Courthouse Steps

“What does that mean?” Alyssa asked.

“It means that he’s getting ready to try the case. He’ll set up his office, then start talking to people.”

Jeff frowned. “But I thought the district attorney had already investigated the case. The police...Karen, Brick. Why do they have to do more?”

“Ethan Trask will want to talk with everyone himself. He’s coming into this new, remember? The attorney general just appointed him.”

Liza’s frown was fierce. “I still don’t see why Mr. Burns had to ask for a special prosecutor. It’s not as if he and Granddad are best buddies. They barely know each other outside of a couple of charity events. Isn’t that right, Granddad?”

Judson nodded.

“I know,” Amanda agreed. “It’s hard to understand, but the district attorney had to disqualify himself because of the way the situation could be interpreted. If Granddad is found not guilty, it might be thought that the D.A. didn’t push hard enough. Mr. Burns and Granddad aren’t best friends, but they do know each other.”

Liza grunted. “Mr. Burns is watching out for Mr. Burns. He doesn’t want to do anything to foul up his chances of reelection.”

“That’s probably true, too,” Amanda conceded. “But it doesn’t change the original fact. He had no choice except to take himself off the case.”

“So he made sure we got Ethan Trask,” Liza complained.

“He had no say in the matter. That choice belonged to the state attorney general.”

“Remind me not to vote for him, either,” Cliff said quietly, gaining a quick smile of approval from his wife.

“Me, too,” Cece agreed. Jeff squeezed her hand.

Amanda decided that the time was right. She had planned to tell her grandfather the news later, but since everyone was here... “I think I gained a point for our side today,” she announced. “Actually, a whole lot of points. Do any of you remember when I was in law school and talked about a Professor Williams? How brilliant he was, and how lucky I felt to have him as one of my instructors?” She received blank looks all around. “Well, Professor Williams—Peter—is retired now, and he lives at Lake Geneva. I spoke with him this evening. That’s why I was late, why I missed dinner. He’s agreed to advise me on Granddad’s case!”

The expected excitement didn’t occur. Finally, Liza questioned, “Does that mean he’s taking over?”

Oh, if only that were true! Amanda thought. But she shook her head. “No. He’s agreed to help, that’s all. He’s very experienced in courtroom procedure and criminal law. He was a practicing trial attorney for years before he went into teaching. He’s very respected. He’s even written a book—”

“Does it make you feel better that he agreed to assist you?” Judson interrupted.

Amanda gazed at her grandfather’s strong face—the high cheekbones, the commanding Ingalls nose and chin, the eyes that could be stern but were mostly gentle. “Yes,” she answered truthfully. “It makes me feel better.”

“Then that’s all that counts,” Judson decreed. “I agree with your decision. His first name is Peter, you say? My father’s name. A good name for a man.”

“I think you’ll like him, Granddad,” Amanda assured him, relieved that her grandfather had consented.

Judson nodded, then turned to look outside. He’d been doing a lot of that recently—standing and looking out windows. Amanda couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about the present or remembering something from the past.

Cliff glanced at his watch, then stood. He helped Liza to her feet as well. “We have to go,” Liza said. She collected her daughter from her mother’s lap. “Little Maggie needs to hit the sack...not to mention Mommy and Daddy. Cece, when you gave us all those childbirth lessons, why didn’t you warn us that once babies come into the world they like to torture their parents? I thought she’d wake up only once a night to be fed, not every two hours like clockwork. And Cliff’s no help. He doesn’t come with the right equipment! He gets up with me, though, just to be fair.”

“Remind me to put you up on the roof the next time a shingle blows loose,” Cliff teased.

Liza flashed a reckless smile. “You think I wouldn’t do it?”

Jeff laughed. “Liza, Cliff’s been married to you long enough to know when to back off. If he’s not careful, the next time it storms you’ll be up on the roof replacing missing shingles, all the while suckling your newborn child!”

“I don’t want Maggie to grow up with preconceived notions about people,” Liza defended.

