Free Nothing but Trouble by Roberta Kray Page B

sacrifice
     a Saturday afternoon with the man of your dreams?’
    She turned away and grabbed her bag, a brown folder and the car keys. ‘For one, the man of my dreams doesn’t taste of lager
     and cheese and onion crisps. And for two, it’s a matter of striking while the iron’s hot. If I don’t grab Harry Lind’s attention
     now, this whole thing could go off the boil.’ Jess knew that Harry had at least one other case he was currently involved with
     – finding out how faithful or otherwise Aimee Locke was –and she didn’t want him to get so completely sidetracked that he lost all interest in Sam’s problems. Thinking of Aimee reminded
     her of the woman she’d been having dinner with. ‘Hey, I don’t suppose you’ve ever come across a lawyer called Vita Howard?’
    Neil was a senior barristers’ clerk for a large law firm in Lincoln’s Inn. He worked half as many hours as Jess and earned
     three times as much. ‘The lovely Kavita? Yes, I know her.’
    Jess raised her brows. ‘Lovely, eh?’
    He grinned. ‘Well, not as lovely as you, naturally. But were I a free man of good health and natural appetites, I might just
     be tempted to give her a second glance. Why do you ask?’
    ‘I met her last night, briefly. Does she do divorce work?’
    ‘No, that’s not her bag. She’s into criminal law, dealing with all the lowlifes of Kellston who regularly walk through the
     doors of Patterson, Hoylake and Co. She’s a smart cookie, though. She’s wasted with that firm.’
    ‘So why does she stay there?’
    Neil put his can down on the coffee table, shifted on the sofa and rearranged a couple of cushions. ‘Rumour has it that her
     old man has something of a record. She fell into the trap of mixing business with pleasure and ended up married to one of
     her clients. That kind of connection doesn’t go down too well with some firms.’ He picked up the can again. ‘So why do you
     want to know? Are you after some good prenup advice in case I pop the question?’
    She laughed. ‘Yeah, that’s it. I’m planning ahead. So if you’re intending to take me for every penny I’ve got, think again.’
    He pulled a face. ‘So much for my master plan.’
    ‘Okay, I’d better go. See you later.’ Jess stepped into the hall, then put her head back round the door. ‘Oh, and what we
     just discussed about Vita Howard, it’s off the record, right?’
    ‘Who?’ he said.
    She gave a nod. ‘You’re smarter than you look, babe.’
    ‘Love you too, honeybun.’
    Outside, Jess got into her cherry-red Mini Cooper, threw her bag and the file on to the passenger seat and set off for Kellston.
     Her mouth widened into a smile as she drove along Victoria Park Road. She’d been seeing Neil Stafford for almost a year now,
     and had never been happier. He was smart, attractive and funny. He was also amicably divorced with no kids and – as far as
     she could make out – no seriously bad habits. Just for once, she appeared to have struck gold.
    They weren’t actually living together – he had his own flat in Pimlico – but they spent most weekends and a couple of nights
     in the week together at either his place or hers. This arrangement suited Jess just fine. She liked spending time with him,
     but she liked her own space too. There would come a point, she supposed, when he might want something more, but thankfully
     it hadn’t yet been reached.
    Putting the radio on, she hummed along to an old song she could only vaguely remember the words to. She thought about what
     Neil had told her regarding Vita Howard. She’d been hoping to get some useful information to pass on to Harry, a kind of thank-you
     for taking on Sam’s case, but her original theory that Aimee Locke could be thinking of beating her husband to the punch seemed
     unlikely in the light of what she’d learned. Although maybe not. Just because Vita didn’t specialise in divorce didn’t mean
     she couldn’t give advice about it. But then again,