Courting Death - Carol Stephenson [49]
If it was even conceivable, the stress was taking a far greater toll on him. Brian looked like he had aged twenty years, deep lines scored his face and shadows haunted his eyes.
“That means the state’s case is all circumstantial evidence,” he said.
“They still have the death of your prior baby.”
Claire visibly flinched and grew pale. Oh yeah, I was so not going to be able to put her on the stand. Not at the rate she was falling to pieces. I had Gabe Chavez, our firm’s investigator, working on what he could learn about the death of the Whitmans’ first daughter.
Brian leaned forward. “But you said you would move to exclude the evidence.”
“Making a motion and winning on it are two different things. Certainly the case law is strong in our favor, but admissibility is decided on a case by case basis.”
I took a deep breath. “If the judge denies the motion to exclude any evidence concerning the death of your first child, there may not be time to regroup.”
“We’ll take our chances. The way I see it, the state has a weak case. Why allow the prosecutor more time to shore it up?”
He had a valid point, but in the end, only one person’s opinion mattered in this room.
“Claire.” I looked directly at my client. “Are you positive you want to go forward with a speedy trial?”
She swallowed. “Yes, I’m certain. I can’t have this hanging over my head any longer than I have to. I need to be able to grieve alone, in private. I need to pull the pieces of my life back together and go on.”
Brian lifted their joined hands and pressed his lips against the back of hers. “We both need to put this all behind us and see where our lives stand. And whether we still want children.”
His quiet pronouncement sent a chill along my spine. Surprise flashed across Claire’s face, and she shook her head. “Brian, maybe it’s time we thought about adopting a child.”
Brian’s mouth set. “We’ll talk later,” he said in a repressive tone.
Uh oh. He was the “children of my own loins” sort. I had no doubt that he would persuade Claire to try for another baby, but not on my watch. I planted my hands on top of the desk.
“Claire, Brian. Whatever you decide, use birth control for now. A pregnancy might send a very wrong message to a jury panel.”
To my surprise, Brian agreed. “You’re absolutely right.”
I reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a document. “Claire, I need you to sign this form. Basically it states that I’ve explained the legal implications of your options and you want me to request a speedy trial on your behalf.”
“Okay.” She leaned forward and, as she scrawled her signature, I fought through the myriad of things of preparation for trial.
Brian reached inside his jacket and withdrew a card. “I know a neonatal expert through business associates and met with him yesterday. He says he can help Claire, so I want to use him.”
I took the card he extended. To no surprise I glanced at it and saw the name Lee Chang, M.D. embossed on the heavy stock paper. My apprehension grew. Exactly who was controlling whom here?
While I was more than worried about Brian’s almost Svengali-like influence over Claire, it appeared Damian Quint was casting a long shadow over the defense of this case.
I gave Brian a neutral smile. “I’ll look into him.”
“You do that. He said he would give us a break on his usual fee because he was interested in the case.”
After I’d shown the couple out, I returned to my office, sat down and swiveled to face the board.
“Are you all right?” Melissa hovered in the doorway.
I waved her back in, propped my elbows on the chair’s arms and steepled my fingers as I continued to consider the cast of characters known so far in the case. “Anything about that conference strike you as strange?”
“I think Mrs. Whitman is about to break.” Melissa hesitated a moment and then continued, “Mr. Whitman is making all the decisions.”
I tapped my fingertips together. “At least he’s giving all appearances of doing so.”
Melissa glanced at a folder she was holding. “I’ve been researching on the