Let Darkness Come by Angela Hunt

busy.”
    â€œBut—” She hesitates, remembering the strobic play of flashing cameras at the senator’s fundraiser. The Tomassis are political royalty in Chicago, and the sight of their princess in handcuffs and shackles will draw the paparazzi like Paris Hilton at the Los Angeles county jail. Briley is willing to tackle a death penalty case, but this one will include so many distractions….
    â€œListen,” Franklin says, a muscle flicking at his jaw, “do you remember when you interviewed for this firm?”
    She stares, caught off guard by the unexpected warmth in his voice. Why is he suddenly waxing nostalgic?
    â€œI remember—” he points toward the conference table at the side of his cavernous office “—you sitting over there and telling the partners you only had one hero growing up…your father. Do you remember saying you wanted to be like him?”
    Still mystified by his motive, she nods.
    â€œI’ve never forgotten that interview. You set quite a challenging example when you told us your father sacrificed his life on a mission to help someone else. That’s why we’re here, Briley. That’s why we defend our clients. Because we want to make sure every individual who needs a defender gets one.” He folds his hands over his book. “Now—do you really want me to give the Tomassi case to Jim Myers?”
    Ah…he’s baiting her with guilt. Testing her fighting spirit. And he’s bluffing, because Myers has even less courtroom experience than she does.
    But she can rise to the challenge. With a good support team behind her, she ought to be able to see it through. She is, after all, her father’s daughter, and she meant every word she said in that interview.
    Briley lifts her chin. “I think I can handle this case.”
    â€œThen get busy. And close the door on your way out, will you?”
    Briley grips the file, shuts the door, and strides toward the elevator. Her pulse pounds with the knowledge that finally, after three years in this firm, Joe Franklin has noticed her mostly successful record of defending car thieves and child abusers, school bullies and drug users. Maybe he took special note of her only celebrity case, in which she successfully defended a rap star against charges of sexual assault. The client’s raunchy video had soured her stomach, but the alleged victim recanted under cross-examination, forcing the judge to dismiss the complaint and free her client.
    That afternoon, she’d felt like Ben Matlock’s heir apparent.
    Maybe she has finally begun to climb the ladder of success. And if it takes the uncomplaining representation of Erin Tomassi to move Briley’s office from the second floor to the third, then the partners of Franklin, Watson, Smyth & Morton are about to see the formation of a spectacular defense.
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    Briley’s blood is still swimming in adrenaline when she returns to her desk, but her enthusiasm flickers once she sinks into her chair and gazes at the files stacked pell-mell on her bookshelves. If Joseph Franklin intends to trust her with a high-profile capital case, it can’t be because he’s been impressed with her record of defending teenage joyriders and drunk-driving businessmen. So why has he assigned her to this trial?
    She swivels toward the window and stares at a bland apartment building as her brain arrives at one inescapable conclusion: Her weepy client was right. No defense attorney in her right mind would want this case, because no one will believe Erin Tomassi didn’t kill her husband. But lawyers aren’t allowed to give up, and associates aren’t supposed to complain.
    Franklin must not believe the case can be won, so he’s allowing Briley to go through the motions of presenting an adequate defense for a political princess. If she makes a mistake, he’ll simply assign a more experienced lawyer for the appeal, citing