She had one day left until the trial. Saturday had once been one of her favorite days, because it usually meant she didn't have to do anything, but now…Now, Anna sat in her office, and stared, because it was all she could do. One day, and she was nowhere near ready to take this on. The fact that Jack was still refusing to talk to her wasn't helping matters.
"Anna?"
The office door had opened without her noticing, yet again, and she jumped, turning away from the computer screen. A low sigh escaped her as she saw who had spoken.
"Don't tell me," she said. "He called and asked you to talk me into letting this drop, and at the same time asked if you'd take up where I left off."
"He also warned me you'd probably be upset with him." came the reply. Anna rolled her eyes.
"First you sic Alyssa Goodwin on him, and then you want nothing to do with him, and now this," she said. "What's your game, Kelly?"
Kelly Monahan walked in, closed the door, and leaned back slightly against it. "There is no game. You can't force your way into representing a case, Anna, and you knew it from the beginning."
"I didn't force myself into anything," Anna shot back. "I showed up. He didn't have to take me up as legal counsel, and he knew it, and now he's being a jerk."
"Well, there's Jack for you," Kelly replied dryly. "We were married long enough; I know how he is."
"Well then I suppose you can tell me why the hell he'd want you to take this up for him." Anna said, sarcastically. "I gotta tell you, Kelly, I don't see it working."
"There's where you're wrong. He might be my ex, but I'm not as close to it as you are," said Kelly. "You can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Have you even talked to him? Face to face, I mean. Not over the phone. And without getting into some kind of fight?" Anna asked. Kelly smirked.
"I have, as a matter of fact; before I came here, to inform you that you're being relieved of your duties as legal counsel," she said. "I know you were trying to help, Anna, but honestly…" She trailed off. Anna scowled.
"Don't you dare walk into my office and start making snide remarks, like you're so much better than I am," she snapped. "You're worse than you were before, Kelly, do you know that?"
"I might've left the man; it doesn't mean I want to see him go down for murder." said Kelly dryly. "Neither does our daughter, for that matter. She told me she spoke to you."
"Oh, did she now?" Anna ran a frustrated hand over her face and glared at the older woman. "What else did she tell you?"
"That she got the impression you were a bit closer to all of this than you should be," said Kelly. "I don't know where she would've gotten that one."
There was no missing the hidden question in her statement. Anna shook her head. "Neither do I."
But it was a lie, and she knew it, so before Kelly could say anything, she went on. "If your daughter got that impression, it wasn't the one I meant to give. Jack and I are friends, and nothing more. You should know that as well as anyone."
"Yes, because so many of his lady lawyer friends have turned out to be just that," Kelly said dryly. "You're fooling yourself if you think I believe for one minute that a simple friendship is the only reason you took on this case."
Anna gave her a look. "You have no right to assume anything about my relationship with him, nor do you have the right to come in here and act like you actually give a damn," she said, angrily, "What are you getting out of this, Kelly? There has to be something."
"Whatever it is happens to be none of your concern," Kelly shot back, her voice turning cold. "All you need to know is that this is no longer your problem."
And then she turned, and left. Anna glared in the direction that Kelly had gone, long after the office door had slammed shut. No longer her problem. It should have relieved her, but it didn't. Turning back to face the computer screen, she blinked, once, and wondered why she felt so close to tears, yet again.
On the other side of town, Connie found herself in almost the same situation, though any tears that came from her would be ones of frustration rather than hurt.
"We're dealing with new counsel," Randy had announced upon seeing her that morning. "Kelly Monahan. You know anything about her?"
Oh, she knew plenty. There had been the off nights when she and Jack had both been late in the office going through things, and they'd ended up talking about other things as they worked. Now, Connie leaned back in her chair, and nodded.
"One of McCoy's former assistants," she said, because she'd found that somehow, she couldn't refer to him as 'Jack' as long as this was going on. "Married him, divorced him, one kid."
"And she's defending him now?" Randy asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "First Flynn tells us he's refusing any visitors other than family, and now his ex is playing the defense?"
"Don't ask," Connie told him flatly, "I don't know the story there, and I'm not going to gossip. This doesn't change how the trial is going to go."
"Sure it doesn't," Randy said dryly, "Monahan can either try to get him off on all charges, or she can try to railroad him. This is just great."
"Don't start with me, I'm not in the mood," said Connie, shaking her head at him. "We still have everything we need."
"All we have to do is make a jury believe that he really could have committed these murders," said Randy, "Have we heard back from the precinct on anything yet?"
"They're following a lead they've gotten," said Connie, "I haven't heard anything other than that."
And it was true, too. Ed and Nina had called her earlier that morning and told her that the night before, they'd come across something. They were following up on it, and they would get back to her as soon as they found anything. She could only keep her fingers crossed that it would be before Monday morning at nine o'clock, but so far, she wasn't holding her breath.
"They still think there might be someone else involved?" Randy asked, almost incredulously. Connie glared at him.
