Chapter Seven

A couple of hours later, Nancy had dropped Frank off at her house and was on her way to her father's law office. Frank had wanted her to wait until tonight to talk to Carson, but Nancy couldn't do it. Especially if there was that slim chance that Dom was telling her the truth.

She found a parking spot in front of his office and hurried and pulled in. She put money in the parking meter and jogged up the short flight of stairs. When she walked in, she saw Ms. Hanson sitting behind her desk.

"Nancy, dear—what brings you here?" she asked, beaming.

"I need to talk to Dad. Is he in?" Nancy asked.

Ms. Hanson nodded. "He just got back in."

"Thanks," Nancy said. She knocked on his door and poked her head in.

"Nancy!" Carson said, looking up from his paperwork. "What are you doing here, honey?"

"Can I come in?" Nancy asked.

"Of course," Carson said.

Nancy stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. She then took the seat across from her father.

"I need to talk to you," Nancy said.

"Sure," Carson said. "What about?"

"I did something which you may or may not approve of," she said, slowly.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to approve?" Carson sighed. Then he glanced at Nancy's neck and saw the faint bruising.

"What happened to your neck?" he asked. "That's not from the other day, is it?"

Nancy shook her head. "It's from today," she answered.

Carson folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his seat. "I'm listening."

"I know I'm not supposed to under the circumstances, but I went to see Dom," Nancy said.

"What?" Carson exploded, pounding his fists on the desk, causing Nancy to jump. "Are you crazy, Nancy?"

"That seems to be the question of the day," Nancy joked, weakly.

"Do you know what this could do to the case?" Carson asked.

"I had to do it, Dad!" Nancy exclaimed.

"I thought you were trying to be as far away as possible from him," Carson said. "What reason could you possible have for going to see him?"

"This," Nancy said, pulling out the note. She handed it to Carson and watched his facial expressions as he read the note. She saw his face turn from a beet red to a ghostly pale in a matter of seconds.

"He told me you knew something about that note, Dad," Nancy said, quietly. "Is he right?"

Carson looked at Nancy, horror written all over his distinguished face. At that moment, he looked many years older to Nancy.

"He was, wasn't he?" Nancy asked. "What do you know about it?"

"I can't do this anymore," Carson whispered more to himself than Nancy.

"You can't do what?" Nancy asked.

"You were right earlier when you said I have another reason for representing Dominic Shepard," Carson began.

"I knew it," Nancy said, her blue eyes blazing.

"He said he would continue to go after you unless I agreed to represent him," Carson said.

"What?" Now it was Nancy's turn to explode. "But, Dad, I don't understand why you caved in to him. You've had people threaten you my threatening me before. Why did you cave in?"

Carson ran his hands over his face and looked up at Nancy with tired eyes. "Nancy, we know what this man is capable of." he started to tick off points on his fingers as he explained. "He killed Ann just for the mere thrill of it. He killed Brenda because he saw how she bothered you so much. He came into our home and stabbed you, out of a fit of rage. He nearly killed Nikki because he was so frustrated with himself for stabbing you. He kidnapped both Frank and Ned, attacked Joe, kidnapped you, and then wanted you to choose who he would kill next. And then when his plan went to hell and back, he tried to kill you again."

"Dad, I already know all of this," Nancy said.

"He's not finished with you, honey, and that scares me more than you know. He says if I don't represent him at the trial, he'll make sure you never see your twentieth birthday. I can't risk your life over my pride," Carson said.

Nancy sighed. "Do you want to know where these bruises on my neck came from, Dad?" she asked.

Carson looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"They came from Dom—today. He was able to attack me from a jail cell. So no matter if you represent him or not, he's not going to let up. He's just trying to see how many people he can weave into his twisted web of manipulation," Nancy said.

"I've already agreed to do it, Nancy," Carson said. "I can't back out of it now."

"You're not going to win this case, are you?" Nancy asked.

"There is no way in hell I'm going to let that bastard walk the streets again," Carson said, angrily.

"You can't throw the case," Nancy said. "It will get you disbarred."

