Free The Price of Justice by Marti Green Page A

over an old case.” Judge Hinchey was seated behind his desk, leaning back in his swivel chair. His robes hung over the back of a door, and he was dressed in a suit and tie, with the jacket stretched over his ample stomach. He looked more like Santa Claus in disguise, with his round face, stark white hair, trimmed white beard, and crinkly eyes, than a justice of the court.
    Dani entered the room and took a seat next to Whiting.
    “So, you think your boy is really innocent?” Hinchey said.
    “I do. Someone else has confessed to the crime, Your Honor.” Since Tommy hadn’t found any evidence of payments made by any of the Meltons, Dani had begun to feel more confident about her client. Still, now and then, kernels of uncertainty about Win’s innocence surfaced. She pushed away those thoughts. She was an advocate, and would do so zealously on behalf of her client. It would tear her up if it turned out he’d actually killed Carly Sobol, though.
    Hinchey turned toward Whiting. “And you don’t believe that confession, I gather.”
    “No, Your Honor.”
    “Well, I have to say, Ms. Trumball, I don’t like these last-minute confessions myself. Especially when the person doing the confessing has nothing to lose.”
    “I understand your concern, which is why I think an evidentiary hearing is warranted, so we can present witnesses and demonstrate the veracity of the confession.”
    Whiting leaned forward in his chair. “I’d like to remind you, sir, that the death warrant has been signed. Even if that weren’t the case, a confession in these circumstances is inherently untrustworthy, and so not likely to alter the result of a new trial.”
    “Now, I’ve read both your briefs. No need to go over that here. This conference is mandated by law, and so we’re having it. But unless you have something new to add, I understand both your positions. I’ll render my decision before the week is out.”
    Whiting sat back in his chair with a self-satisfied look on his face, leaving Dani to wonder if he knew something she didn’t.

    Two days later, Judge Hinchey’s decision lay on her desk. She’d read it once, with cool detachment. So unlike her usual feelings of despair, mixed with anger, when a ruling went against her. She wondered if it was because of her lingering disquiet over her client’s innocence.
    She picked up her phone and asked Melanie and Tommy to come into her office. When they arrived, she announced, “We lost Win’s motion for a new trial.”
    Melanie sunk down in her chair. “Without an evidentiary hearing? What reason did the judge give?”
    “Pretty much mirrored Whiting’s brief. The Timely Justice Act barred any new appeals. Even if it didn’t, he found Sanders’s confession to be noncredible without corroborating evidence, and the fact that he could be placed in the area didn’t amount to much.”
    “But what about the butterfly tattoo? And the initials in the tree?” Melanie asked. “Those facts hadn’t been released to the public. How else would Sanders have known about them?”
    “It wasn’t enough for the judge.”
    Tommy frowned. “So what now?”
    Dani wanted to answer that it was time to leave it alone and take on another case. It was always going to be difficult to get a new trial for Winston. They’d given it a shot and failed. Move on. But the board of directors had instructed HIPP to take Win’s case, and they wouldn’t let her give up now. Even though they’d already received the first payment of $500,000, the board wouldn’t want her to walk away from the possibility of another half million. Besides, Dani knew, if the client were anyone else, she would never stop with one loss. She’d fight until no fights were left.
    She sat quietly for a moment, fiddling with the pencil in her hand, then leaned back in her chair. “We start from the beginning. Treat this as an investigation into the original crime. Interview everyone who knew the victim and knew Winston. Talk to