Page 51 of Claimed By the Deputies

She’s still snickering by the time she gets back behind her computer screen. It sounds so ridiculous when I put every word she just said into perspective. It’s so infantile and stupid. I know I shouldn’t take any of it to heart, but I remember hearing much worse from my ex-husband.

Fatty Tassy, he used to call me. He’d also tell me that no one would ever love me.

Lucas, Mitch, Tyler… they’d never.

But even so, doubt has a way of rearing its ugly head through a perfectly still thought. Ruining everything. Making my stomach clench.

There goes an otherwise good day, right out the window.

11

LUCAS

“It’s settled, then,” Dobrosky says, putting his files back in his briefcase. “My client will cooperate in exchange for a significantly reduced sentence on his murder charges.”

“Billy Jade finally got smart,” I reply with a sharp exhale.

Under the neon light of our interview room, Jade’s lawyer, Patton Dobrosky, looks a lot older than he actually is. The receding hairline and the dull grey of his cheap suit doesn’t help, but time hasn’t been gentle to him. He is, however, sharper than most other court-appointed defense attorneys since he was able to get through to both the DA and his client.

“As did the District Attorney,” he says with a shrug. “There’s no point in wasting time frying the small fish when you’re going after Moby Dick.”

“Thank you for helping us broker the deal, Pat.”

“It’s in my client’s best interest, whether he sees it or not. You have him dead to rights, and there was only so much I could do after Mr. Johnson gave you access to that burner phone.”He points a reprimanding finger at me. “That was a dirty play, Sheriff. Really dirty.”

“But it worked,” I reply with a sly grin.

“It wouldn’t have if his lawyer had been here.”

“But he wasn’t,” I shrug.

“I’d like to see my client now and give him the update,” Dobrosky says.

I shake his hand and escort him out of the interview room. Tassia waits patiently in the hallway, and it’s the first time I’ve seen her since earlier this morning. I need a moment to admire her, the way the beaded belt hugs her full waist over a pale blue, oversized shirt. She keeps hiding her gorgeous curves, I’ve noticed.

“It’s official,” I tell her with a smile. “Billy Jade is going to give us his full cooperation, along with the motive for the murders.”

“Oh, good. Whatever gaps he can fill in from what we’ve gathered from Stuart’s phone will help a lot,” she says, giving Dobrosky a polite nod. “I’m glad he’s finally willing to cooperate.”

The three of us leave the bullpen behind and head down the stairs into the basement. To our left is the evidence room—Tassia’s playground. To our right, the holding cells await behind a secure metal door with a magnetic keycard lock.

I swipe mine and go through first.

“How many years is he looking at?” Tassia asks Jade’s lawyer.

“We’re going for murder in the second degree. Double count. We might be able to bring the sentence down to fifteen years,depending on the value of the information my client provides,” Dobrosky says.

“Do you think he’ll earn such leniency?”

“Based on the snippets I got from him, he could get lucky, yes.”

Tassia nods, the two of them falling behind me as we advance through the narrow, dimly lit corridor. I follow the numbers on each holding cell’s door, keys jingling in my hand.

“I’m amazed how you can stomach this kind of work,” she says.

“Everyone is entitled to a defense, guilty or not. It’s the basic principle of our legal system,” Dobrosky reminds her. “You were on the receiving end of it not that long ago, weren’t you?”

“Except I was innocent and I still did time,” she says.

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