Page 7 of Where Secrets Lie

Hez got up and walked out of the courtroom on stiff legs. The adrenaline crash hit as he stepped out into the cold January sunshine. All he wanted to do was get to the old couch in his condo and take a nap. He’d never realized just how exhausting it was to testify.

The lawyer part of his brain refused to shut down, though. His testimony had gone about as well as it could, and Hope had made the right decision in forgoing redirect. She’d gotten everything she could on direct, and Martine hadn’t done any damage that could be fixed on redirect. Still, she had done damage.

Was it enough to establish reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors?

Chapter 4

The black iron stairs to Hez’s condo clanged under Savannah’s feet as she climbed to the second floor. A fishing boat motored toward the Pelican Harbor dock, and another boat blasted its horn out on Bon Secour Bay. The scent of crab cakes should have made her hungry since she hadn’t eaten since last night. She hadn’t touched the cinnamon roll Jess had insisted on buying her. Her stomach was still in knots from the news.

The door was locked, and she pressed the doorbell. It seemed forever until Hez opened it. His hair askew and sans tie and suit jacket, he blinked blearily down at her. The welcoming smile that appeared fell away when he finally focused on her face.

She threw herself into his arms, and the familiar scent of his cologne soothed her agitation. “Were you sleeping? Just hold me a minute.”

His arms came around her. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I took a nap on the sofa after I got back.” He hugged her tightly to his chest, and his heartbeat sped up under her ear. “What happened?”

She lifted her head to stare up at him through her tears. Hewouldn’t expect her to be strong the way Jess had. Hez always understood. “They gave tenure to Tony. I’m out.” Her voice wobbled at the end, and fresh tears blurred her vision. “I—I can’t stay here, Hez. I have to find a new job somewhere else.”

“Oh, babe.” He folded her close again and rested his chin on her head for a moment before he stepped back and guided her into the living room. He dropped into the armchair and pulled her onto his lap. “Cry it out, and we’ll talk.”

The sound of his deep, confident voice coupled with the security of his arms was enough to stop her tears. She gulped and wiped her face with her palms. “I’m okay. I should have expected it. I mean, Tony Guzman is a first-class professor. It was wrong of me to expect my family connections to sway anything. It should be based on merit alone—and it was.”

His fingers rippled through her hair in a soothing gesture. “He’s good, but he’s not better than you. Your book about the history of the university should have been something the committee took into account too. They’ve lost a star.”

His voice still sounded groggy, but she’d never known him to nap in the middle of the afternoon. He really must have been tired. “Your new clinic is here, Hez. I’ll try to find something close enough for us to at least see each other on the weekends.”

His fingers in her hair stilled. “Not going to happen, Savannah. Now that we’ve found our way back to each other, I won’t let anything come between us. We can check out Birmingham universities. There are several, and I could go back to work for Jimmy or set up shop just about anywhere.”

“But what about your clinic?”

His palms cupped her face, and he stared into her eyes.“You’re more important to me than anything else. A clinic like mine is a draw to law students. Someone will want it eventually. Maybe the timing isn’t right yet.”

She slid her arms around his neck and pulled his face down for a kiss. His arms tightened around her, and his kiss drove out the pain and humiliation of the morning. Her smile and optimism returned when he lifted his head. “I don’t know how you do it, but I knew you’d make everything right again. We’ve weathered far worse than this setback.”

Her pulse resumed its normal rhythm, and she laid her head back on his chest. “It’s only about four hours to Birmingham. We could visit Ella’s grave any weekend we wanted.”

His fingers resumed their path through her hair. “I could check out Mobile for a job too. It wouldn’t have to be Birmingham. Being close to Ella’s grave is important to both of us. We have options, babe. The only thing that isn’t an option is splitting up.” His final words ended in a yawn. “I should make coffee and try to wake up. I’ve never been on the witness stand, and I didn’t realize how grueling it was.”

She patted his arm. “Did Beckett’s lawyer give you a hard time?”

He nodded. “It was Martine Dubois. Do you remember her?”

Savannah remembered her very well. She first met Martine on one of her and Hez’s early dates. Martine spotted them at an outdoor table at Maria’s and walked up. She commented that Hez had been working out and squeezed his upper arm. She then left her hand on his shoulder as Hez introduced Savannah, and they chatted for a couple of minutes. Then Martine trailed her hand across the back of Hez’s neck as she walked away. Savannah was sure Martine was making a power move,but Hez insisted she was just a friend and touched people a lot. “She didn’t go easy on you even though you’re friends?”

He chuckled. “That’s not her style. She wouldn’t go easy on her own grandma if she thought it might hurt her chances of winning.”

“How did it go?”

“I think my testimony helped the case, but Hope has an uphill battle for conviction on the two murders. Beckett will probably get convicted on the kidnapping and attempted murder charges but acquitted on everything else.”

She winced before kissing him again and sliding off his lap. “I’ll make coffee. You need it good and strong. You have anything to eat in the fridge? I’m starving.”

“Leftover shrimp bisque. There’s enough for both of us. I’ll go get a breath of fresh air. That should wake me up. We can take a walk along the water and make plans.”

She kicked off her pumps and padded on bare feet to the kitchen. She dumped an extra scoop of coffee in the grinder and washed out the carafe, then grabbed the old filter and grounds. When she opened the trash, she froze.

An empty bottle of Mondavi cabernet sauvignon lay atop the rest of the garbage.

Her lungs squeezed, and she couldn’t draw in a breath. Hez had been so groggy when she arrived. Was this the reason? The fingers of her right hand crept to the comfort of fondling the bracelet on her left.

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