“Yes, it was bizarre.” The mobster is good with children? My life is getting stranger by the minute.
“You don’t look impressed.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, come on, don’t be so cool. There’s nothin’ sexier than a handsome man acting fatherly.”
“If you say so.” Jane shrugged.
“Come on then, tell me what’s goin’ on.”
Unable to keep it in anymore, Jane blurted out the essential details—Valentine’s admission of guilt, his love for her, and Byron’s new position as her bodyguard—while Georgia listened in slack-jawed silence.
Although Jane failed to mention her plans. She didn’t want to endanger Georgia’s legal career, and she’d be tainted by this case if anyone found out what Jane had done. While she might go down in proverbial flames, Jane refused to take Georgia with her.
“Okay, I need to sit for a spell.” Georgia dropped down into a chair and scratched her forehead.
They sat in silence while Georgia pulled herself together. Jane knew exactly how she felt. Even though she’d had several hours to acclimate, she was still reeling.
“I knew the son of a bitch was guilty.”
“Yes, you did, and I didn’t even see it coming.”
“Oh, hey, no, don’t beat yourself up.” Georgia squeezed her hand. “Someone like Valentine spends years craftin’ a mask he shows to the rest of the world, tryin’ to hide the monster he really is.”
“It still doesn’t change the facts—you weren’t fooled, and I was. You’ve got good instincts, and they’ll serve you well in the job.” If she survived this, Jane vowed to polish her résumé and at least take a look at other jobs.
“The part I’m still freakin’ over is when he said he’s in love with you, because....” Georgia shivered.
Jane sank into a chair with a sigh. “Right there with you.” Even thinking about his mouth on hers nauseated her. At least confiding in Byron and Georgia helped—now, she had a game plan and support.
“On the positive side, at least you’ve gotten closer to Beauregard.”
“Yes, apparently killers are very into me.”
Georgia giggled first and then Jane joined in. They both laughed until they had tears in their eyes.
“This is so messed up. What are you gonna do?”
“Nothing, because my options are limited.” Jane hated lying to her friend, so the words came out in a rush. “I can’t go to the FBI because of privilege, and I have a legal obligation to keep his confidence. Although I’m taking a few days off because I need some time away from here.”
“I totally get it. If anyone deserves a break, you do.” Then she clasped a hand over her mouth. “Holy cow, I just realized it—this is the Buried Bodies’ Case.”
“Exactly.”
Georgia bit her lip. “I shouldn’t be saying this, but someone like Valentine didn’t start killin’ a couple years ago. If you investigated, I bet you’d find other victims—ones he didn’t dispose of so carefully.”
Of course, they’d come to the same conclusion.
“And then make an anonymous tip?” Jane couldn’t even look her in the eye—the shame was unbearable. “I’d be subverting the judicial process.”
“Yes, but these are extenuating circumstances.”
Jane couldn’t let herself off the hook so easily. “We present the facts, all the evidence, and the jury decides—one theory of the crime triumphs. It isn’t perfect, but I’d be perverting justice and betraying a client in the process.” Her stomach churned, and she could barely get the words out. Jane had never been so mixed up in her life. Neither decision felt right. More than anything, she wanted Jed’s guidance, but she wouldn’t drag down his career too.
“He’s a murderer, Jane. What about the greater good?” A muscle worked in Georgia’s jaw.
“That kind of defense has been used to justify all sorts of terrible things. Besides, it isn’t in my job description—prosecutors pursue justice and the greater good—defense attorneys don’t.” She expelled a breath. “This isn’t even about Oscar Valentine. He deserves the death penalty, but as a citizen, he has rights—and violating those creates a dangerous precedent. And that’s how you end up on a slippery slope.”
In the legal sense, a “slippery slope” referred to a dangerous course of action, one which would lead to an erosion of rights or protections down the line. In other words, it described her plan to a T.