Then youll reopen the case, he said confidently.
Dont get your hopes up. She seemed genuine, but I still havent verified she was at the scene of the crime. For all I know, shes an actress you hired.
Daniel bit his tongue to stifle a snide retort. After spending six years hitting brick wall after brick wall trying to overturn his own conviction, he shouldnt be a bit surprised by Jamies attitude.
I can provide the documentation you need
Ill provide my own, thanks very much. And if I find out shes lying, Ill personally see to it shes prosecuted. And if I find you paid her to lie, Ill prosecute you.
Daniel was livid. He was so tired of this attitude. Of course, the Harris County D.A.s office would be doubly motivated to prevent another overturned conviction; Project Justice had recently gained freedom for a mobsters son convicted of killing his girlfriend, and the case had caused some major embarrassment for the D.A.
It sounds as if you simply dont like me very much. Are you going to let personal feelings stand in the way of justice?
Please stop being so simplistic. Im convinced I did a good job convicting Christopher Gables. Naturally, its going to take a solid argument to persuade me I made a mistake.
Were talking about a mans life here.
Yes, the life of Frank Sissom, Gabless victim. Do you have anything else to show me? If so, bring it on.
What about that unidentified DNA?
If you have a theory about where it came fromor any other evidenceIm willing to talk. Contrary to what you might believe, I do not have a closed mind. In fact, Im having one of our evidence analysts reexamine Frank Sissoms apron.
Really? Shed succeeded in surprising him.
I should have results tomorrow.
Then by all means, we should talk again. When can you get here? I can free up my schedule anytime
Im glad to hear that, because mine is packed. I can spare you an hour tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning, here at my office.
Daniels heart clutched, and he forced himself to breathe deeply. I cant possibly drive downtown.
Afraid youd miss your afternoon massage? Exactly how serious are you about wanting to free your client? I disrupted my whole schedule to drive to River Oaks. If you want my cooperation, you can meet me halfway. Besides, we might need to talk to people in the crime lab or the investigating officers involved in the caseall of whom can be found downtown.
I can send one of my best people. And admit to his staffalready skepticalthat he was not up to handling a case on his own. That would be a bitter pill to swallow.
Okay. Your assistant can meet with my assistant.
Now she was playing hardball. Ms. McNair. Jamie. This matter is too serious for us to play games.
Dont talk to me about games. Youre the one who made me cool my heels while you got your massage and sent me home with tiramisu, trying to butter me up.
Maybe she had a point. Did you like it, by the way? Chef Claude is a genius.
That is immaterial. Ive got a lot on my plate and I really dont have time to chase after every hard-luck and if-only story I hear. You believe hes innocent? Fair enough. Show me the commitment that says you mean it. Im willing to listen, but Im not going to deal with layer upon layer of assistants and bodyguards. You started this, and I think you should be the one to finish it. Personally.
His awareness of her primed his body for action, even over the phone. She wanted to deal with him personally, did she? Her reasons sounded plausible, but he didnt completely buy them. Perhaps she wanted to see more of him, just as he wanted to see more of her. He would have been pleased, if not for the massive logistic problem her ultimatum caused.
Whats it going to be? she prompted. Im due in court in ten minutes.
Name your time, he finally said. Ill be there, so long as you keep our meeting discreet. Being out in public can cause difficulties for me.
Believe me, Im as anxious as you to keep this thing under wraps. Two oclock tomorrow? I can reserve the conference room.
Ill be there. Come hell or high water. He hadnt heard any flooding forecasts for South Texas, but hell was a definite possibility.
The board meeting broke up at close to noon. After seeing everyone out to their cars, Jillian returned to Daniels office to go over his afternoon schedule.
Its nice poolside, if youd like to take your lunch there. You havent breathed any fresh air in a couple of days.
He resisted the urge to remind Jillian that the filtered air in his home was nine times cleaner than the smog-infused air of Houston. Good suggestion. Dirty air or not, he liked sitting outside when he could, looking out over his swimming pool and listening to birds and wind in the trees. It helped him think, and he had a lot of thinking to do. And it reminded him he was a free man.
