Chapter 13

Bo stepped into John's office and closed the door behind himself, "you have a minute?" he asked the younger man.

"Sure Boss, what do you need?" John wondered as he put aside a case file he was reviewing.

"You to take a little trip."

"Bo, normally I wouldn't mind, but. . ."

"What big plans for the weekend?"

"Just trying to find information to get Natalie's murder conviction overturned," he shot back.

Bo raised an eyebrow at that: "I'll cover that one."

"I'm. . ."

"Going to be accompanying my niece out of town."

"Excuse me?"

"This stays between us. No one besides Nora knows. Natalie's going to talk to an attorney in Pine Valley."

John shook his head: "'Vang thought she might try something like that."

"Like what?"

"She told me she thought that Natalie would blame her if she got convicted. That she'd try to say that she didn't handle the case properly."

"Do you think that would be wrong?"

"She did her job. She wouldn't have done less."

"Maybe, but we both know Natalie didn't murder Paul."

"Agreed."

"So why shouldn't she look to someone else for legal representation? Why shouldn't she try to get the system to work for her?"

"I'm not saying she shouldn't. I just don't want to see her jealousy backfire on her."

"Are we sure," Bo started then stopped. "Never mind."

"You think it's the other way around?" John deduced.

"Why couldn't it?"

"Maybe because Natalie's the one who acts rash?"

"I'm not arguing with you about this. You want to defend your girlfriend, I want to look out for my niece. All I'm asking is if you'll take her to meet with an attorney and not inform your girlfriend about the real reason for your trip.'

John sighed: "you're putting me in a difficult position, Bo."

"You've been there for a while any way."

"Maybe," John shrugged. "All right. Tell Natalie that I'll take her."

"Thanks, John," Bo nodded as he looked to the door. "I'll handle some of the other aspects."

"Colson's not going to like it."

"He'll get over it eventually. He usually does," Bo shrugged as he walked out.

"Just as long as he's not the only one who does," John muttered as he sat down trying to figure out what to tell Evangeline.

Walking towards his office, Bo stopped short as he caught sight of the man standing near his door. "I'll be damned, Jake?"

"Hey Bo," the younger man shrugged as he reached out a hand. "It's been a long time."

"That it has," Bo replied as he shook his hand. "Is there a reason you're here now?"

"Work?"

"Oh?"

"Look, can we talk in private?"

"Yeah, come on into my office. So what's going on? Are you looking for a job?"

"No, I'm looking into a few things for a client."

"And you came here?"

"It's the Crammer case."

"Someone hired you to look into the Crammer case?" Bo asked surprised. "Why?"

"That's confidential."

"Jake, I don't know if you're aware of this, but the person. . ."

"On trial is Vickie's daughter? I heard."

"She's not on trial anymore. She was convicted this afternoon."

"Isn't that kinda quick? I heard that the persecution hadn't even rested, and that was this morning."

"The defense only put up one witness, Antonio Vega."

"An odd decision from what I've gathered so far."

"Yeah. Natalie's. . . well, she's exploring her options. I just. . . I don't want to se her chances hurt or for you to get into trouble for a possible conflict of interest."

"There won't be one. I was hired to prove her innocence."

"By who?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Do they know?"

"That there's a connection? No. It's not like I've met her or her relationships to you will affect my job performance."

"Can I ask why you're here then?"

"To see the files. To see what you have that didn't make it into court. What both sides didn't use. Also to get what you can give me on the Santis."

"You think they're connected to the murder?"

"Possibly. I'm covering all the bases that I can. The more information I can give her attorney the better."

"There's not a lot of time. They're sentencing her Monday and she hasn't spoken to her new one yet."

"Then the faster I can look at that stuff the better, right?"

"Yeah, I'll have Marcie copy it for you. Only, Jake, you wouldn't withhold information from me, would you?"

"I don't interfere with police investigations," Jake replied defensively.

"I didn't mean to imply. . ."

"Bo, my employer is a well respected Connecticut businessman. I'm not aware of all the reasons for his interest. What I do know is that he believes something is going on. He saw an incident that lends itself to the theory that she's being set up."

"Which was?" Bo asked, earning only a stare in response. "OK, I get it, only. . . Jake we're not working counter purposes here."

"I know that, but I have to respect my client's wishes. There are people involved who… well, let's just say that they're not living up to their responsibilities."

"Like who? Evangeline?"

"Let's just say that comments were made."

"Well, considering her courtroom performance, I'm not surprised," Bo replied. "Just keep me informed so I can get things in motion here."

"I'll let you know anything that comes up that would apply to a criminal investigation," Jake conceded as he stood.

"Jake. . ."

"We'll get the conviction overturned. Don't doubt that much."

"I wish it were that simple, but where Natalie's concerned not much is. . ."