Phil’s interest in Lance was friendly or more than that, and at this point in time she didn’t care. “He’s fine.”
“Yeah? Is he still dating that guy, that whatshisname?”
Since Nikki didn’t know, and wouldn’t tell Phil even if she did, she shrugged her shoulder. Then said, “I’ll be at my desk,” as she turned to leave.
“Not so fast,” Phil said, looking down at her perfectly fitted dress pants with her perfectly fitted silk blouse. A blouse, he also noticed, that crisscrossed at the chest and gave magnificent definition to her considerable breasts. When Nikki turned completely back toward him, he motioned toward the chair. “Sit down.”
“I really need to get to work on that---”
“Yeah, yeah,” Phil said, “sit down.”
She sat down. But when he was able to look at her, eyeball to eyeball, and he saw just how flustered she was, he frowned.
“No, you didn’t,” he said. “Please don’t tell me you fell for Ryan’s charm offensive too?”
Nikki stared at him. “His what?”
“His charm offensive! His seduction games.”
“What seduction games?”
“I told you every time I send a female over to interview that man they come back with goo-goo eyes and crap. With nothing. You didn’t, your article was hard-hitting and I liked that. But now, just because the headline is tough, you act as if . . . Oh, never mind,” Phil said, shaking his head. “That’s too crazy to even entertain.”
Nikki knew exactly what he meant. The thought that a liberal-minded person like her would even dream of hooking up with a rigid ideologue like Mo Ryan was preposterous on its face.
Except that it wasn’t.
“What’s up?” she asked Phil.
“So he impressed you yesterday?”
“His beliefs certainly didn’t.”
Phil looked at her. “But he did?”
Nikki stared at him.
“But no matter. We’ve got bigger fish to fry. I didn’t know who to give this story to, but now I think you’ll be perfect.”
A story? A big story? This definitely interested Nikki. “What’s going on?” she asked him.
“You remember Wade Shepard, don’t you?”
Nikki thought about this. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s right. Geez. I forgot. You weren’t even here yet. Well, Sheppard was this mildly retarded kid accused of strangling a woman and her daughter at a Laundromat a while back. His case went to trial a year ago. That case stayed in my mind because he, this mentally-challenged kid, supposedly wrote this college-level confession that was later tossed out in court. But he was convicted anyway.”
“What about him?”
“The Gazette has learned that new scientific evidence may exonerate Mr. Sheppard.”
This didn’t make sense to Nikki. “But why was he convicted if they had all of this evidence?”
“They claimed they didn’t, but they had it all along. His new attorneys tested everything they thought could possibly shed some light on the case, even the victims clothing that the prosecutor at the time didn’t bother to test, and the Public Defender didn’t bother to question. But his new attorneys requested testing, at their own expense, and hit the jackpot.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right,” Phil said. “The guy whom our very own Judge Maximum sentenced to death for a double homicide he apparently never committed, may just be exonerated, Nikki Tarver. He’s innocent.”
Nikki’s heart dropped. Mo was the judge? Did he just say Mo was the judge? But she had to maintain her composure. “My goodness, Phil,” she said. “This is fantastic news. For Sheppard, especially.”
“I’ve been in touch with one of his attorneys. They’re expecting the conviction to be vacated. Of course the prosecutor’s office is going ballistic. Evidence or no evidence, they’re still convinced the kid is guilty.”
“What arrogant assholes,” Nikki said. “They
“Yeah? Is he still dating that guy, that whatshisname?”
Since Nikki didn’t know, and wouldn’t tell Phil even if she did, she shrugged her shoulder. Then said, “I’ll be at my desk,” as she turned to leave.
“Not so fast,” Phil said, looking down at her perfectly fitted dress pants with her perfectly fitted silk blouse. A blouse, he also noticed, that crisscrossed at the chest and gave magnificent definition to her considerable breasts. When Nikki turned completely back toward him, he motioned toward the chair. “Sit down.”
“I really need to get to work on that---”
“Yeah, yeah,” Phil said, “sit down.”
She sat down. But when he was able to look at her, eyeball to eyeball, and he saw just how flustered she was, he frowned.
“No, you didn’t,” he said. “Please don’t tell me you fell for Ryan’s charm offensive too?”
Nikki stared at him. “His what?”
“His charm offensive! His seduction games.”
“What seduction games?”
“I told you every time I send a female over to interview that man they come back with goo-goo eyes and crap. With nothing. You didn’t, your article was hard-hitting and I liked that. But now, just because the headline is tough, you act as if . . . Oh, never mind,” Phil said, shaking his head. “That’s too crazy to even entertain.”
Nikki knew exactly what he meant. The thought that a liberal-minded person like her would even dream of hooking up with a rigid ideologue like Mo Ryan was preposterous on its face.
Except that it wasn’t.
“What’s up?” she asked Phil.
“So he impressed you yesterday?”
“His beliefs certainly didn’t.”
Phil looked at her. “But he did?”
Nikki stared at him.
“But no matter. We’ve got bigger fish to fry. I didn’t know who to give this story to, but now I think you’ll be perfect.”
A story? A big story? This definitely interested Nikki. “What’s going on?” she asked him.
“You remember Wade Shepard, don’t you?”
Nikki thought about this. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s right. Geez. I forgot. You weren’t even here yet. Well, Sheppard was this mildly retarded kid accused of strangling a woman and her daughter at a Laundromat a while back. His case went to trial a year ago. That case stayed in my mind because he, this mentally-challenged kid, supposedly wrote this college-level confession that was later tossed out in court. But he was convicted anyway.”
“What about him?”
“The Gazette has learned that new scientific evidence may exonerate Mr. Sheppard.”
This didn’t make sense to Nikki. “But why was he convicted if they had all of this evidence?”
“They claimed they didn’t, but they had it all along. His new attorneys tested everything they thought could possibly shed some light on the case, even the victims clothing that the prosecutor at the time didn’t bother to test, and the Public Defender didn’t bother to question. But his new attorneys requested testing, at their own expense, and hit the jackpot.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right,” Phil said. “The guy whom our very own Judge Maximum sentenced to death for a double homicide he apparently never committed, may just be exonerated, Nikki Tarver. He’s innocent.”
Nikki’s heart dropped. Mo was the judge? Did he just say Mo was the judge? But she had to maintain her composure. “My goodness, Phil,” she said. “This is fantastic news. For Sheppard, especially.”
“I’ve been in touch with one of his attorneys. They’re expecting the conviction to be vacated. Of course the prosecutor’s office is going ballistic. Evidence or no evidence, they’re still convinced the kid is guilty.”
“What arrogant assholes,” Nikki said. “They
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