"You might not like the guy, but that doesn't give you the right to be an ass about this," she said. "I know we're both trying to do our jobs, but having our opinions set from the get-go isn't going to get us anywhere."
"Innocent until proven guilty, Rubirosa," said Randy, "I know it as well as you do. And I certainly won't think he's guilty until a jury convicts him."
"Well, you could've fooled me," Connie muttered sarcastically, "Don't think I won't go to Branch if you keep going like this."
"Don't think that I won't if this is the attitude you're going to keep through this mess. You're not the one running the trial, or have you forgotten that?"
"You're not an EADA yet, don't you dare stand there and act like you can order me around. You are not my boss."
"Oh, and I suppose you still consider McCoy to be holding that role?"
"Until he's convicted and disbarred, yes. But I doubt it'll happen. I prefer to keep an optimistic view, which is more than I can say for most people in this office!"
It was quickly turning into an argument, and one she didn't want to get into. Right now, she had enough to sort out as it was, because Randy didn't appear to be doing much of anything, and it was starting to piss her off. But she wasn't about to let onto it.
"I'm still convinced that Branch is making a mistake by letting you sit second chair," Randy said finally. "Honestly, if you can't keep a subjective view on this…"
"I'm not the one you need to be lecturing on keeping subjective. Yes, I'm friends with the guy, but if he's guilty, he's guilty, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Silence. Randy gave her a look, but didn't say anything else, and instead, turned and left. Connie glared after him, and rose to her feet, reaching for her coat.
"If anyone asks, they can reach me on my cell phone," she said, when she passed him in the hallway. He gave her a startled look, but nodded, and she left the office.
When she ended up at the prison, she wasn't surprised. The guards left her in an interview room, and went off to get Jack, who was no longer being stubborn…for the most part. He still wouldn't see Anna.
"I'd ask you what you're doing here, but I have the feeling I'm not going to like the answer," he said, upon seeing her. She turned to look at him.
"The police are following up on a lead," she said, "They think they might be able to prove that someone else is behind all of this. How are you holding up?"
"Better than I thought I'd be, honestly," said Jack, "It's…interesting, to say the least. I suppose you've been informed that I have new counsel?"
"Why her?" The question escaped her before she could really think about it, and Connie waited, wondering if he'd answer. He sighed.
"I might not be able to stand her on a normal basis, but she is a good lawyer," he said. Connie gave him a look.
"So is Anna Flynn," she pointed out. "First you refuse to see her on Tuesday, on Friday, your kid goes to see her, and by Saturday, Kelly Monahan's playing defense. Want to explain that?"
"Not particularly," said Jack, dryly, and then, "Anna shouldn't have come around in the first place, and she knows it."
"But she did, because she obviously gives a damn about what happens to you," Connie retorted. "Holloway's convinced he can convict you on evidence alone, and I hate to tell you this, but he's right. Changing counsel in the middle of this wasn't exactly the smartest move."
"Neither was continuing with the same when there was a conflict of interest." came the reply, and it stopped Connie in her tracks.
"What?" she asked. "Conflict of interest…Jack, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked. He sighed.
"The last victim we know about was her best friend, and suddenly, she's defending the alleged murderer? If that isn't a conflict, I don't know what is."
"You think she'd try to railroad you." It was more of a question than the statement it sounded like, and before an answer came, Connie went on. "I might not have known her as long as you have, but the impression I got was that she really wanted to help you out of this."
"Well, she's done her job well, then. Most defense attorneys would like to make the impression that they're truly out to help their clients."
"I doubt I'll get that impression from Monahan. I haven't even met her yet, and I already know more than I'd like to."
"Knew I shouldn't have let you poke me into talking that night."
"This isn't funny, Jack. This is your life on the line. You're really that willing to throw it all away?"
"No, but I can't…I won't have it all coming down on someone I care about if this gets shot to hell."
Dead silence. Connie ran a frustrated hand over her face and then spoke again. "So that's why you won't see her? Because you care about her? What the hell is that?"
"I don't know what it is," Jack said, flatly, "I couldn't figure it out before, and I can't figure it out now. All I know is that I don't want her to have to feel like she screwed up if I do get convicted."
"Are you that sure that's what's going to happen?"
"I know what the evidence is, Connie. I know what the police have found, and I know that if they don't find something to prove that I couldn't have done this, I'll spend the rest of my life in this place."
More silence. Connie glared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "She knows that she's the only one you're refusing to see, you know."
"I know she does. And I wish it didn't have to be this way, but…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Life's got a strange habit of throwing the unexpected at us."
"Which would be why I'm sitting second chair," said Connie, dryly. "You know that deal is still on the table if you want to take it and spare yourself a needle."
"Why would I take a plea and admit in open court to something I haven't done?"
Connie bit back the desire to laugh. At least he hadn't given up completely, which was somewhat of a comfort, given everything that was piled up against him.
"I don't know," she said. "I certainly wouldn't, and I didn't really expect you to, either, but if it goes down to that…"
"I'll think about it," said Jack, "But I can't promise you anything more than that."