Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales Read Online Free PDF

playoffs in football, culminating in back-to-back championships his junior and senior years. In college, the month was filled with conference championship games that led up to the bowl season.
    But during the last several years, all of that had changed. Christmas in prison meant staring through the bulletproof glass at Kerri and his new baby daughter, wishing he could hold them. Only once, a few weeks after Maddie’s birth, had the guards made an exception and allowed Landon to hold her. His mom and sister visited at Christmas too, driving all the way from the Florida panhandle just to spend one hour with him—the maximum allowed under prison rules.
    After his release, December brought law school final exams and the annual buildup to the SEC Championship Game. The commentatorswould rehash the controversy surrounding Landon’s three-interception performance. Had he thrown the game or hadn’t he? They would show each of the picks (and sometimes the fumble on the final drive for good measure), dutifully note that Landon had only pleaded guilty to throwing the regular-season games, and then state that he had been unavailable for comment on the story.
    This December held its own special perils. If the Character and Fitness Committee gave him a thumbs-down, it would be one more reason to hate the month. On the other hand, a positive response could be a turning point. And it was becoming harder not to get excited about Christmas when looking at the world through the eyes of a child who had just turned five.
    On the good side, Landon had obtained a few painting jobs that generated some extra income for the holidays. He watched Maddie while Kerri worked the early shift, then headed off to paint when Kerri got home. Two nights a week he was at the gym, training three local high school quarterbacks. Landon and Kerri were like two ships passing in the night throughout the entire month. And they still had no word from the Character and Fitness Committee.
    By Christmas Eve, Landon’s mind was occupied with other things. At noon, he piled into the minivan with Kerri and Maddie and, as part of a local ministry, began taking presents to six separate families whose fathers were in jail. The Reeds gave the presents to the moms, who now had some Christmas gifts to give the children from their dads. The women were especially excited to see Kerri, who was something of a local celebrity as a WTRT personality. Plus, Kerri had been in their shoes. Half the time, she was choking back tears as they drove away.
    On Christmas morning, Kerri rolled out of bed at four so she could be on the air by six. She hated working Christmas, but she couldn’t turn down the double pay. Besides, it was a chance to work the anchor desk—a welcome break from her normal role as a field reporter.
    Landon woke with her and quietly fixed some coffee, trying not toawaken Maddie. It would be hard enough keeping her enthusiasm in check until Mommy got home at noon.
    Two hours later, Landon settled in to watch the morning news and thought about how blessed he was. On the screen, Kerri was gabbing about some feel-good story with a gray-haired male reporter who had outlived his TV prime, a guy you hardly noticed because your eyes were immediately drawn to Kerri’s long, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Even though they glammed on the makeup, she still had that fresh, girl-next-door look. Landon had always believed his wife could have been a model, but she was more of a tomboy and didn’t like the anorexic look that the modeling agencies preferred. He watched the way she commanded the camera, her eyes sparkling and her face lighting up as she flashed the big smile that viewers loved. She had a lazy left eye that drove her crazy when she reviewed her own tapes, but Landon found it endearing.
    Maddie woke up at seven, and Landon fixed chocolate-chip pancakes. The next five hours were the slowest of young Maddie’s life. Every noise outside their rented condo generated a mad