Autumn swallowed, painfully aware that Mia was still waiting. She had no idea what Ash was telling her, but she nodded in agreement. When he started to turn back to enter the courtroom, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. When he was once again looking down at her, she explained the harsh truth to him.
“
She can
’
t pay,
”
Autumn said softly.
“
I
’
ll pay your fees. Please, just help her.
”
Ash sighed, the issue becoming more complicated. Autumn might look professional and tough and she fought his older brother tooth and nail on anything she considered an important issue, not afraid to stand up for what she believed in. But Ash had worked with this woman for several years now. He knew that, deep down inside, Autumn was a soft, sweet, kind person which made her vulnerable to the harshness of life.
“
And what if she
’
s guilty?
”
he asked carefully, needing her to face the possibility.
Autumn shook her head.
“
No. She isn
’
t. You
’
ll see. Wait until you meet her before you make a judgment. You
’
ll know as soon as you look into her eyes. She
’
s just a thoughtful, gentle person who teaches kids and loves her job and gardens as a hobby. She doesn
’
t do anything wrong except stand up for the little guy.
”
Ash looked at her for a long moment. This would be a complicated case and if it weren
’
t for Autumn
’
s personal involvement, Ash wouldn
’
t even take it. It seemed like an open and shut case from what his police source said. The only issue in their favor is that the police hadn
’
t found the body of the victim yet.
He sighed, turning to fully face her so he could ensure that she understood how bad this looked for her friend.
“
Autumn, there
’
s an eyewitness that said Mia Paulson and the victim were in a fight the day the victim went missing. The man your friend is accused of killing? It
’
s her ex-fianc
é
. Your friend apparently was jilted for another woman.
”
He shook his head and sighed.
“
Her fingerprints are even on a piece of evidence that has the victim
’
s blood on it. It
’
s an old baseball trophy with one of those heavy bottoms and the police think it is the murder weapon. It
’
s a pretty tight case for the prosecution. If I were on the jury, I
’
d vote to convict her without even hearing the prosecution
’
s arguments.
”
Autumn
’
s eyes hardened as she listened to Ash
’
s recitation of all he
’
d learned on the drive over here. And it just made her angrier.
“
If that bastard did this, you make him pay, Ash! Mia wasn
’
t dumped. She broke up with him. Not only did she get rid of him, but their breakup was a while ago. Mia isn
’
t mean or petty but she
’
d discovered some irritating things about her ex-fianc
é
and broke up with him. He wouldn
’
t accept the breakup though. He stalked her and drove her nuts. Please, hurry and you
’
ll see!
”
she begged.
Ash shook his head, wondering why he was even entering into the courtroom under these circumstances.
“
Autumn, you have to
…”
She held up her hand to stop him.
“
If the evidence is that bad against her, then she needs your talents all the more. Please,
”
she begged once again,
“
you
’
re her only hope. You
’
re the only one I know of that could help her get out of this mess.
”
Ash sighed and nodded his head.
“
Just don
’
t get your hopes up, okay?
”
Autumn
’
s bright smile struck him and he wondered why his older brother Xander didn
’
t do something about his feelings for this woman. Autumn was extremely intelligent, stunningly beautiful and obviously in love with Xander. In Ash
’
s mind, the two made a perfect couple. And if the sparks flying around the office between the two combatants lately were any indication, there was either going to be a wedding to attend, or a funeral. Although he wasn
’
t sure which.
“
Let
’
s do this,
”
he said and stepped through the doors. Normally, he would spend time with his clients before their arraignment, find out any extenuating circumstances and get control of the courtroom. But because his new
“
client
”
was about to be announced any moment, he didn
’
t have time for that today.
“
People versus Mia Paulson, murder in the first degree,
”
the court clerk at the front of the courtroom announced with his loud, bellowing voice.
As always, the courtroom was chaotic and filled with people milling about, attorneys speaking with their clients, family members moving around and talking amongst themselves, police officers conferring with district attorneys as well as the prosecuting and defense attorneys calling out their cases to the judge. It wasn
’
t like the old fashioned courtrooms one saw on television but an ultra-modern room where the back was darker than the front and the judge sat on his throne-like chair in front of all the chaos, looking bored and irritated by the bother.
Into this mix stepped Ash while Autumn sat down in one of the rows, feeling better now that Ash was on board and taking charge. She scanned the room and tried to smile reassuringly as the police officer brought Mia forward.
Mia stepped up to the defense table, her eyes wide with fear and her whole body trembling. She couldn
’
t believe this was actually happening. How had her life gotten so out of control?
