Chương 6
No one had told her about the mark.
Bell watched her carefully. “The mark is not severe. It is consistent with contact from an object, but the medical opinion alone won’t identify the object beyond doubt.”
“May I see the photograph?”
“No.”
“I’m her mother.”
“And you’re a witness.”
Rebecca leaned back.
James asked, “What happens now?”
“The prosecutor reviews the evidence. Your father’s been released on bond with conditions. No contact with Lily or either of you.”
“Already released?” James said.
“He had a hearing this morning.”
“No one notified us.”
“I’m notifying you now.”
Rebecca heard the anger gathering in James and put a hand on his wrist.
Bell noticed.
“Your father has retained counsel,” he said. “You know him, Ms. Hutchinson.”
She did not need the name.
“Who?”
“Martin Kessler.”
Rebecca’s hand went cold.
Kessler had been a prosecutor before opening a criminal defense practice. He was courteous in court, merciless in preparation, and especially skilled at turning family chaos into reasonable doubt. Rebecca had referred two clients to him when conflicts prevented her firm from taking their cases.
“He’ll come after her,” James said.
Bell looked at Rebecca. “He’ll do his job.”
“What has Gerald been charged with?”
“An injury-related offense involving a child and a family-violence allegation. The charging decision may change as the review continues.”
Rebecca appreciated the lack of dramatic certainty. It also frightened her.
Bell closed the notebook. “There’s one more issue. Your sister contacted us this morning and requested a second interview.”
“What did she say?” Rebecca asked.
“That she remembered something differently.”
“Which thing?”
“She wouldn’t discuss it by phone.”
James looked at Rebecca.
She could almost hear Vanessa’s message again: Please call me before you do anything else.
Bell stood. “Do not call her.”
“I know.”
“I’m saying it because attorneys are often the worst witnesses. You think you can have a clean conversation because you know the rules. Then every word becomes an issue.”
Rebecca stood too. “I won’t contact her.”
“Or your mother.”
“I understand.”
Bell held her gaze.
She disliked him slightly for doubting her. She respected him for it.
At home, she found eleven missed calls from Patricia, four from Vanessa, two from Aunt Colleen, and one from the managing partner at her firm.
The partner, Elaine Mercer, asked her to come in the next morning.
“You’re not in trouble,” Elaine said.
People only said that before describing trouble.
Rebecca arranged for James to stay with Lily and drove downtown.
Her office building overlooked a six-lane road lined with construction barriers. Normally she used the elevator ride to answer messages. That morning she watched the floor numbers change and noticed a dried streak of coffee on the metal panel.
Elaine waited in the conference room with the firm’s general counsel.
That was worse than expected.
“We’re very sorry about Lily,” Elaine said. “How is she?”
“Concussed. Stable. Frightened.”
“I’m glad she’s home.”
The general counsel folded his hands. “Rebecca, a reporter called asking whether one of our attorneys attempted to influence witnesses in a pending family criminal matter.”
Rebecca sat down slowly.
“What reporter?”
“Local television.”
“Who made the allegation?”
“They didn’t say.”
“Kessler.”
“Possibly,” Elaine said. “Or a family member. There are posts circulating.”
Rebecca had not opened social media since the party.
Elaine turned a tablet toward her.
The first post was from Patricia.
Our family is suffering because private discipline was twisted into a criminal accusation by someone who knows how to manipulate the system. Please pray for truth and for a grandfather being punished for one misunderstood moment.
There were more than two hundred comments.
Some supported her. Others asked why a grandfather had a belt in his hand. Several accused Rebecca of using her legal connections. One person had found her firm biography and posted it beneath the message. Another had shared a photograph from the birthday party taken an hour before the injury. Gerald was smiling beside the cooler. Lily stood nearby in her yellow dress.
The caption read: Does this look like a monster?
Rebecca pushed the tablet away.
“I have not contacted any witness,” she said.
The general counsel nodded. “We believe you. The concern is broader. Were you aware of prior allegations against your father?”
“Yes.”
Elaine’s expression changed, almost imperceptibly.
Rebecca told them about Patricia’s wrist. She described the advice she had given ten years earlier. She did not soften it.
The general counsel took notes.
“Were you acting as her attorney?”
“No formal representation.”
“Did she seek legal advice?”
“Yes.”
“Did you advise her to make a false statement?”
“I told her she needed to maintain one account if she expected the case to be dismissed. She had already told police she fell. Privately, she told me he grabbed and shoved her.”
“Did you report that?”
“No.”
“Did you have a professional obligation to report it?”
“Not automatically. She was an adult, and I was not involved in the prosecution.”
“That isn’t the only issue.”
“I know.”
Elaine looked out the window. “We have to place you on temporary leave.”
Rebecca expected anger. What came instead was relief so immediate it embarrassed her.
“For how long?”
“Until we understand whether you’ll be a witness in a criminal case and whether any ethics complaint is filed. Paid for now.”
“For now.”
“We need to protect the firm.”
“I understand.”
Elaine looked back at her. “I’m also trying to protect you from walking into court while your child’s injury is on local television.”
Rebecca gathered her purse.
At the door, Elaine said, “You don’t have to handle this like a case.”
“Yes,” Rebecca replied. “Apparently I do.”
She regretted the sentence before the elevator arrived.
At home, James had moved the television remote to the top of the refrigerator because Lily kept asking to watch the birthday video stored on their streaming account. She did not understand why the party had ended.
May you like
Rebecca told him about the leave.
He was cutting apple slices at the counter. The knife stopped halfway through one.
