Free Hear No Evil by James Grippando Page A

this Sofia knew his secret made him feel more connected to her. “I saw Lindsey’s father-in-law on television. Did you agree to let Brian stay with his grandparents?”
    Her sigh crackled over the line. “It was a hard decision. Lindsey’s sister would have been glad to take him. But Brian truly wanted the Pintados, and Lindsey didn’t want to drag him through a court fight over who should care for him while she’s in custody.”
    Jack knew how Lindsey felt about Pintado. He had to respect a mother who would honor her son’s wishes under those circumstances. “Well, hopefully it will all work out for the best in the end.”
    “Yes, if she’s acquitted. Which, again, is where you come in.”
    “It’s a complicated decision,” said Jack.
    “I’m sure it is. And I hate to push, but I need a commitment from you quickly. I’m scheduled to leave for Guantánamo in the morning.”
    “What for?”
    “Interviews. On-site inspections. It’s not easy for civilians to arrange a visit to the naval base. If I don’t grab tomorrow’s opening, it could be weeks before I’m able to schedule another trip.”
    Jack was thinking aloud. “I should be a part of that, if I’m going to be lead counsel.”
    “Definitely. So what do you say?”
    “Let me sleep on it.”
    “Jack, I really need an answer. If you’re not going to help me on this Guantánamo trip, I need to find a real criminal lawyer who will.”
    “I understand.”
    “No, I don’t think you do. Have you seen the indictment yet?”
    “No.”
    “It’s a capital case. They’re asking for the death penalty.”
    Jack went cold.
    “She needs you, Jack. She really needs you.”
    Jack considered it. A probate lawyer in a death penalty case? Lindsey didn’t have a chance. He wasn’t one hundred percent convinced of her innocence, but she had offered to take a polygraph. She probably deserved better than the hand she’d been dealt so far.
    Brian definitely deserved better—which was enough to swing the balance.
    “Okay,” said Jack. “I’m in.”

13
    T he next morning Jack and Sofia Suarez met at the airport.
    Getting into the U.S. naval air station at Guantánamo Bay had never been easy, and the nation’s war on terrorism had made it nearly as tough as getting into a South Beach nightclub dressed in last year’s fashion. A midmorning commercial flight took them from Miami to Norfolk, Virginia. It was up to them to find ground transportation to the naval air station for their Air Mobility Command flight to Guantánamo, which didn’t leave until six P.M. Jack was actually looking forward to a little shut-eye on the plane. Following their initial phone conversation, Sofia had arranged for a courier to deliver a boxful of grand jury transcripts, witness statements, and other evidence upon which the prosecutor had relied to secure Lindsey’s indictment. Jack had spent almost the entire night reviewing them, and it was now taking its toll. Despite his unstoppable yawns, Sofia seemed determined to talk strategy every step of the way to Guantánamo.
    “You want to do the interviews, or you think maybe I should?” said Sofia.
    “Wasn’t that the whole point of my coming on board so quickly? So that I could take the lead?”
    “It was, but then I got to thinking. We’ll be talking mostly to men, and most of them have been trapped on a military base with a lot of other men for a very long time.”
    “So you’re thinking…what?”
    “Who are they more likely to spill their guts to? You?” she said, batting her eyes, just to make her point. “Or a total Latin babe?”
    She was pouring it on for effect, but with her long black hair and perfect olive skin, the Latin babe thing wasn’t a stretch. If Jack was going to be sandwiched between Lindsey and Sofia at trial, he was going to have to give some serious thought toward gunning for an all-male jury.
    This is going to be interesting.
    They had about an hour to kill before heading over to the