Free Midnight Run by Linda Castillo Page A

health doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot if I’m going to be spending the rest of my life behind bars.”
    Chandler set his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Landis is right. You can’t operate outside the law. The police have itchy fingers when it comes to cop killers. As your attorney, the only advice I can give you is to let me handle this through the appeal process.”
    A cynical laugh escaped Jack. “I hate to break your heart—not that you have one—but my faith in the legal system is a little shaky at the moment. I’ll take my chances with the hounds and bullets before I let myself get railroaded again.”
    “Just how do you plan on proving your innocence when I couldn’t?” Chandler looked ruffled.
    “Did you bring me a change of clothes?” Jack asked, dodging the question.
    Chandler sighed. “There’s an overnight case in the car. I’ll merely add the cost of the clothes to your final bill.”
    “What about money?” Jack asked.
    Chandler looked as if a gas pain hit him. “I’ve got a couple of hundred on me—”
    “That’ll do.”
    The attorney looked at Landis over the top of his glasses. “Are you two…?”
    “No!” Landis blurted, dismayed that Chandler had jumped to that conclusion. She didn’t even want to think about what else he may have assumed. “I don’t want any part of this.” She felt the heat of Jack’s stare on her, but she maintained eye contact with Chandler. “I don’t want him here, Aaron. As of right now I’m washing my hands of the entire situation. You’re taking him with you or I’m calling the police.”
    Blowing out a breath of frustration, Chandler frowned at Jack. “Does she know?”
    Jack shook his head. “I tried. She doesn’t believe me.”
    Landis didn’t like surprises. Judging from the men’s expressions, she had the feeling this one was going to be a doozy. “Believe what?”
    Jack’s gaze swept to Landis. “Chandler is close to getting proof that Evan was taking money from Duke,” he said quietly.
    She couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d pulled out a switchblade and slashed her. For a moment she could only stare, first at Jack, then at Chandler. She forced herself to breathe.
    “What kind of proof?” she asked in a voice that sounded much calmer than she felt. All she could think of was that Evan wasn’t here to defend himself. That Jack was a desperate man. And that Aaron Chandler would do anything to win a case.
    “I’m working on getting his bank records subpoenaed,” Chandler said. “The proof is there. We’ll get the subpoena.”
    Her lawyer’s mind clicked into place. “Money can be planted.”
    “Why didn’t I think of that?” Jack said dryly.
    Chandler frowned. “Not if we can prove Evan had been depositing and withdrawing for quite some time.”
    She was aware of Jack’s eyes burning into her, as hot as lasers. Was this another brilliant legal maneuver by the illustrious Aaron Chandler? Or had her brother followed in their father’s footsteps and taken a very dark secret with him to the grave?
    “Why didn’t the police do that?” she asked.
    “Because they thought they had their man,” Chandler said.
    “I’m sorry, Landis,” Jack said. “I’m not trying to make Evan out to be the villain, but I’ll do what I have to in order to clear my name.”
    Landis risked a look at him. “Even if you’re able to prove Evan was taking bribes, it doesn’t prove your innocence,” she pointed out.
    “No. But it does give the courts cause to have another look at Jack’s case,” Chandler said. “We’ll get a retrial.”
    Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Landis stepped away from the two men, her head spinning. She thought of the brief she’d drafted and realized everything Jack had told her was plausible. She felt betrayed. By her own heart. By the brother she’d loved. And now by the system upon which she’d based her career.
    “If you believe Evan’s bank records will reopen your case, why