Also, Jillian, please have the limo ready tomorrow at 1:30no, 1:15. Im going downtown to meet with Jamie McNair What?
The unflappable Jillians mouth gaped open. Youre going downtown? she repeated.
Yes. Maybe not in the limo, I dont want to draw attention. The Bentley might be better.
You are going downtown, she said again.
Its the Christopher Gables case. Ms. McNair is willing to talk, which is frankly more than I expected at this stage.
But youre going to a meeting? Personally?
Jillian, have you gone hard of hearing? Im perfectly capable of attending a meeting off-site. Ill admit, I usually choose not to, but this is important.
With all due respect, sir, you havent left the estate in three years.
That stopped him. Three Oh, surely youre mistaken.
Your grandmothers funeral in Miami. October 3, two thousand
It doesnt matter. Im going. I have to go.
Jillians face softened. Do you want me to come with you?
The tightness in his chest eased slightly as he pictured Jillian sitting next to him, dealing with pesky details. But when he pictured himself meeting with Jamie, he saw the two of them alone.
Hell, he didnt need Jillian to hover and fuss over him. He could handle this mission on his own. He had taken on the responsibility of being Christopher Gabless champion, and he needed to see it through.
No, thank you, Jillian. Ill bring Randall for security. That should be sufficient.
Jillian looked as if she wanted to argue, but in the end she nodded her head and turned. Yes, sir.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Daniel sucked up a monumental case of nerves and strode to his limo parked in the driveway. Hed opted for the larger, more ostentatious car after all; it seemed safer.
He had a briefcase full of information about the Sissom/Gables case as well as the Andreas Musto murderthe parallels between the two cases simply could not be coincidence. Hed even drawn up a chart, with graphics, showing similarities. And if there was a remote chance that he could find the person whod stolen six years of his life
Daniel wasnt a violent man, as his lawyers had so tirelessly reminded the jury. But if he ever came face-to-face with the man whod framed him, he could easily kill with his bare hands. That thought had provided comfort during many sleepless nights.
His special-order Mercedes limousine was familiar and comforting, and he breathed in the scent of well-tended leather. But the car must be at least four years old now.
Randall, he said just before his driver and bodyguard closed his door, order a new limousine.
Is something wrong with the car? Randall asked, concerned. He was the one who insisted on personally keeping the vehicle in perfect condition, mechanically and cosmetically.
No, its just time. Keeping up appearances didnt really matter much to him, but others depended on his maintaining a certain image. The slightest show of weaknessfinancial or otherwisecould give rise to rumors that could affect Logan Oil & Gas stock prices, and the well-being of countless investors whod risked their retirement to his care.
Moments later, the car eased down the driveway and the wrought-iron gates opened noiselessly.
And Daniel felt sick to his stomach.
The car was as safe as any presidential limo, with triple-thick steel doors and bulletproof tinted glass. Randall was a former Secret Service agent, an expert in every sort of bodyguard skill on the planet, including evasive driving, marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat. But that didnt stop Daniel from envisioning everything that could go wrongcar accidents, breakdown, traffic snarls, Randall suddenly falling ill
Daniel told himself it was because he was nervous about meeting Jamie. Shed opened the door a crack; if he was late, she might slam it shut again, making his job more difficult. But the truth was, he just wanted to turn around. Behind the brick wall and iron gates, Daniel dictated everything that happened around him.
Away from that cocoon, anything could happen.
What had gone wrong with him? Hed once loved adventure. Hed traveled, embarked on business ventures, tried every sport he could manage. Hed climbed mountains, dated movie stars and earned a business degree from Harvard.
Now, just leaving the house took a monumental dose of courage.
Yes, being falsely accused of a murder he didnt commit, then going through the trial and six years of incarceration on death row, was bound to change a man. Once hed been freed, hed come home and, for the first time in a very long time, hed felt safe and loved.
But even back then, he hadnt been housebound. Hed made periodic trips to Logan Oil and to Project Justice after his fathers death to keep things running. Hed attended funerals and visited doctors.
But the past few years hed ventured forth less and less as the people hed hired to run his empire had competently taken over.