Once again Jeff laughed. “Sis, I seriously doubt that there’s any danger of that! Not with you for a mom.”

Cece stood up to hug Liza. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” she advised. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Jeff pretended to be hurt. “You can say that about me? You’re going to have to make that up to me, my girl.” He pulled Cece back down to his side and kissed her, long and with feeling. When he let her go, she was pink. Her fingers fluttered to her short, dark hair, but the secret smile she wore was a pleased one.

With her daughter cradled in one arm, Liza made the rounds, hugging her mother, her brother, her grandfather and finally Amanda. “Walk out to the car with us,” she whispered in Amanda’s ear. “I have to talk to you.” Her smile urged Amanda not to react.

Amanda gave a short, almost imperceptible nod and kept her own smile in place.

Liza passed the baby to Cliff, who somehow managed to look instantly comfortable with the tiny burden. His quietness seemed to instill quietness in the child. Maggie gave one tiny wiggle and went to sleep. Liza smiled and went about the business of collecting the array of baby things, which she then packed away in a soft cloth bag.

“Here, let me help,” Amanda volunteered. She took the bag from her sister, which freed Liza to arrange a light blanket around her child for protection against the night.

After their final goodbyes, Amanda followed them out to the car, and while Cliff put the baby into an infant-restraint seat, Liza said worriedly, “I didn’t want to ask inside, but what if he wants to see me? What should I do? Can I refuse?”

Amanda knew immediately who “he” was: the man who seemed to be on everyone’s mind—Ethan Trask. “Yes, you can refuse,” she said. “But he’ll subpoena you for the trial. He has the power of the state behind him. He can make you testify.”

“But what if he comes around before that...what do I do?”

“Am I your lawyer?”

“What do you... Of course you’re my lawyer!” Liza replied, catching on quickly. “Mine and Cliff’s both. Right, Cliff?”

Cliff straightened, his tall good looks emphasized by the diffuse light from the house windows. “Right,” he agreed.

“If you’re contacted, call me right away,” Amanda said. “Tell him you won’t be interviewed unless I’m present.”

Liza gave a devilish smile. “I’m almost beginning to feel sorry for the man!”

“Well, don’t. He knows a lot more about what he’s doing than I do.”

Liza sobered instantly. “I wish Cliff and I had never found the rug or that Joe Santori had never given me the bullet. I wish...no, I can’t wish that. If I’d never come back to Tyler, Cliff and I wouldn’t have met, and there’d be no Maggie. But if I hadn’t insisted upon redoing the lodge... It’s my fault, isn’t it, that this has happened? Leave it to me! Leave it to Liza to screw everything up!”

“Liza...” Cliff’s quiet voice cut into his wife’s frustration. “No one blames you.”

“It would have come out eventually, Liza,” Amanda agreed. “Granddad had thought several times about selling the lodge. It was only a matter of time before he did and before someone else started renovations.”

“But he looks so old now. What if he can’t stand up to the pressures of a trial? What if he collapses? What if he—”

“You’re tired,” Amanda said. “A lot has happened to you over the past few weeks. You’ve given birth, you’re trying to adjust to motherhood, both you and the baby are still chock-full of hormones. The grandfather you love dearly has been indicted for murder...just an ordinary month in the life of one Mary Elizabeth Baron Forrester.” Amanda patted her sister’s hand. “Go home, Liza. Go home with your wonderful husband, and let me worry about Granddad. I have reinforcements now. I’m not nearly as afraid as I once was.”

“Are you telling us the truth?” Liza demanded. “You’re not just saying that to make me stop worrying?”

Amanda crossed her heart, the sign the Baron siblings had used since childhood to signify truth telling.

Liza’s face brightened, but Cliff wasn’t fooled. Unlike his wife, Cliff didn’t want to be fooled. Amanda hesitated to look at him, but she felt her gaze drawn. In her brother-in-law’s black eyes she saw the truth. And she knew that he knew she hadn’t spoken it.