She was wearing jeans and a tee-shirt instead of a professional looking suit. Since the police had banged on her door in the early hours of the morning, she didn
’
t have any make-up on, her hair was a mess and she was terrified out of her mind. The police had arrived with a warrant for her arrest about four o
’
clock in the morning, waking her up out of a sound sleep and tossing questions and a piece of paper at her moments before they started rummaging around in her house. She
’
d answered the door in her robe, pushing her brown curls out of her eyes and trying very hard to focus. And now she stood in front of a busy courtroom, her mind frantically trying to figure out what was happening.
“
Do you have counsel?
”
the judge barked out over the noise of the audience.
Mia looked around, finally figuring out that the judge was talking to her. A lawyer? Was this really happening to her?
“
Umm
…”
she started to say but she didn
’
t have a chance to answer the judge. She was about to open her mouth but was stopped by someone behind her.
“
Ash Thorpe here to represent Ms. Paulson, Your Honor,
”
a deep, commanding voice said.
Mia looked around, her grey eyes scanning the crowd. A super tall man was stepping out of the crowd and her eyes widened in shock. She looked up into his blue eyes, wondering why he was here, who he was and why he was coming forward. A man this gorgeous shouldn
’
t be in a courtroom. And he definitely shouldn
’
t be standing next to her. But then, she shouldn
’
t be here either! She should be rushing out of her little cottage home, dropping her keys onto the wooden steps and grumbling as she bent down to pick them up again as she raced down the stairs so she could get to school before her kids started arriving. She should be worrying about spilling her coffee on her suit as she fought the traffic into the city.
Instead, because of some weird, unexplainable twist of life, she was standing here, defending herself against a murder charge. Surely this was some sort of nightmare and she
’
d wake up in a moment. The sky would be lightening on the horizon and she
’
d figure out that she needed to wear a lighter suit instead of a wool one because it was going to be a hot, fall day instead of those delicious, cool ones that made her feel more motivated.
No, this horrible moment wasn
’
t happening to her.
“
How does your defendant plead?
”
the judge demanded over the din.
“
Not guilty, Your Honor,
”
the gorgeous man stated confidently. He stood right next to her, but didn
’
t even bother to consult her on any of the issues.
“
We request that the defendant be released on her own recognizance,
”
the crazy-tall man was saying.
The prosecutor spoke up and Mia
’
s eyes swung over in that direction, completely confused about what was being said. Was this about her or another case?
“
The defendant is accused of murdering her ex-fianc
é
out of jealousy. The people request that the defendant be remanded until trial.
”
Tall-Gorgeous-Dude shook his head, his eyes glaring at the prosecutor.
“
Ms. Paulson doesn
’
t have even a parking ticket to her name,
”
the tall, muscular man called back, his voice confident and deep, sexy and Mia couldn
’
t believe that she was thinking something like that while her entire life was at stake.
“
She hasn
’
t been engaged to the supposed victim in four months, nor does the prosecution even have the body of which Ms. Paulson might have murdered.
”
The judge swung his eyes back to the prosecutor with irritation, stunned that the prosecutor would bring a murder charge without a body.
“
Is that true?
”
he asked.
The prosecutor shook his head,
“
The victim has been missing for more than a week. His blood was found on the murder weapon with Ms. Paulson
’
s fingerprints.
”
The judge shook his head.
“
If there
’
s no body, it sounds like you can
’
t even prove that there
’
s a murder. The man might have just left and gone to an island somewhere,
”
the judge grumbled, obviously wishing he could do the same thing.
Tall-Gorgeous-Dude stepped in at that moment.
“
Since there
’
s no body and the prosecution can
’
t prove that there
’
s even been a murder, I request that the charges against my client be dropped, Your Honor.
”
Mia
’
s eyes swung from the tall man beside her to the judge, praying with hope that the man in the black robes would agree with this stranger.
The prosecutor spoke up quickly.
“
The current fianc
é
e to the victim swears that the victim wouldn
’
t disappear. He
’
s a principal at the local high school with enormous responsibilities. And there was a great deal of blood in the victim
’
s house. Too much blood for there not to be foul play. We currently have investigators at Ms. Paulson
’
s house digging up her back yard, searching for the body. We are confident that we will find it by mid-morning.
”
The judge considered the opposing arguments and came to a speedy conclusion.
“
Since there
’
s no body, I won
’
t hold the defendant. But the case can continue to trial and I
’
ll let the presiding judge hear whether there
’
s enough evidence to move forward. Defendant is released on her own recognizance, but must surrender her passport to the court until trial.
”
The gavel banged down and another voice was calling out the next case.