Im fine, damn it.
There was nothing wrong with how hed chosen to live. After what hed been throughhaving a good chunk of his youth stolen awayhe ought to be allowed to enjoy his every hour of freedom on his own terms. Thanks to his father and grandfather, plus a few smart decisions hed made, he had the money to do that, and he refused to feel guilty about it.
Focus on the prize, he told himself. He had to think about Christopher. Succeeding with his mission to find justice for Christopher meant giving a man back his life, and Daniel knew what a huge gift that was. Succeeding also meant more favorable publicity for Project Justice, which was important to all those other men and women the foundation could help.
Then there was the little matter of showing smug Jamie she didnt know everything. Somehow, though, that thought didnt fill him with the pleasure he thought it would.
Finally, there was the satisfaction vengeance would bring.
Daniel cracked a tinted window, immediately aware of how different the breeze from outside felt. It smelled wild. Unsafe.
Nice day for a drive, Randall said. Daniel had left the glass partition open. Sometimes I miss the old days, just you and me out and about in the Jaguar.
We were a pair, werent we? Tearing through town like we didnt have a care in the world. That was back when Daniel thought he was invincible.
The bodyguards presence reassured Daniel. Randall was the bestdiscreet and potentially deadly. He looked ordinary enough, harmless even with his light brown skin, round face and close-cropped, salt-and-pepper hair.
But appearances could be deceiving.
Daniel considered Randall a friend. He was good companyeducated, intelligent, funny. And theyd once spent countless hours together.
But theyd had little face-to-face contact in recent years.
Daniel spent the short drive toward downtown looking over papers in his briefcase, information he already knew by heart. He had an almost photographic memory. But he wanted to have answers right at hand for any questions Jamie might poseand the hard data to back him up.
Jamie. Seeing her again was worth all this trouble. She was the first person in a very long time to challenge himor excite him. Though of course he couldnt know her on anything but a professional level, the undeniable electricity that charged the air around them when they were in the same room added an element of interest to this case.
Daniel didnt date. He could not envision himself in a real romantic relationship. Sharing with anyone the world hed so carefully crafted would ruin it. But that didnt stop him from the occasional fantasy, and lately Jamie McNair had taken a starring role in his daydreams. Hed also lost a bit of sleep over her, as shed appeared in his night dreams, too.
Hed best not get too attached to his fantasy. When he put the prosecutor in her place, firmly convinced she wasnt infallible, she wouldnt gratefully fall into his arms.
Traffic was light, and soon they were wending through downtown streets. Crowded. Noisy.
Abruptly, Daniel shut his window, sealing the noise outside. But that didnt stop the panic that suddenly rose in his chest.
He could stop now. Turn around. Cancel the meeting, hand the whole thing over to Ford or Raleigh, his top lieutenants. There was time. Although Christophers appeals had run out, his execution hadnt yet been scheduled.
The urge to run was so strong, it made Daniel light-headed.
Do you know the suite number of Ms. McNairs office? Randall asked.
Daniel turned to Jillian, realized she wasnt there, and his panic increased. I wrote it down somewhere Hell. It was a simple detail, but his mind was suddenly blank. Ill look it up.
He checked his schedule on his phone. Yes, there it was, on the sixth floor.
He cast his mind ahead to the coming meeting with Jamie, but now he had trouble visualizing it. Was that because he was about to enter an unknown building with unfamiliar elevators and strangers within inches of him? Perhaps.
Or maybe it was the unpredictable woman herself. For the first time in a long time, he would not be in control of every detail around him. It was both exciting and terrifying.
He shook his head. Billions of people could walk into a strange building without thinking twice. He was being ridiculous. If Jamie perceived any nervousness or weakness, she could gain an advantage. Especially on her home turf.
As they turned onto Franklin Street, Daniel couldnt believe his eyes. Three TV news vans, bristling with antennae and satellite dishes, were parked at odd angles in front of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. Reporters with microphones and cameramen and -women crawled the sidewalks and steps to the contemporary skyscraper, along with a crowd of at least a hundred curious onlookers.