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ready to go after the bastard before the first lie had rolled out of his mouth. Then Winston had started
his cross-examination and forced Brian to go back over every word. The prosecutor had paused on
occasion to smirk or give the jury a look that was clearly been meant to show how ludicrous these
statements were. He didn t offer one single piece of evidence to suggest that Brian had been lying.
Now, we were at the closing arguments and I was thinking that Bruno had wasted his money on
getting Brian a hot-shot lawyer. A half-brain-dead paralegal who d flunked out of law school
could ve done a better job prosecuting the case.
When Winston stood to begin his closing arguments, there was no indication on his face that he
thought this would go anything but his way.
Law is about facts, he began. Evidence. You ve heard testimony of what happened that night in
Brian Radcliff s cabin. You ve heard a series of events that the facts support. The physical evidence
at the scene corroborates the testimony you ve heard. You ve heard from a woman who d been
abused by the defendant. You heard how she had been awarded custody by the courts, proving she is
the fit parent. Brian Radcliff broke the law when he violated that agreement and took Michelle
Radcliff from her mother s home. Emma Radcliff has testified to her ex-husband s abuse, proving that
he is a violent man who would have no qualms over pointing a gun at people who were trying to
rescue his daughter. Based on the facts, I have no doubt that you will render a verdict of guilty.
As he finished his speech, I had a moment of sudden clarity. Winston was so sure of himself that
he thought if he simply told the jury that his explanation of events was correct, they d believe him. I
shifted in my seat. Things weren t looking good for Emma.
Reynolds stood, smiling at the jury as he walked towards them. Mr. Winston has asked you to
follow the facts, and I encourage you to do the same. I believe, however, that you know a fact is
something that can be proven to be true. We all know that there are two sides to every story, and
when you re in court, your job as a jury is to decide if one version of the story causes reasonable
doubt in the other version. There are no physical facts here that can confirm which of these two
versions of events is true. Yes, they do support the series of events that Mr. Winston claims to be true,
but they also support the scenario told by my client. He put his hands in his pockets. Now, I know
some of you may have thought I was being mean to some of Mr. Winston s witnesses. Maybe even
that I was twisting words and making assumptions that didn t have any proof. But, remember that it s
not my job to prove that Mrs. Radcliff conspired with two other people to harm her ex-husband and
frame him for kidnapping. It s only my job to point out that the evidence says it s possible. You might
not want to believe that the things I said could be true, but if you believe that they could be true, that
there is a possibility, however remote, that Brian Radcliff did not kidnap his daughter, then you must
find him not guilty.
Damn. He was good.
After the judge ruled that the jury would begin deliberations in the morning, Winston turned and
gave Emma and me a smile that clearly said he thought he d won.
I think that went well. The positive note in Emma s voice sounded forced. It s in the jury s
hands now.
I just wish my testimony had gone better. I couldn t bring myself to tell her that I thought it was
all over, no thanks to Winston.
You did great, Emma said firmly. She squeezed my arm. No need to worry.
I didn t say anything as we walked out of the courtroom. I caught a glimpse of Brian out of the
corner of my eye and steered Emma away from him. She deserved at least one more night of thinking
Brian would be out of her life.
I want to take you and Luke to a nice dinner, Emma said suddenly. Michelle s spending the
night at a friend s, so we can take our time and relax. After all of this, I need to be with friends and&
I need a drink.
Less than thirty minutes later, Luke met us at one of Summerville s fancier restaurants. It wasn t
black tie or anything, but it was nicer than the little beach places I usually went to. As we settled into
our booth, Emma announced that she didn t want to talk about anything serious and that tonight would
be all about getting to know each other. Considering everything the three of us had on our minds, a
meal with mindless chatter sounded amazing.
We d only just ordered our drinks when I saw a familiar face sitting alone at the next table.
Jasper! I called, drawing surprised looks from both Luke and Emma. What better way to get
Emma s mind off of things than to introduce her to a hot Scandinavian bartender?
Hanna slash Dani, Jasper said as he came over. His easy smile widened as soon as he saw
Emma.
Jasper saw my ID so he knows that my real name is Daniella, but that I go by Hanna, I explained
quickly. He s the bartender at The Bar. I saw recognition in Luke s eyes. Jasper, this is my
boyfriend, Luke, and our friend Emma. She owns a B&B in town.
Hi. He shook Luke s hand and then turned to Emma. It s nice to meet you.
It might ve been my imagination, but I thought his hand lingered on Emma s a bit longer than
necessary.
Are you waiting for someone? I asked.
No, Jasper said. My blind date canceled via text. He shrugged it off with a casual smile.
That s what I get for letting the bouncer at The Bar try to set me up with his second cousin.
Join us, I said, motioning to the seat next to Emma. Her eyes widened and I smiled at her. I m
surprised you and Emma haven t met before. Summerville isn t that big of a town.
Emma slid over and Jasper s smile became genuine. He sat down next to her. It doesn t surprise
me, he said. I don t really get out much, between working full-time at The Bar, coaching my niece s
soccer team and school.
School? Emma asked.
Jasper nodded. I ve been working on my doctorate in psychology for a while, but I m down to
my last semester.
I leaned against Luke as Emma and Jasper talked. I found a lot of what he was saying interesting,
but I wasn t about to burst the little bubble they were in. My interest was purely platonic, but the light
in Emma s eyes said she was as attracted as I d hoped she d be.
How long have you been wanting to introduce them? Luke whispered in my ear.
I laughed softly. That obvious?
Just to someone who knows you. Luke put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. You re
a good friend.
I placed my hand on his knee and heard a sharp breath. Good enough to get a reward. His hand
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