“That’s ridiculous. How would I know how to do something like that?”
“A nursing student would know all about DNA and what it can do. You’re not stupid, Randi. You told me your GPA, remember. I think you’re quite capable of coming up with a plan to frame Blaine.”
Randi studied Robin for a moment. Then she leaned forward. “After Annie told me about your meeting, I researched the attorney–client privilege. It’s pretty powerful. I even read about a case where a client told his lawyers that he’d murdered a person, and they couldn’t tell anyone even though an innocent man was in prison for the murder. That was really awful.” Randi looked directly at her attorney. “I definitely did not frame Blaine, but from what I read, if I did tell you I set him up, you and your investigator couldn’t tell anyone that Blaine is innocent. Is that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Even if I did frame Blaine—which I didn’t—you shouldn’t get upset. He deserves to be in jail.”
“No one should be in jail for a crime they didn’t commit.”
“I agree. Ryan should never have been in jail. He wouldn’t have been if Blaine hadn’t framed him.”
“Is this revenge for Ryan?”
“If I did frame Blaine, which I didn’t, it would be justice for Ryan. But it would also be justice for me. Did anyone ever tell you why Ryan fought with Blaine?”
“Blaine insulted you and called you a slut.”
“Yeah, he did after Ryan accused him of raping me.”
“What?”
“I was pretty wild in high school. I had fake ID and I’d go to some pretty dicey bars. One night, I was with Ryan at one of them and we ran into Blaine. He came on to me and I blew him off. He couldn’t take that, so he followed me into the parking lot when I went for a smoke.”
Randi paused and looked at Robin. Her jaw quivered and her eyes teared up. She took a breath. “Have you ever been raped?”
“No.”
“That’s good, because you never forget it. Every time I have sex, I have to block out that bastard’s face.”
Randi took another breath. “He beat me and raped me in an alley. Ryan found me and took me home. The next day, he went after Blaine, and Blaine made sure Ryan went to jail to shut him up.”
Again, Randi took a breath. “My conscience is clear. Blaine raped me and he’s in prison for rape. And, by the way, I lied about the nightmares. Since the judge put that animal in a cage where he belongs, I’ve been sleeping like a baby.
“So, Robin, where do we go from here? Because, if you’re not interested in representing me, I’m sure there are plenty of lawyers who would like a percentage of a multimillion-dollar verdict.”
Robin was working the heavy bag with so much fury that she attracted Barry McGill’s attention.
“Who you pounding on?” McGill asked.
Robin wrenched around, her fist cocked. “What?”
McGill nodded at the bag. “Who’s that supposed to be?”
Robin dropped her fist. “Client trouble,” she answered.
“Like the kind you had with Willis Goins?”
“Worse. There’s someone in prison who might be serving time for something he didn’t do.”
“You sure the guy in prison is innocent?”
“He is and he isn’t. It’s complicated.”
“Tell the DA.”
“I can’t. I’m forbidden by law to reveal anything a client tells me or anything I learn while I’m investigating the case. The attorney–client privilege has me handcuffed.”
“That’s got to weigh on you.”
Robin’s shoulders sagged. “Honestly, Barry, it’s tearing me up.”
McGill nodded at the heavy bag. “I can see that. Those bags are expensive.”
Robin flashed a sad smile. “Sorry.”
McGill shook his head. “I don’t envy you. When I was boxing, I could take care of my problems with a left hook.”
“The law isn’t as simple as boxing.”
“I get that. Well, I’ll let you get back to work.” He pointed at the bag. “Go easy on my friend.”
As soon as McGill walked away, Robin squared up, but her anger had ebbed while she was talking with Barry and she didn’t feel like working out anymore. After a few more halfhearted swings at the heavy bag, Robin headed for the locker room.
Robin didn’t know what to do, but there was someone she knew who might. As soon as she was home, Robin checked the time in Athens and called the hotel where Regina Barrister was staying. Stanley Cloud answered the phone.
“Hi, Judge, is Regina there?”
“Yeah. We’re just getting ready to go out.”
“I’ve got a problem at work and I hoped she could advise me on what to do. Do you think she’s up for that?”
“Her meds have been working pretty well, so I think she’ll be able to help you. Let me get her.”
“How’s Greece?” Robin asked a minute later when Regina took the call.
“We toured the islands. It was wonderful. Santorini is the most romantic spot on earth.”
Robin laughed.
“Stanley says you have a problem at work.”
“This is attorney–client stuff, so you can’t discuss it with anyone, including Stanley.”
“We’re still law partners, and I still remember my ethics rules. So, shoot.”
Robin told her about the Hastings case and Randi’s confession that she had framed Hastings.
“But he did rape her in high school, and I believe that Hastings framed Ryan and coerced or paid his friends to lie. And that may have led to Ryan’s death,” Robin told Regina. “And he probably raped Julie Angstrom in eighth grade and other women we don’t know about.”
“You’ve got a very interesting dilemma, don’t you?”
“You hit the nail directly on the head. What should I do?”
“Nothing. You can’t disclose what Stark told you. And did she really tell you anything? She never admitted to framing Blaine, did she?”
Robin thought about that. “No,” she said a few moments later. “She kept saying that she did not frame him.”
“A bad person is in jail, where he belongs. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.”
“I can’t keep representing Randi. Not now.”
“Probably not.”
Robin was quiet, and Regina let her think.
“You’ve been a big help. Go enjoy Athens and send more postcards.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
Marsha took her seat on the other side of the glass from Doug. She hadn’t slept well in weeks. The only way she could get any rest was if she took medication. And she’d lost weight. Doug stared at her for a few moments. Then he raised the receiver that was attached to the concrete wall on his side of the noncontact visiting room.
“I’m so sorry,” Doug said. Tears trickled down his cheeks.
Marsha stared at them, at a loss for what to say.
“I did it for us, Marsha. I did it because I love you and I couldn’t lose you.”
“You… you killed three people,” she said.
“I killed Rex Kellerman because of what he did to you and tried to do to me.”
“What did Frank do? He was your best friend. How many times have you told me that you owed him everything?”
“Frank would have ruined our lives,” Doug said. “I begged him to let it lie. I reminded him of everything we’d built together, but he said I had to go to the bar and tell them. I would have been disgraced and disbarred. We would have been sued by every client whose case we lost. We would have had to give up our home, all of our savings. And I could have gone to prison for pretending to be a lawyer. Worst of all, I would have lost you.”