An Accidental Life Read Online Free PDF

set the paper down beside her and turned her face up for his kiss. He wore his first-day-of-trial suit, dark gray, with a white buttoned-down collared shirt and a blue and gray tie. She’d given him the tie for a present on his last birthday. He claimed it was his favorite.
    He greeted her in a cheerful tone and planted a kiss on her cheek, and as she drew back, smiling now, her eyes followed him. His smile was contagious. She picked up the newspaper again, thinking how lucky she was to be married to this man that she loved so much. Two years of marriage with Peter had been just about perfect.
    “I see you’re picking a jury this morning,” she said, peering at him over the paper.
    “Yes, but my bet is they’ll want to cut a deal.” He went to the counter where the she’d left a thick mug there, the one he liked to use. “We’re hoping anyway because our main witness has disappeared.”
    She shook her head, reading on. Witnesses terrified into silence; that was an ongoing problem. “You’d think there’d be some way to protect them.”
    “It’s tough.” He poured coffee into his cup and added a teaspoon of sugar. “Witnesses usually live in the same neighborhood as the perp. When he’s picked up, they’re still there, still living in the same place surrounded by gang members, and families and friends. Lots of animosity. It takes courage to talk.” He gulped down the coffee.
    “Can’t you protect them?” She put down the paper and sipped the tea. She could feel it returning again, that wavy, foggy feeling.
    “Only if they want to move out of the neighborhood, change their lives.” Rinsing the cup under the faucet, he set it in the drain. “I’m letting Sam try this case. I’ll be there with him, but he’ll take the lead.” Sam was a young assistant district attorney that Peter was training. He was aggressive and smart, a good combination, Peter had said. “The experience will do him good.”
    Settling back in her chair, Rebecca picked up the toast and took a cautious bite. Please, please don’t let that nausea return. Not now. “I’ll be home around seven or so tonight, I think,” she said. “Will you be late?”
    “I’ll let you know. I’ll call later.” He left the room and she chewed the toast and sat very still, hoping this strange feeling was her imagination. She heard him going through the living room and the hallway and into the study they shared. When he returned a moment later with some files, he picked up the pace, heading for the door that led to the garage. At the door he stopped and picked up his briefcase. Then he turned, looking at her.
    “Say. I’ve been thinking of something.”
    She turned, looking at him.
    “We should celebrate your new partnership. If I’m right and the defense takes a plea this week, I’ll be free in a few days. What’s your schedule like this weekend? Could you get away for a couple days?”
    Ah, to get away. To rest. Rebecca mentally scanned through her schedule. It just might be possible.
    “We’re closing the bond offering next week, but it’s in good shape and Sydney could manage that for a few days.” Sydney Martin, her favorite associate, was a hard worker. Both Rebecca and Amalise had taken the younger woman under their wings when she was hired five years ago, the third woman lawyer hired by Mangen & Morris.
    With a broad smile she looked at him, brows high, and nodded.
    He grinned.
    She cocked her head. “Where would we go?”
    “How about Italy.” He smiled. “A quick trip to the Amalfi Coast? Maybe Positano for four or five days?”
    Memories lit her mind—they’d spent their honeymoon in the village of Positano two years ago, staying at the hotel Le Sirenuse . Visualizing the small horseshoe cove at the foot of the town and the green blue water stretching all the way to the horizon, she could already feel the warm sun soaking into her skin. They could lounge on beach chairs for hours and think of nothing but each