Mercy(White Collared Part 1)(18)
When the commotion escalated, Kate tore her gaze away from him and scanned the area, stopping on the glass doors to the firm.
“Nick!” she shouted, pointing to the doors and alerting him to her plan. She raced to the doors and threw one open wide. Three male reporters stumbled backward into the office, giving Nick an opportunity to elbow his way through the frenzy.
Rachel Dawson, a popular Detroit morning newscaster known for her solid reporting, long raven hair, and ample-sized chest, shoved through the crowd and thrust her microphone directly under Jaxon’s chin, almost daring him to push her away. “Mr. Deveroux! Could you tell us why you enjoyed beating your wife?”
“Don’t say a word, Jaxon.” Nick grasped him by the neck of his shirt and ushered him through the crowd. When they got inside, Nick stretched out his arms in front of Jaxon like a professional bodyguard and said, “My client will not answer any of your questions. This is private property, and I’m going to ask you all to leave or I’ll call the police.”
One of the reporters in the lobby smirked and pointed his phone at Nick, no doubt set to record audio. “Mr. Trenton, are you also a BDSM master?”
Nicks hands curled into fists, but he remained in control. Kate heard the voices of the building’s security guards ordering the reporters to disperse.
Some of the media heeded the warnings, but Rachel wasn’t as smart. Rather than follow the others, she suddenly broke away from the crowd and barreled into the room. “What is your response to attorney general candidate Mason Ford’s call for a grand jury investigation into the murder of your wife?” she asked Jaxon.
Jaxon blanched and wobbled on his feet. Although he topped her by almost a foot, she repaid the favor from yesterday and slid an arm around his waist to keep him upright.
Nick stalked to Rachel. “I would think you’d know better, Ms. Dawson. That’s nothing more than campaign rhetoric. Now, I believe I told you to leave this property. Don’t make me ask you again.”
The pretty reporter blinked but didn’t budge. “You can’t make me leave. This is private property open to the public, and I have every right to be here.”
“You are inside the office, and I’ve asked you to leave,” Nick said with a tone of dangerous restraint. “You do not have the right to remain. As for being inside the building, the owner has already been contacted and you were causing a public nuisance. I’m sure every firm on this floor would back me up in saying you’ve interrupted business. Furthermore, you are not here for the purpose of doing business with one of the tenants. You’ve trailed my client, a private citizen, and invaded his privacy rights. I’m not sure your boss wants the wrath of this firm raining down on his station. Now get out.”
“Thanks for the sound bite, Trenton. Make sure you catch the news at noon.” Rachel blew him a kiss and strutted away.
Jaxon released a long exhale. “It hasn’t stopped. Somehow the media found out where I’m staying, and they’ve been camped out in front of the hotel twenty-four-seven. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. My unlisted cell, I might add. I lost my wife and now I’ve lost my privacy. No one cares about getting my side of the story. They just want to win the ratings for their time slot. Alyssa chaired committees to raise money for victims of sexual abuse. She donated blood and raised awareness of the bone marrow registry. But now she’s forever memorialized as a brainwashed victim of domestic violence.”
Nick cocked a brow at her, and she realized she still had her arm around their client. Embarrassed, Kate stepped away from him.
Her boss patted Jaxon on the back and, with a jab of his chin, motioned to them to return to his office. “We’re doing everything we can. I’ve got calls into a couple of psychiatrists who specialize in sex therapy and BDSM. Hopefully, if we convince the media to interview them, it’ll change the community’s perception. The problem is people are scared of what they don’t know.”
“What about the coroner?” Jaxon asked as they proceeded down the hallway. “Won’t he be able to find evidence to clear me?”
Kate and Nick’s gazes collided as she recalled their earlier conversation over the photos. “Our county has a medical examiner. And, of course, it’s possible he’ll find a fingerprint or DNA evidence that will help lead the police to the real killer. But her death wasn’t committed in the heat of passion. Whoever did it was meticulous. Which means the chance he made a mistake and left behind evidence is reduced.”
With a file in her hands, Lisa stepped out of Nick’s office, her eyes widening at the sight of an approaching Jaxon.