bit odd.”
“What did he tell you?” Harper asked.
“Nothing, really. Let me think…” He tapped his temple with his fingertips as he pondered. “No, he never said anything to me other than what I just told you. I never even heard his story until the sentencing hearing, when he confessed in open court. Took me quite by surprise.”
“I was there,” I reminded him. “I heard what he said. He told everyone he had killed each one of those women. He seemed pretty confident about it at the time. Why do you suppose he would confess if he really was innocent?”
“That, you’d have to ask him. I didn’t get to know your father very well. But I will say this,” he said as he held up a crooked finger. “He never seemed like the type to me. Not that I’d ever encountered an actual serial killer before, but I had represented dozens of accused murderers when I was practicing, and most of them, well, let’s just say I am usually a pretty good judge of character. It did take me quite by surprise when he confessed. I thought we had a decent chance at trial.”
“Why do you say that?” Harper asked as she leaned her hip against one of the bookshelves.
“Well, if I recall correctly, it should all be in that file. The prosecutor never really had much in the way of concrete physical evidence. Their case was mostly circumstantial.”
“If they didn’t have any physical evidence, why was he a suspect in the first place?”
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. “You know, I really can’t recall. But it would all be in that file. All I remember was that there was one witness who claimed to see him with the last victim the same day she went missing. At a truck stop, I think. The rest of their case relied heavily on the fact that he fit a profile. Like I said, we had a decent chance, had the case gone to trial, but then he confessed. I had no choice but to honor my client’s wishes, and so I arranged his plea deal with the prosecutor. I’m sorry. That’s really all I can remember. One forgets quite a bit when they’re approaching a century on this earth.”
“Thank you,” I said, realizing I wouldn’t get much more out of B. Cecil Hayes. Plus, he looked very tired.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said as he strained to push himself up from the leather chair.
“No need,” Harper said politely. “You just rest. We’ll see ourselves out.”
“You’ve been very helpful,” I said as we turned and left the ancient attorney sitting at his desk, looking as if he was about to topple over with exhaustion.
Chapter 6
We arrived back at the house
I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell Mr. Hayes everything, but I knew I would need his input and that he might have a lot of information I needed if I was going to have any chance at helping Randy. “Recently, I became a private investigator. When I told my father, he surprised me by telling me he is innocent and he asked me to look into his case…see if I could exonerate him.”
Mr. Hayes whistled as he leaned back in his big chair, the leather squeaking. “Interesting.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because, my dear, your father confessed…of his own free will. I was preparing to take his case to trial, until one day he told me he wanted to confess and take a plea deal. Just like that. No warning. I always just assumed he was guilty.”
“Didn’t that strike you as odd, though? That he confessed out of the blue like that?”
“Well, I suppose it did, but it wasn’t the first time one of my clients had a sudden change of heart. The prospect of a lengthy trial can be quite daunting and scary, especially if you really are guilty. Trusting your fate to the hands of twelve strangers is like shooting craps at a casino. The die could come up any way. Some people just can’t handle the stress and the uncertainty. But in your father’s case, I suppose it did strike me as a bit odd.”
“What did he tell you?” Harper asked.
“Nothing, really. Let me think…” He tapped his temple with his fingertips as he pondered. “No, he never said anything to me other than what I just told you. I never even heard his story until the sentencing hearing, when he confessed in open court. Took me quite by surprise.”
“I was there,” I reminded him. “I heard what he said. He told everyone he had killed each one of those women. He seemed pretty confident about it at the time. Why do you suppose he would confess if he really was innocent?”
“That, you’d have to ask him. I didn’t get to know your father very well. But I will say this,” he said as he held up a crooked finger. “He never seemed like the type to me. Not that I’d ever encountered an actual serial killer before, but I had represented dozens of accused murderers when I was practicing, and most of them, well, let’s just say I am usually a pretty good judge of character. It did take me quite by surprise when he confessed. I thought we had a decent chance at trial.”
“Why do you say that?” Harper asked as she leaned her hip against one of the bookshelves.
“Well, if I recall correctly, it should all be in that file. The prosecutor never really had much in the way of concrete physical evidence. Their case was mostly circumstantial.”
“If they didn’t have any physical evidence, why was he a suspect in the first place?”
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. “You know, I really can’t recall. But it would all be in that file. All I remember was that there was one witness who claimed to see him with the last victim the same day she went missing. At a truck stop, I think. The rest of their case relied heavily on the fact that he fit a profile. Like I said, we had a decent chance, had the case gone to trial, but then he confessed. I had no choice but to honor my client’s wishes, and so I arranged his plea deal with the prosecutor. I’m sorry. That’s really all I can remember. One forgets quite a bit when they’re approaching a century on this earth.”
“Thank you,” I said, realizing I wouldn’t get much more out of B. Cecil Hayes. Plus, he looked very tired.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said as he strained to push himself up from the leather chair.
“No need,” Harper said politely. “You just rest. We’ll see ourselves out.”
“You’ve been very helpful,” I said as we turned and left the ancient attorney sitting at his desk, looking as if he was about to topple over with exhaustion.
Chapter 6
We arrived back at the house
Similar Books