"I won't have to," Carson said. "The evidence against him is astronomical. Besides, with the testimony of the prosecution, he has no chance with getting off from the charges."

"What if he does?" Nancy asked.

"I don't want you to worry about a thing," Carson said, coming around his desk. Nancy stood up and he gave his daughter a hug. "I'm going to take care of it all."

"Dad—" Nancy said.

"I'll make sure he never hurts you again," Carson said more to himself than Nancy.

Nancy didn't say anything else as her father continued to embrace her. She knew what her father was capable of, but was he willing to risk it all in order to put one man in jail for the rest of his life?

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"Your Honor, it would be a travesty if you allowed Dominic Shepard to walk the streets again, while he awaited trial. He has killed two women and he almost succeeded in killing for more people. The prosecution believes if he is allowed bail, there is no doubt that he will try again, should he be allowed that chance. He is a vicious man with no respect whatsoever to any living being."

Dom let a small smile play on his lips as he watched Assistant District Attorney Gwen Lawson return to her table and take a seat. She was a tall, beautiful woman with long raven hair and bright green eyes, who walked with the grace of a ballerina.

Maybe this trial wouldn't be such a bad thing, he thought. Now he would have two beautiful women to look at. Though Gwen wasn't nearly as beautiful as Nancy…

He felt a thrill go through his as he thought of Nancy. But it went away quickly as Carson Drew stood up and approached the podium that was in the center of the courtroom.

"Mr. Drew," Judge Nigel Cunningham said.

"Your Honor, everything that ADA Lawson said is true about my client," Carson began. "But there is no proof that my client will continue killing if he is released on bail. Everyone deserves a second chance, even people like my client. He poses no flight risk so he will be here when his trial begins."

Carson unfastened his blazer and took his seat beside Dominic. Carson knew everything he had just uttered his mouth had been a lie. But he also knew there was no way the judge was about to let him out on bail—especially not Nigel Cunningham. Carson had known him for years and they played golf together once a month.

Judge Cunningham cleared his throat. He was a stocky man with thinning silver hair and pale blue eyes, but when he commanded everyone's attention.

"After hearing both arguments, I'm going to have to side with the prosecution. Mr. Shepard is too much a danger to society and I can't take the risk of him continuing his heinous rampage. Bond if therefore denied." He banged his gavel and nodded at the bailiff. "Bailiff, please escort Mr. Shepard back to his cell. Mr. Drew, please meet me in my chambers."

Carson watched as the bailiff took Dom away and then made his way to the familiar chambers of Nigel Cunningham. When he pushed open the door the doors, he could see Nigel shrugging out of his robes.

"How are you, Carson?" Nigel asked.

"I'm good," Carson said, sitting down. "And yourself?"

"Just getting older," Nigel said, chuckling.

Carson smiled. "I know the feeling."

Nigel studied his old friend for a long time before he sat down. "This is a losing case, Carson. Why are you doing this?"

"Maybe I want to lose," Carson said.

"You're willing to risk your career on this scum?" Nigel asked.

Carson sighed and gave his friend a helpless shrug. "I've been doing this for years, Nigel. Maybe it's time I threw in the towel."

"There are other ways—honorable ways—to do that. You can't take a case and throw it away on purpose. You will lose all of the respect of your peers and you will be criticized for many years to come."

"I've never cared about what people thought about me. Why should I start now?" Carson asked.

"I know you were never one to care about that, Carson. I just want you to think about the consequences," Nigel said. "If someone catches you throwing the case, you will be disbarred and Dominic Shepard will walk away a free man."

"I'm not throwing the case," Carson assured him. "I will defend him the same way I defend all of my clients. But no jury in their right minds will allow him to be free for many years."

"I hope you're right, Carson," Nigel said. "For your sake—and your daughter's."

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Author's Note: Yay! Another update! Some of you have wondered why Carson caved in so easy, so I had Nancy address the issue. Sorry for the delay in the update, but I have 2 research papers due, a new nephew that was just born 2 weeks ago, and a bunch of tests. If I get my butt in gear, you will get another update soon! (And bribes help, also...)

So, read and review!